SERMON XXI.
For now we sec through a glass darkly, but then face to face; now I know in part, but thcn I shall know, evcn as also I ara known.
Tt«EsE two terms in out text, tnc and Tune, Now and Then, Aow in a yl, tss, Then.f«ce to face, Now in part, Then in perfection, these two secular terms, of which one designs the whole age of this world from the creation, to the dissolution thereof (for ail that is ¢omprehended in this word, ww) and the other designs the everlaingness of the next world, (tbr that incomprehensibleness is comprehended in the other word, then) these two words, that design two such ages, are now met in one day; in this day, in which we cdebrate ail resurrections in the foot, in the resurrection of out Lord and Saviour Christ Jesus, blessed tbr ever. For rite first terre, Now ( Now in a.qla.«s, now in iart) is intended most especially of that very act, which we do now at this present, that is, of the ministry of the Gospel, of declaring God in his ordinauee, of preaching his word; (uow, in this ministry of his Gospel, ce sec i» a ylass, ee ti'now in part) and then the then, the rime of seeiny.face to?àce, and knowi».q as u'e are it'nou'», is intended of that time, which we eelebrate this day, the day of resurreetion, the day ofjud,maent, the day of the actual possession of the next lire. So that this day, this vhole Seripture is fulfilled in your ears; for now, (now in this preaching) you have some sight, and then, (Then when that day cornes, which, in the fit,st foot thereof, we eelebrate this da)') you shall have a perfeet sight of ail; _5"ow u'e sec tbrouyh a.ql«ss, dkc. That therefore you may tlle better know him, when you corne to sec him f«ce to f, ce, then, by having seen him in a ylass now, and that your seeing him now in his ordinance, may prepare you fo sec him then in his essence, proeeed we thus in the handling of these wotxls. First, that there is nothing brought into coin-
ERo XXl.] PREACHED ON EASTER D&Yo parison, into considoration, nothing put into tho balance, but the sight of God, tho knowledgo of God; it is net ealled a better sight, ner a botter knowlcdgo, but thero is no other sight, no other knowledgo proposed, or mentioned, or intimated, or imagined but this ail otller sght is blindness, M1 other knowledge is ignorance; and then wo shall sec how there is a twofold sight of Go(l, and a twofold know|edgo of God proposed te us hero sight, and a knowledgo hero in this life, and another manner of sight, and another ruminer of knowledge in the lire te eome: for here wo sec (}od in sieculo, a yla»», that is, by reflection, and here wo know God 11 wMymate, says out text, DarMy, (se wc translate it) that is, by obscure representations, and therefore it is ealled a nowledye but in ]art; but in hea'en, our siht is faw te.face, and out knovledge is te lnow, as ce are For our sight of God here, out theatre, the place vhere wo sit and seo him, is tho whole world, the whole house and frame of nature, and out med/um, out yla»», is the boo]( of" ereatures, and out li#it, by which wo seo him, is the lig, ht of natm'al reason. And then, for out knowledge of God here, out place, out academ),, our university is the chureh, out edium, is the ordinance of God in his church, preaching, and saeraments; and out" light is tho light of f'aith. Thus wo shall find it te be, ibr out sight, and for out knowledge of God here. But ïor out si#zt of God in heaven, our place, out sphere is heaven itself, out z«dium is the patefaction, the manifestation, the revelation of God himself, and out light is the liht of lory. And then, for out ](nowledgo of God there, God hhnself is ail God himself is thc p]o, we sec him, in him; (¢od is out med/um, we sec him, by him God is out light net a light which is his, but a light whieh is He; net a light whieh flows frein him, no, ner a |ight which is in him, but that light -hich is He himself. Liyite» out darkws», we beeeclz tee, 0 Lord, 0 Fat/,er of lçq, ts, tlat tly liylt ce ma!/sec 1/ylt, that new we seo this through this thy ylaaa, thine ordinance, and, by the good of this, hereafter.tce to face. The sight is se lnueh the noblest of ail tho senses, as that it M1 the senses. As thc reasonable seul of man, when it enters, becomcs M1 the seul of man, and he hath no longer a vogetative,
]2 PREACHID ON IASTIR DAV. [SlRo XXlo and a sensitive sou], but ail is that one reasonable soul; so says St. Augmstine, (and he exemplifics it, by several pregnant places of Scripture) Vi, us ler orane, sen,us recurrit, Ail the senses are ealled eing; as there is,,:id, re a audire, St. John gurned to tire sound; and there is yu,tate, et,:idete, taste, and,ee, **reet tlte Lord i,"; and so of the rest of the senses, al] is sight. Employ then this noblest sense upon the noblest object, see God; see God in everything, and then thou needest not take off" rhino eye from beauty, from riches, from honour, from anything, St. Paul speaks here of a diverse seeing of God. Of,eeiu 9 God in a 9la», and eein 9 Godface toface; but of hot seeing God at ail, the apostle speaks not at al]. When Christ took the blind man by the hand , though he had then begun his cure upon him, yet he a.sked him, if he saw ought: something he was sure he saw; but it was a question whether it were eal]ed to be ealled a sight, for he saw men but as trees. The natttral man sees beauty, and riches, and honour, but yet it is question whether he sees them or no, because he sees them, but as a snare. But he that sees God in them,.sees them to be beams and evidenees of that beauty, that wealth, that honour, that is in God. that is God himself. The other blind man that importuned Christ, Jeu, thon,ç'on of Darid bave raeroE! on when Christ asked him, |Vltat wilt tkou. tkat I dtall do uito thee? had presently that answer, Lord tkat I ay recelve my siyht; and we may easily think, that if Crist had askedhim a second question, What wouldest thou see, when thou hast received thy sight, he wotdd bave answered, Lord I wouId see thee: for when he had his sight, and Christ said to him, Go t}!! way, he had no way to go from Christ, but, as the text savs there, tIefollowed Mm. All that he cared for, was seeing, all that he cared to see, was Christ. Whether he would see a peace or war, may be statesman's problem whether he would see plenty or scarcity of some commodity, may be a merchant's problem; whether he would see Rome, or Spain grow in greatness, may be a jesuit's problem but whether I had hot rather see God than anything, is no problematical marrer. Ail sight is blindness, that was our first st.m xxL] 'tCHED OS EST WY. 413 all knowledge is ignorance, till we corne to God, ttat is our next consideration. The first aet of the will, is love, says the sehcol; for till the will love, till it would bave something, it is not a will. But then, Amare zisi nota non possumus s; It is impossible to love anything till we know it: first our understanding must present it as rerum, as a known truth, and then out will embraces it as bonum, as good, and worthy to be loved. Therefore the philosopher concludes easily, as a thing tht admits of no contradiction, That naturally all men desire to know, that they may love. But then, as the addition of n honest man, varies the signification, with the profession, and calling of the ml, (for he is an honest man at court, that oppresses no man with his power; and at the exchange he is the honest man, that keeps his word; and in an army, the valiant man is the honest man) so the addition of leamed and understanding, varies with the man: the divine, the physician, the lawyer are hot qualified, nor denominated by the saine kind of learning. But yet, as for honesty, there is no honest man at court, or exchange, or army, if he believe hot in God; so there is no knowledge in the physician, nor lawyer, if he know hot God. Neither does any man know God, except he know him so, as God hth ruade himself known, that is, in Christ. Therefore, as St. Paul desires to know nothing else, so let no man pretend to know nything, but Ckrist crucifled; tht is, crucified for him, made his. In the eighth verse of this chapter, he says, Prophecy shall rail, and tongues shall rail, and klowledge skall :anish; but this knowledge of God in Christ ruade mine, by being erucified for me, shall dwell with me for ever. And so from this general eonsideration, ail sight is blindness, all knowledge is ignorance, but of God, we pass to the partieular eonsideration of that twofold sight and knowledge of God expressed in this text, Now we see through a glass darkly, &e. First then we consider, (before we corne to our knowledge of God) out sight of God in this world, and that is, sys out apostle, I speculo, We see as in a91ass. But how do we see in u glnss . Truly, that is hot easily determined. The old writers in the opties sid, Tht when we see u thing in. glass, wv ev hot the Augttiae.
1 PRKACHKD ON EASTEi DAY. [SE'B. XXlo thing itself but a represcntation only; ail the later men aay, we da sec the thing itself, but hot by direct, but by reflected beams. It is a useless labour for the present, to reconcile them. This may well consist with bath, that as that which we sec in glass, assures us, that such thing there is, (for we cannot sec a dream in glaas, nor a fancy, nor a chimera) sa this sight of God, which our apostle says we have iz a ylass, is enough to assure us, that a God there is. This glass is better than the water; the water gives a crookedness, and false dimensions to things that it shows as we sec by an oar when we row a boat, and as the poet describes a wry and distorted face, Qui faciem »ut aoEua Pwbe at«nti» habes, Tbat he looked like mnn that swam under water. But in the glass, which the spolie intends, we may sec God directly, that is, sec directly that there is a God. And therefore St. CyriFs ddition in this text, is a diminution; Videmus quasi if* fitrao, says he, We sec God as in a smoke; we sec him better than sa; for rit is a truc sight of God, though it be hOt a perfeet sight, whieh we bave this way. This way, our theatre, where we sit to sec God, is the whole frame of nature; our raedium, our glass in whieh we sec him, is the creature; and our light by whieh we sec him, is natural reason. Aquinas ealls this theatre, where we sit and sec God, the whole world; and David compasses tho world, and finds God ever)-where, and says at last, lVhither sholl I flee from th!! ];resence? If I acend tel» #to heaen, thou ar* there ; at Babel they thought to build to heaven; but did any men ever pretend to get above heaven. above the power of winds, or the impression of other malignant meteors, some high hills are got: but ean any man get above the power of God. If1 take the 'inys of the nornb.q, and dw«ll iz the ntternost ]»arts of the sea, there thy ri.qht hand sholl iold me, and lead me. If we sail to the waters above the firmament, it is so too. 1Nay, take a place, which God never ruade, a place which grew out of out sins, that is hell, yet, If we nat-e out bd in hall, God is there too. ]t is a woeful inn, to make out bed in, hell; and so much the more woeful, as it is more than an inn; an evcrlasting dwelling: but even there God is; and so
ER, XXI.] PRE^CIIED ON .^STl n^Y. 415 much more rangely thau without any emanation of any beam of cofo from the God of ail consolation, or any beam of liht from lm who is the Faner of ail lights. In a word, whether we be in the Etern pas of the world, tom whom the truth of religion passed, or in the Western, to which it is hot yet como; wheter we be in the darness of ignorance, or darkness of the works of darkness, or darness of oppression of spirit in dness, the wor]d is the theatre that represents God and evervhere every man may, nay must e him. The whole fmme of the world is the theatre, and eve creature the sge, the ed/m, the lass in which we may sec (. 3Ioses ade tke larer i» the tabernacle, of tke lookiq 9lasses of 'omen: arce ean you imagine n vainer thing (except you will excepg the vain lookers on, iu tha action) than the lookingglass of women; and yog Moses broughg th looking-glasses of womon to n religious use, to show them that came in, the spots of dir, which they had taken hy the way, tbat they might wash emselves elean before they passed any faher. Ther« is not so or God in. The greatesg fla glass that tan bo ruade, cann represent anything greater than i is; if every a that flics wer an hangel, all ha could bug tell mo, thn thero is a (od; and he poerest worm thag ereeps, tells me that. If I should ask the silisk, how eanesg hou by those killlng eyes, h would tell me, Thy God nado me so; and if I should ask the slo'orm, how came thou to be withou eyes, he would tell me, Thy God mad m so. Tho cedar is no better a glass to sec ( in, than tho hysp upon tho wall;all thin,oEs tha are, are equally removed from being no,hing; and whatever hath any ing, is by tha very being, a glass in vhieh we seo God, who is he roet, and tho fountain of all being. The wholo fam of nature is the thtre, the who]o volume of ereatures is th glass, and tho light of nature, reason, is our ligh, whieh is anothor eircumstanee. Of thos words, John i. 9. eeer an tkat cometh ito the n'orld, the slackest sens thag they tan admis, gives light enough to soe God by. If w« are St.
IÛ IRIACHED ON EASTER DA¥. [8EE. Cysoom's senoe, Tha tat llçM, is te lig of the Gospel. and of grace, and tat ta liçt, conider in itself, and thout opposition in us. doe. eMiye, tat is, wouM enligtem eery an, if tat an did hot wink at tat ligt; if we forbear St. Austine's ense, Tat lit enligtes eery man, that is, eve man that is enlightened, is enlightened by that light; if we ke but St. Cyril's sense, That this ligt is the light of narval tenon, Mc, without all question, enlitenet eery man tot co ç,to te world, yet have we light enough to see God by that light, in the theatre of nature, and in the gls of ereatures. God affor no nian the eonffo, the false eomfo of atheism: He will hot allow a pretending atheist the power to flatter himoe so far, as seriouly to think there is no God. He must pull out his own eyes, and e no ereature, before he ean say, he sees no God; he must be no man, and queneh his reonaMe so, before he ean say to hielf, there is no God. The dierenee between the ason of man, and the instinct of the best is this, that the best does but know, but the man knows that he knows. The bestial atheist will pretend that he knows there is no God; but he eannot say, that he knows, that he knows it; for, his knowledge will hOt stand the battery of an argument from another, nor of a ratiocination fm himself. He dates hOt k himoeF, XVho is it tht I pray , in a sudden danger, ifthere be no God Nay he dares hot ask, XVho is it that I swear by, in a sudden pion, if there be no G XVhom do I tremMe at, and eat under, at midnight, and whom do I eurse by next morning, if there be no God It is safely id in tlle school, Media pecta ad quw ordiautur, How weak soever th means which are ordained by God, seem to be, and be indd in themelves, yet they are soErong enough to tho ends and purposes, for which God ordained them. And oe, for such a sight of God, we take the apostle to intend here, which is, to see that there is a G, the frame of nature, the. 'hole world is our theatre, the book of catures is out medium, out gls, and natural mason is light enough. But then, for the other degroe, the other notification of God, which is, the knowing of God, though tt al be first m be consideed in this world, the means is of a higher nature, than ed for the sight of God; and yet, whilst we are in this world, it is but In sR. XXL] PRAeD Or .Asrea DXV. 417 ami#mate, In nu obscure riddle, a representatiou, darkly, and in lart, as we translate it. As the glass which we spoke of belote, was proposed to the sense, and so we might sec God, that is, sec that there is . God, this wniffma that is spoken of now, this dark similitude, and comparisou, is proposed to out faith, and so far we know God, that is, believe in God in this lire, but by enigmas, by dark representations, and allusions. Therefore says St. Augustine, that Moses saw God, in that conversation which he had with him in the mount, Sevocatus ab omni oororis sensu, Removed from all benefit .nd assistance of bodily senses, (He needed hot that glass, the help of the creature) and more than so, 4b omni Mgnificati:o wniffmate piritus, Removed from ail allmions, or similitudes, or representations of God, which might bring God to the understanding, and so to the belief; Moses knew God by more immediate workig, than either sense, or understand[ng, or faith. Therefore says that father, _Per seculum et wniffma, By this which the apostle calls a las, and this which he calls wniyma, a dark epresentation, Intdliguntur omni« accommodata zd notificandum Deum, He understands all thin by which God hath notified himself to man: by the glass, tohis reason, by the wnigma to his faith. And so, for this knowing of God, by way of believing in him, (as for seeing him, out theatre was the wodd, the creature was our glass, and reason was our light) our academy to learn this knowledge, is the church, our medium is the ordinance and institution of Christ in his church, and out light is the light of faith, in the application of those ordinances in that church. This place then where we take out degrees in this knowledge of God, our academy, our university for that, is the church; for, though, as there may be some fev examples given, of men that ive grown learned, who never studied at university; so there may be some examples of men enlightened by God, and yet hot within that covenant which constitutes the church; yet the ordinary place for degrees is the unirersity, and the ordinary place for illumination in the knowledge of God, is the church. Therefore did God, who ever intended to have his kingdom of heaven well peopled, so powerfully, so miraculously, enlarge his VOL. l.
4.18 OE» os »'. [sgx. xxt. wxy o it, th church, tht i çroered as a woed whieh no felling, no tubbing, could destroy. e find in the ae of church, fivo thousand ma)'s exeeuted in a day; and wo find in the Aots o the Aposfles' rive thousand broughg the ohurch, by ono oermon; still our christenin were equal to our burials at Theoefor« hen Christ says to the church, Fear hot littlflock', it was not Quia de mçqno minuitur, sed quia de Tusillo crescit, says Cbsologus, Not beeause it should fall from groat to little, but ri from little fo goeat. Such eare had Christ of the gmh thereof; and tben sueh caro of the establishment, and wer thereof, a that the first rime, that ever he names tho ehureli, ho invests it th an assurance of peetuity, UTon thi rock will I build my church, and the gares hell shall not prail aainst it «; therein is denoted the strenh and stability of tho eheh in itoelf, and then the power and authority of tho ehureh upon othem, in tho often dirtions, Div evclesie, Complain to tho ehureh, and eonsult with the eheh, and then Ai evclesiam, Hearken to the ehh, ho judged by the ehureh; hear hot them that hear hot tho ehureh; and then Eji« de ecc&sia, Let them that dioebey the ehureh, be east out of the ehureh. In all whieh, we are forbidden private eonventieles, privato spirits, private opinions. For, as St. Austine says well", (and he cites it f[oili another whom ho names hot, Quidam dixit) If a wall stand single, hot joined to any other wall, he that makes a door through tho wall, and passes through that doer, Adhuv lotis est, For all this is without sti, Nain domus non t, Ono wall makes hot a bouse; one opinion makes hot eatholic doetrine, one man makes hot a ehuoeh; for this knowlge of God, the ehureh is our aeademy, thero wo must be bred; and there wo may be bred all o rives, and yet learn nothing. Therefore, as we must be theoe, so there wo mmt u the means; and the means in tho ehureh, are the ornanees, and institutions of tho ehurch. The mt wefful means is the Seripture; but tho Seripturo in the erch. Not that we are dioeouraged ri'oto reading the Scripte at home; God forbid we should think any Christian faly to be out of the ehureh. At home, tho Holy Ghoet with thee in the reang of the Scriptures; but there he is th tllee e Ac ira 4. ' Le . 32. o IatL xvi. 18. a p KOE
81R. XXLJ PREACHED os sR vv. as remembncer, ( T Holy Go» sall viny te yor bvace whatsoer ] hae ad to you , says o Saviour) ere, in te curch, e is with thee, ss doctor te ach toe; first learn t curch and ten metate at home, roeeive te soed by earin the Scriutures interpreted here, and water it by returning te the places at home. When Christ bids you 6'earch tke 5'ptures, he mmns you should go te them, who have a warrant te seh; a warrant in their calling. Te know which are Scripture te know what the Holy Ghost says in the Scripttes, appIy thyself te the church. Net that the church is a judge above the Scriptul'e (for the power, and the commission which the church bath, it bath frein the Scriptures) but the chuoeh is a judge above thee, which are the Scriptures, and what is the sen of the Holy Ghost in them. Se then y means are the Scripmres; that is thy evidence; but then this evidence must be sealed te thee in the sacraments, and delivered te thee in preaching, and se sealed and delivered te thce in the psence of competent xvitness, the congregation. When St. Paul was carried.up in aTtu TM, in an ecstasy, into Taradise, that which he gained by this powerful way of teng, h net expre in a [Tdit, but an Audivit, It is net said that he saw, but that he keard utseakable thiçqs. The eye is the devil% door, before the car: for, though he de enter at the car, by wanton discourse, yct he was at the eye belote; we sec, belote we ta]k dangerously. But the car is the Holy Ghost's fir dr, ho assists us with ritual and ceremonial things, which we sec in the church; but ceremonies bave their right use, when their right use bath fii' been taught by l)reaching. Therefore te hearing does the apostle apply faith; and. as the chureh is our ademy, and our medium tire ordinances of the church, se the light by 'hich we sec this, that is, know G , as te make him our God, is faith; and that is our other consideration in this part. Those heretics, against whom St. Chrosm, and oers of tire Fathem, it, the Anomoei, wcre inexcusable in ts, that they said, they were able te know God in this life, as well as God knew himself; but in this more especially lay tbeir impiety, that they said, they were able te de ail this by the light of nature, without a Jo v. 26. a 2 Cor. . 4.
faith. By the light of nature, in the theatre of the world, by the medium of creatures, we see God; but to know God, by believing, hot only him, but in him, is only in the academy of the church, only through the medium of the ordinanes there, and only by the light of faith. The school does ordinarily design four ways of knowing God; and they make the first of these four ways, to be by faith; but then, by faith they mean no more but an assent, that there is a God; which is but that, which in our former considerations we cal]ed the seeing of God; and which indeed needs hot faith; for the light of nature wil] serve for that, to see God so. They make their second way contemplation, that is, an union of God in this lire; which- is tru]y the saine thing that we mean by faith: for we do hot cal] an assent to the Gospel, faith, but faith is the application of the Gospel to ourselves; hot an assent that Christ died, but an assurance that Christ ded for ail. Their third way of knowing God is by apparition; as when God appeared to the patriarchs and others in tire, in angels, or otherwise; and their fourth way is Ter aloertam zisioem, by his clear manifestation of himself in heaven. Their first way, by assenting only, and their third way of apparition, are weak and uncertain ways. The other two, present faith, and future vision, are sale ways, but adroit this diflèrence, that that of future vision, is yratiw consummatis, such a knowledge of God, as when it is once had can never be lost nor diminished, but knowledge by faith in this world, is yratiw commuffs, it is an effect and fruit of that grace which God shed upon the whole communion of saints, that is, upon ail those who in this academy, the church, do embrace the medium, that is, the ordinances of the church; and this knowledge of God, by this faith, may be diminished, and increased; for it is but in wniymate, says our tex, darkly, obscurely; clearly in respect of the natural man, but yet but obscurely in respect of that knowledge of God which we shal] bave in heaven; for, says the apostle, As lony as we walk by faith, and ot by siyht, we are absent from the Lord '. Faith is a blessed presence, but compared with heavenly vision, it is but an absence; though it create and constitute in us a possibility, a 2 Cor. v. 6.
probability, a kind of certainty of salvation, yet that faith, which the best Christian bath, is hot so far beyond that sigbt of Goal which the natural man bath, as that sight of Goal whicb I shall hve in heven, is above tbat faith which we bave now in the nighest exaltation. Therefore tbere belongs consideration to that which is added by out apostle here, that the knowledge which [ bave of Goal here (even by îaith, through the ordinances o the church) is but a knowledge in part., 2Vow I know in Tart. That which we call in Tart, the Syriae translates modicum multis; though we know by faith, yet, for all that faith, it is but a little of a great deal that we know yet, because, though faith be good evidence, yet)'àith is but tke eideuce of tkinys hot seen and there is better evidenee of them, when they are seen. For, if we eonsider the objeet, we eannot beheve so mueh of God, nor of out happiness in him, as we shall sec then. For, when it is aid, that the heart eomprehends it hot, eertainly faith eomprehends it hOt neither: and if xve consider the manner, faith itself is but darkness in respect of the Ssion of Goal in heaven: for, those words of the prophet, I will search Jerusalem with candles , are spoken of the times of the Christian church, and of the best men in the Christian church; yet they shall be searched with candles, some dar -kness shall be found in them. To the Galatians well instructed, and well established, the apostle says, 2Vow, after ye hae known God, or rather are know of God 'r; the best knowledge that we bave of God here, even by faith, is rather that he knows us, than that we know him. And in this text, it is in his own person, that the apostle purs the instance, Now I, (I, an apostle, taught by Christ himself) ]-now but in part. And therefore, as St. Augustine saith,,S'unt quasi eunabula charitatis l)ei, quibus diliyimus proximum, The love which we bear to out neighbout is but as the infancy, but as the cradle of that love which we bear to God; so that sight of God which we have in speculo, in the glas, that is, in nature, is but cunabula fldei, but the infancy, but the cradle of that knowledge which we bave in faith, and yet that knowledge which we bave in faith, is but eunabula visiouis, the infancy and cradle of that knowledge which we shall bave when we corne to ser God face toface. Faith is infinitely ' Heb. ai.!.,e Zeph. i. 12. 7 Gal. iv. 9.
bove nature, infinitely bove wvrks, even which fith itself produces, parents are to children, and the toee to the îit: but yet îaith is much below vision, and seeing od face to fe. And therefere, though we cribe llinly îith, more than we can expss, yet let no man thin himselî ifallibly fe, boeause ho finds that ho belles-es in God, ho shall be when he sees God the çaitest man in the church must say, Ld increas myfaitk; he that is lst in the kingdom of heaven, s never be put to tt. Ail the world is but glas, in which we see G; the church itself, and that which tho ordinance of the church begets in us, faith itself, is but wniyma, a dark represention of Gotl us, ti we corne to that state, To s G fac to fa«, and to kor, as Io e ar t'no'n. Now, for the fight of God here, out theatre ws the world, out wdium and glass was the creature, and o liht was and then for out owledge of God here, out academy was the chch, o edium the ordinances of the church, and out ]ight the light of fait so we consider the same terms, first, for the sight of God, and then for the knowledge of Goal in the next lire. First, the here, the place whcm we shall soe him, is heven; ho that as me what heven i means hot to hear me, but to sence me; ho knows ] cannot tell him; when I meet him there, I s be able to tell him, and then he be as able to tell me; yet then we shall be but able to tell one another, this, ts that we enjoy is heaven, but the" tongues of angels, the tones of glorified sain, shall hot be able to express what that hven is; for even in hven out faculties shall be finite. Heaven is hot a place that was created; for a place that was created, shaH be disoelved. Goal did hot plant a Paradise for hiver, and remove to that, he plant Paradise for Adam, and remov him to that; but God is still where he was before the world was ruade. And in that loee, where thee are more suns than there a stars in the firmament, (for a the saints are suns) nd more light in anher sun, the n of righteousnes the Son of Glo, the Son of God, than in ail them, in that illustration, that emanation, that esion of bms of glory, which began hot to shine six thousand years ago, bat six thousnd miions of miHiom ago, had been six thouand millions of sER. XX1.] PIEACHED O EASTEt DAY. miions belote that, in those eternal in those uncreated hvens, sll we see Th is out sphere, and tht which xvc are fin to phce; nd then out medhm out way to see him is atoEactio God hying himse open, his manifestation, his revelation evioeeration, nd embowdling of imself to s, there. Doth God never afford tis ptefction, this manifestation of himself in his essence, to any in this lire We cnnot answer yea, nor no, thout offending a at pa in the school, so many arm, so many deny, that God hath been seen in his essence in this Therea that say, tht if isferedefide, little less than an aaich of faith, tht it hth heen done; and Aquinas denies if so absolutely, that his followers interpret him de absoluta otentia, that Goal by his absolute power cannot ake a man, remaining a mortal man, and under the definition of a mortal man, capable of seeing his essence; as we may truly say, that God cannot make a beast, tmaining in that nature, capable of 'ace, or glotT. St. Augu tine speaking of discourses that passed between his mother, and him, hot long before her death, says, Perambularimus cuncta mormlia, et ip»um cwlum, We talked ourselves abov this eal'th, and above ail the heavens; Venimus in entes ostras, et transeendimt eas, Ve came to the eonsideration of out own minds, and o om souls, and we got above out o souls; that is, to the consideration of that place where out sou should be for ever; and we cod consider God then, but then xve eould hot see God in his essence. As it may be fairly argued that Cist suffered hot the very torments of ve hell, because it is essential to the torments of heU, to be eternal, they were hot torments of heU, if they received an end; so is it fairly ared too, that neither Adam in his ecstac in Paradise, nor Moses in his conversation in the mount, nor the other apostles in the transfimtion of Christ, nor St. Paul in his rapture to the third heavens, saw the esnee of God, because he that is admitted to that sight of God, ean never look off, nor lose that sight again. Only in heaven shall God proeeed to this patefoetion, this manifestation, ts revel tion of hielf; and tht by the light of glo. The light of glory is sueh a light, as that o hoolmen date hot say confidently, that every beam of it, is hot of it. When
4: PREACHED ON EASTER DAY. [SER.:XXIo some of them say, that some souls see some things in God, and others, others, because ail bave hot the saine measure of the light of glory, the test cry down that opinion, and say," that as the essence of God is indivisible, and he that sees any of it, sees ail of it, so is the light of glory communicated entirely to every blesscd soul. God ruade light tirst, and three days after, that light became a sun, a more glorious light: God gave me the light of nature, when I quickened in my mother's womb by receiving a reasonable soul; and God gave me the light ol faith, when I quickened in my second mother's 'omb, the church, by receiving my baptism; but in my third day, when my mortality shail put on immortaiity, he shall give me the light of glory, by which I shall see himself. To this light of glory, the light of honour is but a gloxv-worm; and majesty itself but a twilight; the cherubims and seraphims are but candles; and that Gospel itself, which the apostle cails the glorious Gospel, but a star of the least maitude. And if I cannot tell, what to call this light, by which I shall see it, what shai1 I call that which I shall see by it, the essence of God himself . And yet there is something else than this sight of God, intended in that which remains, I shai1 hot only ee Godface toface, but I shall know him, (which, as you have seen ail the vay, is above sight) and lnow Mm, eeen as alto ] ara known. In this consideration, God alone is ail; in ail the former there was a place, and a means, and a light; here, for this perfect knowledge of God, God is ail those. Te, says the apostle, God all be all in all '. Hic açit omnia omnibus, says St. Hierome; Here God does ail in ail but here he does all by instruments; even in the infusing of faith, he works by the ministry of the Gospel: but there he shall be ail in all, do all in all, immediately, by himself; for, Christ shall deliver up the kingdom to God, even the Father ». His kingdom is the administration of his church, by his ordinances in the church. At the resurrection there shall be an end of that kingdom; no more church no more working upon men, by preaching, but God lumselt, shall be ail in all. 3linitri 9uai lar'oe Dei, says Luther. It ma). be somewhat too familiarly, too vulgarly said, ]s 1 Cor. av. 28. » Ver. 24.
but usefully; the ministry of the Gospel is but as God's vizor; for by such a liberty the apostle here calls it wniyma, a riddle; or, (as Luther says too) God's picture; but in the resurrection, God shall put off that vizor, and turn away that picture, and show his own face. Therefore is it said, That in teaven tkere is no temple, but God himself is the temple'°; God is service, and music, and psalm, and sermon, and sacrament, and all. Erit vita de erbo sine erbom; We shall live upon the word, and hear never a word; live upon him, who being the word, was ruade flesh, the eternal Son of God. Hie non est omuia in omnibus, sedpars in sin9ulis : Here God is hot all in all; where he is at all in any man, that man is well; In »S'olomone sapientia, says that father; It was well with Solomon, because God was wisdom with him, and patience in Job, and faith in Peter, and zeal in Paul, but tllere was sometlling in all these, which God was hOt. But in heaven ho shall be so ail in ail, Ut singuli sanctorum omns virtttes habeant, that every soul shall bave every perfection in itself; and the perfection of these perfections shall be, that their sight shall be face toface, and their "knowledge as they are known. Since St. Augustine calls it a debt, a double debt, a debt because she asked it, a debt because he promised it, to give, even a woman, Paulina, satisfaction in that high point, and mystery, lww we should see God face to face in eaven, it cannot be unfit in this congregation, fo ask and answer SOnle short questions concerning that. Is if always a dec]aration of favour when God shows his face . 1%. I will set my face aainst that so«l, tat eateth blood, and cut Mm off ». But when there is light joined with it, it is a declaration of favour; this was the blessing tha God taught Moses for Aaron, to bless the people with, The Lord make hls face to shine uTon thee, an be gracio«s to thee '. And there we shall see ltimface to.fhce, by the light of his countenance, which is the light of glory. What hall we see, by seeing him so, face toface. lot fo enlarge ourselves into Gregory's wild speculation, Qui vider identem omnia, omnia :idet, because we shall see him that sees ail things, we shall see all things in him, fo Rev. x.xi. 22. m Augustine. Hierome. sa Levit. xvii. 10. t l'umb, ri. 25.
(for then wo should seo the thoughts of men) test we in tho testimony of a saler witness, a counciP , In speculo di¢initatis quic,- OEuid eorum intersit illucescet; In that glass we shaIl seo, whatsoever we can be the better for seeing. First, ail things that they believed here, they shall sec there; and theret'ore, Discamu b terris, quorum cientia nobi cum persereret in'colls *c, Let us meditato upon no other things on earth, than we would be glad te think on in hcaven; and this consideration would put many frivolous, and many fond thoughts out of out mind, if men and women would love another but se, as that love might hst in heaven. This then wo shall got, concerning fiwe te face; but what concerning God ourselves, by seeing Ood. Nothing but tho sight of the hnmanity of Christ, whieh only is visible te the eye. Se Theodoret, se some others bave thought; but that answers net the sic«ti est; and we know we shall sec God, (net only the body of Christ) as he is in his essence. Why. did all that are said te ave sec» Godface totce, seo his essence! no. In earth God assumed seine material things te appear in, and is said te m:e been seenface te face, when he was seen in those assumed ferres. But in heaven there is no material thing te be assumed, and if God be seen face te face there, he is seen in his essence. St. Augustine sums it up fully ", upon those words, In lumbw tue, In tky liyht we shall sec liyht, te scilicet in te, we shall sec thee in thee; that is, says he, face te face. And then, what is it te ktww him, as we are k»wwn . First, is that it, which is intended here, That we shall know God se as we are known? ]t is net expressed in the text se: it is only that wi shall know se; net, that we shall know God se. But the frame, and context of the place, bath drawn that unanime exposition frein all, that it is meant of out knowledge of God then. A comprehensive knowledge of God it canner be; te comprehend is te know a thing as well as that thing can be known; and we can never know God se, but that he will know himseff better: out knowledge canner be se dilated, ner God condensed, and contracted se, as that we can know him that way, comprehensively.
It canno be such a knoledge o Go, as Go bath of himself, nor a God hath of us; for God comprehends us, and all this world, and ail the worlds that he could have ruade, and himself. But it is 2Vota similitudinis, non wqualitatis; As God knows me, so I shall know God; but I shail not know God so, as God knows me. It is hot quatum, but slcut; not as much, but as truly; as the tire does as truly shine, as the sun shines, though it shine hot out so far, nor to so many purposes. So then, I shall know God so, as that there shall be nothing in me, to hinder me from knowing God; which cannot be said of the nature of man, though regenerate, upon earth, no, nor of the nature of an angel in heaven, left to itself, till both bave received a super-illustration from the light of glory. And soit shall bo a knowledge so like his knowledge, as it shall produce a love, like his lovo, and we shall love him, as he loves us. For, as St. Chrysostom, and the rest of the fathers, vhom Oecumenius hath compaeted, interpret it, Coynoscam practicè, id est, accurrendo, I shall know him, that is, embrace him, adhero to him. Qualis sine flw festlritas ! What a holyday shall this be, which no working d,y shall ever follow! By knowing, and loving the unchangeable, tho inlmutable God, rnutabi»ur i i»»ztabilitate», wo shall be changed into an unchangeableness, says that ïather, that never said anything but extraordinarily. He says more, Dei proesetia si i aplareret, If God eould bo seen, and known in hell, hell in an instant would be heaven. How m,ny lleavens are there in heaven. tIow is heaven nlultiplied to every soul in heaven, where infinite otller happinesses are crowned with this, this sight, and this knowledge of God there. And how shall ail those heavens be renewed to us every da)', Qt«i no zirablmur ]wdie , that shall be as glad fo sec, and fo know God, millions of ages after every day's seeing and knowing, as the first hour of looking upon his face. And as this seeing, and this knowing of God crowns ail other joys, and glories, even in heaven, so this very crown is crowned; there grows ïrom this a highor glory, which is, participes erimus I)ivitw naturw °,
(words, of which Luther says, thnt both Testaments afford none re; immortal as the Father, rihteous as the Son, and fuil of ail comfort as the Holy Ghost. Let me dismiss you, with an easy request of St. Augustine; Fieri on ¥otest ut seiysum on diliyat, qui Deum diliylt; That man does hot love God, that loves hot himself; do but love yourselves: lmo solus se diliy«re wvit, qui Dem diliyit, Only that man that loves God, bath the art to love himself; do but love yourselves; for if he love God, he would lire eternally with him, and, if he desire that, and endeavour it earnestly, he does truly love himself, and hot otherwise. And he loves himself, who by sceing God in the theatre of the world, and in the glass of the creature, by the light of reason, and knowing God in the academy of the church, by the ordinances thereof, through the light of faith, endeavours to see God in heaven, by the manifestation of himself, through the light of glory, and to know God himseff, in himself, and by himself, as he is ail in ail; contemplatively, by knowing as he is known, and practically, by loving, as he is loved.