itself must be retained, as that without which there could be no religion; wherefore to extricate themselves out of this difficulty, they brake through all God's commands to the contrary, and betook themselves to the making images of Christ, and their adoration. And from small beginnings, according as darkness and superstition increased in the minds of men, there was a progress in this practice, until these images took the whole work of representing Christ and his glory, out of the hands, as it were, of the gospel, and appropriated it unto themselves. For I do not speak of them now so much as they are images of Christ, or objects of adoration; as of their being dead images of the gospel; that is, somewhat set up in the room of the gospel, and for the ends of it, as means of teaching and instruction. They shall do the work which the gospel was designed of God to do: for as unto this end of the representation of Christ, as the present object of the faith and love of man, with an efficacy to work upon their affections, there is in the church of Rome a thousand times more ascribed unto them, than unto the gospel itself. The whole matter is stated by the apostle, Rom. x. 6-8. The righteousness which is of faith, speaketh on this wise, Say not in thine heart, Who shall ascend unto heaven? (that is, to bring Christ down from above:) or who shall descend into the deep? (that is, to bring Christ up again from the dead.) But what saith it? The word is nigh thee, in thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is, the word of faith, which we preach.' The inquiry is, How we may be made partakers of Christ, and righteousness by him; or how we may have an interest in him, or have him present with us. This, saith the apostle, is done by the word of the gospel which is preached, which is nigh unto us in our mouths, and in our hearts; no, say these men, we cannot understand how it should be so; we do not find that it is so, that Christ is made nigh unto us, present with us by this word. Wherefore we will ascend into heaven to bring down Christ from above; for we will make images of him in his glorious state in heaven, and thereby he will be present with us, or nigh unto us. And we will descend into the deep, to bring up Christ again from the dead; and we will do it, by making first crucifixes, and then images of his glorious resurrection, bringing him again unto us from the dead. This shall be

in the place and room of that word of the gospel which you pretend to be alone useful and effectual unto these ends.

This therefore is evident, that the introduction of this abomination in principle and practice, destructive unto the souls of men, took its rise from the loss of an experience of the representation of Christ in the gospel, and the transforming power in the minds of men, which it is accompanied with, in them that believe. Make us gods,' say the Israelites, 'to go before us; for as for this man Moses' (who represented God unto us) 'we know not what is become of him.' What would you have men do? would you have them live without all sense of the presence of Christ with them, or being nigh unto them? Shall they have no representation of him? No, no, make us gods that may go before us; let us have images unto this end; for how else may it be done, we cannot understand. And this is the reason of their obstinacy in this practice against all means of conviction: yea, they live hereon in a perpetual contradiction unto themselves: their temples are full of graven images like the house of Micah, houses of God; and yet in them are the Scriptures (though in a tongue unknown to the people) wherein that practice is utterly condemned, that a man would think them distracted to hear what their book says, and to see what they do in the same place. But nothing will reach unto their conviction until the veil of blindness and ignorance be taken from their minds; until they have spiritual light enabling them to discern the glory of Christ as represented in the gospel, and to let in an experience of the transforming power and efficacy of that revelation in their own souls, they will never part with that means for the same end, which they are sensible of, to be useful unto it; and which is suited unto their inclination. Whatever be the issue, though it cost them their souls, they will not part with what they find, as they suppose, so useful unto their great end of making Christ nigh unto them; for that, wherein they can see nothing of it, and of whose power they can have no experience.

But the principal design of this discourse, is to warn others of these abominations, and to direct unto their avoidance: for if they should be outwardly pressed unto the practice of this idolatry, whatever is of carnal affection, of blind devotion, or superstition in them, will quickly be won over

unto a conspiracy against their convictions. Nothing will then secure them but an experience of the efficacy of that representation which is made of Christ in the gospel. It is therefore the wisdom and duty of all those who desire a stability in the profession of the truth, continually to endeavour after this experience, and an increase in it. He who lives in the exercise of faith and love in the Lord Jesus Christ, as revealed in the gospel, as evidently crucified, and evidently exalted therein, and finds the fruit of his so doing in his own soul, will be preserved in the time of trial. Without this, men will at last begin to think that it is better to have a false Christ than none at all; they will suppose that something is to be found in images, when they can find nothing in the gospel.

2. It is a prevalent notion of truth, that the worship of God ought to be beautiful and glorious.

The very light of nature seems to direct unto conceptions hereof. What is not so, may be justly rejected, as unbecoming the divine majesty; and therefore the more holy and heavenly any religion pretends to be, the more glorious is the worship prescribed in it, or ought so to be: yea, the true worship of God is the height and excellency of all glory in this world; it is inferior unto nothing, but that which is in heaven, which it is the beginning of, the way unto, and the best preparation for. Accordingly even that worship is declared to be glorious, and that in an eminent manner, above all the outward worship of the Old Testament in the tabernacle and temple, whose glory was great; and as unto external pomp, inimitable. To this purpose the apostle disputes at large, 2 Cor. iii. 6-10. This therefore is agreed, that there ought to be beauty and glory in divine worship, and that they are most eminently in that which is directed and required in the gospel. But withal the apostle declares in the same place, that this glory is spiritual, and not carnal; so did our Lord Jesus Christ foretel that it should be; and that unto that end all distinction of places, with all outward advantages and ornaments belonging unto them, should be taken away; John iv. 20-24.

It belongs therefore unto our present design to give a brief account of its glory, and wherein it excels all other ways of divine worship that ever were in the world; even that

under the Old Testament, which was of divine institution, wherein all things were ordered for beauty and glory. And it may be given in the instances that ensue.

(1.) The express object of it is God, not as absolutely considered, but as existing in three persons, of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. This is the principal glory of Christian religion and its worship. Under the Old Testament the conceptions of the church about the existence of the divine nature in distinct persons, were very dark and obscure; for the full revelation of it was not to be made, but in the distinct actings of each person in the works of redemption and salvation of the church; that is, in the incarnation of the Son, and mission of the Spirit, after he was glorified; John vii. 39. And in all the ways of natural worship, there was never the least shadow of any respect hereunto. But this is the foundation of all the glory of evangelical worship. The object of it in the faith of the worshipper, is the holy Trinity, and it consists in an ascription of divine glory unto each person in the same individual nature by the same act of the mind; where this is not, there is no glory in religious worship.

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(2.) Its glory consists in that constant respect which it hath unto each divine person, as unto their peculiar work and actings for the salvation of the church; so it is described, Eph. ii. 18. Through him,' that is, the Son as mediator, we have our access by one Spirit unto the Father.' This is the immediate glory of evangelical worship, comprehensive of all the graces and privileges of the gospel. And to suppose that the glory of it doth consist in any thing but the light, graces, and privileges, which it doth itself exhibit, is a vain imagination: it will not borrow glory from the invention of men. We shall therefore a little consider it as it is here represented by the apostle.

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[1.] The ultimate object of it, under this consideration, is God as the Father: We have an access therein unto the Father.' And this consideration in our worship of God as a Father, relating unto the whole dispensatian of his love and grace, by Jesus Christ, as he is his God and our God, his Father and our Father, is peculiar unto gospel-worship, and contains a signal part of its glory. We do not only worship God as a Father, so the very heathens had a notion that he

was the Father of all things; but we worship him, who is the Father, and as he is so, both in relation to the eternal generation of the Son, and the communication of grace by him unto us, as our Father; So no man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him;' John i. 18. This access in our worship unto the person of the Father, as in heaven, the holy place above, as on a throne of grace, is the glory of the gospel. See Matt. vi. 9. Heb. iv. 16. x. 19–21.

[2.] The Son is here considered as a mediator; through him we have this access unto the Father. This is the glory that was hidden from former ages, but brought to light, and displayed by the gospel. So speaks our blessed Saviour himself unto his disciples; 'Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name, he will give it you: hitherto ye have asked nothing in my name; ask, and ye shall receive;' John xvi. 23, 24. To ask God expressly in the name of the Son, as mediator, belongs unto the glory of the gospel-worship.

The especial instances of this glory are more than can be numerated. The chief of them may be reduced to these three heads:

1st. It is he who makes both the persons of the worshippers, and their duties accepted of God. See Heb. ii. 17, 18. iv. 16. x. 19.

2dly. He is the administrator of all the worship of the church in the holy place above, as its great high-priest over the house of God; Heb. viii. 2. Rev, viii. 3.

3dly. His presence with and among gospel-worshippers in their worship, gives it glory. This he declares and promises, Matt. xviii. 19, 20. If two of you shall agree on earth as touching any thing that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven; for where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.' All success of the prayers of the church dependeth on, and ariseth from, the presence of Christ amongst them: he is so present for their assistance, and for their consolation. This presence of a living Christ, and not a dead crucifix, gives glory to divine worship. He who sees not the glory of this worship, from its relation unto Christ, is a stranger unto the gospel, with all the light, graces, and privileges of it.