the light of the ETERNAL TRUTH; so that the man begins to see and perceive clearly, that an eternal crown of glory is of infinitely higher value than all the wealth and splendour of human dignity and honour, than he begins to awake out of sleep. For to this effect THE WORD OF GOD testifies, where it is written, “Lighten mine eyes, lest I sleep the sleep of death;” [Psalm xiii. 3.]; and again, “While man slept, his enemy came, and sowed tares among the wheat;” [Matt. xiii. 25.]; and again, “While the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and slept;” [Matt. xxv. 5.]; and again, “Lest coming suddenly he find you sleeping;” [Mark xiii. 36.]; to which may be added the admonition of the Apostle, “Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and CHRIST shall give thee light;” [Ephes. v. 14.]; in which passages, it is plain, that sleeping and awaking are applied to the mind, and not to the body; and that thus sleeping denotes a state of mere natural thought and affection, whilst awaking denotes the reverse, viz. a state of thought and affection excited by the light of the ETERNAL TRUTH, and thus grounded in eternal hopes and interests.
Is it possible then, that the mind of man may sleep the sleep of death, and thus be found slumbering and sleeping in temporal cares and gratifications, when it ought to awake to meet the bridegroom? Is it possible
