Hopkins - HP BR75 .H65 1710

The A!l-fa(Jiciellc) of Chrifl Grace, but the meancft Grace is a ground of true and inward Joy and Satisfaaion when t~c Spirit's Witn:rs d~th irrJdiate it ro us as well ;J.S th_e .greate!t: degree of Grace 15. Joy and S:lttsfaCl:Jon flows from Grace, both lS lt ts the poffdlion of that which in it fclf is very defirable, and becaufe (more efpccially) it is the earneft Pen_ny of a future Glorious Inh~r.itancc. And hence it is that there may be at once tn the fame Heart a complanung for the want of Grace, and yet Joy unfpeakablc lnd full of Gl?ry for what we h~ve. As Grace in it fclf is the mort defirab!e good, for a Chn(ban fadly complameth thJt he bath no more, but is ftinted and kept fo fuort in his Allowance; but then as Gr:~ce is the Earn~ft of future Glory, fa it yicldeth Joy in rhe very Ponemon, as knowing that a Pe~try is as ~o?d an E.~mlcll: as a Pound) and the weake:_ft Grace may as firmly allure a Chrtfban of Eternal Glory as the ftrongeft . 1 bus 1 have /hewn thaE there is an All-fufficiency and Satisfaftorincfs in the weakeft and lowe11 dcorce of Grace. if_ it be ~ut fincere, for it is. fnfJ1cient to mak:. the .H~art ~~~right 0and fincere, It IS fuffic1ent to break the re1gmng Power of ::>m, It IS fullic1ent to caft Stttan out of his Throne, it is fufficient to fway the Heart to God, it i' fufficient to Intitle the Soul to Heaven and Glory, and confequently is always a fuffident ground of true Joy and Comfort. . . 3· If an ImperfeCt ftat.c of Grace be of an AH-ftlfficmg Nature, what will it be when Grace fh:.tll mount up into Glory ? If there be fo much in the Earnert what will there be in the Inheritance j[ felf? ~nd this declares the A\1-fufficiencY of Chrift indeed, fince he is able to in{l:ate us m fuch r;reat and rich Polleffions that the Eye bath not fun, the E11r hured, neither harh it entred into the Heart of Man to conceive, what they arc, as the Apoflle fpeaks. When St. Paul, who once fuffered a TranOation, and himfc\f gives us a Re~ation of this his Voyage into the other World, he tells us no more tha.n than t_lliS, nat he roaJ cautht up into Paradife, and that he heard word; unuttttaVI~, that 1! rvas not !_awful or pojfible for him to utter, 2 Cor. 12. 4~ t? 11. The ~appl!tefs <;'t Heave~ 1~ fo great that it cannot be fully known tt\1 It be fully enJoyed. It ts a rcrnam1ng Reft, an inaccef... fible Light, frefh and overflowing Pleafurcs, an.d Incorruptible Crown,. an Eter~ 11al Kingdom, too much for me to utter or you to conceive. But neverthelefs if the fi ght and full Fruition of God, if the Society of Angels, and Spirits of Jufl: Men made perfea; if Everla!ling Songs of Praifes and Hallelujahs, if E· tern:.tl Raptures and Extalles can be accounted a Supporting and an All-fufficing Good, all thefe ferve to extol the A\1-fufficiency of Chrift our Saviour, who Cln beftow upon us this ravifhing, fatisfying Joy and Glory. God is now to us the Spring-head ar.d Fountain of all our Mercies and Comforts, and we lye below at the fall of this Spring, and draw Refrefhments from him only through the Conduit-pipes of · Providences and Ordinances, and live upon fecond-hand Enjoyments, but in Heaven we fhall be laid clofe to the Fountain it felf, and drink in Divine Communications as they flow immediately from God, with.. out having them deadned and flattened in the Conveyance. Now we behold him through a Glafs dark ly, then we fiull fee him Face to Face, fee him as he is, and know him as we are known by him: And if it caufeth now fuch. Raptures of Joy in us, when he fomctimes darts in half a glance of his Eye upon the Soul, Oh then! within what bounds can our Joy contain it felf, when we iha\l conftantly fix our Eye upon God, and fi:edfaftly behold his.Face, that Face from which the moft Glorions Angels, as confcious of their own un.. Worthinefs tl) behold, cover and vail their own ? If now when God e;ives us fome glorious Difcoverics of himfclf, we are ready to faint and melt down un.. der them, certainly in Heaven when we fha\1 lye under the Glorious Rays of the Deity beating fo fully upon us, it is f0 great, that there were no living there did not the fame God ftrengthen as well as fill our Capacities. This is that Bea.. tifical Yijio11, that Heaven of Heavens, that Glory wherein the Angel; are fatif· fied, that fight wherein God !hall beftow upon up a clearer Eye than that of Faith, and be always prcfent with us in a nearer way than that of Comfort. This is that All-futlicient and All-fatisfying fl:ate which the Lord jefus Chrifl: can and will bring all his unto: A ftate of inconceivable and endlefs Felicity, far furmounting inGlory, whatever our narrow -Conceptions can now apprehend, a ftatc wherein we rhall for ever joyn with Angels iu ringing Praifes to the Lamb, who hath Redeemed us with his own Blood, and Manifeftcd himfelf to be an All .. fufficicnt

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