(6.) Again, If we apprehend this glorious mystery of Christ in the gospel aright, it trill tcork in us a ylorious joy ; for joy is a disposition especially that fits us to glorify God. Then we are fit to * glorify God,' when our hearts are enlarged with joy ; when we think of God in Christ ; when we think of the day of judgment ; when we think of heaven ; when we think of hell with joy, as being subdued; and bless God for Christ; when we can think of all that is opposite as conquered in Christ. So that our joy is enlarged in the apprehension of our own blessed condition. It is a good sign we are in a disposition to * glorify God.' But I will not enlarge my- self further in this point.
2. This being so excellent a duty, to which we are stirred by the angels, * Glory to God on high,' &c., what are the main hindrances of it, that we give not God more glory ?
(1.) The main hindrances are, a double veil of ignorance and tmbelief, that we do not see the glorious light of God shining in Jesus Christ ; or else if we do not know it, we do not believe it ; and thereupon, instead of that blessed disposition that should be in the soul, there comes an admiration of carnal excellencies, a delighting in base things.
This ignorance is partly from the darkness of our own hearts, being overcast sometimes, that such great things are too good to be true. Our hearts have a hell of unbelief in them.
And sometimes the policy of Satan, who casts dust in our eyes, and labours that we may not see the glory of God in the gospel : 2 Cor. iv. 4, ' The God of this world hath blinded their eyes,' &c. Ignorance arising from within or without is a great cause why we do not see the excellencies of God. Therefore no wonder if, where the gospel is not preached, that the devil hath a kind of reign, and God is not honoured at all, because the devil is the prince of darkness, and rules in darkness. That is one cause, ignorance.
(2.) So likewise tmbelief, when we hear and see and know the notion of mercy and of Christ, and can dispute of these things, like men that talk of that they never tasted of. The devils know all these things better than any man ; yet they do not ' glorify God,' because they do not believe that these things pertain to them. Men want a light suitable to the truth of the things themselves. A man may see them with a natural light, or with the light of education, or by books or the like ; but not in a spiritual and pro- per light. He sees not spiritual, heavenl}' things, in a spiritual light. And that is the reason he believes them not. These two veils are the cause why
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we see not the light of God shining in the gospel, and why we do not glo- rify him. Light is a glorious creature. It was the first creature. It is not only glorious in itself, but it shews the glory of all other things too. If we had all the sights in the world presented to us, if there were no light to discover them, or no sight in our eyes, if either be wanting, all the glory of them would be lost. So it is in the gospel. Though there be wondrous admirable things there, if we want either light or sight ; if the light shine round about us, ' and the god of this world have blinded our eyes,' and infidelity have blinded us, how can we ' glorify God,' wanting a heavenly, proper, peculiar, spiritual light, suitable to the things ? For a natural man, by the light that he hath, cannot judge of them. These are the main hindrances, the veil of ignorance and unbelief.
(3.) And, on the contrary, there is another hindrance ; that is, too much light ; either want of light altogether, or too much light, when by the preach- ing of the word of God, awaking our conscience, and shewing our sins so enormous, so transcendent, so odious, that we forget mercy in Christ, and so dishonour Christ, to set the sins of the creature above the infinite mercy of the Creator ; as those that doubt, and from doubting, proceed to despair of the mercy of God, seeing the vileness of their sins in the true colours of them, and seeing and feeling God's anger and wrath, together with their sins in the conscience ; here is too much light one way, and not look- ing to the other light, this excellent, glorious, infinite light of God's mercy, shining in the gospel. They look not on God in ' the face of Christ.' Out of some stubbornness and pride they flatter themselves ; they will not believe ; they will not receive the consolations due to them, but dwell upon the consideration of their unworthiness and sins ; and Satan holds them in that slavery and bondage. This is a great hindrance of glorifying of God, when we lift up our sins above the mercy of God in Jesus Christ. This is to take away God and Christ altogether ; for if the mercy, and rich and bountiful goodness of God, wherein he will be infinitely glorious, were not greater than our sins, it were not the mercy and bounty of a God. God should not be glorious in it. But there are but few of these that miscarry ; God usually shines upon them at the last. There are three ranks of men. Some are in the first profane, dead, loose Christans, that were never under the law, that never understood the corruption of nature, nor themselves. Some are brought from that to understand themselves a Uttle too much, that are under the law, and feel the flashes of God's wrath. And some, in the third place, are brought from hence to be under grace. That is the only happy condition, to be under the grace of God in Christ. Some men never come to the second step. They never understand what sin is, and what the anger and wrath of God is. They, will give their conscience no leisure to tell them what their condition is. There is hope of the second that they will come to the third rank ; but for a company of pro- fane persons, opposers of goodness, to talk of the mercy of God in Christ, they are not in the next step to it. A man must be sensible of his sins and of his misery before he can have grace. Therefore, for those that have too much light, though it be a great fault in some, and hinders God of much glory, and themselves of much comfort, out of this peevish stub- bornness of theirs, yet there are not many of them, and, as I said, few of them miscarry.