Page images
PDF
EPUB

a house in the heavens. The earth which we now inhabit is a valley of tears, a place of exile, a common inn as it were, where clean and unclean, saints and sinners, meet together, and are promiscuously entertained. Here the godly live as in a strange land, amidst the enemies of their Father and their King, where their righteous souls are vexed from day to day, with the unlawful deeds and filthy conversation of those among whom they are obliged to dwell. But heaven is a place of perfect purity, where there is nothing that defileth, nothing to hurt or destroy. None shall be able to ascend into that hill of God, none can dwell in that holy place, but such as have clean hands and pure hearts; who are washed, and sanctified, and justified, in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God. And,

Last of all, this house in the heavens is farther described and commended by its duration. It is not subject to decay or dissolution, it is in eternal house, an incorruptible inheritance, a kingdom that cannot be shaken. All other things shall wax old and perish, but this shall endure for ever and ever.

But who are the persons for whom this building of God is prepared; or how shall we know whether we belong to that happy number?—This, my brethren, is a most important inquiry, which I propose to make the 1 subject of another discourse.

421

SERMON LXVIII.

2 COR. v. 1.

For we know that if the earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of GOD, an house not made with hands, eternal in the Heavens.

IN the first part of this verse, the Apostle compares the body to an earthly house, yea, to a tabernacle or tent, which is still less durable, and more easily taken dowu; and therefore the dissolution of such a frail thing ought not to be reckoned a very great calamity. To this he opposes the glorious object of the Christian hope, which he calls "a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens." At the same time expresses the firm persuasion which he had, in common with all true Christians, of being admitted into that glorious and permanent habitation, as soon as the earthly tabernacle should be dissolved. "We know." He does not say we think, or we hope so, but we are assured of it; we are firmly persuaded that this shall be our lot, as if we were already entered upon the possession of it, In handling this important branch of the subject, I pro. pose, through divine aid,

I. To describe the persons for whom this building of God is prepared.

II. To inquire how, or by what means they come to know that they shall certainly possess it.

And then direct you to the practical improvement of the whole.

THE Psalmist proposes a question in the 24th Psalm, which you must all be sensible deserves our most serious attention. "Who shall ascend into the hill of God, and who shall stand in his holy place?" This is the question which 1 am now going to answer; and as God enables me, I shall follow the light of his own word, and bring in nothing as a mark of the heirs of glory, but what is clearly expressed in the Scriptures of truth, that infallible rule by which we must all be judged at last.

1st then, We are taught that this building of God, this house in the heavens, is prepared for believers in Christ Jesus, and for them only, exclusive of all others. "This is the will of him that sent me," says our blessed Lord, (John vi. 40.) "that every one that seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life, and I will raise him up at the last day. He that believ eth on the Son, hath everlasting life; he that believeth not the Son, shall not see life, but the wrath of God abideth on him." It is faith which unites us to the Lord Jesus Christ, who is the heir of all things; for, "to as many as receive him, to them gives he power to become the sons of God, even to them who believe on his name;" -and if once we are made sons, then are we likewise heirs, heirs of God, and joint heirs with Christ, and may confidently expect that inheritance which he hath purchased. By nature we are all children of wrath, and can look for nothing but judgment and fiery indignation, to devour us as adversaries; but immediately upon our believing on the Lord Jesus Christ, the great Mediator between God and man, we pass from death to life, God receives us into favour, adopts us into his family, and invests us with a title to all the privileges of children, of which this is the greatest and the best, that we shall dwell

with him for ever in the building here spoken of, this house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.

2dly. Another qualification by which the heirs of glory are distinguished, is this, that they are new creatures, born from above, born again of the Spirit of God. "If any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away, behold all things are become new." Whereas, "If any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his."-" Except a man be born again," said the faithful and true Witness," he canot see the ⚫ kingdom of God,” (John iii. 3. and verse 5.) "Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God." None but such as are born anew shall find access into this building of God, when death pulls down these earthly tabernacles. Heaven therefore is styled the inheritance of the saints in light. Nothing that is unclean can enter into that holy place. There must be a thorough change wrought in us before we can be admitted into the presence of God; for the Scriptures are peremptory on this head, that without holiness no man shall see God. Christ must be formed within us, before we can entertain the hope of glory. We only delude ourselves, if we look for happiness till our souls are renewed by the Spirit of God; for flesh and blood can never inherit the kingdom of heaven. A new heart must be given us, a new spirit must be put within us, before we can be fit for the sight and enjoyment of a holy God.

A partial reformation of manners will be of no avail— far less a mere abstinence from some grosser kinds of sin. The very frame and temper of our minds must be altered. Our corruptions must not only be restrained, but mortified. In a word, we must put off the whole old man, as the Apostle beautifully expresses it, "and put on the

new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness."

3d. None shall dwell in this building of God, this house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens, but those who live as pilgrims and strangers upon earth. If we seek the things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God, then, and then only may we hope, that when he who is our life shall appear, we shall likewise appear with him in glory. It is one of the distinguishing characters of the wicked, that they mind earthly things. The children of God, on the other hand, have their conversation in heaven. They look upon that as their home, and view this world merely as a strange country, through which they must necessarily pass, before they can come to their Father's house. heavenly temper is one of the most substantial evidences that are born from above; for every thing tends to the place of its original. And as it proves their divine birth, so it is likewise a certain pledge of their future glory; for God will never abandon his own offspring:-" If the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in us, he that raised up Christ from the dead, shall also quicken our mortal bodies, by his Spirit that dwelleth in us." He will certainly rebuild his own temples, and not suffer them to continue always under the ruins of death. I shall only add, in the

This

4th place, That a constant readiness to do good to all, especially to those who are of the household of faith, is another Scripture mark by which the heirs of glory are distinguished. This plainly appears from the account which our Saviour gives us of the process of the last judgment, (Matt. xxv. 34.) “Then shall the King say unto them upon his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from

« PreviousContinue »