In a word, every name, every title, which conftitutes Deity, and which is applied to the Father, is equally applied to Chrift. He is filed the Great God, Mighty God, God over all. The Almighty, King of Kings, and Lord of Lords. The Divinity of Jefus Chrift, may be alío proven from his

Attributes. I fhall mention four.

I. Eternity. And if the Son be Jehovah, he muft of neceffity be Eternal; as all judges in oriental learning, allow that that name is expreffive of neceffary existence. He, is He, who is, who was, and who is to come, the Almighty. Which words denote, independent Eternity, even in the opinion of the most learned of the Arians, only they apply them to the Father, not to the Son, which is evidently wresting the application. There is a famous paffage of the Prophet Micah, which ftrongly confirms the doctrine of Chrift's Eternity. But thou, Bethleham Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee fhall He come forth unto me, that is to be Ruler in Ifrael, whofe goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting a. This contains a full and clear proof of Chrift's pre-exiftence, before his birth of the virgin. The auguft name which the Deity declared to Mofes, I AM, intimating eternal felf-exiftence, Chrift affumes to himself; before Abraham was, 1 am. In a word, he was before all things, and is the immortal, and invifible God.

II. Immutability. The author of the Epiftle to the Hebrews, in oppofing the Immutability of Chrift, to the fading and perifhing nature of the heavens and earth, fets it forth in very expreffive terms. Thou, Lord, in the beginning haft laid the foundation of the earth; and the heavens are the works of thy bands. They shall perish, but THOU REMAINEST. They shall be CHANGED, but THOU ART THE SAME,

a Micah v. 2.

and

and thy years shall not fail a. This is the very defcription which the holy Pfalmift gives us of the Immutability, or unchangeable nature of the only true, Eternal God. And here, without any reftriction or limitation applied to our Saviour Christ. And in another paffage, Jefus Chrift, the fame yesterday, to day, and for ever b. Here is the phrafe, AUTOS the fame applied to the perfon of Christ, and taking in all time paft, prefent, and to come.

III. Omnifcience is another divine Attribute, afcribed in fcripture, to our Saviour. Now we are fure that thou knoweft all things; faid his Difciples unto him c. And again, in Peter's folemn proteftation, Lord, Thou knowest all things: there is no limitation in the words, and no caution given by the Evangelift to prevent our understanding them in the highest fenfe.

In innumerable paffages, we meet with fuch affertions as, All things are naked before him; that every creature is manifeft in his fight; that he is a difcerner of the thoughts, and intents of the heart; for, in Him are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. Strong, and lively expreffions of his Divine Omniscience.

IV. OMNIPRESENCE, is alfo afcribed to Chrift. This he afferted to Nicodemus; and no man hath afcended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven, even the fon of man, which is in heaven. Lo, I am always with you, even unto the end of the world. By him all things confift. These texts prove that our Bleffed Lord, is present on earth, at

a Heb. i. 1o, II, 12.

b Ch. xiii. 8.

the

c But enemies to the Divinity of Chrift, affect to oppofe to his Omnifcience, his own exprefs declaration, But of that day, and that hour, knoweth no man, no not the Angels which are in heaven, neither the Son, but the Father. That Jefus was finite in his moral powers, and that these were capable of acceffion, is never denied, as he increafed in wifdom and flature, and was in all refpects like to his brethren, fin excepted; and, therefore, that his human nature, abftractly confidered, was equally with the Angelic, ignorant of that great event; yet this does not invalidate his Omniscience; for he does not fay that the Son of God knew it not, but the Son of man; as is plain from both Evangelifts, who record this expreflion.

the fame time that he is alfo prefent in heaven; that his presence reaches to all the ends of the earth, to all men living quite round the globe, in the unbounded univerfe. Hence it was that the antients, with one voice, afcribed Omniprefence to God the Son.

The Divinity of Christ is demonftrated from his works. All things were made by Him, and without him was not any thing made, that was made. For by Him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, vifible and invifible, whether they be Thrones, or Dominions, or Principalities, or Powers, all things were created by Him, and for Him. And He is before all things, and by Him all things confift a. Strong, lively, and magnificent, expreffions. He was before all created Beings, and confequently was himself, uncreated. All things: how vaft the idea! Men, beafts, trees, fun, moon, and hofts of heaven; nay, the princely potentates of the highest Angelic orders, they are all created by Him, as the efficient caufe, and for his glory, as their laft end. No creature, however glorious, can give being to what did not exist before; and although every house is built by fome man, yet He that built all things, is GOD.

Seeing then that the title of Creator is thus magnificently and elegantly fet forth, in holy Scripture, as the diftinguifhing mark of eminency, the Epitome of all perfection, and the certain character of true Divinity if nothing higher or ftronger, can be thought on, to raife in us the moft fublime, awful, and exalted idea of the fupreme God of Ifrael; and if the Son of God be plainly and evidently set forth to us, under the fame high character: if he created all things, vifible and invifible, if he laid the foundations of the earth, and if the heavens are the works of his hands; I fay, if these be indifputable pofitions, the conclufion to be drawn from them, refpecting

a Coloff. i. 15, 16, 17.

pecting his Divinity, must be felf-evident, to every mind that is not fteeled against the facred truth.

But the tranfcendent excellency of the Divine nature, and the glorious works of the hands of God, are the grounds of afcription, of worship, and of praise to him by all his creatures. I have already treated of this at fome length. I have only to add here a few inftances of worship, in the highest fenfe, which were given to Chrift; nor, with his infinite humility, did he ever refufe it. Thus when the blind man, and whofe fight had been miraculously reftored by Chrift, had confounded and filenced the learned Doctors of the Sanhedrin, by the vigour and precifion of his arguments; I fay when he found Chrift, who unfolded to him his high character of being the Son of God, profeffed his faith, Lord, I believe. It is added, And he worshipped him. So alfo, it is recorded by the two Evangelifts, Matthew and Luke, that the eleven Apoftles, upon feeing their Divine Master, afcending majestically into the bleffed abodes, they worshipped him. The penitent thief, on the cross, amidst the gloom that veiled the Redeemer's glory, difcerning the princely grandeur of the Son of God, fued to him for mercy, Lord, remember me, when thou comeft into thy kingdom: and, as Sovereign of all worlds, Jefus replied, This day fhalt thou be with me in Paradife a. In like manner the Apostle, Thomas,

a It is probable this man never knew any thing of Chrift before, otherwife than by common fame; but admitting that he had seen and heard him before, yet that he fhould now come into the acknowledgment of him, when one of his difciples had betrayed him, another had denied, and all of them had forfaken him; and now to pronounce him the Son of God, and Lord of Life, when he was hanging on the crofs, fuffering the pangs of death, and feemingly deferted by his father, that he should take fanctuary in a dying and univerfally defpifed man, publish his innocence in the face of triumphant malice, and through the thickeft cloud of fhame and fuffering that ever intercepted the glories of the Son of God, difcover his divine power, acknowledge his celeftial kingdom, throw himself upon his

pro

Thomas, having the most fenfible proofs of the identity of his rifen Mafter, with fervent rapture, expreffed his adoration, my Lord and my God. When Stephen had, in a long and mafterly defence, not only vindicated his own innocence, but also convicted the council, his judges, of their obftinate and deftructive infidelity, and when like furious wild beafts, they were rushing on the holy martyr, with a countenance, ferene as that of an Angel, and with the keen eye of faith, piercing through the aerial regions, beheld the invifible glories of Jefus Chrift, in profound adoration, he kneeled down, faying, Lord Jefus, receive my Spirit. And having faid this, he fell asleep. But I might as well attempt to count the number of the ftars, or the fands by the fea fhore, as to enumerate the worshippers of the bleffed Redeemer. For,— what fongs are thefe, from the outmost ends of the earth, Salvation to the Righteous! What louder, and more melodious notes are those which refound through the highest heavens? Hark! Let us hear who those choirifters are, and let us liften to what they say:

And I beheld, and lo, in the midst of the throne, and of the four beafts, and in the midft of the elders ftood a Lamb, as it had been flain, having seven horns, and feven eyes, which are the feven Spirits of God fent forth into all the earth. And he came and took the book out of the right hand of him that fat upon the throne. And when he had taken the book, the four beafts, and four and twenty elders fell down before the Lamb, having every one of them harps, and golden vials

full

protection, and call upon him as the great difpofer of rewards and happiness after death: this was a confeffion fo refolute, fo fingular, fo illuftrious, as never was outdone, as never can in all refpects be equalled, except the fame Jesus were again to be crucified: for no man's converfion ever had, ever can have, upon other terms, fuch difadvantageous and difcouraging circumftances, as this man laboured under, and yet so glorioufly overcame them all.