that he fays, the Dead shall be raised by the Voice of the Son of God, but they fhall be judged by the Voice of the Son of Man.

The fame likewife may be observed in the first Chapter of the Hebrews. In the fecond and third Verfes the Apoftle defcribes the Dignity and Excellence of the Perfon whom God fent to our Redemption: He bath in thefe laft Days fpoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed Heir of all Things; by whom alfo he made the Worlds who being the Brightness of his Glory, and the express Image of his Perfon, and upholding all Things by the Word of his Power: Thus far he evidently describes the Glory which Chrift had with the Father before the Worlds; for this is the Character of the Perfon whom he fent to redeem us. Then it follows, When be had by himself purged our Sins, fat down the Right-Hand of the Majefty on high, being made fo much better than the Angels, as hé bath by Inheritance obtained a more excellent Name than they. The Apoftle, who had before spoken of the State of Dignity which he had before the Worlds, now speaks of his State of Exaltation, which he received after his Sufferings: According to the Dig

nity of Nature, he was the Brightness of his Father's Glory, and the express Image of his Perfon, and the Upholder of all Things by the Word of his Power: But, according to the Honour of his Office, after he had purged our Sins, he fat down on the Right-Hand of the Majefty on high, being made fo much better than the Angels, as he hath by Inheritance obtained a more excellent Name than they.

In the ninth Verse of the fecond Chapter, the Apostle fays, that Jefus was made a little lower than the Angels; and yet here he fays. he was made better than the Angels: If he was made lower, in order to redeem us, it feems to imply he was really and by Nature higher; and if he was made higher, it feems to imply he was really and by Nature lower: But this Difficulty vanishes, by rightly diftinguishing his three States of Dignity, of Humiliation, and of Exaltation; which you fee evidently mentioned in the Philippians, the Place now under Confideration, and fo often fuppofed and referred to in other Parts of Holy Writ. According to this Key, we may expound the Apostle to the Hebrews, by the Apoftle to the Philippians: For, when he, who was in the Form of God, made himfelf

himself of no Reputation, and took upon him the Form of a Servant, and was made in the Likeness of Man, he was then in these several Respects made lower than the Angels: But when, after his suffering Death upon the Cross, he was exalted by God, and had a Name given him above every Name, then was he made fo much better than the Angels, as he had by Inheritance a more excellent Name than they; a Name to which even they were to pay their Homage and Adoration.

In the Beginning of St. John's Gospel we find him thus described: In the Beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The fame was in the Beginning with God. All Things were made by him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. And in the eighth Chapter we find our Saviour giving this Testimony of himself: Before Abraham was, I am. Suppofe he had faid, Before Abraham thus much at least would have was, I was; been the Confequence, That he had an Existence before Abraham; and yet he was born into the World long after Abraham: Evidently then the Refult would have been,

that

that he had long existed before his coming into the World: But now that he says, Before Abraham was, I am, fomething more is implied; something that peculiarly belongs to the Expreffion, I am; and what that is, we may learn from the original Ufe of the Words. They are the Words which God made choice of to exprefs his own Eternity and Power, when Mofes inquired after the Name of God: He anfwered him, I am that I am. Thus fhalt thou Say to the Children of Ifrael, I AM hath sent me unto you. Exod. iii. 14. What now could tempt our Saviour to use and apply this Expreffion to himself? He knew it never had been applied to any but God, and would have been, in the Man fo applying it, in the higheft Degree, committing the Robbery of making himself equal with God: Befides, they are a mere Solecism, and according to Analogy of Language express nothing: No Idea belongs to them; for a Man cannot in his Mind carry the prefent Time back, and make it antecedent to the Time already paft; and therefore to fay, Before such a Thing was, I am, is fhuffling Ideas together, which can have no Place in the Mind or Understanding.

Understanding. If therefore you admit the Expreffion to have any Meaning, you must allow the I am to belong to Chrift, in its proper and peculiar Ufe, as fignifying Eternity and Permanency of Duration. For the present then let this reft; observing only, that here we find him afferting his own Eternity, and St. John afcribing to him the Creation of all Things, which is the greatest Act of Power we have any Notion of.

Let us now look to the other Part of the Question. The laft Time that our Saviour appeared to his Difciples, to give them a full Commiffion to teach and baptize, and full Affurance of his being with them to the End of the World, he introduces his Charge to them, with Mention of his own Power and Authority: All Power, says he, is given unto me in Heaven and Earth, Matt. xxviii. 18; where it cannot be denied, but that he speaks of Power and Authority conferred on him after his Refurrection; and in virtue of this Power fo received, he commiffions them: They were made Delegates under him, with respect to the Power and Authority he had then received: All Power is given unto me in Heaven and Earth; Go ye, therefore, and teach all Nations. The Word therefore

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