the hearts of men or angels, with any SER M. real and fatisfactory joy, comes from VII. heaven. It is a portion of the pure influence flowing from the glory of the Almighty; a ray ifuing from the brightness of the everlasting life. It is manifest, therefore, that every approach to God must be an approach to felicity. The enjoyment of his immediate presence must be the confummation of felicity; and it is to this presence that the Pfalmist here expreffes his hope that the path of life was to conduct him.

The whole of what is implied in arriving at the presence of the Divinity, we cannot expect to comprehend. Such expreffions as these of scripture, beholding the face of God; being made glad with the light of his countenance, and satisfied with his likeness; feeing light in his light; feeing no longer darkly as through a glass, but face to face; feeing him as he is; are expreffions altogether mysterious, conveying fublime though obfcure ideas of the most perfect happiness and highest exaltation of human nature. This we know,

VII.

SER M. know, that the absence of God, the distance at which we are now placed from any communication with our Creator, is one great fource of our infelicity. Faith exerts its endeavours, but often ineffectually, to raise our fouls to him. He is a God that hideth himfelf. His ways feem intricate and perplexed. We frequently cannot reconcile them to the conceptions which we had formed of his nature; and with many a fufpicion and doubt they perplex the inquiring mind. His works we furvey with aftonishment, We wonder and adore. But while we clearly trace the footsteps of their great Author, his prefence we can never difcern. We go forward, but he is not there; and backward, but we cannot perceive him; on the left hand, where he worketh, but we cannot behold him: he hideth himself on the right hand, that we cannot fee him. Hence amidft the various forrows and difcouragements of the prefent ftate, that exclamation

*Job xxiii. 8, 9.

1

VII.

mation of Job's is often drawn forth SERM,
from the pious heart, O that I knew
where I might find him, that I might
come even to his feat*!

Surrounded by fuch diftreffing obfcu-
rity, no hope more transporting can be
opened to a good man, than that a period
is to come, when he shall be allowed to
draw nearer to the Author of his exift-
ence, and to enjoy the sense of his
pre-
fence. In order to convey fome faint
idea of that future blifs, by such an
image as we can now employ, let the
image be taken from the most glorious
representative of the fupreme Being,
with which we are acquainted in this
world, the Sun in the heavens.
that refplendent luminary chears and
revives the univerfe, when, after the
darkness of a tempeftuous night, it
comes forth in the morning with its
brightest luftre, and inspires every heart
with gladnefs; as afcending gradually
through the heavens, it converts that
VOL. IV.
whole

K

* Job. xxiii. 3.

As

VII.

BERM. whole vaft extent, over which its beams are diffufed, into a region of light; and thus changes entirely the ftate of objects, by arraying all nature in beauty, and transforming it into the image of its own brightnefs:- Some fuch change as this, though in a degree infinitely fuperior, we may conceive the revelation of the Divine Prefence to produce upon the human foul. I will behold thy face in righteoufness; I fhall be fatisfied, when I awake, with thy likeness.— But without endeavouring farther to unfold myfteries which we cannot explore, there are two fublime and expreffive views of the Divine Effence given us in fcripture, on which it may be edifying that our thoughts should reft for a little, in order to aid our conceptions of the bleffedness of good men hereafter, in the prefence of God. It is faid, God is light*; God is love†. Let us confider what fulness of joy

muft

muft arife from fuch manifestations SER M. VII. of the Divine Effence to the bleffed.

God is light. The revelation of his prefence, infers of course, a complete diffufion of light and knowledge among all who partake of that prefence. This unqueftionably forms a primary ingredient of happiness. Ignorance, or the want of light, is the fource of all our prefent misconduct, and all our misfortunes. The heart of man is dark; and in the darkness of his heart is the feat of his corruption. He is unable to difcern what is truly good. Perpetually employed in search of happiness, he is perpetually misled by falfe appear

ances of it. The errors of his under

ftanding impofe upon his paffions; and, in confequence of the wrong direction which his paffions take, he is betrayed into a thousand diforders. Hence fenfuality, covetoufness, and all the violent contests with others about trifles, which occafion so much misery, and fo many crimes in the world. He feedeth of K 2 afbes: