VkR. 24.] SERMONS UPON JOHN XVII. 97
for a few days, he is not always abiding witli us ; then we shall never be glutted, God. is always fresh and new to the glorified saints.
Use 1. To show us the love of Christ ; his heart is not satisfied till we be in like condition with himself : Luke xxii. 30, ' Ye shall eat and drink at my table in my kingdom.' The greatest love that David could show to his friend was to admit his children to his table : 2 Sam. ix. 7, ' Thou shalt eat bread at my table continually/ said David to Mephibosheth ; and to Barzillai, 2 Sam. xix. 33, ' Come over with me, and I will feed thee with me in Jerusalem.' And when he would honour Solomon, 1 Kings i. 33-35, ' He put him upon his own mule, and caused him to sit on his throne.' So we be at his table and on his throne : Eev. iii. 21, ' To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne.' We enjoy the same blessedness which Christ doth. Adam was in paradise, we in heaven ; Adam with the beasts of the earth, we with God and holy angels ; Adam might be thrown out, we never. It is no matter if the world deny us a room to live among them ; they cast us out many times, but Christ will take us to himself.
Use 2. If the presence of Christ be no small part of our happiness, let us more delight in- it here. We enjoy his presence in ordinances : Ps. xvii. 15, 'As for me, I will behold thy face in rigliteousness ; I shall be satisfied when I awake with thy likeness;' Ps. Ixxxiv. 10, ' A day in thy courts is better than a thousand ; I had rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God, than to dwell in the tents of wickedness.' This is heaven begun, to be familiar with Christ in prayer and hearing, &c. Let us often give him a visit. Oh ! shame thyself when thou art loath to draw near to God. Dost thou look for heaven ?
Use 3. Be willing to die. Why art thou backward to go to Christ ? Would Christ pray for an inconvenience? You shun his company when he desireth yours, and he desireth your presence for your own sakes, that you may be happy. Love brought Christ out of heaven, that he might be with us ; he thought of it before the world was : Prov. viii. 31, ' My delight was with the sons of men.' He longed for the time ; when will it come ? We are to go from earth to heaven, from conversing with men to converse with angels ; why are we so loath to remove ? What could Christ expect but hard usage, labour, griefs, and death ? He came to taste the vinegar and the gall ; we are called to the feast of loves, to the hidden manna, to rivers of plea- sures. If you love Christ, wliy should you be unwilling to be in the arms of Christ ? Let him be unwilling to die that is loath to be there where Christ is. Love is an afiection of union, it desireth to be with the party loved, and can you be unwilling to die? Death is the chariot that is to carry you to Christ : Gen. xlv. 27, ' When Jacob saw the waggons which Joseph had sent to carry him, the spirit of Jacob revived.' What is there in the world to be compared with heaven ? Either there must be something in the world to detain us, or it is the terril)leness of the passage, or else a contempt of what is to come, that you are unwilling to die. If you have anything in the world more worthy than Christ — father, or mother, or wife, or friend,
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98 SERMONS UPON JOHN XVII. [SeR. XLI.
or brother, or present delights — it is a sign of a carnal heart : Ps. Ixxiii. 25, ' Whom have I in heaven but thee ? and there is none on earth I desire besides thee.' Can you say so without dissembling ? Quit them all then. It is not the company of angels, but Christ ; it is not wife, children, relations (these must be loved in God, and after God) ; nothing within the circuit of nature, none so worthy as Christ. Now you are put to the trial when sickness cometh, and you see death a-coming ; Christ hath sent his waggons, his chariots, to see if we be real. Or is it the terribleness of the passage ? Doth nature recoil at our dissolution ? Where is your faith ? ' Death is yours,' 1 Cor. iii. 22. Christ hath assured you, and will you not trust his word ? You love him little when you have no confidence in his word. Or else contempt of things to come ; then why was all this cost to 23repare a place for you ? Why came Christ to lay down his life to purchase that which we care not for ? What needeth all this waste ? Christians! hear for the time to come. We know not how soon we may be sent for and put to the trial ; it is good to be resolved, that we may say, The sooner the better.