DI SSERTATION Ill. 267: heaven, which refusesaccess tosinners without a mediator. It is God in the person of the Father who sustains the supreme dig- nity and majesty of godhead, or the character of supreme governor and it is in his person that the Deity is dishonoured by the sins of men ; therefore he is not to be approached under the gospel by offending sinners without a mediator : And the word. Father is put with great propriety and emphasis into that text ; John xiv. 6. No man comes to the Father but by me. But the same God in the person of the Sonor Mediator, dwelling in the human nature of his Son Jesus, may be worshipped without a mediator ; for in this view the godhead does as it were put off the character of supreme governor, by assuming human nature, by condescending to accept the work of reconciliation, and to sustain the office of a mediator. The foregoing similitude will serve to illustrate this. The 'son of Constantine is emperor as well as the father, and is offended as well as the' father, because the soldier Caius had broken the laws of the empire ; and therefore the son will not admit Caius the offender to approach him, or come into his pre- sence, when he is sitting on the imperial throne, assuming the character of emperor : But when he has put on the garments of a common soldier, that he may become a mediator, be gives Caius the offender leave to address him as a mediator, and thus - reconciles him to the offendedemperor, to Constantine his father. Lest there should be any exception taken against this simi- tude, because Constantine and his son are two distinct beings, whereas the godhead of the Father, and the godhead of the Son is the same, I might represent the matter thus: Suppose there ' were but one! single emperor of Rome, and call [din Augustus Cmsar, he may refuse' to admit an offender into his presence, without a mediator, white he sits on the imperial throne, dressed in robes imperial ; and yet Augustus Cmsar himself mayput on meaner raiment, may visit the offender in his own dwelling, and permit bim to converse with himself though he be emperor, under the inferior character of a friend, that would willingly reconcile theoffender -to himself as emperor Thus God in Christ is re- conciling the world to himself. God in Christ may visit us offend - ing shiners in our own dwelling on earth; he maÿ'permit tis to address and worship hint without any other mediator, though God in the person' of the Father, and as supreme governor, Would not suffer it. There does not seem any thing in all this, either unscrip- tural, or contrary to common reason ; nor has it any thing in it so disagreeable tohuman ideas and customs, but it might lead us into a clear and intelligible conception of thesedivine mysteries, if we could but suffer ourselves to receive such an explication of difficulties in divine matters, as may be borrowed from human
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