05 - Heaven
V. HEAVEN
"You will show me the path of life; in Your presence is fullness of joy, at Your right hand there are pleasures forevermore!" Psa 16:11 To a being like man, warned by the experience of all past generations, that he has but a short time to sojourn upon earth — daily reminded by the frailty of his own frame, and the various accidents to which his brethren around him are exposed — that life, which at the longest is no more than a span, may be suddenly and abruptly cut off — and discovering, from the surmises of reason, and the clear revelation of Scripture, that another scene of existence is to succeed the present — to a being so situated, the wish must be natural, to obtain, if it be possible, a minute account of the state on which he is about to enter — the joys which he hopes to inherit, the occupations in which the happy, among whom he trusts he shall be numbered, will eternally be engaged. Were it only to gratify the spirit of inquiry, in a matter so important and significant, the mind would long to penetrate into the world of spirits. But the desire becomes at once more ardent and more reasonable, when the knowledge to be acquired is sought (as it ought to be) with a view to the regulation of present conduct. I mean, under the impression that a view of our eternal occupations will naturally suggest to us the wisest and the fittest method of disciplining the soul in preparation for them.
It is true, that Heaven has been revealed in the sacred volume, more in general description than in minute detail — yet knowing, as we do, in part, and allowed to lift up a corner of the azure curtain which hides eternal things — we may humbly venture to anticipate our promised bliss, as composed of the following ingredients:
1st. Freedom from all imperfections of body and soul.
2nd. Intellectual improvement.
3rd. Advancement in virtue.
4th. Praise and worship of God.
5th. Fellowship with the heavenly inhabitants.
6th. A refined renewal of inferior pleasures.
Impressions will not vanish from the tablet of memory;
attention will not be subject to distractions and weariness;
no cloud will intervene between perception and its objects;
and reason will be exempt from all uncertainty in its conclusions. Where death is destined to be swallowed up in victory, our enjoyments cannot be tainted by a dread of instability. Where God shall wipe away all tears from all faces;
where we shall hunger no more, and thirst no more;
where we shall eat of the fruits of paradise, and drink of the new wine in our Father’s kingdom;
and are clad in the vestments reserved for the saints of God — there, there can be no evil, and no apprehension of it.
Collect, in short, under a single view, whatever appears desirable . . .
in health, and youth, and vigor;
in refinement of taste;
in force of understanding;
in intellectual exertion;
in sublime meditation;
in peace and holy pleasure —
and when you have added to the combination, the quality of perpetuity, and the boundless perspective of eternal augmentation — you will have shadowed out a bliss to be realized in Heaven.
injudicious or scanty education,
the necessity of manual labor,
the call of domestic duties,
the shortness of our days,
the multiplicity of sciences,
ignorant instructors,
prevailing errors,
the slow pace of learning,
facts hitherto unexplored,
the bias of prejudice,
the violence of passion,
the indolence of luxury —
one or other of these causes excludes most men from much of the edifying and delightful instruction which they might attain — while a vast and boundless field of intelligence lies still beyond the grasp of human comprehension, and remains to be acquired in a more perfect state of being. In that higher condition, all these obstacles will be removed. And while the most simple and unlettered disciple will pass, on the moment of his awaking in the heavenly world, into the possession of clearer and ampler information — than the most studious or wise, by investigation the most patient, and thought the most profound, has ever attained on earth — it may be generally expected, that our faculties will expand with the increase and novelty of our acquirements, that the mind will be invigorated with fresh powers and endowed with new capacities, to adapt it for the contemplation of that endless succession of unthought-of scenes, and ever-thickening wonders, through which it is destined to rise. But to be particular, the film of sin being removed from our intellectual vision, and the spirit being clothed with a glorified frame — we may humbly presume that we shall be permitted to gratify that innocent and manly principle of curiosity, which is implanted in our breasts as the spring of research, but which is here disappointed in so many instances, by the variety of its objects, and the imperfection of the human faculties. To traverse that country, the blue hills of which we had faintly seen from the opposite shore,
to see what earthly eye has never witnessed,
to hear what human ear had never heard,
to trace the eccentric path of the heavenly luminary as it shoots into the depths of immensity,
to move along the beam of light,
to visit new planets,
to behold fresh creations,
to discern by how the planetary orbs have woven their mystic dance, and observed their stated rounds;
to understand how the seed sown and dying in the earth, has sprung up and spread into the beautiful flower;
to understand how instinct supplied the animal tribes with a blind substitute for the light of reason;
to understand how impressions were conveyed to the mind of man through the gross medium of sense
— these, my brethren, are employments, now transcending our powers, though not, it is presumed, unworthy of them — to which we may trust we shall in future be rendered adequate.
Though our knowledge on our first arrival in the courts above, will doubtless exceed all that we can at present ask or think — we may suppose that the whole which we are destined to attain, will not burst at once upon our view. Our path in this respect will resemble the shining light, which shines more and more unto the perfect day. Whether to impart the pleasures of novelty and surprise, in the most exalted form, and with reference to the most sacred subjects, or to afford fresh themes for . . .
the sentiments of love,
the effusions of gratitude,
and the songs of praise —
it is to be expected that we shall pass, in endless succession, from scene to scene, and ascend from discovery to discovery, while by proportionate gradations our powers will be invigorated, and our capacities progressively unfolded!
While each new enlightenment will be thus unattended with difficulty, the rapidity of attainment will keep full pace with the ardor of desire. And since the creature must not hope ever to rival the Creator, if there are mysteries reserved for the comprehension of the Eternal alone, it may be conceived that no desire to fathom these depths will be permitted to disquiet the minds of the just; that they will shrink back in devout awe, and turn with enraptured and unalloyed gratitude to the wonders which are granted them to explore. But while we thus enkindle the ardor of devotion by contemplating those more delicate springs of natural phenomena, which are in immediate contact with the hand of the great Mover; it is chiefly by taking more enlarged views of the conduct of Divine Providence in regulating the moral world, that we shall be said to "see face to face." What an amazing and delightful field of knowledge is opened, in the prospect of obtaining a full and clear discernment of the attributes, the designs, and the ways of the Most High God; of why God made his way in the tempest and conflagration, and planted his footsteps in the troubled deep — by what links our temporary sufferings were connected with our eternal bliss. Above all, what unspeakable satisfaction in exploring the mystery of redemption, and the agency of free grace! Of comprehending — in a word — with all saints, what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height, and to know the love of Christ, which surpasses knowledge, that we may be filled with the fullness of God! But here let the boldness of conception check its flight. The way of curiosity is at this point cut off . . .
no human foot has trodden these precincts,
no eye has even distantly descried them,
no man has seen God at any time, in the full refulgence of his majesty on high! A great chasm now remains in our sacred knowledge — to be supplied by ampler revelations, and comprehended by more exalted faculties.
Improvement in holiness and virtue presupposes in the first instance, one very high portion of enjoyment — security from falling into sin. It is further, more than probable, that while the remembrance of our worthier services, of temptations resisted, self-denials endured, the tear of penitence, the promptitude of relief — will be drawn forth in lines prominent and strong — the traces of those multiplied imperfections and failures, which on earth disturb the tranquility of good men, will either be obliterated, or in some manner rendered less painful on review, and preserved only to increase our love of God, and our gratitude for the stupendous exercise of his loving kindness, displayed in the redemption of transgressors. In this manner the pleasure of Heaven will be experienced in its highest perfection. And if even here on earth, mingled with bitter recollections, it be often a source of unspeakable comfort — how delicious a feast will it spread for the pure in heart, when they shall drink of the celestial vine, free from sinful admixture, in their Father’s kingdom!
Warranted by the united voices of reason and Scripture in believing that our holiness, like our knowledge, will be progressive — we cannot unreasonably promise ourselves the high satisfaction of perceiving, that we are making eternal approaches to the fountain of excellence — perpetually improving in resemblance to those perfections which shall call forth our wonder, our praise, and our love.
Blessed, O God! are those who dwell in your house — they will go on from strength to strength — they will still narrow their orbits of approach to your throne, and of similitude to your glories — until every one of them appear before you in the holy of holies in your courts above — the inmost recess of your pavilion and the full blaze of your immediate presence!
Each new discovery,
each augmented bliss,
each pulse of joy,
each advancement towards excellence —
will wake the remembrance of that infinite goodness, which has spread forth a banquet of such unmerited bounties — will urge the blessed to unbosom their gratitude, to pour out their raptures, before the footstool of the Eternal God, who, by thus being the center and sum of their felicity, will be unto them — as the apostle has described Him, "all in all." Nor will gratitude and devotion be silent sentiments. Though the heart is their choicest oratory — though there is still a voiceless thought — an unutterable feeling — the most eloquent avowal of the inadequacy of expression — yet not to the secret cell of the heart, will these ardent sentiments be confined!
New, though glorified bodily organs, are not given to immortal spirits, without an intention of their being employed. And though devout feelings will often find utterance in the less enraptured adoration of glowing and sublime language, such as poetic fancy never arranged, or the fire-touched lip of prophecy never poured forth — it is chiefly in the elevated melodies of celestial voices that the praises and worship of God will resound throughout the courts of immortality. That angels and archangels, and all the host of Heaven, will laud and magnify the name of God, in the devotion of "harps and hymns" — that holy affections will be expressed by holy music — music — now as soft as the chiming spheres — now as swelling as the lyre of the winds — now as loud as the artillery of the sky — we are informed by that apostle, to whom the Savior called, and who calls unto each of us in his revelations, "Come up higher; and I will show you the things that shall be hereafter." And if the combination of well-adjusted voices, and of various instruments attuned in harmony, afford to the ear on earth a more than earthly gratification — if it elevates and purifies the affections of the mind — then to what holy rapture will the soul be raised by the pealing anthem of the multitude whom no man can number, of myriads of angels, and the general assembly of the first-born — having golden lutes, and vials full of fragrances, encircling the throne of the ever-blessed one, and singing a new song, and exclaiming, "You are worthy to take the book, for you were slain, and have redeemed us to God by your blood, out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation!"
We cannot, indeed, doubt, that "praise Him in the timbrel and dance — praise Him upon the stringed instruments and organ," is a mystical expression: and alludes to some aerial measure, soft and augmenting, accordant to the labyrinthine circuit accomplished by the immortal bands; while, (like wheeling planets with their pomp of satellites) they would survey on all sides the perfections of the Divinity. But if a mortal could dare into the Heaven of heavens; and seeming to catch the murmur of their lofty song, could impart to ears of flesh a faint conception of its grandeur — what must be the real clash of heavenly worship be — the full concerting of immortal choirs — the burst of many voices, like the rushing of many waters, which shall roll on high along the vault of immensity, ever crying and responding, "Hallelujah! Hallelujah! for the Lord God omnipotent reigns!"
Taking the fact therefore for granted, I proceed to observe, that this renovated fellowship will be far more refined than the purest terrestrial friendship — as the interchanged ideas will be more exalted, and as the participated experiences will necessarily be experiences of more pure and elevated happiness. Nor is it less obvious, that the delights of knowledge and of worship will be heightened by being enjoyed in union with a holy and glorified society — since already, the most ordinary pleasure imparts two-fold gratification, when converted into a tie which links kindred minds in the bands of holy brotherhood and of virtuous concord.
But, further — such ties, reconnected among human beings who shall have been received into everlasting mansions — will be productive of higher than their original gratification, in consequence of the improved dispositions of the associates. They will be equally exempt from those temporary alienations, which proceed from self-love, jealousy, suspicion, pride, contending interests, sallies of passion, and from those impediments to their present perfection, which slight differences in opinion, taste, knowledge, temper, principle, or unavoidable seasons of absence, present. No accident, no instability, no dread of future interruption or separation, will dampen their pure delights.
It is not, however, to this narrow circle alone, with whom we had formerly shared our confidence — that our social affections may be expected to extend. That communion of saints, in which we profess our belief, will unite in celestial fellowship all the devout and the faithful, who have lived in different ages from the beginning of time — and all those our contemporaries — a union with whom on earth may have been hindered by difference of rank, or remoteness of local situation.
These, purified from the imperfections of mortality, rendered every way worthy of the kindliest regard, and linked in one holy, happy association — are destined to be our immortal companions, and fellow worshipers. Objects being in this manner provided in abundance, for the warmest and amplest effusion of social affection — all these, sympathizing with the joy of each other. And, like the endless reflections of opposing mirrors, the peace and bliss of every individual being again and again participated and enjoyed and reverberated by all around him — benevolence will circulate throughout the courts of God — and Heaven will be found, in the most exalted sense, the place of perfect concord. But if to some, in consideration of their more zealous service, and more uniform obedience, are allotted a better recompense in kind or in degree — others, far from envying, will find an increase to their own happiness, in rejoicing in the good of their fellow-servants, and in contributing to its advancement. With glorified beings thus . . .
illuminated by knowledge,
perfected in virtue,
immortal in existence —
we are appointed to hold sweet, loving, refined, perpetual fellowship. "And they all shall be one" — "one fold under one shepherd" — having one heart and one spirit. Walking in the light, and having fellowship one with another, for them is reserved the happy experience, that when faith shall be lost in vision, and hope in the possession of its objects — that love never fails.
All commentators, I believe, are agreed — that the first Eden was literally an oriental garden — an oasis of sweets — a region of perpetual spring — where flowers of all hues, and fruits of all flavors, gemmed and embossed the green carpeting of nature — where innocence was shaded with the mantling vine; where the course of "crisped brooks that strayed from their sapphire founts," and the lapse of murmuring falls — like the descent of heavenly influences; together fed the calm and reflective lake, which made meditation the image and the thought of Heaven. And aided by "soft airs dispensing native perfumes," and by the voices of fearless joy, emitted from earth, sky, water — nourished in the untainted bosoms of the original pair — tranquility, contentment, peace.
Why then should it be supposed that those secondary pleasures, which are derived from the shade of embowering leaves, and the refreshment of well-springs of living waters — from the many-colored hues of aerial variations — from the face of the new universe decked in beauty, or rough with wildness — will be discontinued — or rather will not be highly improved?
"And I saw new heavens and a new earth, and the holy city descending from heaven — and the foundations of her walls were garnished with all manner of precious stones — in the midst of the street, and on either side the river, was there the tree of life for the healing of the nations." "They shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more; neither shall the sun light on them, nor any heat. For the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them, and shall lead them unto living fountains of waters!"
Such, my brethren, appears to be the utmost extent of our reasonable views, or our clear knowledge, in relation to our occupations and enjoyments in a higher state of existence. If any, not satisfied with it, are yet disposed to ask why we have not been favored with still ampler information? Let them reflect, that the present limited nature of their faculties must preclude their entire comprehension of things not seen — and let them learn to receive with gratitude the light imparted, as being at once as strong as their filmy intellectual vision could admit without being dazzled, and as abundant as is necessary to animate their spirits, and to illuminate their path, in journeying to the land of their eternal rest.
Let it not be forgotten, that if power were bestowed to scale the crystal battlements of the skies, and to perceive distinctly the unimagined scenes and transactions beyond its guardian cherubim and fiery sword, its outposts and sentinels of stars — Faith, which is the evidence of things not seen, could no longer have existence.
It is moreover to be apprehended, that the minds of men, enraptured with the beatific vision, perpetually presented to them, in full perceptibleness and almost tangible form — would neglect as insipid those every-day duties, which they are called into this existence to perform; that the reasonable but then zestless comforts of life would provoke their dissatisfaction, instead of awakening their thankfulness; that all their thoughts would be absorbed in an unprofitable abstraction, a gloomy and highly reprehensible impatience to be released before the appointed time of their change should arrive; and that Heaven should be marred by too intense meditation on it. The wisdom of Providence being thus strikingly illustrated, in the measure of its given information respecting the world to come — information neither so scanty as to leave room for distrust or error — nor yet so excessive as to overwhelm the power of comprehension, to slacken the arm of activity, or to banish the tranquility of contentment — the improvement which it behooves us to derive from our present meditations is a conviction of the propriety of complying with the divine intention, in revealing futurity in these wise proportions. On reviewing the constituents of our immortal felicity, it cannot fail to strike us as a general observation, that none of them are of a nature grossly and exclusively sensual. Hence we may infer with the fullest assurance, that a spiritual life is necessary on earth — as the proper qualification for our destined employments. If we find that in these, the groveling cares of earth, sensuality, ambition, covetousness, have no place — it follows that those whose god is their appetite — who thirst after power — who live but to amass treasures — are deliberately unfitting themselves for the refined joys of eternity — so that Heaven would be to them no place of happiness, even if no barrier forbade their entrance. That gratification which the habitual drunkard would derive from an hour of spiritual fellowship — that joy which the indolent would find in successful research, or the atheist in the consolations of religion — that satisfaction which the lustful eye would derive from exquisite beauty, or the ear sealed with wax from the voice of the charmer — such delight would the depraved of this lower world experience in the mansions of unearthly bliss. To them, alienated from the love of God, and from a preference for the unadulterated delights of piety — the bowers of paradise would yield no bloom, the airs of Heaven would breathe no sweetness, and the music of angels utter no melody. To hasten towards a close — let us learn from these meditations, that when we cultivate holiness, we lay up treasures in heaven — the pleasures of reflection, and a possession to be infinitely improved. That when we elevate our nature above base desires, when in due subservience to our moral dispositions, in the spirit of humanity, and with motives of religion, we dig in the mines of wisdom, and strengthen our intellectual powers — we then exercise our minds in studies, which in a more exalted sense, shall enter into our eternal employments — that when we unite in the bands of virtuous association, we form to ourselves the beginnings of a joy, which although imperfect, checkered, liable to rude interruption for a season — will at length break forth, and bidding defiance to the shaft of death — that finally, when we bend at the footstool of the Eternal, when we survey with gratitude the works of his creation — when the heart extols his love with the sentiments or the accents of praise — we are drawing down Heaven to earth, and entering upon the pleasure of immortal beings, while yet sojourners in the valley of sorrow. We are approximating to the bliss of eternity — contracting the habitudes of angels — securing Heaven by acquiring a fitness and a relish for it — pitching our tent on the last edge of the wilderness — and hailing, in near perspective, the land of our rest. For happiness so transcendent as that now unfolded, which, be it still however remembered, description cannot adequately paint, or imagination conceive — how reasonable the demand, how advisable the exchange, that we should sacrifice the base pursuits, the unworthy desires, which belong exclusively to this lower world! Who would not resolve to accomplish what is demanded — to renounce what is forbidden — to sustain with fortitude all allotted trials — and to abound unto the end in the work of the Lord — when assured that his labor is not only not in vain, but will be crowned with a recompense so unspeakable and full of glory? For enjoyment so real, so unmixed, so lasting — will not the Christian forego the contemptible pleasures of a day — acquired with pain, embittered by sorrow, possessed with insecurity — and speedily to be lost forever? Will he not even stand ready, if occasion requires, to endure the rigors of self-denial, and the martyrdom of evil report, to pluck out a right eye, to tear himself from all the chains that anchor him to earth — to surrender comforts, possessions, life itself — to suffer the loss of all things, and to account them of no value — in a word, to go and sell all that he has, that he may purchase the Pearl of inestimable price?