e near to God.

_II.--HOW THE SAINTS WILL BE EMPLOYED_

This rest containeth a sweet and constant action of all the powers of
the soul and body in this fruition of God. It is not the rest of a stone
which ceaseth from motion when it attains the centre. Whether the
external senses, such as now we have, shall be continued and employed in
this work is a great doubt. For some of them, it is usually
acknowledged, they shall cease, because their being importeth their use,
and their use implieth our state of imperfection--as there is no use for
eating and drinking, so neither for taste. But do not all senses imply
our imperfection? As the ore is cast into the fire a stone, but comes
forth so pure a metal that it deserves another name, so far greater will
the change of our body and senses be--even so great as now we cannot
conceive. And, doubtless, as God advanceth our sense and enlargeth our
capacity, so will He advance the happiness of those senses, and fill up
with Himself all that capacity.

And if the body shall be thus employed, oh, how shall the soul be taken
up! As the bodily senses have their proper aptitude and action, so doth
the soul in its own action enjoy its own object--by knowing, by
thinking, by remembering, by loving. This is the soul's enjoying.

Knowledge of itself is very desirable, even the knowledge of some evil,
though not the evil itself. As far as a rational soul exceeds the
sensitive, so far the delights of a philosopher in discovering the
secrets of Nature, and knowing the mysteries of science, exceed the
delights of the glutton, the drunkard, the unclean, and of all
voluptuous sensualists whatsoever--so excellent is all truth. What,
then, is their delight who know the God of truth! What would I not give
so that all the uncertain, questionable principles in logic, natural
philosophy, metaphysics, and medicine were but certain in themselves and
to me, that my dull, obscure notions of them were but quick and clear.
Oh, what then should I not either perform or part with to enjoy a clear
and true apprehension of the most true God!

How noble a faculty of the soul is this understanding! It can compass
the earth; it can measure the sun, moon, stars, and heaven; it can
foreknow each eclipse to a minute many years before; yea, but the top of
all its excellency is that it can know God, who is infinite, who made
all these--a little here, and more, much more, hereafter. Oh, the wisdom
and goodness of o