Chapter XXIV: Part 24

Moreover, some think that this may be proved from the apostle’s words, in 1 Thess, ii. 19, 20. _What is our hope or joy, or crown of rejoicing? are not even ye in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ at his coming? for ye are our glory and joy_; which seems to argue that he apprehended their happiness in heaven should contribute, or be an addition to his, as he was made an instrument to bring them thither; even so, by a parity of reason, every one who has been instrumental in the conversion, and building up others in their holy faith, as the apostle Paul was with respect to them; these shall tend to enhance their praise, and give them occasion to glorify God on their behalf: therefore it follows, that they shall know one another; and consequently they who have walked together in the ways of God, and have been useful to one another, as relations and intimate friends, in what respects more especially their spiritual concerns, these shall bless God for the mutual advantages which they have received, and consequently shall know one another. Again, some prove this from that expression of our Saviour in Luke xvi. 9. _Make to yourselves friends of the mammon of unrighteousness, that when ye fail, they may receive you into everlasting habitations;_ especially if by these _everlasting habitations_ be meant heaven, as many suppose it is; and then the meaning is, that they whom you have relieved and shewn kindness to in this world, shall express a particular joy upon your being admitted into heaven; and consequently they shall know you and bless God for your having been so useful and beneficial to them.

_Objec._ To this it is objected, that if the saints shall know one another in heaven, they shall know that several of those who were their intimate friends here on earth, whom they loved with a very great affection, are not there; and this will have a tendency to give them some uneasiness, and be a diminution of their joy and happiness.

_Answ._ To this it may be replied, that if it be allowed that the saints shall know that some whom they loved on earth, are not in heaven, this will give them no uneasiness, since that affection, which took its rise principally from the relation which we stood in to persons on earth, or the intimacy that we have contracted with them, will cease in another world, or rather run in another channel, and be excited by superior motives, namely, their relation to Christ, and that perfect holiness which they are adorned with, and their being joined in the same blessed society, and engaged in the same employment, together with their former usefulness one to another, in promoting their spiritual welfare, as made subservient to the happiness they enjoy there. And as for others who are excluded from their society, they will think themselves obliged, out of a due regard to the justice and holiness of God, to acquiesce in his righteous judgments: thus the inhabitants of heaven are represented as adoring the divine perfections, when the vials of God’s wrath were poured out upon his enemies; and saying, _Thou art righteous, O Lord, because thou hast judged thus: true and righteous are thy judgments_, Rev. xvi. 5, 7.

5. Another ingredient in the glory of heaven, which is, indeed, the greatest of all, is the saints enjoying the immediate vision and fruition of God: this vision includes in it something more than their beholding the human nature of Christ, as Job speaks when he says, _In my flesh shall I see God_, Job xix. 26. This, indeed, will be a delightful object, not only by reason of the glory thereof, but from the love that they bear to his person, who, in that nature, procured for them the happiness which they are advanced to. But the principal thing contained in this vision of God, is, that it is contemplative and intellectual; for, in other respects, he is invisible: nevertheless there are two ways by which persons are said to see him; the one is by faith, adapted to our present state; thus Moses is said to have _seen him who is invisible_, Heb. xi. 27. that is, to contemplate, adore, and improve the glory of the divine perfections so far as he is pleased to manifest it to us in this world; but the other way of beholding him is more perfect, as his glory is displayed with the greatest clearness, and in the highest degree in heaven: this the apostle opposes to that vision which we have of God by faith, when he says, that in heaven _we shall see face to face, and know even as we are also known_, 1 Cor. xiii. 12. that is, we shall have more bright and immediate discoveries of the glory of God; which, when represented by the metaphor of _seeing face to face_, has some allusion to our knowing persons, when we are in their immediate presence, which far exceeds that knowledge which we had of them by report, when at a distance from them: this the apostle expresses by such a mode of speaking, as cannot well be understood in this imperfect state, when he says,[195] _We shall see him as he is_, 1 John iii. 2. which differs from those views which the saints have sometimes had of the glory of God, when manifested in an emblematical way, in this world; they also behold it as shining forth in its greatest effulgency.

Moreover, since the apostle speaks of this as a privilege which should be enjoyed by the saints at Christ’s appearing, who seems to be the object more especially here intended, it may denote their beholding his mediatorial glory in its highest advancement; and this view which they have of it, is said to be assimilating, as well as delightful; and therefore he farther adds, _We shall be like him_. And this shall also be satisfying: thus the Psalmist says, _I will_, or shall, _behold thy face in righteousness; when I awake I shall be satisfied with thy likeness_, Psal. xvii. 15. How vastly does this differ from the brightest views which the saints have of the glory of God here! It is true they know something of him as he manifests himself in the works of creation and grace; but this is very imperfect; the object is not presented in its brightest lustre; nor is the soul, which is the recipient thereof, enlarged, as it shall then be to take in the rays of divine glory: however, though this vision of God be unspeakable, and much more shall be known of his perfections than we can attain to in this life; yet the saints shall not have a comprehensive view thereof; for that is not consistent with the idea of them as finite creatures. Thus concerning the immediate vision of God.

It is farther observed, that this vision is attended with fruition; and therefore it is not barely speculative or contemplative, but such as is felicitating; and accordingly the saints know their interest in God, and see themselves to be the happy objects of the former and present displays of the glory of his perfections, and how they have all been exerted in bringing them to, and fixing them in this blessed state; and from hence arises that joy which accompanies this vision of God. And besides this, there are some impressions of his glory on their souls, which not only occasion, but excite this joy.

And it is farther observed, that this fruition is of God the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. The Father is beheld and enjoyed, as his glory shines forth in the face of Christ, as bestowing on his saints all the blessings which he has promised in that everlasting covenant, which was established with, and in, Christ, as their Head and Saviour; his purposes of grace, and all his promises, having had their full accomplishment in him. And the glory of Christ is beheld as the person to whom the whole work of redemption, together with the application thereof, was committed, and is now brought to perfection. And the Holy Ghost is beheld as the person who has, by his power, rendered every thing which was designed by the Father, and purchased by the Son, effectual to answer the end which is now attained, by shedding abroad the love of the Father and Son in their hearts, dwelling in them as his temple, and in beginning, carrying on, and perfecting that work, which is so glorious in the effects and consequences thereof. In these respects they have perfect and distinct communion with the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost; which far exceeds all they can have here, and is infinitely preferable to all the delight which arises from that enjoyment which they have of the blessed society of perfect creatures to whom they are joined.

6. The last ingredient in the happiness that believers shall enjoy in heaven, is, that it shall be to all eternity. As the soul is immortal, and the body, to which it shall be united, shall be raised incorruptible; so the inheritance, which is reserved in heaven for the saints is such as _fadeth not away_, 1 Pet. i. 4. chap. v. 4. This will tend to make their happiness complete, which nothing could do, were there not a full assurance of the everlasting duration thereof. It would be a continual allay to it, and a very uncomfortable thought to conclude, that though their enjoyments are very great, yet they shall have an end. The glory of heaven is not like the glories of this present world, which are but for a moment, and, as it were, perish in the using; nor like the state of holiness and happiness in which God created man at first; which, through the mutability of his nature, it was possible for him to lose: but it is established by the decree of God, founded on the virtue of the blood of Christ, who purchased for his people eternal redemption, and in the covenant of grace settled this inheritance upon them, as an everlasting possession. This is a doctrine so universally acknowledged, that it is needless to insist on the proof of it; and it is so frequently mentioned in scripture, that we scarce ever read of the glory of heaven, but it is described as _eternal_, See Jude ver. 6, and 21. Matt. xxv. 46. Tit. i. 2. Rom. vi. 22. Gal. vi. 8. 1 Tim. i. 16. Psal. xvi. 11.

There is one thing more, which, though it be not particularly mentioned in this answer, I would not entirely pass over, that is, what may be said to a question proposed by some, _viz._ Whether there are degrees of glory in heaven? The Papists not only maintain that there are, but pretend that greater degrees thereof shall be conferred on persons, in proportion to the merit of their good works here on earth; and therefore have assigned to them the highest places there, who have performed works of supererogation, by doing more than was strictly enjoined them by the law of God. But all Protestant divines, who allow that there are degrees of glory in heaven, strenuously maintain that these are rewards of grace as every ingredient in the heavenly blessedness is supposed to be. And when this doctrine is made the subject of controversy among them; neither side ought to contend for their particular opinion, as though it was one of the most important articles of faith, or charge them who defend the other side of the question, as though they were maintaining something that was directly contrary to scripture, or of a pernicious consequence.

They, on the other hand, who suppose that there are no degrees of glory in heaven, are afraid, that if they should assert the contrary, it would, in some measure, eclipse the glory of the grace of God, and give too much umbrage to the Popish doctrine of the merit of good works. But this all Protestant divines, as was but now observed, sufficiently fence against. And, inasmuch as it is farther argued against degrees of glory, that those external and relative privileges, which they enjoy, such as election, justification, and adoption, belong equally and alike to all saints; and the same price of redemption was paid for all, therefore their glory shall be equal: this method of reasoning will not appear very conclusive, if we consider that sanctification is as much the result of their being elected, justified, redeemed, and adopted, as their being glorified; but that appears not to be equal in all, therefore it does not follow from hence, that their glory, in a future state, shall be so. And though their objective blessedness, which consists in that infinite fulness of grace that there is in God, is inconsistent with any idea of degrees; yet it does not follow, that the communications resulting from hence, which are finite, shall be in a like degree; nor can it be inferred from hence, that if there are degrees of glory, the state of those who have the least degree, shall be imperfect in its kind, or have any thing in it which shall afford the least abatement of their happiness, or be the occasion of envy or uneasiness, as the superior excellencies of some, in this imperfect state, often appear to be, since that is inconsistent with perfect holiness: nor is it to be supposed that there are any degrees, with respect to the deliverance of the saints from the sins, guilt, and miseries of this present life, which is equal in all; nor do they, who think that there are degrees of glory in heaven, in the least insinuate that every one shall not be perfectly filled and satisfied, in proportion to his receptive disposition; as a small vessel, put into the ocean, is equally full, in proportion to its capacity, with the largest; and therefore none of the saints will desire, nor, indeed, can contain more than God designs to communicate to them.

As for that scripture which is sometimes brought in defence of this opinion, _viz._ the parable of the persons that were hired to work in the _vineyard_, in Matt. xx. 9. in which it is said, that _they that were hired about the eleventh hour, received every man a penny_, which is as much as others received who were hired early in the morning, and had _born the heat and burden of the day_; that does not sufficiently prove it, since some of these labourers are represented as _murmuring_, and insinuating that they had wrong done them, to whom Christ replies, _Is thine eye evil, because I am good?_ and they are described as _called_, but _not chosen_, ver. 15, 16. Therefore it is not designed to set forth the glory of heaven, but the temper and disposition of the Jewish church, who were partakers of the external blessings of the covenant of grace, and the gospel-church, as having equal privileges; so that the arguments generally insisted on to prove that there are no degrees of glory in heaven, can hardly be reckoned sufficient to overthrow the contrary doctrine; especially if those other scriptures, that are often brought to prove that there are, be understood in the most obvious sense thereof; and they are such as these, _viz._ Daniel xii. 3. _They that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever_; where the prophet speaks of those who excel in grace and usefulness in this world; and then considers them not only as _wise_, but as _turning many to righteousness_; whose glory, after the resurrection, of which he speaks in the foregoing verse, has something illustrious and distinguishing in it, which is compared to the _brightness of the firmament and stars_.

To this it is objected, that our Saviour, in Matt. xiii. 43. illustrates the happiness of all the glorified saints, whom he calls _the righteous_, by their _shining as the sun_; therefore the prophet Daniel means no other glory but what is common to all saints; and consequently there are no degrees of glory. But to this it may be replied, that our Saviour does not compare the glory of one of the saints in heaven, with that of another; but intimates, that the happiness of every one of them shall be inconceivably great, and very fitly illustrates it by the _brightness of the sun_; whereas the prophet is speaking of some that were honoured above others in their usefulness here; and then considers them as having peculiar degrees of glory conferred upon them hereafter, which is something more than what he had said in the foregoing verse, which is common to all the saints, when he speaks of them as _awaking out of the dust to everlasting life_.

Another scripture which is also brought to prove this doctrine, is in 1 Cor. xv. 41, 42. _There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars; for one star differeth from another star in glory; so also is the resurrection of the dead_; where the apostle is speaking concerning the happiness of the saints after the resurrection, whom he compares not with what they were when they left the world; for then had no glory, being _sown in corruption and dishonour_; but he seems to compare the glory of one saint, after the resurrection, with that of another; and accordingly he illustrates it by the brightness of the heavenly luminaries; every one of which has a glory superior to terrestrial bodies: nevertheless he seems to intimate, that if we compare them together, the glory of the one exceeds that of the other. Thus the glory of the least saint in heaven, is inconceivably greater than that of the greatest here on earth: it is, indeed, full and complete in its kind; yet when compared with the glory of others, it may in some circumstances fall short of it.

There is another argument brought by some, to prove this doctrine, taken from the parable of the _talents_, in Matt. xxv. 14, _& seq._ in which the reward is proportioned to the respective improvement thereof; which seems to respect some blessings which they were to receive in another world; inasmuch as our Saviour compares himself to one that is _travelling into a far country_, and after a long time, returning and reckoning with his servants: by the former of which is meant, his ascension into heaven; and by the latter, his return to judgment; and consequently those regards which differ in degree, must respect some peculiar glory, which he will confer on his people in another world; and, indeed, the whole chapter seems to refer to the same thing. The former parable of the _wise_ and _foolish virgins_ denotes the behaviour of persons here, and the consequence thereof hereafter: and the latter part of the chapter expressly speaks of Christ’s coming to judgment, and dealing with every one according to his works. If therefore the improvement of these talents respects some advantages that one is to expect above the other, it seems to intimate that there are degrees of glory.

Moreover, this is farther argued from those various degrees of grace that some have in this world above others, which is a peculiar honour bestowed on them, and is sometimes considered as the fruit and consequence of their right improvement of those graces which they had before received. And this may be considered as laying a foundation for greater praise; which argues that the soul shall be enlarged in proportion thereunto; so that it may give unto God the glory due to his name, as the result thereof. Therefore if we take an estimate of God’s future, from his present dispensations, it not only removes some objections that are sometimes brought against this doctrine; but adds farther strength to those arguments taken from the scriptures before-mentioned, to prove it. But notwithstanding all that has been said, on this subject, it is the safest way for us to confess, that we know but little of the affairs of another world, and much less of the circumstances of glorified saints, considered as compared with one another. Nor are we to conclude, if there are degrees of glory, that the highest degree thereof is founded on the merit of what any have done or suffered for Christ; or, on the other hand, that the lowest is inconsistent with complete blessedness; which shall be proportioned to their most enlarged desires, and as much as they are capable of containing. Thus concerning the question proposed by some, _viz._ Whether there are degrees of glory?

There is another which has some affinity with it, that I would not wholly pass over; namely, whether the saints in heaven shall not have some additional improvements, or make progressive advances in some things, which may be reckoned a farther ingredient in their future happiness? This is to be insisted on with the utmost caution, lest any thing should be advanced which is inconsistent with the complete blessedness, which they are immediately possessed of: however, I do not think that it will detract from it, if we should venture to assert, that the understanding of glorified saints shall receive very considerable improvements, from those objects which shall be presented to them, and the perpetual discoveries that will be made of the glorious mysteries of divine grace, whereby the whole scene of providence, and its subserviency to their eternal happiness, shall be opened, to raise their wonder, and enhance their praise. Since it is not inconsistent with the perfect blessedness of the angels, to desire to know more of this mystery, which they are said to _look into_, 1 Pet. i. 12. and inasmuch as their joy is increased by those new occasions, which daily present themselves; why may not the same be said with respect to the saints in heaven; especially if we consider that this will redound so much to the glory of God, as well as give us more raised ideas of that happiness which they shall be possessed of.

We shall conclude with some practical inferences from what has been said in this answer, concerning the happiness of the saints in heaven.

(1.) We may learn from hence the great difference which there is between the militant and triumphant state of the church. Here they meet with perpetual conflicts, but hereafter they shall be crowned with complete victory: now they walk by faith, but then faith shall be swallowed up in vision, and hope in enjoyment. The saints of God are, at present, in their minority, having a right to, but not the possession of their inheritance. Their desires are enlarged, and their expectations raised; but nothing can give them full satisfaction till they arrive to that state of perfection, which God will, at last, bring them to.

(2.) The account which we have of the happiness of heaven, as being of a spiritual nature, and accompanied with perfect blessedness, and the enjoyments thereof being agreeable thereto; this may tend to reprove the carnal conceptions which many entertain concerning it, as though it were no other than what Mahomet promised his followers; who fancy that they shall have therein, those delights, which are agreeable to the sensual appetites of such as have no other ideas of happiness, but those which consist in the pleasures of sin: neither is it enough for us to conceive of it, as barely a freedom from the miseries of this life (though this be an ingredient therein) as if it had no reference to the bringing those graces which are begun here, to perfection; or it did not consist in that blessed work of admiring and adoring the divine perfections, and improving the displays thereof in a Mediator, which the saints shall for ever be engaged in.

(3.) Let us not content ourselves barely with the description which we have in the word of God, concerning the glory of heaven, but enquire, whether we have a well-grounded hope, that we have a right to it, and are found in the exercise of those graces which will be an evidence thereof? It is a very low and insignificant thing for us to be convinced that the glory of heaven contains in it all those things which shall render them who are possessed of it, completely happy, if we have no ground to claim an interest in it; and if we have this ground of hope, it will have a tendency to excite practical godliness, which it is inseparably connected with, and affords an evidence of our right to eternal life: whereas, without this, our hope will be delusive, and we chargeable with an unwarrantable presumption, in expecting salvation without sanctification.

(4.) If we have any hope concerning this future blessedness; this ought to be improved by us, to support and comfort us under the present miseries of life; as the apostle exhorts the church to which he writes, to _comfort one another with these words_, 1 Thess. iv. 18. or from these considerations; which should also be an inducement to us to bear _affliction_ with patience, since they _work for us an exceeding and eternal weight of glory_, 2 Cor. iv. 17. And,

(5.) Let the hope we have of the privileges to be enjoyed hereafter, put us upon the greatest diligence in the performance of those duties, which are incumbent on us, as expectants of this inheritance; and let us endeavour to have our conversation in heaven, and be frequently meditating on the blessed employment thereof; and be earnest with God, that we may be made more meet for, and in the end received to it.

(6.) If we are enabled, by faith, to conclude that we have a right to the heavenly inheritance, let us be frequently engaged in the work and employment thereof, so far as is consistent with this present imperfect state; let us be much in praising and blessing God, who has prepared these glorious mansions for his people; and let us set a due value on the blood of Christ, by which they were purchased; and give glory to the Holy Ghost, who has given us the earnest thereof; and having begun the work of grace, will, we trust, carry it on to perfection.

Footnote 191:

_Or, shall God, who justifieth?_

Footnote 192:

_Vid Wits. in Symb. Exercit._ 22. § 18-20.

Footnote 193:

_See Vol. I. Page 286_

Footnote 194:

_What speech can be without atmosphere, and without flesh?_

Footnote 195:

God is an _infinite_ being. This also is a principle established by
both natural and revealed religion. The soul of man is finite, and, to
whatever perfection it may be advanced, it will always continue to be
so. This is another indisputable principle. It would imply a
contradiction to affirm, that an infinite Spirit can be seen, or
_fully_ known, in a strict literal sense, as it is, by a finite
spirit. The human soul, therefore, being a finite spirit, can never
perfectly see, that is, fully comprehend, _as he is_, God, who is an
infinite spirit. The proposition in our text, then, necessarily
requires some restriction. This inference arises immediate from the
two principles now laid down, and this second consequence furnishes
another ground of our reflections.

But, although it would be absurd to suppose, that God, an infinite
spirit, can be fully known by a finite human spirit, yet there is no
absurdity in affirming, God can _communicate_ himself to a man in a
very close and intimate manner proper to transform him. This may be
done four ways. There are, we conceive, four sorts of communications;
a communication of ideas; a communication of love; a communication of
virtue, and a communication of felicity. In these four ways, _we shall
see God_, and by thus seeing him _as he is, we shall be like him_ in
these four respects. We will endeavour by discussing each of these
articles to explain them clearly; and here all your attention will be
necessary, for without this our whole discourse will be nothing to you
but a sound, destitute of reason and sense.

The first communication will be a communication of _ideas_. We shall
_see God as he is_, because we shall participate his ideas; and by
seeing God as he is, we shall become _like him_, because the knowledge
of his ideas will rectify ours, and will render them like his. To know
the ideas of an imperfect being is not to participate his
imperfections. An accurate mind may know the ideas of an inaccurate
mind without admitting them. But to know the ideas of a perfect spirit
is to participate his perfections; because to know his ideas is to
know them as they are, and to know them as they are is to perceive the
evidence of them. When, therefore, God shall communicate his ideas to
us, _we shall be like him_, by the conformity of our ideas to his.

What are the ideas of God? They are clear in their nature; they are
clear in their images; they are perfect in their degree; they are
complex in their relations; and they are complete in their number. In
all these respects the ideas of God are infinitely superior to the
ideas of men.

1. Men are full of _false_ notions. Their ideas are often the very
reverse of the objects, of which they should be clear representations.
We have false ideas in physic, false ideas in policy, false ideas in
religion. We have false ideas of honour and of disgrace, of felicity
and of misery. Hence we often mistake fancy for reason, and shadow for
substance. But God hath only _true_ ideas. His idea of order is an
exact representation of order. His idea of irregularity exactly
answers to irregularity; and so of all other objects. He will make us
know his ideas, and by making us know them he will rectify ours.

2. Men have often _obscure_ ideas. They only see glimmerings. They
perceive appearances rather than demonstrations. They are placed in a
world of probabilities, and, in consideration of this state, in which
it has pleased the Creator to place them, they have more need of a
course of reasoning on a new plan, to teach them how a rational
creature ought to conduct himself, when he is surrounded by
probabilities, than of a course of reasoning and determining, which
supposes him surrounded with demonstration. But God hath only _clear_
ideas. No veil covers objects; no darkness obscure his ideas of them.
When he shall _appear_, he will communicate his ideas to us, and they
will rectify ours, he will cause the scales, that hide objects from
us, to fall from our eyes; and he will dissipate the clouds, which
prevent our clear conception of them.

3. Men have very few ideas perfect in _degree_. They see only the
surface of objects. Who, in all the world, hath a perfect idea of
matter? Who ever had perfect ideas of spirit? Who could ever exactly
define either? Who was ever able to inform us how the idea of motion
results from that of body; how the idea of sensation results from that
of spirit? Who ever knew to which class space belongs? It would be
very easy, my brethren, to increase this list, would time permit; and
were I not prevented by knowing, that they, who are incapable of
understanding these articles, have already in their own minds
pronounced them destitute of all sense and reason. But God hath
_perfect_ ideas. His ideas comprehend the whole of all objects. He
will communicate to us this disposition of mind, and will give us such
a penetration as shall enable us to attain the knowledge of the
essence of beings, and to contemplate them in their whole.

4. Men have very few ideas _complex_ in their relations. I mean, their
minds are so limited, that, although they may be capable of combining
a certain number of ideas, yet they are confounded by combining a
greater number. We have distinct ideas of units, and we are capable of
combining a few: but as soon as we add hundred to hundred, million to
million, the little capacity of our souls is overwhelmed with the
multitude of these objects, and our weakness obliges us to sink under
the weight. We have a few ideas of motion. We know what space of body,
to which a certain degree of velocity is communicated, must pass
through in a given time: but as soon as we suppose a greater degree of
motion, as soon as we imagine an augmentation of velocity to this
greater degree; as soon as we try to apply our knowledge of moving
powers to those enormous bodies, which the mighty hand of God guides
in the immensity of space, we are involved in perplexity and
confusion. But God conceives _infinite combinations_. He will make us
participate, as far as our minds can, his ideas; so that we shall be
able to give a large expanse to our meditation without any fear of
confusing ourselves.

5. In fine, the ideas of mankind are incomplete in their _number_.
Most men think, there are only two sorts of beings, body and spirit;
and they have also determined, that there can be only two. A rash
decision in itself: but more rash still in a creature so confined in
his genius as man. But the ideas of God are _complete_. He knows all
possible beings. He will make us participate this disposition of mind,
and from it may arise ideas of myriads of beings, on which now we
cannot reason, because now we have no ideas of them. A communication
of ideas is the first way, in which God will make himself known to us.
This will be the first trait of our resemblance of him. _We shall be
like him, for we shall see him as he is._

The second communication of God to a beatified soul is a communication
of love. We cannot possibly partake of the ideas of God without
participating his love. To participate the ideas of God is to possess
just notions. To possess just notions is to place each object in the
rank, that is due to it; consequently, we shall regard the chief being
as the only object of supreme love.

What is necessary to answer the idea, that an upright soul forms of
the lovely? The lovely object must answer three ideas: the idea of the
great and marvellous; the idea of the just; and the idea of the good:
and, if I may venture to speak so, of the beatifying. Now, it is
impossible to know God without entertaining these three ideas of him
alone; consequently it is impossible to know God without loving him.
And this is the reason of our profound admiration of the morality of
the gospel. The morality of the gospel is the very quintessence of
order. It informs us, no creature deserves supreme love. It makes this
principle the substance of its laws. _Thou shalt love the Lord thy God
with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind_,
Matt. xxii. 37.

How worthy of supreme love will this God appear, how fully will he
answer the idea of the _great_ and the _marvellous_, when _we shall
see him as he is_! He will answer it by his independence. Creatures
exist: but they have only a borrowed being. God derives his existence
from none. He is a self-existent being. He will answer our idea of the
magnificent by the immutability of his nature. Creatures exist: but
they have no fixed and permanent being. They arise from nothing to
existence. Their existence is rather variation and inconstancy than
real being. But God, but _I the Lord_, says he of himself, _I change
not_, Mal. iii. 6. _the same yesterday, to-day, and for ever_, Heb.
xiii. 8. He is, as it were, the fixed point, on which all creatures
revolve, while he is neither moved by their motion, shaken by their
action, nor in the least imaginable degree altered by all their
countless vicissitudes. He will answer the idea of the great and
marvellous by the efficiency of his will. Creatures have some
efficient acts of violation: but none of themselves.—But go back to
that period, in which there was nothing. Figure to yourselves those
immense voids, which preceded the formation of the universe, and
represent to yourself God alone. He forms the plan of the world. He
regulates the whole design. He assigns an epoch of duration to it in a
point of eternity. This act of his will produces this whole universe.
Hence a sun, a moon, and stars. Hence earth and sea, rivers and
fields. Hence kings, princes, and philosophers. _He spake, and it was
done; he commanded, and it stood fast. The heavens were made by the
word of the Lord, and all the host of them by the breath of his
mouth_, Psal. xxxiii. 9. God, then, perfectly answers our idea of the
grand and the marvellous. He answers also the idea of the just.

It was he, who gave us an idea of _justice_ or order. It was he, who
made the greatest sacrifices to it. It was he, who moved heaven and
earth to re-establish it, and who testified how dear it was to him by
sacrificing the most worthy victim, that could possibly suffer, I mean
his only Son.

Finally, God will perfectly answer our idea of the _good_ and the
_beatifying_. Who can come up to it except a God, who opens to his
creatures an access of his treasures? A God, who reveals himself to
them in order to take them away from their _broken cisterns_, and to
conduct them to a _fountain of living waters_, Jer. ii. 13. A God,
whose eternal wisdom cries to mankind, _Ho, every one that thirsteth,
come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money, come ye, buy and
eat, yea come, buy wine and milk without money, and without price.
Wherefore do ye spend money for that, which is not bread? and your
labour for that, which satisfieth not? Hearken diligently unto me, and
eat ye that, which is good, and let your soul delight itself in
fatness. Incline your ear, and come unto me; hear, and your soul shall
live._ Isa. lv. 1-3.

We cannot, then, know God without loving him. And thus a communication
of ideas leads to a communication of love. But this communication of
love will render us _like_ the God, whom we admire. For the property
of love, in a soul inflamed with it, is to transform it in some sort
into the object of its admiration. This is particularly proper to
divine love. We love God, because we know his attributes; when we know
his attributes, we know, we can no better contribute to the perfection
of our being than by imitating them, and the desire we have to perfect
our being will necessitate us to apply wholly to imitate them, and to
become _like him_.

Let us pass to our third consideration. The third communication of God
to a beatified soul is a communication of his _virtues_. To love and
to obey, in Scripture-style, is the same thing. _If ye love me, keep
my commandments_, is a well-known expression of Jesus Christ, John
xiv. 15. _He, who saith I know him, and keepeth not his commandments,
is a liar, and the truth is not in him_, is an expression of our
apostle, 1 John ii. 4. This is not peculiar to the love of God. To
love and to obey, even in civil society, are usually two things, which
have a very close connexion. But, as no creature hath ever excited all
the love, of which a soul is capable, so there is no creature, to whom
we have rendered a perfect obedience. It is only in regard to God,
that there is an inseparable connexion between obedience and love. For
when we love God, because we know him, we are soon convinced, that he
cannot ordain any thing to his creature but what is useful to him;
when we are convinced, he can ordain nothing to be performed by his
creature but what is useful to him, it becomes as impossible not to
obey him as it is not to love ourselves. To love and to obey is one
thing, then, when the object in question is a being supremely lovely.
These are demonstrations; but to obey God, and to keep his
commandments, is to be _like God_.

The commandments of God are formed on the idea of the divine
perfections. God hath an idea of order; he loves it; he follows it;
and this is all he ever hath required, and all he ever will require of
his intelligent creatures. He requires us to know order, to love it,
to follow it. An intelligent creature, therefore, who shall be brought
to obey the commandments of God, will be _like God_. _Be ye perfect,
as your Father, which is in heaven, is perfect_, Matt. v. 48. _Be ye
holy, for I am holy_, 1 Pet. i. 16. _Every man, that hath this hope in
him, purifieth himself even as he is pure_, 1 John iii. 3. These
precepts are given us here on earth, and we obey them imperfectly now;
but we shall yield a perfect obedience to them in heaven, when we
shall _see him as he is_. Here, our apostle affirms, _Whosoever
sinneth, hath not seen him, neither known him_, ver. 6. that is to
say, he who suffers sin to reign over him, doth not know God; for if
he knew God, he would have just ideas of God, he would love him; and,
if he loved him, he would imitate him. But in heaven we shall see, and
know him, we shall not sin, we shall imitate him, _we shall be like
him, for we shall see him as he is_.

Lastly, the fourth communication of the Deity with beatified souls is
a communication of _felicity_. In an economy of order, to be holy and
to be happy are two things very closely connected. Now we are in an
economy of disorder. Accordingly, virtue and felicity do not always
keep company together, and it sometimes happens, that for _having hope
in Christ we are_, for a while, _of all men most miserable_, 1 Cor.
xv. 19. But this economy of disorder must be abolished. Order must be
established. St. Peter, speaking of Jesus Christ, says, _The heavens
must receive him until the times of the restitution of all things_,
Acts iii. 21. When all things shall be restored, virtue and happiness
will be closely united, and, consequently, by participating the
holiness of God we shall participate his happiness.

SAYRIN.

Quest. XCI., XCII.

QUEST. XCI. _What is the duty that God requireth of man?_

ANSW. The duty which God requireth of man, is, obedience to his
revealed will.

QUEST. XCII. _What did God at first reveal unto man as the rule of
his obedience?_

ANSW. The rule of obedience revealed to Adam in the estate of
innocency, and to all mankind in him, beside a special command, not
to eat of the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil,
was, the moral law.

Having, in the former part of the Catechism, been led to consider what we are to believe concerning God, and those works of nature and grace, wherein he has displayed his glory to man, whether considered as created after his image, or having lost it by sin, and afterwards redeemed, and made partaker of those blessings that are consequent thereupon; we are now to consider him as under an indispensable obligation to yield obedience to God. They who have received most grace from him, are laid under the strongest ties and engagements hereunto; accordingly we may observe,

I. That, obedience is due from man to God. This results from the relation we stand in to him as creatures;[196] who ought to say with the Psalmist, _O come let us worship and bow down, let us kneel before the Lord our Maker_, Psal. xcv. 6. and particularly when considered as intelligent creatures, having excellencies superior to all others in this lower world, whereby we are rendered capable, not only of subserving the ends of his providence, but performing obedience, as subjects of moral government: But if we are redeemed, justified, and sanctified, and made partakers of all the blessings that accompany salvation; this obligation to duty, is greater than that of all others, as the apostle says, _Ye are bought with a price; therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s_, 1 Cor. vi. 2. And this may be considered, not only as our duty, but our highest wisdom; as it is said, _The fear of the Lord, that is wisdom, and to depart from evil, is understanding_, Job xxviii. 28. hereby, in some measure, we answer the end for which we came into the world. And it is our interest, inasmuch as it is conducive to, and inseparably connected with our present and future blessedness: Nevertheless we are to be very sensible that this is out of our own power, as our Saviour says, _Without me ye can do nothing_, John xv. 5. Therefore we should exercise a constant dependence on him, who works in his people both to will and to do, of his own good pleasure. We might here consider the nature and properties of that duty and obedience which we owe to God.

1. If it be such as we hope God will accept or approve of, it must proceed from a renewed nature, and as a consequence thereof, from a principle of love to God, as a reconciled Father; not from a slavish fear and dread of his wrath, as a sin-revenging Judge. Thus the Psalmist says, _There is forgiveness with thee, that thou mayest be feared_, Psal. cxxx. 4.

2. It ought to be without the least reserve, as containing a ready compliance with whatever he commands; and hereby we ought to approve ourselves to him, as our sovereign Lord and Law-giver, and consider that we are under his all-seeing eye; and accordingly his glory is to be assigned as the highest end of all we do.

3. It ought to be performed with constancy; and therefore it doth not consist barely in a sudden fit of devotion, arising from the dictates of an awakened conscience, or the dread we have of his wrath, when under some distressing providence; but it ought to be the constant work and business of life. And,

4. When we have done or suffered most for God, we are not only to consider ourselves as _unprofitable servants_, Luke xvii. 10. as our Saviour expresses it; but we must lament our imperfections, and be deeply humbled for the iniquities that attend our holy things; inasmuch as _there is not a just man upon earth that doth good, and sinneth not_, Eccles. vii. 20.

II. In order to our yielding obedience, it is necessary that God should signify to us, in what instances he will be obeyed, and the manner how it is to be performed; otherwise it would rather be a fulfilling our own will than his. None but those who are authorized hereto, and receive what they impart to us by divine inspiration, can, without the boldest presumption, assume this prerogative to themselves, so as to prescribe to us a rule of duty to God; and therefore it follows, that this obedience must be to his revealed will. The secret purposes of God are the rule and measure of his own actings; but his revealed will is the rule of our obedience. _Secret things belong unto the Lord our God; but those things which are revealed, belong unto us and to our children_, Deut. xxix. 29.

III. The will of God, as thus made known to us, is called a Law: Which, that we may farther understand, let us consider, that a law is the decree or revealed will of a sovereign, designed to direct and govern the actions of his subjects, and thereby to secure his own honour and their welfare. And if this be applied to the law of God, we must consider him as our Lord and Sovereign, whose will is the rule of our actions; and he being infinitely wise and good, is able and inclined to direct us in those things that are conducive to his own honour and our safety and happiness; and this he has been pleased to do, and accordingly has given us a law as the rule of life.

The laws of God are either such as take their rise from his holy nature, and accordingly our obligation to yield obedience thereto, proceeds not only or principally from the command of God, but from their being agreeable to his divine perfections, which must be assigned as the reason of his prescribing them as matter of duty. These are all reducible to what we call, in general, the law of nature; which, because it is agreeable to the dictates of reason, it is called, by way of eminency, _The moral law_. Thus when we consider ourselves as creatures, we are led to confess that we are subject to God, and therefore bound to obey him; and when we think of him as a God of infinite perfection, this obedience must be agreeable thereunto; and because he is a Spirit, it must be performed in a spiritual manner; and as he is a holy God, he is to be worshipped with reverence and holy fear. Thus far we are induced to yield obedience by the law of nature.

But, on the other hand, there are many laws relating to the circumstances or manner in which God will be worshipped, which are founded in his sovereign will; and these we call positive laws. Of this kind was that law given to our first parents, not to eat of the tree of knowledge of good and evil; and, doubtless, there were many other laws given to them relating to their conduct of life, and mode of worship, though they are not particularly mentioned in that short history we have of the state of man before the fall. As for the moral law, it is said, in one of the answers we are explaining, to have been revealed to Adam in his state of innocency, and to all mankind in him. Its being revealed to man, must be supposed to be a less proper way of speaking; inasmuch as that method of discovery is more especially applicable to positive laws; and therefore I would rather chuse to express it as it is in a foregoing answer[197], by God’s writing his laws in the hearts of our first parents, or impressing the commands of the moral law on their nature; so that by the power of reasoning, with which they were endowed, they might attain to the knowledge thereof. So that man, by the light of nature, knew all things contained in the moral law.

As to what is farther said in this answer, that the moral law was given to man in innocency; that has been considered elsewhere. And as all mankind were represented by him, so we are to understand those words, that it was given to all mankind in him. But these things have been insisted on in another place, as also what relates to his being prohibited from eating the tree of knowledge of good and evil, I shall pass it over, and proceed to speak more particularly concerning the moral law, together with the use thereof to all sorts of men.

Footnote 196:

“It may be asked, Is there no _reason_ or _nature_ of things? Yes; as
certainly as there are things. But the nature and reason of things,
considered _independently_ of the divine Will, or _without_ it, have
no more _obligation_ in them, than a _divine worship_ considered
independently of, and without any regard to the _existence_ of God.
For the _Will_ of God is as absolutely necessary to found all _moral
obligation_ upon, as the existence of God is necessary to be the
foundation of religious worship. And the fitness of _moral
obligations_, without the _Will_ of God, is only like the fitness of a
_religious_ worship without the _existence_ of God.

And it is as just to say, that he destroys the _reason_ of religion
and piety, who founds it upon the nature and existence of God, as to
say, he saps the foundation of moral obligations, who founds them upon
the Will of God. And as religion cannot be justly or solidly defended,
but by shewing its connexion with, and dependance upon, God’s
existence; so neither can moral obligations be asserted with strength
and reason, but by shewing them to be the Will of God.

It may again be asked, Can God make that fit in _its self_, which is
in _its self absolutely_ unfit to be done?

This question consists of improper terms. For God’s Will no more makes
actions to be fit _in themselves_, than it makes _things_ to exist
_in, or of themselves_. No things, nor any actions, have any
_absolute_ fitness, and in _themselves_.