^ Ut cum istud quicquid est de quo disputatis percepero, moriar. — Val. Max.
132 Du manton's funeral sermon.
The angels are so ravished with the beauties and wonders of his face that they nev^er divert a moment from the contemplation of it.
[2.] The pure love of the saints to God is then fully satisfied. Love, considered as an affection of friendship, is always attended with two desires — to be assured of reciprocal love, and to enjoy the conversation of the person beloved, the testimony of his esteem and good-will. This kind of affection 1 seems to be inconsistent with that infinite distance that is between God and the creature. But though it is disproportion- able to the divine majesty, it is proportionable to his goodness. Accordingly our Saviour promises, ' He that loves me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself unto him.' And to confirm our belief of this astonishing condescension, repeats it, * If a man love me, my Father will love him, and we will come to him, and make our abode with him.' In the present state, the signs of God's special favour are exhibited to his friends. Now he bestows on them the honour of being his sons, the graces and comforts of his Spirit, the precious earnests of his love, and 'seal of their redemption.' But in eminency of degrees, the effects of his love are incomparably more glorious in heaven. Here the saints are adopted, there crowned. There he opens all the bright treasure of his wisdom, the riches of his goodness, the beauties of his holiness, the glories of his power, and by the intimate application of his presence, makes his love most sensible' to them. Oh the mutual delights between God and glorified souls ! God looks on them with an engaged eye, as his own by many dear titles, and is well-pleased in his own goodness to them, and ravished with the reflex of his own excellences shining in them : ' As the bridegroom rejoices over the bride ' (it is the language of divine love), ' so their God rejoices over them.' And what a blessed rest do they find in the complete fruition of their beloved ! All their desires quietly expire in his bosom. What triumphs of joy follow ! Can we frame a fuller conception of happiness than to be perfectly loved by infinite goodness, and perfectly to love him ?
The su23reme joy of the saints is for the felicity and glory of God himself ; for as the holy soul feels no more powerful motive to love God than because he is most worthy of it, as he is God, a being of infinite excellences, and therefore to be loved above the dearest persons and things, even itself, so the highest joy it partakes of is from this consideration, that God is infinitely blessed and glorious. For in this the supreme desire of love is accomplished, that the most beloved object is perfectly honoured and pleased. In heaven the love of the saints to God is in its highest perfection, and they see his glory in the most perfect manner, which causes a transcendent joy to them. And this is one reason why the saints, though shining with unequal degrees of glory, are equally content. For their most ardent love being set on God, that he is pleased to glorify himself by such various communica- tions of his goodness, is full satisfaction to their desires. Besides, in those different degrees of glory every one is so content with his own 2 that there is no possible desire of being but what he is.
^ Aristotle.
^ Sic itaque habebit donum aliud alio minus, ut hie quoque donuin liabeat ne velit amplius. — Aug.
DR MANTOn's funeral SER3I0N. 133
4, The full joy of heaven shall continue without diminution or end.
First, The number ot" possessors cannot lessen it. Tlie divine pre- sence is an unwasted spring of pleasure, equally full and open to all, and abundantly sufficient to satisfy the immensity of their desires. Envy reigns in this world, because earthly things are so imperfect in their nature, and so peculiar in their possession, that they cannot suffice, nor be enjoyed by all. But in heaven none is touched with that low, base passion ; for God contains all that is precious and desirable in the highest degrees of perfection, and all partake of the influence of his universal goodness without intercepting one another. In the kingdom above there is no cause for the elder brother to repine at the Father's bounty to the youngei-, nor for the younger to supplant the elder to obtain the birthright. The heirs of God are all raised to sovereign glory. Every one enjoys him as entirely and fully as if solely his felicity. God is a good, as indivisible as infinite, and not diminished by the most liberal communications of himself. We may illustrate this by comparing the price of our redemption and the reward. The death of Christ is an universal benefit to all the saints, yet it is so applied to every believer for his perfect redemption, as if our Saviour in all his agonies and sufferings bad no other in his eye and heart ; as if all his prayers, his tears, his blood, were offered up to his Father only for that person. The common respect of it the apostle declares in those admirable words, that signify such an excess of God's love to us, ' He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things ? ' But to imagine thatl the propriety of every believer is thereby prejudiced, is not only false, but extremely injurious to the merit and dignity, and to the infinite love of Christ. Therefore the same apostle tells us, ' The life which I now live in the flesh, I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me ; ' as if he were the sole object of Christ's love, the end and reward of his sufierings. And this appropriating of it to himself is no prejudice to the rights of all others. St John describes himself by that truly glorious title, ' The disciple whom Jesus loved.' Could he speak this of himself without the injury and indignation of the other disciples ? Certainly he might; for if we consider that incomprehensible love of Christ, expressed to them all at his last supper, after Judas was gone forth, ' As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you,' we may easily understand that every one of them might justly believe that he was singularly beloved of Christ. They were all received in the heart, though (with John) they did not all lean on the breast of their divine master. Thus in heaven God is the universal treasure of all the saints, and the peculiar portion of every one. 2^^ j^y j^ig essence he equally fills the whole world, and every part of it, and by his providence equally regards all and every particular creature ; so in heaven he dispenses the riches of his love to all, that they cannot desire more, if every one of them were (if