much less shall our eyes, though spiritual, see spirits in heaven; least of all, that Spirit, in comparison of whom, angels, and our spirits are but gross bodies.

So far the fathers lead us towards a determination herein; and thus far the school; nulla visio naturalis in terris; here, in this life, neither the eyes, nor the mind of the most subtle, and most sanctified man can see the essence of God: nulla visio corporalis in cœlis, the bodily eyes of no man, in the highest state of glorification in heaven, can see the essence of God: nulla visio comprehensiva omnino, that faculty of man, which shall see the essence of God in heaven, yet shall not comprehend that essence; for to comprehend, is not to know a thing, as well as I can know it, but to know it as well as that thing can be known; and so only God himself can see, and know, that is, comprehend God.

To end all, in the whole body of the Scriptures we have no light, that our bodily eyes shall be so enlightened in the resurrection, as to see the essence of God; for, when Job says, In my flesh I shall see God 27, and mine eyes shall see God, (if these words must necessarily be understood of the last resurrection, which some expositors deny, and Calvin in particular, understands them of a particular resurrection from that calamity which lay upon Job at that time, and of his confidence that God would raise him again, even in this life) yet howsoever, and to which resurrection soever you refer them, the words must be understood thus, In my flesh, that is, when my soul shall re-assume this flesh in the resurrection, in that flesh I shall see God; he doth not say, that flesh shall, but he, in that flesh, shall. So when he adds, mine eyes shall do it, he intends those eyes, of which the apostle speaks, The eyes of your understanding being enlightened. So then, a faculty to see him so, in his essence, with bodily eyes, we find not in Scripture; but yet in the Scriptures we do find, that we shall see him as he is, in his essence; how? It is a safe answer which St. Augustine gives in all such questions, Meliùs affirmamus, de quibus {minimè dubitamus, Only those things are safely affirmed, and resolved, which admit no doubt: this hath never admitted any doubt, but that our soul, and her faculties shall be so exalted in that state of glory, as that in those internal faculties of the 27 Job xix. 26. 28 Ephes. i. 18.

soul, so exalted, we shall see the very essence of God, which no measure of the light of grace, communicated to any, the most sanctified man here, doth effect, but only the light of glory there shall. And therefore this being clear, that in the faculties of our souls we shall see him, Restat ut de illa visione secundum interiorem hominem certissimi simus, says that blessed and sober father, As our reason is satisfied that the saints in heaven shall see God so, so let our consciences be satisfied, that we have an interest in that state, and that we in particular shall come to that sight of God. Let us not abuse ourselves with false assurances, nor rest in any other, than this, that we have made clean, and pure our very hearts, for only such shall see God. Omnis meridies diluculum habuit, (as the same father continues this meditation) The brightest noon had a faint twilight, and break of day; the sight of God which we shall have in heaven, must have a diluculum, a break of day here; if we will see his face there, we must see it in some beams here: and to that purpose, Visus per omnes sensus recurrit, (as St. Augustine hath collected out of several places of Scripture) Every sense is called sight, for there is odora et vide, and gusta et vide, taste and see how sweet, and smell and see what a savour of life the Lord is; so, St. John turned about, to see a voice", there hearing was sight; and so our Saviour Christ says, Handle and see, and there feeling is seeing. All things concur to this seeing, and therefore in all the works of your senses, and in all your other faculties, see ye the Lord; hear him in his word, and so see him; speak to him in your prayers, and so see him; touch him in his sacrament, and so see him; present holy and religious actions unto him, and so see him.

David's heart was towards Absalon, says that story: Joab saw that, and, as every man will be forward to further persons growing in favour, (for so it should be done to him, whom the king will honour) Joab plotted and effected Absalon's return, but yet Absalon saw not the king's face in two years. Beloved in Christ Jesus, the heart of your gracious God is set upon you; and we his servants have told you so, and brought you thus near him, into his court, into his house, into the church, but yet we cannot get you to see his face, to come to that tenderness of

29 Apoc. i. 12.

$0 Luke xxiv. 39.

31 2 Sam. xiv.

conscience, as to remember and consider, that all your most secret actions are done in his sight and his presence; Cæsar's face X and Cæsar's inscription you can see; the face of the prince in his coin you can rise before the sun to see, and sit up till mid-night to see; but if you do not see the face of God upon every piece of that money too, all that money is counterfeit; if Christ have not brought that fish to the hook, that brings the money in the mouth, (as he did to Peter 32) that money is ill fished for; if nourishing of suits, and love of contention amongst others, for your own gain, have brought it, it is out of the way of that counsel, Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see God 33. This is the generation of them that seek him, that seek thy face, O Jacob; of innocent hands, and a pure heart; either such an innocence, as never fouled the hands, or such an innocency as hath washed them clean again, such an innocency as hath kept you from corrupt getting, or such an innocency as hath restored us, by restoring that, which was corruptly got. It is testified of Solomon, that he exceeded all the kings of the earth, for wisdom, and for riches, and all the earth sought the face of Solomon 35; a greater than Solomon is here, for wisdom, and riches; your wisdom is foolishness, and your riches beggary, if you see not the face of this Solomon; if either you have studied or practised, or judged, when his back is towards you, that is, if you have not done all, as in his presence. You are in his presence now; go not out of it, when you go from hence. Amor rerum terrenarum, ciscus pennarum spiritualium; God hath given you the wings of doves, and the eyes of eagles to see him now, in this place; if in returning from this place, you return to your former ways of pleasure or profit, this is a breaking of those doves' wings, and a sealing of those eagles' eyes. Coge cor tuum cogitare divina, compelle, urge, says that father; Here, in the church, thou canst not choose but see God, and raise thy heart towards him but when thou art returned to thy several distractions, that vanities shall pull thine eyes, and obtrectation, and libellous defamation of others shall pull thine ears, and profit shall pull thy hands, then coge, compelle, urge, force and compel thy heart, and press, even in that thrust of tentations, to see God. 32 Matt. xvii. 27. 33 Heb xii. 14. 34 Psalm xxiv. 3. 35 1 Kings x. 24.

:

36

Augustine.

What God is in his essence, or what our sight of the essence of God shall be in the next world, dispute not too curiously, determine not too peremptorily; Cogitans de Deo, si finiristi, Deus non est, is excellently said by St. Augustine: If thou begin to think, what the essence of God is, and canst bring that thought to an end, thou hast mistaken it; whensoever thou canst say, this is God, or God is this, that is not God, God is not that, for he is more, infinitely more than that. But if thou art not able to say, this is God, God is this; be able to say, this is not God, God is not this: the belly is not God; mammon is not God; Mauzzim, the god of forces, oppression, is not God; Belphegor, licentiousness, is not God: howsoever God sees me, to my confusion, yet I do not see God, when I am sacrificing to these, which are not gods.

Let us begin at that which is nearest us, within us, pureness of heart, and from thence receive the testimony of God's privy seal, the impression of his Spirit, that we are blessed; and that leads us to the great seal, the full fruition of all; we shall see God, there, where he shall make us drink of the rivers of his pleasures 37; there is fulness, plenty; but least it should be a feast of one day, or of a few, as it is said, they are rivers, so it is added, with thee is the fountain of life; an abundant river, to convey, and a perpetual spring, to feed, and continue that river: and then, wherein appears all this? In this, for in thy light we shall see light; in seeing God, we shall see all that concerns us, and see it always; no night to determine that day, no cloud to overcast it. We end all, with St. Augustine's devout exclamation, Glorious God, what kind of eyes shall they be! how bright eyes, and how well set! how strong eyes, and how durable! What quality, what value, what name shall we give to those eyes? I would say something of the beauty and glory of these eyes, and can find no words, but such as I myself have misused in lower things. Our best expressing of it, is to express a desire to come to it, for there only we shall learn what to call it. That so we may go the apostle's way, to his end, That being made free from sin, and become sercants to God, we may have our fruit unto holiness, and then the end, life everlasting3.

214

SERMON XI.

PREACHED IN LENT, TO THE KING, APRIL 20, 1630.

JOB XVI. 17-19.

Not for any injustice in my hands: also my prayer is pure. O earth cover not thou my blood; and let my cry have no place. Also now behold, my witness is in heaven, and my record is on high.

JOB's friends (as, in civility, we are fain to call them, because they came upon a civil pretence, to visit him, and to comfort him) had now done speaking. It was long before they would have done. I have often heard such things as you say', says Job to them, they are not now new to me; and therefore, miserable comforters, troublesome comforters are ye all, old and new. But, says he, Shall your windy words, your empty, your airy, your frothy words have any end? Now they have an end. Eliphaz ends his charge in the last, and in this chapter Job begins to answer for himself. But how? By a middle way. Job does not justify himself; but yet he does not prevaricate, he does not betray his innocence neither. For there may be a pusillanimity even towards God; a man may over-clog his own conscience, and belie himself in his confessions, out of a distempered jealousy, and suspicion of God's purposes upon him; Job does not so. Many men have troubled themselves more how the soul comes into man, than how it goes out; they wrangle, whether it comes in by infusion from God, or by propagation from parents, and never consider, whether it shall return to him that made it, or to him that marred it, to him that gave it, or to him that corrupted it. So, many of our expositors upon this Book of Job, have spent themselves upon the person, and the place, and the time, who Job was, when Job was, where Job was, and whether there were ever any such person as Job, or no; and have passed over too slightly the senses, and doctrines of the book. St. Gregory hath, (to good use) given us many morals, (as he calls them) upon this book, but, truly, not many literals, for,