Dr. Goodwin's ideas of the words are, Vol. III. Book III. Chap. VII. Page 106. That the nature or creature, which the Son of GOD fhall affume (be it man or angel) must by inheritance exist in the form of God, Phil. ii. 7. which form of GOD, I here take not to be put for the effence of God; neither is the form of a servant, taken for the nature of man. The form of GOD, is that godlike glory, and that manifestation of the GODHEAD, which was, and must needs be due, to appear in the nature affumed, for form is put for outward appearance and manifeftation, in refpect of which, CHRIST, as GOD-MAN, is called the brightness of the Father's glory, Heb. i. 3. Brightness you know is not the fubftance of the light, but the appearance of it. And in this refpect CHRIST, GOD-MAN, may be said, in a safe sense, to be equal with God, as here in the text, not in effence, but in a communication of privileges; that as God hath life in himself alone (which is a royalty incommunicable to any mere creature) fo this Son of Man, when once united to the Godhead, is alfo faid to have life in himself, John v. 26. This is not to be understood of equality as to effence, but of likeness; his privileges were fuch by the union with the second perfon, that he had a true kind of partnership with Gon the FATHER in his privileges, and such as did arife to a likeness, though not to an effential qualification.

He adds, the first ingredient into the fatisfaction of CHRIST lies in his laying afide the glory due to his facred perfon, when he should dwell in human nature, and instead thereof taking on him the form of a fervant: GOD will have him emptied, the MESSIAH must have nothing left, not a grain or mite of the riches of his glory. And in another place he says, he that had all fulness had nothing left, no comfort in GoD, when upon the cross, nor in any creature; he might fay as Naomi, The Lord hath dealt bitterly with me: I came from Heaven full, but be brought me to earth empty; emptied of all. Thus far Dr. Goodwin; and Dr. Gill's ideas upon the text are much the fame as his thoughts upon Heb. i. 3.

Friendly. I acknowledge that thefe thoughts of Dr. Watts, and Goodwin, have fomething very noble, fublime, and great in them, but what are the peculiar advantages that arise therefrom?

Truth. Many every way.

Firft, As they seemingly prove, upon clear evidence, that either the pre-exiftent foul of CHRIST, or that the Man JESUS, confidered in perfonal union with the Godhead, enjoyed by right of inheritance, a poffeffion of all the divine perfections,

as the first-born of every creature, and that he had an ineffable communicative glory with the FATHER, before the world was. Secondly, It aggrandizes the amazing stoop and condefcenfion of our dear LORD, that he should leave, and diveft himfelf of all this perfonal glory, to take upon him flesh and blood, to capacitate himself to die for poor finners; herein is love! O! the amazing riches of it!

Thirdly, Thefe ideas are a most beautiful key to unlock many dark and obfcure paffages of fcripture, where fuch properties are ascribed to CHRIST, as feem too great to belong to the human nature, and yet are too low for pure Godhead; but by applying thofe texts to his pre-exiftent glory, or to his glory, confidered as God-man, constituted fo from everlasting, Ifa. ix. 6. then the fenfe is ftriking, plain, and natural.

Fourthly, Is it not the most engaging and convincing way, to answer all the train of the Arian and Socinian arguments, especially those wherein they charge the Trinitarians of holding a begotten Deity, and a derived Godhead? and why should we bring those texts as proofs of his divinity, which at most only prove his theanthropos glories, i. e. his glories as God-man, when the bible is replete with inconteftible proofs of the LORD JESUS being the omniscient, omnipotent, and omniprefent JEHOYAH, i. e. one in effence with the FATHER and the HOLY GHOST?

Fifth, The knowledge of CHRIST's perfonal glory, will be the most happy means (through a divine bleffing) to raise our ideas of what the glory of Heaven will be, as Dr. Owen in his meditations of the glories of CHRIST, page 39, fays, " Reckon "in your minds, that this beholding the glory of Christ, that by "beholding the glory of GoD, and all his holy properties in "him, is the greateft privilege whereof in this life we can "be made partakers. The dawning of Heaven is in it, the "firft of glory, for this is life eternal." And in page 37, he fays, "Do we fufficienly confider, that the immediate vifion ❝of this glory in Heaven, will be our everlasting blessedness.” We are apt to have, I might have faid we always have too mean and low ideas of feeing Jefus as he is, and beholding his glory. Let us not think that it will confift in feeing the Man JESUS exalted upon the throne of GOD, far above all principalities and powers; this will be the leaft part of it, but rather let us conceive (as far as we are able to form a conception of it) that the glory of Heaven will rather confift in viewing, in one eternal heavenly rapture, all the divine perfections and infinite

glories of the Godhead fhine with inconceivable brightness and luftre in the Man JESUS! whofe facred beams, fhall not only fill the Heaven of Heavens, and spread a glory over the throne of GoD, but diffufe confummate happiness to every Angel and Arch-angel, Cherub and Seraph, through the heavenly Empire! whofe divine rays will emit immortal bliss, joys unknown, to all the millions of Saints around the throne for ever and ever! whofe majestic honours fhall diffeminate fuch luminous and tranfcendent brightness, that all Heaven fhall gaze, adore, and love the Lamb in the midst of the throne, who will appear as one that had been flain, Rev. xxi. 23. For the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof.

And this puts me in mind of what a great divine once faid, being afked what character CHRIST fuftained in the word of GOD, as to his divine nature fingly confidered? His answer was, none; for faid he, we have no revelation of CHRIST but as incarnate. Being by, I paufed awhile, and afterward fearched the fcriptures whether the things fpoken of were fo or no. Upon fearch I found they were fo; and that we have no knowledge or revelation of CHRIST but as GoD-MAN; and that he was GOD-MAN, before the foundation of the world, 2 Tim. i. 19. Grace is therefore faid to be given us in Chirst Je fus before the world began; that is, in the man-nature, which muft take in the exiftence of his human foul; or the Man JESus being confidered in union to God before the world was; which idea of his being always known to us in creation, re demption, and glorification as GOD-MAN, it doth in a concife manner, fettle what Dr. Watts and Dr. Goodwin (in their differtations of his perfonal glories) have faid of him.

But left I, my dear Friendly, weary your wonted patience, I fhall only introduce one more idea on this fubject, which is, that as the High Prieft, under the law, could not enter into the Holy of Holies, without the cloud of incenfe, because of the unfufferable blaze of the divine Majefty, that fhone from off the mercy-feat, from between the two Cherubims, where GOD is faid to dwell, Pfal. lxxx. 1. but by means of the cloud of incenfe the High Prieft could enter therein, and not die, the cloud being as a medium to let through part of the brightness of the divine Majefty, in fuch a degree as he could bear it, fo I apprehend, that the Man JESUS, was fixed upon as a medium, or as a glafs through which all the perfections of the Godhead fhould fhine, not only in the work of creation, providence and redemption, but even in glorification itself; for was it not for the happy medium of the Man JESUS, the

infinite glories, the unknown brightnefs, and the infufferable rays of the Godhead, would rather overwhelm us than prove our happiness. But viewing all the attributes and properties of the Deity fhine through our own nature, in the Man, that is our friend, our husband, and our brother, this familiarizes the glory of the Godhead to us, fecures our blifs, and feals our happinefs for ever and ever.

Friendly. Before we difmifs this subject I would just ask, in what refpect CHRIST, as the head of the church, has took poffeffion of the Saints glory?

Truth. I would have put a period to this fubject before, but you must know, that the effential, perfonal and mediatorial glories of CHRIST are my delightful theme and topic, as I look upon them to be the fountain, medium, and confummation of all our felicity. But in anfwer to your question, I would obferve, that CHRIST took poffeffion of the Saints glory upon his afcenfion into Heaven, as he rofe and afcended as their head and reprefentative; and by it took poffeffion, not only of his ancient perfonal glory, which he had been praying for, John xvii. 5. and his mediatorial glory, which he had obtained by his fufferings, but likewife of that communicative glory which was fettled upon the Saints before the world was, Ephef. i. 4. Therefore he fays, John xiv. 2, 3. I go to prepare a place for you; and if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to myself, that where I am, ye may be alfo. Tho' I acknowledge that the glory of the Saints in Heaven, will principally confift in viewing, beholding, and enjoying all the perfections of the Godhead thining through the Man JESUS, and that his mediatorial glory will confift in the reverberation of his grace-bleffings in a way of love, adoration, and praise to his name, yet, as the Man JESUS poffeffed this exaltation and glory by virtue of his union with the Godhead, fo his Saints, by virtue of their vital union, fhall poffefs the communication both of his perfonal and mediatorial glory, in all its refulgency and brightness, as heirs with God, and joint heirs with Chrift; therefore they are faid, to enter into the joy of their Lord, which idea is a lucid interpretation of that text, John xviii. 22, 23. where CHRIST faith to his FATHER, The glory which thou gavest, I have given unto them, that they may be one, even as we are one; I in them, and thou in me, that they might be made perfet in one; that the world might know that thou haft fent me, and haft loved them as thou haft loved me. Thus you fee, that as the glory of the Man JESUS fprings from its union with the God

head, fo the glory of the Saints fpring from their relation to the Man CHRIST, in union with GOD, as flesh of his flesh, and bone of his bone; that when he afcended into Heaven, he took full poffeffion of that glory which he had with the Father before the world was; and in the poffeffion of which the Saints glory is comprized, as it both fprings from the fame love, therefore, fays CHRIST to his FATHER, John xvii. 23. And haft loved them, as thou haft loved me; for there is no effential difference between JEHOVAH's love to his Saints, and his love to the Man JESUS; it is of the fame nature and kind, both for delight and complacency, only it was his pleasure to take the Man JESUS into a perfonal union with himself, and the Saints, in Him, into a myftical union; thereby the Man JESUS enjoys the glories of the Godhead, in a perfonal and inherent manner; and the Saints they enjoy the fame glory, but then it is by vifion and communication, as heirs with God, and joint heirs with Chrift, who is filled with all the glories of the Deity, and is thereby the fum and centre of all the glory in Heaven, from whom the Saints, as joint heirs with him, fhall enjoy a participation of the fame bleffedness for ever, John xvii. 24. Father, faid he, I will that they alfo whom thou haft given me, be with me where 1 am, that they may behold my glory, which thou haft given me; and the great end of his defire is, that they might be joint partakers of the fame happiness, ver. 26. that the love wherewith thou haft loved me might be in them, and I in them.

This leads to the eighth particular, which is to fhew, wherein the love of God appears in the order, economy of the church, and in the ordinances of his house, as they are lively emblems of the death and kindness of the Lord of life and glory.

Friendly. What does a true church confift of?

Truth. Of a congregation, community, or affembly of Chriftians met together, in any place, to hear and maintain the miniftration of the word, and the ordinances thereof. As the miniftration of the word is a revelation from GOD, which contains the whole of his mind and will, concerning their com fort and falvation, and the ordinances of his church are the pofitive commands of GOD, therefore it is that the people of GOD, with chearfulness, humility, and obedience, meet together to hear what GOD the LORD fhall fay to them, in the miniftration of his word, and by the adminiftration of his ordinances. Thus an affembly, met together for this very end and purpose, when embodied, agreed, and organized according to the word of GOD, conftitute a true church.