on high; that he is Lord over all, and able to fave all who come to the Father by him. Without this Belief, Chriftianity is a vain Delufion: For if Chrift be not rifen from the Dead, and exalted to Glory, then is our Preaching vain, and your Faith is alfo vain. But if he be rifen from the Dead, if he now reigns in Power at the right Hand of the Almighty, if he received this Power, and if he uses it in order to our Salvation; can any thing be more abfurd than to deny him those Honours, which are due to him in confequence of his Glory, and neceffarily flow from the Relation we stand in towards him? The Danger which fome apprehend, in paying this Duty to their Redeemer, of robbing God of his peculiar Honour, and fetting up a new and diftinct Object of Worship, in Opposition to those plain Commands which confine our religious Service to God alone, will vanish away, if we confider, in the last Place,

That all Powers exercised by Chrift, all Honours paid to him, are ultimately referred to God, the Father of our Lord Jefus Chrift.

The Honour and Worship paid to the Son muft either be Part of the Service we owe to God, or it must be inconfiftent with it. If

we

we have found out a new Object of Adoration for ourselves, we are Offenders against the Law, which fays, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only fhalt thou ferve But if we honour Chrift in confequence of the Power and Glory conferred on him by God, and in virtue of a Command received from God, to honour the Son even as we honour the Father, then the Honour we pay to Chrift is Part of the Service we owe to God, and arifes even out of that Command, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only fhalt thou ferve.

Our Saviour has told us, That all Power is given unto him; in which he afferts both his own and the Father's Authority; his own, as being invested with all Power; his Father's, as being the Author and Fountain of all the Power claimed and exercised by the Son. He has told us, by his Apoftle, that at the Confummation of all Things the Son fhall refign his Power, that God may be all in all; a fufficient Declaration, that the Power now exercised by him is the Father's Power, which, as it is at laft to be given up to him, fo was it at firft received from him.

From hence it is manifeft, that the Honour paid to Chrift is ultimately referred to F 2 God

God the Father; for the Honour paid to Chrift being founded in the Power and Glory to which he is exalted, the Honour paid muft naturally follow the Power and Glory to which it relates, and, at the last, terminate in the Fountain and Origin of that Power and Glory, even God the Father. By this Means the peculiar Honour of God the Father is fecured, whilft we worship and adore the Son. If we adore the Son, it is because of the Relation to the Father: If we honour our Redeemer, that Honour must redound to his Glory, who was, in Christ, reconciling the World to himself: If we apply it to Chrift as our High-Priest, at the same Time we acknowledge his Glory who anointed him to this Office: If we worship him who is Head of the Church, we cannot but adore him who gave Chrift to be the Head of the Church: If we fall down before him who has all Power and Might, at the fame Time do we confefs the Excellency of the Father, who hath given him all Power, and put all Things in Subjection under him. So that we cannot honour the Son, as we ought to do, but we must at the fame Time honour the Father with the Honour due to him. And this fuffi

ciently

ciently fhews, that the Gospel has not strained the Precepts of Natural Religion, in teaching us to honour the Son, whom the Father hath exalted to the right Hand of his Majesty on high, and given to be the Head over all Principalities and Powers, even to the Confummation of all Things.