(3.) Now, this veil of ignorance and unbelief continueth in all unre- generate men iintil grace takes away the veil. Besides, before a thing can be seen, the object must not only be made clear, and the eyesight too, but
* ' Swallow.' — Dr J. A. Alexander in Lis ' Commentary' adopts the rendering of Sibbes here.— G. t Q". ' this ? '—Ed. % Qu. ♦ is not? ' — En.
ISA. XXY. G, 7.] BETWEEN CHRIST AND HIS CHUECH. 461
there must be lumen deferens, a light to cany the object to the eye. If that be not, we cannot see. As the Egyptians, in the three days of dark- ness, had their eyes, but there wanted hght to represent the object, and therefore they could not go near one to another. It is the light, and not sight. If there be sight and no light to carry and convey the object, we cannot say there is sight.
That which answereth to this veil is the veil of Scripture, whereby heavenly things are set out by a mystery. A mystery is, when something is openly shewed and something hidden.
When something is concealed, as in the sacrament, they be mysteries. We see the bread, we see the wine, but under the bread and wine other things are intended, the breaking of the body of Chiist, and the shedding of his blood, and in that the love and mercy of God in Christ, in giving him to death for us, and Christ's love to give himself to satisfy divine jus- tice. These be the things intended, which only the soul sees and appre- hendcth. And so all things in the church, indeed, are mysteries, the in- carnation of Christ, the union of both natures, that Christ should save the world by such a way as he did, that he should bring us to glory by shame, to life by death, to blessing and happiness by being a curse for us. It is a mysteiy to bring contrary out of contraiy : that so glorious a person as God should be covered with our weak and sinful nature. It was a mystery, the Jews stumbled at it. Light came, and the darkness could not compre- hend the light. And, as Christ vv"as a mystery himself, so the church is a mystery. That God should so much delight in a company of poor men, the off-scouring of the world, to make them temples of his Holy Spirit, and heirs of heaven, men that were under the scorn of the world, this is a mys- tery. So all is mystical, the head, the members, the body, the church, and every particular point of religion. There is a mysteiy in repentance. No man knoweth what soitow for sin is but the trae gracious person. No man knows what it is to believe but he that hath an heart to believe. No man knoweth what peace of conscience and joy of the Holy G^ost is but those that feel it. So that is a mystery. And therefore ' great is the mystery of godliness,' saith the apostle, 1 Tim. iii. 16. Not only in the points themselves, but even the practice of religion is a mystery too. Repentance and faith, and new obedience and love, and the comforts of religion, are all mysteries. There is a veil upon them in all these points, that a carnal man cannot see them.
You see, then, in what sense there is a veil of the things, and in what sense there is a veil on men's hearts ; that is, either the things themselves are hid, or if the things be open, they want sight and light of knowledge, and they want faith to believe. Beloved, we live in times that the object is clear to us, the things themselves are made clear ; as who knoweth not what Christ is, and the notion of the incarnation, and of the imion with him. We know them notionally. They be opened and revealed to ns veiy clearly, all the articles of faith, and mysteries of religion, so that there is no obscurity in the object. The things are clear, specially in these places of knowledge. But yet, notwithstanding, there is a veil upon the soul. The soul of every man that is not graciously wrought upon by the Spirit of God hath a veil of ignorance and unbelief.
First of all, of ignorance. There is a vale * of ignorance in many, and in all men naturally a veil of ignorance of spiritual things. For, unless they be revealed, they can never be known to angels themselves. The angels
* Qu. 'veil?'— Ed.
462 THE MAKRIAGE FEAST [SeRHON III.
themselves know not the gospel till it be opened, and therefore they be studeats in it continually, and the best men in the world know nothing in the gospel further than it is revealed. But there is a veil of ignorance upon them that know these things notionally, because they do not know them as they should know them ; they do not know them in jvojyria specie, spiritual and heavenly things as spiritual and heavenly things. They do not know spiritual things as spiritual things, they have a human knowledge of spiritual things. Those that want grace, they know the grammar of the Scripture and divinity, and they know how to discourse as schoolmen do, from one thing to another, and to argue. They know the logic and rhe- toric of the Scripture, but they stick in the stile. There is something they are ignorant of; that is, they have not an eye of knowledge, as we call it. They do not see the things themselves, but only they see things by another body's spirit, and they have no light of their own. And so no man knoweth naturally but the children of God what original sin is, \vhat corruption of nature is, nor knows sin in its own odious colours, to be filthy, and to be dangerous as it is. To draw the curse and vengeance of God upon it, this is not known, but by the Spirit revealing the odiousness of sin, that the soul may apprehend it, as Christ did when he suffered for it, and as God doth. A gracious man seeth it as God seeth it, because by the Spirit of God he seeth the filthiness and odiousness of it, and the danger it diaweth after it.