A glorious things which God hath done, and Him too that did them they see Him as we see the sun, by His Own light. A kingdom where all who love our Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity, live with Him they love, and behold the glory which the Father hath given Him Who loved them, so [John 17. 24.] as to redeem them to Himself with His Own blood, on purpose that they might live with Him and enjoy Him for ever. kingdom where all the inhabitants, by the light of God's countenance shining so gloriously upon them, are continually enlightened, quickened, refreshed, glorified, and filled to the full with all the joy and happiness they are capable of; though some may hold more than others, every one hath as much as he can hold, and so is as happy as it is possible for him to be. A kingdom where all their work and business is to rejoice, adore, and sing praises to the Lord God Omnipotent, and to ascribe blessing, and honour, and glory and power to Him that sitteth upon the Throne, and to the Lamb that brought them thither. A kingdom that can never be shaken, but always continues in the same glorious and happy state to all eternity; for of this kingdom there shall be no end. God grant that we may all be admitted into this kingdom; and blessed be His Holy Name, we may all be so by Him, Who when He had overcome the sharpness of death by His rising from the dead, He did open the Kingdom of Heaven to all believers! Let us then rejoice and be glad, and give honour to God, for that inestimable benefit which we this day celebrate; and that we may do it the more acceptably, let us go unto His altar, and there offer up unto Him our sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving, and dedicate ourselves wholly to His service; that, living for the future in our several places as becometh His faithful servants upon earth, we may at last be advanced to His Heavenly Kingdom, by His Son our Saviour Jesus Christ, to Whom with the Father and Holy Spirit, be ascribed all honour and glory now and for Amen. ever. SERMON LXXVI. CHRIST'S ASCENSION INTO HEAVEN PREPARATORY TO OURS. SERM. Jons xiv. 2, 3. In My Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto Myself; that where I am, there ye may be also. OUR Blessed Saviour having acquainted His Disciples that He must now leave them, and observing that they were much concerned and troubled at it, He takes occasion from thence to direct them how to keep their hearts from being too much cast down at the apprehension of that or any other trouble that might befall them in this world; even by exercising their faith on Him, "Let not your hearts be troubled," saith He, "ye believe in God, believe also in Me." Whereby He hath plainly discovered two things to us; first, That it is His will and pleasure that His Disciples should never suffer their hearts to be ruffled or discomposed at any trouble or affliction they meet with here below, but that they should walk through all the changes and chances of this mortal life with an even frame and temper of mind, equally ready to do or to suffer whatsoever God shall see good to require of them, or lay upon them, saying, "Let not your hearts be troubled;" and then, secondly, that the most effectual means to do this, is always to live by faith in God and in Him; “Ye believe in God," saith He, " believe also in Me." As if He had said, Ye believe in God, ye believe that He made and that He governs the world, and orders and disposeth of all things in it according to His Own pleasure: and you trust on Him to preserve you from evil, and to supply you with whatsoever is really good for you: and as you thus believe in God, believe also in Me. Believe that I am the Son of God, and am come into the world on purpose to save sinners: that I am" able to save to the uttermost all that come unto [Heb. 7. God by Me," and therefore put your whole trust and confi- 25.] dence on Me for the pardon of all your sins, for the healing all your infirmities, for the strengthening you against all temptations, for the making your sincere though imperfect duties acceptable unto God, and so for the bringing you at last to Heaven. And do not fear nor doubt in the least but I will do it for you, notwithstanding that I am now to depart for a while from you, for I am only going home to My Father's house, where I will take as much care of you, as if I was still present with you, if you do but continue to believe. in Me and therefore let not your hearts be troubled at My departure from you, nor for any thing else that may befall you in this world, but as ye believe in God, believe also in Me, your Saviour and Redeemer. And then He adds, for their greater comfort and encouragement against all the troubles and difficulties they should meet with here below, "In My Father's house are many mansions," &c. Which words, being uttered by Christ Himself, afford so much matter of solid and substantial joy to His Disciples, that did we but rightly understand, firmly believe, and duly consider them as we ought, we should never suffer our spirits to sink under any burden that is laid upon us in our journey towards Heaven, but should bear it not only with patience, but with cheerfulness and alacrity of mind, so as to esteem it a blessing rather than a cross and trouble to us: for which purpose, therefore, I shall first explain them to you in the same order wherein our blessed Lord was pleased to pronounce them, and then shew how much a firm belief and due consideration of them will conduce to the end for which our Saviour spake them, even to the keeping our. hearts from being troubled. First, therefore, Our Lord saith, "In My Father's house," that is, in Heaven, which in Holy Writ is usually called by such names as signify some certain place where people use FF LXXVI. Luke 12.32. SERM. to dwell together; sometimes it is called a kingdom, as where our Saviour saith, "Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the Kingdom.” Matt. 6. 33. And " seek ye first the Kingdom of God." Sometimes it is Heb. 11. 16. called a country, as in the Epistle to the Hebrews, "But now they desire a better country, that is an Heavenly." Sometimes a city, as in the same place, where it is said, "He hath prepared for them a city;" and elsewhere, "For here we have no continuing city, but we seek one to come." Sometimes it is called the habitation or house of God, as where Moses enjoins the people to say in their Deut.26.15. prayers to God, "Look down from Thy holy habitation, ch. 13. 14. from Heaven." And to the same purpose, the Prophet Isa. 63. 15. Isaiah saith, "Look down from Heaven, and behold from the habitation of Thy holiness and of Thy glory." And so in my text, our Saviour calls it His Father's house, which is the same in effect with the house or habitation of God; but He calls it peculiarly His Father's house, the better to confirm His Disciples in their hopes and expectations from Him, by assuring them that He was not to go to any strange place, where He had no relation, interest, or acquaintance, and so could do them no service, but tha He was going to His Own Father's house, where He was sure to have all the favour that He could desire either for Himself or them, as being the Only-begotten Son of the Master of the house, Who once and again had publicly declared the great love and kindness He had for Him, saying of Him, Matt. 3. 17; "This is My beloved Son in Whom I am well pleased." And seeing He was now to go to this His Father's house, to live with Him, and to have His ear upon all occasions, His Disciples might be confident that He would be able still to assist and protect them, and to procure as much, or rather much more grace and favour for them, when He was gone from them, than if He had still continued with them; and this seems to be the reason why our Blessed Lord calls it in a particular manner His Father's house. ch. 17. 5. But wherefore is Heaven here called the house of God, or of the Father? Many reasons may be alleged for it, some of which I shall touch upon and explain, so that you may understand something of the purity, the pleasantness, and the excellency of that blessed place, at least so much as to make you think long till you get thither. First, therefore, it is called God's house, because it is of ch. 102. 25; Gen. 1. 1. His making or building, as St. Paul observes, saying, "For 2 Cor. 5. 1. we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the Heavens." And in the Epistle Heb. 11. 10. to the Hebrews, Abraham's hopes of Heaven are expressed by his looking for a city which hath foundations, whose Builder and Maker is God. And in the Old Testament we Ps. 96. 5; often read that the Lord made the Heavens. Yea, it was Isa. 42. 5; the first thing He ever made, for, "In the beginning God ch. 44. 24. created the Heaven and the earth." First Heaven, and then earth, where as all along in the Old Testament, the Hebrew word for Heaven is n of the dual number, to signify both the material and the immaterial Heavens; the place where the sun, moon and stars move and shine; and likewise the place where the Holy Angels live, and praise, and enjoy God, which, to distinguish it from the other, is 1 Kings 8. sometimes called the Heaven of Heavens. And in Nehemiah, the Levites, praying to God, say, "Thou, even Thou, art Neh. 9. 6. Lord alone; Thou hast made Heaven, the Heaven of Heavens, with all their host." Where by Heaven He means the sky or firmament; by the Heaven of Heavens, that high and holy place where the blessed spirits behold the face of God, which as far excels the other Heaven as that doth the earth, and yet this as well as the other was made by the Lord; it was His wisdom that contrived, and it was His power that raised this stately and most glorious fabric out of nothing; He only spake the word, and immediately the foundation was laid, the superstructure erected, and the whole finished altogether; and therefore David saith, "By the Word of the Lord were the Heavens made, Ps. 33. 6. and all the host of them by the breath of His mouth." But if God made this house, be sure it is well made, as well as it was possible for it to be, as to all the intents and purposes for which He made it; but He made it for a place of perfect joy, and bliss, and glory, to the Holy Angels, and the spirits of just men made perfect, where they might live in perfect rest and happiness, the highest that their 27. |