01.04e Heaven cont'd

II. We now proceed to speak of the admission of the saints into this their new kingdom. I shall briefly touch upon two things:

1. The formal admission, in the call upon them from the Judge to come into their kingdom.

2. The quality in which they are admitted and introduced to it.

1. Their admission, the text shows to be, by a voice from the throne: the King calling to them, from the throne, before angels and men, to come to their kingdom. Come and Go are but short words: but they will be such as will afford matter of thought to all mankind, through the ages of eternity; since everlasting happiness turns upon one, and everlasting misery on the other.

Now, our Lord bids the worst of sinners, who hear the gospel, Come; but the most part will not come unto him. Some few, whose hearts are touched by his Spirit, embrace the call, and their souls within them say, "Behold, we come unto you." They give themselves to the Lord, forsake the world and their lusts for him: they bear his yoke, and cast it not off; no, not in the heat of the day, when the weight of it, perhaps, makes them sweat the blood out of their bodies. Behold the fools! says the carnal world. But stay a little, O foolish world! From the same mouth whence they had the call they are now following, another call shall come, that will make amends for all: "Come you who are blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom." The saints shall find an inexpressible sweetness in this call, Come.

(1.) Hereby Jesus Christ shows his desire of their society in the upper house, that they may be ever with him there. Thus he will open his heart unto them, as sometimes he did to his Father concerning them, saying, "Father, I will they be with me, where I am," John 17:24. Now, the travail of his soul stands before the throne; not only the souls, but the bodies, he has redeemed; and they must come, for he must be completely satisfied.

(2.) Hereby they are solemnly invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb. They were invited to the lower table by the voice of the servants, and the sacred workings of the Spirit within them; and they came, and did partake of the feast of divine communications in the lower house: but Jesus Christ in person shall invite them, before all the world, to the highest table.

(3.) By this he admits them into the mansions of glory. The keys of heaven hang at the belt of our royal Mediator. "All power in heaven" is given to him, Matthew 28:18; and none get in there but whom he admits. When they were living on earth with the rest of the world, he opened the doors of their hearts, entered into them, and shut them again; so as sin could never re-enter, to reign there as formerly: now he opens heaven’s doors to them, draws his doves into the ark, and shuts them in; so as the law, death, and hell, can never get them out again. The saints in this life were still laboring to enter into that rest; but Satan was always pulling them back, their corruptions always drawing them down; insomuch that they have sometimes been left to hang by a hair of promise, if I may be allowed the expression, not without fear of falling into the lake of fire: but now Christ gives the word for their admission, they are brought in, and put beyond all hazard.

(4.) He speaks to them as the person introducing them into the kingdom, into the presence-chamber of the great King, and unto the throne. Jesus Christ is the great Secretary of heaven, whose office it is to bring the saints into the gracious presence of God now, and to whom alone it belongs to bring them into the glorious presence of God in heaven. Truly heaven would be a strange place to them, if Jesus were not there; but the Son will introduce his brethren into his Father’s kingdom; they shall go in with him to the marriage, Matthew 25:10.

2. Let us consider in what quality they are introduced by him.

(1.) He brings them in as the blessed of his Father; so runs the call from the throne, "Come, you who are blessed of my Father," etc. It is Christ’s Father’s house they are to come into: therefore, he puts them in mind that they are blessed of the Father; dear to the Father, as well as to himself. This it is that makes heaven home to them, namely, that it is Christ’s Father’s house, where they may be assured of welcome, being married to the Son, and being his Father’s choice for that very end. He brings them in for his Father’s sake, as well as for his own: they are the blessed of his Father; who, as he is the fountain of the Deity, is also the fountain of all blessings conferred on the children of men.

They are those whom God loved from eternity. They were blessed in the eternal purpose of God, being elected to everlasting life. At the opening of the book of life, their names were found written therein; so that by bringing them to the kingdom, he does but bring them to what the Father, from all eternity, designed for them: being saved by the Son, they are saved according to the Father’s purpose, 2 Timothy 1:9. They are those to whom the Father has spoken well. He spoke well to them in his word, which must now receive its full accomplishment. They had his promise of the kingdom, lived and died in the faith of it; and now they come to receive the thing promised. Unto them he has done well. A gift is often in Scripture called a blessing; and God’s blessing is ever real, like Isaac’s blessing, by which Jacob became his heir: they were all by grace justified, sanctified, and enabled to persevere to the end; now they are raised up in glory, and being tried, stand accepted in the judgment. What remains, then, but that God should crown his own work of grace in them, in giving them their kingdom, in the full enjoyment of himself forever?

Finally, they are those whom God has consecrated; the which also is a Scripture term of blessing, 1 Corinthians 10:16. God set them apart for himself, to be kings and priests unto him; and the Mediator introduces them, as such, to their kingdom and priesthood.

(2.) Christ introduces them, as heirs of the kingdom, to the actual possession of it. "Come, you who are blessed—inherit the kingdom." They are the children of God by regeneration and adoption; "And if children, then heirs, heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ," Romans 8:17. Now is the general assembly of the first-born before the throne: their minority is overpast; and the time appointed of the Father for their receiving their inheritance, is come. The Mediator purchased the inheritance for them with his own blood; their rights and evidences were drawn long ago, and registered in the Bible; nay, they have investment of their inheritance in the person of Christ, as their proxy, when he ascended into heaven, "Where the forerunner is for us entered," Hebrews 6:20. Nothing remains, but that they enter into personal possession thereof, which, begun at death, is perfected at the last day; when the saints in their bodies, as well as their souls, go into their kingdom.

(3.) They are introduced to it as those it was prepared for, from the foundation of the world. The kingdom was prepared for them in the eternal purpose of God, before they, or any of them, had a being; which shows it to be a gift of free grace to them. It was from eternity, the divine purpose, that there should be such a kingdom for the elect; and that all impediments which might oppose their access to it, should be removed out of the way: and also, by the same eternal decree, everyone’s place in it was determined and set apart, to be reserved for him, that each of the children coming home at length into their Father’s house, might find his own place awaiting him, and ready for him; as at Saul’s table, David’s place was empty, when he was not there to occupy it himself, 1 Samuel 20:25. And now the appointed time is come, they are brought in, to take their several places in glory.

I shall conclude my discourse on this subject with a word of APPLICATION:

1. To all who claim a right to this kingdom.

2. To those who have indeed a right to it.

3. To those who have no right thereto.

1. To all who CLAIM a right to this kingdom. Since it is evident there is no promiscuous admission into the kingdom of heaven, and none do obtain it but those whose claim to it is solemnly tried by the great Judge, and, after trial, supported as good and valid; it is necessary that all of us impartially try and examine, whether, according to the laws of the kingdom, contained in the Holy Scriptures, we can verify and make good our claim to this kingdom. The hopes of heaven, which most men have, are built on such sandy foundations, as can never abide the trial; having no ground whatever but in their own deluded imagination: such hopes will leave those who entertain them, miserably disappointed at last. Therefore, it is not only our duty, but our interest, to put the matter to a fair trial in time. If we find we have no right to heaven, we are yet in the way; and what we have not, we may obtain: but if we find we have a right to it, we shall then have the comfort of a happy prospect into eternity; which is the greatest comfort one is capable of in the world.

If you inquire, how you may know whether you have a right to heaven or not, I answer, You may know that by the state you are now in. If you are yet in your natural state, you are children of wrath, and not children of this kingdom; for that state, to those who live and die in it, issues in eternal misery. If you be brought into the state of grace, you have a just claim to the state of glory; for grace will certainly issue in glory at length. This kingdom is an inheritance, which none but the children of God can justly claim. Now, we become the children of God by regeneration, and union with Christ his Son; "And if children, then heirs, heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ," Romans 8:17. These, then, are the great points upon which our evidences for the state of glory depend. Therefore, I refer you to what is said on the state of grace, for satisfying you as to your right to glory.

If you are heirs of glory, "the kingdom of God is within you," by virtue of your regeneration and union with Christ.

(1.) The kingdom of heaven has the throne in your heart, if you have a right to that kingdom: Christ is in you, and God is in you; and having chosen him for your portion, your soul has taken up its everlasting rest in him, and gets no true rest but in him; as the dove, until she came into the ark. To him the soul habitually inclines, by virtue of the new nature, the divine nature, which the heirs of glory are partakers of, Psalms 73:25, "Whom have I in heaven but you? and there is none upon earth that I desire besides you."

(2.) The laws of heaven are in your heart, if you are an heir of heaven, Hebrews 8:10, "I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts." Your mind is enlightened in the knowledge of the laws of the kingdom, by the Spirit of the Lord, the instructor of all the heirs of glory; for whoever may lack instruction, surely an heir to a crown shall not lack it. "It is written in the prophets, And they shall be all taught of God," John 6:45. Therefore, though father and mother leave them early, or are in no concern about their Christian education, and they be soon put to work for their daily bread, yet they shall not lack teaching. Your heart is changed, and you bear God’s image, which consists in "righteousness and true holiness," Ephesians 4:24. Your soul is reconciled to the whole law of God, and at war with all known sin. In vain do they pretend to the holy kingdom, who are not holy in heart and life; for "without holiness no man shall see the Lord," Hebrews 12:14. If heaven is a rest, it is for spiritual laborers, not for loiterers. If it is an eternal triumph, they are not in the way to it who avoid the spiritual warfare, and are in no care to subdue corruption, resist temptation, and to cut their way to it through the opposition made by the devil, the world, and the flesh.

(3.) The treasure in heaven is the chief in your esteem and desire; for it is your treasure, and "where your treasure is, there will your heart be also," Matthew 6:21. If it is not the things that are seen, but the things that are not seen, which your heart is in the greatest care and concern to obtain; if you are driving a trade with heaven, and your chief business lies there; it is a sign that your treasure is there, for your heart is there. But if you are of those who wonder why so much ado is made about heaven and eternal life, as if less might serve the turn, you are like to have nothing to do with it at all. Carnal men value themselves most on their treasures upon earth; with them, the things that are not seen are weighed down by the things that are seen, and no losses so much affect them as earthly losses: but the heirs of the crown of glory value themselves most on their treasures in heaven, and will not put their private estate in the balance with their eternal kingdom; nor will the loss of the former go so near their hearts, as the thoughts of the loss of the latter. Where these first-fruits of heaven are to be found, the eternal weight of glory will surely follow after; while the lack of them must be admitted according to the word, to be an incontestable evidence of an heir of wrath.

2. Let the heirs of the kingdom behave themselves suitably to their character and dignity. Live as having the faith and hope of this glorious kingdom: let your heart be in heaven, Php 3:20. Let your souls delight in communion with God while you are on earth, since you look for your happiness in communion with him in heaven. Let your speech and actions savor of heaven; and in your manner of life, look like the country to which you are going: that it may be said of you, as of Gideon’s brethren, Judges 8:18, "Each one resembled the children of a king." Maintain a holy contempt of the world, and of the things of the world. Although others, whose earthly things are their best things, set their hearts upon them, yet it befits you to set your feet on them, since your best things are above. This world is but the country through which lies your road to Immanuel’s land. Therefore, pass through it as pilgrims and strangers; and do not immerse yourself in the encumbrances of it, so as to retard you in your journey. It is unworthy of one born to a palace, to set his heart on a poor cottage, to dwell there. It is unworthy of one running for a prize of gold, to depart from his way to gather pebbles and sticks. How much more is it unworthy of an heir of the kingdom of heaven, to be groveling among the baubles of this world—when he should be going on to receive his crown. The prize set before you challenges your utmost zeal, activity, and diligence; and holy courage, resolution, and magnanimity, befit those who are to inherit the crown. You cannot come to it without fighting your way to it, through difficulties from without and from within: but the kingdom before you is sufficient to balance them all, though you should be called to resist even unto blood. Prefer Christ’s cross before the world’s crown, and want in the way of duty, before ease and wealth in the way of sin: "Choose rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season," Hebrews 11:25. In a common inn, strangers perhaps fare better than the children; but here lies the difference: the children are to pay nothing for what they receive; but the strangers get their bill, and must pay completely for all they have had. Did we consider the after-reckoning of the wicked for all the smiles of common providence they meet with in the world, we would not grudge them their good things here, nor take it amiss that God keeps our best things last. Heaven will make up all the saints’ losses, and there all tears will be wiped away from their eyes.

It is worth observing, that there is such a variety of Scripture notions of heaven’s happiness, as may suit every afflicted case of the saints. Are they oppressed? The day comes in which they shall have the dominion. Is their honor laid in the dust? A throne to sit upon, a crown on their head, and a scepter in their hand, will raise it up again. Are they reduced to poverty? Heaven is a treasure. If they be forced to leave their own homes, yet Christ’s Father’s house is ready for them. Are they driven to the wilderness? There is a city prepared for them. Are they banished from their native country? They shall inherit a better country. If they are deprived of public ordinances, the Lord God Almighty, and the Lamb, are the temple there, where they are going; a temple, the doors of which none can shut. If their life is full of bitterness, heaven is a paradise for pleasure. If they groan under the remains of spiritual bondage, there is a glorious liberty abiding them. Do their defiled garments make them ashamed? The day comes, in which their robes shall be white, pure, and spotless. The battle against flesh and blood, principalities and powers, is indeed sore: but a glorious triumph awaits them. If the toil and labors of the Christian life be great, there is an everlasting rest for them in heaven. Are they judged unworthy of the society of angels in heaven? Do they complain of frequent interruptions of their communion with God? There they shall go no more out, but shall see his face for evermore. If they are in darkness here, eternal light is there. If they grapple with death, there they shall have everlasting life. And, to sum up all in one word, "He who overcomes shall inherit all things," Revelation 21:7. He shall have peace and plenty, profit and pleasure, everything desirable; full satisfaction to his most enlarged desires. Let the expectants of heaven, then, lift up their heads with joy; let them gird up their loins, and so run that they may obtain; trampling on everything that may hinder them in their way to the kingdom. Let them never account any duty too hard, nor any cross too heavy, nor any pains too great, so that they may attain the crown of glory.

3. Let those who have no right to the kingdom of heaven, be stirred up to seek it with all diligence. Now is the time, wherein the children of wrath may become heirs of glory: when the way to everlasting happiness is opened, it is no time to sit still and loiter. Raise up your hearts towards the glory that is to be revealed; and be not always in search of rest in this perishing earth.

What can all your worldly enjoyments avail you, while you have no solid ground to expect heaven after this life is gone? The riches and honors, profits and pleasures, which must be buried with us, and cannot accompany us into another world—are but a wretched portion, and will leave men comfortless at length. Ah! why are men so eager in their lifetime to receive their good things? Why are they not rather careful to secure a saving interest in the kingdom of heaven, which would never be taken from them, but afford them a portion to make them happy through the ages of eternity? If you desire honor, there you may have the highest honor, which will last when the world’s honors are laid in the dust! If you desire riches, heaven will yield you a treasure; and there are pleasures for evermore. O! be not despisers of the pleasant land, neither judge yourselves unworthy of eternal life; close with Christ, as he is offered to you in the gospel, and you shall inherit all things. Walk in the way of holiness, and it will lead you to the kingdom. Fight against sin and Satan, and you shall receive the crown. Forsake the world, and the doors of heaven will be opened to receive you!