Of Efe{}ion. ~ vtlt bodits now vile orbafe;or ifyour Souls could caftan eye into their Graves OOK I. and fee how they lye in duft and rottennefs, and then confider that God'; ~Power is able, and will prefent them to himfel f as glorious as ChriO.'s Body now IS. The Shme that came from whrch, rs and was more glorious than the Sun in its flrength, as Paul teftifies,AOs 26. who himfelf law it, And yet beaifured his Power will effeC!: this for you, Phit. ~· 7.1. Whofha/1 change our vzle body, that zt may be lzke unto hssglorzoa< Body, accordmg to the workilzg whereby ht is able even to fu6due a/J thi11gs to himfe!f. And now from offthe prefent Condition of your Bodies, q(\ your eyes upon your Souls, with all the more abominable filth and rottennefs in them, and believe that that Power that fubdues all things it felf, will change them into fo glorious Souls in holinefs as they !hall be able tG bear the prefence0fGod's own glory, without dazling or winking. 0 blefs in God hrs Power! To him that is ablt thur to prefont )'OU To him /le Glory, &c. Amen, This thefirft main Head, To prefent you fault: lefs in the other life. The fecond thing propofed, was the prefenting of you before the Prefence of his Glory, and your enjoyment of it, which is the ultimate end that God aimed at to bring us unto, in his firft loving us, calling us, and preferving us. Thtmd (as'tiscalled) whichhtmadtwithour Lord Chrif/, Jamn 5· 1 r. You have few the end of the Lord, (fays he;) as if it had been fpoken in reference there, unto that whichPaul fays He6r. 7.. 9· We Jet JefUJ crowned withglory mzd honottr ; that was the end God made of him : And this end of Chrift is the enjoyment of the prefence of God's glory; as Chrifi fays of him· felf, Pjizl. r6.1 o, 11. Tbouwiltfhtwmtthepath of lzfe, in thy prejmtt is fulnefs ofjoy, at thy right hatJdthert are plrafures for evermore. There is an enjoyment of God in and byejfdfs ofhis,and means that manifefi him,whe– ther of his Law, our Graces, or Creatures. And there is an enjoyment of his n, 11 ,_, t% cog- immediate prefence, And thus Hates, that ancient Schoolll'!an (whomAqtti· .,;,;, ne;, una ttas o~d Bo11avmturt were Scholars to ) dtd clearly and Wtth evrdeoce long P".'ff'a,.[,.,, fince !late and difference it: Thtrt is a twofoldknowledge of God, (fays he) :!:~P'(J.':;;d imr 6y his Effee1s, the other 6y his Prefwce to and with the Soul-And a.imam.Pr.. ht is prejmt (fays he) to the So111, m that he prtfents or makes prefont that f~ns ""~'" '~ Blrffednefs which is ill himfe!f (which are the very words of our Text here) ;;,J;:~:~'"j,, And the o11e, the firft he fays, tSIJOt of G•·ace, 6ut Natttre; 6ut the other of puftnwnf";' Grace. Thatis, fay I, the one was by the knowledge of God, which by ::·~:*;:mipfo. Creation Adamwas made for; the other is 6y clmfl an?Grace on_ly in <?lory. Alexander de Pfal. 16. 1 1. Thou wtlt jhew me the path of lift; and JS termed 111 Scnpture H''"· Par.!· the Glory of Godwhich Chrif/ rectivrs us tmto, Now this Glory of ours is ;;;;;:.· ••· not the iifue, or event, or clofc which God's love brings us unto, but it was u,,ftfint the Originaldefignof all atfirfi; both unto which he hath fubordinated all tMia;. •lttra things, (All thil;gs areyottrs, andyou are Chrzfls, and Chrifl is Gods,t. Cor. ~f,\f.''"m. 5• 1 g.) as that which above all things his heart hath been in; this is rhe :.-JO.U~, or thegood pteajitre of his wilt, Now therefore, that whereby I would provoke you to blefs God for is this, That if ourGlory (asitisours) benotonlythe i[ue of his Eleaion, but a prim11ry i11tmded wd, and the direC!: ultimate end taken in for it felf, out of pure Qnd meer love intended ; then there is all reafon and obligation on our part, that we !hould give all Glory unto God for this, not only that himfelf intended it fhould be for his Glory, but that he in fuch a manner alfo intended it as your glory; yea, and his own glory to be the immediate caufe of yours; and thisend of all out of Grace to be the clofe and lafi Scene of this continued plot aod ftory : There is all reafon,l fay, for this, (!le, For nothing can be more proper or fuitable, than that for Glory, thus intended and defigned to us, we return glory unto God again, efpecially when God's glory is the very Princi– ple and immediate Caufc of ours, as here in the Text you fee it is made to be. And therefore no wonder if in Heaven the whole of their time runs out, and is fpent in glorifying God: For why? their glory rifeth immediately from the glory of God communicated unto them as the caufe. And his being glorified in us, arifeth not from the glory which he hath beftowed upon us , but from our being prefented afore the Prefcnce of his Glory; and fo it is but the return ot
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