8. The religion of heaven consists very much in affection.
There is doubtless true religion in heaven, and true religion in its utmost purity and perfection.
But according to the Scripture representation of the heavenly state, the religion of heaven consists chiefly in holy and mighty love and joy, and the expression of these in most fervent and exalted praises. So that the religion of the saints in heaven, consists in the same things with that religion of the saints on earth, which is spoken of in our text, viz. love, and joy unspeakable, and full of glory.
Now it would be very foolish to pretend, that because the saints in heaven be not united to flesh and blood, and have no animal fluids to be moved (through the laws of union of soul and body), with those great emotions of their soul, that therefore their exceeding love and joy are no affections. We are not speaking of the affections of the body, but of the affections of the soul, the chief of which are love and joy.
When these are in the soul, whether that be in the body or out of it, the soul is affected and moved. And when they are in the soul, in that strength in which they are in the saints in heaven, the soul is mightily affected and moved, or, which is the same thing, has great affections.
'Tis true, we don't experimentally know what love and joy are in a soul out of a body, or in a glorified body; i.e. we have not had experience of love and joy in a soul in these circumstances; but the saints on earth do know what divine love and joy in the soul are, and they know what love and joy are of the same kind, with the love and joy which are in heaven, in separate souls there.
The love and joy of the saints on earth, is the beginning and dawning of the light, life, and blessedness of heaven, and is like their love and joy there; or rather, the same in nature, though not the same with it, or like to it, in degree and circumstances. This is evident by many Scriptures, as Proverbs 4:18; John 4:14 and ch. 6:40, 47, 50–51, 54, 58; I John 3:15; 1 Corinthians 13:8–12.
'Tis unreasonable therefore to suppose, that the love and joy of the saints in heaven, not only differ in degree and circumstances, from the holy love and joy of the saints on earth, but is so entirely different in nature, that they are no affections; and merely because they have no blood and animal spirits to be set in motion by them, which motion of the blood and animal spirits is not of the essence of these affections, in men on the earth, but the effect of them; although by their reaction they may make some circumstantial difference in the sensation of the mind.
There is a sensation of the mind which loves and rejoices, that is antecedent to any effects on the fluids of the body; and this sensation of the mind, therefore don't depend on these motions in the body, and so may be in the soul without the body.
And wherever there are the exercises of love and joy, there is that sensation of the mind, whether it be in the body, or out; and that inward sensation, or kind of spiritual sense, or feeling, and motion of the soul, is what is called affection; the soul when it thus feels (if I may so say), and is thus moved, is said to be affected, and especially when this inward sensation and motion, are to a very high degree, as they are in the saints in heaven.
If we can learn anything of the state of heaven from the Scripture, the love and joy that the saints have there, is exceeding great and vigorous; impressing the heart with the strongest and most lively sensation, of inexpressible sweetness, mightily moving, animating, and engaging them, making them like to a flame of fire.
And if such love and joy be not affections, then the word "affection" is of no use in language.
Will any say, that the saints in heaven, in beholding the face of their Father, and the glory of their Redeemer, and contemplating his wonderful works, and particularly his laying down his life for them, have their hearts nothing moved and affected, by all which they behold or consider?
Hence therefore the religion of heaven, consisting chiefly in holy love and joy, consists very much in affection: and therefore undoubtedly, true religion consists very much in affection.
The way to learn the true nature of anything, is to go where that thing is to be found in its purity and perfection.
If we would know the nature of true gold, we must view it, not in the ore, but when it is refined. If we would learn what true religion is, we must go where there is true religion, and nothing but true religion, and in its highest perfection, without any defect or mixture.
All who are truly religious are not of this world, they are strangers here, and belong to heaven; they are born from above, heaven is their native country, and the nature which they receive by this heavenly birth, is an heavenly nature, they receive an anointing from above; that principle of true religion which is in them, is a communication of the religion of heaven; their grace is the dawn of glory; and God fits them for that world by conforming them to it.
9. This appears from the nature and design of the ordinances and duties, which God hath appointed, as means and expressions of true religion.
To instance in the duty of prayer: 'tis manifest, we are not appointed, in this duty, to declare God's perfections, his majesty, holiness, goodness, and all-sufficiency, and our own meanness, emptiness, dependence, and unworthiness, and our wants and desires, to inform God of these things, or to incline his heart, and prevail with him to be willing to show us mercy; but suitably to affect our own hearts with the things we express, and so to prepare us to receive the blessings we ask.
And such gestures, and manner of external behavior in the worship of God, which custom has made to be significations of humility and reverence, can be of no further use, than as they have some tendency to affect our own hearts, or the hearts of others.
And the duty of singing praises to God, seems to be appointed wholly to excite and express religious affections. No other reason can be assigned, why we should express ourselves to God in verse, rather than in prose, and do it with music, but only, that such is our nature and frame, that these things have a tendency to move our affections.
The same thing appears in the nature and design of the sacraments, which God hath appointed. God, considering our frame, hath not only appointed that we should be told of the great things of the gospel, and of the redemption of Christ, and instructed in them by his Word; but also that they should be, as it were, exhibited to our view, in sensible representations, in the sacraments, the more to affect us with them.
And the impressing divine things on the hearts and affections of men, is evidently one great and main end for which God has ordained, that his Word delivered in the holy Scriptures, should be opened, applied, and set home upon men, in preaching.
And therefore it don't answer the aim which God had in this institution, merely for men to have good commentaries and expositions on the Scripture, and other good books of divinity; because, although these may tend, as well as preaching, to give men a good doctrinal or speculative understanding of the things of the Word of God, yet they have not an equal tendency to impress them on men's hearts and affections.
God hath appointed a particular and lively application of his Word, to men, in the preaching of it, as a fit means to affect sinners, with the importance of the things of religion, and their own misery, and necessity of a remedy, and the glory and sufficiency of a remedy provided; and to stir up the pure minds of the saints, and quicken their affections, by often bringing the great things of religion to their remembrance, and setting them before them in their proper colors, though they know them, and have been fully instructed in them already (II Peter 1:12–13).
And particularly, to promote those two affections in them, which are spoken of in the text, love and joy: Christ "gave some, apostles, and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers, that the body of Christ might be edified in love" (Ephesians 4:11–12, 16).
The Apostle, in instructing and counseling Timothy, concerning the work of the ministry, informs him that the great end of that Word which a minister is to preach, is love or charity (I Timothy 1:3–5).
And another affection which God has appointed preaching as a means to promote in the saints, is joy; and therefore ministers are called helpers of their joy (II Corinthians 1:24).
10. 'Tis an evidence that true religion, or holiness of heart, lies very much in the affection of the heart, that the Scriptures place the sin of the heart very much in hardness of heart.
Thus the Scriptures do everywhere.
It was hardness of heart, which excited grief and displeasure in Christ towards the Jews, Mark 3:5. "He looked round about on them with anger, being grieved for the hardness of their hearts."
It is from men's having such a heart as this, that they treasure up wrath for themselves. Romans 2:5, "After thy hardness and impenitent heart, treasurest up unto thy self wrath, against the day of wrath, and revelation of the righteous judgment of God."
The reason given why the house of Israel would not obey God, was that they were hard-hearted. Ezekiel 3:7, "But the house of Israel will not hearken unto thee; for they will not hearken unto me: for all the house of Israel are impudent and hard-hearted."
The wickedness of that perverse rebellious generation in the wilderness, is ascribed to the hardness of their hearts; Psalms 95:7–10, "Today, if ye will hear my voice, harden not your heart, as in the provocation, and as in the day of temptation in the wilderness; when your fathers tempted me, proved me, and saw my work: forty years long was I grieved with this generation, and said it is a people that do err in their heart," etc.
This is spoken of as to what prevented Zedekiah's turning to the Lord, II Chronicles 36:13. "He stiffened his neck, and hardened his heart, from turning to the Lord God of Israel."
This principle is spoken of, as that from whence men are without the fear of God, and depart from God's ways. Isaiah 63:17, "O Lord, why has thou made us to err from thy ways, and hardened our heart from thy fear?"
And men's rejecting Christ, and opposing Christianity, is laid to this principle; Acts 19:9, "But when divers were hardened, and believed not, but spake evil of that way before the multitude";
God's leaving men to the power of the sin and corruption of the heart, is often expressed by God's hardening their hearts; Romans 9:18. "Therefore hath he mercy on whom he will have mercy, and whom he will he hardeneth." John 12:40, "He hath blinded their mind, and hardened their hearts."
And the Apostle seems to speak of an evil heart, that departs from the living God, and a hard heart, as the same thing, Hebrews 3:8. "Harden not your heart, as in the provocation," etc. Vv. 12-13, "Take heed brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God; but exhort one another daily, while it is called Today; lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin."
And that great work of God in conversion, which consists in delivering a person from the power of sin, and mortifying corruption, is expressed, once and again, by God's taking away the heart of stone, and giving an heart of flesh (Ezekiel 11:19 and ch. 36:26).
Now by a hard heart, is plainly meant an unaffected heart, or a heart not easy to be moved with virtuous affections, like a stone, insensible, stupid, unmoved and hard to be impressed.
Hence the hard heart is called a stony heart, and is opposed to an heart of flesh, that has feeling, and is sensibly touched and moved.
We read in Scripture of a hard heart, and a tender heart: and doubtless we are to understand these, as contrary the one to the other. But what is a tender heart, but a heart which is easily impressed by what ought to affect it?
God commends Josiah, because his heart was tender; and 'tis evident by those things which are mentioned as expressions and evidences of this tenderness of heart, that by his heart being tender is meant, his heart being easily moved with religious and pious affection; II Kings 22:19, "Because thine heart was tender, and thou hast humbled thyself before the Lord, when thou heardst what I spake against this place, and against the inhabitants thereof, that they should become a desolation, and a curse, and hast rent thy clothes, and hast wept before me; I also have heard thee, saith the Lord."
And this is one thing, wherein it is necessary we should become as little children, in order to our entering into the kingdom of God, even that we should have our hearts tender, and easily affected and moved in spiritual and divine things, as little children have in other things.
'Tis very plain in some places, in the texts themselves, that by hardness of heart is meant a heart void of affection.
So to signify the ostrich's being without natural affection to her young, it is said, Job 39:16, "She hardeneth her heart against her young ones, as though they were not hers."
So a person having a heart unaffected in time of danger, is expressed by his hardening his heart, Proverbs 28:14. "Happy is the man that feareth alway; but he that hardeneth his heart shall fall into mischief."
Now therefore since it is so plain, that by a hard heart, in Scripture, is meant a heart destitute of pious affections, and since also the Scriptures do so frequently place the sin and corruption of the heart in hardness of heart; it is evident, that the grace and holiness of the heart, on the contrary, must, in a great measure, consist in its having pious affections, and being easily susceptive of such affection.
Divines are generally agreed, that sin radically and fundamentally consists in what is negative, or privative, having its root and foundation in a privation or want of holiness. And therefore undoubtedly, if it be so that sin does very much consist in hardness of heart, and so in the want of pious affections of heart; holiness does consist very much in those pious affections.
I am far from supposing that all affections do show a tender heart: hatred, anger, vainglory, and other selfish and self-exalting affections, may greatly prevail in the hardest heart. But yet it is evident that hardness of heart, and tenderness of heart, are expressions that relate to the affections of the heart, and denote the heart's being susceptible of, or shut up against, certain affections, of which I shall have occasion to speak more afterwards.
Upon the whole, I think it clearly and abundantly evident, that true religion lies very much in the affections.
Not that I think these arguments prove, that religion in the hearts of the truly godly, is ever in exact proportion to the degree of affection, and present emotion of the mind. For undoubtedly, there is much affection in the true saints which is not spiritual: their religious affections are often mixed; all is not from grace, but much from nature.
And though the affections have not their seat in the body, yet the constitution of the body, may very much contribute to the present emotion of the mind.
And the degree of religion is rather to be judged of by the fixedness and strength of the habit that is exercised in affection, whereby holy affection is habitual, than by the degree of the present exercise:
and the strength of that habit is not always in proportion to outward effects and manifestations, or inward effects, in the hurry and vehemence, and sudden changes of the course of the thoughts of the mind.
But yet it is evident, that religion consists so much in affection, as that without holy affection there is no true religion:
and no light in the understanding is good, which don't produce holy affection in the heart; no habit or principle in the heart is good, which has no such exercise; and no external fruit is good, which don't proceed from such exercises.
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