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Show 'the Dollrine ,ttpplieel. 1 . h as aJJlilled and tl!fPdRiitb dtmptftt, arc there. It was to her t. at w I wiU lay thy floor Jllitr. that he makes that Promtfe, E[ay \4s 11h. . and I wiD mak.f thy fair coloNrJ, and thy fo•ndations with ~p /,~::Cles and aU thy bar-windows of Agates, and thy gates~~~ ar h ) ' dcrs of plea] ant /iones: Is n1r ~hts eT~~f tboH mai~ cattle boldly t• 3• He hath fent me tote t ec, ed thee ) when he him. So much he importeth ( as f I h~v~~e7 come t~ him? may faith, Ltt me foe thy face •. ~hod aye i ·no!O,ip and communion 1 believe? may 1 ~ave m ee ~~~h "boldnefs? No, faith Chrif\, with him? would tt not be ~ofdl to the throne of Grace with kt me fee thy face. Come 0 Y 1 me fee thY face ! Ah,but full a!furance ; Come, andd~elcome, lee 1 am a black and filthy . h S 11 I am a trty creatur , . b fatt a poor ou d. h' fbeauty and comelinefs tn me, ut creature ; If I ha any t mg 0 a lun e m~ in the ditch 1 can fee nothing, nothing bubt hwhat ~e yt~ m~ felf. To anf we:t of defpair and make me an a orren this. t 11 thee that tby countenance inomtlj; 4. He hath fent ~e to e. 'ut u on thee; Comely,through Comely, thr?!Jgh hts c~me~ne~s ~ell !e then, 0 thou beloved of his new habtts created tn l~~ethou hear more? what doeR thou my Malter ! what wou . fi th felf from him who feeketh aft hen in thy Cavefi? whhy hddt t th~ Lord fee thy face in the fruits of ter thee? Come ort • ~n e ce . Let him fee that faee thy faith, in the exerctfe~ of1t~y f,fde ~p of fome melancholick which (however thy fal 7 g a sf;~an ""'f fbme unbeliefin thine humours, offome temptauonds o B "a i; to thee) yet he judgeth own heart, may ~eprefent an re e , comely. But t~trdly, f h 'fi • deed> Oh l rr>hat a tlifft~enct Is this the language o C n tn .,; the tle(tm and the JHdg-thm il bctrr>ixt earth and heaven,,/~wde(tm and j•dgmentt of the ments 0f the men oft be world, an t e ptible (if not abominable Spou[! of Chrift? What more conte~arth than the faces of the creatures) to thegreat.finn~shoft~:not abide to fee the faces of innocent Doves of Chrtfr ? . ey c J e th f4ct With what the Lords holy ones: ChriR fatth, Lrt me dccha~ eth him to fee his anger doth Pbara•h look upon M;{uh ;.f aa l<~ok upon Mordecay face no more ? With what [corn h ot the:Gde with what kindnefs fitting in the Kings gate~ On t e 0afte; he had denied his M~- ~~~ ~h~~~t~~d~ ';fo~h c~;rfieh:;c fpeak to his Dove, thought~~ the clefts of the Ro~ ? There is ~o generation in the World more unlovely in the'((yes of the World than the generation of thofe that are pure in heart of thc>fe who feek the Lords face. But doth Chri!t fpeak fo' ( No, he faith, Tby cortlttenance il comely. Let then the men of1he ')'orld look afquint upon them that fear the Lord: let them fay,/}e our face no more: Let them look fcornfully upon you; concern not your felf in their anger, nor in their fcorg ; the Lord faith to you, Let me fee thy face, for thy cottnteHance iscomely. If ChriR judgeth you comely, it may be a fmall thing to you to be judged ol men. Fourthly, 'Doth Chri!t[ay to his Spot<[e, Let me foe tby countc~"Vfe 4• nancr. Doth he delire communion with us ? doth he coupt us comely ? Oh, how Jhouid our fouls thirft after ne4reft (eUowfhip and <ommunioH with him ? 2, Oh, how precious jhould Chrifl be in our <yrs ? The force of this Condufion dep<ndeth upon the infinite advantage the Soul hath by afoeing of Cbrifts face, compared with the No-advantage that Chrifi hath by feeing our faces. 2. Upon the infinite beauty and comelinefs that is in ChriO above the beauty and comelinefs that can be in us. There is a threefold vifion ot< ChriOs countenance. t. The lirfi is, by thetye.of F4ith in a diretl act, a looking to him as the Jews look'd to the. brazen-Serpent which was lifted up in the Wildernefs. The advantage of this is the fame as to the Jews, an healing of our wounds by fin, an healing of Tranfgrelllons, Eternal life. 2. The fecond is bfa more reflex all , when we fee hini , and know we fee him: we do not only fee him in a glafs darkly, acting Faith upon him by the advantage of his Word, ~ut with open face even in this life we behold the glory of God, and are here fatis lied with the Lords Iikenefs. Oh,how fweet is this light ! The advantage of itis a full peace of Confcience, a joy in the Holy Ghofi; a rejoycing in Tribulation, a Triurr.ph over all our Spiritual Enemies , a rcjoycing in the hopes of the glory of God. 2. But there is yet a third Vifion of Chrifts face ; Divines call it the Beatifical Vifion, a feeing of God face to face, a feeing him as he is. The ad vantage of this, Eye batb not [een, Ear bath not heard, it cannot enter into the heart of man to conceive. In lhorr, it is an unchangeable eRate of per feel eternal felicity ; But alas, what Z z 2 ad van· |