The mystery of the marriage song and mutuall spirituall embraces between Christ & his spouse opened, in an exposition with practicall notes & observations on the whole forty-fifth Psalme / by W. Troughton ...

II. A Meditation of the Beati∣ficall Vision of God.

In the sight of the God of glory (O my soul) consisteth the Essentiall Glory of the Saints; I will (saith Christ) that they may behold my glory, John 17.14. Rest and Glory seldome meet in this world; commonly they that have the honours

of the world, have but little rest; but in heaven we shall have both; God will be all in all to the soule; he will be perfect light to the understand∣ing, perfect peace and rest to the will, and everlast∣ing satisfaction to the memory. The mind shall so clearly, so fully contemplate and behold the Divine Essence, that it shall not need the help of faith, (which is the evidence of things not seen) all mediums shall be removed, all glasses shall be bro∣ken, but only the glasse of the Trinity.

The Beatificall Vision is such a glory, that some have thought that the sole happinesse of the Saints shall consist in it; but there will be not onely vision, but fruition. Now we live by faith, when we hear of three in one, and one in three, of two Natures in one person, of the resurrection, &c. we believe the same, grounding our faith on the word of God. But in the Beatificall Vision, we shall perfectly see and know the Mystery of the Father, Son, and Spirit; all doubts shall be fully resolved, all knotty controversies decided; the Mysteries now sealed up, shall be clearly opened and revealed. The least Saint in heaven shall know more then all the learned Doctors of this world.

In this fraile condition none can see God and live; the appearance of God or an Angel, is a ter∣ror to man; but in heaven the soule shall be so elevated, that it shall be able to behold the blessed Trinity without end, to love God without loathing, to praise and delight in him without being weary. O what a joy will this be? a joy surpassing all joyes; here joy enters into us, but there we shall enter into the fullnesse of joy; if the joy of the Saints be now unspeakable and glorious, 1 Pet. 1.8. what will it be then? if the seed time be so glori∣ous, what will the harvest be?

The soul shall not only see the Attributes of God, his Mercy, Justice, Truth, Wisedome, but the very simple pure Essence of God (and yet the Attributes of God are not really distinguished from his essence, for whatsoever is in God, is God; we shall behold

the essence with the manner of subsistence, which now is an unconceiveable Mystery.

If the sight of Joseph, who was thought to be dead, was such a comfort to his good old father, what will it be to us to behold our blessed father and Saviour? If the sight of Angells and Saints, and of the glorified body of Christ, will be excee∣ding glorious and ravishing, what will it be then to see the Divine face of God? that most bright and glorious face, that most excellent beauty, which comprehends all beauty? what will it be (O my soule) to behold that Essence which is so pure, so simple, so wonderfull, so incommunicable, and with one view to behold therein the Mystery of the most blessed Trinity, the glory of the Father, the wisedome of the Son, and the goodnesse and love of the Holy Ghost?

We shall see God, and in God we shall perfectly see and know our selves and all things. As he that looks on himself in a Glasse, seeth the Glasse and himself in the Glasse, and all other things that are before the Glasse. So when we have the beatifi∣call Vision of the Divine Essence, we shall see God and our selves, and all things in God; then shall the Creature be seen in God in a far more excel∣lent manner then in it self. If we could but see the building in the perfect conception of the Artificer, it would appear far more excellent then in the building it self.

In thy light (O my God) I shall see light, Psal. 36.9. I shall see thee in thy self in the brightness of thy countenance, in the beauty of thy glory.

To make us see the glorious things that shall be seen in Heaven, there shall need no outward mediums or helps, no Preaching, Sacraments, bo∣dily apparitions, but only the light of glory, Col. 1.12. There shall be a glorious supernaturall influence, which will enable the glorified under∣standing to see God, and all things in God.

Stephen having his understanding gloriously illuminated and elevated, did behold the glory of Christ at the right hand of his father. In corpo∣reall Vision the eye is united to the Object by the help of sensible species; in intellectuall vision, the understanding is united to the object by intellectu∣all species; but in the beatificall vision, the Divine Essence it self, and the light and glory thereof shall supply the place of intellegible species.

Lift up thy self in the mean while (O my soule) and consider what a glory is prepared for thee. If to see King Solomon in his glory, was so desireable a thing, Blessed are they (said the Queen of Sheba) that stand before thy presence, and behold thy wisedome, 1 Kings 10. Oh what will it be to behold and contemplate perfectly and everlastingly the glorious ravishing face of God. Man naturally desireth to see God himself, as the cause of causes; the effects being once found, we desire to see the cause and Originall of those effects. Lift up thy self (O my soule) for thou shalt behold that universall good in whom is all good, without whom there is no good; thou shalt see that great invisible world which containes all worlds; thou shalt see him who being one, is all things, and being but one simple indivisible Essence, comprehends in himself the perfection of all things: Herein thy mind shall have perfect rest, and shall desire to know no more. Issachar saw that the rest was good, and the Land was best, Gen. 49.15. The rest and glory of the Saints is good, O but the hand that bringeth it forth, even the Eternall love of God, is best.

And now since the mind shall be so taken up and employed in the Contemplation of the Divine Essence to eternity, why shouldest thou (O my soule) be taken up with the poor empty things of the world? why shouldest thou dote on these things which doe but debase the mind of man; Learn to look beyond them (O my soule) and six upon those objects which perfect the under∣standing.

Others desire Wine, and Corn, and Oyle, but Lord doe thou lift up the light of thy countenance upon me, and when I awake let me be satisfied with thy likenesse.

Notes

• II. Medita. Of the Vision of God.
• Whilst we are in the body, we cannot perfectly see God and live.
• We shall per∣fectly behold the mystery of the Trini∣ty.
• Of the light of glory.
• Norton. Orths. Evan. cap. 15. pag. 33.