a Matt. xi. 27. ^ Jer. xvii. 9.
« Eph. iii. 8. ^ Eph. iii. 18, 19.
day-time ? Even so the light within us, and the light without, will add nothing to the brightness of the objects in heaven, or to the clearness of our perception of them, when once we shall behold them in their " perfect" state.]
But this will receive additional light from, II. His illustration of it —
We all know how imperfect the conceptions of a child are, in comparison of what he possesses when he is become a man —
[A child speaks without reflection, chooses^ without judg- ment, reasons^ without solidity : but, when he becomes a man he exercises all his faculties in a more appropriate and becoming manner. He no longer utters the vinmeaning and senseless sounds which emanated from him in his infant state, or makes the trifling observations that befitted him when he first began to speak. Nor does he set his mind on things which are of no value, in preference to those that are of real and important use. Nor, though he still may err in his reasonings, does he any longer found his conclusions on premises which have no apparent connexion with them. His intellectual powers being expanded by use and exercise, he dismisses, as unworthy of him, the puerilities which he once affected.]
Still more imperfect are our present views of eternal things, in comparison of what they will be in a future state —
[Now " we see them all as in a mirror, darkly :" they appear to us as a riddle or enigma, which we cannot without great difficulty comprehend^. The incarnation of God's only dear Son, his substitution in the place of sinful man, the atone- ment offered by him for sin, his intercession for us at the right hand of God, his appointment to be the Head of vital influence to his Church and people, our union with him by faith — what know we of these, and ten thousand other mysteries of our holy religion ? the darkest riddle that ever was propounded is more level with our apprehension than these mysterious truths. And what know we of the felicity of heaven ? What concep- tion can we form of the soul's exercises in its disembodied state ; or of the glory of the Godhead, as shining forth to the view of the glorified saints and angels ? Even the resurrection of the body, what know we about it? or what notion have we of a spiritual body? We must all confess, that our present views are so indistinct, as scarcely to deserve the name of
« £<j>p6i'ovi', sapiebam. Compare Rom. viii. 5. the Greek. *" eXoyi^vfiJ]!'. s See the Greek.
1987.] THE saints' views IN HEAVEN. 339
knowledge. But when we shall behold God " face to face," and " see the Lord Jesus Christ as he is," then will our faculties be wonderfully enlarged, and our perceptions be infinitely more clear. O what views shall we then have of our own sinfulness, and of the Redeemer's love ! What an apprehension shall we then have of the perfections of our God, as united and har- monizing in the great work of redemption ! Our knowledge will then arise, not, as now, from a variety of ideas communicated in succession to the mind, but from one intuitive perception : we shall see God, and the things of God, in some measure as God himself sees us : he sees the whole of us, even the inmost recesses of our souls, all at once, with equal clearness in every part : and somewhat of the same kind will be our knowledge of him, though, of course, in an infinitely lower degree: for " then shall we know even as also we are known."] See, then,
1. In what hght we should regard death — [To an ungodly man, indeed, death will be terrible, beyond all conception ; because it will introduce him to a perfect know- ledge of all those terrors, which, in this world, he would not believe. But to the true Christian, death is the door of entrance into glory. It is the friendly messenger sent to us by God, in answer to that prayer of our blessed Saviour ; " Father, I will that they whom thou hast given me may be with me where I am, that they may behold my glory which thou hast given me''." Who, then, would deprecate it ? Who should not account it gain, and number it amongst his treasures^ ? Who should not desire to depart, that he may be with Christ''^?" Methinks it is a shame to Christians to be wedded to life, except for the purpose of honouring God, and advancing in a meetness for the heavenly inheritance ]