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Saved By Grace, By J O H N.B U N Y A N. |
QUEST. I.–WHAT IS IT TO BE SAVED?
his question supposeth that there is such a thing as damnation
due to man for sin; for to save supposeth the person to be saved to be at present
in a sad condition; saving, to him that is not lost, signifies nothing, neither is
it anything in itself. "To save, to redeem, to deliver," are in the general
terms equivalent, and they do all of them suppose us to be in a state of thraldom
and misery; therefore this word "saved," in the sense that the apostle
here doth use it, is a word of great worth, forasmuch as the miseries from which
we are saved is the misery of all most dreadful.
The miseries from which they that shall be saved shall by their salvation be delivered,
are dreadful; they are no less than sin, the curse of God, and flames of hell for
ever. What more abominable than sin? What more insupportable than the dreadful wrath
of an angry God? And what more fearful than the bottomless pit of hell? I say, what
more fearful than to be tormented there for ever with the devil and his angels? Now,
to "save," according to my text, is to deliver the sinner from these, with
all things else that attend them. And although sinners may think that it is no hard
matter to answer this question, yet I must tell you there is no man, that can feelingly
know what it is to be saved, that knoweth not experimentally something of the dread
of these three things, as is evident, because all others do even by their practice
count it a thing of no great concern, when yet it is of all other of the highest
concern among men; "For what is a man profited if he shall gain the whole world,
and lose his own soul?" (Matt 16:26).
But, I say, if this word "saved" concludeth our deliverance from sin, how
can he tell what it is to be saved that hath not in his conscience groaned under
the burden of sin? yea, it is impossible else that he should ever cry out with all
his heart, "Men and brethren, what shall we do?"–that is, do to be saved
(Acts 2:37). The man that hath no sores or aches cannot know the virtue of the salve;
I mean, not know it from his own experience, and therefore cannot prize, nor have
that esteem of it, as he that hath received cure thereby. Clap a plaster to a well
place, and that maketh not its virtue to appear; neither can he to whose flesh it
is so applied, by that application understand its worth. Sinners, you, I mean, that
are not wounded with guilt, and oppressed with the burden of sin, you cannot–I will
say it again–you cannot know, in this senseless condition of yours, what it is to
be saved.
Again; this word "saved," as I said, concludeth deliverance from the wrath
of God. How, then, can he tell what it is to be saved that hath not felt the burden
of the wrath of God? He–he that is astonished with, and that trembleth at, the wrath
of God–he knows best what it is to be saved (Acts 16:29).
Further, this word "saved," it concludeth deliverance from death and hell.
How, then, can he tell what it is to be saved that never was sensible of the sorrows
of the one, nor distressed with the pains of the other? The Psalmist says, "The
sorrows of death compassed me, and the pains of hell gat hold upon me: I found trouble
and sorrow. Then called I upon the name of the Lord"–(mark, then), "then
called I upon the name of the Lord; O Lord, I beseech thee, deliver my soul,"–then,
in my distress. When he knew what it was to be saved, then he called, because, I
say, then he knew what it was to be saved (Psa 18:4,5; 116:3,4). I say, this is the
man, and this only, that knows what it is to be saved. And this is evident, as is
manifest by the little regard that the rest have to saving, or the little dread they
have of damnation. Where is he that seeks and groans for salvation? I say, where
is he that hath taken his flight for salvation, because of the dread of the wrath
to come? "O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath
to come?" (Matt 3:7). Alas! do not the most set light by salvation?–as for sin,
how do they love it, embrace it, please themselves with it, hide it still within
their mouth, and keep it close under their tongue. Besides, for the wrath of God,
they feel it not, they fly not from it; and for hell, it is become a doubt to many
if there be any, and a mock to those whose doubt is resolved by atheism.
But to come to the question–What is it to be saved? To be saved may either respect
salvation in the whole of it, or salvation in the parts of it, or both. I think this
text respecteth both–to wit, salvation completing, and salvation completed; for "to
save" is a work of many steps; or, to be as plain as possible, "to save"
is a work that hath its beginning before the world began, and shall not be completed
before it is ended.
First, then, we may be said to be saved in the purpose of God before the world began.
The apostle saith that "he saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not
according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given
us in Christ Jesus before the world began" (2 Tim 1:9). This is the beginning
of salvation, and according to this beginning all things concur and fall out in conclusion–"He
hath saved us according to his eternal purpose, which he purposed in Christ Jesus."
God in thus saving may be said to save us by determining to make those means effectual
for the blessed completing of our salvation; and hence we are said "to be chosen
in Christ to salvation." And again, that he hath in that choice given us that
grace that shall complete our salvation. Yea, the text is very full, "He hath
blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ, according as
he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world" (Eph 1:3,4).
Second. As we may be said to be saved in the purpose of God before the foundation
of the world, so we may be said to be saved before we are converted, or called to
Christ. And hence "saved" is put before "called"; "he hath
saved us, and called us"; he saith not, he hath called us, and saved us; but
he puts saving before calling (2 Tim 1:9). So again, we are said to be "preserved
in Christ and called"; he saith not, called and preserved (Jude 1). And therefore
God saith again, "I will pardon them whom I reserve"–that is, as Paul expounds
it, those whom I have "elected and kept," and this part of salvation is
accomplished through the forbearance of God (Jer 50:20; Rom 11:4,5). God beareth
with is own elect, for Christ's sake, all the time of their unregeneracy, until the
time comes which he hath appointed for their conversion. The sins that we stood guilty
of before conversion, had the judgment due to them been executed upon us, we had
not now been in the world to partake of a heavenly calling. But the judgment due
to them hath been by the patience of God prevented, and we saved all the time of
our ungodly and unconverted state, from that death, and those many hells, that for
our sins we deserved at the hands of God.
And here lies the reason that long life is granted to the elect before conversion,
and that all the sins they commit and all the judgments they deserve, cannot drive
them out of the world before conversion. Manasseh, you know, was a great sinner,
and for the trespass which he committed he was driven from his own land, and carried
to Babylon; but kill him they could not, though his sins had deserved death ten thousand
times. But what was the reason? Why, he was not yet called; God had chosen him in
Christ, and laid up in him a stock of grace, which must be given to Manasseh before
he dies; therefore Manasseh must be convinced, converted, and saved. That legion
of devils that was in the possessed, with all the sins which he had committed in
the time of his unregeneracy, could not take away his life before his conversion
(Mark 5). How many times was that poor creature, as we may easily conjecture, assaulted
for his life by the devils that were in him, yet could they not kill him, yea, though
his dwelling was near the sea-side, and the devils had power to drive him too, yet
could they not drive him further than the mountains that were by the sea- side; yea,
they could help him often to break his chains and fetters, and could also make him
as mad as a bedlam, [3] they could also prevail with him to separate from men, and cut himself
with stones, but kill him they could not, drown him they could not; he was saved
to be called; he was, notwithstanding all this, preserved in Christ, and called.
As it is said of the young lad in the gospel, he was by the devil cast oft into the
fire, and oft into the water, to destroy him, but it could not be; even so hath he
served others, but they must be "saved to be called" (Mark 9:22). How many
deaths have some been delivered from and saved out of before conversion! Some have
fallen into rivers, some into wells, some into the sea, some into the hands of men;
yea, they have been justly arraigned and condemned, as the thief upon the cross,
but must not die before they have been converted. They were preserved in Christ,
and called.
Called Christian, how many times have thy sins laid thee upon a sick- bed, and, to
thine and others' thinking, at the very mouth of the grave? yet God said concerning
thee, Let him live, for he is not yet converted. Behold, therefore, that the elect
are saved before they are called. [4] "God, who is rich in mercy, for his great
love wherewith he loved us, even when we were dead in sins," hath preserved
us in Christ, and called us (Eph 2:4,5).
Now this "saving" of us arises from six causes. 1. God hath chosen us unto
salvation, and therefore will not frustrate his own purposes (1 Thess 5:9). 2. God
hath given us to Christ; and his gift, as well as his calling, is without repentance
(Rom 11:29; John 6:37). 3. Christ hath purchased us with his blood (Rom 5:8,9). 4.
They are, by God, counted in Christ before they are converted (Eph 1:3,4). 5. They
are ordained before conversion to eternal life; yea, to be called, to be justified,
to be glorified, and therefore all this must come upon them (Rom 8:29,30). 6. For
all this, he hath also appointed them their portion and measure of grace, and that
before the world began; therefore, that they may partake of all these privileges,
they are saved and called, preserved in Christ, and called.
Third. To be saved is to be brought to, and helped to lay hold on, Jesus Christ by
faith. And this is called saving by grace through faith. "For by grace are ye
saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God" (Eph
2:8).
1. They must be brought unto Christ, yea, drawn unto him; for "no man,"
saith Christ, "can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him"
(John 6:44). Men, even the elect, have too many infirmities to come to Christ without
help from heaven; inviting will not do. "As they called them, so they went from
them," therefore he "drew them with cords" (Hosea 11:2,4).
2. As they must be brought to, so they must be helped to lay hold on Christ by faith;
for as coming to Christ, so faith, is not in our own power; therefore we are said
to be raised up with him "through the faith of the operation of God." And
again, we are said to believe, "according to the working of his mighty power,
which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead" (Col 2:12; Eph
1:19,20). Now we are said to be saved by faith, because by faith we lay hold of,
venture upon, and put on Jesus Christ for life. For life, I say, because God having
made him the Saviour, hath given him life to communicate to sinners, and the life
that he communicates to them is the merit of his flesh and blood, which whoso eateth
and drinketh by faith, hath eternal life, because that flesh and blood hath merit
in it sufficient to obtain the favour of God. Yea, it hath done so [since] that day
it was offered through the eternal Spirit a sacrifice of a sweet- smelling savour
to him; wherefore God imputeth the righteousness of Christ to him that believeth
in him, by which righteousness he is personally justified, and saved from that just
judgment of the law that was due unto him (John 5:26, 6:53-58; Eph 4:32; 5:2; Rom
4:23-25).
"Saved by faith." For although salvation beginneth in God's purpose, and
comes to us through Christ's righteousness, yet is not faith exempted from having
a hand in saving of us. Not that it meriteth aught, but is given by God to those
which he saveth, that thereby they may embrace and put on that Christ by whose righteousness
they must be saved. Wherefore this faith is that which here distinguisheth them that
shall be saved from them that shall be damned. Hence it is said, "He that believeth
not, shall be damned"; and hence again it is that the believers are called "the
children, the heirs, and the blessed with faithful Abraham;" that the promise
by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to them that believe (Gal 3:6-9,26; Rom 4:13,14).
And here let Christians warily distinguish betwixt the meritorious and the instrumental
cause of their justification. Christ, with what he hath done and suffered, is the
meritorious cause of our justification; therefore he is said to be made to us of
God, "wisdom and righteousness;" and we are said to be "justified
by his blood, and saved from wrath through him," for it was his life and blood
that were the price of our redemption (1 Cor 1:30; Rom 5:9,10). "Redeemed,"
says Peter, "not with corruptible things, as silver and gold," alluding
to the redemption of money under the law, "but with the precious blood of Christ."
Thou art, therefore, as I have said, to make Christ Jesus the object of thy faith
for justification; for by his righteousness thy sins must be covered from the sight
of the justice of the law. "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt
be saved." "For he shall save his people from their sins" (Acts 16:31;
Matt 1:21).
Fourth. To be saved is to be preserved in the faith to the end. "He that shall
endure unto the end, the same shall be saved" (Matt 24:13). Not that perseverance
is an accident in Christianity, or a thing performed by human industry; they that
are saved "are kept by the power of God, through faith unto salvation"
(1 Peter 1:3-6).
But perseverance is absolutely necessary to the complete saving of the soul, because
he that falleth short of the state that they that are saved are possessed of, as
saved, cannot arrive to that saved state. He that goeth to sea with a purpose to
arrive at Spain, cannot arrive there if he be drowned by the way; wherefore perseverance
is absolutely necessary to the saving of the soul, and therefore it is included in
the complete saving of us–"Israel shall be saved in the Lord with an everlasting
salvation: ye shall not be ashamed nor confounded world without end" (Isa 45:17).
Perseverance is here made absolutely necessary to the complete saving of the soul.
But, as I said, this part of salvation dependeth not upon human power, but upon him
that hath begun a good work in us (Phil 1:6). This part, therefore, of our salvation
is great, and calleth for no less than the power of God for our help to perform it,
as will be easily granted by all those that consider–
1. That all the power and policy, malice and rage, of the devils and hell itself
are against us. Any man that understandeth this will conclude that to be saved is
no small thing. The devil is called a god, a prince, a lion, a roaring lion; it is
said that he hath death and the power of it, &c. But what can a poor creature,
whose habitation is in flesh, do against a god, a prince, a roaring lion, and the
power of death itself? Our perseverance, therefore, lieth in the power of God; "the
gates of hell shall not prevail against it."
2. All the world is against him that shall be saved. But what is one poor creature
to all the world, especially if you consider that with the world is terror, fear,
power, majesty, laws, jails, gibbets, hangings, burnings, drownings, starvings, banishments,
and a thousand kinds of deaths? (1 John 5:4,5; John 16:33).
3. Add to this, that all the corruptions that dwell in our flesh are against us,
and that not only in their nature and being, but they lust against us, and war against
us, to "bring us into captivity to the law of sin and death" (Gal 5:17;
1 Peter 2:11; Rom 7:23).
4. All the delusions in the world are against them that shall be saved, many of which
are so cunningly woven, so plausibly handled, so rarely[5] polished with Scripture
and reason, that it is ten thousand wonders that the elect are not swallowed up with
them; and swallowed up they would be, were they not elect, and was not God himself
engaged, either by power to keep them from falling, or by grace to pardon if they
fall, and to lift them up again (Matt 24:24; Eph 4:14; Rom 3:12).
5. Every fall of the saved is against the salvation of his soul; but a Christian
once fallen riseth not but as helped by Omnipotent power– "O Israel, thou hast
fallen by thine iniquity," "but in me is thy help," says God (Hosea
13:9; 14:1; Psa 37:23).
Christians, were you awake, here would be matter of wonder to you, to see a man assaulted
with all the power of hell, and yet to come off a conqueror! Is it not a wonder to
see a poor creature, who in himself is weaker than the moth, to stand against and
overcome all devils, all the world, all his lusts and corruptions? (Job 4:19). Or
if he fall, is it not a wonder to see him, when devils and guilt are upon him, to
rise again, stand upon his feet again, walk with God again, and persevere after all
this in the faith and holiness of the gospel? He that knows himself, wonders; he
that knows temptation, wonders; he that knows what falls and guilt mean, wonders;
indeed, perseverance is a wonderful thing, and is managed by the power of God; for
he only "is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before
the presence of his glory with exceeding joy" (Jude 24). Those of the children
of Israel that went from Egypt, and entered the land of Canaan, how came they thither?
Why, the text says, that "as an eagle spreadeth abroad her wings, so the Lord
alone did lead them." And again, "he bore them, and carried them all the
days of old" (Deu 32:11,12; Isa 63:9). David also tells us that mercy and goodness
should follow him all the days of his life, and so he should dwell in the house of
the Lord for ever (Psa 23:6).
Fifth. To be saved calls for more than all this; he that is saved, must, when this
world can hold him no longer, have a safe- conduct to heaven, for that is the place
where they that are saved must to the full enjoy their salvation. This heaven is
called "the end of our faith," because it is that which faith looks at;
as Peter says, "Receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your
souls." And again, "But we are not of them who draw back unto perdition;
but of them that believe to the saving of the soul" (1 Peter 1:9; Heb 10:39).
For, as I said, heaven is the place for the saved to enjoy their salvation in, with
that perfect gladness that is not attainable here. Here we are saved by faith and
hope of glory; but there, we that are saved shall enjoy the end of our faith and
hope, even the salvation of our souls. There is "Mount Zion, the heavenly Jerusalem,
the general assembly and church of the firstborn;" there is the "innumerable
company of angels, and the spirits of just men made perfect;" there is "God
the judge of all, and Jesus the Mediator of the new covenant;" there shall our
soul have as much of heaven as it is capable of enjoying, and that without intermission;
wherefore, when we come there we shall be saved indeed! But now for a poor creature
to be brought hither, this is the life of the point. But how shall I come hither?
there are heights and depths to hinder (Rom 8:38,39).
Suppose the poor Christian is now upon a sick-bed, beset with a thousand fears, and
ten thousand at the end of that; sick-bed fears! and they are sometimes dreadful
ones; fears that are begotten by the review of the sin, perhaps, of forty years'
profession; fears that are begotten by dreadful and fearful suggestions of the devil,
the sight of death, and the grave, and it may be of hell itself; fears that are begotten
by the withdrawing and silence of God and Christ, and by, it may be, the appearance
of the devil himself; some of these made David cry, "O spare me" a little,
"that I may recover strength before I go hence, and be no more" (Psa 39:13).
"The sorrows of death," said he, "compassed me, and the pains of hell
gat hold upon me; I found trouble and sorrow" (Psa 116:3). These things, in
another place, he calls the bands that the godly have in their death, and the plagues
that others are not aware of. "They are not in trouble as other men; neither
are they plagued like other men" (Psa 73:9). But now, out of all these, the
Lord will save his people; not one sin, nor fear, nor devil shall hinder; nor the
grave nor hell disappoint thee. But how must this be? Why, thou must have a safe-conduct
to heaven? [6] What conduct? A conduct of angels: "Are they not all ministering spirits,
sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation?" (Heb 1:14).
These angels, therefore, are not to fail them that are the saved; but must, as commissioned
of God, come down from heaven to do this office for them; they must come, I say,
and take the care and charge of our soul, to conduct it safely into Abraham's bosom.
It is not our meanness in the world, nor our weakness of faith, that shall hinder
this; nor shall the loathsomeness of our diseases make these delicate spirits shy
of taking this charge upon them. Lazarus the beggar found this a truth; a beggar
so despised of the rich glutton that he was not suffered to come within his gate;
a beggar full of sores and noisome putrefaction; yet, behold, when he dies, the angels
come from heaven to fetch him thither: "And it came to pass that the beggar
died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham's bosom" (Luke 16:22). True,
sick-bed temptations are ofttimes the most violent, because then the devil plays
his last game with us, he is never to assault us more; besides, perhaps God suffereth
it thus to be, that the entering into heaven may be the sweeter, and ring of this
salvation the louder! O it is a blessed thing for God to be our God and our guide
even unto death, and then for his angels to conduct us safely to glory; this is saving
indeed. And he shall save Israel "out of all his troubles;" out of sick-bed
troubles as well as others (Psa 25:22; 34:6; 48:14).
Sixth. To be saved, to be perfectly saved, calls for more than all this; the godly
are not perfectly saved when their soul is possessed of heaven. True, their spirit
is made perfect, and hath as much of heaven as at present it can hold, but man, consisting
of body and soul, cannot be said to be perfectly saved so long as but part of him
is in the heavens; his body is the price of the blood of Christ as well as his spirit;
his body is the temple of God, and a member of the body, and of the flesh, and of
the bones of Christ; he cannot, then, be completely saved until the time of the resurrection
of the dead (1 Cor 6:13-19; Eph 5:30). Wherefore, when Christ shall come the second
time, then will he save the body from all those things that at present make it incapable
of the heavens. "For our conversation is in heaven; from whence also we look
for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ; who shall change" this "our vile
body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body" (Phil 3:20,21).
O what a great deal of good God hath put into this little word "saved"!
We shall not see all the good that God hath put into this word "saved"
until the Lord Jesus comes to raise the dead. "It doth not yet appear what we
shall be" (1 John 3:2). But till it appears what we shall be, we cannot see
the bottom of this word "saved." True, we have the earnest of what we shall
be, we have the Spirit of God, "which is the earnest of our inheritance until
the redemption of the purchased possession" (Eph 1:14). The possession is our
body–it is called "a purchased possession," because it is the price of
blood; now the redemption of this purchased possession is the raising of it out of
the grave, which raising is called the redemption of our body (Rom 8:23). And when
this vile body is made like unto his glorious body, and this body and soul together
possessed of the heavens, then shall we be every way saved.
There are three things from which this body must be saved–1. There is that sinful
filth and vileness that yet dwells in it, under which we groan earnestly all our
days (2 Cor 5:1-3). 2. There is mortality, that subjecteth us to age, sickness, aches,
pains, diseases, and death. 3. And there is the grave and death itself, for death
is the last enemy that is to be destroyed. "So when this corruptible shall have
put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be
brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory"
(1 Cor 15:54). So then, when this comes to pass, then we shall be saved; then will
salvation, in all the parts of it, meet together in our glory; then we shall be every
way saved–saved in God's decree, saved in Christ's undertakings, saved by faith,
saved in perseverance, saved in soul, and in body and soul together in the heavens,
saved perfectly, everlastingly, gloriously.
[Of the state of our body and soul in heaven.]
Before I conclude my answer to the first question, I would discourse a little of
the state of our body and soul in heaven, when we shall enjoy this blessed state
of salvation.
First. Of the soul; it will then be filled in all the faculties of it with as much
bliss and glory as ever it can hold.
1. The understanding shall then be perfect in knowledge–"Now we know but in
part;" we know God, Christ, heaven, and glory, but in part; "but when that
which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away" (1
Cor 13:10). Then shall we have perfect and everlasting visions of God, and that blessed
one his Son Jesus Christ, a good thought of whom doth sometimes so fill us while
in this world, that it causeth "joy unspeakable and full of glory." 2.
Then shall our will and affections be ever in a burning flame of love to God and
his Son Jesus Christ; our love here hath ups and downs, but there it shall be always
perfect with that perfection which is not possible in this world to be enjoyed. 3.
Then will our conscience have that peace and joy that neither tongue nor pen of men
or angels can express. 4. Then will our memory be so enlarged to retain all things
that happened to us in this world, so that with unspeakable aptness we shall call
to mind all God's providences, all Satan's malice, all our own weaknesses, all the
rage of men, and how God made all work together for his glory and our good, to the
everlasting ravishing of our hearts.
Second. For our body; it shall be raised in power, in incorruption, a spiritual body
and glorious (1 Cor 15:44). The glory of which is set forth by several things–1.
It is compared to "the brightness of the firmament," and to the shining
of the stars "for ever and ever" (Dan 12:3; 1 Cor 15:41,42). 2. It is compared
to the shining of the sun– "Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun
in the kingdom of their Father. Who hath ears to hear, let him hear" (Matt 13:43).
3. Their state is then to be equally glorious with angels; "But they which shall
be counted worthy to obtain that world, and the resurrection from the dead, neither
marry, nor are given in marriage; neither can they die any more, for they are equal
unto the angels" (Luke 20:35,36). 4. It is said that then this our vile body
shall be like the glorious body of Jesus Christ (Phil 3:20,21; 1 John 3:2,3). 5.
And now, when body and soul are thus united, who can imagine what glory they both
possess? They will now be both in capacity, without jarring, to serve the Lord with
shouting thanksgivings, and with a crown of everlasting joy upon their head. [8]
In this world there cannot be that harmony and oneness of body and soul as there
will be in heaven. Here the body sometimes sins against the soul, and the soul again
vexes and perplexes the body with dreadful apprehensions of the wrath and judgment
of God. While we be in this world, the body oft hangs this way, and the soul the
quite contrary; but there, in heaven, they shall have that perfect union as never
to jar more; but now the glory of the body shall so suit with the glory of the soul,
and both so perfectly suit with the heavenly state, that it passeth words and thoughts.
Third. Shall I now speak of the place that this saved body and soul shall dwell in?
Why, 1. It is a city (Heb 11:16; Eph 2:19,22). 2. It is called heaven (Heb 10:34).
3. It is called God's house (John 14:1-3). 4. It is called a kingdom (Luke 12:32).
5. It is called glory (Col 3:4; Heb 2:10). 6. It is called paradise (Rev 2:7). 7.
It is called everlasting habitations (Luke 16:9).
Fourth. Shall I speak of their company?
Why, 1. They shall stand and live in the presence of the glorious God, the Judge
of all (Heb 12:23). 2. They shall be with the Lamb, the Lord Jesus. 3. They shall
be with an innumerable company of holy angels (Heb 12:22). 4. They shall be with
Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and all the prophets, in the kingdom of heaven (Luke 13:28).
Fifth. Shall I speak of their heavenly raiment?
1. It is salvation; they shall be clothed with the garment of salvation (Psa 132:16;
149:4; Isa 61:10). 2. This raiment is called white raiment, signifying their clean
and innocent state in heaven. "And they," says Christ, "shall walk
with me in white, for they are worthy" (Rev 3:4; 19:8; Isa 57:2). 3. It is called
glory–"When he shall appear, we shall appear with him in glory" (Col 3:4).
4. They shall also have crowns of righteousness, everlasting joy and glory (Isa 35:10;
2 Tim 4:8; 1 Peter 5:4).
Sixth. Shall I speak of their continuance in this condition?
1. It is for ever and ever. "And they shall see his face, and his name shall
be in their foreheads; and they shall reign for ever and ever" (Rev 22:4,5).
2. It is everlasting. "And this is the will of him that sent me, that every
one which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life" (John
6:40,47). 3. It is life eternal. "My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and
they follow me; and I give unto them eternal life" (John 10:27,28). 4. It is
world without end. "But Israel shall be saved in the Lord with an everlasting
salvation; ye shall not be ashamed nor confounded world without end" (Isa 45:17;
Eph 3:20,21).
O sinner! what sayest thou? How dost thou like being saved? Doth not thy mouth water?
Doth not thy heart twitter at being saved? Why, come then: "The Spirit and the
bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst
come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely" (Rev 22:17).
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