their nature: so if we think of one divine person, this neceffarily infers another divine person. Of this Nature's light discovers nothing, but shews one Godhead, and but one, infinitely diftinguithed from all other beings by itself, and that another God is impossible. Scripture revelation leaves this entire and full, and afferts it fully; but unto this it adds the idea of personality, which implies in it more fuch persons than one, and reveals three persons in this one Godhead, mutually related, and acting distinct parts, with relation unto one another, (which could not have been acted by one single perfon, or by any but divine persons); and that in a work wherein the one Godhead and divine attributes shine forth more than in any other work of God, and unto which all the other works of God are subservient. Nature's light could not difcover this; but cannot contradict it: for though we use to infer diftinct natures from distinct persons among men, finite creatures, among whom also there is no necessity for one's being two persons, seeing another may be made to answer all the purposes for which that man could be supposed to be two perfons; yet such an inference cannot be applied unto the Deity, without measuring infinite by finite, and intruding into those things which we have not feen, and using Nature's light unto a purpose unto which it was not designed, and which it cannot answer; yea and without a contempt of this glorious discovery of the Godhead made in this revelation. Thus it is evident, that whatever notions we have of the Deity naturally, he that "denieth the Son," the same "hath "not the Father; " and he that "knoweth not" that divine person the Son, "knows as" little of the Father. The Jews esteemed themselves free in the house or church of God, and held themselves for the children of God, which yet they could not be any otherwise but by being the children of the Father of Jesus Christ; and his children they were not, as appeared by their unbelief and enmity against his Son the Chrift: yea they did not know the Father; though by calling themselves the children of God, they called the Father of Jefus Christ their God; since none are the children of God but they that have the Father of Christ for their father; and God is not the God of any but them to whom the Father of Christ is a father, John viii. 41. 42. and 54.- " It is my "Father that honoureth me, of whom ye say that he is your " God," # 55. "Yet ye have not known him." The fame thing, with the same view, may be said to the adversaries of the true Godhead of Jesus Christ. They pretend mightily to honour honour the Father, and claim interest in him, and in his church; while, in the mean time, they dishonour the Son, whom the Father honoureth, and would have all men to honour, even as they honour him; and hereby it is evident they have not known the Father, and that they really honour the Father as little as they honour the Son. And thus they do indeed make void scripture-revelation, while they pretend to receive it, by subjecting it to Nature's light, and holding themselves for masters of that light. But here they tell us, we can, upon occafion, use as much freedom with the fcriptures, and make as much use of reason in explaining them as they, in some cases; and so fall under our own censure: and they insist much on these two instances, God's speaking of himself as having bodily parts, and the matter of transubstantiation. As to the first of these : That manner of speaking, as if God had bodily parts, is abundantly justified in the great mystery of godliness, God manifest in the flesh, and has a sufficient foundation in his taking part with us in flesh and blood. And it was no way unbecoming God, to speak thus of himfelf, after the manner of man, with a view to this great mystery, in the revelation of which he is most gloriously manifested. And as for transubstantiation, it had never entered into the minds of men, if it had not been upon occasion of the revelation of that spiritual mystery, of eating the flesh and drinking the blood of the Son of Man. The Jews, who took up that spiritual saying of our Lord in a carnal sense, conceiving that he spake of his body in the same manner as the Ifraelites eated the manna, the type of it, thought this impoffible, and so rejected the revelation. But others came after them, who, professing to own the revelation, found themfelves obliged to own, that there is an eating of Christ's body, and drinking of his blood, in his supper. They knew nothing of the spiritual mystery of faith in this matter; and so were forced to have recourse to the notion of the unbelieving Jews, about eating this flesh, though against our Lord's express declaration, John vi. 63. For they could not make a better of it: they were obliged either to reject the revelation, as the Jews; or embrace that carnal notion, (which is indeed inconfiftent), for want of a spiritual discerning of the truth. Even as they that believe not the true Godhead of Jesus Chrift, not having faith's discerning of the mystery of the Trinity, are forced to maintain a fuperior and inferior God, fuperior C2 fuperior and inferior divine worship, a superior and inferior creator, and to imagine something between God and the creature, which is neither the most high independent God, nor a creature; or to afcribe the divine properties to a creature : all which is repugnant both to scripture and reason. For what can they do? They find themselves some way obliged to own the truth of the scriptures; they have not, or will not have the faith of this mystery, and so they must take up with fuch notions about it as they have. Thus they that will not believe divine mysteries, because they cannot reach them with their reason, are forced to take up with more unreasonable inconfiftent opinions, receiving therein the recompense of their error; fo "professing themselves to be wife, they be" come fools." When those men harden themselves in their unbelief, or seek to diminish the great importance of this article of our faith, by fignifying, that this doctrine is not expressly declared in scripture-revelation, and that it is such a doctrine, that unless it were very expressly revealed, they cannot be so much condemned for not believing it, they bring to mind that passage which we have John x. 24. 25. "Then came the Jews round about " him, and faid unto him, How long dost thou make us to " doubt? If thou be the Chrift, tell us plainly. Jesus an" fwered them, I told you, and ye believed not." It was a very hard matter for the Jews, confidering their prejudices, to believe that fuch a man as Jesus was their Christ, and a matter of the utmost importance it was for them to know him to be the Chrift; and when they got signs, they wanted clearer, more evident signs; when it was told them, they wanted to be more plainly told; they complained of the darkness of the revelation of a point so important, so shocking to them, and that it was never told them plainly, so as they could not, by interpreting words and phrases, have it to say, that the words wherein it was told them were capable of fome other meaning; yet they died in their fins, because they believed it not. God hath revealed this great doctrine sufficiently for enlightening the minds of his people, and making unbelievers inexcuseable; though not in such terms as fuch unbelievers would have it proposed unto them, nor with that fort of evidence which they would defire who flight and oppose the evidence that God thought fit to give. Jesus answered, I told you, and ye believed not." When he answered the chief priest and his company as plainly as they defired, they condemned him for a blafphemer. And though though this doctrine be revealed in the most suitable manner, for begetting and increasing the faith of it in the minds of them that are ordained to eternal life; yet if it were revealed in any way wherein it could be now supposed to be declared, we might promise upon these men, continuing in the disposition wherein they seem to be, that they would either diftinguish away the sense of that revelation, and cry for a clearer still, or utterly reject the revelation. But we may yet have a farther view of the person of the Meffiah from the prophecies of the Old Testament. For, These prophecies also set him forth as the object of religious worship; so that Jesus confeffing himself to be that promised King, does thereby acknowledge, that he is the object of that worship; and therefore the only true God. We find the angels, that fort of creatures that (in the regard of idolaters) possessed the room only due to him, the Mediator, who is indeed God, and who are therefore called Gods, are commanded "to worship him," who is Jehovah, the true God, the glorious King of the church, Pfal. xcvii. 1.-7. compare Heb. i. 6. And in Pfal. cii. where he is declared to be the creator of the world, we have him also pointed out to us as the object of religious worship, prayer, and praise in the church, on account of the glory of his Godhead, appearing in his great work of redemption, and in his building of the church, and in the glorious acts of his reign, from 15. to 23. See to this purpose Pfal. xcv. xcvi. xcvii. xcviii. xcix. c. all prophecies of the Meffiah and his kingdom. See likewise Pfal. ciii. 19.-22. Pfal. lxv. 1.-5. and Pfal. xlvii. &c. &c. The scripture makes no distinction in the business of religious worship, but afcribes it only and wholly to God, on account of the Godhead manifested in the glorious works of creation and redemption. And if there are not higher expressions of religious worship in scripture, than those that are used in the prophetic calls, to worthip this glorious King, the Meffiah; his glorious Godhead, manifesting itself in his works of creation and redemption, and in his glorious kingdom to be set up in the fullness of time, is plainly given as the reason why he should be worshipped in his kingdom the church by angels and men. The typical redemption of the nation of Ifrael out of Egypt, and bringing of that nation through the wilderness into the promised land, carried in it such a diftinguishing difcovery of the glorious Godhead of the worker of it, as intitled him to the religious worship of Ifrael, and made them them wholly without excuse in worshipping any other God besides that God that so fulfilled his promise to Abraham, Ifaac, and Jacob. Therefore this God spake thus from Si. nai: "I am the Lord thy God which hath brought thee out " of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. Thou "shalt have no other gods before me." This voice was the voice of the same whose blood speaketh to us from heaven, Heb. xii. 24. 25. 26. The Father never appeared, never spake, but in and by the Son; his word and his spirit was with him, If. lxiii. 9. 10. 11. Hag. ii. 5. Of old the Father appeared, and spake by him more darkly, while he was only foreshewing his incarnation in his appearances, and in divers figures, and shewing beforehand in dark promises, and manifold earthly types, the glorious heavenly things of the New Testament; but now, be. ing incarnate, and having come in his kingdom, the Father is more clearly manifest, and speaks more clearly in him, "the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his " person;" and being partaker with us in flesh and blood, he is also to us instead of the prophets, by whom he spake of old to the people of Ifrael, Heb. i. 1. 2. It was he then that appeared of old, and the Father never but in him, "the angel of his presence," or, "his face." Moses knew well to diftinguish this face of God, this angel of God's prefence, from any created angel. See Exod. xxxiii. Thus the angel in whom is God's name is the fame that spake to Mofes in the bush, saying, " I am the God of " Abraham, Ifaac, and Jacob," and that spake to him in Mount Sinai, Acts vii. 38. and whose voice was conveyed to the people of Ifrael by the ministry of angels that miniftred to him there. And he said, "I am the Lord thy God; thou " shalt have no other gods befides me." Neither was it any idolatry in the Ifraelites to say to him, "Thou art the Lord This our God that brought us out of Egypt; we will have no " god besides thee." And there was no fear of worshipping another beside the only God, in worshipping him, as there would been in worshipping any created angel, however commiffioned by God, however speaking in his name. is he that led Ifrael out of Egypt into Canaan, and therein manifested himself to be the only true God, besides whom Ifrael was to have no other god for "the Lord alone led If"rael, and there was no strange god with him," Deut. xxxii. 12. Now, if that typical and earthly redemption of the nation |