crites shall know him superficially and uneffectually and his holy ones shall know him so as to love him, fear him, trust him and obey him; with a knowledge effectual upon heart and life and he will "continue his loving kindness to them that know him." (Psal. xxxvi. 10.)

He is the best Christian that hath the fullest impression made upon his soul by the knowledge of God in all his attributes. Thus it is our life eternal to know God in Christ. It is to reveal the Father that the Son was sent; and it is to reveal the Father and the Son, that the Holy Spirit is sent; God is the light, and the life, and the felicity of the soul. The work of its salvation is but the restoring it to him, and putting it in possession of him. The beginning of this is regeneration and reconciliation; the perfection of it is glorification, beatifical vision and fruition. The mind that hath least of God is the darkest and most deluded mind: and the mind that hath most of him is the most lucid, pure and serene. And how is God in the mind, but as the light and other visible objects are in the eye; and as pleasant melody is in the ear; and as delightful meats and drinks are in the taste? but that God maketh a more deep and durable impress on the soul, and such as is suitable to its spiritual, immaterial nature.

As your seal is to make a full impression on the wax, of the whole figure that is upon itself, so hath God been pleased in divers seals to engrave his image, and these must make their impress upon us. 1. There is the seal of the Creation; for the world hath much of the image of God: It is engraven also on the seal of Providential Disposals (though there we are incapable of reading it yet, so fully as in the rest). 2. It is engraven on the seal of the Holy Scriptures. 3. And on the Person of Jesus Christ, who is the purest, clearest image of the Father, as also on the holy example of his life. 4. And by the means of all these applied to the soul, in our sober Consideration, by the working of the Holy Ghost, the image of God is made upon us.

Here note, 1. That all the revealed image of God must be made on the soul, and not a part only and all is wrought where any is truly wrought. 2. That to the completeness of his image on us, it is necessary that each part of God's description be orderly made, and orderly make the impress on us, and that each part keep its proper place: for it is a

monster that hath feet where the head should be, or the backpart forward, or where there is any gross misplacing of the parts. 3. Note also, that all the three forementioned seals contain all God's image on them; but yet not all alike; but the first part is more clearly engraven upon the first of them, and the second part upon the second of them, and the third part most clearly on the third and last.

To open this more plainly to you; unity in trinity, and trinity in unity, is the sum of our holy faith. In the Deity there is revealed to us, one God in three persons, the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost; the essence is but one; the subsistences are three. And as we must conceive and speak of the Divine Nature according to its image, while we see it but in a glass; so we must say, that in this blessed Deity in the unity of essence, there is a trinity of essential properties and attributes; that is, power, wisdom and goodness, life, light and love: the measure of which is to have no measure, but to be infinite. And therefore this Being is eternal, and not measured by time, being without beginning or end: He is immense, as being not measured by place, but containeth all places, and is contained in none: he is perfect, as not measured by parts or by degrees, but quite above degrees and parts. This infiniteness of his being doth communicate itself, or also consist in the infiniteness of his essential properties. His power is omnipotency, that is, infinite power; his knowledge or wisdom is omniscience, that is, infinite wisdom: his goodness is felicity itself, or infinite goodness.

The first seal (to our cognizance) on which he engraved this his image, was the Creation, that is, 1. The whole world in general. 2. The Intellectual Nature or Man in special.

In the Being of the Creation and every particular creature, his Infinite Being is revealed; so wretched a fool is the atheist, that by denying God, he denieth all things! Could he prove that there is no God, I would quickly prove that there is no world, no man, no creature. If he know that he is himself or that the world or any creature is, he may know that God is: for God is the Original Being; and all being that is not eternal, must have some original: and that which hath no original is God, being eternal, infinite and without cause.

The Power of God is revealed in the being and powers of the creation. His wisdom is revealed in their nature,

order, offices, effects, &c. His goodness is revealed in the creature's goodness, its beauty, usefulness, accomplishments. But though all his image thus appear upon the creation, yet is it his omnipotency that principally there appears. The beholding and consideration of the wonderful greatness, activity and excellency of the sun, the moon, the stars, the fire, and other creatures, doth first and chiefly possess us with apprehensions of the infinite greatness or power of the Creator.

In the Holy Word or Laws of God, which is the second glass or seal (more clear and legible to us than the former), there appeareth also all his image; his power in the narratives, predictions, &c. ; his wisdom in the prophecies, precepts, and in all : his goodness in the promises and institutions, in a special manner. But yet it is his second property, his wisdom, that most eminently appeareth on this second seal, and is seen in the glass of the holy law. The discovery of such mysteries; the revelation of so many truths: the suitableness of all the instituted means; and the admirable fitness of all the holy contrivances of God, and all his precepts, promises and threatenings, for the government of mankind, and carrying him on for the attainment of his end, in a way agreeable to his nature; these shew that wisdom that is most eminently here revealed, though power and goodness be revealed with it; so in the face of Jesus Christ, who is the third and most perfect seal and glass; there is the image of the power, and wisdom, and goodness of the Godhead: but yet it is the love or goodness of the Father that is most eminently revealed in the Son : his power appeared in the incarnation, the conquests over Satan and the world, the miracles, the resurrection and the ascension of Christ. His wisdom appeareth in the admirable mystery of redemption, and in all the parts of the office, works and laws of Christ, and in the means appointed in subordination to him; but love and goodness shineth most clearly and amiably through the whole; it being the very end of Christ in this blessed work, to reveal God to man in the riches of his love, as giving us the greatest mercies, by the most precious means, in the meetest season and manner for our good; reconciling us to himself, and treating us as children, with fatherly compas

sions, and bringing us nearer to him, and opening to us the everlasting treasure, having brought life and immortality to light in the Gospel.

God being thus revealed to man from without, in the three glasses or seals of the Creation, Law, and Son himself, he is also revealed to us in ourselves, man being, as it were, a little world.

In the nature of man is revealed, as in a seal or glass, the nature of the blessed God, in some measure. In unity of essence, we have a trinity of faculties of soul, even the vegetative, sensitive and rational, as our bodies have both parts and spirits, natural, vital and animal; the rational power in unity, hath also its trinity of faculties, even power for execution, understanding for direction, and will for command: the measure of power is naturally sufficient to its use and end; the understanding is a faculty to reason, discern, and discourse; the will hath that freedom which beseemeth an undetermined, self-determining creature here in the way.

Besides this physical image of God, that is inseparable from our nature, we have also his law written in our hearts, and are ourselves objectively part of the law of nature; that is, the signifiers of the will of God. Had we not by sin obliterated somewhat of this image, it would have shewed itself more clearly, and we should have been more capable of understanding it.

And then when we are regenerate and renewed by the grace and Spirit of Christ, and planted into him, as living members of his body, we have then the third impression upon our souls, and are made like our Head in wisdom, holiness, and in effectual strength.

Considered as creatures endued with power, understanding and will, we have the impress of all the aforesaid attributes of God; but eminently of his power.

Considered as we were at first possessed with the light and law of works or nature, (of which we yet retain some part,) so we have the impress of all these attributes of God; but most eminently of his wisdom.

Considered as regenerate by the Spirit, and planted into Christ, so we have the impress of all his said attributes; but most eminently of his love and goodness, shining in the moral accomplishments or graces of the soul.

Man being thus made at first the natural and sapiential image of God, (with much of the image of his love,) the Lord did presently, by necessary resultancy and voluntary consent, stand related to us in such variety of relations as answer the aforesaid properties and attributes. And these relations of God to us, are next to be known, as flowing from his attributes and works.

1. As we have our derived being from God, who is the primitive Eternal Being; so from our being given by creation, God is related to us as our Maker; from this relation of a Creator in unity, there ariseth a trinity of relations: this trinity is in that unity, and that unity in this trinity. First, God having made us of nothing, necessarily related to us as our Lord; by a Lord we mean strictly a proprietary or owner, as you are the owner of your goods, or any thing that is your own.

Secondly, He is related to us as our Ruler, our Governor or King. This riseth from our nature, made to be ruled in order to our end; being rational, voluntary agents; and also from the dominion and blessed nature of God, who only hath right to the government of the world, and only is fit and capable of ruling it.

Thirdly, He is related also to us as our Benefactor or Father; freely and of his bounty giving us all the good that we do receive.

His first relation in this trinity, answereth his first property in the trinity: he is our Almighty Creator, and therefore is our Owner or our Lord.

The second of these relations answereth the second property of God. He is most wise, and made an impress of his wisdom on the rational creature, and therefore is our Go

vernor.

The third relation answereth the third property of God. As he is most good, so is he our Benefactor; "Thou art good, and dost good." (Psal. cxix. 68.) Man's nature and disposition is known by his works, though he be a free agent; for "the tree is known by its fruit." (Matt. vii. 17.) And so God's nature is known by his works (as far as is fit for us here to know), though he be a free agent.

In each of these relations, God hath other special attributes, which are denominated from his relations, or his following works: