Chapter V
Thq excellency of the gospel consists in the riches of spiritual knowledge
manifested in it.
To whom (viz., his saints} God would make known what is the riches of the
<c. COL. I. 27.
glory of this mystery,
Though others know liie things of the gospel, yet those to whom God intends the intimate knowledge of it are the saints. All God s care and
804 A DISCOURSE OF THE [CHAP. V.
contrivance is, that his saints may know it ; and that he may so reveal it that
all his saints shall know it, he hath taken a sure course for that ; and as
for others, he leaves them to the darkness and blindness of their own minds.
To whom God would make known, &c. The greatest controversy now on foot is this, who they are that are the
supreme judge now upon earth of all the mysteries of the gospel.
1. The Socinians, they would have human reason to be the judge ; that God should have so writ the Scripture, that it should be made known to all men s understandings, that have but human reason in them, and that God would make known to human reason, instead of making known to his saints, what is his meaning in all the things delivered in the gospel. Now I con
fess, that what they say hath the greatest reason in the world in it, if God had intended that the gospel should be made known, in the spiritualness of
it, unto all mankind. But they do not consider, both that it is a mystery, and that God would have it so made known only to his saints. Indeed, if God had meant to satisfy all mankind, then the Scripture and all these
mysteries would have been so delivered, as reason should have subdued
them, and been able to have been master of them, and taken them in. But
the care God took in writing the Scripture, was to have his saints satisfied, and they to take in the mysteries of it. These, I say, would bring all the
Scripture to the bar of human reason, and would have the Holy Ghost s
meaning, in all the places of Scripture, concluded within the circle of a
syllogism, and believe no more than the power of reason can convince them
of. Reason indeed subserveth, for this is a certain truth, that there is
nothing that a saint by faith apprehendeth, but when he apprehends it, he
sees the greatest reason, from the harmony of one truth with another fall *
in with it, that may be. One scripture doth suit so with another, and one
theological truth so with another, that there is nothing more agreeable to
spiritual reason, than what in the mysteries of the gospel are held forth.
But, my brethren, reason will never alone work out these mysteries. There
are two principles in the heart of man (and you would wonder they should be the greatest enemies, either of them, that can be), the one is natural con
science, and the other is human reason. They were the two principles that were set up in Adam, and therefore they would be the predominant prin
ciples still. Now God hath set faith over them both. He will have faith subdue conscience ; my meaning is this, conscience shall subserve faith, it
shall serve to give directions to a believer how he shall walk ; so the law
doth, and so conscience doth ; but if you will make that the eminent prin
ciple, a man will fall into a legal temper, and all his comfort will come from
his conscience, and not from his faith. So on the other side, if you will make reason the predominant principle, when you come to judge of the matters of religion, it is a good servant indeed ; but if you will make that
the supreme judge, you will understand nothing, or little, of the mysteries
of salvation, for God hath appointed faith, and faith in the saints to receive them all.
2. The papists make a pope that shall determine all controversies, as our infallible and standing judge, led into all truth. And, I confess, had God meant in delivering the mysteries of the gospel to have satisfied all
mankind, and to have resolved all their consciences, and all their scruples in interpreting scriptures, he would have had some such judge. He would have had either an internal judge common to all mankind, which human
reason is, or an external judge which all mankind should submit unto as to
* Qu. falling ? ED.
CHAP. V.] GLOKY OF THE GOSPEL. 805
an oracle. But, my brethren, whatsoever power on earth shall be set up, the great end and scope of God in writing the Scriptures, is to make things known to his saints, and he hath taken a course, and made provision for them beyond all these. And what is that ?
(1.) He hath given to his saints his Spirit, who writ the Scripture, who knows the meaning of all the mysteries therein, and he is the supreme
judge ; and to be sure he gives this Spirit unto his saints : We have not
received the spirit of the world (1 Cor. ii. 12), but the Spirit which is of
God, that we may know the things that are freely given to us of God. Here is my word, here is my Spirit, saith he. Wherever God hath a saint, he doth by the ministry of the word convey his Spirit into that saint s heart, and teacheth him this mystery ; and let the world quarrel, that they have
not an infallible rule to judge by ; God never meant to satisfy the world ; he meant to make this mystery known to his saints.
* We have not
received the spirit of the world, saith he, that is, we have not only received
that principle, or that ability to judge of things which the world hath, which
carnal men in the world have, and whereby worldly things are judged, which
is that of human reason, &c., to beat out truths that way only, but we have received the Spirit which is of God. Here then lies the great wisdom, and love, and favour of God to his children, that he hath taken a course and made provision for them ; he hath given them his Spirit (for he can
give his Spirit to whom he will), and he will certainly lead all those he means to save, into so much truth as shall save them.
(2.) As God hath given to his saints his Spirit, so he doth give to them
alone an understanding on purpose to know the things of the gospel ; 1 John
v. 20, We know that the Son of God is come, and he hath given us an
understanding, that we may know him that is true. As they have the
Holy Ghost as a guide, so they have an understanding created on purpose for to know him that is true ; and therefore you may observe, that still the
* that the eyes of their mind may be en
apostles in their writings pray
lightened, &c.
(3.) As he hath given them a renewed understanding, so he hath put a new creature, his own image, into the whole man. And what is the image of God, that he thus puts in the whole man ? It is a thing suited to all
truths more or less. And because this image is imperfect, hence therefore
it is, that there being corruption and darkness in the holiest men, they cannot relish all truths ; darkness prevailing in respect of some truths, more than the light of God s image in them ; even as it doth in respect of
ignorance of some sins. But yet I say, as he hath given them his Spirit, as he hath given them a renewed understanding on purpose, a new eye, so he hath given them a new creature, his own image stamped upon their
wills and affections, which savoureth and relisheth what is true, as what is
agreeable unto it. God hath put into every creature a taste, and a discern
ing of what shall nourish it. A man by his taste discerneth what is good and what is ill for him in a great measure, what agreeth with his stomach and with his nature, finds what inflames him, what poisoneth him, what comforts him, the whole man feels it. So is it here. God hath suited all the truths of the gospel to the regenerate part, that, as some philosophers said, all truth is interwoven in the soul of man ; so, to be sure, all truth is interwoven in the image of God in a man. And as the senses in a man are suited to objects in the world, a man s eye to colours, his ear to sounds, his stomach to meats, so nath God made the things of the gospel to suit the regenerate part, and the regenerate part to suit them. And therefore VOL. iv. u
306 A DISCOURSE OF THE [CHAP. V.
in that 1 Cor. ii. 9, the things of the gospel are called things prepared for them that love him ; they are suited, suited on purpose as it were to them ; and in Philip, i. 9, the knowledge of the saints it is called sense, This I
pray, that your love may abound more and more in knowledge, and in all
sense, so the word is in the original, and in your margins. We translate
it in all judgment, but it is a judgment which ariseth from, or at least is
joined with sense, a taste, a suitableness that the soul hath to the things revealed. And so much now for the clearing of that also, To whom God would make known, &c. I come now to those two other properties that, in this 27th verse, are
attributed to the gospel of Jesus Christ. The one, that it is a rich mystery ; and the second, that it is a glorious mystery. To whom, saith he, God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery, &c. Riches and glory here doth not only refer to Christ himself, though mainly to him as the subject of the gospel as those next words, which is
Christ in you, &c., imply as if that Jesus Christ only were the riches, and the glory that the apostle here intended ; but it refers to the mystery, to the
doctrine that reveals this Christ also, which by reason of the riches that are
in him, which it revealeth, is a rich mystery and glorious. It refers there
fore both objectively unto Christ, and likewise to the gospel that reveals him ; because that Christ himself is so rich and glorious, therefore is the
gospel which reveals this Christ rich and glorious also. And indeed, ac
cording to the Hebraism, that is, that phrase that the Jews use to speak in, which the apostles do likewise often use in writing the New Testament, these two riches of glory are terms convertible, and his meaning is this, that the gospel it is either rich in respect of the glory of it, or glorious in
respect of the riches of it ; so as none knows whether the riches or the glory of it be greater. I shall first of all, therefore, open to you the riches of this
mystery.
Obs. The gospel itself, which revealeth the Lord Jesus Christ, and the
free grace of God in him, is a most rich gospel. In 2 Cor. iv., the apostle having spoken of the gospel (as you shall find he doth all along in that chapter, from the 1st verse to the 7th), and laid open the excellency of it in the glory thereof, what saith he when he hath done ?
We have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the power might be of God, and not of us. I am (saith Paul) but a poor man, I am but an earthen
vessel, made of the same clay mingled with sin, that other men are made of,
yet God hath been pleased to betrust me with a world of treasure. What
a world of treasure was lost though it was not lost, for he had preached
it out, and writ it but what a world of treasure was broken when that
earthen vessel was broken. And what was that treasure ? It was (as the
coherence evidently carries it) the gospel. Hence is it that every believer, that believeth this gospel and the truths of it, is said to be rich in faith, James ii. 5, and in 1 Cor. i. 5, to be rich in all knowledge. The know
ledge of the gospel is a rich knowledge, and the faith of the gospel is a rich
faith, and the gospel itself is a treasure, saith Paul, which poor earthen
vessels carry about with them. Now riches imply these three things 1. A preciousness. 2. Abundance.
3. Profitableness and gain. And the things the gospel revealeth, and the truths contained therein, and the knowledge thereof unto those that are the true owners and professors of them, and do make them theirs, are rich in all these respects.
CHAP. V.] GLOEY OF THE GOSPEL. 807
1. First, There is a preciousness in all the truths the gospel doth reveal. Not only Jesus Christ is said to be precious, as the foundation and corner
stone (that you have in 1 Peter ii. 6, I will lay in Sion a chief corner-stone, elect and precious ), but the truths that are built upon Christ are all pre cious too ; so you have it in 1 Cor. iii. 10, I, saith he, as a wise master-
builder have laid the foundation, which is Jesus Christ, the great precious stone of all the rest ; now if any man shall build upon this foundation,
gold, silver, precious stones, so he calls all the truths that are built upon this foundation there is not a truth of the gospel but it is more worth than
gold, more rich than precious stones ; and then he expresseth all the false hoods that men build thereupon by wood, and hay, and stubble that will be burnt up, but by gold and precious stones, he means those truths that will
abide the fire. So that every truth of the gospel that is built upon Jesus
Christ, that is the superstructure of it, are all pearls and precious stones, and gold, and silver ; they have degrees of excellencies indeed, but they all have a preciousness in them. I shall not need to enlarge more about it, I
will only quote one place, and so open the particulars in which the gospel is precious. Prov. iii. 14 ; speaking there of wisdom, he saith, The merchandise of it is better than the merchandises of silver, and the gain thereof than fine gold ; and if there be anything better than these (and yet the world hath turned these up as the great things that should master all
the rest), he prefers it before them. Precious stones, you know, are more
precious than silver and gold. Why, saith he, Wisdom is more precious than
rubies ; and yet because the hearts of men imagine there is something more
precious than these, he addeth, All the things thou canst desire are not to be compared unto her. This he speaks of wisdom, which is the knowledge of Jesus Christ, and he speaks of it as he knew it even under the time of the law ; he valued every truth, and every part of it, above gold, and silver, and rubies, and whatever the heart of man could think precious.
Every truth of the gospel is precious in these five respects
(1.) Antiquity makes things precious. Small pieces of coin that contain not much in value, if they be old, are prized ; any old medal, or old pieces of brass, or of gold, and silver coined in the time of the Roman emperors, or in the time of the Grecian, any piece that hath Alexander s image and
stamp upon it, and the like, how do your antiquaries esteem it ! How more precious do they think it than a great deal of gold
! Now if antiquity commend anything to you, why, there is never a truth of the gospel but was coined in heaven, and coined from everlasting. It is the everlasting gospel, and it bears the image of God upon it.
(2.) Things far fetched are precious. She fetcheth her merchandise from afar, saith Solomon, Prov. xxxi. There is not a word of this gospel, but it came from afar, it came from heaven. Jesus Christ came himself from heaven on purpose to reveal it. Heb. xii. 25, comparing law and
gospel together, says the apostle, If they escape not that refused him that
spake from earth, much more shall not we escape, if we turn away from him that speaks from heaven. Who doth he mean by him that speaks from earth, and who by him that spake from heaven ? Why, Moses and
* the law came by Moses, and the law came but from earth ; but the gospel, every tittle of it, came from heaven. The law comes out of a man s own heart, it was written in man s heart on earth,
Christ. Moses gave the law,
namely, in Adam s innocency, and there is a great deal of it written even
* they do the things of the law, which are
in the hearts of wicked men ;
written in their hearts, saith the apostle, Rom. ii. But not a word of this
308 A DISCOURSE OF THE [CHAP. Y.
truth of the gospel was written in Adam s heart ; no, it was written in God s heart, it was hid in God, it came from heaven.
(3.) Things that are dearly bought you account precious. There is not one truth of the gospel, but it cost the blood of Jesus Christ. You will
easily grant, there is no grace you have but it cost Christ s blood ; why, my brethren, there is no truth you have that is a gospel truth, but it cost
the blood of Christ. The law did not cost Christ s blood, for the law was
written in Adam s heart, and without the supposition of his death, it was
given to Adam in paradise ; but not a tittle of the gospel, not a promise of
it, but depends upon the blood of Christ. In him all the promises are yea and amen, 2 Cor. i. 20, and they are therefore
* exceeding precious pro mises ; so Peter calls them, 2 Pet. i. 4, for they all cost the blood of
Christ. We could have had no promise if Christ had not paid the thing promised ; not a promise had been written if Jesus Christ had not died to make it so ; they had all been blanks but for his death.
(4.) Things charily and warily laid up are precious. The gospel and all
the truths of it have had the richest cabinet that ever was. First, it had God s heart, it was hid in God (as I said afore), Eph. iii. 9. Then there was a copy of it transcribed into Christ s heart, and he came into this world full of grace and truth, as full of the truths of the gospel as he could
hold. Then doth God transcribe it out of Christ s heart into the hearts of
< Ye are manifestly declared to be the epistle of
his elect ; 2 Cor. iii. 3,
Christ ministered by us, written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the
living God, not in tables of stone, but in fleshly tables of the heart.
(5.) Things that perish not, but still do vindicate themselves from cor
ruption, they also are precious. Why is gold and silver precious ? Because
that gold if put into the fire, though it will melt, yet it will not be lost, it
* faith is more precious than gold. Why ? Because it perisheth not, though it be tried in the fire. Gold in time will perish ; if you try it too often, it will come to nothing ; but faith, the more you try it, the more precious it is, there is not a dram of it lost
will not be consumed. But, 1 Pet. i. 7,
at any time. And the doctrine of faith, and of the gospel, is of the same
nature, it will never perish, and it will still vindicate itself from corruption ;
though men mingle it, as always in the bringing forth of truths certainly men mingle a great deal of dross, and of their own wisdom and artifice, but
that Spirit that is in the truth itself will work out all that dross in time. Never take care* to have the truth of God clear. We may be doubtful of it
in many things in our age ; it is certain the next age, or an age after, will
clear it ; the truth hath a spirit in it that will still purify it. In 1 Cor.
iii. 13, saith the apostle there, where he calls truth gold, and silver, and
* Every man s work, saith he, namely, every minister s
precious stones,
work, whether he preach truth or whether he preach falsehood, whether he preacheth gold, silver, precious stones (so he calls the truths of the
* it shall be made mani
gospel), or whether he preach wood, hay, stubble,
fest, for the day shall declare it, whether it be precious stones or no, be
cause, saith he, it shall be revealed by fire, and the fire shall try every man s work of what sort it is. He speaks evidently of the doctrines men
preach or hold forth in the world ; still there will come a more clear daylight that shall reveal them, and there will come a fire, and if it be hay or stubble, or whatever it is that is dross, or falsehood, or error mingled with the truth,
it shall be burnt up. As when you go and burn cloth of silver or of gold, * That is, Do not be over anxious, as if it depended on you. Certainly Goodwin did not mean to inculcate indifference as to the clearing of the truth. ED.
CHAP. V.] GLORY OF THE GOSPEL. 309
all the cloth is burnt up, but the silver and gold remains," so it is here ; and the Holy Ghost will never leave till he hath purified his truth thoroughly. Therefore the psalmist saith, The words of the Lord are pure words
(Ps. xii. 6), as silver tried in a furnace, purified seven times. You know,
they that purify silver to the purpose use to put it in the fire again and
again that it may be thoroughly tried. So is the truth of God ; there is
scarce any truth but hath been tried over and over again, and still if any dross happen to mingle with it, then God calls it in question again. If in former times there have been scriptures alleged that have not been perti nent to prove it, that truth shall into the fire again, that what is dross may be burnt up ; the Holy Ghost is so curious, so delicate, so exact, he cannot bear that falsehood should be mingled with the truths of the gospel.
. That
is the reason, therefore, why that God doth still, age after age, call former
things in question, because that there is still some dross one way or other
mingled with it ; either in the stating of the opinions themselves, or else in
the scriptures that are brought and alleged for them, that have passed for
current, for he will never leave till he hath purified it. The doctrine of God s free grace hath been tried over, and over, and over again. Pelagius he begins and he mingles his dross with it : he saith, grace is nothing but
nature in man. Well, his doctrine was purified, and a great deal of dross
purged out. Then comes the semi-Pelagians, and they part stakes ; they
say, nature can do nothing without grace, but they make nature to concur with grace, and to have an influence as well as grace ; and the dross of
that was burnt up. The papists they take up the same quarrel, but will
neither be Pelagians nor semi-Pelagians, yet still mingle dross. ^The Armi-
nians, they come and they refine popery in that point anew ; still they mingle dross. God will have this truth tried seven times in the fire, till he hath brought it forth as pure as pure may be. And I say it is, because
that truth is thus precious. And so much now for that first head, that
it is a rich gospel in regard of the preciousness of the truths that are therein.
2. The second thing that is proper to riches is abundance. Now the
doctrine of the gospel hath abundance of truth and knowledge in it. Take
all philosophy, all the books of human wisdom and learning, if they were
all distilled, if you could extract the quintessence of them all, there is not
so much knowledge as one book of the New Testament contains. In this
Col. ii. 3, saith this apostle there, do you stick to the knowledge of Jesus
Christ, and do not leave that, for in him are hid all the treasures of wis dom and knowledge. There is all sorts, both wisdom and knowledge, and
there is all wisdom and knowledge, and there are all treasures of wisdom and knowledge hid in this Christ, who is revealed to you in this gospel. It is all knowledge by way of eminency, as they use to say metaphysics are : it contains all knowledge, because it swallows up all the axioms of all
other sciences. I may say of all other learning and knowledge whatsoever,
they are all by way of eminency swallowed up in the truths of the gospel. As the person of Jesus Christ contains by way of eminency all the excel
lencies in the creature, so the knowledge of Jesus Christ contains all the
excellency of whatsoever knowledge can be had, the knowledge of governing kingdoms, the knowledge of nature, or the things of nature, or the know
ledge of the law, or of whatever else. Our Saviour Christ, as he was full
of grace, so he was full of truth ; John i. 14, We saw his glory, as the
glory of the only begotten Son of God, full of grace and truth. He came
so rich into this world, he had such abundance of treasures, that he
brought forth continually some truths or other. He was full of grace to
310 A DISCOURSE OF THE [CHAP. V.
fill the will and affection, and full of truth to fill the understanding and judgment ; and those truths did comprehensively take in all sorts of truths that ever were uttered, in a transcendent manner. Solomon he had a heart as large for knowledge in natural things, as the sea is full of sands ; he had as many notions in his head as there be sands upon the sea-shore. This Solomon, Jesus Christ that came from heaven, he had his heart larger than the sea, as large as heaven itself, he was full of truth. Saith David, who knew but the law (I mean the law in distinction from the gospel, as we know it, and as it is now revealed), yet saith he in Ps. cxix., I have seen an end of all perfection, but thy law is exceeding broad ; he saw such a vastness in the knowledge of the law as he stood aghast at it ; as if a man should stand in the midst of the sea, it is so broad, so vast, he cannot see where it ends ; I can see to the end (saith he) of all perfection else, but I cannot see to the end of thy law, it is so full, so broad. And therefore in 2 Cor. iii. the apostle tells us they did not see to the end of his ministry ;
ay, but, my brethren, the gospel is much more endless, for what doth John
say in that place quoted even now, when he said Christ was full of grace and truth, he speaks in opposition to the law, The law came by Moses, saith he, but grace and truth by Jesus Christ ; and we saw his glory, and we saw him full of grace and truth. Moses his law was but a scanty busi
ness, though it was exceeding broad, and David saw an end of it ; but the
knowledge of Christ, and of what is contained in the gospel, they do so abound as they are unsearchable. So the apostle saith, Eph. iii. 8, That I may preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ ; and Paul himself, though he had abundance of revelations (as he saith in 2 Cor.
xii.), yet he professeth that he knew but in part, such abundance is there
in the truths of the gospel. The times of the gospel therefore, they are
like the times of Solomon, in which the scripture saith, silver was as the stones in the street ; so Jesus Christ hath filled the world with the riches
* The riches of the Gentiles, and the riches of the world, wherein the precious truths revealed concerning him, they are as common as the stones in the streets, and as many for number, if men had eyes to see them, and hearts, and heads, and hands to
of the gospel, for so the gospel is called,
dig for them, and search them out of the mines in which they lie. And so much now for the second head, viz., that the gospel is a rich gospel, in
regard of the abundance of truth and knowledge contained in it.
8. Thirdly, All the truths of the gospel are likewise rich in regard of the
gain and profitableness of them ; they do make those rich that are the pos sessors of them. There are in the world a great many curiosities of know
ledge, which men do pride and boast themselves in ; the trial of the secrets of nature, and the experiments thereof. But usually all such knowledge doth impoverish all those that are retainers to it. But the knowledge of the gospel is clean otherwise, it possesseth them that know it by faith of
all the treasure it revealeth. It is not like stories that do set forth glori ous and rich things to you, yet when stories do so they do mightily take
you, but you may read such stories and be poor men still. But the
gospel, as it reveals to you infinite riches, so it possesseth you of them ; therefore what doth the Holy Ghost say here ? Which riches is Christ
in you, saith he, for the particle which refers to riches as well as to mys
tery, and indeed to both. And therefore in Prov. iii., a place I quoted afore for the preciousness of wisdom and all the wares thereof, it is not only compared to rubies for the worth and preciousness of it, but for the gain and profitableness of it also ; Happy is the man that findeth understand-
CHAP. V.] GLORY OF THE GOSPEL. 311
ing, for the merchandise of it is better than the merchandise of silver, and
the gain thereof than of fine gold. And if the heart of man in its vast
desires could think of any more precious things unknown, stretch the
compass of your desires to the utmost, yet saith he, All the things thou canst desire cannot be compared to her : so ver. 15.
If you ask me, wherein lies this riches ? It lies in wisdom, says Solo mon, and that wisdom is Christ, says the text. Which riches, saith he,
1 is Christ in you. We all acknowledge that God is infinitely rich and
blessed in himself, Philip, iv. 19, My God shall supply all your need, ac
cording to his riches in glory by Jesus Christ; riches in glory, for God s
riches lie in glory most, and he communicateth them to all believers in and by Jesus Christ, and Jesus Christ s becoming yours ( Which is Christ
in you, saith the text) hence you come to have a title and interest in all those riches of God that God himself possesseth. This is certain, that Jesus Christ is worth all that God is worth. He is God s only Son, and he is his heir (he is said to be the heir of all things, Heb. i. 2) ; and God
will not give one penny from him, as I may so express it to you. Now this
glorious gospel which we preach, if received and entertained, makes Jesus Christ yours, and all his riches. And therefore in 1 Cor. iii. 22, the apostle thus pleads the title of a Christian, Whether Paul, or Apollos, or Cephas, or the world, or life, or death, or things present, or things to come, all are
yours, and ye are Christ s, and Christ is God s. Here I say you have, as the inventory of a Christian, so the title by which all things are derived to him.
* All things are yours, saith he, why God himself is worth but all
* All
things, and Jesus Christ (as I said) is worth all that God is worth ;
things are yours, for ye are Christ s, and Christ is God s. And therefore, in Rom. viii. 17, we are said to be heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ ; not only heirs of God, as a son is said to be the heir of his father, that is, that he is the bequeather, but we are said to be heirs of God
materially, heirs of God himself, for he is our inheritance, and we are jointheirs with Christ ; we are so put into God s will, that as men are said
to be joint purchasers with another, so we are said to be joint-heirs with
Christ. Joint purchasers we are not, that is Christ s prerogative alone, but when it comes to matter of inheritance, then we are joint-heirs with
Christ.
* He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things ? There is not only all things that you possess, and the title, as joint-heirs with Christ, but you have it
And that which we are to possess is a free estate, Rom. viii. 32,
freely ; there is no debts to pay out of it, no portions, no legacies, but you are heirs of all things, and of all things freely. And then do but consider what the revenues of Christ s blood are. Look what both Christ s personal interest in all things would convey to you
: so much is a Christian worth ; and look what the purchase of Christ s blood
is : so rich is a Christian also that entertains the gospel. I say two things. First t Our Saviour Christ is personally the heir of all things, and you have the same title he hath, being joint-heirs with him. Then this heir laid all that he was heir of down again to make a further purchase ; and do but think now what a purchase this must needs be, what riches it must needs arise to. In 2 Cor. viii. 9,
* Ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich (for he was rich, as he was the heir of all things), yet for your sakes he became poor. Why? That ye through his
poverty might be rich. Jesus Christ is first rich as the heir, and ye
312 A DISCOURSE OF THE [CHAP. V.
are ordained joint-heirs with him, by that title. But he that is the heir of
all things becomes poor, and poor on purpose to purchase, if it be possible, more riches, or the same over and over again. As it is in Philip, i. 8,
* He
thought it no robbery to be equal with God. As in glory, so in riches, he had as great and as good an estate as God himself hath, and it was no
robbery, it was no stealth. He came not by it by any such course or way,
it is no unjust claim that he laid to it ; yet he emptied himself, he left him
self not worth one farthing. He emptied himself, so saith the text, as in
respect of glory, so in respect of riches. He became poor, and as we may express it, not worth the ground he went on, for he had not a hole to hide
his head in ; women ministered unto him. Now I say, this heir of all
things made over all his riches, and did it all for you ; it is said in that Prov. iii., The merchandise of wisdom is better than that of fine gold. When Wisdom, Christ himself (I do not say that is the meaning of the
place, only I allude to it, and speak in the expression of it), shall put forth
all the riches he hath in a way of merchandise to have it returned again, and become poor to make us rich, do but think now what riches this must needs amount unto.
Now the gospel therefore is a rich gospel, not only because it doth
reveal and is the story of all these riches, but because it possesseth you of
them, and is your bond for it. The gospel, I say, and all the promises of
it, are the bond that you have to shew for all these riches, and in that
respect it is rich. When our Lord and Saviour Christ laid down all his
riches, and laid down his blood to purchase riches for us, what is it that he hath to shew for it ? He hath but the promises of the gospel, which God hath made to him, and made to us in and through him ; therefore as a man is said to be rich, though he be rich but in bonds, if they be sure
bonds, so is a Christian, he is rich in promises. Compare for this Eph.
iii. ver. 6 with ver. 8. At the 6th verse, saith he, That the Gentiles should be fellow-heirs, and partakers of his promise in Christ, by the gos
* That I should
pel. Now what is it the gospel containeth ? Eead ver. 8 :
preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ. Where lie
all these riches ? They lie in the promises ; we are now partakers but of the promises of the gospel. They are unsearchable riches, which cannot be told over to eternity, and the promises are the conveyers of them, and
in these promises do our estates lie for the present, but it is a sure estate ; and in this respect Peter calleth them exceeding great and precious pro mises, 2 Pet. i. 4. And, therefore, although you will say a Christian hath
nothing, it is true, but he is rich in promises ; and our apostle answers it in
that 2 Cor. vi. 10, As having nothing, yet possessing all things. Why ? Because a Christian possesseth Christ; which riches is Christ in you, saith the text here. It is all one to be rich in bonds, and rich in money told by you, and that is all the difference between your estate here and in heaven: in heaven you have the money, the thing itself; and here you have the possession of the bonds themselves.
It were infinite to go over all the inventory of a Christian ; I have there
fore done it in a short, brief sum. Here are riches in Christ to pay all
thy debts the first day thou comest in ; and to pay all thy debts thou shalt run into God (and it would have beggared all the angels in heaven to pay for one sin), and when that is done, thou hast a righteousness so rich as
the angels never possessed, a robe stuck so full of jewels (for such is every action of Christ, and all his sufficiency) as never came upon the angels back. Every grace thou hast is a rich thing; rich in faith, James ii. ;
CHAP. V.] GLORY OF THE GOSPEL. 313
rich in assurance, Col. ii. 2. In a word, hath God any more riches ? His
Spirit is as rich as Christ too, and thou hast him. It is a phrase used in
Tit. iii. 6, He hath poured his Spirit richly on us ; so it is in the original and in your margins. And then thou hast all the riches of glory in the world to come, when thou art to be the possessor of all this. And this the
gospel reveals to thee, and makes thee possessor of it that art a believer ; and although the meanest Christian, if he have but the least knowledge of
the gospel, is possessed of this, yet the more he comes to know the gospel, the more he comes to know his own riches.
First, Therefore, my brethren (that I may make a use or two of this, and
so pass on to the next), it is a very great invitement to us to be acquainted with all the things of the gospel of Christ ; for still what dost thou do ? Thou dost but study over thine own riches, and increase thine own inven
tory, cornest to the knowledge of things thou never dreamedst of should be
thine. The angels do study the gospel, and pry into it, but it is not
their riches ; it is not ichicJi riches is Christ in angels, but it is, which
riches is Christ in you. It is a thing worth your observation, that in
Eph. iii., speaking of the excellency of the gospel, and the riches of it, he
saith, that it is made manifest to all men, and likewise to angels, but with
this difference, unto men it is called the unsearchable riches of Christ ; so
ver. 8, That I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches
of Christ ; but when he speaks of the angels knowing of it, he calls it wis dom : so ver. 10.
* To the intent, saith he,
* that now unto the princi
palities and powers in heavenly places might be known by the church the manifold wisdom of God. The angels are taken with the wisdom of it, but thou mayest be taken with the riches that are in it ; not only with the wisdom of it, though that takes the angels, and may take thee ; but it is
riches to thee, but wisdom only unto them.
Secondly, Is the gospel thus rich in its preciousness and abundance ? Then let us take heed that we do not sell any part of the truths of the gos
* Buy the truth, saith Solomon, Prov. xxiii. 22,
pel which have been revealed to us.
* but sell it not ; for if you do you sell your riches, you part with your estates. This kingdom, and this city (for aught I know) hath been the greatest mart of truth for this last age, of any part of the
world, and Wisdom hath cried her wares here \ more than in any other
place. There is nothing more the riches of a kingdom or a city than the
gospel ; it is the expression the Holy Ghost hath in Eom. xi. 12, where, speaking of the gospel, when it was revealed to the Gentiles, he calls it,
* the riches of the Gentiles and the riches of the world, in the same place. Take heed, therefore, of parting with any of the truths of the gospel, those truths that have been cried,* that have run through the fire so much in all ages, for let me tell you this, that when God did first deliver to the
saints in the primitive times, all that the apostles said went then for cur rent in a manner ; but when they were gone, God presently went and began to put every truth to a trial, first one and then another. That there is one God, and one Christ his Son, and that he is God as well as man, and hath a true human nature ; all these fundamental truths were the exercise and conflicts against heretics and heathens, that the holy Christians in the primitive times suffered for. Then God put this truth
into the fire, whether Christ was God or no, and all the world turned Arian ; but he tried it, and it hath stood, and doth stand, and is continued
to this day. He hath likewise put the doctrine of free grace into the fire. * Qu. tried ? ED.
314 A DISCOURSE OF THE [CHAP. V.
He began to do it presently after Arianism was down ; he hath tried it
over, and over, and over, and it is still propagated purer and purer. Now I say, all those truths that God hath thus suffered to run through the fire, which we now possess by the blood of Jesus Christ, and by the blood of
martyrs, and the conflicts of the saints in all ages, should be preserved by us. I beseech you, give not up those truths, for they are your riches.
Shall we now in this age question the foundation of religion ? for so some
do. Will you sell away those things that have been derived to us age after age at such cost ? Oh let us possess them as our dearest treasures. Let us value the truths of the gospel as Paul did. I profited, saith he, in knowledge more than any of my brethren, equals, or as much as any. Oh, thought he once, when he had got a form of the knowledge of the law in his head, what a treasure have I ! But, saith he, Phil. iii. 7, 8, The things I counted gain to me, thought myself rich by them, I esteemed all to be but loss and dung, for the excellency of the knowledge of Jesus Christ my Lord. My brethren, let us not sell the truth. God never takes it away from a nation or a people till they sell it, as Esau did
his birthright. The Lord had made the Jews his market for truth ; to them were committed the oracles of God, Rom. iii. 2, and therefore because he had committed to them the truth, and they had been the pillar of it, when the gospel came to be preached, they must have the first offer of
it, they must have the refusal of it before God would carry it to another market.
* It was necessary, saith Paul and Barnabas, preaching to the
Jews, Acts xii. 46, that the word of God should first have been spoken unto you
: but seeing you put it from you, seeing you refuse it, carry your selves unworthy of it, we will go to the Gentiles.
And, last of all, let the doctrine of the gospel dwell plenteously in you ;
let it dwell richly in you, for so the expression is, Col. iii. 16. And let us labour to be enriched with all the knowledge of; as it is in 1 Cor. ii. 5,
let us grow rich in faith, for the more you know, the richer you are.
But you will say, I am estated into all the riches of the gospel, if I have but the least spark of faith, and all the riches of Christ are mine.
I confess that all the riches of Christ are thine. But let me tell thee
this, the more thou growest, after thou believest, in the knowledge of the
gospel, the more thou growest in the knowledge of thine own riches ; and what a happiness is that ! And though thou hast all the riches of Christ, and all the promises, and all the truths of the gospel tend for to comfort
thee, and to make thee happy and rich, and will one day make thee so ;
yet in the mean time, till thou increasest in the knowledge of it, till thou
hast assurance of the things thou knowest, thou art in thine own appre hension but a poor man. There is that maketh himself poor, but is
rich, saith Solomon ; which is the case of many poor souls, who either want assurance, or else do content themselves with a little knowledge, only so much as may save them. So that now here is the advantage of a man growing in knowledge, that the more he knows of the gospel of Christ, the more he knoweth his own riches ; and if a man had no other work but
to tell over money newly given him every day, he would surely count it the
pleasantest work in the world. If thou couldst grow every day in a new
degree of knowledge, whilst thou dost thereby grow the more in the know
ledge of thine own riches, how happy must thou needs be ! And so much now for that attribute that is here given to the gospel, it is a mystery, and
it is a rich mystery.
CHAP. VI.] GLORY OF THE GOSPEL. 315
CHAPTEK VI.
That the gospel is most excellent, because it is a most glorious revelation of God and Christ to us.
The next thing that is (in Col. i. 27) attributed to the gospel is, that it
is a glorious gospel. The apostle, when he speaks of the glory of things
spiritual, usually gives the title of riches to them ; thus, in Rom. ix. 23, when he speaks of the glory that is in God, he calleth it riches of glory ; so in Eph. i. 18, when he speaks of heaven, he calleth it riches of glory; and here, when he speaks of the gospel of Christ, he calleth it likewise
* riches of glory. I need not stand to give you many Scriptures in which the gospel is
called glorious. I shall quote you hut one or two. First, that in 1 Tim.
i. 11, according to the glorious gospel of the blessed God, and he speaks
it in opposition to the law clearly. He saith that the law is good, ver. 8 ; but when he comes to speak of the gospel, he calls that glorious, for glory
is the superexcellency and superlative of goodness. You have one whole
chapter (viz., 2 Cor. iii.) that shews the glory of this gospel; and indeed more than that one chapter, for the apostle doth enlarge his discourse of it
to the 6th verse of the 4th chapter. And there also he calls it treasure
(as in ver. 7), as he had called it glory in all the discourse before ; and as he had done in Timothy, so here in this chapter of the Corinthians, he
compares it with the law. He doth acknowledge that the law had a kind of glory in it; so ver. 7, If the ministration of death, written and engraven in stones, was glorious, so that the children of Israel could not stedfastly behold the face of Moses for the glory of his countenance ; which glory was to be done away
: how shall not the ministration of the Spirit be rather glorious ? For if the ministration of condemnation be glory, much more doth the ministration of righteousness exceed in glory. I shall take
all these arguments afore I have done, to shew how glorious the gospel is, both because it is the ministration of the Spirit, and because it is the minis
tration of a glorious righteousness ; but now I only quote it for this in the
general, that the apostle, though he attributeth a glory to the law, yet in
comparison of the gospel he makes it no glory ; for so it follows, verse 10, Even that which was made glorious had no glory in this respect, by reason of the glory that excelleth.
The law was glorious (and yet that glory which it had, he saith, was but a made glory), first, in the promulgation of it, which indeed was a very re semblance of the day of judgment ; for God, when he came to give the law
to sinners, came down from heaven and placed his tabernacle upon Mount
Sinai, like unto a judge, attended with glorious angels (for the law was
given by angels ), and with many glorious miracles, thunder, and earth
quake, and fire, and smoke, and the sound of a trumpet. Even as the
glory of a kingdom is most seen when they go to enact laws, for then the
king and all the nobles go in their parliament robes ; and so your judges, when they go to execute the laws, to condemn men, go attended with the sound of a trumpet, and halberds, &c. So God, when he came to give the
law, came attended with all this glory.
And then, secondly, as the law was glorious in respect of the promulga tion of it, so in respect of Jie matter of it. For the moral law, of which the apostle specially speaks, for he speaks of that law which was written
316 A DISCOURSE OF THE [CHAP. VI
and engraven in stones, had a glory in it. Why ? This is a certain rule, whatsoever holds forth the image of God hath a glory in it, for the least
ray or beam of God hath glory in it ; and if the law be the image of God,
if God be glorious, that must be glorious too. Now, the law holds forth the image of God s mind. Therefore it is, that man in his first creation is
called the glory of God, because he was the image of God, and hence there
fore the grace in Adam was called glory ; and so I think it is the best inter
pretation, or at leastwise one great part of the meaning of that in Kom.
iii. 23, All have sinned, and come short of the glory of God. It is meant of the image of God plainly ; for in 1 Cor. xi. 7, the glory of God and his
image are made all one. They are fallen from that grace and righteousness which at first God did implant in them, by which they were justified, and so
are come short of the favour of God, which did shine upon them. And hence likewise in 2 Cor. iv. 4, the gospel is said to be glorious, because it holds forth Jesus Christ, the image of God. Now the law, therefore, con
taining the image of God, had a glory in it materially. In these two
respects, I say, the law was glorious: 1. In the promulgation of it, God
put a state upon it when he delivered it ; and, 2. in respect of the matter of it, because it contains the image of God.
But now, my brethren, the gospel infinitely excelleth in glory in both
these respects. I will not stand so much upon the first, because it is not
so proper to the text, yet somewhat I will say of it. The gospel, in the
promulgation of it, had all the glory that could be put upon it. What
greater glory than for a king, before he comes himself in state, to have a
train of men of four thousand years ? So had Jesus Christ. Before he came into the world to give the gospel, what a long train had he ! For
all the patriarchs and prophets were but his forerunners, his train, men
that went before him ; and at last came John the Baptist, who was greater than all those patriarchs and prophets, because he came next to Jesus Christ, and because he spake more gospel than all of them had done. You have an express place for it in Isa. xl., 3d, 4th, and 5th verses compared, where
the glory of the gospel is held forth by this, that it had this forerunner, The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the
Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for our God, &c. ; and saith
he, ver. 5, The glory of the Lord shall be revealed. Because it was so
great a glory, he ushereth it in thus by John Baptist. It is true indeed, there was no sound of a trumpet, nor no earthquakes ; but you shall see
there was as much, for after all this train was past, and all these forerunners
gone by, comes Jesus Christ himself, the brightness of his Father s glory, and the express image of his person, whose shoe-latchet, saith John
Baptist, who was yet more than a prophet, I am not worthy to unloose.
Compare for this but the first chapter of the Hebrews, and the third verse
* That in these
of the second chapter together. In the first chapter, he saith,
last days God hath spoken unto us by his Son, and then he sheweth what
* he was heir of all things, and that by him also God made the worlds, that he was the express image of his Father s person ; and all this to the end, that he might shew forth the glory of the gospel ; as appears, chap. ii. ver. 2. For, saith he, If the word spoken by angels was so stedfast and excellent, how much more shall that word be which was spoken by so great a Lord ; so ver. 3. And when Jesus did first come
a Son this was, that
to be inaugurated, before he preached one sermon (for his inauguration is re
corded by the evangelists before he preached one sermon) it was by a voice
coming immediately from heaven, saying, This is my well-beloved Son,
CHAP. VI. J GLOEY OF THE GOSPEL. 317
in whom I am well pleased. You have the same afterwards in Luke xvii. when he was transfigured, when he appeared all in his glory. Moses his
face did but shine, but Jesus Christ s face, clothes, and all shone all over ; and then cometh a voice from heaven too, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased, hear him. It is a preface to the gospel. Here
is a Lord of glory, saith he, when he had shewn him in all his glory ; here he is, hear him, take that gospel that he delivereth from his mouth, for
here is the reality of Moses his shadow. There was a voice came from the
excellent glory, BO Peter hath it, which is more than the sound of a trumpet which angels made upon the mount at the promulgation of the law. Here when this gospel came to be delivered, when it was first begun to be spoken by the Lord, all the three persons give witness and testimony, and instead
of angels the Holy Ghost cometh down ; and instead of the voice of angels, here is a voice from heaven, even the voice of God himself ; and instead of Moses shining with his face, here is Moses and Elias both appearing in
glory with Jesus Christ, who put them down clean ; for, saith John, speak
* We saw his glory, as the glory of the only be
ing of his transfiguration,
gotten Son of God ; which glory of his was as evidently to be distinguished from the glory of Moses and Elias, as the glory of the sun is from that of
the stars. And, my brethren, what was the purpose of presenting Christ
in that glory upon the mount ? It is evident, it was in answer to the glory of Moses his face, who was the deliverer of the law, and that upon this
ground ; because there is a voice come from heaven, from the excellent
glory, saying, This is my beloved Son, hear him. And then when Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, that first gave this gospel, went to heaven, what follows ? Why, a world of glories, beams of glories, were still scattered to confirm it ; 1 Peter i. 10,
* Of which salvation the
prophets did prophesy, and of the sufferings of Christ, and of the glories that should follow, (so it is in the original). For when Jesus Christ him
self ascended and entered into glory, he poured down glorious gifts, he
poured down a glorious Spirit, he poured down this gospel, whereof he had but the substance of it in brief sayings, which the apostles delivered to us. So you have it in Heb. ii. 3. As it was first preached by the Lord, so he
saith it was confirmed by signs and wonders, and divers miracles, and by
giving of the Holy Ghost. And this was the glory of the gospel in respect of the promulgation of it, which indeed is not so much the scope of the
text, yet because the apostle in that 2 Cor. iii. speaks of the promulgation of the law, and of the glory of it in that respect, when he compares it with the gospel and the glory of it, I thought good a little to handle it. But,
Secondly, As the gospel exceeded the law in glory, in respect of the pro mulgation of it ; so let us compare the matter of the gospel with that of the
law, and we shall find it likewise to be transcendently glorious in that respect
also. The law, I told you, was a glorious law, because it contained the
image of God, so far as dead letters could hold forth that image. The law written in Adam s heart was the image of God, and that] being blotted out,
God took a copy of what was in Adam s heart, so that indeed the law is rather an image of the image of God, than the image of God properly ;
it is but the image of the image that was in Adam s heart, and but a literal
picture of it. But now the gospel must needs be much more glorious, because,
First, It is the gospel of Jesus Christ, who is the express image of the
person of his Father, so you have it, Heb. i. 2, 3, who is the heir of all
things (speaking of Christ), the brightness of his glory, and the express
318 A DISCOURSE OF THE [CHAP. VI.
image of his person. Now do but look how more glorious the image of a man in his son like himself, who hath the same reason in him, and pro perties of all kinds that himself hath, excelleth the image of his mind, or of his thoughts delivered in writing ; so doth Jesus Christ excel that image of God expressed in the law. And it is this which makes the gospel so glorious, because it is the gospel of Christ, who is the image of God ; so the apostle saith in 2 Cor. iv. 4, Lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who
is the image of God, should shine unto them ; hence therefore in Isa. xl. 4, Christ is called, the glory of the Lord. Therefore look how far the image of God stamped upon Jesus Christ exceeds the image of God in Adam s
heart, and therefore must needs excel the image of God in the law, which
is indeed but the copy of the image, so much doth the gospel exceed the law in glory, and all the knowledge of it. The law, I say, is the copy of the image of God in man s heart, but the gospel is the glass in which the
image of God in Christ, and the glory of Christ, appeareth.
I will not stand to enlarge much upon that subject, to shew you how transcendent an image there is stamped upon Christ ; I have done it else
where, in opening the 18th and 19th verses of this chapter. And that Jesus Christ is the great subject of the gospel, I intend, by the blessing of God, to speak of that, taking chap. ii. ver. 2, where the gospel is called the
mystery of God, and of the Father, and of Christ ; these being the subject of the gospel. I will now only shew you, how glorious the gospel must needs be, that doth hold forth the glory of Christ, and how lively it holds it
forth.
My brethren, let me tell you the story of it a little. The apostles that
* they saw his glory, as the glory of the only be
lived with Jesus Christ,
gotten Son of God ; so you have it in John i. 14. And as John s expres sion is (and he speaks feelingly) in 1 John i. 1,
* That which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled; they handled him, that is, they had a sensible know
ledge of him, their ears took in his gracious words, their eyes beheld him, beheld his glorious miracles, beheld the glory that God stamped upon him when he was in the mount, and had that voice from the excellent glory. Well, but Jesus Christ is gone to heaven, and all his glory is taken up with him ; and these apostles that saw Jus glory were all to leave the earth, and
therefore though it is true that we shall one day be where he is, according to his prayer, John xvii. 24, that we may behold his glory, yet how in the mean time should we come to see this image of God, and the glory of Jesus
Christ, who in that place of Isaiah is called the glory of the Lord ? Jesus
Christ therefore did by his apostles frame up a doctrine of the gospel, which
is left written by them ; for he having delivered it unto them, they have
declared it unto us ; so you have it in the forementioned place, 1 John i. 3, That which we have seen and heard, declare we unto you. He declared
it first to them, and they while they lived preached the same gospel by word
of mouth, and then left it unto us in writing, that so in the opening of it by
pastors and teachers to the end of the world, we may come to see Christ, as the apostles did, in respect of his glorious excellencies. Now this glorious
gospel which the apostles have thus left in writing, and which we poor ministers in all ages do expound as well as we can unto you, what is it ?
It is the lively image or picture of Jesus Christ, who is the express image of the great God, and of all his glory ; and hence is it a glorious gospel. When the apostle Paul preached to the Galatians, what saith he of the
gospel he preached ? Gal. iii. 1, Before whose eyes, saith he, Jesus
CHAP. VI. ] GLOEY OF THE GOSPEL. 819
Christ was pictured, so the word signifies, or painted, written out. The
gospel, my brethren, is the liveliest picture of Christ that could be. But
you will say, pictures do not represent the glory of a thing. No more they do not. If you would picture the sun with the liveliest colours that could
be, you could uot picture the glory of it ; what hath God done therefore ? He hath made his gospel not only a picture of Christ, but he hath made it
a glass. So the apostle saith in that 2 Cor. iii. 18, compared with chap,
iv. ver. 4, we all with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the
Lord, namely, of Jesus Christ, who is the image of the invisible God. What is the reason he calls the gospel glorious ? Because it is the image of Jesus Christ. And how doth the gospel hold that forth ? Not only as a
picture, but as a glass; and a glass, if the thing be glorious that shines upon
it, will represent not the thing only, but the glory of it too. As if you hold
a looking-glass to the sun, you shall not only see the picture of the sun in
it, but the glory of the sun, and the sun in his glory. Now the glory of God that shineth upon the face of Jesus Christ (and therefore ver. 6, we
are said to have the light of knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ), and the face of Christ shineth in the gospel as in a glass. Hence we come by looking into the gospel to see his glory, and therefore
the gospel it is a glorious gospel. To open this a little to you. A glass it
is the most lively way of representing things absent that can be invented, for it doth not represent things in dead, lifeless, and wan colours, as pic tures do, but really. It is a middle way of representing a man, between
seeing a man s picture and seeing the man himself. It doth represent him
so lively and clearly, that though indeed it is not so comfortable as seeing the man himself, yet it is much more comfortable than seeing the picture of the man drawn by all the art in the world. Therefore it is said here, we behold as in a glass the glory of the Lord. Now it is a rule in optics, and a true one, quod videtur in spcculo, non est imago, that which is seen in
a glass is not a mere picture, but it is the thing itself; if you see a man in a glass, though you do not look directly upon the man, yet you see the man
himself. Only with this difference, that when you look upon the man him
self you see him by a direct act, and you see him by an image taken off from the man himself, coming into your eye ; but when you look upon him
in a glass, you see him by a reverberation, as I may so express it, the image of the man is beaten back again. That I may express this thing to you