ference as to the degree thereof. As a child that is newly born has something in common with what he shall have when arrived at a state of manhood; but there are several degrees, and other circumstances, in which he falls short of it: or, as a few drops are of the same nature with the whole collection of water in the ocean; yet there is a very small proportion between one and the other: so the brightest discovery of the glory of God, which we are capable of enjoying in this world; or the comfortable foretastes that believers have of heaven, fall very much short of that which they shall be possessed of, when they are received into it. And there are very great allays, and many things that tend to interrupt and abate their happiness, agreeably to the imperfection of this present state. Whatever grace they are enabled to act, though in an uncommon degree, is attended with a mixture of corruption; and as their graces are imperfect, so are the comforts that arise from thence, which are interwoven with many things very afflictive; so that they are not what they shall be, but are travelling through this wilderness to a better country, and exposed to many evils in their way thither.

2. All believers do not enjoy these delights and pleasures that some are favoured with in their way to heaven; the comforts, as well as the graces, of the Holy Spirit, are bestowed in a way of sovereignty, to some more, and to others less : Some have reason to say with the apostle, Thanks be unto God, which always causeth us to triumph in Christ, 2 Cor. ii. 14. others are filled with doubts concerning their interest in him, and go mourning after him all the day; and if they have, at some times a small glimpse of his glory, by which they conclude themselves to be, as it were, in the suburbs of heaven, they soon lose it, and find themselves to be in the valley of the shadow of death, as the disciples, when they were with Christ at his transfiguration, which was an emblem of the heavenly blessedness, when his face did shine as the sun, and his raiment was white as the light; which occasioned them to say, it is good for us to be here; before they had done speaking, or had time to reflect on their present enjoyment they were deprived of it when the cloud overshadowed them, Matt. xvii. 2,-5. so the believer is not to expect uninterrupted communion with God, or perfect fruition with him here. However, that which we are at present to consider, is that degree thereof which some enjoy; which is here called the first-fruits and earnest of glory. The scripture sets it forth under both these expressions. (1.) They are said to receive the first-fruits thereof; or as the apostle styles it, The first-fruits of the Spirit, Rom. viii. 23. that is, the graces and comforts of the Holy Ghost, which are the first-fruits of that blessedness, that they are said to wait VOL. III.

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for; which is called the adoption, viz. those privileges which God's children shall be made partakers of; or, the glorious liberty which they shall hereafter enjoy. This is styled, the first-fruits, as alluding to the cluster of grapes, which they who were sent to spy out the land of Canaan, were ordered to bring to the Israelites in the wilderness, that hereby they might be encouraged in their expectation of the great plenty that was to be enjoyed when they were brought to it. Or, it has reference to the feast of ingathering, before the harvest, when they were to bring the sheaf which was first to be cut down, and wave it before the Lord, Lev. xxiii. 10, 11. compared with Deut. xxvi. 10, 11. with thankfulness and joy, in expectation of the full harvest, which would be the reward of the industry and labour of the husbandman. Thus believers are given not only to expect, but to rejoice in hope of the glory of God.

(2.) This is also called an earnest of glory. Thus believers are said to be sealed with that holy Spirit of promise which is the earnest of their inheritance, Eph. i. 13, 14. and elsewhere it is said, God hath given us the earnest of his Spirit, 2 Cor. i. 5. An earnest is a small sum, given in part of payment; whereby they who receive it, are encouraged hereafter to expect the whole: So a believer may conclude, that as sure as he now enjoys those spiritual privileges that accompany salvation, he shall not fail of that glory which they are an earnest of. In this respect God is pleased to give his people a wonderful instance of his condescending love, that they may hereby be led to know what the happiness of the heavenly state is, in a greater degree than can be learned from all the descriptions that are given of it, by those who are destitute of this privilege. Heaven is the port to which every believer is bound, the reward of all those labours and difficulties which he sustains in his way to it; and to quicken him to the greater diligence in pursuing after it, it is necessary that he should have his thoughts, meditation, and conversation there. The reason why God is pleased to give his people some foretastes thereof, is, that they may love and long for Christ's appearing, when they shall reap the full harvest of glory. Now this earnest, prelibation, or first-fruits of the heavenly blessedness which believers enjoy in this life, is considered in this answer.

[1.] As it is included in that glory which Christ is possess. ed of as their head and Mediator.

[2.] As they have those graces wrought in them, and comforts flowing from thence, which bear some small resemblance to what they shall hereafter be made partakers of.

[1.] Christ's being possessed of the heavenly blessedness, as the head of his people, is an earnest of their salvation. For the understanding of which, let it be considered, that our Lord

Jesus sustained this character, not only in what he suffered for then, that he might redeem them from the curse of the law; but in the glory which he was afterwards advanced to: Thus it is said, that he is risen from the dead, and become the first-fruits of them that slept, 1 Cor. xv. 20. and accordingly they are said to be risen with him, Col. iii. 1. as respecting that communion which they have with him herein; and when, after this, he ascended into heaven, and sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, his people are said to sit together in heavenly places in him, Eph. ii. 6. not that we are to suppose that they are made partakers of any branch of his mediatorial glory, or joined with him in the work which he there performs, as their exalted head: But his being considered as their representative, appearing in the presence of God for them, is a foundation of their hope that they shall be brought hither at last ; and therefore, when he is about to depart out of this world, he gave an intimation to his people, whom he left behind him in it, that he went to prepare a place for them, John xiv. 3. and assures them, that because he lives they shall live also, ver. 19.

[2.] The graces and comforts of the Holy Spirit, which believers are made partakers of, may also be said to be a pledge and earnest of eternal life. Heaven is a state in which grace is brought to perfection, which, at present, is only begun in the soul: nevertheless, the beginning thereof affords ground of hope that it shall be compleated. As a curious artist, when he draws the first lines of a picture, does not design to leave it unfinished; or he that lays the foundation of a building, determines to carry it on gradually, till he has laid the top-stone of it; so the work of grace, when begun by the Spirit, is a ground of hope that it shall not be left unfinished. As God would never have brought his people out of Egypt with an high hand and an outstretched arm, and divided the red sea before them, if he had not designed to bring them into the promised land; so we may conclude, that when God has magnified his grace in delivering his people from the dominion of darkness, and translating them into the kingdom of his dear Son; when he has helped them hitherto, and given them a fair and beautiful prospect of the good land to which they are going, he will not leave his work imperfect, nor suffer them to fall and perish in the way to it. Christ, in believers, is said to be the hope of glory, Col. i. 27. and the joy which they have in believing, is said not only to be unspeakable, but full of glory, 1 Pet. i. 8. that is, it bears a small resemblance to that joy which they shall be filled with, when brought to glory, and therefore may well be styled the earnest or first-fruits of it.

Now, that this may farther appear, let it be considered, that the happiness of heaven consists in the immediate vision and

fruition of God, where the saints behold his face in light and glory, and enjoy all those comfortable fruits and effects that arise from thence, which tend to make them compleatly happy. Thus it is said, They shall see him as he is, 1 John iii. 2. and they are said to enter into the joy of their Lord, Matt. xxv. 21. Believers, it is true, are not in all respects, said to be partakers of this blessedness here; and their highest enjoyments bear but a very small proportion to it: Yet, when we speak of some as having the foretastes of it, we must consider, that there is something in the lively exercise of faith, and the joy that arises from it, when believers have attained the full assurance of the love of God, and have those sensible manifestations of his comfortable presence with them, that bears some small resemblance to a life of glory.

That which in some respects resembles the beatific vision, is a sight of God's reconciled face, and of their interest in all the blessings of the covenant of grace, by faith. It is true, the views which they have of the glory of God here, are not immediate, but at a distance; and therefore they are said to behold, as in a glass, the glory of the Lord, 2 Cor. iii. 18. Thus we see things at a distance, as through a perspective glass, which enlarges the object †, and brings it, as it were, near to the eye, though in reality, it be at a great distance from it; and so gives us a clear discerning of that which could otherwise hardly be discovered: So faith gives us clearer views of this glory than we could have any other way. Hereby we are said to see him that is invisible, Heb. xi. 27. Thus, when God bade Moses go up to the top of Pisgah, and strengthened his sight, he took a view of the whole land of Canaan, though without this he could only have beheld a small part thereof: So when God not only gives an eye of faith, but strengthens it in proportion to the views he designs it shall take of the heavenly state, that lies at so great a distance, the soul is enabled to see it, and herein has a faint emblem of the beatific vision.

Moreover, as heaven is a state, in which the saints have the perfect fruition of those blessings which tend to make them compleatly happy; the view which a believer is enabled, by faith, to take of his interest in Christ, and the glory he shall be made partaker of with him, is sometimes attended with such an extasy of joy and triumph, as is a kind of anticipation of that glory which he is not yet fully possessed of. Such an one is like an heir who wants but a few days of being of age; who does not look upon his estate with that distant view which he before did, but with the satisfaction and pleasure that arises from his being ready to enter into the possession of it; or like one who after a long and tedious voyage, is within sight of his * See Quest. lxxxvi. xc.

+ Reflecting as mirrors, or beholding as by mirrors.

harbour, which he cannot but behold with a pleasure, which very much resembles that which he shall have when he enters into it; this is more than a bare hope of heaven; it is a full assurance, attended with a kind of sensation of those joys which are inexpressible, which render the believer a wonder to himself, and afford the most convincing proof to others, that there is something real and substantial in the heavenly glory, whereof God is pleased to favour some of his people with the prelibations. That some have enjoyed such-like manifestations of the divine love to them, and been filled with those raptures of joy, accompanying that assurance which they have had of their salvation, is evident from the experience which they have had of it in some extraordinary and memorable occurrences in life; and others at the approach of death.

Of this there are multitudes of instances transmitted to us in history: I shall content myself with a brief extract of some passages which we meet with in the life and death of some who appear to have had as comfortable a foretaste of the joys of heaven, as it is possible for any one to have in this world. And the first that I shall mention is that eminently learned and pious Dr. Rivet; who, in his last sickness seemed to be in the very suburbs of heaven, signifying to all about him, what intimate communion he had with God, and fore-views of the heavenly state; his assurance of being admitted into it; and how earnestly he longed to be there: and, in the very close of life, one who stood by him could not forbear expressing himself to this purpose; I cannot but think that he is now enjoying the vision of God, which gave him occasion to signify that it was so, as well as he was able to express himself, which account, and much more to the same purpose, is not only mentioned by the author of his last hours, but is taken notice of in a public funeral oration, occasioned by his death.*

And what a very worthy writer observes,† concerning that excellent servant of Christ, Mr. Rutherford, who recites some

* Vid. Dauberi orat. Funeb. ad front. & Hor. Noviss. ad calc. Tom. 3. Riveti operum: in which he is represented as saying, Nolite mei causa dolere, ultima hæc momenta nihil habent funesti; corpus languet quidem, at anima robore & consolatione plena est, nec impedit paries iste intergerinus, nebula ista exigua, quo minus lucem Dei videam. Atq; exinde magis magisque optavit dissolvi & cum Christo esse. Sufficit mi Deus exclamabat subinde, sufficit, suscipe animam meam: Non tamen moram impatienter fero. Expecto, credo, persevero, dimoveri nequeo, Dei' Spiritus meo spiritui testatur, me ex filiis suis esse. O amorem ineffabilem ! id quod sentio, omnem expressionem alte transcendit. Veni Domine Jesu, veni, etenim deficio, nan quidem impatiens Domine, sed anima mea respicit te ut terra sicca. Preces & votum, ut Deus Paradisum aperiret, & huic fideli servo suo faciem suam ostenderet; his verbis supplevit; cum animabus justorem sanctificatis; Amen, Amen. Exinde lingua præpedita verbo affirmare; mox ad vocem adstantium, ipsum jam visione Dei frui, annuere; paulo post sub medium decimam matutinam placide in Domino obdermiit.

↑ See Fleming's Fulfilling of the Scripture, in fol. Part 1. page 287.