And whereas St Paul saith, ' for them that love him,' it is for them that * expect him,' as in Isaiah. The sense is all one. AVhosoever love God, they expect and wait for him. Where there is no expectation, there is no love.
This is the apostle's drift. If God did do such great matters for his church, as ' eye hath not seen, nor ear heard,' according to the prophet Isaiah, what shall we think he will do in the kingdom of grace here and of glory hereafter ?
The words then, as we see, contain the excellency of the mysteries of the gospel, described first by the hiddenness of it to men at first.
Secondly, By the goodness of the things revealed, such as ' neither eye hath seen,' &c.
The hiddenness and excellency of the gospel in that respect is set forth by way of negation. ' Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, nor heart con- ceived.' And indeed this is the way to set forth excellent divine things. God himself is set out by way of denial ; by removing imperfections : he is invisible, immortal, &e. And so heaven, that is near to God, as being prepared by him, it is set out by way of denial, as St Peter saith, ' It is an inheritance immortal, undefiled,' &c., 1 Peter i, 4.
So here positive words could not be found sufficient to set out the excellency of the things that God hath prepared.
As for the knowledge of the mystery of salvation in Jesus Christ, we neither can come to it by natural invention nor by natural discipline. AH the things that we know naturally, we know by one of these two ways ; but divine things are known neither way.
Where could there have been any knowledge of Christ, if God had not opened his breast in the gospel, and come forth of his hidden light, and shewed himself in Christ, God-man ; and in publishing the gospel estab- lished an ordinance of preaching for this purpose — where had the know- ledge of salvation in Christ been ?
To prove this we have here a gradation. The eye sees many things, but we hear more things than we see. Yet * neither eye hath seen nor ear heard.' Ay, but the conceits of the heart are larger than the sight of the eye or the hearing of the ear. Yet neither eye hath seen, nor ear hath, heard, ' nor hath entered into the heart of man to conceive,' &c. The philosopher saith, there is nothing in the understanding, but it came into
A GLANCE OF UEAVEN. 157
tlic senses before : (a) and therefore it cannot enter into tlic lieart of man, if it enter not by thecyc or by the ear.
The things here spoken of be especially the graces, and comforts, and privileges to be enjoyed in this life, and the consummation and perfection of them in heaven. Christ brings peace and joy, justification and sancti- fication, and the like ; and even in this life. The perfection of these is in heaven, where the soul and the body shall be both glorified, in a glorious place, together with glorious company ; the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, innumerable angels and just men. These are those things that ' eye hath not seen,' &c. ; the beginnings here, and the perfection and consummation of them hereafter. Having thus far unfolded the words, I come to the points considerable.
Doct. First, God hath a company of beloved children in the world, that he means a special good unto.
The second, God hath prepared great matters for them.
1. If great persons prepare great things for those whom they greatly afiect,* shall we not think that the great God will prepare great things for those that he hath afl'ection to, and that have affection to him ? If God be a friend to the elect, and they be his friends, surely he will answer friend- ship to the utmost. Answerable to the great love he bears his children, he hath provided great things for them.
If that be excellent that is long in preparing, then those things which belong to God's children must needs be excellent; for they were pre- paring even before the world was. Solomon's temple was an excellent fabric ; it had long preparation, 1 Chron. xxii. 5. Ahasuerus made a feast to a hundred and twenty-seven provinces, Esther i. 1, seq. It was lone in preparing. Great things have great preparation. Now these things that God intends his children have been preparing even from everlasting ; and they are from everlasting to everlasting. They must needs be excellent. But before I dwell on any particular point, here is a question to be answered.
Quest. If the things that God hath prepared for his children be secret and excellent, how then come we to know them at all ?
We come to know them (1.) Btj divine revelation. God must reveal them first, as it is in the next verse, ' God hath revealed them by his Spirit.'
The Spirit reveals them by way of negation, and indefinitely ; as also by way of eminence. Whatsoever is excellent in the world, God borrows it to set out the excellency of the things that he hath provided for his children in grace and glory.