20 THE NATURE or us all. A glimpse the saints ' behold as in a glass,'(q) which makes us capable of some poor dark apprehen- sions of what we shall behold in glory. If I should tell a worldling what the holiness and spiritual joys of the saints on earth are, he cannot know ; for grace cannot be clearly known without grace ; how much less could he conceive it, should I tell him of this glory ? But to the saints I may be somewhat more en- couraged to speak ; for grace gives them a dark know- ledge and slight taste of glory. If men and angels should study to speak the blessedness of that state in one word, what could they say beyond this, that it is the nearest enjoyment of God. O the full joys offered to a believer in that one sentence of Christ, ' Father, I will that those whom thou hast given me be with me where I am, that they,may behold my glory which thou hast given me.'(r) Every word is full of life and joy. If the queen of Sheba had cause to say of Solomon's glory, ' Happy are thy men, happy are thy servants, which stand con- tinually before thee, and that hear thy wisdom ;'(s) then sure they that stand continually before God, and see his glory, and the glory of the Lamb, are more happy. To them will Christ " give to eat of the tree of life ; and to eat of the hidden manna ; yea, he will make them pillars in the temple of God, and they shall go no more out ; and he will write upon them the name of his God, and the name of the city of his God, which is New Jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven from his God, and he will write upon them his new name ;" yea, more, if more may be, " he will grant them to sit with him on his throne." These are they °' who came out" of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and have made them white in the blood of the Lamb : therefore are they before the throne of God, and serve him day and night in his temple, and he that sitteth on the throne shall dwell among them. `The Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them, and shall lead them to living fountains of water ; and God shall wipe away all tears from their (q) 2 Cor. iii. 18. (r) John xvii. 24. (s) 1 Kings x. 3.
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