BOOK 10. THE JUDGEMENT.
CHAPTER 2.
10.2.7. Of Joying in Jesus in that Respect.
Of Joying in Jesus in that Respect.
Let us joy in Jesus as carrying on the great work of our salvation for us in his second coming. Christ delights to have his people look upon him with delight; for a soul to be always under a spirit of bondage, and so to look upon Christ as a judge, a lion, or an offended God, it doth not please God; the Lord Jesus is tender of the joy of his saints "Rejoice, and be exceeding glad," (saith Christ,) Matth. vi. 12. "Rejoice evermore," 1 Thess. v. 16. "Rejoice in the Lord always, and again I say, Rejoice," Phil. iv. 4. "Let the righteous be glad, let them rejoice before God, yea, let them exceedingly rejoice," Psal. lxviii. 3. All that Christ doth to his saints tends to this joy, as the upshot or end of all: if he cast down, it is but to raise them up; if he humble, it is but to exalt; if he kill, it is but to make alive; in every disposition still he hath a tender care to preserve their joy. This is the Benjamin about which Christ's bowels beat, Let my children suffer anything, but nothing in their joy; I would have all that love my name to be joyful in me.
Oh! say some, but Christ's day is a terrible day; when Christ appears, he will make the heavens, and the earth, and hell to shake and tremble; "Our God shall come, and shall not keep silence; a fire shall devour before him, and it shall be very tempestuous round about him," Psal. l. 3. True, but what is all this terror but an argument of thy Father's power and justice against sinners? If thou art Christ's, and hast thy part in him, not one jot of all this terror belongs to thee; "the Lord knows how to deliver the godly out of temptations, and to reserve the unjust to the day of judgment tQ be punished," 2 Pet. ii. 9. He knows how to make the same day a terror to his foes, and a joy to his people; he ever intended it for the great distinguishing and separating day, wherein both joy and sorrow shall be manifested to the highest. "O then let the heavens rejoice, the sea, the earth, the floods, the hills, for the Lord cometh to judge the earth; with righteousness shall he judge the world, and the people with equity," Psal. xcviii. 7, 8, 9, If you find it an hard thing to joy in Jesus, as in reference to his second coming, think of these motives.
1. Christ's coming is the Christians encouragement, so Christ himself lays it down, "You shall see the Son of man coming in a cloud, with power and great glory; and when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads, for your redemption draweth nigh," Luke xxi, 27, 28. The signs of his coming are the hopes of your approaching introduction into glory; and what should you do then but prepare for your approaching with exceeding joy? Many evils do now surround you every where, Satan hath his snares, and the world its baits, and your own hearts are apt to betray you into your enemies hands; but when Christ comes, you shall have full deliverance, and perfect redemption: and therefore look up, and lift up your heads. The apostle speaks the very same encouragement, "The Lord himself descends from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God, and the dead in Christ shall rise first; then we which are alive, and remain, shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air, -- wherefore comfort one another with these words," 1 Thess. iv. 16, 17, 18. Christ's coming is a comfortable doctrine to all believers; and therefore all the elect that hear these words, should be comforted by them, "Comfort ye, comfort ye my people."
2. Christ our Saviour must be our judge. The same Jesus that was born for us, and lived and died for us, will come at last to judge us; is not this comfortable? You that have heard all his transactions, can you ever forget the unweariedness of Christ's love, in his constant and continual actings for your souls? How long hath he been interceding for his saints? How long hath he been knocking at their hearts for entrance? It is above a thousand six hundred years that he hath been praying and knocking; and he resolves not to give over till all be his, till all the tribes in one's and two's be over Jordan, and up with him in the heavenly Canaan. And if this be he that must be our judge, if he that loves our souls must judge our souls, if he that hath a great interest and increase of joy in our salvation must pass our sentence, will not this work us into a rejoicing frame?
3. Christ's sentence is the Christian's acquittance; I may call it his general acquittance, from the beginning of the world to the end thereof. Hence some call this the day of the believer's full justification; they were before made just, and esteemed just; but now by a lively sentence they shall be pronounced just by Christ himself; now is the complete acquittance, or the full absolution from all sin; now will Christ pardon and speak out his pardon once for all; now will he take his book (wherein all our sins as so many debts or trespasses are written) and he will cancel all; "Your sins shall be blotted out, (saith Peter,) when the time of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord," Acts iii. 19. And is not this enough to cause our joy? When the Spirit witnessing with our spirits, doth but in part assure us of sins pardoned, is it not exceeding sweet? Oh but how sweet will be that sentence which will fully resolve the question, and leave no room of doubting any more forever? Consider, O my soul! the day is a coming when the Judge of heaven and earth will acquit thee of all thy sins before all the world; it is a part of his business at that day, to glorify his justice and free grace in thy absolution. O Christians, how may we comfort one another with these words?
4. Christ in the issue will lead us into glory. As the bridegroom after nuptials leads his bride to his own home, that there they may live together, and dwell together, so Christ our royal Bridegroom will lead us into the palace of his glory. And is not this joy of our Lord enough to cause our joy? Oh what embraces of love, what shaking of hands, what welcomes shall we have into this city? There shall we see Christ in his garden, there shall we be set as a seal on Christ's arm, and as a seal upon his heart; there shall we be filled with his love, enlightened with his light, encircled in his arms, following his steps, praising his name, and admiring his glory; there shall we joy indeed; "for in thy presence there is fulness of joy, and at thy right hand there are pleasures forevermore," Psal. xiv. 11. There is joy, and full joy, and fulness of joy; there are pleasures, and pleasures evermore, and pleasures evermore at God's right hand. O the music of the sanctuary! O the sinless and well tuned psalms! O the songs of the high temple, without either temple or ordinances, as we have them here! Can we choose to joy at the thought of this joy above? If God would so dispense, that even now we might stand at the utmost door of heaven, and that God would strike up a window, and give us a spiritual eye, and an heavenly heart, so that we could look in, and behold the throne, and the Lamb, and the troops of glorified ones clothed in white; would not this cheer up our hearts, and fill them with joy unspeakable and full of glory? Certainly this day will come, when Christ will not only bring us to the door, but through the gates into the city; and then we shall see all these sights, and hear all the music made in heaven; how then should we but joy in the hope of the glory of God? O! methinks raised thoughts of our mansion in glory should make us swim through the deepest sea of troubles and afflictions, and never fear. Come then, O my drowsy soul! and hearken to these motives: If yet thou seest not the sun itself appear, methinks the twilight of a promise should revive thee, it is but a little while, "and he that shall come will come, and will not tarry." It may be, thou art reviled and persecuted here on earth, and what then? Hath not Christ bid thee to rejoice in afflictions? Is it not his word, That in this very case thou shouldst "rejoice, and be exceeding glad?" Matth. v. 12. Is it not his command, "Think it not strange concerning the fiery trials, but rather rejoice, in as much as ye are partakers of Christ's sufferings, that when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy?" 1 Pet. iv. 13. We must rejoice now, that we may rejoice then; indeed our present joy is a taste of our future joy, and God would have us to begin our heaven here on earth. Come then, come forth, O my dull congealed heart! thou that spendest thy days in sorrow, and thy breath in sighing, that minglest thy bread with tears, and drinkest the tears which thou weepest: thou that prayest for joy, and waitest for joy, and longest for joy, and complainest for want of joy, O! the time is a coming, when thou shalt have fulness of joy; the time is a coming, when the angels shall bring thee to Christ, and when Christ shall take thee by the hand, and lead thee into his purchased joy, and present thee unspotted before his Father, and give thee thy place about his throne; and dost thou not rejoice in this? Art thou not exceedingly raised in such a meditation as this? Surely if one drop of lively faith were but mixed with these motives, thou mightest carry an heaven within thee, and go on ever singing to thy grave: say then, Dost thou believe, or dost thou not believe! If thy faith be firm, how shouldst thou but rejoice? If thou rollest thyself on Christ, and on that promise, "I will see you again, and your hearts shall rejoice, and your joy no man taketh from you," John xvi. 22. How shouldst thou but rejoice, and be exceeding glad? If thou lookest upon the Holy Ghost, as designed by the Father and the Son, to bring joy and delight into thy soul, How shouldst thou but be filled with the water of life, with the oil of gladness, and with the new wine of the kingdom of God? O the blessed workings of faith on such a subject as this! if once we are but justified by faith, and that we can act our faith on Christ's glorious coming; then it will follow, that we shall have peace with God, and rejoice in the hope of the glory of God, and not only so, but we shall glory in tribulation also. Rom. v. 1, 2, 3.