io the EPHE S I AN S. -~Hereis a double gift. Here is an Eye given, ahd here is an inlightried Eye,~ Ji ht given to that Eye too. There are fome Interpreters that do ~efer the words ~ g 1 d G ·ve in the former Verfe, and do put fome words tn, and read It - tonewor t ,, . . M. d , •.•• , . · . 1 6 th . Th tG dwould give thetyes DJ your 111 , "'"'"~".,~"''"'-1•n<!'-'"'• o e 'en~Jghtned. ~thers, as Ambroje, read it, To -have f_[ts ofyo11r miudltght11d. But·I take the Words nakedly and bare.ly as they are tn the <Sreek, and rte~d lt thus, That hewottldgiveyott ryes of_;•our Mmd tlz!tght1ied. The (:\Ift,_ I fay, con. fi!lethoftlfathings: Firfiof tJIJ rye to tbi?Mmd. _Secondlyol Ltg_ht tot~a: 0 ,e. and both thefe are requifite for us to kdow any Spmtual tiling, faith he~ '" ;;Ji;,., That; ·ott may. That a mall may know Heaven or ony_Spiritual thing, he mufl have a new eye in his Mind, and he mufi have a new Light put to that eye, That he wouldgive you eyes of yottr Mind ird!gh11!'ed. So that now cometli fit– ly in, the interpretation that others would g1ve 1t of the Spmt of Wtfdommld Revdatioll; the ooe noteth out the Prmc1ple, the other the Light that the Holy Ghofi briilgeth in. To clear this to you. In the firfi place, before a man can fpiritually apprehendSpiritual things.yea or if he would grow in the appreheofiof! ol them, he mufi fi1ll have more of a new Eye put into his Mind : read 'Dertt. 29. 4' God bath 11otgivm thee (faith he) eye.r to {et, ttor tars to hear, twr aheart to percttve to thu vrry dtry. If a m~n will undetfiand Spiritual things, he mufi have a new Eye and a new Heart: God mufi give him an Eye of his Mind, ahd to his Mind; put into his Underfianding a hew Underfianding, In the 1 ']oh11 5. 20. (it is another place I bring for it,) faith ~e Hdly Ghofi there, He bathgivm m an tmdtrj/andi•tg to know him, that is true ; a peculiar urider{\anding;not creating a new f:iculty,No,but enduing that faculty with a new difpofition, with aquickriefs; for it is called by t~e Pr?phet lfaiah, the ttnder– j/m:di1Ji of the Mmd. You lhall find therefore 10 Scnpture, that Wicked men are faid to be blind, they want an Eye; and fo fat as we are unreg.enerate we wane Eyes as well as Light to fee Heaven, or any Spiritual thing with. Saith he Joh.~·l• Unlt[sa mmtbe6om agailt hecmmotjte thtKingdom of God; for to fee the Kittgdom ofGod a mail murt have a new Light begotten in him, a man mufi have (as it were) a new underfianding ; and therefore you read t Cor. 2.14 that a cam al mmt hecam10t rrceivt the thmgs of God ; th:!t is the Phrafe there he cmmvt reccivt; he wants an Eye, as a blind man he cannot receive in co· !ours. Well ihat is the firrt gift therefore, to have an Eye, which in Pf~l. 1 '9· iS. is called opening the Eye, Open mi11& t)•l>s, faith he, fo we traflate it; read the Margent, it is Revealmi11e t)'es, Lord takt off tht veil, andlhttt I }hallfee the wot~derfitl thmgs of thy Law; which anfwereth with what is in 2 Cor.~. 16.' the veil lies ovrr all mens hearts: that as there is a film over all mens eyes that are blind, that they cannot fee; fo there is over every mans henrt by nature. Here then is the firfi thing to be done, to clear the Eye, to give a ne\v Eye, to take the veil off. But if a man have never fo good an Eye, if he be in the dark, he can fee ilo• thing: iherefore the fecond thing that concurreth to Spiritual Knowledge here, IS, To gtv e J'~tt t)'fJ m!tghtT;ed; as to give you a new Eye, fo to give you a ne:v Light: ForE.phef). q. tt u Ltghlthat make.< all thi11gsmamjejl : it is a Phllofop~•~al fpeech the Apo{\Jethere ufeth,_ it agreetb with what Arij/otJe faith, Lt~me11, It IS af1us prrfptetu, It ts that wh1ch putteth life into colours and ach ~hem. Let never fo good an Eye be in.the dark it feeth not; therefore now here ts a feco~d w?rkof the,Holy Gholt, To intightm thu t;•e if ever a mati cometh to fee any tiling 10 a Spmtual way; and as there cometh more Light in, fo a man feeth more or he feeth lcfs; and therefore you fl1all find in Aa. 26. 18. the Con– verfion of a finner hath two expreffions; the fitJl is to opm hi< eyes, to take away the vet!; and then to tunr-htm from.d,.rknefs to light: you fl1all find the like in 2 Cor.4.6.G>d,fa~th he,th zt crnte j tigh· o•<t of d,trkuefs c;tu(etb the light of'the Knowledge (mark that Phrafe) of the G!orJ•of Godin theface of ,7t(zu Clmjl. w,n you have knowled~o? there rriuft be a Light to accompany it. All mens ex– penence_ tha~ have Grace agreeth with this: what is the reafon that you lhall fee fame thwgs 10 a Chapter at one time and not at another, fome Grace in your L 1 2. hearts
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