Owen - Houston-Packer Collection BT300 .O9 1679

6o The Perfon ofC!Jrifl the great ~prefentatirve of his Being, in the Vifible Infiitutions of his Worfi1ip. But nll mens Inventions to this End which are neither Di-vine Works of Nature, nor Divine lnflitutions of Tf7orjhip, ar(all but falfe Reprefentations of God, ·and therefore .accurfed by him. . Wherefore it is granted that God hath placed many cha– raaers of his Divine Excellencies upon his Works of Crea- - tion and Providence; many of his glorious Prejence upon. the Tabernacle and Temple of old ; but none of thefe things ever did or could give juch a Reprefentation ofhim,as where. in the fouls of men might fully acquiefce, or obtain fuch . Conceptions of him as might enable them to worfhip and honour him in a due manner. They cannot, I fay, by all that may be fecn in them, and learned from them, repre fent God as the Compleat 0/;jdl of all our Affections, of all the a&ings of our fouls in Faith, Trufi, Love, Feai", · Obedience, · in •that way whereby he may be glorified, and we may be brought unto the everlafting fruition of him. This there– tore is y~t to be enquired after. Wherefore 5· Ameer external Do[/ri'na!Re·velation ofthe Divine Na· 4 /:J 1 ~ ture and Properties, without any Exemplification, or real Re– ·pr.efentation of tL1em, was n0t f!!l·ff.icient untc the End of ·God mthe manifefiatitJn of himfelf. This is .dcm:e in the Scrip– ture. But the whole Scripture is built on this Founda:tio!'l, or proceeds on this Suppofition, that there is a real fReprefe;;ta– tion of the Divine Natme unto us, which it ·declares and de– fcribes. Andas there ,~,-as fuch a notion on the minds of all men., that fome Reprefentation of God, wherein be might benear uhto them, was nece!fary, which arpfe from the ,con– fideration dfthe infinite difiance between theDivine Nature . aind d:1.eir own, which allowed ofno meafures between them; fo as unto the Event God himfelfhath declared that in his own n~ay.fuch aReprefentation was needfull unto that End of the · Mani:

RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy OTcyMjk=