Trial 4. Try it again by holy exercises. They that desire indeed the coming of Christ, they exercise themselves much in holiness : they exercise themselves in the beginning of heaven here upon earth, in reading and hearing the word, in the communion of saints, in praying and acquainting themselves with God, &c. In what else shall we be employed when we come to heaven ? There shall be the perfection of these graces and exer- cises begun here upon earth. Many a profane wretch's heart swells when he comes to prayer or any divine exercise. He is proudly brought up, and his heart is not subdued to holy exercises here. Heaven will not brook* such, and such will not brook heaven. There is nothing but prais- ing God continually. Now if you will not endure these holy exercises here, what should you do in heaven ? Therefore let us not deceive our own souls, I beseech you. If we say this truly, ' Come, Lord Jesus,' undoubt- edly it will have an influence into our lives, it will stir up all graces in the soul : as faith, to lay hold upon it ; hope, to expect it ; love, to embrace it ; patience, to endure anything for it ; heavenly-mindeduess, to fit and pre- * That is, ' endure.' — G.
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pare for it ; faithfulness in our callings, that wc may make up our accounts before that time, A.C. There is not a grace of the Spirit, but it is stirred up and quickened thereby. Therefore be not deceived. It is impossible that wc should have dead, and dull, and cold hearts, and yet believe this, that there is such a glorious time to come. Undoubtedly it will inspire and cause strength and comfort in all our sufferings, and in all our doings, if our hearts do think with the spirit and thought of faith of this glorious appearing of Christ. Therefore we should shame ourselves. What ! Can I hear of these things, and be no more affected with them than I am ? Thus we should complain of the deadness and dulness of our hearts, and labour to work our hearts to an admiration of the excellencies that shall be revealed then.
But I go on, and come, in the last place, to some few directions how we should come to frame ourselves to this, to be able to utter this desire and prayer.
Direct. 1. Labour to be reconciled to God. Maintain and preserve thy peace and reconciliation with God, and then all things will be reconciled unto us, that are between us and the second coming of Christ. Nay, all shall be ours : death ours, devil ours, to help us to heaven. When we are at peace with God, all shall be at peace with us, John v. 23 ; Hos. ii. 18. And then we may have comfortable thoughts of that day ; then we can think of death, and not be troubled ; of hell and God's wrath, and not be disquieted. Therefore, above all, let us get the assurance of the grand point of justification, of being clothed with the righteousness of Christ. Let us be sure to be found in that, and appear in it, to understand that point well. St Paul was wonderful cai'eful hereof. He desires to have it as a seal of the righteousness of faith, and ' to be found in him, not having his own righteousness,' &c,, Phil. iii. 9, as if he were tender, to touch upon Christ's glory. If we be clothed with the garments of Christ's righteous- ness, we may go through the wrath of God ; for that alone is wrath-proof. That will pacify God, and pacify the conscience too. It is a righteousness of God's own providing and accepting. Be sure that you understand it w^ell ; that you appear not in your own, but in his, and then may you think of that day with comfort.
Direct. 2. If we would think of the blessed times that are to come with comfort, then let us labour to grow in the new creature, to be more and more filled with the fulness of God, to strive to have more of Christ in us still. The more we have of Christ in us, the more shall we desire his coming to us. Let us desire and labour to have all the corners of the heart filled up with the Spirit of Christ, our understandings with knowledge, our affections with love and delight, and our wills with obedience. The Scripture calls it, ' being filled with all the fulness of God,' Eph. iii. 19. Now the more we enter into the kingdom of heaven, by growth in grace here, the fitter shall we be for it, and the more shall we desire it. The more suitableness there is between us and heaven, and the glorious condi- tion to come, the more shall we long after it, and rejoice in the thoughts of it.
Direct. 3. Be sure to do what you do quivhhj and tJiorour/hlij. Satan is so wise that he knows his time is but short, and therefore lays about him with great wrath and fury, Piev. xii. 12. Oh let us be so wise as to know that our time is but short. God himself tells us that it is so. Our time is a little spot of time cut out between two eternities, before and after, 1 Cor. vii. 29. Then let us do our work quickly. We may be suddenly