37 ENLARGED CONCEPTIONS OF HEAVEN ness of God towards him, expressed here by the terms of unsearchable breadth, length, depth, and height, the better will he be able in his heart to conceive of the excellent glory and greatness of the things that are laid up in the heavens for them that fear him. They that know nothing of this greatness, know nothing of them; they that think amiss of this greatness, think amiss of them; they that know but little of this greatness, know but little of them; but he that is able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height, he is best able to conceive of, and consequently to make a judgment concerning the due worth, and blessed glory of them. This is evident to reason; also experience confirmeth the same. For as for those dark souls that know nothing of his greatness, they have in derision those who are through the splendor of the glory, captivated and carried away after God. Also, those whose judgments are corrupted, and themselves thereby made as drunkards, to judge of things foolishly, they, as it were, step in the same steps with the other, and vainly imagine thereabout. Moreover, we shall see those little-spirited Christians, though Christians indeed, that are but in a small measure acquainted with this God, with the breadths, and lengths, and depths, and heights, that are in him, taken but little with the glory and blessedness that they are to go to when they die; wherefore, they are neither so mortified to this world, so dead to sin, so selfdenying, so delighted in the book of God, nor so earnest in desires to be acquainted with the heights and depths that are therein. No, this is reserved only for those who are devoted thereto; who have been acquainted with God in a measure beyond that which your narrow-spirited Christians understand. There doth want as to these things, enlargings in the hearts of the most of saints, as there did in those of Corinth, and also in those at Ephesus. Wherefore, as Paul bids the one, and prays that the other may be enlarged, and have great knowledge thereabout; so we should, to answer such love, through desire, separate ourselves from terrene things, that we may seek and intermeddle with all wisdom. Christ says, if any man will do his will, he shall know of the doctrine. Oh! that we were indeed enlarged as to these breadths, and lengths, and depths, and heights, of God, as the apostle desired the Ephesians might be. 6. Then those great truths, the coming of Christ, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment, would neither seem so like fables, nor be so much off our hearts as they do, and are. For the thorough belief of them depends upon the knowledge of the abilities that are in God to perform what he has said thereabout. And hence it is that your inferior sort of Christians live so like as if none of these things were at hand; and hence it is again, that they so soon are shaken in mind about them, when tempted of the devil, or briskly assaulted by deceivers. But this cometh to pass, that there may be fulfilled what is written, “And while the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and slept." Surely, the meaning is, they were asleep about his coming, the resurrection, and the judgment, and consequently had lost much of that knowledge of God, the which if they had retained these truths with power, would have been upon their hearts. The Corinthians were horribly decaying here, though some more than others: hence Paul, when he treats of this doctrine, bids them awake to righteousness, and not sin, telling them, that some among them had not the knowledge of God. To be sure, they had not such a knowledge of God as would keep them steady in the faith of these things. Now, the knowledge of the things above mentioned, that is, this comprehending knowledge, will greaten these things, bring them near, and make them to be credited, as are the greatest of God's truths, and the virtue of the faith of them is, to make one die daily. Therefore, 39 HEAVEN THUS MADE DESIRABLE. 7. Another advantage that floweth from this knowledge, is, that it makes the next world desirable. Not simply as it is with those lean souls, that desire it only as the thief desireth the judge's favor, that he may be saved from the halter; but out of love such have to God and to the beauties of the house he dwells in, and that they may be rid of this world, which is to such as a dark dungeon. The knowledge of God that men pretend they have, may easily be judged of, by the answerableness or unanswerableness of their hearts and lives thereto. Where is the man that groans earnestly to be gone to God, that counts this life a strait unto him; that saith as a sick man of my acquaintance did, when his friend at his bed side prayed to God to spare his life; "no, no," said he, "pray not so; for it is better to be dissolved and be gone?" Christians should show the world how they believe; not by words or on paper, not by gay and flourishing notions, but by those desires they have to be gone; and the proof that these desires are true, is a life in heaven while we are on earth. I know words are cheap, but a drachm of grace is worth all the world. But where, as I said, shall it be found? Not among carnal men, not among weak Christians, but among those, and those only, that enjoy a great measure of Paul's wish here 305 CHAPTER IV. THE NATURE AND MANIFESTATION OF CHRIST'S LOVE. BUT to come to the second part of the text. "And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge." These words are the second part of the text, and they deal mainly about the love of Christ, who is the Son of God. We have spoken already briefly of God, and therefore, now we shall speak also particularly of his Son. These words are a part of the prayer aforementioned, and have something of the same strain in them. In the first part, he prays that they might comprehend that which cannot, absolutely, by any means be comprehended; and here he prays that that might be known, which yet in the same breath he saith "passeth knowledge," that is, the love of Christ. "And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge." In the words we are to take notice of three things: II. Of the exceeding greatness of it. III. Of the knowledge of it. I. We will begin with the first of these, namely, of the love of Christ. Now for the explication of this we must inquire into three things. 1. Who Christ is. 2. What love is. 3. What the love of Christ is. 1. Christ is a person of no less quality than is he of whom we treated before, that is, very God; so I say, not titularly, not nominally, not so counterfeitly, but the self-same in nature with the Father. Wherefore, what we have under consideration, is so much the more to be taken notice of; THE PERSONAL GLORY OF CHRIST. 41 namely, that a person so great, so high, so glorious, as this Jesus Christ is, should have love for us, that passes knowledge. It is common for equals to love, and for superiors to be beloved; but for the King of princes, for the Son of God, for Jesus Christ to love man thus; this is amazing, and that so much the more, that man, the object of this love, is so low, so mean, so vile, so undeserving, and so inconsiderable, as he is described by the Scriptures every where to be. But to speak a little more particularly of this person. 1. He is called God. 2. The King of glory, and the Lord of glory. 3. The Brightness of the glory of his Father. 4. The Head over all things. 5. The Prince of life. 6. The Creator of all things. 7. The Upholder of all things. 8. The Disposer of all things. 9. The Only Beloved of the Father. But the persons beloved of him are called transgressors, sinners, enemies, dust and ashes, worms, fleas, shadows, vapors, vile, sinful, filthy, unclean, ungodly, fools, madmen. And now is it not to be wondered at? And are we not to be affected herewith, saying, "and wilt thou set thine eye upon such a one?" But how much more when he will "set his heart" upon us? And yet this great, this high, this glorious person, verily, verily, loveth such ! 2. We now come to the second thing, namely, to show what is love; not in a way of nice distinction of words, but in a plain and familiar discourse, yet respecting the love of the person under consideration. Love ought to be considered with reference to the subject, as well as to the object of it. The subject of love in the text is Christ; but forasmuch as love in him is diverse from the love that is in us; therefore it will not be amiss, if a little of the difference be made to appear. Love in us is a passion of the soul, and being such, is |