opinion," saith the forenamed father, "then we shall find, when this divine, this Godlike thing, our mind and reason, shall be intimately joined with its heavenly kindred, and the image shall return to its archetype or original pattern, of whose acquaintance it is now so desirous. And this seems to me to be that which is so much discoursed of, to know as we are known."

Now we know only in part, saith St. Paul, (to whose words he hath respects,) we behold rather the images of things than the things themselves; and those also but darkly, and in a cloud but then we shall see face to face, and behold God so clearly, that we shall know him as he knows us. "He hath a double knowledge," says Elias Cretensis upon those words of Nazianzen; "one whereby he simply knows all things, and another whereby he knows his own image, when it is not quite spoiled, which is accompanied with love and delight.” And in this latter sense Gregory here understands it. "For look how much serenity and stillness, void of all perturbation, God beholds in his own image: so much of his knowledge will he bestow upon it; giving to every one a measure of illumination answerable to its purity and holiness. Then we may hope to discover those things which are secrets now, and no more understood by us than a child understands the thoughts of the wisest men." "For if St. Paul himself (as St. Chrysostom discourses upon those words "), he who knew so much, compares himself to an infant while he was in this state, what may we think of ourselves?" how childish are our thoughts, and how like children do we speak about divine matters, especially of the transcendent nature of God the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost! But how resplendent then must the conceptions be of our grown estate, since, in this infancy of knowledge, God hath revealed so much of himself to us beyond the thoughts of former times! If these things be so bright which we see now but in a glass, and obscurely too, think what the sight of the face will be. And the better to understand this difference, and to dart a ray of light," saith he, "though but duskish,

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into thy mind, look upon those things under the law now that grace shines. Before grace came, they appeared great and wonderful; but hear now what St. Paul saith of them after grace, that even those glorious things had no glory in this respect, by reason of the glory that excelleth." Such is the difference between the knowledge we now have, and that which we shall have hereafter: even what we see of God here, though, as St. Paul says, so exceeding glorious, hath no light in it in this respect, by reason of that light which transcendeth. And therefore, if our Saviour pronounced his disciples blessed, because their eyes saw and their ears heard such things as the old prophets and just men had longed to see and hear, but could not attain that happiness; how much more blessed shall we find ourselves, when we come to see things as much beyond what is now manifested as this revelation is beyond the ignorance of former ages! We shall both wonder at our childish presumption, in offering to talk of things so much above our reach, and wonder at the grace of the everblessed Trinity, which hath conducted us notwithstanding to the sight of their undivided glory.

VII.

But it is time to put an end to this; and therefore I shall say no more of this promise of being so happy as to see God, but that there is a sense to be made of it which will admit the body as well as the soul to a share with him in those supreme felicities. For when an exceeding great splendour, beyond any created light, appeared to holy men in ancient times, they called it by the name of God (who was hereby represented to be present with them); and the beholding this is called seeing God. As when Moses saw the bush in a flame, and from thence a light broke forth at noon day (as Greg. Nyssen speaksу) vπèρ тò ýλɩakòv pôs, ‘brighter than that of the sun,' we read that he thought of approaching to behold with his eyes the wonder of that light; but, which was more wonderful, (as the same father goes on,) he had his ears illuminated with its beams, καὶ ἡ τοῦ φωτὸς ἐκείνου φωνὴ, and the voice of that light' forbade him to come near the mountain. Whereupon he

x 2 Cor. iii. 10.

y De vita Mosis. [tom. i. p. 172.]

presently apprehended that there was a Divine Presence in the bush; and it is said, he hid his face, (out of reverence and a holy dread,) and was afraid to look upon God". Thence this mountain is called the mount of Goda, from this glorious Presence here; which appeared afterward also to give the law from the same place. After which you find that he, and Aaron with his sons, and the seventy elders of Israel, being invited by God to approach towards the foot of that mount where he spake with Moses, it is said that they saw the God of Israelb. In both which places, though Maimonides would willingly understand a spiritual sight of God with the mind, (being afraid lest any man should imagine God to be corporeal;) yet he acknowledges it is safe enough to interpret it as the Chaldee doth, of a sight of that glory which I treated of in my former book (chap. ivd.), or of an angel, which, in a luminous body, appeared to them.

But this last is rejected by a rule in the Talmude, where this very place last named is explained. It is this: "He that interprets a verse of holy Scripture always according to the literal sound, is a liar: and he that addeth to it is a blasphemer. As for example, when it is said, They saw the God of Israel; if anybody interpret it literally, he is a liar, for the God of Israel cannot be seen. And if any one add, that they saw the angel of God, he blasphemously gives the honour of God to angels. The Chaldee only is in the right, who says, ‘They saw the glory of the God of Israel."" And so St. Cyril of Alexandria understood it, in the like case, when he observes, the people were brought to mount Sinai, that they might be both • auditors and spectators of God, ἤγουν τῆς θείας αὐτοῦ καὶ ἀπορpýtov dógns, ' or of his divine and secret glory.' Which, having never been seen out of the secret place, made now a most illustrious appearance: and at the bottom of it (called his feet) there was a pavement (on which the glory stood), very bright, and becoming the Majesty that was upon it. For the text says, it was like a sapphire-stone, and as clear as the purest and

z Exod. iii. 6.

a Ver. 1, and xviii. 5.

b xxiv. 10.

d [Vol. ii. p. 415.]

e Tit. Kiddushin, c. 11.

f L. 3. Glaphyr. in Exod. [tom. i.

c More Nevoch. part i. cap. 5. [p. p. 317 B.]

10.]

:

serenest sky a token, I suppose, of the divine favour towards them; which the clearness of the heavens very well represented, as clouds and darkness were signs of God's displeasure. And accordingly it followss, that he did not lay his hand upon the nobles of Israel; i. e. did not hurt them: (though the common opinion was, that if men saw such a sight, they should die presently.) No, so far were they from receiving any harm by it, that they did not merely see God, but also eat and drinks of the relics of the sacrifices that had been newly offered to him b. He entertained them with provision taken from his own table; and they feasted with his Majesty, to their great joy and satisfaction.

Such a glory, I told you, St. Stephen saw, when his persecutors were going to stone him. And it is reasonable to suppose that, in some part of the heavens, God now manifests himself in a most glorious visible majesty, to the exceeding ineffable joy (not terror and affrightment) of those who shall be admitted to approach to that light, which is now inaccessible. So that this will be a part of our eternal happiness, to live in those pure clear regions, where unknown glories and most splendid magnificent sights will present themselves to us; where we ourselves shall be clothed with a brightness like that wherein our Lord appeared to St. Stephen and St. Paul; and behold him in a greater majesty and brightness than that was, because our capacities will be enlarged to make room for more illustrious manifestations of God to us. We shall live in that place, (as was said before), where he dwells in light unapproachable by mortal men; in the company of the holy angels, who, as so many stars of glory, will add, if it be possible, to the splendour of that place; and with our blessed Saviour, God-man, whose glorified body we shall behold: and so behold it, that we shall bear the image of the heavenly, as we have borne the image of the earthly. We shall be made immortal, that is, we shall be ever with the Lord, in such glorious bodies as his is: so that in ourselves we may see the glory of God.

For it must be noted here, that though our happiness will begin when our spirits depart this life; yet it will not be perfected till the Son of God shall come the second time to raise

our bodies out of the dust, that they may have a part with our souls in a never-dying life. Till then, the happiness I speak of, it must be confessed, will not have its crown or utmost consummation. But yet the soul in the mean time (I shall prove in its proper place) doth not lie asleep, nor hath all its powers bound up in a cold and lethargic dulness; though it have not attained the utmost enjoyment of that good for which it hopes. Our Saviour seems to make these two distinct things; the putting us in possession of everlasting life, and the raising us up at the last day: This is the will of him that sent me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life, and I will raise him up at the last day': which he repeats againk. The former of which expressions may well denote the comfortable hope we have of happiness, when soul and body shall be untied; and the other, the perfection of this happiness, when they shall be again united. We shall enter into a great part of felicity when we quit these earthly tabernacles; our souls shall then feel themselves alive, and alive in the midst of those delights that will still increase and never have any end: and they shall joyfully expect the resurrection of the dead, and the glory wherein our Saviour shall then appear, and all his saints together with him; who, having received abundance of grace, and of the gift of righteousness, shall reign in life by Jesus Christ.

Thus I have said a little concerning this great promise of seeing God; and it is so little, that I feel myself unsatisfied, and would fain penetrate further, or at least speak more distinctly of this eternal life. But this small glance we have had of it may well awaken our souls, and excite them in the worst condition here to burst out into those words which the author of the Commentaries upon Job (under the name of Origen ') puts into that holy man's mouth:

"Thither will I go, where the tabernacles of the righteous are, where are the glories of the saints, where is the rest of the faithful, where is the consolation of the godly, where is the inheritance of the merciful, where is the blessedness of the undefiled. Thither will I go, where light and life dwell, where

i John vi. 40.

k Ver. 54.

1 Lib. 1. p. 448, 449. [ed. Ben. tom. ii. p. 875, 6.]