MEDITATIONS A dozes, shaving (flourishing). himself through the lattice. Cant. ii. 9. There is a great interposition between him andus, as a wall; and the means of the discovery of unto us, as through a window and lattice, in- clude a great instability and imperfection in our view and apprehension of him. There is a wall between him and us, which yet he standeth behind. Our present mortal state is this wall, which must be demolished be- fore we can see him as he is. In the mean time he look- eth through the windows of the ordinances of the gos- pel. He gives us sometimes, when he is pleased to stand in these windows, a view of himself; but it is imperfect, as in our sight of a man through a win- dow. The appearances of him at these windows are ' full of refreshment unto the souls of them that do believe. But our view of them is imperfect, transient, and doth not abide; we are for the most part quickly left to be- moan what we have lost. And then our best is but to cry; as the hart panted: after the water brooks, so panteth my soul after thee, O God: my soul thirst- u eth for God, for the living God; when shall I come and appear before thee ?" When wilt thou again give me to see thee, though but as through the windows? Alas! what distress do we oftentimes sit down in, after these views of Christ and his glory! But he proceeds further yet, and flourishes himself through the lattices. Thisdisplaying of the glory of Christ called the,flourish- àng ofhimself, is by the promises of the gospel, as they are explained in the ministry of the word. In them are represented unto us the desirable beauties and glo- ries of Christ; howprecious, how amiable is he as re- presented in them? How are the souls of believers ra- vished with the views of them? Yet is this discovery of him also but as through a lattice. We see him but by parts, unsteadily and unevenly. Such I say is the sight of the glory of Christ which we have in this world by faith. It is dark, it is but in part. It is but weak, transient, imperfect, partial. It is but little that we can at any time discover of it; it is but a little while that we can abide in the contemplation of what we do discover, rara hora, breves mora. Some- times it is unto us as the sun when it is under a cloud, we cannot perceive it. When he hideth his face, who then can behold him? As Job speaks, so may we, a be- hold, I go forward, but he is not there: and back- !! ward, but I cannot perceive him: on the left hand ND DISCOURSES. where he doth work, but I cannot behold him: ha ': hideth himself on the right hand, that I cannot see «him." Chap. xxüi. 8, 9. Which way soever we turn ourselves, and what duties soever we apply ourselves unto, we can obtain no distinct view of his glory. Yet on the other hand, it is sometimes as the sun when it shines in its brightness, and we cannot bear the rays of it. In infinite condescension he says unto his church, turn away thine eyesfrom me, for they have overcome sue. Cant. vi. 5. As if he could not bear that overcoming affectionate love, which looks through the eyes of the church in its acting of faith on him. Ah! howmuch more do we find our souls overcome with his love, when at any time he is pleased to make any clear discoveries of his glory unto us! Let us now on the other hand, take a little consider- ation of that vision which we have of the same glory in heaven, that we may compare them together. Vision, or the sight which we shall have of theglory of Christ in heaven, is immediate, direct, intuitive, and therefore steady, even, and constant. And it is so on a double account: (1.) Of the object which shall bepro- posed unto us; (2.) Of the visive power or faculty wherewith we shall be endued; front the imperfection of both which in this world, ariseth the imperfection of our view of the glory of Christ by faith, as hall: been declared. (I.) The object of it will be real and substantial. Christ himself in his own person with all his glory, shall be continually with us, before us, proposed unto us. We shall no longer have an itnage, a representation of him, such as is the delineation of his glory in the gos- pel. We shall see him, saith the apostle, face fo face, 1 Cor. xiii. 12. which he opposeth unto our seeing him darkly as in a glass, which is the utmost that faith can attain to. We shall see him as he is, I John iii. 2. not as now in an imperfect description of him. As a man sees his neighbour when they stand and converse toge- ther face to face, so shall we see the Lord Christ in his glory, and not as Moses who had only a transient sight of some parts of the glory of God, when he causedit to passby him. There will be use herein, of our bodily eyes, asshall be declared. For as Job says, in our flesh shall tee see our Redeemer, and our eyes shall behold him, chap. xix. 25, 26, 27. That corporeal sense shall be restored an!
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