dupliciter; uno modo ex parte objecti in detur de Earth are but Gods foot-ftool, not his image, Cap.46. but the Saints of God are are his image, and this fhall be their happiness, to fee the glory of God in themselves. A man may delight to fee beautiful colours, but you take more delight, if you can by looking in a glafs fee your felves beautiful, and fee thofe beautiful colours in your own clothes; but if we could have the glory of the Sun, and the Moon, and all the creatures in heaven fhining within our #bodies, that would be counted glorious indeed; but Vifio eft to fee the divine excellency, and the top of the delectabilis divine excellency of the infinite God fhining within us, this will be a mighty happiness. Bafe fenfual carnal hearts think there is no content but in fatisfying the flesh. What sweet and content have many, but quantum id quod viin their eating and drinking and their pallate is pleafed, and in that their other fenfes are fatisfied, and they think this is the excellency of man: But, alio motake a fchollar, that hath but the exercife of his un- uifionis in derstanding to finde out truths,and thofe things that quantum are fuitable to the rational part, and he fees more ex- dere delecellency there, then in any fenfual thing, and he cantabile eft: fcorn fenfual delights. If there be fo much content to the minde in viewing the things here, what content ofendo, will there be to the minde in beholding God,and his mala,quam vis ipfamaglory? There are two reafons of content in feeing a nos non things; In regard of the *object, or in regard of the act detectent: of feeing it felf. Let the object be what it will, there is quia ergo vifio beati delight in the act of feeing and understanding: For fica eft pcra man to understand that which is evil, it gives de- fectifsima, light to the minde, and it is one of the perfections modo de of God that he understands evil as well as good, lectabilis. so that there is content and delight in the act. Tom. N n of lectabile do ex parte ipfum vi deledamur enim cog idcò utroq Aquin. Cap.46. of feeing, though there be no delight in the object : but when the object is pleafing too, that addes much to comfort and delight,therefore content in the fight of God must be the highest content, because there is the highest act of understanding, and the highest object to fee that can be. And thus I have endeavored to open unto you the fecond bleffed thing that the Saints fhall have in Gods being their portion, they fhall fee God. Blessed are your eyes, fays Chrift, That you fee those things that you fee, and blessed are your ears, that heard those things you hear: So, bleffed are the eyes of Gods people that do fee any thing of God here, and hear any thing of God here, but bleffed are the eyes that fhall fee God hereafter. That which I labor for in preffing thefe things, is to take off your hearts from thefe things below, and that you may see what you are capable of; and if your hearts be mad upon your fins, and you will perish, you shall know what you lofe: me-thinks if men did know what they lofe by their fin, they would caft it off with indignation, and therefore when your fin comes and tempts you, fay, What, fhall I lose all this for fuch a way of fin? CHAP. CHAP. XLVII. The bleffedness of Union with God. Hirdly,they fhall have union with God.Sight is higher then prefence, and union is higher then fight. Fohn 17.21. Chrift prays to his Father, That they may be one in us, as thou art in me, and I in thee. For the opening of this union with God, you are to know that there is first an union that God hath with all creatures in general. Secondly, an union that he hath with the humane nature of Chrift. Thirdly, the union that he hath with the Saints. First, the union that God hath with all creatures in general, and that union is twofold: An union of dependance, or an union of his immenfe prefence: Of dependance, becaufe all creatures in the world depend upon God for their being, and continuance of their being every moment, therefore there must be an union of God with them; for if the union of dependance were broke, evey creature would fall to nothing. As the beams of the Sun have an union with the Sun, and the beams could not continue if they were not united to the Sun; fo all the creatures have an union of dependance with God, without which they cannot continue. And then the union of immenfe prefence, that must be, because God is in every thing, and every where; there is not the leaft fpire of grafs or ftone, but there is a way of Gods immenfe prefence in that. Secondly, there is another kinde of union that God hath with the humane nature of Chrift,and that we call an hypoftatical union: for the humane nature, and the divine naNn 2 Tis higher then prefence, ture 547 Cap. 47 3. I. 2. Cap.47 ture to be united in one perfon,this is that the Saints and Angels of God fhall be adoring God for to all eternity; that ever there fhould be fuch an union between the Deity and the Creature, that if it were not revealed to us in the word, it were impoffible to be imagined by any creature. It is a great work of God to unite an immortal foul with fuch a base creature as our flesh is into one perfon; I do not know any one work of God in creation fo great as this, and this is to be admired át: but if this be fo great a work to unite a rational immortal foul into one person, with a corruptible piece of flesh,then to unite mans nature into one perfon with the fecond perfon in Trinity, this is a great work. I. 3. 2. Thirdly, there is an union of God with the Saints, and that is in this World, or in Heaven. In the World, there is a fourfold union that God hath with the Saints. First, there is an union of the inhabitation of the Spirit; for the Saints of God in this World, are the Temples of the Holy Ghost, and the Spirit of God is faid to dwell in them; and fo there is a glorious union by the inhabitation of the Holy Ghoft in them. The fecond union that the Saints of God have in this world, is the union of fimilitude; the Saints are like God here in fome meafure, they have the image of God ftamped upon them, God fees his face in the Saints. The brighteft glafs in the world to fhew Gods face, is the fouls of the Saints; and there is not onely fome likeness of God in the Saints, but the likeness of God in his very life.A glafs may reprefent my image, but that image hath not that life that I have, but the image of God in the Saints, does not onely re " prefent 549 Impoßi bile eft Deum uni prefent God, but they have the life of God: Cap.47. those that are converted live the life of God, and by fin we are eftranged from the life of God: they work as God works, God understands himself the higheft and infinite good; and God wills himself as the highest and infinite good; these are the chief actions of Gods life. Now the Saints of God live this life, they in their measure do here ri fpeciali understand God, as the higheft and infinite good, and do will God as the highest and infinite good. A tantia ani third union that the Saints have with God, is a uni-ulo interne noftræ on of love, love is an uniting grace, and there is veniente a most entire love between God and every Saint, effectu creand so their hearts are close united, and mingledo, quem by love. modo fub domo, vel Deus in a nima effici tur fpecia tutis inti entia a nime vi immenfita Again, in this life there is a myftical Union, and, ratione that is an union higher then any other; an union with cujus diciChrift, being made members of the Son of God,and liter effe in fo they come to have union with the Son of God, ac-là, effencording to that expreffion, in 1 fohn 1. 3. That tia Diviniwhich we have feen and heard, declare we unto you, mè Eft in that ye alfo may have fellowship with us; and truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Iefus Chrift. There is a myftical union betis, now tween us and Chrift, and fo we come to have union this with God the Father alfo, and to be joyned to the God canLord, we are one Spirit with him. Now for the not be union that the Saints have with God in Heaven, there is, fed fo are many intricate notions that fome of the School- tum ratione men have about this; as, that the foul ball be turn-ovi effeed into the fame Idea that God made it of; and that us, Suar. there fhall be an Illapfus of God into the foul; but tract. de we must know there can be no union with God, Nn 3 but pre fence of greater or alicujus bea:. Sect |