Sermons preach'd on several occasions by John March ..., the last of which was preach'd the twenty seventh of November, 1692, being the Sunday before he died ; with a preface by Dr. John Scot ; to which is added, A sermon preach'd at the assizes, in New-Castle upon Tine, in the reign of the late King James.

SERMON IX. (Book 9)

Luke xxiv. 43.

To day shalt thou be with me in Para∣dise.

I Have formerly made some en∣trance upon these Words, and hope now to finish them. The Method I proposed was,

First, To shew you, that the Souls of the Godly are immediately admitted to the actual possession of Happiness, upon their departure from the Body.

Secondly, The Happiness is exceeding great, for it is said here in the Text, That they shall be with Christ, and they shall be in Paradise.

First, The Souls of the Godly, after their departure from the Body, are im∣mediately admitted to the actual posses∣sion of Happiness. There are a sort of Men in the World they call Psycho-panni∣cletes, who hold, the Soul after its sepa∣ration from the Body, sleeps all the while till the general Resurrection, and consequently is neither in a State of Joy or Misery. But how do these men err, not knowing the Scripture? For here in the Text, our Saviour says unto the Thief, to day shalt thou be with me in Paradise. Paradise is a place of Joy and Bliss, and to be with Christ is to be in a state of Happiness. Now in such a place, and in such a state was this ho∣nest Thief to be that very day. I na∣med several Texts for the clearing of this Truth, but I shall only name one of them at this time, which you will find, Phil. 1. 21, 22. I am in a strait be∣twixt two, saith St. Paul having a desire to depart, and to be with Christ, which is far better: Nevertheless, to abide in the

Flesh is more needful for you. As much as if the Apostle should have said, I cannot tell whether I should desire, to live longer, or die sooner, being prest with Arguments on both sides. If I consult my own good, it is doubtless better for me die, and enter presently into Happiness; but then if I consult your convenience, it were better I should live longer in the World to be ser∣viceable to your Edification. Now I think it is evident, that if the Apostle could have supposed, that his Soul should have slept after Death, and not presently have entred into the fruition of Bliss, there could have been no strait in the case, nor any dispute, but that it was better to live still in the World, to continue in the Comforts of a good Conscience, and of doing good to others, rather than to be in a constant Sleep, or in a sensless state of Stupidity and Inactivity. From these places of Scri∣pture it is most plain, that the Souls of good Men do not sleep after Death, but are immediately received into Bliss, as Lazarus was into Abrahams Bosom, and this honest Thief, in the Text, into Paradise.

Secondly, This Happiness of the God∣ly is exceeding great, for they are said,

1st. To be with Christ. And,

2ly. To be in Paradise.

1. The Godly after Death, are said to be with Christ; and how great is the Happiness which lies couched in these words? For we cannot be with Christ, but we must be with all the Saints, and with all the Angels of Heaven; nay further, we must enjoy the sweet and ravishing Communion of all the Persons of the ever Blessed Trinity. So much may be gathered from Heb. 12. 22, 23. We shall come, saith St. Paul, to the Ge∣neral Assembly of the First-Born; to the Spirits of Iust Men made Perfect; to an innumerable company of Angels, to God the Iudge of all, and to Iesus the Mediator of the New Covenant. From this place it is most plain, that we cannot be with Christ, but we must be with God, with Angels, and with the Spirits of Just Men made perfect: And sure such Glorious Company cannot but make the Happi∣ness of Paradise exceeding great.

1. I shew'd you, that we shall in Pa∣radise be with all the Saints in Heaven; nor shall we barely be with them, but

we shall know them. If the Three Dis∣ciples, who were admitted to Christ's Transfiguration, knew Moses and Elias, whom they had never seen before; no doubt but we, being fully illuminated, and perfectly Glorified in Heaven, shall know all the Patriarchs, Prophets, Apo∣stles, Saints and Martyrs; and therefore our Saviour says expresly, Luke 13. 28. That the Godly hereafter shall see Abra∣ham, Isaac and Jacob in the Kingdom of God: Thus we shall see and know all the Blessed Inhabitants of Heaven: Nor shall we only know them, but we shall have sweet Converse and Communion with them. To this purpose is that, Matt. 8. 11. Many shall come from the East, and from the West, and shall sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob in the Kingdom of Heaven. Sit down, that is, as the Original imports, they shall feast with them. And this sure does not only denote their mutual Knowledge each of other, but also the highest Caresses of Love and Friendship, such as this Me∣taphor of feasting is used in Scripture to denote. And this sure cannot but mightily inhance the Happiness of Para∣dise: David accounted the Saints of

God, the most excellent Persons here upon Earth, and delighted in nothing so much as in their Society: But in Hea∣ven they shall be made perfect; there they shall be freed from all those Hu∣man Infirmities and Imperfections which use to allay the solaces of their Conversation. Yea, on the contray, they shall be adorned with all those Excellencies and Advantages which are requisite to make their Society most plea∣sant and desirable. And indeed we find the Disciples, at the Transfiguration, were so satisfied with the Company of Moses and Elias, two of these Glorious Inhabitants of Heaven, that they pre∣sently cry out, it is good for us to be here, and would have built Tabernacles, and have been content to have taken their rest on this side of Heaven. How much greater will their Happiness be, who shall enjoy the most ravishing Society of all the Blessed Inhabitants of Hea∣ven! But,

2. We shall not only enjoy the Socie∣ty of Saints, but of Angels too, So I have shewn you already, from Heb. 12. 22. where it is said, We shall come to an innumerable Company of Angels. Angels

are far more glorious Creatures than the Saints, and therefore the enjoyment of them must needs be a farther addition to our happiness.

3dly, We shall also in Paradise be with Christ, in respect of his Humanity. To day shalt thou be with me in Paradise: With me, whom thou now seest hanging on the Cross. It was one of St. Austin's three famous Wishes to see Christ in the Body; but it shall be our happiness in Paradise, not barely to see Christ's Body, but also to see that Glory God has adorn'd it with there. To this purpose is that Prayer of our Saviour, Ioh. 17. 24. Father, I will that they also whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am, that they may behold my Glory which thou hast given me. We shall there see Christ sitting on the Right hand of Power, highly exalted above Seraphims and Cherubims; and the sight of all this Glory will rejoyce us the more, be∣cause our Human Nature is glorified in him.

4thly, The Godly, by being with Christ in Paradise, shall also be with God himself. St. Paul therefore giving a full Catalogue of that glorious Com∣pany

we shall enjoy in Heaven, tells us, Heb. 12. 22, 23. that we shall not only come to the General Assembly of the First-born, and to an innumerable Com∣pany of Angels, and to Iesus, the Me∣diatour of the New-Covenant; but he adds, to God the Iudge of all. To enjoy the Company of Saints, Angels, and Christ, as Man, is Happiness great, be∣yond our utmost Imagination: But yet they are but as little Drops, if com∣pared to that Ocean of Bliss, which will flow into the Soul upon the enjoy∣ment of God himself. It was a Noble Saying of Luthers, That he had rather be in Hell with Gods presence, than in Heaven without it. Now if this Presence of God be able to convert even Hell it self into a kind of Heaven; the enjoy∣ment of this must certainly make Hea∣ven become what it is styled in Scrip∣ture, an Heaven of Heavens. This therefore is the Flower of our Joy, the Crown of Blessedness, and the very Soul of Heaven: For whilst we enjoy God, we must needs enjoy all things. All that is good did at first flow from him, and is therefore certainly more eminently to be found in Him, as in its

Fountain and Original. All that can delight our Souls, or ravish our Hearts; all that is lovely and desirable, are here to be found in their greatest perfections. Well then might the Psalmist say, Psal. 16. 11. In thy presence, O God, there is fulness of Ioy, and at thy right hand there are Pleasures for evermore. But because this will be the Quintessence of our happiness in Heaven, we will enquire wherein it will consist. But,

1. Give me leave to premise this Cau∣tion, That in this Vale of Misery we cannot fully understand those Joys which God has prepared for us in Heaven: They are such, saith St. Paul, as Eye hath not seen, nor Ear heard, neither hath it entred into the heart of Man to conceive. You'l find also St. Iohn speaking the same Truth, 1. Ioh. 3. 2. Beloved, now are we the Sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be; but we know that when he shall appear, we shall be like him. As God gave Moses the sight of the Land of Canaan only, from Mount Nebo; so he gives us a prospect of the Heavenly, but it is at a distance: So that we do not fully here under∣stand the greatness of our happiness;

and it is some honour and advantage to it, that it is so great, as that we cannot fully comprehend it: But so far as God in Scripture has revealed the happiness of Paradise to us, it will chiefly consist in these two Observations:

1st, A clear and perfect Knowledge of God, and his Infinite Perfecti∣ons.

2dly, In the enjoyment of him to all Eternity.

1st, Our happiness in Paradise will chiefly consist in a clear and perfect Knowledge of God, and his Infinite Perfections. Knowledge was the fairest Fruit that ever grew in the Earthly Paradise; and we cannot imagin the Paradise above should be compleat and perfect without it. Knowledge is so sweet and pleasant to the Soul, that the Roman Oratour calls it, Naturale Anim•• pabulum, the most grateful and palatable Food of the Soul. It is dearer to us, saith Aristotle, than our Eyes, which are usually wasted and worn away in pursuits after it. Now as Knowledge in the general is thus sweet and pleasant to the Soul, so the nobler the Objects are which we know, the sweeter and more

pleasant must the Knowledge be. Now there can be no Object so noble and ex∣cellent as Almighty God: He is Infi∣nite in Perfections, and therefore to have a clear and perfect Knowledge of his Infinite and Divine Perfections, must needs make a considerable part of our future happiness. Now it is plain from Scripture, that we shall have a clear and perfect knowledge of God in Hea∣ven. Here it is, that, as the Prophet Esay speaks, we shall see the King of Kings in all his beauty, Esay 33. 17. Indeed, the Soul here below, like the Spouse in the Canticles, seeks her Be∣loved only in the dark, beholds his Back∣parts in the Glass of his Creatures, reads a little more of him in the Holy Scrip∣ture, and tastes a litle more of him in his Comfortable Ordinances; yet still she sees him but darkly, and through the Lattice, and all is able to do no more, than to make her sick of Love: But hereafter we shall see God face to face, and we shall know him, even as we are known, 1 Cor. 13. 12 We shall not then sit down content with the School-mans Negative Knowledge, and be proud, when we know only what God

is not: No, we shall then have a Posi∣tive Knowledge of him, and as St. Iohn phrases it, see him even as he is, 1 Joh. 3. 2. What strange Expressions are these! How clear and how full a Knowledge of God do they import! We shall no longer read of God in the Scripture, or hear of him by his Ministers, but we shall see him with our Eyes, yea, and we shall see him as he is, in all that wonder∣ful Glory, which is the Light and Sun of the highest Heavens. Now, how much such clear Knowledge of God will in∣crease our future happiness, we may learn in some measure from the Story of the Queen of the South: The Q. of Sheba heard indeed some imperfect Reports of Solomon's Wisdom in her own Coun∣try; but when she came and saw his Person, heard his incomparable Wisdom, and had been an happy Spectator of all the Pomp and Royal Magnificence of his Court, she was then sweetly asto∣nished, so that there was no more Spirit left in her: Even so, when the pious Soul shall come to the Court of Hea∣ven, and there see God, as he is cloathed with Majesty and Honour, infinitely beyond and above all she ever heard of

him by his Ministers, or read of him in the Scripture; when she shall behold the Attendance of his Throne, even ten thousand times ten thousand Angels and comprehend all those ineffable Glo∣ries, which neither Eye hath seen, nor Ear heard, with what pleasing Ecstasies of Admiration will she then be trans∣ported! But this is not all: For,

2dly, Our happiness in Paradise will not barely consist in the clear and per∣fect Knowledge of God; but also in the enjoyment of him unto all Eternity, Knowledge without Fruition, can only give us the Happiness of Moses upon Mount Nebo; at best, but a fairer prospect of the Heavenly Canaan: but we are assured in Scripture, that we shall not only see this Land of Promise, but we shall taste the Milk and the Hony of it: We shall not only see and know God▪ but we shall also enjoy him. This Enjoyment of God is elegantly set forth in Scripture by the Metaphor of a Feast, because Friends usually enjoy themselves most, when they Feast together. Now what strange Expressions to this pur∣pose are those which we read, Rev. 19. 9. where the Angel bids S. Iohn write thus,

Blessed are they which are called to the Marriage Supper of the Lamb. They used to have their greatest Feasts at Supper; but the happiness of Heaven is here set forth, not only by the Meta∣phor of a Supper, but also of a Mar∣riage Supper, to denote that more inti∣mate and pleasant enjoyment of God and Christ the Saints may expect in Heaven: And lest we should in the least doubt of this, these Emphatical words are added, which perhaps ye do not use much to take notice of, but now I desire you to do; these, saith the Angel, are the true Sayings of God: So that we may well believe, the Saints shall enjoy all this happiness I have spoken of. Tho' this which I last mention'd, be a most comfortable Text, yet, I think, you'l find one fuller to this purpose, Luk. 12. 37. Blessed are those Servants, whom the Lord when he cometh shall find watching: Verily I say unto you, that he shall gird himself, and make them sit down to meat, and will come forth and serve them. Here again the happiness of Hea∣ven is set forth by the Metaphor of a Feast; and our Saviour alludes to those Feasts among the Romans, which they

called their Saturnalia; when the Ma∣sters were obliged to provide sumptuous Feasts for their Servants, and to gird themselves and come forth and serve. It seems God will deal thus with his poor unworthy Servants: He will pre∣pare as great a Feast for them, as Heaven can afford, and will come forth himself and serve them. In this World he makes use of Angels, as Ministring Spirits, and imploys them for the good of his People: But in the other World, the happiness of the Godly will be so great, and so infinite, that Angels be∣ing but finite Creatures, cannot serve any longer as Conduits, to convey it to them: No, God himself, as he will be the Feast, so he will be the Entertainer, too, and in a word, All in all. Thus I have shewn you, how great our happi∣ness will be in respect of God himself; we shall have a clear and perfect know∣ledge of him and his infinite Excel∣lencies, and we shall also have a full Enjoyment of him unto all Eternity. I proceed now to the last thing pro∣posed, namely, to consider the greatness of this happiness, with reference to the place.

Lastly, We shall not only be with Christ, but we shall be with Christ in Paradise. To be with Christ in any place, cannot but be happiness: Had our Saviour took the Penitent Thief along with him, when he descended into Hell, there to have seen him Triumph over Principalities and Powers, and all our spiritual Enemies, this had been a blessed and most pleasant sight: But to carry him along with himself to Para∣dise, the pleasantness and glories of the place could not but add to the happiness of it. To this end you'l find the Holy Ghost in Scripture exceeding large in the description of this place, and it is set forth by such Metaphors as denote the most incomprehensible, both beauty, plea∣santness, strength, splendour, and glory: for pleasure, it is in the Text called Paradise; for Magnificence, a Kingdom, yea, a Kingdom of Glory too: It is styled, an House not made with hands, but by God himself, to denote both its strength and workmanship: For Magni∣tude, it is called a Great City: For Purity, the Holy and Heavenly Ieru∣salem. Would we some Evening take a walk with Isaac into the Fields, and

there view how God has garnished these upper Regions of the World, how many are those Stars which sparkle there? And they are also, most of them, of such an incredible Magnitude, as to be more than an hundred times bigger than the Earth; and yet this Firmament, as glo∣rious as it is, is only the outside of the Pavement of that Ierusalem which is above. What incomprehensible Glory then must shine within it! We read in the Book of Revelations, that the very Streets are of pure Gold, the Walls and Foundations all of Precious Stones: Such incredible lustre and glory is in it, that the Sun shall not need to give his Light, nor the Moon to shine in it; for the Glory of God shall inlighten it, and the Lamb shall be the light thereof for ever. Thus happy shall the Godly be after they depart this Life, they shall be with Christ, and which is more, they shall be with Christ in Paradise. I come now to draw some practical Inferences from what has been delivered.

Application.

1st. Has the Holy Ghost in Scripture made such discoveries of Paradise, and

our future happiness; then certainly they ought to fill our Souls with earnest Longings, and vehement Pursuits after them. When King Hezekiah had shewn to the Ambassador of Baladan, King of Babylon, the House of his Precious things, his Silver and his Gold, and all his Treasures; we read these finite pe∣rishing Treasures, proved Load-stones powerful enough to draw these Baby∣lonians to War against Iudah: How much more ought the infinite Glories of Heaven, which God has revealed in the Scripture, raise such violent Desires in us, as may make us resemble the Spouse in the Canticles, who is compared to a Pillar of Smoak, mounting continually towards Heaven; or them who lived in the dayes of Iohn the Baptist, who are said to have taken the Kingdom of Heaven by violence. Such a temper of Spirit as this we find in the Saints of God: My Soul fainteth for thy Salvation: I have longed for it, saith Holy David Psal. 119. 81 It is a remarkable Passage of Cornelius a Lapide, upon Gen. 47. where enquiring why the Patriarchs of old were so passionately desirous to have their bones buried in the Land

of Canaan, he gives this Reason: God, saith he, had revealed unto these Holy men the Day of Christ; they all, as well as Abraham, saw Christ Day and re∣joyced: Not only the Day of his Nati∣vity, but that more glorious Day of his Resurrection; In which not only Christ himself should rise, but others that slept should rise with him, and attend upon him into Heaven at his Ascension. These hopes of Rising with Christ, and getting sooner to Heaven, both in their Bodies and Souls, than others, made them thus careful and solicitous to be buried near the place where Christ was to rise. How unlike these Holy Patriarchs are many amongst us, whose heavy Souls move down to Earth, as to their Center: Neither God nor Heaven does ever so much trouble their Thoughts, as to make them breath forth their desires after them. But such as are true Be∣lievers, and sincere Christians, are in Scripture described by this known Peri∣phrasis, of being such as love the appear∣ing of Christ; such as desire to be dis∣solved, that they may be with him; such as earnestly groan to be cloathed upon with their House which is from

Heaven, and therefore pray often with the Bride in the Revelations, Come Lord Iesus, come quickly.

2dly, If we do earnestly and seriously desire this exceeding great happiness of Paradise, we must be willing to use the Means which will bring us to it. It is a known Maxim in the Schools, Qui vult finem, vult media ad finem: He that effectually desires the End, desires also the Means which lead unto that End If, with the Thief upon the Cross, we expect after Death to enjoy Christ in Paradise, we must labour to imitate him, and give such demonstrations of our Humility, Faith in Christ, and sincere Repentance as he did. Our Saviour tells us, that the wise Merchant in the Gospel had no sooner found a Pearl of great Price, but he presently sold all he had and purchas'd it. It is reported of Ca∣millus, that Famous French Commander, that when he had tasted some of the pleasant Grapes of Italy, he could never be at rest, till he had raised a great Army, and Conquer'd that pleasant Country. God has been pleased in Scripture, to present us with some of the Grapes of Canaan, to give us some

taste of the Heavenly gift, and the Powers of the World to come: How should this make us restless and unquiet, till we arrive at this happy Country? Should we not now raise all the Forces that we can to fight our Spiritual Ene∣mies, and conquer those Lusts which oppose our happiness? Should we now spare any Sin, tho' it were as dear to us as a beloved Ionathan? Sure, Heaven will recompence the loss of a right Eye, and a right Hand, should we pluck them off and sacrifice them to our Saviour. And indeed we must thus forsake sin, every sin, the most darling sin, if ever we hope to get to Paradise. The Young man in the Gospel lacked but one thing, and yet fell short of Hea∣ven: And if thou wilt still indulge thy self in thy Covetousness, Unclean∣ness, Swearing, Drunkenness, or any other known sin, thou canst never ex∣pect to be with Christ in Paradise. For Christ has told us plainly, Mat. 19. 17. that if we will enter into Life, we must keep the Commandments.

Which that we may all do, God of his Infinite Mercy grant, &c.