Chapter 17

Matthew 5:8: They shall see God.

The blessed privilege of seeing God explained.

These words are linked to the former, and they are a great incentive to heart-purity; the pure heart shall see the pure God. There is a twofold sight which the saints have of God.

First, in this life — that is, spiritually, by the eye of faith. Faith sees God's glorious attributes in the glass of his Word; faith beholds him showing forth himself through the lattice of his ordinances. Thus Moses saw him who was invisible (Hebrews 11:27). Believers see God's glory as it were veiled over; they behold his back-parts (Exodus 33:23).

Second, in the life to come; and this glorious sight of God is meant in the text — they shall see God. A pleasant prospect! This divines call the beatific vision. At that day the veil will be pulled off, and God will show himself in all his glory to the soul, as a king on a coronation day shows himself in all his royalty and magnificence. This sight of God will be the heaven of heaven. We shall indeed have a sight of angels, and that will be sweet; but the quintessence of happiness, the diamond in the ring, will be this: we shall see God. If the sun is absent, it is night for all the stars. The angels are called stars (Job 38:7), but it would be night in heaven if the Sun of righteousness did not shine there. It is the king's presence that makes the court. This sight of God in glory is partly mental and intellectual — we shall see him with the eyes of our mind. If there were not an intellectual sight of God, how would the spirits of just men made perfect see him? It is also partly bodily — not that we can with bodily eyes behold the bright essence of God. God is a spirit (John 4:24), and being a spirit, is invisible (1 Timothy 1:17). He cannot be beheld by bodily eyes (1 Timothy 6:16). A sight of his glory would overwhelm us; this wine is too strong for our weak heads.

But when I say our seeing of God in heaven is bodily, my meaning is we shall with bodily eyes behold Jesus Christ, through whom the glory of God — his wisdom, holiness, and mercy — shall shine forth to the soul. Put a backing of steel to the glass, and you may see a face in it; so the human nature of Christ is as it were a backing through which we may see the glory of God. In this sense that scripture is to be understood (Job 19:26): With these eyes shall I see God.

Setting forth the excellence of the beatific vision.

Now concerning this blessed sight of God, it is so sublime and sweet that I can but draw a dark shadow of it; we shall better understand it when we come to heaven. Only at present I shall lay down these nine maxims.

First, our sight of God in heaven shall be a transparent sight. Here we see him through a glass darkly (1 Corinthians 13:12), but through Christ we shall behold God in a very illustrious manner. God will so far unveil himself and show forth his glory as the soul is capable to receive. If Adam had not sinned, it is probable he should never have had such a clear sight of God as the saints in glory shall. 1 John 3:2: We shall see him as he is. Now we see him as he is not — not mutable, not mortal. Then shall I know, even as also I am known (1 Corinthians 13:12) — that is, clearly. As their love to God, so their sight of God shall be perfect.

Second, this sight of God will be a transcendent sight, surpassing in glory. Such glittering beams shall sparkle forth from the Lord Jesus as shall infinitely amaze and delight the eyes of the beholders. Imagine what a blessed sight it will be to see Christ wearing the robe of our human nature and to see that nature sitting in glory above the angels. If God is so beautiful here in his ordinances — Word, prayer, sacraments — if there is such excellence in him when we see him by the eye of faith through the glass of a promise, what will it be when we shall see him face to face? When Christ was transfigured on the mount, he was full of glory (Matthew 17:2). If his transfiguration were so glorious, what will his coronation be? Isaiah 33:17: You shall see the king in his beauty. All lights are but eclipses compared with that glorious vision; the greatest artist's brush would blot, angels' tongues would but disparage it.

Third, this sight of God will be a transforming sight. 1 John 3:2: We shall be like him. The saints shall be changed into glory, as when the light springs into a dark room the room may be said to be changed from what it was. The saints shall so see God as to be changed into his image. Here God's people are darkened and sullied with infirmities, but in heaven they shall be as the dove, covered with silver wings. They shall have some rays and beams of God's glory shining in them. As the crystal by having the sun shine on it sparkles and looks like the sun, so the saints by beholding the brightness of God's glory shall have a tincture of that glory upon them. Not that they shall partake of God's very essence — for as the iron in the fire becomes fire yet remains iron still, so the saints by beholding the luster of God's majesty shall be glorious creatures, but yet creatures still.

Fourth, this sight of God will be a joyful sight. Acts 2:28: You will make me full of joy with your presence. After a sharp winter, how pleasant it will be to see the Sun of righteousness displaying himself in all his glory! Does faith breed joy? 1 Peter 1:8: In whom, though now you see him not, yet believing you rejoice with joy unspeakable. If the joy of faith is such, what will the joy of vision be? The sight of Christ will amaze the eye with wonder and ravish the heart with joy. If the face of a friend whom we dearly love so affects us and drives away sorrow, how cheering will the sight of God be to the saints in heaven! Then indeed it may be said, 'Your heart shall rejoice' (John 16:22). And there are two things which will make the saints' vision of God in heaven joyful.

First, through Jesus Christ the dread and terror of the divine essence shall be taken away. Majesty shall appear in God to preserve reverence, but withal majesty clothed with beauty and tempered with sweetness to excite joy in the saints. We shall see God as a friend — not as guilty Adam did, who was afraid and hid himself (Genesis 3:10) — but as Queen Esther looked upon King Ahasuerus holding forth the golden scepter (Esther 5:2). Surely this sight of God will not be formidable but comfortable.

Second, the saints shall not only have vision but fruition; they shall so see God as to enjoy him. True blessedness comprehends both: it lies partly in the understanding by seeing the glory of God richly displayed, and partly in the will by a sweet, delicious taste of it and the soul's acquiescence in it. We shall so see God as to love him, and so love him as to be filled with him; the seeing of God implies fruition. Matthew 25:21: Enter into the joy of your Lord — not only behold it, but enter into it. Psalm 36:9: In your light we shall see light — there is vision. Psalm 16:11: At your right hand there are pleasures forevermore — there is fruition. So great is the joy which flows from the sight of God as will make the saints break forth into triumphant praises and hallelujahs.

Fifth, this sight of God will be a satisfying sight. Cast three worlds into the heart and they will not fill it; but the sight of God satisfies. Psalm 17:15: I shall be satisfied when I awake with your likeness. Solomon says the eye is not satisfied with seeing (Ecclesiastes 1:8), but there the eye will be satisfied with seeing. God and nothing but God can satisfy. The saints shall have their heads so full of knowledge and their hearts so full of joy that they shall find no lack.

Sixth, it will be an unwearying sight. Let a man see the rarest sight there is, he will soon be sated; when he comes into a garden and sees delightful walks, fair arbors, pleasant flowers, within a little while he grows weary. But it is not so in heaven — there is no surfeiting. We shall never be weary of seeing God; for the divine essence being infinite, there shall be every moment new and fresh delights springing forth from God into the glorified soul. The soul shall not so desire God but it shall still be full; nor shall it be so full but it shall still desire. So sweet will God be that the more the saints behold God, the more they will be ravished with desire and delight.

Seventh, it will be a beneficial sight, tending to the bettering and advantage of the soul. Some colors while they delight the eyes hurt them, but this vision of God shall better the soul and tend to its infinite happiness. Eve's looking upon the tree of knowledge damaged her sight — she grew spiritually blind upon it. But the saints can receive no hurt from the sight of glory; this sight will be beatific. The soul will never be in its perfection until it comes to see God; this will be the crowning blessing.

Eighth, this sight of God shall be perpetuated. Here we see objects for a while and then our eyes grow dim. But the saints shall always behold God; as there shall be no cloud upon God's face, so the saints shall have no mote in their eye. Their sight shall never grow dim, but they shall be to all eternity looking on God, that beautiful and beatific object. O what a soul-ravishing sight this will be! God must make us able to bear it; we can no more endure a sight of glory than a sight of wrath. But the saints after this life shall have their capacities enlarged and be qualified and made fit to receive the penetrating beams of glory.

Ninth, it will be a speedy sight. There are some who deny that the soul is immediately after death admitted to the sight of God. But I shall make good this assertion: the saints shall have an immediate transition from death to glory. As soon as death has closed their eyes, they shall see God. If the soul is not immediately after death translated to the beatific vision, then what becomes of the soul in that interval until the resurrection?

First, does the soul go into torment? That cannot be, for the soul of a believer is a member of Christ's mystical body. If this soul should go to hell, then something of Christ should go to hell — a member of Christ might for a time be damned. But that is impossible.

Second, does the soul sleep in the body, as some drowsily imagine? How then shall we make sense of this scripture? 2 Corinthians 5:8: We are willing rather to be absent from the body and to be present with the Lord. If the soul at death is absent from the body, then it cannot sleep in the body.

Third, does the soul die? So the Lucianists held that the soul was mortal and died with the body. But as Scaliger observes, it is impossible that the soul, being of a spiritual uncompounded nature, should be subject to corruption. Those who say the soul dies — I would demand of them in what way the soul of a man at death then differs from the soul of a brute. By all which it appears that the soul of a believer after death goes immediately to God. Luke 23:43: This day shall you be with me in paradise. The word 'with me' shows clearly that the thief on the cross was translated to heaven, for there Christ was (Ephesians 4:10). And the word 'this day' shows that the thief on the cross had an immediate passage from the cross to paradise. So the souls of believers have a speedy vision of God after death; it is but a moment's closing of the eyes, and they shall see God.

The sinner's misery — that he shall not see God.

Use 1: See the misery of an impure sinner — he shall not be admitted to the sight of God. The pure in heart only shall see God. Such as live in sin, whose souls are dyed black with the filth of hell, shall never come where God is. They shall have a terrifying vision of God, but not a beatific vision. They shall see the flaming sword and the burning lake, but not the mercy-seat. God in Scripture is sometimes called a consuming fire, sometimes the Father of lights. The wicked shall feel the fire but not see the light. Impure souls shall be covered with shame and darkness as with a mantle and shall never see the King's face. They who would not see God in his ordinances shall not see him in his glory.

That we should labor to be rightly qualified for this vision.

Use 2: Is there such a blessed privilege after this life? Then let me persuade all who hear me today: first, to get into Christ. We cannot come to God but by Christ; we cannot see God but through Christ. Moses when he was in the rock did see God (Exodus 33:22). In this blessed Rock, Christ, we shall see God. Second, be purified persons. It is only the pure in heart who shall see God; only a clear eye can behold a bright transparent object. Those only who have their hearts cleansed from sin can have this blessed sight of God. Sin is such a cloud that if it is not removed, it will forever hinder us from seeing the Sun of righteousness. Christian, do you have upon your heart holiness to the Lord? Then you shall see God. There are many, said Augustine, who could be content to go to heaven but are loath to take the way that leads there; they would have the glorious vision but neglect the gracious union.

There are several sorts of eyes that shall never see God: the ignorant eye, the unchaste eye, the scornful eye, the malicious eye, the covetous eye. If you would see God when you die, you must be purified persons while you live. 1 John 3:2-3: We shall see him as he is; and every man that has this hope in him purifies himself.

A cordial for the pure in heart.

Use 3: Let me turn to the pure in heart. First, stand amazed at this privilege — that you who are worms crept out of the dust should be admitted to the blessed sight of God to all eternity. It was Moses's prayer: 'I beseech you, show me your glory' (Exodus 33:18). The saints shall behold God's glory; the pure in heart shall have the same blessedness that God himself has, for what is the blessedness of God but the contemplating of his own infinite beauty.

Second, begin your sight of God here; let the eye of your faith be still upon God. Moses by faith saw him who is invisible (Hebrews 11:27). Often look upon him with believing eyes, whom you hope to see with glorified eyes. Psalm 25:15: My eyes are ever toward the Lord. While others are looking toward the earth as if they would fetch all their comforts there, let us look up to heaven; there is the best prospect. The sight of God by faith lets much joy into the soul. 1 Peter 1:8: Though now you see him not, yet believing you rejoice with joy unspeakable.

Third, let this be as a cordial to revive the pure in heart. Be comforted with this: you shall shortly see God. The godly have many sights here that they would not see — they see a body of death, they see the sword unsheathed, they see rebellion wearing the mask of religion, they see the white devil. These sights occasion sorrow. But there is a blessed sight coming: they shall see God, and in him are all sparkling beauties and ravishing joys to be found.

Fourth, be not discouraged at sufferings; all the hurt that affliction and death can do is to give you a sight of God. As one martyr said to his fellow-martyr: 'One half-hour in glory will make us forget our pain.' The sun arising, all the dark shadows of the night flee away. When the pleasant beams of God's countenance shall begin to shine upon the soul in heaven, then sorrows and sufferings shall be no more. The thoughts of this beatific vision should carry a Christian full sail with joy through the waters of affliction. This made Job so willing to embrace death (Job 19:25-26): I know that my Redeemer lives, and though worms devour this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God.

Matthew 5:8: "They shall see God."

Explaining the blessed privilege of seeing God.

These words are connected to what came before, and they provide a powerful motivation for purity of heart — the pure in heart shall see the pure God. The saints have two kinds of sight of God.

First, in this life — a spiritual sight, through the eye of faith. Faith sees God's glorious attributes in the mirror of His Word. Faith beholds Him as He shows Himself through the lattice of His ordinances. This is how Moses saw Him who is invisible (Hebrews 11:27). Believers see God's glory as through a veil — they behold, as it were, His back (Exodus 33:23).

Second, in the life to come — and this is the glorious sight the text refers to: "they shall see God." What a breathtaking prospect! Theologians call this the beatific vision. On that day the veil will be torn away, and God will display Himself in all His glory to the soul — as a king on coronation day appears in all his splendor and majesty. This sight of God will be the heaven of heaven. We will indeed see the angels, and that will be wonderful — but the pinnacle of happiness, the diamond in the ring, will be this: we shall see God. If the sun is absent, it is night no matter how many stars are shining. The angels are called stars (Job 38:7), but it would be night in heaven if the Sun of Righteousness did not shine there. It is the king's presence that makes the court. This sight of God in glory is partly mental and intellectual — we shall see Him with the eyes of our minds. If there were no intellectual sight of God, how would the spirits of righteous men made perfect see Him? It is also partly physical — though not in the sense that our bodily eyes could behold the radiant essence of God directly. God is spirit (John 4:24), and being spirit, He is invisible (1 Timothy 1:17). He cannot be seen with physical eyes (1 Timothy 6:16). The direct sight of His glory would overwhelm us — this wine is too strong for our weak heads.

But when I say our sight of God in heaven is bodily, I mean this: we shall with our physical eyes behold Jesus Christ, through whom the glory of God — His wisdom, holiness, and mercy — will shine forth to the soul. When you place a backing of polished steel behind glass, a face becomes visible in it. In the same way, the human nature of Christ is like a backing through which we can see the glory of God. This is the sense in which Job's words are to be understood (Job 19:26): "Yet in my flesh I shall see God."

Setting forth the excellence of the beatific vision.

Concerning this blessed sight of God — it is so sublime and sweet that I can only sketch a dim shadow of it. We will understand it far better when we arrive in heaven. For now, let me lay down nine observations about it.

First, our sight of God in heaven will be a clear and open sight. Here we see Him through a mirror dimly (1 Corinthians 13:12), but through Christ we will behold God with brilliance. God will unveil Himself and display His glory to the degree the soul is capable of receiving it. Had Adam never sinned, he likely would never have had as clear a sight of God as the saints in glory will have. 1 John 3:2: "We will see Him just as He is." Now we see Him as He is not — not changeable, not mortal. "Then I will know fully just as I also have been fully known" (1 Corinthians 13:12) — that is, clearly and completely. Their love for God and their sight of God will both be perfect.

Second, this sight of God will be a transcendent sight, surpassing all glory. Such brilliant beams will radiate from the Lord Jesus as will infinitely astonish and delight the eyes of all who behold Him. Consider what a blessed sight it will be to see Christ clothed in the robe of our human nature, and to see that nature enthroned in glory above the angels. If God is so beautiful here in His ordinances — Word, prayer, sacraments — if there is such excellence in Him when we see Him by faith through the mirror of a promise, what will it be when we see Him face to face? When Christ was transfigured on the mountain, He was filled with glory (Matthew 17:2). If His transfiguration was so glorious, what will His coronation be? Isaiah 33:17: "Your eyes will see the King in His beauty." All earthly lights are merely eclipses compared with that glorious vision. The greatest painter's brush would only mar it. Even angels' tongues could only diminish it.

Third, this sight of God will be a transforming sight. 1 John 3:2: "We will be like Him." The saints will be changed into glory — just as when light floods into a dark room, the room is utterly transformed from what it was. The saints will see God in such a way that they are changed into His likeness. Here God's people are dimmed and marred by weakness and sin, but in heaven they will be like the dove clothed with silver wings. They will carry some rays and beams of God's own glory shining within them. As a crystal struck by sunlight sparkles and seems almost like the sun itself, so the saints by beholding the brightness of God's glory will be marked with a trace of that glory. They will not share in God's very essence — just as iron placed in fire becomes like fire yet remains iron, so the saints by beholding the luster of God's majesty will become glorious creatures, but creatures still.

Fourth, this sight of God will be a joyful sight. Acts 2:28: "You will make me full of gladness with Your presence." After a long, bitter winter, how wonderful it will be to see the Sun of Righteousness displaying Himself in full glory! If faith already produces joy — 1 Peter 1:8: "Though you have not seen Him, you love Him, and though you do not see Him now, but believe in Him, you greatly rejoice with joy inexpressible" — what will the joy of actually seeing Him be? The sight of Christ will overwhelm the eye with wonder and fill the heart with joy. If seeing a dear friend drives away sorrow, how much more will the sight of God cheer the hearts of the saints in heaven! Then it will truly be said, "Your heart will rejoice" (John 16:22). Two things will make the saints' vision of God in heaven especially joyful.

First, through Jesus Christ the dread and terror of the divine essence will be taken away. Majesty will be present in God to preserve reverence — but it will be a majesty clothed with beauty and tempered with sweetness that awakens joy in the saints. We shall see God as a friend — not as guilty Adam did, fleeing in fear and hiding himself (Genesis 3:10) — but as Queen Esther looked upon King Ahasuerus when he held out the golden scepter to her (Esther 5:2). Surely this sight of God will not be terrifying but comforting.

Second, the saints will not only have vision but enjoyment — they will see God in such a way as to possess Him. True blessedness encompasses both: it lies partly in the mind, as the glory of God is richly displayed before it, and partly in the will, as the soul tastes that glory with deep delight and rests in it. We shall see God in such a way as to love Him, and love Him in such a way as to be filled with Him. The vision of God includes the enjoyment of God. Matthew 25:21: "Enter into the joy of your master" — not merely behold it, but enter into it. Psalm 36:9: "In Your light we see light" — there is vision. Psalm 16:11: "In Your right hand there are pleasures forever" — there is enjoyment. So great will the joy flowing from the sight of God be that the saints will break forth in triumphant praises and hallelujahs.

Fifth, this sight of God will be a satisfying sight. Throw three worlds into the human heart and they will not fill it — but the sight of God satisfies. Psalm 17:15: "As for me, I shall behold Your face in righteousness; I will be satisfied with Your likeness when I awake." Solomon says the eye is never satisfied with seeing (Ecclesiastes 1:8) — but in heaven the eye will be satisfied with seeing. God, and only God, can satisfy. The saints will have their minds so full of knowledge and their hearts so full of joy that they will lack nothing.

Sixth, this sight of God will be an inexhaustible sight — one that never grows weary. Let a person see the rarest sight on earth, and before long he will be tired of it. He walks into a beautiful garden with pleasant paths, lovely shade, and colorful flowers — but within a short while he grows bored. It is not so in heaven — there is no saturation. We shall never grow weary of seeing God. Since the divine essence is infinite, there will be fresh and new delights springing from God into the glorified soul with every passing moment. The soul will never desire God so much that it cannot be filled — nor will it be so full that it ceases to desire. God will be so sweet that the more the saints behold Him, the more they will be overwhelmed with longing and delight.

Seventh, it will be a beneficial sight — one that improves and perfects the soul. Some colors delight the eyes while also harming them, but this vision of God will improve the soul and lead to its infinite happiness. Eve's gaze at the tree of knowledge damaged her sight — she became spiritually blind as a result. But the saints can receive no harm from the sight of glory. This sight will be beatific. The soul will never reach its full perfection until it comes to see God — that will be the crowning blessing.

Eighth, this sight of God will be unending. Here on earth we see things for a time, and then our eyes grow dim. But the saints will always behold God. As there will be no cloud over God's face, so the saints will have no speck in their eye. Their sight will never fade. For all eternity they will gaze upon God — that beautiful and glorious object. What a soul-ravishing sight this will be! God will have to enable us to bear it — we are no more naturally able to endure a full sight of glory than a sight of wrath. But after this life, the saints will have their capacities enlarged and be made fit to receive the penetrating beams of glory.

Ninth, this sight of God will come quickly — immediately after death. Some deny that the soul is admitted to the sight of God immediately after death. But I will make the case for it: the saints will pass directly from death into glory. As soon as death closes their eyes in this world, they will open them to see God. If the soul is not immediately admitted to the beatific vision after death, what happens to it in the interval before the resurrection?

First, does the soul go into torment? That cannot be, because the soul of a believer is a member of Christ's mystical body. If that soul were to go to hell, then something of Christ would go to hell — a member of Christ would be damned for a time. But that is impossible.

Second, does the soul sleep in the body, as some have drowsily imagined? How then do we make sense of this scripture? 2 Corinthians 5:8: "We are of good courage, I say, and prefer rather to be absent from the body and to be at home with the Lord." If the soul at death is absent from the body, then it cannot be sleeping in the body.

Third, does the soul die? This was the view of the Lucianists, who held that the soul was mortal and perished with the body. But as Scaliger observes, it is impossible for the soul — being of a spiritual, simple, and uncomposed nature — to be subject to decay. Those who say the soul dies should be asked: in what way does a human soul at death then differ from the soul of an animal? All of this makes it clear that the soul of a believer goes immediately to God after death. Luke 23:43: "Truly I say to you, today you shall be with Me in Paradise." The words "with Me" make it clear that the thief on the cross was taken to heaven — for that is where Christ was (Ephesians 4:10). And the word "today" shows that the thief had an immediate passage from the cross to paradise. So the souls of believers receive a swift vision of God after death — it is but a moment's closing of the eyes, and they shall see God.

The misery of the sinner — that he will not see God.

Use 1: See the misery of the impure sinner — he will not be admitted to the sight of God. Only the pure in heart will see God. Those who live in sin, whose souls are stained black with the filth of hell, will never come where God is. They will have a terrifying encounter with God, but not a beatific vision. They will see the flaming sword and the burning lake — but not the mercy seat. Scripture sometimes calls God a consuming fire, and sometimes the Father of lights. The wicked will feel the fire but never see the light. Impure souls will be covered with shame and darkness as with a cloak, and will never see the face of the King. Those who refused to see God in His ordinances will not see Him in His glory.

We should labor to be rightly prepared for this vision.

Use 2: Since such a blessed privilege awaits us after this life, let me urge all who hear me to pursue two things. First, get into Christ. We cannot come to God except through Christ. We cannot see God except through Christ. When Moses hid in the cleft of the rock, he saw God (Exodus 33:22). In Christ, this blessed Rock, we shall see God. Second, become purified persons. Only the pure in heart will see God — just as only a clear eye can behold a bright, radiant object. Only those whose hearts have been cleansed from sin can have this blessed sight of God. Sin is such a cloud that if it is not removed, it will forever block us from seeing the Sun of Righteousness. Christian, is holiness to the Lord written on your heart? Then you will see God. Many people, as Augustine said, would be happy to go to heaven but are unwilling to take the path that leads there — they want the glorious vision but neglect the gracious union.

There are several kinds of eyes that will never see God: the ignorant eye, the unchaste eye, the scornful eye, the malicious eye, the covetous eye. If you would see God when you die, you must be a purified person while you live. 1 John 3:2-3: "We will see Him just as He is. And everyone who has this hope fixed on Him purifies himself, just as He is pure."

A word of encouragement for the pure in heart.

Use 3: A word now to the pure in heart. First, stand in awe of this privilege — that you, a creature formed from dust, will be admitted to the blessed sight of God for all eternity. This was Moses's prayer: "I pray You, show me Your glory!" (Exodus 33:18). The saints will behold God's glory. The pure in heart will share the same blessedness that God Himself has — for what is God's blessedness but the contemplation of His own infinite beauty?

Second, begin your sight of God now. Let the eye of faith rest constantly on God. Moses by faith saw Him who is invisible (Hebrews 11:27). Often look with the eyes of faith on the One you hope one day to see with glorified eyes. Psalm 25:15: "My eyes are continually toward the Lord." While others look toward the earth as if they expect to find all their comfort there, let us look up to heaven — that is where the best view is. The sight of God by faith lets much joy into the soul. 1 Peter 1:8: "Though you have not seen Him, you love Him, and though you do not see Him now, but believe in Him, you greatly rejoice with joy inexpressible."

Third, let this truth be a comfort and refreshment to the pure in heart. Take heart in this: you will shortly see God. The godly see many things here that grieve them — they see a body of death within themselves, they see the sword drawn, they see rebellion wearing the mask of religion, they see the white devil of respectable hypocrisy. These sights bring sorrow. But a blessed sight is coming: they will see God — and in Him all brilliant beauties and overwhelming joys are to be found.

Fourth, do not lose heart under suffering. All that affliction and death can ultimately do is usher you into the sight of God. As one martyr said to a fellow martyr: "One half-hour in glory will make us forget all our pain." When the sun rises, all the dark shadows of the night disappear. When the warm beams of God's face begin to shine on the soul in heaven, sorrow and suffering will be no more. The thought of this beatific vision should carry a Christian through the waters of affliction with joy like wind in full sail. This is what made Job so willing to embrace death (Job 19:25-26): "As for me, I know that my Redeemer lives... Even after my skin is destroyed, yet from my flesh I shall see God."