Jesus and the Resurrection Justified by Witnesses in Heaven and Earth, Part 2 · Chapter 1

Jesus and the Resurrection Justified by Witnesses in Heaven and Earth · Part 2 · Chapter 1

p. 1CHAP. I. Of ETERNAL LIFE in generall.

AND now I launch out, when I go about to ſpeak of Eternal Life, into a wide Sea; of which it is but little that our eye can deſcry, or our thoughts fathom, and leſs that I muſt confine my ſelf unto, in this preſent Diſcourſe. There is more contained in theſe two words, ETERNALL LIFE, then all the world can diſcover; though p. 2we have ſo good a Compaſs as the Book of God, whereby to ſteer our courſe, and to guide and aſſiſt us in our Inquiry. We may venture, as far as ever our thoughts will carry us, into this depth; but we ſhall ſtill ſee ſomething beyond all that we can conceive, and be enabled by our ſearch to diſcern more fully, that it hath no bottom, no bounds nor limits: as will appear, if you do but attend to this general Deſcription of it out of the Holy Writings. In whoſe ſtyle it is moſt certain it ſignifieth, a full and conſtant enjoyment of all the happineſs that our Being is capable to receive. I ſay Happineſs, becauſe as DEATH in the Sacred language denotes all manner of Miſery, affliction and trouble; ſo by LIFE it expreſſes all kind of Felicity, pleaſure and contentment. And I ſay full and conſtant happineſs, becauſe the word ETERNALL muſt needs adde ſomething to the other; and that is compleatneſs, firmneſs and ſolidity. As Death, if it be not eternall, leaves ſome room for thoughts of happineſs: ſo Life, if it want that addition, doth not exclude all vexation and ſadneſs. But then, on the contrary, both the one and the other, if this be annexed, are made p. 3perfect; without any hope of happineſs in that Death, or any fear of miſery in this Life.

To clear our paſſage, I judge it neceſſary to ſpend a few words in making good this Notion of Life and Death, by producing ſome places of Holy Writ, where they are ſo uſed. And firſt, for DEATH, the very firſt time we meet with it in God's Book, it is uſed to expreſs all the Miſery that man drew upon himſelf by his Sin. ii. Gen. 17. In the day thou eateſt thereof thou ſhalt ſurely die; i. e. fall into a moſt calamitous eſtate, (as it is explained iii. Gen. 16, 17, 18, 19.) till worn out with labour, ſorrow and pain, he returned to the duſt out of which he was taken. Thus when the Locuſts came upon the land of Egypt, and deſtroyed every green thing, Pharaoh intreats Moſes (x. Exod. 17.) to pray to the Lord that he would take away this Death onelyonly. Which ſhews, that all the plagues and diſaſters which fell upon that land; went under this general name of DEATH; though now it be reſtrained to the laſt and greateſt of all puniſhments. The like you reade in the ſecond Book of the Kings, (iv. 40.) p. 4where the ſons of the Prophets, as they were eating of their pottage, cry out, Oman of God, there is DEATH in the pot; ſomething that is very diſtaſtfull to the palate, and perhaps hurtfull and poiſonous to the body, which made them they could not eat it. In the New Teſtament alſo (penned by men of the ſame country) we find the very ſame language; St. Paul ſaying that he was in Deaths often, (2 Cor. xi. 23.) and that he died daily, (1 Cor. xv. 31.) and wiſhing to be delivered from the body of this Death; (vii. Rom. 24.) i. e. of ſuch miſery, that it made him ſigh and groan ſorely under the burthen of it. And to name no more, the Shadow of Death in theſe Books ſignifies nothing elſe but an horrible, dangerous place; or a diſmall forlorn condition, into which any miſerable perſon is faln.

This being the notion then of the word DEATH in the ſpeech of the Hebrews, ſuch muſt be the ſignification of the word LIFE which is oppoſite to it; whereby they expreſs all Felicity and comfortable enjoyments. Thus when David ſays, his enemies were lively or living, (as it is in the Hebrew text, p. 5xxxviii. Pſal. 19.) he means, they were in a flouriſhing proſperous condition, abounding with all worldly goods; while he was abandoned to contempt, poverty, and continual danger. And when he ſays, their heart ſhall live that ſeek God, (lxix. Pſal. 32.) his meaning is, they ſhall enjoy true peace and contentment. So when the people ſay, (2 King. xi. 12.) Let the King live, which we render, God ſave the King, they wiſh him a proſperous and happy reign. And when David acknowledges God to be the fountain of life, (xxxvi. Pſal. 9.) it is as much as to ſay, an ever-running ſpring of all felicity, from whom flows, as the foregoing words are, a river of pleaſures. Hence they are bid to keep to God's Commandments as their life, (xxxii. Deut. 47.) And this is ſaid to be the excellency of knowledge, that wiſedom giveth LIFE to them that have it, (vii. Eccles. 12.) becauſe by obſerving thoſe wiſe precepts, they were put into a moſt happy condition; which could not be had by any other means, but would certainly be loſt by turning from thoſe holy paths. This is a phraſe ſo known, and the tranſlation of the word to this uſe (ſaith **More Nev. par. 1. c. 42.Maimonides) is ſo frequent, that all good and p. 6wholſome Doctrine is called Chajah, that is, LIFE: and thence our Maſters ſay, The juſt are called LIVING even in their death, and the wicked are called DEAD even while they are alive; becauſe the one were happy, and the other miſerable, in thoſe contrary conditions.

The true reaſon of which dialect or manner of ſpeech I take to be this: that LIFE being the foundation upon which all felicity is built, the root out of which it grows, (it being impoſſible to enjoy any thing unleſs we be alive,) and it abiding and continuing alſo, when the pleaſures and other circumſtances of life are often interrupted; it was thought the apteſt thing to expreſs that felicity which we partake of in life, yea the fulleſt felicity, the fruition of the compleateſt Good, when life ſhall be made eternal. And if this be not ſufficient to demonſtrate that the Holy Writers intend by Eternal Life, all the good we are or ſhall be capable to enjoy; you may farther obſerve, that they deſcribe it by all things that are excellent and deſirable, having borrowed from the glory of the whole World whatſoever is lovely and illuſtrious, to help to repreſent p. 7it to us. Shall I put together the ſeverall lines whereby it is deſcribed in as handſome an order and compoſure as I can; and ſo leave every one to judge of the rare beauty of this Life, when it ſhall have all its fillings up, which in its ruder draught appears ſo amiable in our eyes?

This LIFE then, that it may be underſtood to be the enjoyment of a fuller good then we can conceive, a good beyond the bold deſires of the moſt inlarged and luxurious appetite, is expreſſed by the hugeſt heaps of Treaſures; (ſuch as the Heavens onelyonly are great enough to contain;) by the poſſeſſion of an immortall Inheritance reſerved there for us; and by Pearls and Jewels of a price ſo invaluable, that he is ſtupid who ſells not all he hath, if they are not to be had at a lower rate, to make a purchace of them. Theſe expreſſions and the reſt that follow are ſo well known, that I need not ſtay to ſet down the particular places of Holy Scripture where they may be found; but proceed to tell you, that this Life is there alſo ſet forth, by feeding upon the delight of the moſt exquiſite pleaſures, and being entertained p. 8without any ſatiety, and in the moſt noble company, at the moſt ſumptuous Feaſt: by exaltation withall to the ſublimeſt pitch of Honour; ſuch as the power of Kings, the majeſty of Thrones, and the glory of Crowns; which Holy men call in to their aſſiſtence, that they may ſerve to lift up our minds to conceive the height of this happy Life, and make it ſeem the more royal and magnificent.

To which you may adde, that they make uſe of the names of Reſt, and Refreſhment, and Peace, and Joy or Contentment. For as we reade of entring into Life; ſo we do of entring into Reſt, and into the Joy of our Lord, and dwelling in Peace: becauſe theſe are the onelyonly things on earth which can compleat and perfect the happineſs of thoſe who enjoy Princely dignity and power.

But then, when the Earth can afford no more colours for the drawing a picture of this moſt excellent Life, or ſupreme Felicity, thoſe Holy men aſcend up to Heaven, and fetch from thence, not onelyonly ſome rays of light, but the very Sun it ſelf, and that in the top of its glory, to illuſtrate by its brightneſs the incomparable p. 9beauty of it. For it is called the Inheritance of the Saints in light; and our Bleſſed Lord is called the Light of the world; who promiſes the Juſt, that they ſhall have the Light of life, and ſhine like the Sun in the Kingdom of the Father.

But, alas! it is not in the power of ſuch words as theſe to expreſs its excellence. And therefore, when all things that fall under our eyes and our taſte are ſpent in the deſcription of it, we reade then of melodious Songs and Thanksgivings, and the joyfull voice of thoſe who triumph continually. Nay, the whole World, as big as it is, is introduced as a ſmall reſemblance of this Happineſs; wherein victorious Souls are ſaid to inherit all things, and to be made equal to the Angels; who joyn in conſort with them, and bear their part in thoſe heavenly Anthems and Hymns, wherewith they bleſs and praiſe the Great Lord of all.

But if all the goodly things that are or ever have been in the whole world ſhould meet together, and falling down at the feet of one man, ſhould, with a p. 10joynt conſent, conſpire to make him happy, they could never advance him near the height of this celeſtial Bliſs, whoſe incomparable excellence cannot be expreſſed, without the aſſiſtence of words called down from the higheſt Heavens, the place of God's Habitation. And therefore nothing below the Kingdom of Heaven, a Manſion in our heavenly Father's Houſe, a Building of God in the Heavens, is made the portion of ſuch happy Souls. And as if the Heavens, yea the Heaven of Heavens, could afford nothing great enough to repreſent this Bleſſedneſs; Holy men lead us, at laſt, to God himſelf; whom they bid us behold in the High and Holy place, as in his Chamber of Preſence. And this LIFE is called Seeing GOD, and beholding his Glory, and being with our LORD: which are names of ſuch tranſcendent greatneſs, that we had need enjoy this Happineſs, to underſtand them.

But thus the Men of God, from things ſenſible, lead us by the hand to thoſe that are ſpirituall and inviſible. And now that they have placed our thoughts in the preſence of God, there they leave p. 11them to take as full a view as they can of him, and to ſpread themſelves in the largeſt contemplations of his Perfections. For they were not able to go any farther, then onelyonly to tell us, that we ſhall be made like to him, whoſe Perfections ſhine ſo gloriouſly in our eyes. This is the higheſt pitch to which they carry our meditations. Here they bid us reſt our thoughts; and now that they have advanced them above the Earth and Heavens, to conſider with our ſelves what it is to See God, till we reſemble him, and be perfectly transform'd into his moſt bleſſed Nature and Life. All they can doe more for us, is onelyonly to tell us what GOD is, the enjoyment of whom is our Happineſs: and who, we are to underſtand, will be infinitely far more to our whole man, then Kingdoms and Thrones, then Crowns and Jewels, then Feaſts and Songs, then the Sun it ſelf and all the ſweet influences of Heaven, with the reſt of the things forementioned, could be, were they all united in one deſign to make us happy.

The wiſeſt of the Jews, as blind as that Nation is, are ſenſible of this; how diſproportionable all the words, which p. 12even divinely-inſpired perſons uſe, are to the Nobleneſs of this Life. In which, ſaith Maimonides, Cap. viii. de Poenitent.there is no room for meat and drink and ſuch like pleaſures; but the juſt ſit with Crowns on their heads, and delight themſelves in the Splendour of the Divine Majeſty—. There are many names whereby this Life is called (Derech Maſhal) after the figurative way of ſpeaking in the Holy Books. For example, the Mountain of the Lord; the place of his Holineſs; the Courts of the Lord; the Beauty or Sweetneſs of the Lord; the Tabernacle of God; the Houſe of God; his holy Temple; the Gate of the Lord. And after the ſame way of ſimilitude and figurative ſpeech, Wiſe men call this Good prepared for the Juſt, by the name of a Banquet or Feaſt; and moſt commonly, the World to come. Let not this Good ſeem light to thee, nor do thou imagine the reward of Piety to be ſo little, as to drink the richeſt wines, to eat the beſt victuals, to have the moſt beautifull wives, to be cloathed in ſilk and ſcarlet, to dwell in ivory palaces, and to have all the furniture of gold and ſilver and ſuch like things. But underſtand that there is p. 13no Good in this world to which that ſupreme Good can be compared, but onelyonly by way of figure and ſimilitude. In truth, there is no proportion between the Good of the Soul in the other World, and the Goods of the Body, ſuch as meat and drink, in this. But that Great Good is incomprehenſible and incomparable, according to thoſe words of David, xxxi. Pſal. 19. O how great good haſt thou laid up for thoſe that fear thee! He could not tell how great: but with what deſire did he long after the life of that world, when he ſaid, xxvii. Pſal. 13. I believe to ſee the goodneſs of the Lord in the land of the living? That's another name whereby they called this place of Bliſs. For whereſoever their ancient Wiſe men (ſaith their Myſticall expoſition of the Pſalms) meet with this phraſe in Scripture, the land of the living, Manaſſeh Ben Iſr. Probl. xvii. de Creatione.they expound it of Paradiſe, becauſe that is the country where men live for ever.

But there are no words like thoſe of our Bleſſed Lord to repreſent this ſurpaſſing Happineſs of the pure in heart, who he promiſes ſhall SEE GOD. Let us therefore here fix our minds, and p. 14ſtay a while, before we paſs on any farther, to ſearch into the meaning of this phraſe, which is the ſublimeſt and moſt comprehenſive of all other, whereby this ETERNALL LIFE is deſcribed to us.

I.

And the leaſt that can be meant by it is, that we ſhall be there where He hath his moſt ſpecial reſidence, and ſhall dwell in his Houſe in the Heavens, where there are ſo many Manſions. There the Angels are ſaid to ſtand before God, to behold the face of our heavenly Father: And therefore for us to ſee GOD, or behold him, muſt in generall denote, that we ſhall be more like Angels then Men; and being admitted into the ſociety of thoſe heavenly Miniſters, ſhall take up our habitation in the ſame place where they wait upon the Divine Majeſty. Whence it is, that as the Angels are called the Sons of God, (i. Job 6. ii. 1.) ſo are all thoſe who ſhall be accounted worthy to obtain that World, and the Reſurrection of the Dead, xx. Luk. 35. We are now the Sons of GOD, ſaith St. John, 1. Epiſt. iii. 1, 2. in a ſtate, that is, p. 15of great favour with him; and therefore need not care if the world hate us: But we have far greater things in hope, and look for a more excellent relation to him; it not appearing yet what we ſhall be. The meaning of which laſt words, in all probability, is this; that the manner wherein we ſhall be the Sons of God in the other world, is not now manifeſt. There is no body knows how near we ſhall be to him, when we ſhall be the Children of God, being the children of the Reſurrection; as our Saviour ſpeaks in the place before mentioned. OnelyOnly this is certain, as I ſaid juſt now, that we ſhall be Companions of Angels, and ſuch Sons of God as they are: And withall St. John here tells us that, when He (or it) ſhall appear, we ſhall be like him; it being naturall, that the Child ſhould bear ſome reſemblance to its Father.

II.

Now from hence it follows, that to SEE GOD is to enjoy ſuch favours as He will be pleaſed to impart unto us in that high and holy place where he dwells: yea, to have ſome participation with him in his Bleſſedneſs, who is moſt p. 16Bleſſed for evermore. For to See, in the language of the Hebrews, is to enjoy, when it is applied to a thing deſirable; or to be in that ſtate, when it is applied to that which is hurtfull. Thus to ſee good, xxxiv. Pſal. 12. is to poſſeſs it, and to lead an happy life; and to ſee the good of Jeruſalem, cxxviii. 5. is to partake of its peace and proſperity; and to ſee the goodneſs of the Lord in the land of the living, xxvii. Pſalm 13. is in its firſt ſenſe, to be delivered by God, and to enjoy the ſweet fruits of it before he died. Nor is there any other meaning of ſeeing life, and ſeeing the kingdom of God, but this, that the parties to whom thoſe promiſes are made ſhall be put into the poſſeſſion of ſuch bleſſings. And, on the other ſide, to ſee the Son of man ſitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds, xxvi. Matth. 64. is to feel his heavy wrath, the ſtroke of his revengefull hand upon their nation; as may be gathered from i. Revel. 7. And to ſee death, lxxxix. Pſal. 48. ii. Luk. 26. is no more then to die. This is ſo plain, that thoſe things that belong to other ſenſes yet are ſaid to be ſeen; which can ſignifie nothing elſe, but that they are perceived or enjoyed. O generation, p. 17(ſaith Jeremiah ii. 31.) ſee ye the word of the Lord; that is, hear it, mind and conſider it: or, as Maimonides expounds it **More Nev. par. 1. c. 46., the intention of the Prophet is, that they ſhould apprehend the ſenſe of God's word. And that likewiſe which is ſaid to be ſeen in one place, is ſaid to be taſted in another; as to ſee death, viii. Joh. 51. is the ſame with taſting of death, ver. 52. Which is a demonſtration, that to See in their language is frequently uſed for having a ſenſe, perception or enjoyment of any object.

And therefore we cannot neceſſarily draw any more out of theſe words of our Saviour, which promiſe that we ſhall ſee God, but that we ſhall have as reall an enjoyment of him, and as ſenſibly perceive him, as we do now any good in this world; though the manner of it be not certainly known, as not ſo plainly deducible from theſe words. Let us conceive with our ſelves, as well as we can, what his infinite Perfections are, his Wiſedom, his Goodneſs, his Power, his Purity, his Unchangeableneſs, his Immortality and Bliſs; and then make account there will be a lively communication between us and all theſe, which will make p. 18us partakers of his Happineſs. We ſhall not onelyonly enjoy ſuch good things as flow from his greateſt favour and love; but in our meaſure, and according to ſuch capacities as he will give us, be what He himſelf is. Thoſe glorious Perfections of his will impart ſomething of themſelves to us: ſo that we ſhall be like God, and bear ſome ſimilitude to him in Wiſedom, Goodneſs, and Bliſs. We ſhall be filled with Divine joys and pleaſures, by being filled with a great ſenſe of him, and a ſtrong love to him, and a lively reſemblance of his bleſſed Nature, immutably and immortally, without any change and without any end. Thus much we need not doubt is included in this phraſe of Seeing God; but confidently believe, that good men ſhall enjoy all the effects of an holy Friendſhip with infinite Goodneſs, and receive ſuch communications from his boundleſs Love, as ſhall make us really and ſubſtantially happy, like as he himſelf is.

III.

And I make no queſtion likewiſe but hereby is ſignified an abundant Felicity which God from his own moſt bleſſed p. 19Nature will impart unto us; a very copious participation of Himſelf, which he will beſtow upon us. For when Job ſays, xix. 26, 27. that in his fleſh he ſhould SEE GOD, and that for himſelf, his own eyes beholding him, not another's; his meaning ſeems to be, that before he died, he was ſure God would deal exceeding bountifully with him; not onelyonly reſcuing him from his preſent miſeries, but making him very happy: ſo that he ſhould not onelyonly leave his poſterity, when he was gone, to enjoy the bleſſings which God had ſtill in ſtore for him; but be made in his own perſon partaker of them. Which prediction of his ſeems to have been fulfilled, when it is ſaid, the Lord gave Job twice as much as he had before, and that he bleſſed his latter end more then his beginning: xlii. 10, 12. Then he ſaw God, and that with his own eyes, when he was thus liberally bleſſed by him, and received ſuch a large reward of his patience. In like manner, when our Lord ſaith, that pure upright men (like Job) ſhall ſee God, his meaning may be, that they ſhall in the higheſt degree partake of his bounteous Goodneſs, and receive as much from him above all their thoughts, as Sight is above all other ſenſes.

p. 20And indeed the Senſe of Seeing is ſo much more ſpacious and wide then the reſt, that we may very well think an exceeding great happineſs is onelyonly able to fill up the whole meaning of this expreſſion, of SEEING GOD. Which may be the better underſtood, perhaps, if we briefly conſider the reaſons for which the Senſe of Seeing ſeems fitter then any other to ſet forth our participation with God in his ſupreme Felicity. They are ſuch as theſe. (1.) It beſt agrees with thoſe things whereby God is repreſented to us in the Holy Scriptures. Where we reade that God is Light, (which is the object of Sight onelyonly,) and in him is no darkneſs at all. As Light is a thing of which we are moſt ſenſible, and whereby we diſcern indeed all other viſible things, but cannot comprehend what it is: ſuch is God; of whom, if we attend, we cannot but be moſt apprehenſive, and without whom we can enjoy nothing; though we cannot declare the inconceivable purity and excellency of his Nature. And (2.) Sight is the nobleſt Senſe about us; the Eye being a work of more curious and exquiſite contrivance then any other part of our body. p. 21And (3.) it is the moſt comprehenſive Senſe, which takes in a vaſt number of things at once; not onelyonly of this lower world, but alſo of the upper. And it is a Senſe (4.) that can longeſt enjoy the ſame object: for its object is not waſted and ſpent in the enjoyment, nor doth it vaniſh and die ſo ſoon as others are apt to do. And (5.) it is the principall Senſe of diſcipline and learning, which conveys to us the firſt notices of things more abundantly then the reſt; and eſpecially helps us to the knowledg we obtain by making experimentall Obſervations. And (6.) it affords us the greateſt certainty and evidence of the truth of things. Inſomuch that we are wont to ſay, We will believe it, when we ſee it: and it is become a Rule in Law, that One Eye-witneſs is better then an hundred Hear-ſay's. And again (7.) it is a very affecting Senſe, which raiſes paſſions ſooner and quicker then any other. All the Rhetoricall praiſes in the world which are beſtowed to commend a lovely object to us, will not move us ſo much as one glance of its beauty will. The Queen of Sheba, you remember, was led by report to come to the Court of Solomon; but when ſhe p. 22ſaw the ſplendour wherein he lived, then it was, that there was no more ſpirit in her. And therefore (laſtly) it brings in the greateſt revenue of the pureſt and moſt long-liv'd pleaſures, by preſenting us with ſuch a vaſt variety of objects, as other Senſes, who have not ſo large a ſphere and compaſs to move in, cannot entertain us withall.

From all which you may eaſily gather, that when our Lord expreſſes the Happineſs of pure and holy Souls by Seeing God, he may well be thought to intend thereby, the ſtrong ſenſe that God will give them of himſelf, and the intimate familiarity we may hope to have with the firſt Wiſedom, Purity and Goodneſs: and then the height and dignity of that ſtate to which we ſhall hereby be advanced; together with the vaſt meaſure of knowledg and love which he will communicate to us; the exquiſite and moſt delicious pleaſures which will ſpring from thence, and overflow our Souls; the delightfull paſſions whereby we ſhall be tranſported; and the inconceivable ſatisfaction which we ſhall have within our ſelves. For if St. Philip ſaid here, Lord, ſhew us the Father, and it ſuffices; p. 23what ſhall we think of that manifeſtation which he will make of himſelf to us when we ſhall be uncloathed, and have nothing to interpoſe to hinder our clear ſight of him, and full converſe with him? We are not able to conceive how mightily it will affect our hearts. We muſt ſtay till that happy day of our Lord's appearing, to be ſatisfied to what degree of honour and bliſs he intends to promote us: But ſure enough he will come, and not fail our expectation. The Certainty of this happineſs may well be included in our Saviour's promiſe of Seeing God: Who will give us a ſure poſſeſſion of himſelf, and undoubted contentment, to the very height, in the enjoyment of him; and that in an endleſs life, without any diſquiet or diſturbance, without alteration or change, without wearineſs or diſguſt; in a never-ceaſing ecſtaſy of joy and delight, to find our ſelves united to him, the Almighty Lord and poſſeſſour of Heaven and Earth, the Fountain of all that is good and amiable in this world, who here entertains us with ſo many pleaſures, that by them we may gueſs what he is able and willing to doe for them, who have no greater care then above all things to pleaſe him. p. 24They ſhall be fixed in a ſtedfaſt ſight, that is, enjoyment, of him, to their infinite ſatisfaction.

IV.

And if we mark the words of S. John, who ſpeaks this more fully, and tells us, in the place before named, we ſhall ſee him AS HE IS, (which he makes the reaſon and cauſe of our being like him,) they will imbolden us ſtill to ſeek into a farther meaning of this phraſe. And ſince we can enjoy nothing without a knowledg of it preceding, we are to underſtand, that to ſee God as he is, will be to have our minds filled with a knowledg of him, ſo clear, ſo diſtinct and ſtrong, that it will even turn us into his own Nature, Life, and Bliſs. We ſhall not behold, that is, know him, as we do now, by ſimilitudes, reſemblances, and expreſſions borrowed from other things, (which is all our natures are here able to bear;) but by a clear notion of him formed in our minds; wherein our hearts will be infinitely pleaſed, and feel his happineſs come flowing into them.

p. 25My meaning may be thus explained: As it is an imperfect ſight of a man which we have in a Picture, though drawn by the moſt curious hand and ſtrongeſt fancy; and the man himſelf, if he ſtand before a Looking-glaſs, will in a moment draw an Image more like him, then the skilfulleſt Artiſt can delineate all his life long, eſpecially if he never ſaw the perſon, but onelyonly had a deſcription of him in a book or by report: juſt ſuch is the ſight or knowledg that we have of God in this world, either by his Word, or by his Works, or by the Idea's of our own mind; a very imperfect thing, and much like the picture of a perſon which we never yet had before our eyes. But hereafter, when he will be pleaſed to appear, to give us a more immediate ſight of him, without theſe helps, and preſent himſelf to our mind as the face to a glaſs; this will be to know him indeed, and to ſee him as he is. Now as the ſight of a Friend, when he preſents himſelf to the eye, doth marvellouſly refreſh and comfort us; and there is a ſenſe of pleaſure imparted to us in the very beholding a rare beauty, which we are not like perhaps to ſee any more: ſo this Seeing p. 26God is no barren thing, but inſtantly infuſes the higheſt ſatisfaction and delight into pure hearts; who by knowing his bleſſed Nature, will find it imprinting it ſelf (as it were) upon them, and making every one of them to be the bleſſed Image of it. Look what God is, that they by the ſight of him ſhall be: He will dwell in them, as the image of a thing does in the glaſs: And they ſhall be poſſeſſed of him, of his life, of his joys, by having a ſenſible perception of the Wiſedom, the Goodneſs, the Purity, and all the other Perfections that ſhine in himſelf.

V.

Or if this be too hard to be underſtood, let us content our ſelves to know, that to SEE GOD as he is, is to enjoy him as he is in heaven; that is, according to that manner and meaſure wherein he ſhews and manifeſts himſelf in thoſe celeſtiall places. Pious Souls ſhall really perceive all the effects of his Bounty, Wiſedom and Power, which are known and communicated in that other world. Which as it is higher then this; ſo hath more of God to be ſeen in p. 27it, then can be diſcovered here. All that the holy Angels ſee and enjoy of him, all that Good which he lets forth out of himſelf in that glorious place, wherein above all other he is ſaid to be, ſhall be the portion of thoſe happy Souls; who may be ſaid therefore to ſee him AS HE IS. They ſhall not enjoy him in ſo low a manner as the higheſt and the moſt highly beloved perſons have enjoyed him in this world, where there is but little of him: but in the nobleſt manner that he can be enjoyed; ſo as the heavenly Miniſters, yea our ever-Bleſſed Lord, are made partakers of him. For when our Lord prays that his Diſciples may behold or ſee his glory, which the Father had given him, xvii. Joh. 24. his meaning is, (according to what I have ſaid of the word Seeing,) that they might have their ſhare at laſt with him in his Happineſs, and be admitted to take a part with him in that ſupreme Dignity, to which he was ready to be advanced. And thus when St. John invites others into the Chriſtian Society, telling them that their fellowſhip was with the Father and his Son jeſus Chriſt, 1 Joh. i. 3. it is as much as to ſay, that they could no-where be ſo happy; becauſe it is the p. 28ſingular priviledge of Chriſtian people, to be admitted unto a partnerſhip with God and our Saviour in their moſt happy life, and to have hopes and expectation to partake with them in their eternall Bliſs.

VI.

Which may very well give me occaſion to adde, that ſince Grace, Mercy and Peace come to us now from God, the Father, Son and Holy Ghoſt; we may hope in this Viſion of God to have as well a clear Knowledg of that ever-Bleſſed Trinity, as a full communication from their ineffable Love. We ſhall underſtand that Holy Myſtery, which now the ſenſe of our weakneſs forbids us to pry into; and be able, perhaps, to unfold how the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghoſt is one God, without any diverſity or ſeparation of nature, Epiſt. cxii. ad Paulinam cap. 19. Homil. de Martyre Mamante.(as St. Auſtin expreſſes this Myſtery;) which I durſt not, in my former Treatiſe, adventure to explain. For St. Baſil had taught me to mark this, in thoſe words of our Saviour, (x. Joh. 27. My ſheep hear my voice,) that he ſays, foreign, they hear, not queſtion or diſpute. They believe he is the Word of p. 29God, but do not ask how: nor ſay, if he was alway, then he was not begotten; or if he was begotten, then he was not alway. Theſe are not the words of the Sheep of Chriſt: who receive his voice, and enquire no farther. And I had learnt alſo from a great Divine of our own Nation, D… Jackſon Preſ. to Cathol. Church.(to whoſe grave judgment I thought there was a greater veneration due, then to the little forward Cenſurers of this Age,) that the Doctrine of the Holy Trinity is an Argument more fit for Meditation, in Prayers and Soliloquies, then for Controverſie, or Scholaſtick Diſcourſe. We believe one Divine Nature in three Perſons: and that the Divine Nature in the Perſon of the Father required Satisfaction for the Tranſgreſſions of men againſt his Holy Laws; and that the ſame Divine Nature in the Perſon of the Son undertook to make Satisfaction for us, in taking our Nature on him, whereby he had by right of Conſanguinity the authority and power of redeeming us; and the ſame Divine Nature in the Perſon of the Holy Ghoſt doth approve and ſeal, as he ſpeaks, this happy and ever-bleſſed compromiſe. But what it is to be a Perſon, and what manner of diſtinction is between the Perſons in the Bleſſed Trinity, p. 30are points, Knowledge of Jeſus Chriſt, Chap. xxv.ſaith he, which I never had a mind to diſpute after the manner of the Schools, but was always ready to admire, what I knew not to expreſs.

For what is it that we can ſay of God, who can conceive ſo little of him? It is an ancient ſaying of Plato, that to conceive God, is difficult; to expreſs him, is impoſſible. But he ſhould rather have ſaid, Greg. Naz. Orat. 34.in the opinion of a greater man, foreign, It is impoſſible to expreſs him, and more impoſſible to conceive him. For that which we can conceive in our mind, we may declare in words; if not indifferently well, yet at leaſt obſcurely; provided they that hear us are not dull of underſtanding: But to comprehend in our mind ſo great a thing as God, is utterly impoſſible; not onelyonly to the dull and ſtupid, foreign, but to the moſt ſublime Souls, and thoſe who are lovers of God. Alas! all that comes to us from him now, Ib p. 548.is but onelyonly a ſhort glance, foreign, and as it were a little beam of a great Light. We may call it a full knowledge of the Bleſſed Trinity, (as Origen **In vi. Bom. p. 633. and ſee Greg. Nazian. Orat. 36. p. 594.doth) when we can ſay, p. 31The Father is Light, and in his Light, which is the Son, we ſee Light, the Holy Ghoſt. But how far ſhort is this of what we long to know of theſe Three in One? How much are we in the dark ſtill? And what a ſatisfaction will it therefore be, to ſee them clearly ſhining on us, and diſcovering their Bleſſed Nature to us? which hitherto no man hath been able to find out, and whether ever any ſhall find, let thoſe inquire who have a mind. In my opinion, Greg. Naz. ibid.ſaith the forenamed Father, then we ſhall find, when this Divine, this God-like thing, our Mind and Reaſon, ſhall be intimately joyned with its heavenly kindred, and the Image ſhall return to its Archetype or originall Patern, of whoſe acquaintance it is now ſo deſirous. And this ſeems to me to be that which is ſo much diſcourſed of, to know as we are known.

Now we know onelyonly in part, ſaith St. Paul, (to whoſe words he hath reſpect, 1 Cor. xiii. 11, 12.) we behold rather the images of things, then the things themſelves; and thoſe alſo but darkly, and in a cloud: but then we ſhall ſee face to face, and behold God ſo clearly, that we ſhall know him as he knows us. p. 32"He hath a double knowledge, ſays Elias Cretenſis upon thoſe words of Nazianzen: one whereby he ſimply knows all things; and another whereby he knows his own Image, when it is not quite ſpoil'd, which is accompanied with love and delight. And in this latter ſenſe Gregory here underſtands it. For look how much ſerenity and ſtilneſs, void of all perturbation, God beholds in his own Image; ſo much of his knowledge will he beſtow upon it: giving to every one a meaſure of illumination anſwerable to its purity and holineſs. Then we may hope to diſcover thoſe things which are Secrets now; and no more underſtood by us, then a Child underſtands the thought of the wiſeſt men. For if St. Paul himſelf (as St. Chryſoſtome diſcourſes upon thoſe words,) he who knew ſo much compares himſelf to an infant while h… was in this ſtate; what may we think of our ſelves? how childiſh are ou… thoughts? and how like children do w… ſpeak about Divine matters? eſpecially of the tranſcendent Nature of God, th… Father, Son, and Holy Ghoſt? But how reſplendent then muſt the conception be of our grown eſtate, ſince in this infancy p. 33of knowledge God hath revealed ſo much of himſelf to us, beyond the thoughts of former times? If theſe things be ſo bright which we ſee now but in a glaſs, and obſcurely too; think what the ſight of the face will be. And the better to underſtand this difference, and to dart a ray of light, ſaith he, though but duskiſh, into thy mind, look upon thoſe things under the Law now that Grace ſhines. Before Grace came, they appear'd great and wonderfull: but hear now what S. Paul ſaith of them after Grace, 2 Cor. iii. 10. that even thoſe glorious things had no glory, in this reſpect, by reaſon of the glory that excelleth. Such is the difference between the knowledg we now have, and that which we ſhall have hereafter: even what we ſee of God here, though, as S. Paul ſays, ſo exceeding glorious, hath no light in it, in this reſpect, by reaſon of that light which tranſcendeth. And therefore if our Saviour pronounced his Diſciples bleſſed, becauſe their eyes ſaw, and their ears heard ſuch things as the old Prophets and juſt men had long'd to ſee and hear, but could not attain that happineſs: how much more bleſſed ſhall we find our ſelves, when we come to ſee p. 34things as much beyond what is now manifeſted, as this Revelation is beyond the ignorance of former Ages? We ſhall both wonder at our childiſh preſumption, in offering to talk of things ſo much above our reach: and wonder at the grace of the ever-bleſſed Trinity, which hath conducted us notwithſtanding to the ſight of their undivided Glory.

VII.

But it is time to put an end to this; and therefore I ſhall ſay no more of this promiſe of being ſo happy as to SEE GOD, but that there is a ſenſe to be made of it which will admit the Body, as well as the Soul, to a ſhare with him in thoſe ſupreme Felicities. For when an exceeding great Splendour, beyond any created Light, appeared to Holy men in ancient times, they called it by the name of God; (who was hereby repreſented to be preſent with them;) and the beholding this is called Seeing God. As when Moſes ſaw the Buſh in a flame, and from thence a light broke forth at noon-day (as Greg. De vita Moſis p. 172.Nyſſen ſpeaks) foreign, brighter then that p. 35of the Sun, we reade that he thought of approaching to behold with his eyes the wonder of that light; but, which was more wonderfull, (as the ſame Father goes on,) he had his ears illuminated with its beams, foreign and the voice of that light forbad him to come near the mountain. Whereupon he preſently apprehended that there was a Divine Preſence in the Buſh; and it is ſaid, He hid his face, (out of reverence and a holy dread,) and was afraid to look upon God, iii. Exod. 6. Thence this Mountain is called the mount of God, v. 1. and xviii. 5. from this glorious preſence here; which appeared afterward alſo to give the Law from the ſame place. After which you find that he, and Aaron with his ſons, and the ſeventy Elders of Iſrael, being invited by God to approach towards the foot of that Mount where he ſpake with Moſes, it is ſaid that they ſaw the God of Iſrael, xxiv. Exod. 10. In both which places, though Maimonides would willingly underſtand a ſpirituall ſight of God with the mind, (being afraid leſt any man ſhould imagine God to be corporeall;) More Nevoc. part. 1. cap. 5.yet he acknowledges it is ſafe enough to interpret it as the Chaldee p. 36doth, of a ſight of that Glory which I treated of in my former Book, (Chap. IV.) or of an Angel, which in a luminous Body appeared to them.

But this laſt is rejected by a Rule in the Talmud **Tit. Kid. …u hinc. 11.where this very place laſt named is explained. It is this: He that interprets a verſe of Holy Scripture always according to the literall ſound, is a Liar; and he that addeth to it, is a Blaſphemer. As for example, when it is ſaid, they SAW THE GOD of Iſrael; if any body interpret it literally, he is a Liar, for the God of Iſrael cannot be ſeen: And if any one adde, that they ſaw the Angel of God, he blaſphemouſly gives the honour of God to Angels. The Chaldee onelyonly is in the right, who ſays, They ſaw the GLORY of the God of Iſrael. And ſo S. Cyrill of Alexandria underſtood it, in the like caſe, L. 3. Glaphy. in Exod.when he obſerves, the people were brought to Mount Sinai that they might be both Auditours and Spectatours of God, foreign, or of his Divine and ſecret Glory. Which, having never been ſeen out of the Secret place, made now a moſt illuſtrious appearance: and at the bottom of it (called his feet) there was a pavement (on p. 37which the Glory ſtood) very bright, and becoming the Majeſty that was upon it. For the Text ſays, it was like a Sapphire-ſtone, and as clear as the pureſt and ſereneſt sky. A token, I ſuppoſe, of the Divine favour towards them; which the clearneſs of the Heavens very well repreſented, as clouds and darkneſs were ſigns of God's diſpleaſure. And accordingly it follows, (v. 11.) that he did not lay his hand upon the nobles of Iſrael; i. e. did not hurt them: (though the common opinion was, that if men ſaw ſuch a ſight, they ſhould die preſently.) No, ſo far were they from receiving any harm by it, that they did not merely ſee God, but alſo eat and drink of the reliques of the Sacrifices that had been (v.5.) newly offered to him. He entertain'd them with proviſion taken from his own Table; and they feaſted with his Majeſty, to their great joy and ſatisfaction.

Such a Glory, I told you, S. Stephen ſaw, when his perſecutours were going to ſtone him. And it is reaſonable to ſuppoſe that, in ſome part of the Heavens, God now manifeſts himſelf in a moſt glorious viſible Majeſty, to the exceeding p. 38ineffable joy (not terrour and affrightment) of thoſe who ſhall be admitted to approach to that Light, which is now inacceſſible. So that this will be a part of our eternall happineſs, to live in thoſe pure clear Regions, where unknown Glories and moſt ſplendid magnificent ſights will preſent themſelves to us: where we our ſelves ſhall be cloathed with a brightneſs like that wherein our Lord appeared to S. Stephen and S. Paul; and behold him in a greater Majeſty and brightneſs then that was, becauſe our capacities will be inlarged to make room for more illuſtrious manifeſtations of God to us. We ſhall live in that place, (as was ſaid before) where he dwells in light unapproachable by mortall men; in the company of the holy Angels, who, as ſo many Stars of glory, will add, if it be poſſible, to the ſplendour of that place; and with our Bleſſed Saviour, God-Man, whoſe glorified Body we ſhall behold. And ſo behold it, that we ſhall bear the image of the heavenly, as we have born the image of the earthy. We ſhall be made immortall, that is, we ſhall be ever with the Lord, in ſuch glorious Bodies as his is: ſo that in our ſelves we may ſee the Glory of God.

p. 39For it muſt be noted here, that though our Happineſs will begin when our Spirits depart this life; yet it will not be perfected till the Son of God ſhall come the ſecond time to raiſe our bodies out of the duſt, that they may have a part with our Souls in a never-dying Life. Till then, the Happineſs I ſpeak of, it muſt be confeſſed, will not have its Crown or utmoſt Conſummation. But yet the Soul in the mean time (I ſhall prove in its proper place) doth not lie aſleep, nor hath all its Powers bound up in a cold and lethargick dulneſs; though it have not attain'd the utmoſt enjoyment of that Good for which it hopes. Our Saviour ſeems to make theſe two diſtinct things; the putting us in poſſeſſion of everlaſting life, and the raiſing us up at the laſt day. vi. Joh. 40. This is the will of him that ſent me, that every one which ſeeth the Son, and believeth on him, may HAVE EVER LASTING LIFE, and I will RAISE HIM ƲP at the laſt day: which he repeats again v. 54. The former of which expreſſions may well denote the comfortable Hope we have of Happineſs, when Soul and Body ſhall be united; and the other, p. 40the perfection of this Happineſs, when they ſhall be again united. We ſhall enter into a great part of Felicity, when we quit theſe Earthly Tabernacles; our Souls ſhall then feel themſelves alive, and alive in the midſt of thoſe delights that will ſtill increaſe and never have any end: and they ſhall joyfully expect the Reſurrection of the dead, and the Glory wherein our Saviour ſhall then appear, and all his Saints together with him; who having received abundance of grace, and of the gift of righteouſneſs, ſhall reign in life by Jeſus Chriſt.

Thus I have ſaid a little concerning this great promiſe of SEEING GOD; and it is ſo little, that I feel my ſelf unſatisfied, and would fain penetrate farther, or at leaſt ſpeak more diſtinctly of this ETERNALL LIFE. But this ſmall glance we have had of it may well awaken our Souls, and excite them in the worſt condition here to burſt out into thoſe words, which the Authour of the Commentaries upon Job (under the name of Origen) puts into that Holy man's mouth.Lib. I. p. 448, 449.

Thither will I go, where the Tabernacles p. 41of the Righteous are, where are the Glories of the Saints, where is the Reſt of the Faithful, where is the Conſolation of the Godly, where is the Inheritance of the Mercifull, where is the Bleſſedneſs of the Ʋndefiled. Thither will I goe, where Light and Life dwells, where Glory and Mirth, where Gladneſs and Exultation inhabit; from whence Grief, Sadneſs and Sighing fly away; where the former Tribulations, which afflict the Body upon this Earth, are no more remembred. Thither will I goe, where we ſhall lay down our Troubles, where we ſhall have a reward of our Labours; where is the Boſome of Abraham, where the Propriety of Iſaac, where the Familiarity of Iſrael; where are the Souls of the Saints, where the Quires of Angels, where the Voices of Archangels; where is the Illumination of the Holy Ghoſt, where the Kingdome of Chriſt, where the never-ending Glory, and the bleſſed Sight of the Eternall God the Father. Thither will I go, there I hope to arrive: not complaining, not finding fault, much leſs curſing and blaſpheming; but bleſſing and praiſing, and with giving of thanks, ſaying, The Lord gave, the Lord hath taken away; as it pleaſed the Lord, ſo it is come to paſs. Whatſoever pleaſes God is good; p. 42whatſoever pleaſes him is juſt. It pleaſed him to give; his pleaſure was good: it pleaſed him to take away; his pleaſure was juſt. All that the Lord wills is Life, is Light, is Reſt and Peace, is eternall Bleſſedneſs. Whatſoever pleaſes the Lord therefore, whether to inrich or to impoveriſh, all is incorruptible and endleſs Bliſs. Bleſſed is the man, O Lord, whom thou chaſteneſt. As pleaſes the Lord, ſo it is: Let the Name of the Lord be bleſſed world without End. Amen.