Part 76
V. Sympathy with mourners, and pity and relief to those that are oppressed with many sorrows, is a virtue that belongs only to the saints on earth. There are no sorrowful christians in heaven, and the various methods of comfort, which we practise toward our suffering brethren here below, are therefore impracticable in the upper world. “The God of all comfort is he who comforteth us in our tribulations, for this reason, that we may be able to comfort those that are oppressed with their heavy afflictions;” 2 Cor. i. 4. “This is pure religion and undefiled; to visit the fatherless and the widows in their afflictions, as well as to keep yourselves unspotted from the world;” James i. 27. But it is the religion of the church on earth, not the religion of heaven.
Go, then and visit thy brother in distress, visit poor afflicted and suffering christians: Go mention the promises of divine grace that belong to them in a suffering state, and lead them to rest upon some happy promise: Go teach them the benefit of afflictive circumstances: Let the twelfth chapter to the Hebrews be your text, and raise many a sweet inference for the support of sufferers. Tell them of the fruits of holiness that grow upon the bitter tree of earthly sorrows; and that the wood of the cross blossoms with grace and glory. Put them in mind of the examples of divine deliverance, when there has been no outward prospect of help and hope. Lead them to a meditation of the heavenly state: Point their thoughts upward: Direct their faith and their hope thither: teach them to look at the things that are unseen and eternal, that they may be able in the language of faith to say, “These light afflictions which are but for a moment, are working for us an eternal weight of glory;” 2 Cor. iv. 17.
There are no sorrows among the inhabitants of heaven, no sufferings there, no pain, no complaint; nor is there any need of your consolations: This is a work you cannot do in paradise, but God delights to see his children here comfort one another in their travels through this valley of tears, this tiresome wilderness; 1 Thess. iv. 18. Then let us give our fellow-christians their due of consolation, and offer to our God the sacrifice of his delight.
VI. Forbearance and forgiveness of real or supposed injuries, is a grace to be practised only by the living christian.—Christ Jesus our Lord demands it, and lays a bar upon your hopes of the forgiveness of God, if ye refuse it to your fellow-creatures; Mat. vi. 14, 15. And the great apostle entreats you to practise it. _Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, long-suffering; forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any man hath a quarrel against any: Even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye_; Col. iii. 12, 13. Charity, or love, as it should be translated, suffers long, beareth all things, and hopeth all things; and though considered in the general notion of love to the saints, it lives for ever in heaven; yet these special exercises of it belong to this world. Charity or love is not easily provoked, it thinketh no evil, gives every thing the best turn that it will bear, and puts the best sense upon all things that are spoken. O that every living christian might adorn his profession with the exercise of this virtue; 1 Cor. xiii. 4-8.
Meekness is a grace which has no place in the upper world, in this respect, that it has no trials there. Glorify God your Saviour therefore in the days of your trial here below, and be ye meek and lowly as he was; be ye slow to anger, and swift to forgive, as God your Father is. When you hear a word of offence or reproach spoken, and feel the rising ferment of the blood, watch against it, subdue it: This is the hour of battle, see that ye come off conquerors. When there is a word of bitterness upon your tongue, stifle it, and keep silence, subdue the temptation, and prevent that sin; give glory to God in this manner, which the saints in heaven cannot do. “Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: Be not overcome with evil; but overcome evil with good;” Rom. xii. 19-21.
Love is a virtue that flourishes in heaven, it grows high, it spreads wide, and it shines bright in the upper world. Love is a grace that out-lives faith and hope, and endures for ever. There is no such union of hearts, no such sacred bonds of affection, as are found among the saints on high. Heaven is the very element and region of love; but it is all love to God, love to Christ, and to our fellow-saints: For love to enemies is not known in that country, because there is no enemy there. To love them that hate us, to bless them that curse us; to pity, and forgive, and pray for those that injure us; these are not only noble singularities of the christian religion, which are not known amongst all the catalogues of heathen virtues, but neither are they practised in the heavenly world. As glorious and sublime as they are, yet they are never found among _the spirits of the just made perfect_: Those holy souls, are all far above the reach of malice, hatred, and enmity; there are no objects there for them to exercise these divine virtues upon. Love to enemies therefore dwells only amongst the living saints: To forgive injuries, is the glory that is peculiar to christians in this mortal state, and our blessed Saviour has a most peculiar revenue of honour from it.
But besides the honour that Christ and his gospel receive from such a kind and charitable conduct, there is a pleasure in this victory over resentment, that far exceeds the pleasure of revenge which is the delight of the wicked: And it is a pleasure also, which the saints above cannot partake of; for there are no offences, no injuries, no provocations there: This life alone is the time to forgive, and to be forgiven. Now who is there among us, that would not seize the opportunity of every injury and offence to practise a glorious duty, and enjoy a pleasure which the blessed in heaven cannot taste?
VII. Self-denial and mortification of sin, belongs also to this life alone. It is the first lesson in the school of Christ, _to deny ourselves daily, if we will be his disciples_; Luke ix. 23. but it is the lesson of the school and not of the palace; a lesson for earth and not for heaven; for in the world above, our duty is all delight, and there is no need of contradicting our own pleasure, or our interest, in order to please or serve our God, or our brother. In those holy regions every part of our work is congenial to our sanctified natures, and with resistless appetite and inclination we shall pursue all the duties that belong to that happy state.
Nor are there any sins to be mortified there: The body of death is buried with the body of flesh in the grave, and earth is the place where the members of it must be put to death. _Mortify your members which are upon the earth, fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is idolatry_; Col. iii. 5. Let us be daily engaged in the zealous practice of this duty, and subdue all the unruly appetites that make an assault upon our virtue, that defile our conscience, and subdue our peace. Now, now is the time to set ourselves at work to fight against our vicious inclinations and our irregular desires: Now let us multiply our victories over sin and self. Earth is the field of battle with sin: In heaven our desires shall all be pure and holy, there is no sinful wandering appetite, no perverse affection; no irregular thought or wish amongst all the saints above: There is no contest with indwelling corruptions, no such conquests are to be gained in all that holy and happy world. There are no new honours of this kind to be given to Jesus, the Captain of our Salvation, nor any new triumphs to be obtained over sin, to the glory of divine grace. Come then, let us bestir ourselves, and awake to the battle, let us bravely resist the workings of flesh and blood, by the aids of the blessed Spirit; let us _be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus_, and maintain the glorious warfare, like soldiers who fight for the honour of their general, and who hope for a crown of immortality.
[If this Sermon be too long, it may be divided here.]
VIII. Repentance and godly sorrow for our past offences, belong only to this life. Converting grace works only on earth; we are called to repent in order to be forgiven: _Repent and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out_; Acts iii. 19. And the exercise of this grace is not only necessary at first conversion, (though it most eminently appears at that season) but it must run like a thread through the whole course of this mortal life, till death shall put an utter end to sin. Let every known sin therefore which we are guilty of be attended with some new and sensible exercise of shame, and sorrow, and holy indignation against ourselves. Let us live in a daily, constant, penitent frame, for we are daily sinners. This painful sense of sin, this holy mourning, is an honour done to the law of our God. It is the living, the living who are called to this work; for _there is no repentance in the grave_: Shew your hatred of sin therefore continually, and your sincere love to the law of holiness by such an humiliation as becomes an imperfect saint.
You will ask me, “Do no saints in heaven repent that they have ever sinned here on earth?”
I answer, that whatsoever regret they feel in the memory of their past transgressions, it is not attended with such sensible shame and inward pain at the heart, as are necessary to that duty of repentance that is required here on earth; for there is nothing must break in upon their perfect peace or joy in heaven. As God is said not to remember their iniquities, because he does not remember them in order to punish, so the saints above are not said to repent of sin, because they have no such shame and grief accompanying it as whilst they dwelt upon earth, and which are some of the most remarkable ingredients in our repentance.
But we may suppose there is among them some sort of holy self-displicency, and something of a sacred regret, that ever they offended such a God, and such a Saviour? There will be surely an inward and hearty disapprobation of their former sinful ways whenever they think upon them: And, indeed, without some reflection on their former guilt and misery, they can never give due glory to Christ their Redeemer, who rescued them from their sorrows and their sins. But all the painful and shameful attendants of this grace of repentance must be banished from heaven, because it is a state of perfect joy and peace.
IX. Patience and submission to the will of God under all manner of painful providences, gives glory to God here on earth, such as the saints in heaven cannot give him. We are taught indeed to say, _Lord, thy will be done on earth, as it is in heaven_: But it is the preceptive will of God, or the will of his commands, which is here signified, not his providential will, whereby he punishes; for there is no affliction in heaven, and therefore there is no such sort of submission, no exercise of patience there: They obey the will of his commands in perfection there, and God himself has no will that they should suffer, or endure sorrow.
Shew then, O believers, your submission to the will of God, here, as dear and obedient children, when your heavenly Father sees it needful to chasten you; Heb. xii. 6-11. _If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the Father chasteneth not? Give him reverence therefore when he corrects you, and be ye in subjection to the Father of spirits and live._ It is only children under age that their earthly fathers scourge and chastise; such are christians in this world, the sons of God in their infant state: but when the children are grown up to manly age, they have no more chastisement; such are the saints in heaven, who are _grown to the fulness of the measure of that stature_ which God designs for them in Christ. This life therefore is the only time when you can honour the sovereignty and the wisdom of God your Father, when he sees fit to take his rod in hand, and to instruct you in righteousness.
X. A sacred compassion for perishing sinners, and longing desire and labour for the conversion of souls, is a business that belongs to this life only. When we are past the line of time, and entered into eternity, we can add no new subjects to the kingdom of our Lord: This is a service that can be performed no where but in the present state: It is the living, and they alone that have this work intrusted with them. When the lips are closed in the grave they cannot speak for God, nor exhort sinners to be saved.
Let ministers call up all their powers then to the blessed work of the gospel. Let them stir up all their gifts, and employ them all for the welfare of immortal souls. What is the furniture of human learning? What are their talents of oratory, their flowing language, and their art of persuasion? What is their vivacity of spirit, their sweetness of voice, their penetrating force of elocution? What are all these but weapons of warfare to fight against the kingdom of Satan among men, and instruments to build up the church of God on earth? What are they all but consecrated gifts to win souls to Christ out of the kingdom of this world? They are given only for service in the present life. Let us use them then with our utmost skill for these holy purposes: For, _Whether there be tongues they shall cease: Whether there be knowledge_ and human learning, _that shall vanish away?_ 1 Cor. xiii. 8, 9. These poor imperfect talents are not made for heaven. Let our zeal therefore employ them to the utmost on earth.
O let us be _instant in season and out of season_, and proclaim the terrors of the law to awaken the stupid and impenitent, to make them fly from the wrath to come. Let us publish the glad tidings of the gospel, and by all the methods of compassion and tenderness, let us beseech and intreat sinners to be reconciled to God. Let us set the unsearchable riches of Christ before them, the all sufficiency of his righteousness, and the power of his grace; and study and contrive how we may address their consciences in the most successful manner, till we have won their hearts over to Christ and salvation.
And let this not only be the labour of the sanctuary, and the work of our public offices in the church, but let the houses where we dwell, and the families where we visit, be witnesses for us in the great day, that we have instructed and warned the souls of men, that we have carried on the business of the pulpit in the parlour, and have spread the savour of the knowledge of Christ through all our conversation.
Let parents that are solicitous for the eternal welfare of their offspring, and love their sons and daughters as their own souls, let them seize the present opportunity for this sort of work. Let them make use of all the language of gentle authority, and of constraining love, to win the hearts of their children to God, to persuade them to accept of the grace of Christ, and snatch them as brands out of the burning. Let friends and dearest relatives, let masters and rulers of families, lay hold on every just occasion to speak of the things of God to those that are near them.—Life is the only time to express our zeal for God, and love to souls, in such a manner as this. When we pray, _Thy kingdom come_, we should awaken our endeavours to gain some new subjects to Christ.
Come, let us all engage our own consciences in this sacred and compassionate work, while we consider, that _to-day is the accepted time, now is the hour of salvation_. God may put an end to our own lives, or the lives of our friends to-morrow, and either their death or ours will prevent this sort of work for ever. Then we can speak no more, or they can hear us no more: They will be for ever out of the reach of our compassionate desires to save them. We may send our bitter sighs, and our fruitless groans, after them, when they are gone down to darkness without hope; and we may feel the inward anguish of a sharp and painful repentance, while, through our neglect, and their own folly and wickedness, they are cursing the day of their birth and crying out, in full despair, under the torture of divine vengeance.
XI. Another grace which can be exercised only in this life, is holy zeal, and boldness in the profession of christianity, with courage in suffering for Christ. These are virtues that belong only to our mortal state; these are made necessary to the saints, by the opposition that is raised against true religion by the men of this world. Here in this world, _they that will live godly in Christ Jesus, must suffer persecution_; 2 Tim. iii. 12. Our Saviour himself, in the first publication of his own gospel, _endured the contradiction of sinners against himself_; he sealed his doctrine with his own blood, and has given his followers a glorious example of a suffering zeal and holy fortitude. Imitate him who _endured the cross, and despised the shame_; Heb. xii. 2, 3.
This sort of virtues doth not belong to the heavenly state; for there is no opposition made to truth and holiness: There are no such trials of our zeal and courage in heaven; courage to speak boldly for Christ, and zeal to give him public glory, by maintaining his gospel in the face of terror and death; for there are no infidels, no sinners, no enemies in all the heavenly regions. There are no threatening tyrants, no persecuting powers, no penal laws in the upper world: No prisons, no fires, no gibbets nor axes there for the followers of the Lamb; no cruel mockings nor so much as a reproachful word: but the greater our zeal is for the service of God and our Saviour in the heavenly state, the greater shall be our honour and applause among the inhabitants of that country.
Endure then for a season, ye disciples of Christ, grow bold in the profession of his name, and exult with holy _joy, that you are counted worthy to suffer shame for his sake_; Acts v. 41. It is here on earth only, that it is in your power to shew, how much you love your Saviour more than your life, and that your love to your Lord is stronger than death with all its terrors. Upon this account shall I exhort you to practise what the apostle James expresses; James i. 2. _Count it all joy, my brethren, when ye fall into divers temptations; for the proof or trial of your faith shall appear honourable and glorious when Christ comes_; 1 Pet. i. 7. It was a frequent and sacred ambition among the primitive christians to contend for the crown of martyrdom. This world is the only stage for such bloody conflicts, and this life is the only season wherein we can obtain the addition of this ornament to our crown of glory.
XII. May I add in the last place, that a calm and chearful readiness for a removal out of this world, is an honour done to Christ and his gospel here on earth, which belongs not to the heavenly state. Death, in the course of nature, as well as by the hands of violence, hath always something awful and formidable in it. Flesh and blood shrinks and trembles at the appearance of a dissolution, and Christ delights to see the grace that he has wrought in his saints gain the ascendency over flesh and blood, and conquer the terrors of death and the grave. He loves to see his followers maintain a serene soul, and venture upon the invisible world upon the merit of his blood, with holy fortitude and a chearful faith. It is only the living christian that can die, and glorify God his Saviour in that great and important hour. The saints, who are arrived at heaven, _dwell in the temple of God, and shall go no more out_; Rev. iii. 12. They are for ever possessed of life and immortality. There are no more deaths or dangers for them to encounter, no more terrors to engage their conflict. Death is the last enemy of the saints; and when the christian meets it with sacred courage, he gives that honour to the Captain of his Salvation, which the saints in glory can never give, and which he himself can never repeat. Dying with faith and fortitude is a noble conclusion of a life of zeal and service. It is the very last duty on earth; when that is done, then heaven begins.
Thus I have made it evident, in many instances, that there is a rich variety of virtues and graces to be exercised in this life, which have no place after death, and upon this account the living christian may be said to have some advantage beyond the dead. Here an objection or two will arise that may require an answer.
Objection I.—But is not heaven always represented as a state of perfection? Is not grace and holiness more complete there than ever they have been, or can be in the time of our mortal life? And yet how can it be a state of greater perfection, if so many graces are wanting there?
Answer.—These graces which belong to the living saint, and have no place among the happy dead, are but the various exercises of a sanctified mind, arising from some imperfections in our present state. Faith is owing to our want of sight: Hope is owing to our want of enjoyment: Patience, courage, compassion, forbearance, forgiveness, repentance, and such like graces, are owing to the sins, the sorrows, or the temptations that are found in this world only. The follies, the mistakes, the infirmities of ourselves, or our fellow-christians, or the wickedness of the world wherein we live, are the only things that give occasion for the exercise of such graces as I have now mentioned; therefore in a perfect state there is no room for them.