tion, and have no relish of all this joy, above what he possessed while his church las bleeding on earth, and this illustrious company were buried under ground in the chains of death? And yet you wil say, Christ in heaven is made perfect in knowledge and in joy, but his perfection admits of improvement. Now if the head be not above the capacity of all growth and addition, surely the members cannot pretend to it. But I shall propose several more ar guments for this truth in the following section.

SECT. IV.

OF THE INCREASE OF THE SAINTS ABOVE IN KNOW. LEDGE, HOLINESS, AND JOY.

THAT there is, and hath been, and will be, continual progress and improvement in the knowledge and joy of separate souls, may be easily proved many ways, namely, from the very nature of human reason itself: from the narrowness, the weakness, and limitation even of our intellectual faculties in their best estate; from the immense variety of objects that we shall converse about; from our peculi ar concern in some future providences, which it is not likely we should know before they occur; and from the glorious new scenes of the resurrection.

1. We may prove the increase of knowledge amongst the blessed above, from the very nature of human reason itself, which is a faculty of drawing inferences, or some new propositions and conclusions, from propositions or principles which we knew before. Now surely we shall not be dispossessed of this power when we come to heaven. What we learn of God there, and the glories of his nature, or his works, will assist and incline us to draw infer ences for his honor, and for our worship of him. And if we could be supposed to have never so many propositions, or new principles of knowledge, crowded into our minds at the first entrance into

heaven, yet surely our reasoning faculty would still be capable of making some advance by way of inference, or building some superstructure upon so noble a foundation. And who knows the intense pleasure that will arise perpetually to a contemplative mind, by a progressive and infinite pursuit of truth in this manner, where we are secure against the danger, of all error and mistake, and every step we take is all light and demonstration.

Shall it be objected here, that our reason shall be, as it were, lost and dissolved in intuition and immediate sight, and therefore it shall have no room or place in that happy world?

To this I would reply, That we shall have indeed much more acquaintance with spiritual objects by immediate intuition, than we ever had here on earth; but it does not follow thence that we shall lose our reason. Angels have immediate vision of God and divine things; but can we suppose they are utterly incapable of drawing an inference, either for the improvement of their knowledge, or the direction of their practice? When they behold any special and more curious piece of divine workmanship, can they not further infer the exquisite skill or wisdom of the Creator? And are they not capable of concluding, that this peculiar instance of divine wisdom demands an adoring thought? Thus intuition, or immediate sight in a creature, does not utterly exclude and forbid the use of reason.

I reply again; can it ever be imagined, that being released from the body, we shall possess, in one moment, and retain through every moment of eternity, all the innumerable ranks, and orders, and numbers of propositions, truths and duties, that may be derived in a long succession of ages by the use of our reasoning powers? But this leads me to the second argument, namely,

2. The weakness and narrowness of human understandings in their best estate, seem to make it ne cessary that knowledge should be progressive.

Continual improvement in knowledge and delight among the spirits of the just made perfect, is necessary for the same reason that proved their variety of entertainments and pleasures, namely, because creatures cannot take in all the vast and infinite variety of conceptions, in the full brightness and perfection of them, at once, of which they are capable in a sweet succession. Can we ever persuade ourselves, that all the endless train of thoughts, and ideas, and scenes of joy, that shall ever pass through the mind of a saint through the long ages of eternity, should be crowded into every single mind the first moment of its entrance into those happy regions? And is a human mind capacious enough to receive, and strong enough to retain, such an infinite multitude of ideas for ever? Or is this the manner of God's working among his intellectual creatures? Surely God knows our frame, and pours in light and glory as we are able to bear it. Such a bright confusion of notions, images, and transports, would probably overwhelm the most exalted spirit, and drown all the noble faculties of the mind at once. As if a man who was born blind should be healed in an instant, and should open his eyes first against the full blaze of the noon-day sun; this would so tumultuate the spi rits, and confound the organs of sight, as to reduce the man back again to his first blindness, and perhaps might render him incurable for ever.

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3. This argument will be much strengthened, if we do but take a short view of the vast and incomprehensible variety of objects that may be proposed to our minds in the future state, and may feast our contemplation, and improve our joy.

The blessed God himself is an infinite being; his perfections and his glories are unbounded; his wisdom, his holiness, his goodness, his faithfulness, his power and justice, his all-sufficiency, his self-origination, and his unfathomable eternity, have such a number of rich ideas belonging to each of them, that

no creature shall ever fully understand. Yet it is but reasonable to believe, that he will communicate so much of himself to us by degrees, as he sees necessary for our business and blessed ness in that upper world. Can it be supposed that we should know every thing that belongs to God all at once, which he may discover to us gradually as our capacities improve? Can we think that an infant-soul, that had no time for improvement here, when it enters into heaven shall know every thing concerning God, that it can ever attain to through all the ages of its immortality? When a blessed spirit has dwelt in hea ven a thousand years, and conversed with God and Christ, angels and fellow-spirits, during all that season, shall it know nothing more of the nature and wondrous properties of God than it knew the first moment of its arrival there?*

But I add further, the works of God shall doubtless be the matter of our search and delightful survey, as well as the nature and properties of God himself. His works are "honorable and glorious, and sought out of all that have pleasure in them, Psalm cxi. 2, 3. In his works we shall read his name, his properties, and his glories, whether we fix our thoughts on creation or providence.

The works of God, and his wonders of creation in "the known and unknown worlds, both as to the pumher, the variety and vastness of them, are almost in finite; that is, they transcend all the limits of our ideas, and all our present capacities to conceive Now there is none of these works of wonder Wonder but may administer some entertainment to the mind of man, and may richly furnish him with new matter

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* God himself hath infinite goodness in him, which the creature cannot take in at once; they are taking of it in eternally. The saints see in God still things fresh, which they saw not in the beginning of their blessedness. Dr. T. Goodwin.

for the praise of God in the long successions of eter nity.

There is scarcely an animal of the more complete kind, but would entertain an angel with rich curiosities, and feed his contemplation for an age. What á rich and artful structure of flesh upon the solid and well-compacted foundation of bones! What curious joints and hinges, on which the limbs are moved to and fro! What an inconceivable variety of nerves, veins, arteries, fibres, and little invisible parts, are found in every member! What various fluids, blood and juices, run through and agitate the innumerable slender tubes, the hollow strings and strainers of the body! What millions of folding-doors are fixed within, to stop those red or transparent rivulets in their courses, either to prevent their return backwards, or else as a means to swell the muscles and move the limbs! What endless contrivances to secure life, to nourish nature, and to propagate the same to future animals! What amazing lengths of holy meditation would an angel run upon these subjects! And what sublime strains of praise would a heavenly philosopher raise hourly to the almighty and all-wise Creator! And all this from the mere brutal world!

But if we survey the nature of man, he is a crea ture made up of mind and animal united, and would furnish still more numerous and exalted materials for contemplation and praise; for he has all the richest wonders of animal nature in him, besides the unknown mysteries of mind or spirit. Surely it will create a sacred pleasure in happy souls above, to learn the wonders of divine skill exerted and shin. ing in their own formation, and in the curious workmanship of those bodily engines in which they once dwelt and acted.

Then let them descend to herbs and plants. How numerous are all the products of earth upon her green surface! And all within her dark bowels!