The divine life in three treatises

10. 25. As the day differeth from the night by the light of the sun, so the Church differeth from the world by the Knowledge of God in Jesus Christ. Psal. 76. 1, 2. In Judah is God known; his name is great in Israel: In Salem also is his Tabernacle, and his dwelling place in Zion. The Love, and Unity, and peace which shall succeed persecution and malice in the blessed times, shall be because the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea, Isa. 11. 6, 7, 8, 9. Hypocrites shall know him superficially and uneffectually: and his holy ones shall know him so as to Love him, fear him, trust him, and obey him; with a knowledge effectual upon heart and life: And he will continue his loving kindness to them that know him, Psal. 36. 10.

10. 25. As the day differeth from the night by the light of the sun, so the Church differeth from the world by the Knowledge of God in Jesus Christ. Psal. 76. 1, 2. In Judah is God known; his name is great in Israel: In Salem also is his Tabernacle, and his dwelling place in Sion. The Love, and Unity, and peace which shall succeed persecution and malice in the blessed times, shall be because the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea, Isa. 11. 6, 7, 8, 9. Hypocrites shall know him superficially and uneffectually: and his holy ones shall know him so as to Love him, fear him, trust him, and obey him; with a knowledge effectual upon heart and life: And he will continue his loving kindness to them that know him, Psal. 36. 10.

He is the best Christian that hath the fullest impression made upon his soul by the Knowledge of God in all his Attributes. Thus it is our Life eternal to Know God in Christ. It is to reveal the Father that the Son was sent; and it is to reveal the Father and the Son, that the Holy spirit is sent; God is the light and the life, and felicity of the soul. The work of its salvation is but the restoring it to him, and putting it in possession of him. The beginning of this is Regeneration and Reconciliation: the perfection o it is Glorification, beatifical Vision, and Fruition. The Mind that hath least of God is the darkest and most deluded Mind: And the mind that hath most of him, is the most lucid, pure, and serene. And how is God in the Mind, but as the Light and other visible objects are in the eye; and as pleasant melody is in the ear; and as delightful meats and drinks are in the taste? But that God maketh a more deep and durable impress on the soul, and such as is suitable to its spiritual immaterial nature.