RELIGIOUS AFFECTIONS
JONATHAN EDWARDS
III. Those
affections that are truly holy, are primarily founded on the loveliness of the
moral excellency of divine things. Or (to express it otherwise) a love to
divine things for the beauty and sweetness of their moral excellency is the
first beginning and spring of all holy affections.
Here, for the sake of the more illiterate reader, I
will explain what I mean by the moral excellency of divine things.
And it may be
observed, that the word moral is not to be understood here according to
the common and vulgar acceptation of the word when men speak of morality, and
a moral behaviour; meaning an outward conformity to the duties of the moral
law, and especially the duties of the second table; or intending no more at
farthest, than such seeming virtues, as proceed from natural principles, in
opposition to those virtues that are more inward, spiritual, and divine; as
the honesty, justice, generosity, good nature, and public spirit of many of
the heathen are called moral virtues, in distinction from the holy faith,
love, humility, and heavenly-mindedness of true Christians: I say, the word moral
is not to be understood thus in this place.
But in order to a
right understanding what is meant, it must be observed, that divines commonly
make a distinction between moral good and evil, and natural good and evil. By
moral evil, they mean the evil of sin, or that evil which is against duty, and
contrary to what is right and ought to be. By natural evil, they do not mean
that evil which is properly opposed to duty; but that which is contrary to
mere nature, without any respect to a rule of duty. So the evil of suffering
is called natural evil, such as pain and torment, disgrace, and the like:
these things are contrary to mere nature, contrary to the nature of both bad
and good, hateful to wicked men and devils, as well as good men and angels. So
likewise natural defects are called natural evils, as if a child be monstrous
or a natural fool; these are natural evils, but are not moral evils, because
they have not properly the nature of the evil of sin. On the other hand, as by
moral evil, divines mean the evil of sin, or that which is contrary to what is
right; so by moral good, they mean that which is contrary to sin, or that good
in beings who have will and choice, whereby, as voluntary agents, they are,
and act, as it becomes them to be and to act, or so as is most fit, and
suitable, and lovely. By natural good, they mean that good that is entirely of
a different kind from holiness or virtue, viz., that which perfects or suits
nature, considering nature abstractly from any holy or unholy qualifications,
and without any relation to any rule or measure of right and wrong.
Thus pleasure is
a natural good; so is honour, so is strength; so is speculative knowledge,
human learning, and policy.--Thus there is a distinction to be made between
the natural good that men are possessed of, and their moral good; and also
between the natural and moral good of the angels in heaven: the great capacity
of their understandings, and their great strength, and the honourable
circumstances they are in as the great ministers of God's kingdom, whence they
are called thrones, dominions, principalities, and powers, is the natural good
which they are possessed of; but their perfect and glorious holiness and
goodness, their pure and flaming love to God, and to the saints and to one
another, is their moral good. So divines make a distinction between the
natural and moral perfections of God: by the moral perfections of God, they
mean those attributes which God exercises as a moral agent, or whereby the
heart and will of God are good, right, and infinitely becoming and lovely;
such as his righteousness, truth, faithfulness, and goodness; or, in one word,
his holiness. By God's natural attributes or perfections, they mean those
attributes, wherein, according to our way of conceiving of God, consists, not
the holiness or moral goodness of God, but his greatness, such as his power,
his knowledge, whereby he knows all things, and his being eternal, from
everlasting to everlasting, his omnipresence, and his awful and terrible
majesty.
The moral
excellency of an intelligent voluntary being is more immediately seated in the
heart or will of moral agents. That intelligent being, whose will is truly
right and lovely, is morally good or excellent.
This moral
excellency of an intelligent being, when it is true and real, and not only
external or merely seeming and counterfeit, is holiness. Therefore holiness
comprehends all the true moral excellency of intelligent beings: there is no
other true virtue, but real holiness. Holiness comprehends all the true virtue
of a good man, his love to God, his gracious love to men, his justice, his
charity, and bowels of mercies, his gracious meekness and gentleness, and all
other true Christian virtues that he has, belong to his holiness. So the
holiness of God in the more extensive sense of the word, and the sense in
which the word is commonly, if not universally used concerning God in
Scripture, is the same with the moral excellency of the divine nature, or his
purity and beauty as a moral agent, comprehending all his moral perfections,
his righteousness faithfulness, and goodness. As in holy men, their charity,
Christian kindness and mercy, belong to their holiness; so the kindness and
mercy of God belong to his holiness. Holiness in man is but the image of God's
holiness; there are not more virtues belonging to the image than are in the
original: derived holiness has not more in it than is in that underived
holiness which is its fountain: there is no more than grace for grace, or
grace in the image, answerable to grace in the original.
As there are two
kinds of attributes in God, according to our way of conceiving of him, his
moral attributes, which are summed up in his holiness, and his natural
attributes of strength, knowledge, &c., that constitute the greatness of
God; so there is a twofold image of God in man, his moral or spiritual image,
which is his holiness, that is the image of God's moral excellency (which
image was lost by the fall), and God's natural image, consisting in man's
reason and understanding, his natural ability, and dominion over the
creatures, which is the image of God's natural attribute.
From what has
been said, it may easily be understood what I intend, when I say that a love
to divine things for the beauty of their moral excellency, is the beginning
and spring of all holy affections. It has been already shown, under the former
head, that the first objective ground of all holy affections is the supreme
excellency of divine things as they are in themselves, or in their own nature;
I now proceed further, and say more particularly, that that kind of excellency
of the nature of divine things, which is the first objective ground of all
holy affections, is their moral excellency, or their holiness. Holy persons,
in the exercise of holy affections, do love divine things primarily for their
holiness: they love God, in the first place, for the beauty of his holiness or
moral perfection, as being supremely amiable in itself. Not that the saints,
in the exercise of gracious affections, do love God only for his holiness; all
his attributes are amiable and glorious in their eyes; they delight in every
divine perfection; the contemplation of the infinite greatness, power,
knowledge, and terrible majesty of God, is pleasant to them. But their love to
God for his holiness is what is most fundamental and essential in their love.
Here it is that true love to God begins; all other holy love to divine things
flows from hence: this is the most essential and distinguishing thing that
belongs to a holy love to God, with regard to the foundation of it. A love to
God for the beauty of his moral at tributes leads to, and necessarily causes a
delight in God for all his attributes; for his moral attributes cannot be
without his natural attributes: for infinite holiness supposes infinite
wisdom, and an infinite capacity and greatness; and all the attributes of God
do as it were imply one another.
The true beauty
and loveliness of all intelligent beings does primarily and most essentially
consist in their moral excellency or holiness. Herein consists the loveliness
of the angels, without which, with all their natural perfections, their
strength, and their knowledge, they would have no more loveliness than devils.
It is a moral excellency alone, that is in itself, and on its own account, the
excellency of intelligent beings: it is this that gives beauty to, or rather
is the beauty of their natural perfections and qualifications. Moral
excellency is the excellency of natural excellencies. Natural qualifications
are either excellent or otherwise, according as they are joined with moral
excellency or not. Strength and knowledge do not render any being lovely,
without holiness, but more hateful; though they render them more lovely, when
joined with holiness. Thus the elect angels are the more glorious for their
strength and knowledge, because these natural perfections of theirs are
sanctified by their moral perfection. But though the devils are very strong,
and of great natural understanding, they be not the more lovely: they are more
terrible indeed, but not the more amiable; but on the contrary, the more
hateful. The holiness of an intelligent creature, is the beauty of all his
natural perfections. And so it is in God, according to our way of conceiving
of the divine Being: holiness is in a peculiar manner the beauty of the divine
nature. Hence we often read of the beauty of holiness, Psal. 29:2, Psal. 96:9,
and 110:3. This renders all his other attributes glorious and lovely. It is
the glory of God's wisdom, that it is a holy wisdom, and not a wicked subtlety
and craftiness. This makes his majesty lovely; and not merely dreadful and
horrible, that it is a holy majesty. It is the glory of God's immutability,
that it is a holy immutability, and not an flexible obstinacy in wickedness.
And therefore it
must needs be, that a sight of God's loveliness must begin here. A true love
to God must begin with a delight in his holiness, and not with a delight in
any other attribute; for no other attribute is truly lovely without this, and
no otherwise than as (according to our way of conceiving of God) it derives
its loveliness from this; and therefore it is impossible that other attributes
should appear lovely, in their true loveliness, until this is seen; and it
impossible that any perfection of the divine nature should be loved with true
love until this is loved. If the true loveliness of all God's perfections
arises from the loveliness of his holiness; then the true love of all his
perfections arises from the love of his holiness. They that do not see the
glory of God's holiness, cannot see anything of the true glory of his mercy
and grace: they see nothing of the glory of those attributes, as any
excellency of God's nature, as it is in itself; though they may be affected
with them, and love them, as they concern their interest: for these attributes
are no part of the excellency of God's nature, as that is excellent in itself,
any otherwise than as they are included in his holiness, more largely taken;
or as they are a part of his moral perfection.
As the beauty of
the divine nature does primarily consist in God's holiness, so does the beauty
of all divine things. Herein consists the beauty of the saints, that they are
saints, or holy ones; it is the moral image of God in them, which is their
beauty; and that is their holiness. Herein consists the beauty and brightness
of the angels of heaven, that they are holy angels, and so not devils. Dan.
4:13, 17, 23; Matt. 25:31, Mark 8:38, Acts 10:22, Rev. 14:10. Herein consists
the beauty of the Christian religion, above all other religions, that it is so
holy a religion. Herein consists the excellency of the word of God, that it is
so holy: Psal. 119:140, "Thy word is very pure, therefore thy servant
loveth it." Ver. 128, "I esteem all thy precepts concerning all
things to be right; and I hate every false way." Ver. 138, "Thy
testimonies that thou hast commanded are righteous, and very faithful."
And 172, "My tongue shall speak of thy word; for all thy commandments are
righteousness." And Psal. 19:7-10, "The law of the Lord is perfect,
converting the soul; the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the
simple. The statutes of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart: the
commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes. The fear of the Lord
is clean, enduring forever: the judgments of the Lord are true, and righteous
altogether. More to be desired are they than gold, yea, than much fine gold:
sweeter also than honey, and the honey comb." Herein does primarily
consist the amiableness and beauty of the Lord Jesus, whereby he is the chief
among ten thousands, and altogether lovely, even in that he is the holy one of
God, Acts 3:14, and God's holy child, Acts 4:27, and he that is holy, and he
that is true, Rev. 3:7. All the spiritual beauty of his human nature,
consisting in his meekness, lowliness, patience, heavenliness, love to God,
love to men, condescension to the mean and vile, and compassion to the
miserable, &c., all is summed up in his holiness. And the beauty of his
divine nature, of which the beauty of his human nature is the image and
reflection, does also primarily consist in his holiness. Herein primarily
consists the glory of the gospel, that it is a holy gospel, and so bright an
emanation of the holy beauty of God and Jesus Christ: herein consists the
spiritual beauty of its doctrines, that they are holy doctrines, or doctrines
according to goodness. And herein does consist the spiritual beauty of the way
of salvation by Jesus Christ, that it is so holy a way. And herein chiefly
consists the glory of heaven, that it is the holy city, the holy Jerusalem,
the habitation of God's holiness, and so of his glory, Isa. 63:15. All the
beauties of the new Jerusalem, as it is described in the two last chapters of
Revelation, are but various representations of this. See chap. 21:2, 10, 11,
18, 21, 27, chap. 22:1, 3.
And
therefore it is primarily on account of this kind of excellency, that the
saints do love all these things. Thus they love the word of God, because it is
very pure. It is on this account they love the saints; and on this account
chiefly it is, that heaven is lovely to them, and those holy tabernacles of
God amiable in their eyes: it is on this account that they love God; and on
this account primarily it is, that they love Christ, and that their hearts
delight in the doctrines of the gospel, and sweetly acquiesce in the way of
salvation therein revealed.[51]
Under the head of the first distinguishing characteristic of gracious
affections, I observed, that there is given to those that are regenerated, a
new supernatural sense, that is as it were a certain divine spiritual taste,
which is, in its whole nature, diverse from any former kinds of sensation of
the mind, as tasting is diverse from saint in the exercise of this new sense
of mind, in spiritual and divine things as entirely different from anything
that is perceived in them by natural men, as the sweet taste of honey is
diverse from the ideas men get of honey by looking on it or feeling it. Now
this that I have been speaking of, viz., the beauty of holiness, is that thing
in spiritual and divine things, which is perceived by this spiritual sense,
that is so diverse from all that natural men perceive in them; this kind of
beauty is the quality that is the immediate object of this spiritual sense;
this is the sweetness that is the proper object of this spiritual taste. The
Scripture often represents the beauty and sweetness of holiness as the grand
object of a spiritual taste and spiritual appetite. This was the sweet food of
the holy soul of Jesus Christ, John 4:32, 34: "I have meat to eat that ye
know not of—My meat is to do the will of him that sent me, and to finish his
work." I know of no part of the holy Scriptures, where the nature and
evidences of true and sincere godliness are so much of set purpose and so
fully and largely insisted on and delineated, as the 119th Psalm; the Psalmist
declares his design in the first verses of the Psalm, and he keeps his eye on
this design all along, and pursues it to the end: but in this Psalm the
excellency of holiness is represented as the immediate object of a spiritual
taste, relish, appetite, and delight of God's law; that grand expression and
emanation of the holiness of God's natures and prescription of holiness to the
creature, is all along represented as the food and entertainment, and as the
great object of the love, the appetite, the complacence and rejoicing of the
gracious nature, which prizes God's commandments above gold, yea, the finest
gold, and to which they are sweeter than the honey and honey comb; and that
upon account of their holiness, as I observed before. The same Psalmist
declares, that this is the sweetness that a spiritual taste relishes in God's
law: Psal. 19:7, 8, 9, 10, "The law of the Lord is perfect; the
commandment of the Lord is pure; the fear of the Lord is clean; the statutes
of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart;--the judgments of the Lord are
true, and righteous altogether; more to be desired are they than gold, yea,
than much fine gold; sweeter also than honey, and the honey comb."
A
holy love has a holy object. The holiness of love consists especially in this,
that it is the love of that which is holy, as holy, or for its holiness; so
that it is the holiness of the object, which is the quality whereon it fixes
and terminates. A holy nature must needs love that in holy things chiefly,
which is most agreeable to itself; but surely that in divine things, which
above all others is agreeable to a holy nature, is holiness, because holiness
must be above all other things agreeable to holiness; for nothing can be more
agreeable to any nature than itself; holy nature must be above all things
agreeable to holy nature: and so the holy nature of God and Christ, and the
word of God, and other divine things, must be above all other things agreeable
to the holy nature that is in the saints.
And
again, a holy nature doubtless loves holy things, especially on the account of
that for which sinful nature has enmity against them; but that for which
chiefly sinful nature is at enmity against holy things, is their holiness; it
is for this, that the carnal mind is at enmity against God, and against the
law of God, and the people of God. Now it is just arguing from contraries;
from contrary causes to contrary effects; from opposite natures to opposite
tendencies. We know that holiness is of a directly contrary nature to
wickedness; as therefore it is the nature of wickedness chiefly to oppose and
hate holiness; so it must be the nature of holiness chiefly to tend to, and
delight in holiness.
The
holy nature in the saints and angels in heaven (where the true tendency of it
best appears) is principally engaged by the holiness of divine things. This is
the divine beauty which chiefly engages the attention, admiration, and praise
of the bright and burning seraphim: Isa. 6:3, "One cried unto another,
and said, Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts, the whole earth is full of
his glory." And Rev. 4:8, "They rest not day and night, saying,
Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, which was, and is, and is to come."
So the glorified saints chap. 15:4, "Who shall not fear thee, O Lord, and
glorify thy name? For thou only art holy."
And
the Scriptures represent the saints on earth as adoring God primarily on this
account, and admiring and extolling all God's attributes, either as deriving
loveliness from his holiness, or as being a part of it. Thus when they praise
God for his power, his holiness is the beauty that engages them: Psal. 98:1,
"O sing unto the Lord a new song, for he hath done marvellous things: his
right hand, and his holy arm hath gotten him the victory." So when they
praise him for his justice and terrible majesty: Psal. 99:2, 3, "The Lord
is great in
Zion
, and he is high
above all people. Let them praise thy great and terrible name; for it is
holy." Ver. 5, "Exalt ye the Lord our God, and worship at his
footstool; for he is holy." Ver. 8, 9, "Thou wast a God that
forgavest them, though thou tookest vengeance of their inventions. Exalt ye
the Lord our God, and worship at his holy hill: for the Lord our God, is
holy." So when they praise God for his mercy and faithfulness: Psal.
97:11, 12, "Light is sown for the righteous, and gladness for the upright
in heart. Rejoice in the Lord, ye righteous; and give thanks at the
remembrance of his holiness." 1 Sam. 2:2, "There is none holy as the
Lord: for there is none besides thee; neither is there any rock like our
God."
By
this therefore all may try their affections, and particularly their love and
joy. Various kinds of creatures show the difference of their natures, very
much in the different things they relish as their proper good, one delighting
in that which another abhors. Such a difference is there between true saints,
and natural men: natural men have no sense of the goodness and excellency of
holy things at least for their holiness; they have no taste for that kind of
good; and so may be said not to know that divine good, or not to see it; it is
wholly hid from them; but the saints, by the mighty power of God, have it
discovered to them; they have that supernatural, most noble and divine sense
given them, by which they perceive it; and it is this that captivates their
hearts, and delights them above all things; it is the most amiable and sweet
thing to the heart of a true saint, that is to be found in heaven or earth;
that which above all others attracts and engages his soul; and that whereby
above all things, he places his happiness, and which he lots upon for solace
and entertainment to his mind, in this world, and full satisfaction and
blessedness in another. By this, you may examine your love to God, and to
Jesus Christ, and to the word of God, and your joy in them, and also your love
to the people of God, and your desires after heaven; whether they be from a
supreme delight in this sort of beauty, without being primarily moved from
your imagined interest in them, or expectations from them. There are many high
affections, great seeming love and rapturous joys, which have nothing of this
holy relish belonging to them.
Particularly,
by what has been said you may try your discoveries of the glory of God's grace
and love, and your affections arising from them. The grace of God may appear
lovely two ways; either as bonum utile,
a profitable good to me, that which greatly serves my interest, and so suits
my self-love; or as bonum formosum,
a beautiful good in itself, and part of the moral and spiritual excellency of
the divine nature. In this latter respect it is that the true saints have
their hearts affected, and love captivated by the free grace of God in the
first place.
From
the things that have been said, it appears, that if persons have a great sense
of the natural perfections of God, and are greatly affected with them, or have
any other sight or sense of God than that which consists in, or implies a
sense of the beauty of his moral perfections, it is no certain sign of grace;
as particularly men's having a great sense of the awful greatness and terrible
majesty of God; for this is only God's natural perfection, and what men may
see and yet be entirely blind to the beauty of his moral perfection, and have
nothing of that spiritual taste which relishes this divine sweetness.
It
has been shown already, in what was said upon the first distinguishing mark of
gracious affections, that that which is spiritual, is entirely different in
its nature, from all that it is possible any graceless person should be the
subject of, while he continues graceless. But it is possible that those who
are wholly without grace should have a clear sight and very great and
affecting sense of God's greatness, his mighty power, and awful majesty; for
this is what the devils have, though they have lost the spiritual knowledge of
God, consisting in a sense of the amiableness of his moral perfections; they
are perfectly destitute of any sense or relish of that kind of beauty, yet
they have a very great knowledge of the natural glory of God (if I may so
speak), or his awful greatness and majesty; this they behold, and are
affected with the apprehensions of, and therefore tremble before him. This
glory of God all shall behold at the day of judgment; God will make all
rational beings to behold it to a great degree indeed, angels and devils,
saints and sinners: Christ will manifest his infinite greatness, and awful
majesty, to everyone, in a most open, clear, and convincing manner, and in a
light that none can resist, "when he shall come in the glory of his
Father, and every eye shall see him;" when they shall cry to the
mountains to fall upon them, to hide them from the face of him that sits upon
the throne, they are represented as seeing the glory of God's majesty, Isa.
2:10, 19, 21. God will make all his enemies to behold this, and to live in a
most clear and affecting view of it, in hell, to all eternity. God hath often
declared his immutable purpose to make all his enemies to know him in this
respect, in so often annexing these words to the threatenings he denounces
against them: "And they shall know that I am the Lord;" yea he hath
sworn that all men shall see his glory in this respect: Numb. 14:21, "As
truly as I live, all the earth shall be filled with the glory of the
Lord." And this kind of manifestation of God is very often spoken of in
Scripture, as made, or to be made, in the sight of God's enemies in this
world, Exod. 9:16, and chap.
14:18
, and
15:16
, Psal. 66:3, and
46:10, and other places innumerable. This was a manifestation which God made
of himself in the sight of that wicked congregation at
Mount Sinai
; deeply affecting
them with it; so that all the people in the camp trembled. Wicked men and
devils will see, and have a great sense of everything that appertains to the
glory of God, but only the beauty of his moral perfection; they will see his
infinite greatness and majesty, his infinite power, and will be fully
convinced of his omniscience, and his eternity and immutability; and they will
see and know everything appertaining to his moral attributes themselves, but
only the beauty and amiableness of them; they will see and know that he is
perfectly just, and righteous, and true, and that he is a holy God, of purer
eyes than to behold evil, who cannot look on iniquity; and they will see the
wonderful manifestations of his infinite goodness and free grace to the
saints; and there is nothing will be hid from their eyes, but only the beauty
of these moral attributes, and that beauty of the other attributes, which
arises from it. And so natural men in this world are capable of having a very
affecting sense of everything else that appertains to God, but this only.
Nebuchadnezzar had a great and very affecting sense of the infinite greatness
and awful majesty of God, of his supreme and absolute dominion, and mighty and
irresistible power, and of his sovereignty, and that he, and all the
inhabitants of the earth were nothing before him; and also had a great
conviction in his conscience of his justice, and an affecting sense of his
great goodness, Dan. 4:1, 2, 3, 34, 35, 37. And the sense that Darius had of
God's perfections, seems to be very much like his, Dan.
6:25
, &c. But the
saints and angels do behold the glory of God consisting in the beauty of his
holiness; and it is this sight only that will melt and humble the hearts of
men, and wean them from the world, and draw them to God, and effectually
change them. A sight of the awful greatness of God, may overpower men's
strength, and be more than they can endure; but if the moral beauty of God be
hid, the enmity of the heart will remain in its full strength, no love will be
enkindled, all will not be effectual to gain the will, but that will remain
inflexible; whereas the first glimpse of the moral and spiritual glory of God
shining into the heart, produces all these effects as it were with omnipotent
power, which nothing can withstand.
The
sense that natural men may have of the awful greatness of God may affect them
various ways; it may not only terrify them, but it may elevate them, and raise
their joy and praise, as their circumstances may be. This will be the natural
effect of it, under the real or supposed receipt of some extraordinary mercy
from God, by the influence of mere principles of nature. It has been shown
already, that the receipt of kindness may, by the influence of natural
principles, affect the heart with gratitude and praise to God; but if a
person, at the same time that he receives remarkable kindness from God, has a
sense of his infinite greatness, and that he is but nothing in comparison of
him, surely this will naturally raise his gratitude and praise the higher, for
kindness to one so much inferior. A sense of God's greatness had this effect
upon Nebuchadnezzar, under the receipt of that extraordinary favour of his
restoration, after he had been driven from men, and had his dwelling with the
beasts: a sense of God's exceeding greatness raises his gratitude very high;
so that he does, in the most lofty terms, extol and magnify God, and calls
upon all the world to do it with him; and much more if a natural man, at the
same time that he is greatly affected with God's infinite greatness and
majesty, entertains a strong conceit that this great God has made him his
child and special favourite, and promised him eternal glory in his highest
love, will this have a tendency, according to the course of nature, to raise
his joy and praise to a great height.
Therefore,
it is beyond doubt that too much weight has been laid, by many persons of
late, on discoveries of God's greatness, awful majesty, and natural
perfection, operating after this manner, without any real view of the holy
majesty of God. And experience does abundantly witness to what reason and
Scripture declare as to this matter; there having been very many persons, who
have seemed to be overpowered with the greatness and majesty of God, and
consequently elevated in the manner that has been spoken of, who have been
very far from having appearances of a Christian spirit and temper, in any
manner of proportion, or fruits in practice in any wise agreeable; but their
discoveries have worked in a way contrary to the operation of truly spiritual
discoveries.
Not
that a sense of God's greatness and natural attributes is not exceeding useful
and necessary. For, as I observed before, this is implied in a manifestation
of the beauty of God's holiness. Though that be something beyond it, it
supposes it, as the greater supposes the less. And though natural men may have
a sense of the natural perfections of God; yet undoubtedly this is more
frequent and common with the saints than with natural men; and grace tends to
enable men to see these things in a better manner than natural men do; and not
only enables them to see God's natural attributes, but that beauty of those
attributes, which (according to our way of conceiving of God) is derived from
his holiness.
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