DISCOURSE II. 569' in natural philosophy. Our understandings are nonplussedwhen we consider but the union of the parts of matter among them- selves, which no philosophy has ever yet fully accounted for ; and much more are we puzzled when we think of the union of matter and mind in every human person, and the strange ama- zing influences which the one bath upon the other by means of this union. But when we attempt to conceive of the most inti- mate union, into which the great and blessed God may assume a creature, and join it tohhnself, our thoughts are lost and over- whelmed with this mystery ; and that not only as to the mode or manner of it, which is unsearchable, but as to the extent of the influences and effects of which are astonishing, and beyondall our present powers to determine. Yet since we are thus far assured by the word of God that there is a glorious union between the man Christ, and the divine nature, we may attempt to explain our best conceptions about the effects of it, first as to theconimunicatiens of knowledge, and then of effective power. 1. C° As to the communication of knowledge to the man Christ by his union with the deity." We may try to illustrate this matter by the similitude of the union of a human soul to a body. Suppose a learned philosopher be also a skilful divine, and a great linguist; we may reasonably concludethat therearesome millions of words and phrases, if taken together with all the various senses Of them, which are deposited in his brain as in a repository; by means of some correspondent traces or signatures ; we may sup- pose also millions of ideas óf things, human and divine, trea- sured up in various traces or signatures in the same brain. Nay each organ of sense may impress on the brain millions of traces' belonging to the particular objects of that sense; especially the two senses of discipline, The eye'and the ear : The pictures, the images, the colours, and the sounds that are reserved in this re- pository of the brain, by somecorrespondent impressions or traces' are little lessthan infinite : Now the human soul of the philoso- pher, by being united to this brain, this well - furnished repository, knows all these names, words, sounds, images, lines, figures, colours, notions and sensations. It receives all these ideas, and is, as it were, mistress of them ill. The very opening of the eye impresses thousands of ideas at once upon such'a soul united to a human brain ; and what unknown millions of ideas may be impressed on it or conveyed to it in successive sea- sons, whensoever she stands in need of them, and that by the means of this union to the brain, is beyond our capacity to think or number. Let us now conceive the divine mind or wisdom as a repo- sitorystored with infinite ideas of things past, present and future ; suppose a created spirit of most extensive capacity intimately
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