finner can have, is by faith. Suppofe it were poflible for a finner on earth, to fee Chrift in heaven, merely with his bodily eyes, it would not be a faving fight; but now, when, by faith, we fee Chrift as the reprefemtative image of the Father, then we cannot but fee the Father in him. He bears the image of all the Father's glorious excellencies; and, therefore, to fee his glory, is to fee his Father's glory alfo, and that for the following reafon. Further, 7. He that hath feen Chrift, hath feen the Father, becaufe he is fent and fealed of the Father for this very end, that he might reprefent, manifeft, and declare the Father: Hence, "No man hath feen God at any time, the only-begotten Son, that is in the bofom of the Father, he ha declared him," John i. 18. "All things are delivered to nie of my Father," fays Chrift, Matth. xi. 27. And no man knoweth the Son but the Father, neither knoweth any man the Father fave the Son, and he to whomfoever the Son will reveal him." He was fealed and anointed for this very end: "The Spirit of the Lord God was upon him, that he might bring forth judgment to the Gentiles!" And hence," God, who, at fundry times, and in divers manners, fpake, in times paft, to the fathers by the prophets, hath, in thefe laft days, fpoken to us by his Son, who is the brightness of his glory, and the exprefs image of his perfon," Heb. i. 1, 2. Whatever Chrifl did, either by his preaching, working of miracles, or laying down his life, it was by the appointment of his Father, and to lead us to the Father. He is the way, the new and living confecrated way to the Father. He, therefore, that fees him as the way, does fee the Father as the end to which the way leads by divine appointment. 8. He that hath feen Chrift, hath feen the Father, because the Spirit, that difcovers and teftifies of Chrift, is equally the Spirit of the Father and of the Son. The Spirit of the Son is the Spirit of the Father; and the Spirit of the Father is the Spirit of the Son; "When the Comforter is come, whom I will fend unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceeds from the Father, he fhall teftify of me," John xv. 26.—He cannot, therefore, teftify of the Son, without teftifying of of the Father. The Spirit of the Father teftifying of the Son, cannot be without reference to the Father; nay, when he discovers Chrift, and the things of Chrift, he dif covers, at the fame time, in the fame light, the Father, and the things of the Father; "He fhall glorify me," fays Christ, "for he fhall receive of mine, and flew it unto you," John xvi. 14, 15. Now, if it be afked, what things of Chrift's he will fhew? The anfwer is, they are the things of the Father; for, "All things that the Father hath, are mine." The things of Chrift are the Father's, and the things of the Father are Chrift's. The glory of Chrift is the Father's glory; and the glory of the Father is Chrift's glory. The fulness of Chrift is the Father's fulnefs; and the fulness of the Father is Chrifl's fulness. Therefore, he that is the Spirit, both of the Father and of the Son, when he glorifies Chrift, and fhews the things of Chrift, he glorifies the Father, and fhews the things of the Father; confequently, " He that hath feen Chrift, hath feen the Father." VI. The Sixth Head propofed, was, to draw fome Inferences from the whole for Application. This doctrine is fo vaflly great and prolific, that it is not poffible for me to overtake all the purposes that ly in the bosom of it, and are deducible from it. The fpecial Inferences I defign, are for Information, Trial, Reproof, Comfort, and Exhortation. First, For Information. O how many truths ly in the bofom of this doctrine! That fuch is the oneness betwixt Chrift and the Father, that he that hath feen Chrift, hath feen the Father.-There are two great truths here that lead us into many other truths. 1. That there is an onenefs betwixt Chrift and the Father. 2. That he that hath feen Chrift, fees the Father. Ift, Is it fo, that there is fuch an onenefs betwixt Chrift and the Father as I have fhewn? Hence we may learn the following leffons. 1. Hence learn, that the object of faith is very great and glorious, far beyond what natural reafon, or human understanding can fathom; therefore, our Lord Jefus here, as he makes his effential onenefs with the Gg 4 Father Father the foundation of his affertion, That they that fee him, fee the Father: fo he lays down this great myftery, as abfolutely neceffary to be believed, and apprehended by faith, though it cannot be comprehended by reafon. Chrift's queftion to Philip hereupon, is a fundamental queftion of the gospel-catechifm : "Believeft thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me?" Without the faith of this, there is no right worshipping of God; no right apprehenfion of one God in three perfons. This is no indifferent thing to be believed or not. Our eternal life depends upon it: God hath born witnefs to it from heaven, as I have already fhewed. 2. From this oneness we may learn, that the doctrine of Arianism is damnable blafphemy, that denies the fupreme Deity of our Lord Jefus, and his effential oneness with the Father. Many affronts have been offered to the crown, and dignity, and royal prerogatives of our Lord in thefe lands, fince we firft broke, and then burnt the Covenant of our God, and were ashamed of our glory. But the fpreading of Arianism now, in Britain and Ireland, is like a pulling up Reformation by the roots, and a faying, We will not only pull off the jewels of the Mediator's crown, but we will take the crown itself, and caft it into the mire. If this error be fubtilly maintained among us, pray that God may difcover and deftroy it, otherwife it will destroy the very foundation of our holy religion. That pernicious 'error strikes directly against the doctrine of our Lord Jefus here; for, if there be not an effential onenefs betwixt him and his Father, then it is not true, That he that hath feen Chrift, hath feen the Father. If he be inferior to the Father in point of effence, selfexistence, independency, or any other effential perfection, then we cannot fee all the Father's glory in him *; But When this Sermon was delivered, the Arian tenets were not only getting up their head, and overspreading the nation, but there was a procefs commenced and depending before the fupreme ecclefiaftica! court, against Mr. Simfon, profeffor of theology in the university of Glasgow, for teaching and propagating thefe tenets.-The kindly recep But let Chrift, who is truth itfelf, be true, and every man a liar. What I have faid, refutes this abomination. 3. From this oneness betwixt the Father and the Son, you may learn the danger of denying Christ. To deny the Son is to deny the Father, I John ii. 23. " And he is Antichrift that denies the Father and the Son," ver. 22. And who is a liar, but he that denies that Jefus is the Chrift? To deny the unity of the fame undivided effence betwixt the Father and him, is to deny him to be the true Meffias; "IMMANUEL, God with us," Ifa. vii. 14. O the danger of deviating from the doctrine of Chrift! "Whosoever tranfgreffeth, and abideth not in the doctrine of Chrift, hath not God; he that abideth in the doctrine of Chrift, he hath both the Father and the Son," 2 John 9. Hence he that deviates from it hath neither. Why? because of their undivided effence, notwithstanding of their perfonal diftinction.-It is not poffible to deny the one and not the other. 4. Learn hence, how fearfully Chrift was humbled: what! one with the Father, the Father's fellow, and equal, and yet a babe, a fervant, a fufferer, a worm! Plalm xxii. Should an emperor become a fly; yea, fhould all the glorious angels in heaven become one crawling infect upon earth, it were not to be mentioned with this humiliation of Chrift. Oh! how fadly was the world mistaken concerning Chrift, when they took him up to be a mere man, the carpenter's fon, and did not fee him to be the eternal Son of God, and effentially one with the Father. 5. See here how glorioufly adorned Chrift is with all divine perfections, and fo how infinitely valuable and efficacious all his mediatory actings are. If he had not been God, equal with the Father, his active and paffive obe- • dience could not have profited us; for, they had not been tion the Arian fentiments were meeting with, the many friends this propagator of them was, at this time, like to he e, and in the iffue really had, and the fmall number that appeared couragiously againft them, no doubt, influenced our Author, both to obferve more frequently, in his difcourfes, the fpreading of them, and to express himfelf more zealously upon the head, juftly dreading the dismal confequences thereof. been dignified with infinite merit, value, and virtue.But now, being one with the Father, his divine nature is the altar that fanctifies the whole gift; therefore, his blood, is the blood of God; his righteoufnefs, the righteoufnefs of God: we may fafely depend hereupou for peace with God, and acceptance to eternal life. 6. Here we may learn the infinite ability of Christ, to apply, by his power, what he purchafed by his blood. His onenels with the Father declares, that as he was able to make all things out of nothing, and does ftill uphold all things by the word of his power; fo he is able to fave to the uttermoft: his arm, is the arm ofGod; his power, is the power of God. It is faid, "The Son of man, even on earth, had power to forgive fins," Mat. ix. 6. The Pharifees had made the objection, "Who can forgive fins but God!" Chrift takes their own argument to prove that he was God, because he could forgive fins: and, indeed, to take away the guilt of fin requires omnipotency; the guilt of fin hath the whole ftrength of God's law to back it; and God's law hath the whole ftrength of his infinite juftice to. maintain it; therefore, there must be an infinite power to take away the guilt of fin, even that power that can break the force of God's law, and fatisfy the demands of infinite juftice. The fame power and ability also is requifite to take away the power of fin; for guilt and power are the two great attributes of fin; infinite power only can deftroy them. It is to fome a known maxim, "Ejufdem effe poteftatis inftruere et deftruere." No lefs power is required to deftroy the world than there was to create it.' In the first creation, there was fomething made out of nothing; yet that nothing did not refift: and if God fhould annihilate the frame of heaven and earth, and reduce it to nothing again, it would fuddenly fink; there would be no refiftance. But to bring together things that are contrary; to do away fin, and bring in grace, that are fo oppofite one to another, and meet one another with the utmoft refitance, requires an infinite power to effect it. Sin is not |