No man has seen God at any time; no man hath at any time seen the essence of God with his eyes, 1 Thessalonians 4:24; nor with the eyes of his mind understood the whole counsel and will of God, Matthew 11:27 Romans 11:34. Moses indeed saw the image and representation of God, and had a more familiar converse with God than others; upon which account he is said to have talked with God face to face; Numbers 12:7,8, God saith he would speak unto him mouth to mouth, even apparently; but he tells us how in the same verse, and the similitude of the Lord shall he behold; and God, who had spoken to the same sense, Exodus 33:11, saith, 1 Thessalonians 1:20, Thou canst not see my face; for there shall no man see me, and live. Now to whom he did not discover his face, he certainly did not discover all his secret counsels. The only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father; but he who is the only begotten and beloved Son, hath such an intimate communion with him in his nature, and such a free communication of all his counsels, as it may be said, he is continually in his bosom. He hath declared him; hath declared him, not only as a prophet declareth the mind and will of God, but as the heavens declare the glory of God, and the firmament showeth his handy work, Psalms 19:1; being the brightness of his Father's glory, and the express image of his person, Hebrews 1:3. So as the Father can only be seen in the Son; nor is so full a revelation of the Father's will to be expected from any, as from the Son.

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