The blefied in heaven behold him face to face, that is, are as fenfible of his prefence as we are of the prefence of any perfon whom we look upon with our eyes. There is doubtlefs a faculty in fpirits, by which they apprehend one another, as our fenfes do material objects; and there is no queftion but our fouls, when they are difembodied, or placed in glorified bodies, will by this faculty, in whatever part of space they refide, be always fenfible of the divine prefence. We, who have this veil of flesh ftanding between us and the world of fpirits, must be content to know the spirit of God is prefent with us, by the effects which he produceth in us. Our outward fenfes are too gross to apprehend him; we may however talle and fee how gracious he is, by his influence upon our minds, by thofe virtuous thoughts which he awakens in us, by thofe fecret comforts and refreshments which he conveys into our fouls, and by thofe ravishing joys and inward fatisfactions which are perpetually fpringing up, and diffufing themfelves among all the thoughts of good men. He is lodged in our very effence, and is as a foul within the foul to irradiate its understanding, rectify its will, purify its paffions, and enliven all the powers of man. How happy therefore is an intellectual being, who by prayer and meditation, by virtue and good works, opens this communication between God and his own foul! Though the whole creation frowns upon him, and all nature looks black about him, he has his light and fupport within him, that are able to chear his mind, and bear him up in the midst of all thofe horrors which encompafs him. He knows that bis helper is at hand, and is always nearer to him than any thing elfe can be, which is capable of annoying or terrifying him. In the midst of calumny or con tempt, he attends to that Being who whifpers better things within his foul, and whom he looks upon as his defender, his glory, and the lifter-up of his head. In his deepest folitude and retirement, he knows that he is in company with the greatest of beings; and perceives within himself fuch real fenfations of his prefence,

fence, as are more delightful than any thing that can. be met with in the converfation of his creatures. Even in the hour of death, he confiders the pains of his dif folution to be nothing else but the breaking down of that partition, which stands betwixt his soul, and the ght of that Being who is always prefent with him,. and is about to manifeft itself to him in fulness of joy.. If we would be thus happy, and thus fenfible of our Maker's prefence, from the fecret effects of his mercy. and goodness, we must keep fuch a watch over all our thoughts, that in the language of the Scripture, his foul may have pleasure in us. We must take care not. to grieve his holy fpirit, and endeavour to make the meditations of our hearts always acceptable in his. fight, that he may delight thus to refide and dwell in us. The light of nature could direct Seneca to this doctrine, in a very remarkable paffage among his epif tles; Sacer ineft in nobis fpiritus, bonorum malorumque. cuftos et obfervator; et quemadmodum nos illum tractamus, ita et ille nos. There is a holy spirit refiding in us, who watches and obferves both good and evil men, and will treat us after the fame manner that we treat him.' But I fhall conclude this discourse with thofe more emphatical words in divine revelation. If a man love me, he will keep my words; and my Father. will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him.

Reflections on the Third Heaven.

[Spect. No. 580.1

CONSIDERED in my two last letters that awful. and tremendous fubject, the ubiquity or omniprefence of the divine Being. I have fhewn that he. ⚫is equally present in all places throughout the whole. extent of infinite fpace. This doctrine is fo agree• able to reafon, that we meet with it in the writings. of the enlightened heathens, as I might fhew at large, were it not already done by other hands. But

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tho' the Deity be thus effentially prefent through all the immenfity of space, there is one part of it in which he difcovers himfelf in a moft tranfcendent and ⚫ vifible glory. This is that place which is marked out in Scripture under the different appellations of Paradife, the third heaven, the throne of God, and the habitation of his glory. It is here where the glorified body of our Saviour refides, and where all the ⚫ celeftial hierarchies, and the innumerable hofts of angels, are reprefented as perpetually furrounding the feat of God with hallelujahs and hymns of praife. This is that prefence of God which fome of the divines call his glorious, and others his majestic prefence. He is indeed as effentially prefent in all • other places as in this; but it is here where he re⚫ fides in a fenfible magnificence, and in the midst of all thofe fplendors which can affect the imagination of created beings.

It is very remarkable that this opinion of God Almighty's prefence in heaven, whether discovered by the light of nature, or by a general tradition from our firft parents, prevails among all the nations of the world, whatsoever different notions they entertain of the God-head. If you look into Homer, that is, the most ancient of the Greek writers, you see the fupreme power feated in the heavens, and encompaf⚫ fed with inferior deities, among whom the mufes are reprefented as finging inceffantly about his throne. • Who does not here fee the main ftrokes and outlines of this great truth we are fpeaking of? The ⚫ fame doctrine is fhadowed out in many other heathen authors, tho' at the fame time, like feveral other • revealed truths, dashed and adulterated with a mixture of fables and human inventions. But to pass over the notions of the Greeks and Romans, those ⚫ more enlightened parts of the pagan world, we find there is scarce a people among the late difcovered ⚫ nations, who are not trained up in an opinion that heaven is the habitation of the divinity whom they ⚫ worship.

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As in Solomon's temple there was the Sanctum • Sanctorum, in which a visible glory appeared among the figures of the cherubims, and into which none but the high-priest himself was permitted to enter, after having made an atonement for the fins of the ⚫ people; fo if we confider this whole creation as one great temple, there is in it the Holy of Holies, into which the high priest of our falvation entered, and took his place among angels and archangels, after ⚫ having made a propitiation for the fins of mankind.

With how much fkill muft the throne of God be: • erected? With what glorious defigns is that habita ⚫tion beautified, which is contrived and built by him: who infpired Hiram with wifdom? How great muft be the majefty of that place, where the whole art of creation has been employed, and where God has chosen to fhew himself in the most magnificent man• ner? What must be the architecture of infinite power ⚫ under the direction of infinite wifdom? A fpirit can-⚫ not but be transported after an ineffable manner with the fight of thofe objects, which were made to affect him by that Being who knows the inward frame of a foul, and how to please and ravish it in all its most ⚫ fecret powers and faculties. It is to this majestic prefence of God, we may apply those beautiful ex-preffions in holy writ: Behold even to the moon, and it fbineth not; yea the stars are not pure in his fight. The light of the fun, and all the glories of the world in 'which we live, are but as weak and fickly glimmerings, or rather darkness itfelf, in comparison of those ⚫ fplendors which encompass, the throne of God.

As the glory of this place is tranfcendent beyond imagination, fo probably is the extent of it. There is light behind light, and glory within glory. How 'far that space may reach, in which God thus appears in perfect majefty, we cannot poffibly conceive. Tho' it is not infinite, it may be indefinite; and tho' • not immenfurable in itself, it may be fo with regard to any created eye, or imagination. If he has made ⚫ these lower regions of matter fo inconceivably wide.

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and magnificent for the habitation of mortal and perishable beings, how great may we fuppofe the courts of his houfe to be, where he makes his refidence in a more especial manner, and displays himself in the fulness of his glory, among an innumerable company of angels, and fpirits of just men made perfect!

This is certain that our imaginations cannot be raised too high, when we think on a place where omnipotence and omnifcience have fo fignally exer⚫ted themselves, because that they are able to pro⚫duce a scene infinitely more great and glorious than what we are able to imagine. It is not impoffible but at the confummation of all things, thefe outward apartments of nature, which are now fuited to those." beings who inhabit them, may be taken in and added to that glorious place of which I am here fpeaking; and by that means made a proper habitation for beings who are exempt from mortality, and cleared of* their imperfections; for fo the Scripture feems tointimate when it fpeaks of new heavens and of a. new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness.

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I have only confidered this glorious place with regard to the fight and imagination, though it is highly probable that our other fenfes may here likewife enjoy their highest gratifications.. There is nothing which more ravishes and tranfports the foul, than harmony; and we have great reafon to believe, from the defcriptions of this place in holy Scripture, that this is one of the entertainments of it. And if the foul of man can be fo wonderfully affected with. those strains of mufic, which human art is capable of producing, how much more will it be raised andTM elevated by thofe, in which is exerted the whole: power of harmony! The fenfes are faculties of the human foul, though they cannot be employed, during, this our vital union, without proper inftruments in. the body. Why therefore should we exclude the fatisfaction of these faculties, which we find by expe*rience are inlets of great pleasure to the foul, from among thofe entertainments which are to make up

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