Wherein the Sight of God Appears to Be Such a Happy Thing

‘Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God.’ — Mat. v. 8.

Fourthly, The sight of God is a blessed thing; it is that that draws forth and acts the graces of the saints. The very setting God before the soul is that, I say, that draws forth and acts whatsoever grace the saints have, because God is such a suitable object unto the soul. As the setting before one that hath an unclean heart an object suitable unto uncleanness, draws forth that corruption; so the setting before the soul, a clean soul, the setting before it the holiness of God, and the glory and excellency of God, it hath a kind of infinite power to draw all the graces of the saints to act, to make them lively and quick.

Fifthly, Further, by this the soul comes to worship God as a God, when it comes to see him. Men and women that are ignorant of God, they worship they know not what; but when the soul comes to have a sight of God, even here in this world, then, and never till then, is the name of God sanctified by the soul; the soul worships God in a holy manner.

Sixthly, The sight of God darkens all the glory of the world before the soul, takes off the heart from creature comforts. Now the soul comes to see the comforts of the creature, that before were admii’ed, to be as nothing; one sight of God presently darkens all the world. As the light of a candle is darkened when the sun arises, so when God arises in the heart. Acts vii. 2, it is said that Abraham saw the God of glory: the ‘God of glory’ appeared to Abraham, and so he came out of his own country. It was that that took Abraham’s heart off from his kindred, from his father’s house, from all things in the world: the God of glory appeared to him. Let the God of glory appear to the soul, and it will take off the soul from anything, whatsoever engagements there are upon the heart. Many of you, perhaps, have your hearts set upon some vain thing, some strong lust is in your heart, and you think it is impossible to have your hearts taken off. Let me tell you, one sight of God will do it; if God would but let one beam of his glory in upon you, it would take off your hearts from the strongest lust that is, and only himself would be sanctified by you. They are blessed that have seen God.

Seventhly, Yea, it would make all afflictions to be but little, and carry the soul through all difficulties whatsoever. You complain how hard it is to suffer, and that there is this and the other trouble in the ways of God; the appearing of God to your souls would presently strengthen you against all difficulties, and it would be nothing in your esteem that you suffer here in the world for his sake. That is a famous scripture which we have in the 1 1th of the Hebrews — it is the example of Moses — ver. 27, ‘By faith he forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king.’ Why? ‘For he endured.’ How came that to pass? ‘As seeing him who is invisible.’ By faith he forsook Egypt. It was one of the difficultest works that ever a man undertook; for Moses, that had so much glory in Egypt, the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, and like, as some report, to have been her heir — for Pharaoh’s daughter had no child (so Josephus) and adopted him — so that it is conceived he might have inherited the kingdom after Pharaoh. But now, though he were in all that glory that possibly a man could be in a kingdom, yet he forsook Egypt; away he goes out of Egypt,, not fearing the displeasure of the king, that the king would pursue him. When he went out, why, he went out over a great deal of difficulties; carrying along with him so many thousands, and not knowing how to provide for them; passing through the Red Sea, yet not discouraged with fears; yea, he doth not repent him after he is come into any difficulties. Many men undertake businesses, but when they meet with difficulties they begin to repent themselves that they were so far engaged. Moses repents not upon any difficulty; for why? the text saith ’ he endured,’ he went through all; and all upon this ground, ‘for he saw him that is invisible.’ If invisible, how could he see him? If he saw him, how was he invisible? Invisible to the eye of sense; yea, and that kind of the glory of God that IMoses saw was invisible to the eye of reason; it was by a principle elevating reason; by a principle of faith, that is reason’s prospective glass. He saw the invisible God, and that carried him through all.

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Certainly those men and women that are quiclcly discouraged in the ways of God never had a sight of God: the sight of God would carry through all difficulties. For God to say, I am he, as it humbled Saul, and stopped him in his way in which he was going against God, so it will raise and encourage the heart of a saint in his way, when it comes to see that it is the Lord that I have to deal with, a sight of the invisible God. Oh blessed, therefore, are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. The sight of God is a blessed thing; even the sight of God that we have here. It is by that we come to have communion with him; we cannot have communion with God without the sight of him. And how many saints are there that can speak by their own experience, they would not lose some one sight of God that they have had in their converse with God, not for a world. Oh they see it is blessed; it is blessed here, but much more hereafter. They shall see God.

This promise seems to refer to what shall be hereafter; the sight of God hereafter. We sometimes think that God hath revealed much of himself now, in bis great works, in his word, in his Son. Oh but there are other manner of things to be known of God than ever yet we have known. No man can see God and live. There is that sight of God that cannot stand with this life. They shall see God in heaven. There is a manifestation of God beyond what we have here; we walk here by faith and not by sight, but then we shall walk by sight and not by faith, (2 Cor. V. 7;) here it is faith that must help us when God withdraws himself from us, but there the saints shall live by sight, they shall have no need of that faith that should uphold them in God’s absence and withdrawing himself. In Mat. xviii. 10, ‘Take heed that ye despise not one of these little ones; for I say unto you. That in heaven their angels do always behold the face of my Father which is in heaven.’ It is a note of a learned interpreter upon this place: Observe, saith he, that heaven is named twice here — ‘I say unto you that in heaven their angels do always behold the face of my Father which is in heaven;’ why was it not enough to say. That in heaven their angels do always behold the face of my Father. But Christ repeats it twice — ‘. In heaven their angels do always behold the face of my Father which is in heaven ’ — to note that that is the place of the face of God, and in comparison of that, we have but the back parts of God — that is, the throne of God, and then the saints shall see God upon his throne. There is a great deal of difference between seeing of a prince in an obscure cottage, and seeing of this prince upon his throne, with the crown upon his head, and all his nobles about him, and in all his royal robes. Now all the sight we have of God here it is but the sight of the prince in a cottage; but our sight in heaven is

like the sight of the prince upon his throne in his glory. Isa. xxxiii. 17, we have there a promise to the same that here are said to be pure in heart — namely, to those that are upright. In ver. 15, there is described those to whom this promise is made, ‘He that walketh righteously, and speaketh uprightly,’ <tc., and then the promise is, ‘He shall dwell on high;’ and in ver. 17, ‘Thine eyes shall see the King in his beauty.’ It is more to see the King in his beauty than to see the Kiug another way. Now this is promised to the upright, to the pure in heart, to see God in his beauty. I make little question but God will appear with .more beauty in the world than yet he hath done, even in this world. There is a promise in Fs. cii. 16, ‘When the Lord shall build up Sion, he shall appear in his glory:’ he shall put on his glorious robes. As in the time when noblemen and princes marry they put on their best attire, so when God shall build up Sion, which is the rejoicing of his soul, he shall appear in his glory. And blessed are those that shall see God then in that glory of his. But when they shall see him in his beauty and glory in heaven, upon his throne, they will be much more blessed. Then they shall see indeed all the counsels of God concerning themselves from all eternity, yea, and concerning all creatures, and the nature of all creatures. They shall see all things in God when they come to see him there. For so it must needs be, otherwise man could not be perfectly blessed except he came to understand all creatures. Man in his first creation did understand all creatures: now this lnowledge must be restored again, or else man by Christ should not come to be as happy as he was in the first Adam. But certainly the happiness of man is more in the second Adam than in the first; therefore the knowledge shall be higher than this, and this must be in the sight of God that he shall have.

The sight of God that he shall have in heaven shall bo more immediate than it is now. It shall not only be the sight of him by such and such ways and irradiations as now we have from him, by any intervening thing, but by an immediate union with the very being and essence of God, and so a sight of his essence. And that it must needs be, that this sight of God must be of his very being and essence is clear, not only from many scriptures that we might’ name, as that in 1 Cor. xiii., latter end, ‘Now we see through a glass darkly, but then face to face; now I know in part, but then shall I know even as I am known.’ We see through a glass, that is, through a medium; we see by seeing something else; first we see something else, and then we come to see God. But then we shall see him face to face; then shall I know even as I am known. Now God knows us without anything intervening, so we shall know as we

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are known; it is a great mystery. And that place in 1 John iii. 2, ‘We shall see him as he is ’ — as he is in himself. The reason is this, because if we saw anything but God’s being, that would be but a creature; whatsoever irradiation, whatsoever glory should flow from God, conceive it to be the most glorious thing that can be, that God should represent the most glorious sight that can be imagined; yet if it be not God’s being and essence, it is but a creature, and if a creature, then it cannot be the object of man’s happiness. It is impossible for a man to be happy by the sight of that that is not God. Now if there be anything intervening, so as we see that that God doth, but more out of himself, and not himself, I say we cannot be happy, for it would follow then that man’s happiness consisted in a creature. No; therefore we shall see him as he is. Christ saith ‘That he knows the Father, as the Father knows him; ’ he doth not speak of himself as he is second person in Trinity, but as he is God-man — so he knows the Father as the Father knows him; so that by that you may see that even a finite creature is capable of such a knowledge, of the knowledge of the very being of God. You cannot comprehend it, because it is infinite; and if it had not been revealed to us in the Scriptures it had been impossible for us to have conceived that a finite creature could be hypostatically united to an infinite; but when the Scripture makes that out to us, that that which is finite, as the Boul and body of Christ is, can be so united to an infinite, this clearly holds forth thus much to us, that the nature of man is capable of another manner of revelation of God, and union with God, than possibly by reason can be understood. The saints in heaven shall be filled with God’s presence, shall see God in themselves. As the fulness of the Godhead did dwell bodily in Christ, so it shall dwell sphitually in the saints: Col. ii. 9, ‘The fulness of the Godhead dwelt bodily in him.’ Now, spiritually, the fulness of the Godhead shall be in the saints; and certainly Christ doth see God, the very being of God, the fulness of the Godhead, being bodily in him; why, then, the saints that shall have the fulness of the Godhead spiritually in them shall see him, see him immediately — not as we see a colour, but as we see the light. The light is first in our eyes, and hj that the colour; so then God’s very being shall be first in the eye of the soul. We see God here in this world by his effects; we see the glory of God from the effects of God’s wisdom, and his power, and his goodness. What dost thou see of God, oh thou soul in this world, who art contemplating of God in the most serious manner? Why, the soul will say, Lord, I see glorious beams of thy wisdom, and thy power, and thy goodness in the creature, the great works that thou hast made. This is but to see God in the

eft’ects of what he hath done; but we shall see him face to face. You see a workman in some piece of work that he hath done, and oh, you long to see the face of that man. Now God hath wrought this world — it is the work of his fingers; but you shall not see God then by effects so much as immediately. We come here to know rather what God is not than what he is; as thus, when we say God is infinite, what do we mean by that but that there is no bounds of his being? When we say that God is incomprehensible, what is that but that God cannot be comprehended in any place? When we say that God is eternal, that he hath no beginning, no end, no sue- ’ cession of time; when we say God is immutable, still it speaks rather what God is not than what he is — that is, he doth not change. “UTien we come to say that he is a spirit, that seems to be an affirmation. What do we mean by that? It is but to take off from any conceit of bodily substance, that God is not corporeal; for if we should speak properly, God is not a spirit, not of the same nature that angels and men’s souls are of, for they are but creatures. And God cannot be said jn-operly to be the same thing that a creature is; but because he would take away all conceit from him of being bodily, therefore we say he is a spirit. When we say God is holy, what do we do when we come to describe his holiness but this — he is that whereby he hath not the least spot and stain of sin, and such kind of things; so that the truth is, the most of our knowledge of God here it is but by negations rather than any other way. But then we shall see him as he is, not only what his being is not, but what it is.

And we shall see God likewise in the unity of his nature. Here we see God in several parts; we cannot understand the excellency of God to be all one here. As thus, when we would know God, how come we to know and see him here? Why, by those several shines of his attributes, as by the power, and wisdom, and holiness, and goodness, and faithfulness, and eternity, and simplicity, and infiniteness of God. These now are several things; but certainly there are not many things in God. All these attributes are but that one infinite excellency of God; only they are diverse according to the several ways of the manifestation of that one excellency of God. As sometimes I have told you of the shine of the sun through several glasses of several colours; the same beam of the sun through a blue glass gives a blue reflection, and through a green a green, and through a red a red, but there is no such change of the sun; so the same excellency of God, working several ways, appears diversely to us; and so we see God as if he were one great excellency, made up of many excellencies. But certainly this is not so; God is not such a glorious excellency as made up of many, for he is

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but one. Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God in the unity of his being.

And come to see the great mystery of the Trinity — how three persons but one God; what the work of the Father is in begetting, and what the Son is in being begotten, and the Holy Ghost is in proceeding; we see these things by faith now, but then by sight.

And we shall see God in his eminency, and infinite above all creatures whatsoever, and see him in heaven as he is, and see whatever he shall do, whatever he shall be working to all eternity. The saints shall see God, (besides the being of God,) I say, see him in all his workings that shall be to eternity. The Lord, in less than these six thousand years, how glorious hath he been in his workings! And would it not be a blessed thing if any one of you had been admitted to have been with God, and have seen what God hath done from the beginning of the world to this day. Ay, but now surely, God being eternal, after this world should be at an end, as it will within a little time, why, God remains everlasting, and the saints shall remain everlasting, and they shall be with God for ever; why, then, they shall be there where they shall see what God will do for ever. Why, God he will be working for ever; after this six thousand years will be at an end God will still be working, and it is like that the meanest of his works are laid first, and he will be working still higher and higher, and more and more glorious things to all eternity. Now, for a creature to be admitted to live with God, and not only to see what himself is, and to see mdeed his heart, and counsels, and will, and ways, but to see what God shall be doing to all eternity; this must needs be a blessed sight.

And this sight of God shall be without any kind of discourse from one thing to another, as we have now; but we shall see all at once, without any labour and without any pains. As now, we are fain to take a great deal of pains from one thing to another; but then intuitive — that is, it shall be with the understanding as with the eye; the darting of the eye presently takes in the object, and so the object shall be taken in without any wearisomeness. We shall see him then fully — that is, the understanding of man shall be so elevated as it shall be able to look upon the face of God fully, without any kind of weariness at all. Now, the eye of man is not able to look upon the sun, for it would destroy the sight if we should look upon it long; it is too eminent an object. And so we cannot steadily behold the face of God now; but then there shall be the elevation of the soul — the soul shall be raised to that strength as it shall be able to stand and gaze upon the face of God for ever, upon the fulness of his glory; the eye of the body shall be able to see the glory of God that doth irradiate from him, which shall be a

thousand times more glorious than the sun. As the Scripture tells us that the body of man shall be raised to that height, as it shall shine like the sun in the firmament. Now, if this lump of clay shall have such a glory put ujDon it, then what glory shall be put upon the soul of man, and how shall that be raised; and, indeed, if man’s eye were not raised to be able to look steadily upon a more glorious object than the sun, it would be a misery for the body to be in heaven. For the light of heaven will be abundantly more glorious than the sun in the firmament, the lustre of it, and the saints shall not be wearied with it; but the glory of heaven shall perfect the eye of the saints, and then the glory of God shall perfect their souls; they shall be able fully to look upon God, and they shall so see him as never to lose the sight of him. Here in this world the saints many times have some glimmerings of God, some little sight of it; oh but they lose it — and oh how sweet were it, if it were not so little and quickly gone; but then they shall ever see his face. What would many a godly man or woman give that they might have but those beams of God’s glory in a constant way shining upon them that sometimes they have had; but then you shall have them ahvays shining upon you. ’ 0 blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.’ And the reason that some give why Christ doth annex the sight of God to purity of heart, is this among others, because that the Scripture tells us that by faith the heart is purified. Now when the soul believes, and comes to be purified by faith, it is willing to give up its reason, to have its reason swallowed up. Now, because it doth here believe that which it cannot see, it shall hereafter see whatsoever it doth believe, — that is (as Austin calls it) the reward of faith. That because faith doth believe what the soul cannot see, that is, faith goes beyond reason, therefore the Lord will gi-ant this reward unto it, that it shall hereafter see whatsoever it doth believe. Thou now hast the glorious revelation of God, and of the mysteries of salvation. Well, they are above thy reason, thou canst not understand them now, yet by faith thou dost believe them though thou canst not understand them. Why now wilt thou glorify God by believing when thou canst not see? God hereafter will make thee see what thou hast believed. Thou shalt see it fully, thou shalt see into all the reasons of the mystery of the gospel, and the things of God, that now thou dost take in by faith. Oh it is good for us now to be willing to have our reason to be swallowed up in faith; for hereafter God will by sight make known all tilings to us, that any way a rational soul shall be capable of. ‘They shall see God.’ And this shall be one further circumstance that will much set out the blessedness of the sight of God,

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They shall then see him when God shall be letting out himself fully to them, and so God shall he the more amiable and satisfying object to them. As thus, now you see a beauty in some creature, suppose a tulip; but now, if this tulip had the sweetness of a violet, had as much sweetness as all sweets together in the world, it would be a more dehghtful thing to behold. So it shall be here — the saints shall see God, and it shall be wonderful delight to them; for, together with all the glorious excellency that they shall see in God, there shall be fragrancy come from God — God’s letting out himself to their souls, in whom they shall be blessed for ever. !Many things might be said about this argument, and there is as much written and curious notions about it as anything; but I conceive that it will not be fit or profitable to enter further into the explication of this, or endeavour to acquaint you with such kind of notions as many men have had about this in their writings. I shall only make some application of this excellent point.

‘Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God.’

First, If it be such a blessedness to see God, and this promised to the pure in heart, oh, do you consider, you that live in uncleanness and filthiness, what ymi lose by your sin, and what you are like to lose! This is promised to the pure in heart: but do not your consciences, many of you, misgive you, and tell you that there is woeful impurity in your hearts, base uncleanness, and so in your lives and conversations? Why, now, what dost thou lose in this? Thou losest this glorious sight of God, thou livest here in the world without the sight of God, and so shall never come to see the face of God for good unto thee; certainly thy lusts will cost thee dear. If a man were set upon his lusts, so as he must certainly lose the sight of his eyes if he would have his lusts, as I remember Ambrose tells of PhUotimus, that had such a disease upon him through drinking and uncleanness, that the physicians told him that if he did not reform, he would certainly lose his eyes for it. When he heard this, his heart was so set upon his lusts, Well, saith he, desperately, vale lumen amicum, farewell sight, then; as if he should say, Eather than I will lose my lusts, I will lose my sight. 0 Lord, how many such desperate wretches are there amongst us? Are there none this day here before the Lord? If there be any, the Lord of heaven rebuke them, and speak unto their hearts. This is thy condition, thou art set upon thy lusts. What thinkest thou now about this little glimpse of heaven’s excellency? of the “sight of God, what thinkest thou? Either part with thy lusts or lose thy sight. What will thy answer be before God this day, if thou shalt after this, when thou hearest that the sight of God is so annexed to purity of heart? And as the apostle in that known

place of the Hebrews, chap. xii. 14, ‘Without holiness no man shall see God ’ — I say, if thou dost yet continue in any known sinful way, that thy heart is set upon any such beloved lust, and that for all this thy heart cannot be taken off from it, this, then, is thy desperate resolution. Farewell, pleasant sight, farewell the sight of God himself — I will venture it; I will rather please the sight of my eyes and the lusts of mine heart than I will be partaker of that blessed and glorious sight of God. Oh, thy lusts will cost thee dear; look to it therefore here in this world. How do men live without God in the world? They have no sight of God. You may speak of God, but certainly there is a sight of God that cannot stand with the love of any sin; and therefore, though we cannot tell how to express the difference between the sight of God that one hath in this life and another, yet the Scripture is clear, that whosoever walks on in the way of sin, he knows not God: 1 John ii. 4, ‘He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.’ As if the Holy Ghost should say here, There is so much in the sight of God, as that it is impossible it can stand with the ways of sin.

Secondly, If it be such a blessedness to see God, then how vile are they that take no delight at all in seeing of him, and would rather not see him than see him. This is the cursed disposition of the hearts of many men, yea, generally of all that have guilty consciences. I say, all men and women that have guilty consciences are brought to this thi’ough the guilt of their consciences, that they had rather not see God than see him. Oh, what a pass art thou in! what hast thou brought thyself to? Oh, miserable creature, what is there in thy lusts that can so countervail this, the loss of the sight of God, and bring thee to such a condition as thou dost desire, never to see the face of God? Thou accountest it not a misery not to see God, but thy happiness. Oh, cursed disposition indeed! You would say a child were very desperately wicked if he should say to his father that begat him, or the mother that bare him, I would I might never see your face; but this doth every ungodly man say. Oh, that I might never see thy face! You will say, is there any so vile as to say so? Certainly, it is the language of your actions; and we read in Job xxi. 14, concerning the description of the wicked man, thus: ‘Therefore they say unto God, Depart from us; for we desire not the knowledge of thy ways.’ Why, we cannot hear men in their language say so, and I do not think that Job did hear men say so; but this was the language of their actions: ‘They say unto God, Depart from us; we desire not the knowledge of thy ways.’ For indeed the sight of God engages the soul to duty; and the truth is, for a man to have a sight of God, and yet to

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resolve to continue in his sin, these two things are incompatible one with another; and therefore wicked men, rather than they would lose their lusts, away with holiness, they care not to see God.

Thirdly, What a misery are those in, that shall have the sight of God to be their greatest misery, and to be a curse unto them, to be dreadful to them; certainly their sin hath Ijrought them to an evil condition indeed. Yet this is the state of impure hearts and consciences; of all sights in the world, the sight of God will trouble it, and be the most dreadful to it. They shall see God too, but see him to be the terror of their souls; their sight of God will be their curse and their misery. ‘They shall see God,’ but see him as an enemy; see that infinite holy face of God, and by that see how infinitely God hates them. When thou comest to see how God is holy, thou shalt see how infinitely he doth hate thee, and what an enemy he is to thee, and will be to thee to all eternity. We read in Rev. vi., latter end, that the kings and the mighty men of the earth cry out to the mountains and rocks to fall upon them, and to cover them. Why? ‘That they might be hid from the sight of the Lamb.’ And so certainly at the day of judgment, when God shall appear in his glory, that they shall see what an infinite God they have to do with, what an infinite power there will be stretched out for their misery, what an infinite justice will lie upon them, and the strolces of it be upon them for ever; this will be so dreadful, as they would rather have hills and mountains to fall upon them, than to have the sight of God. Oh, poor creature, what misery art thou brought into, whenas at that day, when the saints shall look upon the face of God, when God comes in all his glory and shall say. Oh this God is our God, this infinite all-sufficiency is ours, this infinite wisdom is ours, this infinite power shall work for good to us — and infinite mercy is ours, and so rejoice in that God. ‘Oh, lo, this is our God, we have waited for him; ’ this is the God of our salvation, and their hearts leap within them to go and meet this God that appears in his glory; then for thee to stand shaking and trembling before this great God, Oh, this is the infinite God that I have sinned against, that I have rebelled against, that infinite God that comes against me in all this glory, to be avenged upon me to all eternity. This will be thy condition that hast an unclean heart; it is the pure in heart that shall see God with coiyic-ii And if I would say but any one thing for to ient an the evil of an unclean heart, and to cause yoce of restless until you get your hearts cleansed in the bX of of Christ, and purified by his Spirit, I would say tliig one thing, your uncleanness will make God’s presence dreadful to you. Now you can defile yourselves with unclean thoughts, with covetous thoughts: now secretly you defile your hearts, you defile yourselves

with injustice by false gain, and think to get to yourselves that way, and so your souls are defiled. Well, this defilement of your souls will make God dreadful to you one day; therefore, go away with this as your portion, all you that have defiled your consciences with unjust gain, and with the lusts of the flesh, go away with this from God darted upon you. Well, this will make the sight of God the most scaring that ever can be, when God shall appear. Oh then, learn we to purify our hearts what we can. You whose consciences tell you there is much uncleanness in you, rest not until you come to find your consciences cleansed by the blood of the Lamb, sanctified by his Spirit; fall down before the Lord — 0 Lord, I am an unclean wretch, and by that that I have heard this day, there is that truth presented to me that strikes upon my conscience, that this secret uncleanness that no eye in the world ever saw, yet thy eyes having seen, it is that that will make thy presence terrible to me. Lord, cleanse me, wash me, and purge me with hyssop. We read in Jer. xxxiv. 3, ‘And thou shalt not escape out of his hand; but shalt surely be taken, and delivered into his hand; and thine eyes shall behold the king of Babylon, and he shall speak to thee mouth to mouth, and thou shalt go to Babylon.’ Here is a threatening to Zedekiah that his eyes should behold the eyes of the king of Babylon; that is thus: Zedekiah had dealt treacherously with the king of Babylon, and thought to shift and provide for himself, and thought he was far enough from the king of Babylon. Well, saith God in a way of threatening. Thou thinkest to shift and provide for thyself thus, but thine eyes shall see the king of Babylon. So I say to all you who deal treacherously with God, who live in any unclean lusts, and yet make shew as if you would serve God, and make profession of his name. Oh you hypocrites, that make profession of religiog, Ond yet deal treacherously with God, this I say <^. JJU this day, Your eyes shall see him, but it// 9^ %!^® most dreadful thing to you. Labovi) ^, T^ ■’cleanse your hearts; take heed of uncle ■^’’/’^o •’fe.lfibour for pure hearts. And if yo% P, “^“^^ j-e in your hearts, be pure in youro <%. ‘°>, ^•’^ .■’?^y- 19, 20. Out of the heart correal ^ji’^.j ‘^-o”’ ‘’° defile the man. And the fii ;^ <A, %°c’e unclean thoughts. ‘Out of the heart ‘^/ ?^ Aee i thoughts, murders, adulteries,’ &c. Take see it fully tig your hearts with unclean thoughts, if mystery of tie God with comfort; and take heed of now thou dosU’selves in any business any further for us now to God go before you. If a man once vb swallowed up iifs, oh, if things do not go accord- ght make known il will he shift up and down, and ational soul shall be capaCfe of by-ways he will have tSsnd this shall be one furtl ake heed of that! And tak* set out the blessed/x Labour to live above

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BURROUGHS ON THE BEATITUDES.

sense. When men and women have sensual lives, are earthly, and they must have creature comforts here, oh, they defile themselves every day exceedingly. No marvel though worldlings and unclean wretches know so little of God, and have such poor, low thoughts of God. Oh, they do defile their souls, so as they cannot see God! Labour to keep yourselves clean. And you that have, through the mercy of God, had your consciences and souls purified, keep your souls still pure, and labour for more and more purity, upon this ground, because you may more and more see God. Is it not comfortable to see the face of God! ‘Light is comfortable,’ Eccles. xi. 7. Oh how comfortable is it to see God! therefore cleanse your souls more and more, and improve this privilege of your eyesight; improve it. What doth Jesus Christ promise? that you shall see God. And is this the blessing promised to you? Why, then, improve it, make use of it, and set your eyes upon God while you live in this world, and make it your work to contemplate upon God. Many, even Christians, they live as if there were no blessing in seeing God; but if there be such a blessing, then why are not your thoughts more upon God than they are? Every time you see God in his creatures, you should even gaze upon the glory of God. Oh this is my God! And when you look into his word, and come to his ordinances and worship him, why do not you fix your hearts and eyes upon him? A Christian that fixes his eye upon God, oh, he will come to be a glorious Christian indeed. If we would converse with God, and fix our eyes upon him, we might grow up in holiness exceedingly. As purity of heart doth

make us fit to see God, so the .sight of God will make us more clean and more pure in heart daily, so as every night thou canst appeal to God, Lord, through thy mercy I have kept my conscience clear. Though there be many frailties and infirmities in my ways, yet, Lord, there is nothing that I have deliberately gone about this day, but I bless thee for it. Oh, then, when you lie down and close your eyes, you may have a sight of God; and when you open your eyes again in the morning, you may have a sight of God, to fill your hearts with joy. Oh, thou mayest live comfortably! Let become of the world what will, thou mayest live above the world, if thou keepest thyself in the sight of God. Set the Lord before your eyes continually. God sets you before his eyes; set you God, then, before yours. And by this you shall come to die comfortably. No man can see God and live, it is true; while we live here in the flesh, we cannot have the full sight of God. Ay, but a Christian, when he is to die, he may die comfortably. Well, let me close my eyes with death. I shall go out of this world, but I shall see God in another world. Thou hearest many things of God now that are great mysteries to thee. Be of good comfort, when thou art to die, thou mayest think thus: I go to the place where I shall come to know as I am known, to know God perfectly, to know all the mysteries of the gospel perfectly. This will make death to be comfortable to the saints in their departing here. And therefore rejoice in this blessing of Christ, and exercise now thy faith upon it, and let it run in thy thoughts: ‘Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.’

BURROUGHS ON THE BEATITUDES.