Now we know, though parents love their children well, and wish all their children well, and do for all their children well, yet commonly they love them most, and provide for them best, that resemble them most. Parents cannot but love those children most, and lay up for them most, who have most of themselves in them ; and I cannot see how God can do otherwise than love them most, and provide for ihem best, who most resemble him to the life. The nature of God is a holy nature, and so there lies a holy necessity on his nature to love them most who have most grace and holiness in them, Ps. xlv. 7. Look, as it is natural to God to hate wickedness, so it is natural to God to love holiness ; and as the higher men rise in wickedness, the more a holy God hates them ; so the higher men rise in holiness, the more a holy God loves them. Now the more any are like to God^ and
378 THE NECESSITY, EXCELLENCY, RARITY, [HeB. XII. 14.
the more they are beloved of God, the higher doubtless in glory shall they be advanced by God. The best and the largest portion is laid up for that child that is most like his father. The more any man in holi- ness resembles God on earth, the greater and the larger portion of glory that man shall have when he comes to heaven. But,
[5,] Fifthly and lastly, To deny degrees of glory in heaven, and to say that God will not suit mens wages to their ivorks, nor their rewards to their services, nor crown the highest improvements of graxie with the highest degrees of glory, is to render useless mxiny glorious ex- hortations tlmt are scattered up and doiun in the Scripture ; as that in the 1 Cor. xv. 58, ' Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye steadfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as you know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.' If this were not a truth that I have been all this while asserting, why then, when men meet with this exhortation, they may say. Why, it is no great matter whether we are ' steadfast, unmoveable, and always abounding in the work of the Lord ' or no ; for if we are, we shall never advance our reward in heaven, we shall never add pearls to our glorious crown, we shall never add one mite to our happiness and blessedness ; and if we are not, we shall be as high in heaven, and our reward as great, and our crown as weighty, as theirs shall be who are ' steadfast, unmoveable, and always abounding in the work of the Lord.' i And so the denial of degrees of glory in heaven will take off also the edge of all those other exhortations of perfecting holiness, of sowing liberally, of growing in grace, of bringing forth much fruit, and of adding virtue to virtue, &c. ; yea, this will cut the throat of all divine endeavours ; for who will labour to be rich in grace, and to be much in service, and to abound in all the fruits of righteousness and holiness, when none of all this will turn to a man's advantage in another world ? If he that sows little shall have as great a harvest as he that sows much ; if he that is dull and negligent in the work of the Lord shall have as great a reward as he that is active and abundant in the work of the Lord ; if those trees of righteousness which bring forth much fruit shall have no greater a recompense than those trees of righteousness which bring forth many leaves of profession but little fruit, &c., who would sow much, and who would be active and abundant in the work of the Lord, and who would bring forth much fruit? verily but few, if any. But now the opinion, or rather the truth, that I have been labouring to make good, viz., that there shall be different degrees of glory in heaven, and that God will proportion men's reward to their work, and that he will measure out happiness and blessedness to them at last according to the different measures of grace bestowed upon his people, and according to the work, service, and faithfulness of his people in this world ; — this truth, I say, held forth in its lustre and glory, is a marvellous encouragement, and a mighty provocation to all sincere Christians, to labour after the highest pitches in Christianity, and to be very eminent in grace and holiness ; for what man is there that will not reason thus, the more grace the more glory, the more holiness the more happiness, the more work the more wages, and the greater my service shall be here, the
^ 2 Cor. vii. 1, and ix. 6; 2 Pet. iii. 18; John xv. 8 ; 2 Pet. i. 5-7.
HeB. XII. 14.] AND BEAUTY OF HOLINESS. ,379
greater shall be my reward hereafter ; and therefore, 0 my soul ! grow in grace, perfect holiness, and abound in the work and service of the Lord, knowing that ' thy labour shall not be in vain in the Lord.' And thus I have given you the reasons that prove that there shall be degrees of glory in heaven.
Now I have nothing further to do upon this point, but to give a few brief answers to such objections as are commonly raised against this truth, that I have asserted and proved.
Object 1. First, Some object and say. That one Christ bought ibsall, and that all our portions are bought by the precious blood of our Lord Jesus Christ, and that therefore all believers shall share alike in the inheritance of the saints in light. Now to this objection I shall answer,
[1.] First, Tlmt all saints shall be equal sharers in the substantial and essential glory of heaven, &c. But of this I have spoken before ; and, therefore,
[2.] Secondly, Though a father buys a rich inheritance far all his children, yet this lays no necessity nor obligation at all upon him to allot to every one of his children an equal portion ; so though our Lord Jesus Christ hath by his blood purchased a rich inheritance for his children, yet this lays no necessity nor obligation at all upon Jesus Christ to divide this rich inheritance by equal portions among his children. It is true that Christ hath purchased all with his blood, and it is as true that he may divide his purchase among his people as he pleases. If every man may do with his own as he pleaseth, why may not Christ? Must he needs be bound when others are free ?