God; therefore he is God himself.

As he said to

Philip, "He that hath seen me, hath seen the Fa"ther*."

Now, if we had no other proof of this doctrine but the passage before us, since this is the declaration of the true and faithful Witness, it should be accepted as decisive. But as this is the great mystery of godliness, the pillar and ground of truth, the foundation of all our hopes, I shall take this opportunity to confirm it more largely from other concurrent testimonies of Scripture.

By the Son, I mean the person who spoke these words: he who was foretold by the prophets; who in the fulness of time came into the world; who with respect to his divine nature, is called "the Word †," and with respect to his human nature was born of the Virgin Mary: he who was known upon earth by the name of Jesus; whose history is related by the evangelists; who suffered a shameful and accursed death upon the cross without the gates of Jerusalem. Of him we affirm, "That he

was, and is, the true God, and eternal life." In proof of this, besides what has been already said, let the following particulars be considered.

First, That the proper and peculiar titles of God are attributed to him frequently in the Scriptures; so frequently, that it would be a very long task to transcribe them all. Let a few, the application of which to Christ is express and indisputable, suffice for a specimen: "The "Word was God:" "His name shall be called Emma'nuel, God with us :" "Jehovah our Righteousness:" "The Mighty God." In the same style he speaks

*John xiv. 9. † John i. 1.

1 John v. 20.

of himself by his servants the prophets and apostles: Thy Maker is thine husband, the Lord of Hosts is “his name; and thy Redeemer the Holy One of Israel; "the God of the whole earth shall he be called." "Look "unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth; for "I am God, and there is none else." "I am Alpha and Oinega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last, the Almighty*."

Amidst the variety of testimonies which might be adduced to this purpose, there are two which are peculiarly observable. The Psalmist expresses the majesty, power, and immutability of God, in these sublime terms: re Of old thou hast laid the foundations of the earth, and "the heavens are the work of thine hands. They shall 'perish, but thou shalt endure; yea, all of them shall wax old like a garment; as a vesture thou shalt change "them, and they shall be changed: but thou art the same, and thy years shall have no end." Surely none can deny, but this ascription must be incommunicably due to the Almighty; yet the author of the epistle to the Hebrews applies these words directly to the Son of God. The other passage I intend is the vision of Isaiah, recorded in his sixth chapter; which not only proves the point in hand, but irrefragably establishes the doctrine of the Trinity. For the Lord of hosts, whom Isaiah saw and heard, is affirmed by St. John to have been the Son§, by St. Paul to have been the Holy Ghost. Isaiah, therefore, had a manifestation of what was afterwards in explicit words set forth to the faith of

* John i. 1.; Matth. i. 23.; Jer. xxiii. 6.; Isa. ix. 6.; Isa. liv. 5.; Isa. xlv. 22.; Rev. i. 8. 11.

+ Psalm cii. 25-27.

§ John xii. 41.

Heb. i. 10-12.

Acts xxviii. 25.

the church, that "there are three that bear record in

heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost; " and these three are one *."

Secondly, His works upon earth were such as necessarily suppose a divine power. Who can control the elements, raise the dead, command the devils, search the heart, and forgive sin, but God alone †? If it should be said, that many of his servants and followers wrought miracles equal to his, by a delegated power, and therefore this argument is not conclusive; I answer, There is an apparent difference in the manner of their working, which proves the disparity between them and him. They could do nothing but in his name, and by his power; they usually addressed themselves to him by prayer, and always ascribed the praise and glory to him. But his power was independent, sovereign, and unlimited: "He spoke, and it was done; he commanded, and it "stood fast." At the breath of his rebuke, the raging tempest and the boisterous seas were instantly hushed into a perfect calm. The deaf heard his voice, and the dead came forth from their graves, at his first call.

Thirdly, His works of office can be performed by none but God. This might be proved concerning each of the offices he exercises in consequence of his high character as Mediator between God and man; but I shall speak only of two.

(1.) It is his office to keep his believing people in this present evil world, to act § the part of a shepherd towards them, to supply their wants of every kind, to direct

* 1 John v. 7.

† Mark iv. 39.; John xi. 43.; Luke iv. 36.; Mark ii. 10. § Matth. ii. 6. osμaves.

Acts iii. 12-16.

their steps, to control their enemies, to over-rule all things for their good, and to be a very present help in every time of trouble. To execute this important charge, it is necessary that his knowledge, his compassion, his power, and his patience, must be boundless. His eye must be every moment upon all their cases at once; his ear must be incessantly open to receive the prayers of all people, nations, and languages; his arm must be continually stretched out to support so many that stand, to raise up so many that fall, to afford seasonable and suitable supplies, at the same instant, to the distresses and temptations of millions. If this is the office he has undertaken, and if he is acknowledged sufficient and faithful in the discharge of it, what more undeniable evidence can be given, that he has all the attributes we can conceive as essential and peculiar to the godhead? The provocations, defects, and backslidings of his people, are likewise so numerous, so often repeated, and attended with such black aggravations, that if he was not God, invincible in goodness, unchangeable in purpose, if his mercy was not, as his majesty, infinite, he would be wearied out, and provoked to cast them off for ever. The great reason why he bore with his people of old holds equally strong with respect to us: "I am the Lord, "I change not, therefore ye sons of Jacob are not con"sumed*."

(2.) The like may be said of the high office, character, and appointment he has received, to be the judge of the world, of angels and of men. For, besides that it is quite incredible that God, who is jealous of his glory, should intrust this most illustrious prerogative to any mere creature, it seems evident at first sight, that no

Mal. iii. 6.

creature can be possibly qualified for the discharge of it. To the great and final Judge all hearts must be open, all desires known, and every secret disclosed. He must be intimately acquainted with the counsels and plans that Jay hid in God from eternity; he must have a sovereign, comprehensive, intuitive view of every event, of every design, that took place within the limits of time and creation; he must have unlimited authority to pronounce the decisive sentence which will fix the everlasting state of all intelligent beings, and uncontrolled power for the immediate and irrevocable execution of his supreme decree. And what higher than this can our most laboured conceptions reach of the Almighty God? If it be said, that Christ will act by a delegated authority; we answer, It is a contradiction to say, that God can delegate his omniscience to a creature; and without this attribute, any assignable measure of wisdom or power would be insufficient. The power and fulness of the godhead must so reside in the judge, as justly to denominate him to be "God over all, blessed for ever*." And this the Scripture assures us is the case in fact. The man Christ Jesus, who is appointed the Judge of quick and dead, is so intimately and essentially united to and inhabited by the Deity, that he is the proper object of our faith, as the true God, and eternal life. Fourthly, The honours he claims from us afford a further argument for his proper divinity. He challenges our supreme love, obedience, trust, and worship: "Ye "believe in God, believe also in me." "Except ye eat "the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye "have no life in you." "That all men should honour "the Son as they honour the Father." "My sheep

*Rom. ix. 5.

† Col. ii. 9.

VOL. II

3I