10S BAXTER'S 'DYING THOUGHTS. Socrates' wisdom to call them to more concerning studies, and Paul's greater wisdom to warn men to take heed of such vain phi- losophy, and to labor to know God and Jesus Christ, and the things of the Spirit, and not to overvalue this ludicrous, dreaming, worldly wisdom. And if I have none of this kind of notional, childish knowledge when I am absent from the body, the glass and spectacles may then be spared, when I come to see with open face, or as face to face. Our future knowledge is usually, in Scrip- ture, called seeing. " Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God ; " Matt. v. 8. "We shall see face to face ; " 1 Cor. xiii. 12. "We shall see him as he is ; " 1 John iii. 2. "Father, Jwill that those which thou hast given me be with me' where I am, that they may behold my glory which thou hast given me,," &c. ; John xvii. 24. And intuitive knowledge of all things, as in themselves immediately, is amore excellent sort of knowledge than this, by similitudes, names, and notions, which our learning now consist- eth in, and is but an art acquired by many acts and use. If the sun were, as the heathens thought it, an intellective an- imal, and its emitted rays were vitally visive, and when one of those rays were received by preparedseminal matter, (as in insects,) it became the soul of an inferior animal, in this case, the said ray would operate in that insect, or animal, but according to the ca- pacity of the recipient matter; whereas the sun itself, by all its emitted rays, would see all things intellectually, and with delight, and when that insect were dead, that ray would be what it was, an intellective, intuitive emanation. And though the soul, in flesh, do not know itself how it shall be united to Christ, and to all other holy souls, and to God himself, nor haw near, orjust of what sort that union will be, yet united it will be, and therefore willpartici- pate accordingly of the universal fight or understanding to which it is united. The soul now, as it is, or operateth, in the foot or hand, doth not understand, but only as it is, and operateth,'in the head. And yet the same soul which is in the hand, understandeth in the head, and the soul operateth not so selfishly or dividedly in the hand as to repine there because it understandeth not there ; but it is quiet in that it understandeth in the head, and performeth its due operation in the hand. But this diversity of operations seemeth to be from the organs, and body's use, or need;: but souls dismiss- ed from the body seem to be as all eye, or intuitive light. There- fore, though it might content us to say that our Head seeth all things, and we are united to him, yet we may say further, that we ourselves shall see God, and all things that are meet for us to see. And seeing it is most certain that the superior glorious regions are full of blessed spirits, who do see God and one another, having
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