eives the impressions of divine sovereignty into it, nd gives up itself unto God in the grace of selflenial, and humble subjection: the soul receives the communication of divine Fulness and Perfection, and entertains the same with delight and complacency, and, as it were, grows full in it; even as the communications of the virtues of the sun are answered with life, and warmth, and growth in the plants of the earth. So a soul's conversing with the attributes of God is not an empty notion of them, or a dry discourse concerning them, but a reception of impressions from them, and a reciprocation to them: the effluxes of these from God are such as do beget reflections in man towards God. This is to know Christ, to grow up in him unto all things, according to that passage-" Whosoever sinneth hath not seen him, neither known him."

A

FAREWELL TO LIFE.

Whilst we are at home in the body, we are absent from the Lord.-2 COR. v. 6.

THE holy apostle having, in the first verse of this chapter, laid down the doctrine of eternal glory, which shall follow upon this transitory state of believers, shows, in the following verses, how he himself longed within himself, and groaned after that happy state; and then proceeds to give a double ground of this his confident expectation. The one is in ver. 5. where the apostle is confident concerning the putting off of this mortal body, because God had wrought and formed him for this state of glory, and already given him an earnest of it, even his Holy Spirit; the other ground of the confidence and settledness of his mind as to his desires of a change, is taken from his present state in the body, which was but poor and uncomfortable in comparison of that glorious state held forth in the words of the text-" Therefore we are always confident, knowing that whilst we are at home in the body, we are absent from the Lord." For I do not take the words, " we are confident," concerning the apostle's resolvedness, with a quiet and sober mind, to suffer any kind of persecution or affliction whatever; but " we are always confident"-that is, we do with confidence expect, or at least we are always well satisfied, contented, well resolved in our minds, concerning our departure out of this life: for the apostle was speaking, not of afflictions or persecutions in the former verses, but indeed of death, which he calls a dissolving of the earthly house of this tabernacle, ver. 1. and a being clothed upon with our house which is from heaven, ver. 2, 4. Yea, and thus the apostle explains himself, ver. 8. where he tells you what he means by this his confidence"We are confident, and willing rather to be absent from the body;" where the latter words are expository of the former: as if he should say, It is better to be with the Lord than in this mortal body; but we cannot be with the Lord whilst we are in this body, it keeps us from him; therefore we have the confidence to part with it. It is the reason of the apostle's confidence and willingness to part with the body that I am to speak of; and the reason is, because this body keeps him from his Lord" Whilst we are at home in the body, we are absent from the Lord." The words are a metaphor, and are to be translated thus-" We indwelling in the body, do dwell out from the Lord;" which our translation renders well, taking little notice of this metaphor, "Whilst we are at home in the body, we are absent from the Lord;" though, indeed, if they had left out that word at home, it would have been as well, and so have neglected the metaphor altogether, as we may haply hint hereafter. The words are a reason of the apostle's willingness to be dissolved, and contain a kind of an accusation of the body, and so seem to lay a blame upon it, and upon this animal life, which must be remembered. Now, for the former phrase of being " at home in the body," it is easily understood, and generally, I think, agreed upon, to be no more than whilst we carry about with us this corruptible flesh, whilst we live this natural animal life: it only signifies man in his compounded animal state, and doth not at all allude to his sinful, unregenerate, or carnal state: but the latter phrase, " absent from the Lord," is capable of a double sense, both good and true, and I think both fit enough to the context and drift of the apostle. I shall speak to both, but insist most upon the latter.

1. "Whilst we are in the body we are absent from the Lord," that is, from the bodily presence of the Lord in heaven, absent from Christ Jesus and his glory; and so the words are the same in sense with " Flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God:" for by flesh and blood there must needs be. meant man in this animal corruptible state. And so the apostle accuses this kind of life in the body, and, as it were, blames it for standing between him and his glorified Lord; and so, consequently, between him and the glory of his Lord. And this sense doth well agree with what went before, and with what follows. The apostle hath a great mind to depart; for whilst he is in the body, he is absent from his perfect happiness: for this is the consummation of a Christian's