is, there will the heart be also.' Mark the reason, 'The light of the body is the eye.' How are these joined together? Plainly thus: look what the eye of the understanding of a man setteth up to be a man's good, his treasure, that the heart, the affections will follow. As we judge of things, so we are affected, and so the whole body, that is, the will and affections,-for he compareth the understanding to the eye, and he compareth the will and affections to the body, which is as the heart, and affections as the members,— look which way the eye goeth, saith he, the body will go as that directs. Look what the understanding pitcheth upon to be a man's treasure, there the heart will be. Therefore, now, it is all one to say, 'the eyes of your understanding,' as one copy readeth it; or, 'the eyes of your heart,' as another readeth it. If the understanding be once enlightened, the heart is enlightened, and so the whole soul is drawn; if that knoweth the excellency of heaven, where that treasure is, the heart will be also. I speak this to reconcile those diverse readings which the copies have.

And so much for the subject, the mind, or the heart, when that is once enlightened.

2. Here is a double gift. Here is an eye given, and here is an enlightened eye, light given to that eye too. There are some interpreters that do refer the words to the word 'give,' in the former verse, and do put some words in, and read it thus: "That God would give the eyes of your mind, don Tous oplaλuous parioμévous, to be enlightened.' Others, as Ambrose, read it, 'To have eyes of your mind lightened.' But I take the words nakedly and barely as they are in the Greek, and I read it thus, 'That he would give you eyes of your mind enlightened.' The gift, I say, consisteth of two things: first, of an eye of the mind; secondly, of light to that eye; and both these are requisite for us to know any spiritual thing, saith he, siç rò sidévαı, ‘that you may know.' That a man may know heaven or any spiritual thing, he must have a new eye in his mind, and he must have a new light put to that eye; 'that he would give you eyes of your mind enlightened.' So that now cometh fitly in the interpretation that others would give it of the Spirit of wisdom and revelation; the one noteth out the principle, the other the light that the Holy Ghost bringeth in. To clear this to you

In the first place, before a man can spiritually apprehend spiritual things, yea, or if he would grow in the apprehension of them, he must still have more of a new eye put into his mind. Read Deut. xxix. 4, 'God hath not given thee,' saith he, 'eyes to see, nor ears to hear, nor a heart to perceive to this very day.' If a man will understand spiritual things, he must have a new eye and a new heart. God must give him an eye of his mind, and to his mind; put into his understanding a new understanding.

In 1 John v. 20,-it is another place I bring for it, saith the Holy Ghost there, 'He hath given us an understanding to know him that is true;' a peculiar understanding, not creating a new faculty. No, but enduing that faculty with a new disposition, with a quickness; for it is called by the prophet Isaiah, 'the understanding of the mind.' You shall find, therefore, in Scripture, that wicked men are said to be blind, they want an eye; and, so far as we are unregenerate, we want eyes as well as light to see heaven or any spiritual thing with. Saith he, John iii. 3, 'Unless a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God;' for to see the kingdom of God a man must have a new light begotten in him, a man must have, as it were, a new understanding; and therefore you read, 1 Cor. ii. 14, that a carnal man 'cannot receive the things of God,' that is the phrase there; he cannot receive, he wants an eye, as a blind man he cannot receive in colours.

Well, that is the first gift, therefore, to have an eye, which in Ps. cxix. 18 is called opening the eye,- Open mine eyes,' saith he, so we translate it; read the margin, it is 'reveal mine eyes:' Lord, take off the veil, and then I shall see the wonderful things of thy law; which answereth with what is in 2 Cor. iii. 16, the veil lies over all men's hearts; that, as there is film over all men's eyes that are blind that they cannot see, so there is over every man's heart by nature. Here, then, is the first thing to be done, to clear the eye, to give a new eye, to take the veil off.

But if a man have never so good an eye, if he be in the dark, he can see nothing; therefore the second thing that concurreth to spiritual knowledge here is, 'to give you eyes enlightened ;' as to give you a new eye, so to give you a new light. For, Eph. v. 13, it is light that makes all things manifest. It is a philosophical speech the Apostle there useth, it agreeth with what Aristotle saith, lumen is actus perspicui, it is that which putteth life into colours and acts them. Let ever so good an eye be in the dark, it seeth not; therefore, now, here is a second work of the Holy Ghost, to enlighten this eye if ever a man cometh to see anything in a spiritual way; and as there cometh more light in, so a man seeth more or he seeth less. And therefore you shall find, in Acts xxvi. 18, the conversion of a sinner hath two expressions: the first is to open his eyes,' to take away the veil ; and then to turn him from darkness to light. You shall find the like in 2 Cor. iv. 6. God, saith he, that created light out of darkness, giveth 'the light of knowledge' (mark that phrase) of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.' Will you have knowledge? There must be a light to accompany it. All men's experience that have grace agreeth with this. What is the reason that you shall see some things in a chapter at one time and not at another; some grace in your hearts at one time, not at another; have a sight of spiritual things at one time, not at another? The eye is the same, but it is the Holy Ghost that openeth and shutteth this dark-lantern, as I may so call it; as he openeth it wider, or contracts it or shutteth it narrower, and sometimes he shutteth it wholly, and then the soul is in darkness, though the soul have never so good an eye. Therefore, as the Apostle prayeth for an eye, so he prayeth for light; that he would give them eyes of their mind enlightened.' And so much for the gift: here is the subject of it, the mind or the heart, that was the first; secondly, here is the gift, to give them an eye, to give them light, eyes enlightened.

3. Here is the act, both of this eye and of this light—that is, 'to know,' siç rò sideva; to know, saith he. To every act of spiritual knowledge that you have in anything, my brethren, there is a giving you an eye to see it, and there is giving you a new light to see it with. It is a gift of the Holy Ghost, not only to give you a light and to give you an eye, but it is a gift for him to draw forth the act of knowledge, to give you for you to know, so the word is in the original, siç rò siðéval. It referreth to 'give,' with the 17th verse, even this as well as the other.

Our dependence upon the Holy Ghost, consider what it is, in all spiritual things. It is, first, to have a new eye; it is, in the second place, to have a new light from the Holy Ghost to actuate, to inform that eye, to shine upon it, to irradiate it; and, thirdly, to draw forth the act of knowledge. In Phil. ii. 13, It is God, saith he, that giveth the will; that giveth rò 9λ; the very act of the will is from him; and here rò sidevar, an act of knowledge, is his too, it is a gift too. Saith our Saviour Christ, 'To you it is given to know,' didoras yvwva, it is given to know; the very act of knowledge is a gift. We see, I say, my brethren, the great dependence we have upon the

Holy Ghost; not only must he give us an eye and give us light, but he must give us to know too. It is a mighty expression that in 2 Cor. iii. 5: saith he, We are not able of ourselves to think a good thought;' he doth not say we are not able to do,-as Christ said before him, 'Without me ye can do nothing,'-but he saith, ye cannot think, if you come to spiritual things. No, you cannot think; of all things else it is easiest to think, yet this must be given too. Prov. xx. 12, 'The hearing ear and the seeing eye, the Lord hath made both of them.' Is it true in naturals that not only the eye is made but the seeing too? It is certainly much more true in spirituals. The scope of Solomon there is to let us see, as Cartwright well observeth, that in the smallest thing, in the very applying of sight to an act of seeing, 'the hearing ear and the seeing eye are of the Lord;' so it is much more in spirituals; he must give you an eye and he must give you a light, and he must draw forth that gift too, else we have no sufficiency to do it. We are not able to think a good thought, but all our sufficiency is of God;' and there cannot a greater instance be given that 'all our sufficiency is of God,' when we cannot so much as 'think one good thought' else.-So much now for the giving them both an eye and light and the act of knowledge.

4. Here is a fourth thing, and that is the persons, for you to know,' for so indeed it is in the original. He mentioneth you no less than three times: that he might give to you, ver. 17, the eyes of your mind; that you may know, ver. 18. All that I observe out of it is this, which some against the Papist have done out of the same text, against implicit faith. What do the Papists say? They would have you see with other men's eyes; they would have you believe the greatest thing in the world, and believe it because the Pope saith it. No, saith the Apostle, I would have you see with your own eyes, I would have him give you the eyes of your mind enlightened, that you may know.' There all these three yous in it. The just shall live by his faith, and nobody's faith else.-And so much for that.

II. I divided the words into these two parts: first, into spiritual knowledge, that he prayeth for; that you see I have despatched. The next, which is that I now come to, is the objects he prayed they might know, which I told you were three, and in this verse we have two of them laid down. The first is, what is the hope of their calling; the second is, what is the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints. There is nothing difficult in these words but only this, what is the hope of their calling.' I shall present the difficulty to you, and I will tell you what my apprehension and judgment

of it is.

Hope is taken, say interpreters, for two things; either for the thing hoped for, as Col. i. 5, 'For the hope,' saith he, which is laid up in heaven;' that is, heaven itself, the thing hoped for: so Titus ii. 13, Looking for the blessed hope;' that is, the thing hoped for. Or else, in the second place, it is taken for the grace of hope; not for the object, but for the grace of hope, by which we do hope. And it is sometimes put for assurance of our interest in the thing hoped for; as 1 John iii. 2, 3, 'Now we are the sons of God,' saith he; and he that hath this hope in him,' that is, hath an assurance of this, is confident of this, 'he purifieth himself as God is pure.' And so likewise Rom. v. 4, 5, 'Experience worketh hope, and hope maketh not ashamed,' that is, it worketh an assurance that leaveth not the soul in confusion; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts,' so it followeth. So that by hope there, he meaneth assurance of salvation; as likewise Rom. xv. 13, 'That you may abound in hope through the power of the Holy Ghost.' Now, my brethren, interpreters do generally carry it by hope to be meant

here the thing hoped for. I find almost all interpreters go that way, restraining it to the thing hoped for; and, say they, the Apostle, what he calleth hope in these words, he more plainly explaineth in the next words, that he meaneth by hope the thing hoped for. He telleth you in the next words what it is, what is the riches of the glory of his inheritance," saith he. So that what he meaneth by hope in the one, he plainly expresseth in the other. Only he calleth it hope here in the first sentence, to shew that it is but in hope, but it is to come in the world to come; and to shew that the highest joy that we have here is but in hope to what is to For as it is, Rom. viii. 24, 'What a man seeth, that he doth not hope for.' By hope there, he meaneth the object of hope.

come.

And it is called the hope of your calling;' or, say they, the hope of his calling.' Why? Because it is that unto which we were called. Read 1 Thess. ii. 12, ' Who hath called you,' saith he, 'to his kingdom and glory.' So then the meaning of the Apostle, say they, is this: he prayeth that they may know what great things are laid up in heaven for them, which God calleth them to hope for, which are annexed to their calling.

I find Zanchy thinks the grace of hope should be here meant, not so much the thing hoped for, as the grace by which we hope for this thing hoped for. And so they interpret it thus, the hope of his calling;' that is, say they, the hope which God calleth us to have of that glory that is to come, which God commandeth us to have, and calleth us to. Therefore, say they, it is called the hope of his calling. And his meaning is this, he prayeth that they may know what great hopes and assurance God would have us Christians to have of the life to come.

Now to this interpretation of theirs, I add but this: that by hope is here meant the ground of hope; it is not merely the grace of hope by which we do hope, but the ground which God doth give us to hope upon; the grounds and the evidences that we have for eternal life, that that should be the Apostle's meaning. And I find that Zanchy falleth into this, and so hinted me indeed to it; for he explaineth it thus, 'That they might know their hope is founded upon the most infallible and certain grounds that can be.'

I must give you Scripture for this, to shew where hope is put for the ground of hope. I will give you but one, Rom. iv. 18; there it is said, that Abraham against hope, believed in hope.' What is the meaning of that? He did against all grounds of hope believe. He mentioneth the grounds that might discourage him in the next verse; saith he, his body was dead, being an hundred years old, and Sarah's womb was dead; yet against all hope, that is, against all grounds of hope, he believed in hope.

So then the interpretation I pitch upon is plainly this. The Apostle prayeth here, that they may know what great, what infallible, what multitudes of grounds of hope God had called them to; what grounds of assurance and evidence their souls might have that heaven is theirs. So that now, in this first part, he prayeth that they may have much assurance of their own interest in heaven, and see good grounds for it. And, in the second part, he prayeth that they may see the glory of his inheritance.

I will give you my reason why I interpret it thus, rather than for the thing hoped for; that this expression should mean one and the same thing, heaven in both. My reason is this: the Apostle seemeth to pray for three things distinctly, and he putteth a conjunctive, xal, between them all. First, he prayeth that they may see what is the hope of their calling,' and see what is the 'glory of his inheritance,' and see what is the 'exceeding greatness of his power.' Now, if 'exceeding greatness of his power' be a distinct

thing from 'what is the glory of his inheritance,' then 'what is the glory of his inheritance' is a distinct thing from 'what is the hope of his calling;' therefore, the thing hoped for is not meant, but he intendeth three several sorts of things that he prayeth for. And he addeth ris, and ri rò seg¤áλλov Heyɛdos, what, and how great, to all three, to shew that they are distinct; what great grounds you have of your interest, and that you may see what a great and glorious inheritance it is that you have interest in, and that you may see thereby how great the exceeding greatness of his power is that he works in them that believe, and keepeth you for that glory.

Having thus opened to you what is meant by the hope of his calling, what grounds of hope you have, I will but shew you how it agreeth fully with the scope and with the phrase the Apostle here useth, that I may back this interpretation.

It agreeth fully with his scope; for, first, he prayed in the former verse for communion with God. Now, what is the next thing a good soul would desire, next to communion with God. To have the grounds of his assurance kept continually fresh in his heart, that he may know the hope of his calling;' that is the next thing any good soul would pitch upon, to keep himself in perfect peace and comfort; and then to know the greatness of that glory that he had an interest in. Link these three things together, this makes a complete Christian, full of comfort, full of joy and peace in believing.

It agreeth also with the phrase that followeth, the hope of his calling;' interpreting it for grounds of hope or grounds of assurance, what grounds of assurance you have.

By 'his calling' here is either meant that calling which God commandeth you to have; such grounds of hope as God calleth you, being Christians, to have, commandeth you to have; that is one meaning of the phrase. So the word 'calling' is used, 1 Thess. iv. 7; saith he, 'God hath not called us to uncleanness, but to holiness;' that is, he hath commanded us to be holy, for so you may interpret it by the third verse, 'This is the will of God, your holiness.' God's calling and his will is all one. If you did but know, saith the Apostle, the grounds that God calleth you to have the hope you have, the assurance God calleth you to have, and hath given you grounds to have; that is the meaning of his prayer.

Or, secondly, the hope of his calling may refer to the work of grace, which is called calling and conversion; and so the meaning is proper and very good, and it is thus: that you, being called by God, have all the grounds to have assurance that may be; and I pray, saith he, 'that you may know what is the hope of your calling. A man effectually called hath multitude of grounds to be assured, if he be not negligent in it. So that that which I pray for, saith he, is that you may know the very calling itself, the very work itself; God's calling you affordeth you grounds enough of hope. I pray that you may know the grounds of your hope, keep that fresh in your eye, and so you will be comforted.

I come now to some observations out of this interpretation.

Obs. 1.-The first observation is this: That every man in the state of grace is called to have assurance, and there are grounds enough for it. Oh, saith the Apostle, would you did know what is the hope of his calling, what grounds you have of hope from that calling of God that hath put you into the state of grace! The state itself affordeth it, and the word of God upon you affordeth it, only you want eyes to see it; therefore I pray that the eyes of your understanding may be enlightened to know it, daily enlightened to see those grounds.