.Auguj/. Ph!l I, 2J· 1 Cor. IJ· 12· I John ;. 2, time was in the grave ; and if the foul be it that m~kes us men, what a palling gre· . joy is that, when men ibnding amongll: the Angels, !hall fee their Lord, the Lord ~~ heaven, not to be an Angel, but a man? Here is the folace of Saints, when they lhaU fee and fay, who 1s yonder that rules on the Throne of heaven? who is yonder that fit on the right hand of C ;od the ~ather? and they !hall anfwer themfelves again, It is \1~ that for u? became man; 1t IS ne that for the falvation of our fouls hath took upon him a body andjoul. And thmk n0w With thy felf, whofocvcr thou art that rcade!t (if rh wilt but fpend thy fnv evtl dayes in his fear,and fo die in his favour) what a comfort\\~~ it be unto thee to fee tha~ Lamb fitting on his feat of ftate? If the wife men of the E:ll: came fo far, and fo rqoyced _to fee him in the Manger, what will it be to thee to fee him fittmg and gltttcrmg 111 h1s glory? If John Bap1ij/ did leap at his prefence in his mothers belly, what !hallhis prefence_ do in his royal and eternal Kingdome? It paf{crh allotbtrg!ones (faith .Aitj/m) to be ~Jdmmed to the mej/unablejigh1 of Chrij/ hisface,and to recewc me beams ofgloryfrom the brightneffe ofhis Majej/y: nny, lhould we fulfertor. mcnts every day, ?r for a time the very _pains ofhell it fclf, thereby to gain the-> fight of Chrul:, an3 of h1s Sl!nts, It were nothmg 111 compan[on. No wonder then, if ta.L defire tn be dijfolved and to be with Chri{f. 1\l~s, who would not be fo? 0 moft frmt Saviour (faith one devoutly) when Jlia/1 thu joyful day come ? when jiJa/1 I appear b<fvre thy face? IV hen jl.'.t/1 1be filled with thy excellent beamy? when jlulil I fee that co1mttnanceof thme. which the very Angels themfelves arefo dejirous fo beheld? an happy time fure will it be to each_faithful foul: and thus happy was this man, he parted forrowfully with our Saviour on the Crolfc, but he met him joyfully in hisKingdome: thofe fweetfonls that both left the world at one time, no fooner had heaven~gates opened unto them, but with mutual kilfcs they embraced each other in unfpeakable manner. ' Nor was this all;thou jl~alt be with me,] not oncly with my[o~tl,but with my Godhed: this indeed was the height of blilfe, the very foul of heavens joy it felf;fet afidc this,and crown a man with the Empire ofall the earth, the fplendour of Heaven, the royal en– dowments of a glorified foul, the fweetell company of Saints and Angels, yet Rin would his foul be full of emptinelfe, and utrerly to feek for the furell: San:l:uary where– on to reil: : only once admit him to the face of God, and then prefcntly, and never be. fore, his infinite delire expires in the bofomeof his Maker: I deny not but the other joyes in Heaven are tranfcendent and ravilhi~g, but they are all no better than acceffo– ries to this principal, drops to this Ocean, glimpfes to this Sun. If you ask, how can our fouls enjoy this Godhead? I anfwer, two wayes ; fidl:, by the underj/anding; fe– condly, by the will. The Jtnderj/anding is filled by a clear glorious fight of God, called Bearijicalvifion; Wejlwllfeehimfaceroface, faith Paul, 1 Cor. IJ. 12. Wejhallfee him as he is, faith ]oh11, I John 3· 2. For as the Sun by his beams and brightnelfe en– lightens the eye, and the air, that may fee not oncly all other things, but alfohisown glorious face: fo God, bleffed for ever (in whofe prefence ten thoufand of our Suns would vanilh away os a darkfome mote) doth by the light of his Majcll:y, fo irradiate the mindes of all the blelfed, that they behold in him, riot only the beallly of all his creatures, but ofhimfelf; and thus !hall we fee and know that glorious myfrery of the Trinity, the goodneffe of the Father, the wifdome of the Son: th7love •nd comfor~able fellowihip of the holy Spirit: nothing that can be known,but mhun we lhallkuow It, m moll: ample manner. . But feeing vifion is taken from fenfe, it may be dcmand~d, what our bod,Iy eyes fuall fee in heaven? I anfwer,--- 1. The glorlOUS mamfellat10ns of the prcfence of God in fame fuch fort as was on the Mount, where we finde mentioned abright clo11d, and his cl 011 thnvcre wlme as the light, and his fnce did foine, Matth. I 7· 2, 5. Or ·as when God appeared in Solomons Temple where theglory of the_ Lordjilted the houfe, that the Pricj/s conldnot enter, I Kmg. 8. I r. Now this was a v1fible glory, and furely fome fuch, but a far more excellent manifeftation is. in heaven obvious to the very eyes ~f Saints. 2. The glorified bodies of the bl~lfed Satnts full of_beauty and bnghtnelfe; It IS faid that atthe day of judgement at the nght hand of Chnll:, lhallfiand a company of glorious creatures, but on the left hand lhal~ be an ugly ~ompany, and many of the:r deformed· for if we credit Durandw, thetr fins not bewg taken away, the fr?lts fin willll:itl remain upon them, as lamenefs, blindnefs, maimednefs, &c. but mher ven all comelincfs and excellency will appear in the Saints, for they !hall be as Jewe ~ made up; now a J ewe! mull: be cut and polilhed, it mull:?.avc a lufire fer upon 'tj 1 ~n. be fet in gold before it be made up· and thus mull: the Samts be, and fo they lha P ' pear
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