408 THE GLORY OF CIIEIST.
nally lead us unto the contemplation of the glory of Christ Avith de- light and complacency. Nor will there be any defect in the gi'acious jDowers of our souls, as unto a perpetual exercise of them ; and as to all other opposing enemies, we shall be in a perpetual triumph over them, 1 Cor. xv. 55-57. The mouth of iniquity shall be stopped for -ever, and the voice of the self-avenger shall be heard no more.
Wherefore, the vision which we shall have in heaven of the glory of Christ is serene, — always the same, always new and indeficient, wherein nothing can disturb the mind in the most perfect operations of a blessed life. And when all the faculties of the soul can, without any internal weakness or external hinderances, exercise their most per- fect operations on the most perfect object, — therein lies all the blessed- ness which our nature is capable of
Wherefore, whenever in this life we attain any comfortable, refresh- ing view of the glory of Christ, by the exercise of faith on the reve- lation of it, with a sense of our interest therein, we cannot but long after, and desire to come unto, this more perfect, abiding, invariable aspect of it.
CHAPTER XIV.
Other Differences between our Beholding the Glory of Christ by Faith in this World and by Sight in Heaven.
Among the many other differences which might be insisted on (al- though the greatest of them are unto us at present absolutely incom- prehensible, and so not to be inquired into), I shall name two only, and so put a close to this Discourse.
I. In the view which we have here of the glory of Christ by faith, we gather things, as it were, one by one, in several parts and parcels, out of the Scripture ; and comparing them together in our minds, they become the object of our present sight, — which is our spiritual comprehension of the things themselves. We have no proposal of the glory of Christ unto us by vision or illustrious appearance of his person, as Isaiah had of old, chap. vi. 1-4 ; or as John had in the Re- velation, chap. i. 13-1 6. We need it not ; — it would be of no advan- tage unto us. For as unto the assurance of our faith, we have a word of prophecy more useful unto us than a voice from heaven, 2 Peter i. 17-19. And of those who received such visions, though of eminent use unto the church, yet as unto themselves, one of them cried out, "Woe is me! I am undone;" and the other " fell as dead at his feet." We are not able in this life to bear such glorious representations of him, unto our edification.
DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE FAITH AND SIGHT OF IT. 409
And as we have no such external proposals of his glory unto us in visions, so neither have we any new revelations of him by immediate inspiration. We can see nothing of it, know nothing of it, but what is proposed unto us in the Scripture, and that as it is proposed. Nor doth the Scripture itself, in any one place, make an entire proposal of the glory of Christ, with all that belongs unto it ; nor is it capable of so doing, nor can there be any such representation of it unto our capacity on this side heaven. If all the light of the heavenly lumi- naries had been contracted into one, it would have been destructive, not useful, to our sight ; but being by divine wisdom distributed into sun, moon, and stars, each giving out his own proportion, it is suited to declare the glory of God and to enhghten the world. So, if the whole revelation of the glory of Christ, and all that belongs unto it, had been committed into one series and contexture of words, it would have overwhelmed our minds rather than enlightened us. Where- fore God hath distributed the light of it through the Avhole firma- ment of the books of the Old and New Testament ; whence it com- municates itself, by various parts and degrees, unto the proper use of the church. In one place we have a description of his person, and the glory of it ; sometimes in words plain and proper, and sometimes in great variety of allegories, conveying a heavenly sense of things unto the minds of them that do believe ; — in others, of his love and condescension in his office, and his glory therein. His humiliation, exaltation, and power, are in like manner in sundry places repre- sented unto us. And as one star differeth from another in glory, so it was one way whereby God represented the glory of Christ in types and shadows under the Old Testament, and another wherein it is de- clared in the New. Illustrious testimonies unto all these things are planted up and down in the Scripture, which we may collect as choice flowers in the paradise of God, for the object of our faith and sight thereb}^
So the spouse in the Canticles considered every part of the person and grace of Christ distinctly ])y itself, and from them all concludes that "he is altogether lovely," chap. v. 10-16. So ought we to do in our study of the Scripture, to find out the revelation of the glory of Christ which is made therein, as did the prophets of old, as unto what they themselves received by immediate inspiration. They " searched diligently what the Spirit of Christ which was in them did signify, when it testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ, and the glory that should follow," 1 Peter i. 11. But this seeing of Christ by parts in the revelation of him is one cause why we see him here but in part.