the hope of eternal life.' Holiness is an infallible forerunner of glory ; it is the firstfruits of that eternal happiness and blessedness that God hath laid up for his children in the highest heavens. And oh, what cause of joy and gladness should this be to every holy heart 1 What though thou shouldst never have a good day more on earth ; what though all the springs of comfort should be dried up on thy right hand and on thy left hand ; what though God should never smile on thee more in this world ; what though the remaining part of thy life should be filled up with crosses, losses, troubles, and trials ; what though God should let Satan loose to tempt thee, and wicked men grow strong to oppress thee, and friends turn enemies to grieve thee ; yea, what if thou shouldst go to thy grave with tears in thy eyes, and with sorrow in thy heart ; yet as long as thou art sure that thou art an heir of glory, and that all the happiness of heaven is thine, and that thy crown is safe, and that thou shalt be for ever filled and satisfied with those everlasting pleasures and delights that be at God's right hand, Ps. xvi. 11 ; thou hast cause to joy and rejoice in the midst of all thy sorrows and sufferings, yea, to glory and triumph in the hopes and expectations of a kingdom that shakes not, of a crown that withers not, of riches that corrupt not, and of an inheritance that fadeth not away.i 0 sirs ! it is not all the silks of Persia, nor all the spices of Egypt, nor all the gold of Ophir, nor all the treasures of both Indies, nor all the crowns and sceptres in the world, no, nor yet the worth of ten thousand worlds, that are to be compared with that glory that is treasured up for all God's holy ones. They have an inheritance reserved in heaven for them that cannot be moth-eaten, nor spoiled by hostile invasion, nor wrung from them by power, nor won from them by law, nor mortgaged for debt, nor impaired by public calamity, nor plundered by thieves and robbers, nor changed by kings or parlia- ments, no, nor violated by death itself ; and therefore, what infinite cause of joy and rejoicing have all such that are interested in such an inheritance, and in such a perfect happiness and complete blessedness that is reserved in heaven for all God's holy ones ? Oh, what a singu- lar comfort must this be to a Christian, in the midst of all his miseries and distresses, when he is able to look upon God, and say. This ' God is my God for ever and ever, and he shall be my guide to glory,' Ps. Ixxiii. 24 ; and when he is able to look up to heaven and say. This is my inheritance ; yea, when he is able to look upon all the glory and happiness of another world, and to say. All this glory and happiness is mine, for I have that holiness that is the earnest of it, the pawn of it, and the firstfruits of it in my own soul. It was an observable say- ing of Macarius ; ' They that are anointed with the spiritual oil of gladness,' 2 saith he, ' have received a sign of that incorruptible king- dom, to wit, God's Spirit, for an earnest, they are the secretaries of the heavenly king, and relying confidently upon the Almighty, they enter into his palace, where the angels and the spirits of holy men are, although they be yet in this world ; for although they be not yet come to the entire inheritance, which is prepared for them in that world, yet they
1 Heb. xii. 28 ; 1 Pet. i, 3, 4. See my * String of Pearls ' on that very text [Vol. i. pp. 399, seq.—G.]
* Qui spirituali exultationis oleo uncti sunt, &c. — Macarius, hom. lyii.
422 THE NECESSITY, EXCELLENCY, EAKITY, [HeB. XII. 14
are most sure of it by that pledge which they have newly received, as sure as if they were already crowned, and had the key of the kingdom in their own possession.
It was a very sweet and comfortable speech which the emperor used to Galba in his childhood and minority, when he took him by the chin and said, Tu Galba, &c.. Thou Galba shalt one day sit upon a throne ; so it is very sweet and comfortable for the saints to consider, that how mean and contemptible soever they may be in the eyes of the world, that yet there is a day a-coming when they shall sit upon a throne, and be crowned with glory, and reign with Christ to all eternity. But,