this day have I begotten thee." If so, if he refused to acknowledge him as Lord, by whom himself and all the heavenly hierarchies had been created, though appearing in a nature superior to angels, in his form of God, how must it mortify that proud spirit, and all the associates of his revolt, to bow at the footstool of the same person, when united to flesh, and inhabiting a nature formed out of the clay!

15. As to Christ's loyal subjects, fifthly, whether men that have been restored, or angels that never fell, how must they applaud the wisdom, revere the justice, and rejoice in the mercy and grace of this dispensation? The holy angels must rejoice to see one so exalted and honoured, towards whom they had maintained their allegiance, when millions of their companions revolted and rebelled; one whose amazing condescension and love to mankind, when immersed in sin and ruin, they had admired and glorified; of whose wonderful birth they had brought tidings to our world; whom they had constantly attended, and to whom they had ministered in the days of his humiliation, when he was "a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief;" and of whose agony in the garden, and tragical death upon mount Calvary, they had been witnesses; and whom, therefore, they now rejoice to see upon a throne of glory, judging his judges, and passing sentence upon all the enemies of his government.

"For lo! now twice ten thousand gates thrown wide
Pour forth their myriads, potentates and powers
Of light, of darkness, in a middle field,

Wide as creation, populous as wide,

A neutral region, there to mark the' event

Of that great drama whose preceding scenes
Detain'd them close spectators through a length
Of ages, ripening to this grand result,-
Ages as yet unnumber'd but by God,

Who now, pronouncing sentence, vindicates
The rights of virtue, and his own renown."

As for his own "brethren" of mankind, as he condescended to call them, they acknowledge the reasonableness and praise the wisdom of the appointment, whereby he who bore their sins acquits their persons, who pre

served them from falling " presents them faultless before the presence of his glory," and who purchased heaven for them, with its various mansions, determines their happiness, and assigns each individual his proper and proportionate reward. They were under his government on earth, and he was always present with them, searching their hearts, observing their works, affording them aid, and exactly marking all their advantages and disadvantages, their helps and hinderances; they own, therefore, that he is perfectly qualified to be their Judge, and applaud the righteous and equitable appointment, acknowledging that God is righteous in all his ways, and holy in all his works. Indeed, assembled worlds will see and confess the equity of his proceedings, and men and angels unite in one great burst of universal praise.

"O how sublime the chorus of the skies;

O how sublime these shouts of joy that shake
The whole ethereal! How the concave rings
To see creation's godlike aim and end
So well accomplish'd, so divinely closed!
To see the mighty Dramatist's last act
(As meet) in glory rising o'er the rest!
No fancied God, a God indeed, descends
To solve all knots, to strike the moral home,
To throw full day on darkest scenes of time,
To clear, commend, exalt, and crown the whole.
Hence, in one peal of loud, eternal praise,
The charm'd spectators thunder their applause;
And the vast void beyond applause resounds."

16. "And I heard a voice of much people in heaven, saying, Hallelujah ; Salvation, and glory, and honour, and power, unto the Lord our God. For true and righteous are his judgments: for he hath judged the earth, and avenged the blood of his servants. And again they said, Hallelujah. And the four-and-twenty elders, and the four living creatures, fell down and worshipped God that sat on the throne, saying, Amen; Hallelujah. And a voice came out of the throne, saying, Praise our God, all ye his servants, and ye that fear him, both small and great. And I heard as it were the voice of a great multitude, and as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of mighty thunderings, saying, Hallelujah: for the Lord God

omnipotent reigneth. Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready. And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white now the fine linen is the righteousness of the saints. And he saith unto me, Write, Blessed are they that are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb. And he saith unto me, These are the true sayings of God. And I fell at his feet to worship. And he said unto me, See thou do it not: I am thy fellow-servant, and of thy brethren that have the testimony of Jesus: worship God." Rev. xix. 1-10.

17. "And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea. And I John saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a great voice out of heaven, saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God. And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away. And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful. And he said unto me, It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst, of the fountain of the water of life freely. He that overcometh shall inherit all things; I will be his God, and he shall be my son."

18. "And he showed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb. And there shall be no more curse: but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it" (the city); "and his servants shall serve him. And they shall see his face; and his name shall be in their foreheads. And there shall be no night there; and they need no candle, neither light of the sun; for the Lord God giveth

them light and they shall reign for ever and ever. And I John saw these things, and heard them. And when I had heard and seen, I fell down to worship before the feet of the angel that showed me these things. Then he saith unto me, See thou do it not: for I am thy fellowservant worship God. Behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last. I Jesus have sent mine angel to testify unto you these things in the churches. I am the root and offspring of David, and the bright and morning star. He that testifieth these things saith, Surely I come quickly; Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus!"

CHAPTER XI.

Thus: "As

1. In two passages quoted from the 19th and 22d chapters of the Revelation by St. John, at the conclusion of the last chapter, we saw a glorious angel absolutely refusing to be worshipped: "I fell down at his feet to worship him: and he said to me, See thou do it not; I am thy fellow-servant." And again: "I fell down to worship before the feet of the angel, and he said, See thou do it not; for I am thy fellow-servant; worship God." Instances of a similar kind occur in divers parts of scripture. Peter was coming in, Cornelius met him, and fell down at his feet, and worshipped him. But Peter took him up, saying, Stand up; I myself also am a man." Acts x. 25, 26. And again: when the inhabitants of Lystra were about to offer sacrifice to Paul and Barnabas, "they rent their clothes, and ran in among the people, crying out, Sirs, why do ye these things? We also are men of like passions with you, and preach unto you, that ye should turn from these vanities unto the living God, who made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and all things that are therein." Acts xiv.

2. Well did these holy men and holy angels understand

not

that Jehovah alone is the proper object of religious worship, according to what is repeatedly commanded in the holy scriptures. As: "Thou shalt have no other gods before me." Exodus xx. 3. "Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God is one Lord. Thou shalt fear Jehovah thy God, and serve him, and shalt swear by his name. Ye shall go after other gods; (for the Lord thy God is a jealous God among you;) lest the anger of the Lord thy God be kindled against thee, and destroy thee from off the face of the earth." Deut. vi. 4, 13—15. Again: "Thou shalt fear the Lord thy God; him shalt thou serve, and to him shalt thou cleave, and swear by his name. He is thy praise, and he is thy God." Deut. x. 20, 21. To these, and such like passages, the Lord Jesus undoubtedly referred, when he said, "It is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve." Matthew iv. 10.

3. Now, notwithstanding this, it is certain, first, that the same God who gave the above precepts concerning the proper objects of divine worship, hath commanded his Son to be worshipped; secondly, that he hath accordingly been worshipped, and that both before and after his incarnation, both while he was on earth, and after his ascension into heaven; and, thirdly, that not one instance can be produced, in which he hath ever refused the worship addressed to him.

First, God hath commanded him to be worshipped: as by David: "He is thy Lord, and worship thou him.” Psalm xlv. "Worship him, all ye gods;" Psalm xcvii; or, as it is expressed, "When he bringeth his first begotten into the world, he saith, Let all the angels of God worship him." Heb. i. 6. But this is still more clearly and fully declared by our Lord himself, in a passage which is the more remarkable, as it contains an answer to the Jews, who, the historian tells us, "sought the more to kill" our Lord, "because he had not only broken the sabbath, but said also that God was his own," dov, proper, "Father, making himself equal with God." John v. 18. Even to them upon such an occasion as this, among other things, Jesus said, "What things soever the Father doeth,