God, begotten by him, ineffably, before all worlds. The New Testament speaks of this peculiarity of his Sonship upon various occasions. Thus "God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life; for God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through him might be saved. He that believeth on him is not condemned, but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God." John iii. 16, 17, 18.Again:-"God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin condemned sin in the flesh." Rom. viii. 3.-Again:"When the fulness of time was come, God sent forth his Son made of a woman, made under the law." Gal. iv. 4.-Again:-" For this purpose the Son of God was manifested that he might destroy the works of the devil." 1 John iii. 8. And again:-"In this was manifested the love of God towards us, because that God sent his only begotten Son." 1 John iv. 9.From all these passages, and others that might be produced, it is evident, that Christ was the Son of God in a high and peculiar sense, such as no other Being was, is, or can be. This was the sense of all the great writers of the Christian church from the beginning.".

The propriety of the title, the Word, applied to the Son, is shown from the language of John, who certainly did not mean to lead the people into idolatry. Opening his Gospel, he says, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God." And, again, "The Word was made flesh and dwelt among us."+

That Christ is "of one substance with the Father," we are taught by His own declaration. "I and my Father are one." But as this is no less than declaring Him, what He is elsewhere said to be, "the very and eternal God," we are not willing to dismiss the subject thus easily. This is the alone anchorthe alone ark, which, if broken, leaves us in the deluge; therefore, as we have some wish for salvation, we will detail-it might be said— I speak words chosen-several thousand reasons, but, as that would weary you-a sufficient number of reasons why we should hold on this anchor and trust this ark.

We are taught the Divinity of Christ by the nature of the work which He came to perform. That work was more than to create a worldIt was to overcome the opposition of our hearts to holiness, and to renew us after the image of God. It was to redeem us from all the conse

*John i. 1, 2. † John i. 14. John x. 30.

quences of sin, both temporal and eternal, and exalt us to an ever brightening state of felicity. The power to be exercised not only required to be sufficient to raise our bodies from the grave, but to new create our Souls, and to usher both soul and body into " an inheritance incorrupti. ble and undefiled, and that fadeth not away."*

We are taught the Divinity of Christ by the fact that no created being is able to atone for the sins of another. The laws of God cover all our very wishes, during all the moments allotted us throughout the whole of our existence. Raise then our exertions as high as we may, no one of us can do a tittle more than we are required to do for the discharge of our own duty. And the same reasoning applies to angels;-to all created ones. They are all placed under law, and bound to love the Lord their God, with all their heart, and soul. and mind, and strength. Whence then is to come that work of supererogation necessary to make up for our want of righteousness? It can never be found, unless some one greater than law shall render obedience, and place that obedience to our benefit. Christ having furnished our righteousness-even a righteousness sufficient to clothe us, and cause us to be accepted, proves Him greater than law-proves Him Divine.

We know that Christ is Divine from the

1 Peter i. 4.

high magnificent language made use of in the earlier scriptures when foretelling His advent. They declared the seed of the woman should bruise the serpent's head. Now who was spoken of under the similitude of the serpent? The devil, who made use of the serpent: And who is he? The "Prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience:"* the "old serpent, which deceiveth the whole world." He is no less than archangel ruined. His head, his power, Christ was to destroy. And was a mere man capable of this, when the whole race of men have been tyrannised over by Satan, for, now, six thousand years?

"In thee," said the Most High to Abraham, referring to the Messiah," in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed."‡ Now, how were all thus blessed in Christ, unless he be God? A great part of the world never heard of the name of Christ. There must then be in Him some plenitude of power to enable Him to bless all in some shape or other, or the prophecy has not been fulfilled.

Jacob spoke of Christ, as "the angel which redeemed" him "from all evil," and prayed for him to "bless" his grand-sons.§

Job, in the fulness of prophetic vision, ex

* Eph. ii. 2. † Rev. xii. 9. Gen. xii. 3. See also xviii. 18, &c.~ Gen. xlviii. 15, 16.

claimed, "I know that my Redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth," &c.*

The Psalms are full of the most striking predictions, which can not, by any accommodation, have their fulfilment in a mere creature. True, they point out, first, some Israelitish monarch; but they use such terms, and employ such expressions, as show that he is only the shadow of a great Antitype, who is clothed with the might and the character of God. The utmost power of language is put in requisition to describe his greatness. To use the words of another, "fresh weight and dignity are added to the sentiment, till, gradually ascending from things below, to things above, from human affairs, to those which are Divine, they bear the great important theme upward with them, and, at length, place it in the height and brightness of Heaven."

Even David himself calls the Personage predicted, "Lord;" and the angels of God are commanded to worship him. The Apostles applied these prophecies to Jesus, and Jesus applied them to himself.

We are taught the Divinity of Christ, by the vast apparatus of types, and priesthoods, and sacrifices, made use of to fortel his coming. The patriarchal, which overspread the world; the

*Job xix. 25.