PART III. Of gracious 4tlions. 18 i vaftly is the Speech of an underflanding Man different from that of a little Child ! And how greatly diffinguilhed is the Speech of fome Men of great Genius, as Homer, Cicero, Milton, Locke, Addifon, and others, from that of many other underftanding Men ! There are no Limits to be fet to the Degrees of Manifeftation of mental Excellen- cy, that there may be in Speech. But the Appearances of thenatu- ral Perfe6tions of God, in the Manifeflations he makes of himfelf, may doubtlefs be unfpeakably more evidently diffinguifhing, than the Appearances of thofe Excellencies of Worms of the Duff, in which they differ one from another. He that is well acquainted with Man- kind, and their Works, by viewing the Sun, may know it is no hu- man Work. And 'tis reafonable to fuppofe, that when Chrift come!, at the End of the World, in the Glory of his Father, it will be with fuch ineffable Appearances of Divinity, as will leave no Doubt to the Inhabitants of the World, even the molt obftinate Infidels, that he who appears is a divine Pcrfon. But above all, do the Mani- feffations of the moral and fpiritual Glory of the divine Being ( which is the proper Beauty of the Divinity ) bring their own Evidence, and tend to allure the Heart. Thus the Difciples were allured that Jefus was the Son of God, for they beheld his Glory, as the Glory of the only Begotten of the Father, full of Grace and Truth, John r . r 4. When Chrift appeared in the Glory of his Transfiguration to his Difciples, with that outward Glory, to their bodily Eyes, which was a fweet and admirable Symbol and Semblance of his fpiritual Glory, together with his fpiritual Glory it felf, manifefted to their Minds ; the Mani- feftation of Glory was fuch, as did perfectly, and with good Reafon, alure them of his Divinity ; as appears by what one of them, viz. the Apofile Peter, Pays concerning it, 2 Pet. 1. 16, 17, 18. For we have notfollowed cunningly devifed Fables, when we made known unto you the Power and Coming ofour Lord fefa Chril but were Eye-wit- nes of his Majelly : For he receivedfrom God the Father, Honour and Glory ; when there came fuch a Voice to him from the excellent Glory, This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleafed. And this Voice which came from Heaven, we heard, when we were with him in the hlly Mount. The Apoftle calls that Mount, the holy Mount, becaufe the Manifefta- tions of Chrift which were there made to their Minds, and which their Minds were efpecially imprefs'd and raviíhed with, was the Glory of his Holinefs, or the Beauty of his moral Excellency ; or, as another of thefe Difciples, who faw it, expreffes it, His Glory, as full of Grace and Truth. Now this diftinguifhing Glory of the divine Being has it's brighteft Appearance and Manifeftation, in the Things propofed and exhibited to us in the Gofpel, the Doctrines there taught, the Word there fpo- ken, and the divineCounfels,Acts and Works there revealed. Thefe Things have the clearelt, molt admirable, and diltinguifhing Re- prefentations
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