glass, darkly; through or by a glass in a riddle, a parable, a dark saying. There is a double figurative limitation put upon our view of the glory of Christ, taken from the two ways of our perception of what we apprehend; namely, the sight of things, and the hearing of words. The first is, that we have this view not directly, but reflexively, and by way of a representation, as in a glass. For I take the glass here, not to be optical, or a prospective which helps the sight, but a speculum, or a glass which reflects an image of what we do behold. It is a sight like that which we have of a man in a glass, when we see not his person or substance, but an image or representation of them only, which is imperfect.

The shadow or image of this glory of Christ is drawn in the gospel, and therein we behold it as the likeness of a man represented unto us in a glass; and although it be obscure and imperfect in comparison of his own real, substantial glory, which is the object of vision in heaven; yet is it the only image and representation of himself, which he hath left, and given unto us in this world. That woful cursed invention of framing images of him out of stocks and stones, however adorned, or representations of him by the art of painting, are so far from presenting unto the minds of men any thing of his real glory, that nothing can be more effectual to divert their thoughts and apprehensions from it. But by this figurative expression of seeing in a glass, the Apostle declares the comparative imperfection of our present view of the glory of Christ.

But the allusion may be taken from an optic glass or tube also, whereby the sight of the eye is helped in beholding things at a great distance. By the aid of such glasses men will discover stars or heavenly lights, which by reason of their distance from us, the eye of itself is no way able to discern. And those which we do see, are more fully represented, though remote enough from being so, perfectly. Such a glass is the gospel, without which we can make no discovery of Christ at all; but in use of it, we are far enough from beholding him in the just dimensions of his glory.

And he adds another intimation of this imperfection, in an allusion unto the way whereby things are proposed, and con

veyed unto the minds and apprehensions of men. Now this is by words. And these are either plain, proper, and direct, or dark, figurative, and parabolical; and this latter way makes the conception of things to be difficult and imperfect; and by reason of the imperfection of our view of the glory of Christ by faith in this world, the Apostle saith, it is in a riddle. These the Psalmist calls dark sayings, Psal. lxxviii. 2.

But here it must be observed, that the description and representation of the Lord Christ and his glory in the gospel, is not absolutely, or in itself either dark or obscure; yea, it is perspicuous, plain, and direct; Christ is therein evidently set forth crucified, exalted, glorified. But the Apostle doth not here discourse concerning the way or means of the revelation of it unto us, but of the means or instrument whereby we comprehend that revelation. This is our faith, which as it is in us, being weak and imperfect, we comprehend the representation that is made unto us of the glory of Christ, as men do the sense of a dark saying, a riddle, a parable, that is, imperfectly, and with difficulty. On the account hereof we may say at present, How little a portion is it that we know of him?' as Job speaks of God, chap. xxvi. 14. How imperfect are our conceptions of him? how weak are our minds in their management? There is no part of his glory that we can fully comprehend. And what we do comprehend, (as there is a comprehension in faith, Eph. iii. 18.) we cannot abide in the steady contemplation of. For ever blessed be that sovereign grace, whence it is that he who 'commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined into our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of his own glory in the face of Jesus Christ,' and therein of the glory of Christ himself; that he hath so revealed him unto us, as that we may love him, admire him, and obey him; but constantly, steadily, and clearly to behold his glory in this life we are not able, for we walk by faith, and not by sight.

Hence our sight of him here, is as it were by glances, liable to be clouded by many interpositions. 'Behold he standeth behind the wall, he looketh forth at the windows, shewing (flourishing) himself through the lattice,' Cant. ii. 9. There is

a great interposition between him and us, as a wall; and the means of the discovery of himself unto us, as through a window and lattice, include 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 in this wall, which must be demolished before we can see him as he is. In the mean time he looketh through the windows of the ordinances of the Gospel. He gives us sometimes, when he is pleased to stand in these windows, a view of himself; but it is imperfect, as is our sight of a man through a window. 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 bemoan what we have lost. And then our best is but to cry; 'As the heart panteth after the water-brooks, so panteth my soul after thee, O God; my soul thirsteth 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. This displaying of the glory of Christ, called the flourishing of himself, 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 glories of Christ; how precious, how amiable is he as represented in them? how are the souls of believers ravished 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 a 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 boris, brevis mora. Sometimes it is unto us as the sun when it is unWhen he hideth his face,

der a cloud, we cannot perceive it. who then can behold him? As Job

speaks, so may we, 'Behold

I go forward, but he is not there; and backward, but I cannot

perceive him; on the left hand where he doth work, but I cannot behold him; he hideth himself on the right hand, that I cannot see him,' chap. xxiii. 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 eyes from me, for they have overcome me,' 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! how much 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 consideration of that vision which we shall have of the same glory in heaven, that we may compare them together.

Vision, or the sight which we shall have of the glory 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 be proposed unto us; (2.) Of the visive power or faculty wherewith we shall be endued; from the imperfection of both which in this world, ariseth the imperfection of our view of the glory of Christ by faith, as hath been declared.

1. 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 image, a representation of him, such as is the delineation of his glory in the gospel. We shall see him, saith the Apostle, face to 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, 1 John iii. 2. not as now in an imperfect description of him. As a man sees his neighbour when they stand and converse together 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 caused it pass by him.

There will be use herein, of our bodily eyes, as shall be de

clared. For as Job says, 'In our flesh shall we see our Redeemer, and our eyes shall behold him,' chap. xix. 25-27. That corporeal sense shall be restored unto us, and that glorified above what we can conceive, but for this great use of the eternal beholding of Christ and his glory. Upon whom it is matter of rejoicing, that with the same eyes wherewith they see the tokens and signs of him in the sacrament of the supper, they shall behold himself immediately, in his own person. But principally, as we shall see immediately, this vision is intellectual. It is not therefore the mere human nature of Christ, that is the object of it, but his divine person as that nature subsisteth therein. What is that perfection which we shall have (for that which is perfect must come and do away that which is in part) in the comprehension of the hypostatical union, I understand not; but this I know, that in the immediate beholding of the person of Christ, we shall see a glory in it a thousand times above what here we can conceive. The excellencies of infinite wisdom, love, and power therein, will be continually before us. And all the glories of the person of Christ, which we have before weakly and faintly inquired into, will be in our sight for evermore. Hence the ground and cause of our blessedness is, that 'we shall be ever with the Lord,' 1 Thess. iv. 17. as himself prays 'that we may be with him where he is, to behold his glory.' Here we have some dark views of it, we cannot perfectly behold it, until we are with him where he is. Thereon our sight of him will be direct, intuitive, and constant.

There is a glory, there will be so subjectively in us in the beholding of this glory of Christ, which is at present incomprehensible; for it doth not yet appear what we ourselves shall be, 1 John iii. 2. Who can declare what a glory it will be in us to behold this glory of Christ? and how excellent then is that glory of Christ itself?

This immediate sight of Christ, is that which all the saints of God in this life do breathe and pant after. Hence are they willing to be dissolved, or desire to 'depart, that they may be with Christ, which is best for them,' Phil. i. 23. They choose to be absent from the body, and present with the Lord,' 2 Cor. v. 8. or that they may enjoy the inexpressibly longed for sight