• Mallem ruere cum Christo, quam regnare cum Caesare,' said Luther. A dungeon with Christ, is a throne ; and a throne without Christ, a hell. Nothing so ill, but Christ'' will compensate. The greatest evil in the world is sin, and the greatest sin was the first ; and yet Gregory feared not to cry, ' O felix culpa, quae talem meruit redemptorem ;'
* O happy fault which found such a Redeemer !' All mercies without Christ are bitter, and every cup is sweet that is seasoned but with a drop of his blood ; he truly is ' amor et delicise humani generis,' the love and delight of the sons of men, without whom they must perish eternally: ' for there is no other name given unto them, whereby they may be saved ;' Acts iv. 12. He is the way ;'^ men without him are Cains, wanderers, vagabonds: he is the truth; men with- out him are liars, like the devil, who was so of old : he is the life j*^ without him men are dead, dead in trespasses and sins : he is the light ; without him men are in darkness, and go they know not whither : he is the vine ; those that are not grafted in him, are withered branches, prepared for the fire : he is the rock ; men not built on him, are carried away with a flood : he is alpha and omega, the first and the last, the author and the ender, the founder and the finisher of our salvation ; he that hath not him, hath neither begin-
» John vi. 50. Rev. ii. 17. John iv. 14. Cant. iv. 12.
a John vii. 37, 38. 1 Cor. i. 30.
>> Pauca igitur de Christo. TerUii. ^ John xiv. 6.
''Johni. 3— 3. Ephes. iv. 18. John xv. S. Malt, vii, '26, 27. Matt. xvi. 18.
UNCHANGEABLE, FREE MERCY. 43
ning of good, nor shall have end of misery. O blessed Jesus, how much better were it not to be, than to be with- out thee ! Never to be born, than not to die in thee ! A thousand hells come short of this, eternally to want Jesus Christ, as men do that want the gospel.
(2.) They want all holy communion with God, wherein the only happiness of the soul doth consist. He is the life, light, joy, and blessedness of the soul; without him, the soul in the body is but a dead soul, in a living sepulchre. It is true, there be many that say, ' Who will shew us any good ?'^ but unless the Lord lift up the light of his counte- nance upon us, we perish for evermore. * Thou hast made us for thyself, O Lord, and our heart is unquiet until it come to thee.' You who have tasted how gracious the Lord is, who have had any converse and communion with him, in the issues and goings forth of his grace, those delights of his soul with the children of men, would you live, would not life itself, with a confluence of all earthly endearments, be a very hell without him ? Is it not the daily language of your hearts, ' Whom have we in heaven but thee? and on earth there is nothing in comparison of thee?' The soul of man is of a vast, boundless comprehension ; so that if all created good were centred into one enjoyment, and that bestowed upon one soul, because it must needs be finite and limited, as created, it would give no solid contentment to his affec- tions, nor satisfaction to his desires. In the presence and fruition of God alone there is joy for evermore ; at his right hand are rivers of pleasure, the well-springs of life and bless- edness. Now, if to be without communion with God in this life, wherein the soul hath so many avocations from the contemplation of its own misery (for earthly things are no- thing else) is so unsupportable a calamity ; ah, what shall that poor soul do that must want him for eternity, as all they must do who want the gospel !
(3.) They want all the ordinances of God, the joy of our hearts/ and comfort of our souls. Oh, the sweetness of a sabbath ! The heavenly raptures of prayer ! Oh, the glorious communion of saints, which such men are deprived of! If they knew the value of the hidden pearl, and these things
" Psal. iv. 6. f Psal. xlii. 1, 2. xxxiv. 1—4, &t.
44 A VISION OF
were to be purchased, what would such poor souls not part with for them?
(4.) They will at last want heaven and salvation ; they shall never come to the presence of God in glory, never in- habit a glorious mansion; they shall never behold Jesus Christ, but when they shall call for^ rocks and mountains to fall upon them, to hide them from his presence ; they shall want light in utter darkness, want life under the second death, want** refreshment in the midst of flames, want heal- ing under gnawing of conscience, want grace continuing to blaspheme, want glory in full misery; and which is the sum of all this, they shall want an end of all this, for ' their worm dieth not, neither is their fire quenched.'