express thy wonders; yet, at least, to dwell awhile in holy contemplation of that immense excellency, the Vision of which will hereafter be our Happiness.

But then think, if thou canst, O my soul, what a great and glorious Beauty must that be, the very sigh of which will make thee happy, whose Vision is truly Beatific, in whose very presence is fullness of joy, and whom to know is Eternal Life! We know him now and that too by himself; and the greatest pleasure that we can relish, is to know and contemplate him ; but we neither do, nor can know him now, as we shall know him hereafter, when we shall see him in the full blaze of his Glory. Now we see him through a glass darkly, but then face to face. Now we know him in part, but then we shall know him, even as we ourselves are known. Now we see him as we can with feeble eyes, and in an obscure light; but then our view of him shall be clear and distinct, "WE SHALL 7. SEE HIM AS HE 15!"

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Words of wonder and astonishment, and that carry a Heaven in their sound! How great art thou, O God, and how great are thy Rewards? Blessed `state. tremendous happiness! Who is able to think of thee without amazement, or speak of thee without confusion, or enjoy thee without the invigorations of the celestial comforts, those divine cordials of living water

that issue from the throne! But with thee O Lord is the well of Life, and in thy light shall we see light. For it is thou, who must strengthen our weak faculties, or else we shall not be able to endure thy majestic presence, before whom angels tremble and vail their faces; we should be oppressed with glory, and even wish to shade our eyes from thy too powerful and overcoming light.

But, O Lord, what is man, that thou shouldest have sach respect unto him; or the son of man that thou shouldest so far regard him, as to admit him to thy beaand to fortify tific presence, to the vision of thyself, that so the bush where thou

him for the bearing

of it;

art may not waste, or be consumed with the flame of thy Glory.

The Vision of God!

good,

and

O what a Vision must that be!

to see thee, who art infinitely great, and infinitely and infinitely happy; and in thy self, in the Comprehensive view of thine own infinite greatness, and goodness! To see Thee, who art Being itself, the fountain of it; who art Truth itself, and the light of our minds, and the life of our hearts, and the centre of our desires, and the ultimate end of our natures; who art infinite good, all good, even goodness itselt! To see all this, and see it clearly, and to have all those inconceivable beauties unveil'd to us, for

which angels incessantly praise thee, and which thou thy self hast bsen contemplating from all eternity with infinite pleaeure and complacency: What an aston

ishing vision must this be, and what glorious effects must it have upon our souls!

1. To make us wise. For how wise and knowing must he needs be, that sees thee, the true intelligible light, the best and greatest object of thought! Thee who possesest the ideas of all things, and who therefore art all! Thee who art immense and boundless truth, and with whom Wisdom dwells; even the eternal Wisdom that sitteth by thy throne and was with thee when thou created the world! And to see also, thy eternal and con substantial Word, the universal Reason, in whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge, and who is that very wisdom that enlightens our minds, and by a participation of which every one is wise, that is truly wise. And to see him also who is personal Love, even thy eternal Spirit, the divine Author and Giver of all life: And to see how these blessed Three

concentre in One: what an instructive view, what a scientific vision must this be ! Now we take a great deal of pains for a little knowledge, and are at the mer. cy of a fever or bruise, whether we shall keep that little; but then a sudden light shall break in upon our minds that shall dispel all darkness, and clear all mys

teries,

teries, and remove all difficulties, and we shall know without study, and be learned without libraries, and keep, and increase our knowledge for aver. And how shall we then despise all that is here called science, or learning that of the memory and imagination especially, when we shall see original truth, and be always quenching our intellectual thirst where the pure springs of wisdom rise; for then shall be the great intellectual Feast when we shall sit at the table, which Wisdom herself hath furnished, and shall eat of the bread and drink of the wine which she hath mingled.

2 To make us good. thee in the beauty of holiness; or rather, the beauty of holiness in thee: and the very sight of that ravishing appearence, will, by a celestial influence, conform us to thy adoreable perfections, transfuse a godlike temper into our souls, assimilate us into thy image, and make us truly partakers of thy divine nature, and so we shall be like thee, bscause we shall see thee as thou as thou art, And because thou art infinitely beautiful the sight of thee will so inflame our hearts with thy love, that we shall love thee with a love worthy of thee with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength; and the more we see thee still the more we shall burn with love towards thee: and the more we love thee, the more we shall still covet to resemble thee, and endea

For then shall we behold

vour to be like thee, that so we may the better enjoy thee, and be more and more happy in thee. And thus, we with open face, beholding the Glory of the Lord, shall be changed into the same image, from glory to glory.

The things of this world the less they are known, the more they are valued, and our love of them is founded upon our ignorance of them. Ignorance is, indeed, in these things, the mother of devotion; and the more we improve our acquaintance with them, the more we despise them, and that because of their vanity, and those defects which we discover in them. But, O my God thy infinite perfections will endure the lights and stand the test of the most illuminated intelligence; and that knowledge which lessens the value of other things, will improve our esteem, and raise our passions for thy excellencies.

And that men did thus truly know thee! O that they had but one glimpse of thy excellent Glory! Then would they never offend thee, then would they for ever adore and love thee, then would they resolve upon any terms to enjoy thee; they would even lay hold upon eternal life, and take the kingdom of hea ven and happiness by holy violence: they would nev er revolt from thee, but continue thine for ever. that is another effect of this beatific view. The blessed that behold thy face, are thereby confirmed in good beyond

For