But the highest performance of this, that there are things provided for God's people that ' neither e_ye hath seen nor ear hath heard,' &c., it is reserved for another world. For the promises of the gospel have then their fulfilling indeed. These words are true of the state of the gospel here now, but they have their accomplishment in heaven. For whatsoever is begun here is ended there. Peace begun here is ended there. Joy that is begun here it shall be ended there. Communion of saints that is begun here it shall be ended there. Sanctification that is begun here it shall be ended there. So all graces shall be perfect, and all promises performed then. That is the time indeed when God shall discover things that ' neither eye hath seen nor ear heard,' &c. In the mean time let us learn to believe them, and to live by faith in them, that there are such things.
And God reserves not all for another world, but gives his children a taste of those things beforehand to comfort them in their distresses in this world, as indeed there is nothing in this world of greater use and comfort to raise them, than the beginnings of heaven upon earth. A little peace and joy in the Holy Ghost will make a man swallow all the discontents in the world. Now God is so far good to us, as that he lets us have some drops of these things beforehand to raise up our spirits, that by the taste we may know what great things he hath reserved for us. But of these things, and the use of them, I spake before.
We come then to speak of the qualification of the persons. ^ * For them that love him.'
Not that we love God first, and then God prepares these things for us ; but God prepares them, and acquaints us what he means to do with us, and then we love him. A Christian knows before what title he hath in Christ to heaven, and then he works. He knows Christ hath wrought salvation for him, and then he works out his salvation in a course tending to salvation. For there must be working in a course tending to the pos-
* At close of tliis sermon is placed ' Finis,' and the 4th follows on a separate pagi' nation. Probably it was given to the publisher after the others had been printed. — G.
192 A GLANCE OF HEAVEN.
session of salvation. That Christ hath purchased ; we must not work and think by it to merit heaven. We know wc have heaven, and those great things in the title of Christ, and then we fall on loving and working. There is a clean contrary order between us and those mercenaries. They invert the order of God ; for, for whom God hath prepared these things, he dis- covers them to the eye of faith, and then faith works by love. This I add by the way.
Now he sets down this description of those persons for whom these excellent things are prepared, by this aflection of love, by this grace of love, as being the fittest for that purpose to describe a Christian. Faith is not so fit, becai;se it is not so discernible. We may laiow our love when we cannot know our faith. Ofttimes those that are excellent Christians, they doubt whether they believe or no ; but ask them whether they love God and his truth and children or no ? oh yes ! they do. Now God intending to comfort us, sets out such an affection as'a Christian may best discern ; for of all aflections we can discern best of our love. But to come to the aflection itself, there are three things in love.
There is the aliectiou, passion, grace of love. We speak of the grace here.
The aflection is natural.
The passion is the excess of the natural affection when it ovei'flows its bound.
Grace is the rectifying of the natural affection, and the elevating and raising it up to a higher object than nature can pitch on. The Spirit of God turns nature into grace, and works corruption and passion out of nature, and elevates and raiseth that which is naturally good, the affection of love to be a grace of love. He raiseth it up to love God (which nature cannot discover), by spiritualizing of it. He makes it the most excellent grace of all. So that while I speak of the love of God, think not that I speak of the mere affection, but of the affection that hath a stamp of grace upon it. For affections are graces when they are sanctified. And indeed all graces (set illumination aside, which is in the understanding) spring from this. What is true grace but joy, and love, and delight in the best things? And all others spring from love. What do we hate but what is opposite to that we love ! And when are we angry, but when that we love is opposed and wronged ? Then there is a holy zeal. So that indeed all grace is in the aflections, and all aflisctions are in this one primitive affec- tion, this first-born and bred aflection, love. I speak of it then as a special grace. Now the way of discerning of it we heard partly before. The way to discern of this sanctified aflection, this grace, is to know what we esteem,, for love, it is from an estimation. And likewise, in the second place, esteem breeds a desire of union. And desire of union breeds content in the thing when we have it. And contentment in the person breeds desire of contenting back again. These things I stood on, and will not press further.