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position to the etato ho helioves, it is an empty hope ; ho deludes himself. Whosoever shull he j^lorious with Christ in heaven, is also glorious now. There is a Spirit ol" j^'lory resting upon them, that is, grace ; grace makes them glorious. Those that have not a Spirit of glory, that is, a Spirit of grace, to fashion and conform them, in some measure to he like Christ, by little and little, tliey have no right nor interest in the state of glory that shall he revealed after.
Is Christ taken up to glory, and for us as well as for himself ? ' What manner of men ought we to be in holy conversation,' 2 Peter iii. 11. We should ' keep ourselves unspotted of the wicked world,' James i. 27. Shall we think to have communion and fellowship with Christ in glory, when we make ' the members of Christ the members of an harlot ?' 1 Cor. vi. 15 ; when wo make our tongues instruments of blaspheming God and Christ ; as a company of vile wretches, that will come to the ordinances of God, and yet have not overcome their atheistical nature so much, as to leave their swear- ing and filthy courses ? Do we think to have communion with Christ in glory, and not get the victory over these base courses ? Do we profess ourselves to bo Christians, and live like pagans ? Hath God such need of people to fill heaven with, that he will have such unclean persons ? Shall we have such base thoughts of heaven ? No, beloved. These things must be left, if ever, upon good ground, we will entertain thoughts of fellowship in this glory. There is ' a new heaven and a new eaiih,' 2 Peter iii. 13, for the new creature, and only for such. Let us not delude ourselves. There must be a correspondence between the head and the members, not only in glory, but in grace ; and the conformity in gi'ace is before the con- formity in glory. Will God overturn his method and order for our sakes ? No, no ; all that come to heaven, he ' guides them by his Spirit ' here, in grace, and then he brings them to glory.' He gives ' grace and glory, and no good thing shall be wanting to them that lead a godly life,' Ps. Ixxsiv. 11 ; but fii-st grace and then glory.
Therefore let not the devil abuse us, nor our own false hearts, to pre- tend a share in this gloiy, when we find no change in ourselves, when we find not so much strength as to get the victory over the base and vile cor- ruptions of the world. The apostle from this ground infers mortification of our 'earthly members :' 'You are risen with Christ,' ' Your life is hid with Christ in God,' and ' we are dead with Christ.'* Therefore we ought to mortify our sinful lusts. For the soul being finite, it cannot be carried up to these things that are of a spiritual, holy, and divine consideration ; but it must die in its love, and a&ction, and care to earthly things and sinful courses. Therefore let us never think that we believe these things indeed, unless w^e find a disposition, by grace, to kill and subdue all things that are contraiy to this condition. Though somewhat there will be in us to humble us, or else why are the precepts of mortification given to them that were saints already, but that there is somewhat will draw us down to abase us ? But this is no comfort to him that is not the child of God, that lives in filthy courses, that he might easily command himself in. Let him abandon the name of a Christian. He hath no interest to the comfort of this, that Christ is ' received up to glory.'
Again, The mystery of Christ's glory it tends to godliness in this respect,
to stir us up to heavenhj-mindedness. The apostle doth divinely force
this in the fore-named place, Col. iii. 1, 'If ye be risen with Christ, seek
the things that are above.' From our communion with Christ, rising and
* Cf. Col. ii. 12, iii. 3, and ii. 20.— G.
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ascending into heaven, and sitting there in glory, he forceth heavculy- miudedness, that our thoughts should he where his glory is, where our Head and husband is ; and certainly there is nothing in the world more strong to enforce an heavenly mind tlaan this, to consider where we are, in our Head. Christ, our head and husband, is taken up into gloiy. There is our inheritance ; there are a great many of our fellow-brethren ; there is our country ; there is our happiness. We are for heaven, and not for this world. This is but a passage to that glory that Christ hath taken up for us ; and therefore why should we have our minds grovelling here upon the earth ? Certainly if we have interest in Christ, who is in glory ' at the right hand of God,' it is impossible but our souls will be raised to heaven in our affections before we be there in our bodies. All that are Chris- tians, they are in heaven in their spirit and conversation beforehand. Our heavy, dull, earthly souls being touched by his Spirit, they will ascend up. The iron when it is touched with the loadstone, though it be an heavy body, it ascends up to the loadstone, it follows it. The sun it draws up vapours, that are heavy bodies of themselves. Christ as the loadstone being in heaven, he hath an attractive force to draw us up. There is not the earthliest disposition in the world, if our hearts were as heavy as iron, if we have communion with Christ, and have our hearts once touched by his Spirit, he will draw us up, though of ourselves we be heavy and lumpish. This meditation, that Christ our head is in glory, and that we are in heaven in him, and that our happiness is there, it will purge and refine us from our earthliness, and draw up our iron, heavy, cold hearts.