You shall above all this behold the person of your glorified Redeemer! You shall see that body, in its glorious change, which once was humbled to the virgin's womb, and to a life of poverty, and to the scorns of sinners; to be spit upon, and buffeted, and crowned with thorns, and first made a laughingstock, and then hanged up to die upon a cross, at the will of proud, malicious persecutors. You shall there see that Person whom God hath chosen to advance above the whole creation; and in whom he will be more glorified than in all the saints.[146] The wonderful condescension of his incarnation, and the wonderful mystery of the hypostatical union, will there be better understood.
And, which is all in all, you shall see the most blessed God himself;[147] whether in his essence, or not, yet undoubtedly in his glory, in that state or place, which he hath prepared to reveal his glory in, for the glorifying of holy spirits. You shall see him whose sight will perfect your understandings, and love him, and feel the fulness of his love, which is the highest felicity that any created being can attain. Though this will be in different measures, as souls are more or less amiable and capacious, (or else the human nature of Christ would be no happier than we,) yet none shall have any sinful or troublesome imperfection, and all their capacities shall be filled with God.
O dear friend, I am even confounded and ashamed to think, that I mention to you such high and glorious things, with no more sense and admiration! And that my soul is not drawn up in the flames of a more fervent love; nor lifted up in higher joys, nor yet drawn out into more longing desires, when I speak of such transcendent happiness and joy! O had you and I but a glimpse with blessed Stephen or Paul of these unutterable pleasures, how deeply would it affect us! And how should we abhor this life of sin; and be weary of this dark and distant state; and be glad to be gone from this prison of flesh; and to be delivered from this present evil world![148]
This is the life that you are going to live; though a painful death must open the womb of time, and let you into eternity, how quickly will the pain be over! And though nature make death dismal to you, and sin have made it penal, and you look at it now with backwardness and fear; yet this will all be quickly past, and your souls will be born into a world of joy, which will make you forget all your fears and sorrows. It is meet that as the birth of nature had its pains, and the birth of grace had its penitent sorrows; so the birth of glory should have the greatest difficulties, as it entereth us into the happiest state.[149] Oh what a change will it be to a humbled, fearful soul, to find itself in a moment dislodged from a sinful, painful flesh, and entered into a world of light, and life, and holy love, unspeakably above all the expressions and conceptions of this present life. Alas! that our present ignorance and fear should make us draw back from such a change! that whilst all our brethren that died in faith, are triumphing in these joys with Christ, our trembling souls should be so loth to leave this flesh, and be afraid to be called to the same felicity! Oh what an enemy is the remnant of unbelief, to our imprisoned and imperfect souls! that it can hide such a desirable glory from our eyes, that it should no more affect us, and we should no more desire it, but are willing to stay so long from God! How wonderful is that love and mercy, that brings such backward souls to happiness! and will drive us away from this beloved world, by its afflicting miseries! and from this beloved flesh, by pain and weariness! and will draw us to our joyful blessedness, as it were, whether we will or not! and will not leave us out of heaven so long, till we are willing ourselves to come away!