Chapter

John 17:24. Father, I will that they also whom you have given me be with me where I am, that they may behold my Glory which you have given me.

The High Priest under the Law when he was to enter into the Holy Place on the solemn day of Atonement, was to take both his hands full of sweet incense from the golden table of incense, to carry along with him in his entrance. He had also a censer filled with fire, that was taken from the altar of burnt offerings, where atonement was made for sin with blood. Upon his actual entrance through the veil, he put the incense on the fire in the censer, until the cloud of its smoke covered the ark and the mercy seat (see Leviticus 16:12-13). And the end hereof was to present unto God, in behalf of the people, a sweet-smelling savor from the sacrifice of propitiation.

In answer unto this mystical type, the great High Priest of the Church, our Lord Jesus Christ, being to enter into the Holy Place not made with hands, did by the glorious prayer recorded in this chapter, influenced from the blood of his sacrifice, fill the heavens above, the glorious place of God's residence, with a cloud of incense, or the sweet perfume of his blessed intercession, typified by the incense offered by the high priest of old. By the same eternal fire with which he offered himself a bloody sacrifice to make atonement for sin, he kindled in his most holy soul those desires for the application of all its benefits unto his Church, which are here expressed, and wherein his intercession does consist.

It is only one passage in the verse above named that at present I design an inquiry into. And this is the subject matter of what the Lord Christ here desires in behalf of those given him by the Father; namely, that they may behold his glory.

It is evident that in this prayer the Lord Christ has respect unto his own glory, and the manifestation of it, which he had in the entrance asked of the Father (verses 4-5). But in this place he has not so much respect unto it as his own, as unto the advantage, benefit, satisfaction, and blessedness of his disciples, in the beholding of it. For these things were the end of all that mediatory glory which was given unto him. So Joseph charged his brothers, when he had revealed himself unto them, that they should tell his father of all his glory in Egypt (Genesis 45:13). This he did, not for an ostentation of his own glory, but for the satisfaction which he knew his father would take in the knowledge of it. And such a manifestation of his glory unto his disciples does the Lord Christ here desire, as might fill them with blessed satisfaction forevermore.

This alone which is here prayed for will give them such satisfaction, and nothing else. The hearts of believers are like the needle touched by the lodestone, which cannot rest until it comes to the point unto which by the secret virtue of it, it is directed. For being once touched by the love of Christ, receiving therein an impression of secret ineffable virtue, they will ever be in motion, and restless, until they come unto him, and behold his glory. That soul which can be satisfied without it, that cannot be eternally satisfied with it, is not partaker of the efficacy of his intercession.

I shall lay the foundation of the ensuing meditations in this one assertion, namely, that one of the greatest privileges and advancements of believers, both in this world and unto eternity, consists in their beholding the glory of Christ. This therefore he desires for them in this solemn intercession, as the complement of all his other requests in their behalf: that they may behold my glory — that they may see, view, behold, or contemplate my glory. The reasons why I assign not this glorious privilege only unto the heavenly state, which is principally respected in this place, but apply it unto the state of believers in this world also, with their duties and privileges therein, shall be immediately declared.

All unbelievers do in their heart call Christ Ichabod: "Where is the glory?" They see neither form nor comeliness in him, that he should be desired. They look on him as Michal, Saul's daughter, did on David dancing before the ark, when she despised him in her heart. They do not indeed (many of them) call Jesus accursed, but cry, "Hail, Master," and then crucify him.

Hence have we so many cursed opinions advanced in derogation unto his glory, some of them really destructive of all that is truly so; yes, denying the only Lord that bought us, and substituting a false Christ in his room. And others there are who express their slight thoughts of him and his glory, by bold irreverent inquiries of what use his person is in our religion; as though there were anything in our religion that has either reality, substance, or truth, but by virtue of its relation therunto. And by their answers, they bring their own inquiries yet nearer unto the borders of blasphemy.

Never was there an age since the name of Christians was known upon the earth, wherein there was such a direct opposition made unto the Person and Glory of Christ, as there is in that wherein we live. There were indeed in the first times of the church, swarms of proud, doting, brainsick persons, who vented many foolish imaginations about him, which issued at length in Arianism, in whose ruins they were buried. The gates of hell in them prevailed not against the Rock on which the church is built. But we now have great numbers who oppose the Person and Glory of Christ, under a pretense of sobriety of reason, as they vainly plead. Yes, the disbelief of the mysteries of the Trinity, and the incarnation of the Son of God, the sole foundation of Christian religion, is so diffused in the world, as that it has almost devoured the power and vitals of it. And not a few, who dare not yet express their minds, do give broad intimations of their intentions and good will toward him, in making those the object of their scorn and reproach, who desire to know nothing but him, and him crucified.

God in his appointed time will effectually vindicate his honor and glory, from the vain attempts of men of corrupt minds against them.

In the mean time, it is the duty of all those who love the Lord Jesus in sincerity, to give testimony in a peculiar manner unto this Divine Person and Glory, according unto their several capacities, because of the opposition that is made against them.

I have thought myself on many accounts obliged to cast my mite into this treasury. And I have chosen so to do, not in a way of controversy (which formerly I have engaged in) but so, as together with the vindication of the truth, to promote the strengthening of the faith of true believers, their edification in the knowledge of it; and to express the experience which they have, or may have of the power and reality of these things.

That which at present I design to demonstrate is, that the beholding of the Glory of Christ is one of the greatest privileges and advancements that believers are capable of in this world, or that which is to come. It is that whereby they are first gradually conformed unto it, and then fixed in the eternal enjoyment of it. For here in this life, beholding his glory, they are changed or transformed into the likeness of it (2 Corinthians 3:18); and hereafter, they shall be forever like unto him, because they shall see him as he is (1 John 3:1-2). Hereon do our present comforts, and future blessedness depend. This is the life and reward of our souls. He that has seen him has seen the Father also (John 14:9); for we discern the light of the knowledge of God only in the face of Jesus Christ (2 Corinthians 4:6).

There are therefore two ways or degrees of beholding the Glory of Christ, which are constantly distinguished in the Scripture. The one is by faith in this world, which is the evidence of things not seen. The other is by sight, or immediate vision in eternity (2 Corinthians 5:7): "We walk by faith and not by sight." We do so while we are in this world, while we are present in the body, and absent from the Lord (verse 8). But we shall live and walk by sight hereafter. And it is the Lord Christ and his glory which are immediate objects both of this faith and sight. For we here behold him darkly in a glass (that is by faith) but we shall see him face to face (by immediate vision); now we know him in part, but then we shall know him as we are known (1 Corinthians 13:12). What is the difference between these two ways of beholding the Glory of Christ, shall be afterwards declared.

It is the first way, namely by vision in the light of glory, that is principally included in that prayer of our blessed Savior, that his disciples may be where he is, to behold his glory. But I shall not confine my inquiry thereto; nor does our Lord Jesus exclude from his desire that sight of his glory which we have by faith in this world; but prays for the perfection of it in heaven. It is therefore the first way that in the first place I shall insist upon, and that for the reasons following.

1. No man shall ever behold the Glory of Christ by sight hereafter, who does not in some measure behold it by faith here in this world. Grace is a necessary preparation for glory, and faith for sight. Where the subject, the soul, is not previously seasoned with grace and faith, it is not capable of glory, or vision. Indeed, persons not disposed hereby unto it cannot desire it, whatever they pretend; they only deceive their own souls, in supposing that so they do. Most men will say with confidence, living and dying, that they desire to be with Christ, and to behold his glory; but they can give no reason why they should desire any such thing; only they think it something that is better than to be in that evil condition which otherwise they must be cast into forever, when they can be here no more. If a man pretend himself to be enamored on, or greatly to desire what he never saw, nor was ever represented unto him, he does but dote on his own imaginations. And the pretended desires of many, to behold the Glory of Christ in heaven, who have no view of it by faith while they are here in this world, are nothing but self-deceiving imaginations.

So do the papists delude themselves. Their carnal affections are excited by their outward senses, to delight in images of Christ, in his sufferings, his resurrection, and glory above. Thereupon they satisfy themselves that they behold the glory of Christ himself, and that with love and great delight. But whereas there is not the least true representation made of the Lord Christ, or his glory, in these things, that being confined absolutely unto the Gospel alone, and this way of attempting it being laid under a severe prohibition, they do but sport themselves with their own deceivings.

The Apostle tells us concerning himself, and other believers, when the Lord Christ was present, and conversed with them in the days of his flesh, that they saw his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth (John 1:14). And we may inquire, what was this glory of Christ which they so saw, and by what means they obtained a prospect of it? For (1) it was not the glory of his outward condition, as we behold the glory and grandeur of the kings and potentates of the earth; for he made himself of no reputation, but being in the form of a servant, he walked in the condition of a man of low degree. The secular grandeur of his pretended vicar makes no representation of that glory of his which his disciples saw. He kept no court, nor house of entertainment, nor (though he made all things) had of his own where to lay his head. Nor (2) was it with respect to the outward form of the flesh which he was made, wherein he took our nature on him, as we see the glory of a comely or beautiful person; for he had therein neither form nor comeliness, that he should be desired, his visage was so marred more than any man, and his form more than the sons of men (Isaiah 52:14; 53:2-3). All things appeared in him as became a man of sorrows. Nor (3) was it absolutely the eternal essential glory of his divine nature that is intended. For this no man can see in this world. What we shall attain in a view thereof hereafter, we know not. But (4) it was his glory as he was full of grace and truth. They saw the glory of his Person and his Office in the administration of grace and truth. And how, or by what means did they see this glory of Christ? It was by faith, and no otherwise. For this privilege was granted unto them only who received him, and believed on his name (verse 12). This was that glory which the Baptist saw, when upon his coming unto him he said unto all that were present, "Behold the Lamb of God, which takes away the sin of the world" (John 1:29-33).

Therefore let no man deceive himself: he that has no sight of the Glory of Christ here shall never have any of it hereafter unto his advantage. It is not therefore unto edification, to discourse of beholding the Glory of Christ in heaven by vision, until we go through a trial, whether we see anything of it in this world by faith or no.

2. The beholding of Christ in glory is that which in itself is too high, illustrious, and marvelous for us in our present condition. It has a splendor and glory too great for our present spiritual visible faculty; as the direct, immediate sight of the sun darkens our sight, and does not relieve or strengthen it at all. Therefore we have no way to take into our minds any true spiritual apprehensions of the nature of immediate vision, or what it is to see the Glory of Christ in heaven, but by that view which we have by faith in this life of the same glory. Whatever otherwise falls into our minds, is but conjecture and imagination; such as are the contemplations of most about heavenly things.

I have seen and read somewhat of the writings of learned men, concerning the state of future glory; some of them are filled with excellent notions of truth, and elegancy of speech, whereby they cannot but much affect the minds of those who duly consider what they say. But I know not well how it comes to pass, many complain, that in reading of such discourses they are like a man who beholds his natural face in a glass, and immediately forgets what manner of man he was. The things spoken do not abide, nor incorporate with our minds. They please and refresh for a little while, like a shower of rain in a dry season, that soaks not unto the roots of things; the power of them does not enter into us. Is it not all from hence, that their notions of future things are not drawn out of the experience which we have of the beginnings of them in this world; without which, they can make no permanent abode in our minds, nor continue any influence upon our affections? Indeed, the soul is disturbed, not edified, in all contemplations of future glory, when things are proposed unto it, of which in this life it has neither foretaste, sense, experience, nor evidence. No man ought to look for anything in heaven, but what one way or other he has some experience of in this life. If men were fully persuaded hereof, they would be, it may be, more in the exercise of faith and love about heavenly things, than for the most part they are. At present they know not what they enjoy, and they look for they know not what.

Hence it is, that men utterly strangers unto all experience of the beginning of glory in themselves as an effect of faith, have filled their divine worship with images, pictures, and music, to represent unto themselves somewhat of that glory which they fancy to be above. For into that which is truly so, they have no prospect, nor can have; because they have no experience of its power in themselves; nor do they taste of its goodness by any of its first-fruits in their own minds. Therefore by that view alone, and not otherwise, which we have of the Glory of Christ by faith here in this world, we may attain such blessed conceptions of our beholding his glory above by immediate vision, as shall draw out our hearts unto the admiration of it, and desires of its full enjoyment.

3. Herein then our present edification is principally concerned. For in this present beholding of the Glory of Christ, the life and power of faith are most eminently exercised. And from this exercise of faith, does love unto Christ principally, if not solely, arise and spring. If therefore we desire to have faith in its vigor, or love in its power, giving rest, complacency, and satisfaction unto our own souls, we are to seek for them in the diligent discharge of this duty; elsewhere they will not be found. Herein would I live; herein would I die; hereon would I dwell in my thoughts and affections, to the withering and consumption of all the painted beauties of this world, unto the crucifying all things here below, until they become unto me a dead and deformed thing, no way fit for affectionate embraces.

For these and the like reasons, I shall first inquire into our beholding of the Glory of Christ in this world by faith; and therein endeavor to lead the souls of them that believe, into the more retired walks of faith, love, and holy meditation, whereby the King is held in his galleries (Song of Solomon 7:5).

But because there is no benefit in, nor advantage by the contemplation of this sacred truth, but what consists in an improvement of the practice of the duty declared in it, namely, the constant beholding of the Glory of Christ by faith — I shall for the promotion of it, premise some few advantages which we may have thereby.

1. We shall hereby be made fit and ready for heaven. Every man is not so, who desires it and hopes for it. For some are not only unworthy of it, and excluded from it by reason of sin; but they are unfit for it, and incapable of any advantage by it. All men indeed think themselves fit enough for glory (what should hinder them?) if they could attain it. But it is because they know not what it is. Men shall not be clothed with glory, as it were, whether they will or no. It is to be received in that exercise of the faculties of their souls, which such persons have no ability for. Music has no pleasure in it unto those who cannot hear; nor the most beautiful colors unto those who cannot see. It would be no benefit unto a fish to take him from the bottom of the ocean, filled with cold and darkness, and to place him under the beams of the sun. For he is no way fit to receive any refreshment thereby. Heaven itself would not be more advantageous unto persons not renewed by the Spirit of Grace in this life.

Hence the Apostle gives thanks unto the Father, who has made us fit to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light (Colossians 1:12). Indeed the beginning here, and the fullness of glory hereafter, are communicated unto believers by an almighty act of the will and grace of God. But yet he has ordained ways and means whereby they may be made fit receptive subjects of the glory so to be communicated unto them. That this way and means is by the beholding of the Glory of Christ by faith, shall be fully declared in our progress. This therefore should excite us unto this duty; for all our present glory consists in our preparation for future glory.

2. No man can by faith take a real view of this glory, but virtue will proceed from it in a transforming power, to change him into the same image (2 Corinthians 3:18). How this is done, and how we become like unto Christ by beholding his glory, shall be fully declared in our progress.

3. The constant contemplation of the Glory of Christ will give rest, satisfaction, and complacency unto the souls of them who are exercised therein. Our minds are apt to be filled with a multitude of perplexed thoughts, fears, cares, dangers, distresses, passions, and lusts, which make various impressions on the minds of men, filling them with disorder, darkness, and confusion. But where the soul is fixed in its thoughts and contemplations on this glorious object, it will be brought into, and kept in, a holy, serene, spiritual frame. For to be spiritually minded is life and peace. And this it does, by taking off our hearts from all undue regard unto all things below, in comparison of the great worth, beauty, and glory of what we are conversant with. See Philippians 3:7-11. A defect herein makes many of us strangers unto a heavenly life; and causes us to live beneath the spiritual refreshments and satisfactions that the Gospel does tender unto us.

4. The sight of the Glory of Christ is the spring and cause of our everlasting blessedness. We shall be ever with the Lord (1 Thessalonians 4:17), or be with Christ, which is best of all (Philippians 1:23); for there shall we behold his glory (John 17:24); and by seeing him as he is, we shall be made like him (1 John 3:2), which is our everlasting blessedness.

The enjoyment of God by sight is commonly called the beatific vision; and it is the sole fountain of all the actings of our souls in the state of blessedness, which the old philosophers knew nothing of; neither do we know distinctly what they are, or what is this sight of God. However, this we know, that God in his immense essence is invisible unto our bodily eyes, and will be so to eternity; as also incomprehensible unto our minds. For nothing can perfectly comprehend that which is infinite, but what is itself infinite. Therefore the blessed and blessing sight which we shall have of God will be always in the face of Jesus Christ. Therein will that manifestation of the glory of God in his infinite perfections, and all their blessed operations, so [illegible] souls, as shall immediately fill us with peace, rest, and glory.

These things we here admire, but cannot comprehend. We know not well what we say, when we speak of them: yet is there in true believers a foresight and foretaste of this glorious condition. There enters sometimes by the Word and Spirit into their hearts such a sense of the uncreated glory of God, shining forth in Christ, as affects and satiates their souls with ineffable joy. Hence arises that peace of God which is above all understanding, keeping our hearts and minds through Jesus Christ (Philippians 4:7). Christ in believers the hope of glory, gives them to taste of the first-fruits of it; yes, sometimes to bathe their souls in the fountain of life, and to drink of the rivers of pleasure that are at his right hand. Where any are utterly unacquainted with these things, they are carnal, yes, blind, and seeing nothing afar off. These enjoyments indeed are rare, and for the most part of short continuance. But it is from our own sloth and darkness that we do not enjoy more visits of this grace; and that the dawnings of glory do not more shine on our souls. Such things as these may excite us to diligence in the duty proposed unto us.

And I shall inquire: 1. What is that Glory of Christ which we do, or may behold by faith? 2. How do we behold it? 3. Wherein our doing so differs from immediate vision in heaven. And in the whole we shall endeavor an answer unto the inquiry made unto the spouse by the daughters of Jerusalem (Song of Solomon 5:9): "What is your beloved more than another beloved, you fairest among women? What is your beloved more than another beloved, that you do so charge us?"

John 17:24 — Father, I desire that they also, whom You have given Me, be with Me where I am, so that they may see My glory which You have given Me.

The high priest under the law, on the solemn Day of Atonement when he was to enter the Holy Place, was required to take both hands full of sweet incense from the golden incense table and carry it with him as he entered. He also carried a censer filled with fire taken from the altar of burnt offerings, where atonement for sin had been made with blood. Once he had passed through the veil, he placed the incense on the fire in the censer, until the cloud of smoke covered the ark and the mercy seat (see Leviticus 16:12-13). The purpose of this was to present to God, on behalf of the people, a sweet-smelling aroma from the sacrifice of propitiation.

Fulfilling this symbolic pattern, the great High Priest of the church — our Lord Jesus Christ — as He was about to enter the Holy Place not made with hands, filled the heavens above — the glorious dwelling place of God — with a cloud of incense through the blessed prayer recorded in this chapter. Just as the old high priest's incense was kindled by fire from the altar, so Christ's intercession was kindled by the same eternal fire by which He offered Himself as a bloody sacrifice to make atonement for sin. From that same fire He kindled in His most holy soul those desires for the application of all its benefits to His church — desires that are expressed here and that constitute His intercession.

There is one specific statement in the verse cited above that I intend to examine here. It concerns what the Lord Christ asks on behalf of those given to Him by the Father: that they may behold His glory.

It is clear that in this prayer the Lord Christ has in view His own glory and its manifestation — glory He had asked of the Father earlier in the prayer (John 17:4-5). But here His focus is not on this glory as something belonging to Himself, so much as on the benefit, blessing, satisfaction, and blessedness His disciples will receive from beholding it. For these were the very purposes of all the mediatorial glory given to Him. Similarly, when Joseph revealed himself to his brothers, he charged them to tell his father of all his glory in Egypt (Genesis 45:13). He did this not to boast about his own glory, but because he knew how much joy and satisfaction his father would have in hearing it. In the same way, the Lord Christ desires that His glory be made known to His disciples in a way that will fill them with blessed satisfaction forever.

This alone — what is prayed for here — will give them that satisfaction, and nothing else. The hearts of believers are like a compass needle touched by a magnet: they cannot rest until they reach the point to which they are drawn by that hidden power. For once touched by the love of Christ and given an impression of that secret, inexpressible virtue, they will always be in motion — restless — until they come to Him and behold His glory. Any soul that can be satisfied without beholding His glory, or that cannot be eternally satisfied by it, has no share in the power of His intercession.

I will lay the foundation of the following meditations in this one claim: that one of the greatest privileges and blessings of believers — both in this world and for eternity — consists in beholding the glory of Christ. This is what He desires for them in this solemn intercession, as the fulfillment of all His other requests on their behalf: that they may behold His glory — see, observe, contemplate His glory. The reason I apply this privilege not only to the heavenly state (which is the primary focus here) but also to the present life of believers — with their duties and blessings in it — will be explained immediately.

All unbelievers in their hearts call Christ Ichabod — 'Where is the glory?' They see no beauty or desirability in Him. They look at Him as Michal, Saul's daughter, looked at David dancing before the ark — despising him in her heart. Many of them do not openly call Jesus accursed, but they cry 'Hail, Master' and then crucify Him.

This explains the many wicked opinions that have been advanced against His glory — some of them genuinely destructive of everything that true glory actually is. Some deny the only Lord who bought us and substitute a false Christ in His place. Others reveal their contempt for Him and His glory by boldly and irreverently asking what use His person serves in our religion — as if anything in our religion had any reality, substance, or truth apart from its connection to Him. And their answers only bring such questions closer to the edge of blasphemy.

No age in the history of the Christian name has seen such direct opposition to the person and glory of Christ as the age in which we live. In the early church there were certainly swarms of proud, confused, and unstable people who put forward many foolish ideas about Him — ideas that eventually led to Arianism and were buried in its ruin. The gates of hell could not prevail against the Rock on which the church is built. But now we have large numbers opposing the person and glory of Christ under the pretense of sober reason, as they vainly claim. The disbelief of the mysteries of the Trinity and the incarnation of the Son of God — the sole foundation of the Christian religion — has spread so widely in the world that it has nearly consumed the vitals and power of faith. And not a few, who do not yet dare to express their views openly, give clear signals of their intentions and hostility by making those who desire to know nothing except Christ and Him crucified the objects of their scorn and mockery.

In His appointed time, God will powerfully vindicate His honor and glory against the futile attempts of corrupt minds.

In the meantime, it is the duty of all who love the Lord Jesus sincerely to bear witness in a distinctive way to His divine person and glory — each according to his capacity — precisely because of the opposition that is being made against them.

I have felt obligated on many counts to add my small contribution to this topic. I have chosen to do so not through controversy — as I have engaged in at other times — but in a way that, while defending the truth, also aims to strengthen the faith of true believers, build them up in the knowledge of it, and help them recognize the experience they have — or may have — of the power and reality of these things.

What I intend to demonstrate here is that beholding the glory of Christ is one of the greatest privileges and blessings believers can experience — in this world or in the one to come. It is the means by which they are first gradually conformed to His likeness, and then established in the eternal enjoyment of it. In this life, beholding His glory, they are changed and transformed into His likeness (2 Corinthians 3:18); and in the life to come, they will be forever like Him, because they will see Him as He is (1 John 3:1-2). Our present comfort and our future blessedness both depend on this. This is the life and reward of our souls. Anyone who has seen Him has seen the Father also (John 14:9), for we perceive the light of the knowledge of God only in the face of Jesus Christ (2 Corinthians 4:6).

There are therefore two ways — or two degrees — of beholding the glory of Christ, and Scripture consistently distinguishes between them. The first is by faith in this life, which is the evidence of things not seen. The second is by sight, or immediate vision, in eternity (2 Corinthians 5:7): 'We walk by faith, not by sight.' We walk that way while we are in this world, while we are at home in the body and away from the Lord (verse 8). But we will live and walk by sight hereafter. The Lord Christ and His glory are the immediate objects of both this faith and this sight. Here we see Him dimly, as in a mirror — that is, by faith — but we will see Him face to face by immediate vision; now we know in part, but then we will know fully, even as we are fully known (1 Corinthians 13:12). The difference between these two ways of beholding the glory of Christ will be explained later.

It is the first way — vision in the light of glory — that is primarily in view in our Lord's prayer that His disciples be where He is to behold His glory. But I will not confine my inquiry to that. Nor does our Lord Jesus exclude from His desire the sight of His glory we have by faith in this life; rather, He is praying for its perfection in heaven. Therefore I will take up this present life first, and for the following reasons.

First. No one will behold the glory of Christ by sight hereafter who does not in some measure behold it by faith here in this life. Grace is necessary preparation for glory, and faith for sight. Where the soul has not been previously shaped by grace and faith, it is not capable of glory or vision. In fact, people not prepared in this way cannot truly desire it, whatever they may claim — they only deceive themselves in supposing they do. Most people will confidently say, in life and in death, that they desire to be with Christ and to behold His glory. But they cannot give any real reason why they should desire such a thing. They only feel that it must be better than the awful condition they would otherwise be cast into forever when this life is over. If a man claims to love intensely or strongly desire something he has never seen and has never had any real representation of, he is only indulging his own imagination. The supposed desires of many to behold the glory of Christ in heaven — when they have no sight of it by faith here in this life — are nothing but self-deceiving fantasies.

This is exactly how Roman Catholics deceive themselves. Their physical senses are stirred up by images of Christ — His sufferings, His resurrection, His glory above — which arouse carnal feelings that they take to be love and delight in Christ Himself. They satisfy themselves that they are beholding the glory of Christ, with love and great devotion. But no true representation of the Lord Christ or His glory is made through such images — that is confined absolutely to the Gospel alone, and this way of attempting it is under a strict prohibition. They are simply entertaining themselves with their own delusions.

The apostle tells us about himself and other believers, when the Lord Christ was present and walked with them in the days of His flesh, that they saw His glory — the glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth (John 1:14). We may ask: what was this glory of Christ they saw, and how did they come to see it? It was not the glory of His outward circumstances, as we behold the grandeur of kings and rulers of the earth — for He emptied Himself, taking the form of a servant and living in the condition of a lowly man. The worldly splendor of His so-called vicar on earth bears no resemblance to that glory His disciples saw. He kept no court, no house of entertainment, and though He made all things, He had no place of His own to lay His head. Nor was it the outward appearance of the flesh He took on — the physical form in which He assumed our nature — as we might admire a handsome or beautiful person. He had in that regard no beauty or stateliness that we should desire Him; His appearance was so disfigured beyond that of any man, His form more marred than the sons of men (Isaiah 52:14; 53:2-3). Everything about Him was consistent with a man of sorrows. Nor was it the absolute, eternal glory of His divine nature that is meant — for no one can see that in this life, and what we will attain of it hereafter we do not yet know. What they saw was His glory as one full of grace and truth. They saw the glory of His person and His office in the administration of grace and truth. And how did they see this glory? By faith, and in no other way. This privilege was granted only to those who received Him and believed on His name (John 1:12). This was the glory John the Baptist saw when, at Jesus' coming to him, he said to all who were present, 'Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world' (John 1:29-33).

Let no one deceive himself: whoever has no sight of the glory of Christ here in this life will never have any sight of it to his advantage hereafter. It is not profitable, therefore, to speak about beholding the glory of Christ in heaven by vision, until we first examine whether we see anything of it by faith in this life.

Second. Beholding Christ in glory is in itself too high, too magnificent, and too wonderful for us in our present condition. It has a splendor and brightness too great for our present spiritual capacity — just as looking directly at the sun darkens our sight rather than strengthening it. Therefore, the only way we can form any true spiritual understanding of what immediate vision actually is — what it means to see the glory of Christ in heaven — is through the view of that same glory that we have by faith in this life. Anything else that enters our minds on the subject is merely conjecture and imagination, as is the case with most people's thinking about heavenly things.

I have read something of the writings of learned men on the state of future glory. Some of these writings are filled with excellent insights and elegant expression that cannot help but stir the minds of those who thoughtfully consider them. But many readers find — and I have heard this complaint often — that in reading such discourses they are like a man who looks at his own face in a mirror and then immediately forgets what he looked like. The things discussed do not stay or become part of the mind. They please and refresh briefly, like a rain shower in a dry season that does not soak down to the roots — their power does not enter into us. Is this not because their ideas about future things are not drawn from our actual experience of the beginnings of those things in this life? Without that connection, such ideas cannot make any lasting home in our minds or continue to influence our hearts. In fact, the soul is disturbed rather than built up when it tries to contemplate future glory through things it has no foretaste of, no sense of, and no experience of in this life. No one should expect anything in heaven that he does not in some way have some experience of here. If people were fully convinced of this, they might well exercise faith and love toward heavenly things far more than they currently do. As it is, they do not know what they are already enjoying, and they look forward to they know not what.

This is why people who are strangers to any experience of the beginnings of glory in themselves — as an effect of faith — have filled their worship with images, paintings, and music to create some representation of the glory they imagine to exist above. They have no access to what glory truly is, and they cannot have it, because they have no experience of its power in themselves and no taste of its goodness through its first fruits in their own minds. Therefore, only through the view of the glory of Christ by faith here in this world — and in no other way — may we reach such blessed conceptions of beholding His glory above by immediate vision that our hearts are drawn out in admiration of it and in longing for its full enjoyment.

Third. Our present growth in grace depends chiefly on this. In the present beholding of the glory of Christ, the life and power of faith are exercised most fully. And from this exercise of faith, love for Christ chiefly — if not entirely — arises and flows. If we desire to have faith in its full strength, or love in its full power — giving rest, contentment, and satisfaction to our souls — we must seek them in the diligent practice of this duty; they will not be found elsewhere. I want to live in this; I want to die in this; I want to dwell on it in my thoughts and affections until all the painted beauties of this world wither and fade, until all things here below are crucified to me and become a dead and disfigured thing, in no way fit for loving embrace.

For these and similar reasons, I will first examine our beholding of the glory of Christ in this world by faith, and in doing so, seek to guide the souls of believers into the quieter pathways of faith, love, and holy meditation — the inner chambers where the King is held (Song of Solomon 7:5).

Since no benefit comes from contemplating this sacred truth apart from actually practicing the duty it calls us to — that is, the constant beholding of the glory of Christ by faith — I will first note a few of the advantages we may gain by doing so.

First. We will be made ready and fit for heaven. Not everyone who desires heaven and hopes for it is fit for it. Some are not only unworthy of it and shut out from it by reason of sin, but they are unfit for it and incapable of receiving any benefit from it. Every person naturally assumes they are fit enough for glory — what could stand in the way? — but only because they do not know what it actually is. People will not be clothed with glory against their will or without regard to whether they are suited for it. It must be received in the exercise of the soul's faculties, which many people simply have no capacity for. Music gives no pleasure to those who cannot hear; beautiful colors give no pleasure to those who cannot see. It would do a fish no good to take it from the cold and dark depths of the ocean and place it under the rays of the sun — it is in no way fitted to receive any benefit from them. Heaven itself would be no more useful to people who have not been renewed by the Spirit of grace in this life.

The apostle therefore gives thanks to the Father who has qualified us to share in the inheritance of the saints in light (Colossians 1:12). The beginning of this here, and its fullness in glory hereafter, are both given to believers by an almighty act of God's will and grace. Yet He has ordained ways and means by which we may be made fit and receptive for the glory that will be given to us. That this way and means is the beholding of the glory of Christ by faith will be made fully clear as we proceed. This therefore should drive us to this duty — for all our present glory consists in our preparation for future glory.

Second. No one can by faith take a real view of this glory without a transforming power proceeding from it — changing him into the same image (2 Corinthians 3:18). How this happens, and how we become like Christ by beholding His glory, will be fully explained as we proceed.

Third. The constant contemplation of the glory of Christ will give rest, satisfaction, and contentment to those who practice it. Our minds tend to be filled with a multitude of anxious thoughts, fears, worries, dangers, distress, disordered passions, and sinful desires, all of which make their various impressions on us and fill us with disorder, darkness, and confusion. But when the soul is fixed in its thoughts and meditations on this glorious object, it will be brought into and kept in a holy, peaceful, spiritual frame. For to be spiritually minded is life and peace. This happens because such contemplation draws our hearts away from all excessive attachment to earthly things by showing us the surpassing worth, beauty, and glory of what we are occupied with. See Philippians 3:7-11. A lack of this contemplation is what makes many of us strangers to a heavenly life and causes us to live below the spiritual refreshment and satisfaction that the Gospel offers.

Fourth. The sight of the glory of Christ is the source and cause of our everlasting blessedness. We will be forever with the Lord (1 Thessalonians 4:17) — with Christ, which is best of all (Philippians 1:23) — for there we will behold His glory (John 17:24), and by seeing Him as He is, we will be made like Him (1 John 3:2), which is our everlasting blessedness.

The enjoyment of God through sight is commonly called the beatific vision, and it is the sole source of all our souls' activity in the state of blessedness — something the ancient philosophers knew nothing of, and which we ourselves do not yet know clearly or fully. What we do know is that God in His immense essence is invisible to our bodily eyes, and will always be so; and that He is also incomprehensible to our minds, for nothing can fully comprehend that which is infinite except what is itself infinite. Therefore, the blessed and beatifying sight we will have of God will always be in the face of Jesus Christ. There the manifestation of God's glory in His infinite perfections — and all their blessed operations — will so transform our souls as to fill us immediately with peace, rest, and glory.

We admire these things here, but we cannot fully comprehend them. We hardly know what we are saying when we speak of them. Yet in true believers there is already a foretaste and foresight of this glorious condition. At times, through the Word and Spirit, there enters into their hearts such a sense of the uncreated glory of God shining forth in Christ that it fills and satisfies their souls with inexpressible joy. From this arises the peace of God that surpasses all understanding, guarding our hearts and minds through Jesus Christ (Philippians 4:7). Christ in believers — the hope of glory — gives them a taste of its first fruits; yes, sometimes they are able to immerse their souls in the fountain of life and drink from the rivers of pleasure at His right hand. Those who are completely unfamiliar with these experiences are carnal — blind, seeing nothing of what lies ahead. Such moments of enjoyment are rare and generally brief. But it is through our own laziness and spiritual darkness that we do not receive more of them, and that the dawning light of glory does not shine more brightly on our souls. These things should stir us to diligence in the duty before us.

I will therefore inquire: first, what is the glory of Christ that we do or may behold by faith? Second, how do we behold it? Third, in what way does our present beholding differ from the immediate vision we will have in heaven? Throughout all of this, we will seek to answer the question put to the bride by the daughters of Jerusalem in Song of Solomon 5:9: 'What is your beloved more than another beloved, O most beautiful among women? What is your beloved more than another beloved, that you charge us so?'