100 THE CHRISTIAN DOCTRINE OF THE TRINITY. may either understand the absolute essential honours of godhead, which we give to the divine nature, subsisting in Father, Son and Spirit ; or we may in our thoughts give adoration and thanks to each of the sacred three fer the various and distinct offices they sustain, anddistinct benefits we receive from them. If we may dare to make use of the similitude before men- tioned, and conceive of a king, whose soul Both also animate and actuate an ambassador extraordinary and a resident in a foreign country, and by their means bestow blessings on his subjects in that foreign country; we may in some measure ap- prebend how far each of these persons may have communion in the same royal honours, and how far their particular personal honours are distinct from each other ; But no human simile can perfectly. express things divine. To conclude, i have here shewn what are the general honours of the godhead subsisting in three persons ; and what are the particular divine honours that belong to each person, as sus- taining particular characters and offices in the economy of crea- tion, providence and redemption. And though the Son and the Spirit may be properly addressed with divine honours, as having communion in true godhead, yet since the scripture is given us to direct our worship, is it not better in our most common and usual addresses to God to follow the express directionsand examples of scripture, and imitate the inspired apostles, those first and most glorious christians ? And since we find so great a silence in scripture of any ex- press precepts or patterns, of prayer or praise, directed distinct- ly to the person of the blessedSpirit, let us not bindit upon our own consciences, nor upon others, as a piece ofnecessary wor- ship ; but rather practise it occasionally as prudence and expedi- ence may require. Since we find both precepts and patterns for prayer and praise to be oftenaddressed to our Lord JesusChrist, let us also often call upon the name of the Lord Jesus, anddirect frequent doxologies to the Lamb that was slain. But since the most frequent patterns and precepts in scrip- ture leadus to direct our addresses to God the Father, whotrans- acts all his affairs with us, in and through his Son by ,his Holy Spirit, I think we should also snake it the most frequent and usual practice in our devotions, " to have our access through Jesus Christ, by one Spirit unto the Father ;" Eph. ii 18. that is, to address the Father, by the meditation of the Son, through the assistance of the Holy Spirit ; that this divine economy, which is thesubstance and gloryof the christian religion, and runs through the whole of it, might be visible also in our common devotions, and appear msnifestly to run through the several parts of chris- tian worship in which we are engaged.
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy OTcyMjk=