24 THE NATURE OF 10. Knowledge of itself is very desirable. As far as the rational soul exceeds the sensitive, so far the delights of a philosopher, in discovering the secrets of nature, and knowing the mystery of science, exceed the delights of the glutton, the drunkard, the unclean, and of all voluptuous sensualities whatsoever. So ex- cellent is all truth. What ,hen is their delight who know the God of truth ? How noble a faculty of the soul is the understanding ! It can compass the earth; it can measure the s n, moon, stars, and heaven ; it can foreknow each eclipse to a minute many years be- fore. But this is the top of all its excellency, that it can know God, who is infinite, who made all these ; a little here, and more, much more, hereafter. O the wisdom and goodness of our blessed Lord ! He bath created the understanding with a natural bias and in- clination to truth, as its object and to the prime truth;. as its prime object. Christian, when after a long gaz- ing heaven-ward, thou hast got a glimpse of Christ, . dost thou not sometimes seem to have been with Paul in the third heaven, whether in the body or out, and to have seen what is unutterable ?(g) Art thou not with Peter, ready to say, " Master, it is good to be here ! "(h) O that I might dwell in this mount! O that I might ever see what I now see ! Didst thou never look so long upon the Sun of righteousness, till thine eyes were dazzled with his astonishing glory? And did not the splendour of it make all things below seem black and dark to thee ? Especially in the day of suf- fering for Christ, when he usually appears most ma- nifestly to his people, didst thou never "see one walking in the midst of the fiery furnace" with thee "like the Son of God ?"(i) Believe me, Christians; yea, believeGod; you that have known most of God in Christ bere, it is as nothing to what you shall know ; it scarce, in comparison of that, deserves to be called know- ledge. For as these bodies, so that knowledge, must cease, that a more perfect may succeed. " Know- ledge shall vanish away. For we know in part : but (g) 2 Cor. xii. e-4. (h) Mark ix, 5. (i) Dan. iii. °5.
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