'Jesus answered them, Many good works have 'I shewed you from my Father; for which of 'of those works do ye stone me? The Jews an'swered him, saying, For a good work we stone 'thee not, but for blasphemy; and because that 'thou, being a man, makest thyself God." They certainly must have known, as he spake to them, what he meant, when he said "I and 'my Father are one." And they assert that he made himself God. If they had been mistaken, and misapprehended him, it cannot be believed that he would not have corrected the error. If he would not have done this to save his own life, he must have done it to prevent them from shedding innocent blood. For there was every appearance that they would, immediately, attempt to put him to death. If he were not truly divine, they were right in declaring him guilty of blasphemy; and, by their law, a blasphemer might be punished with

death.

These testimonies, to which we have thus attended, are taken from the scriptures of the New Testament; from whence, a variety of others, of a similar import, might easily be ad duced. Some passages, from other parts of the scriptures, will be considered in the next discourse.

This Saviour, who is thus found to be truly God, is our Saviour, our Lord, and will be our final judge. Verily he is able to save, even

to the uttermost, all that come unto him. To all who fear and love him he will be a protection, a security, an exceeding great reward. All his enemies will be compelled to bow before him, to submit to his dominion, to be disposed of at his pleasure." The thunder of his power, who can understand?" As judge of the world, he will appoint to all their portion for eternity. They that are his friends by penitence and obedience, and they only, will be safe in the day of his appearing. Blessed are all they that put their trust in him.

SERMON II.

JOHN I. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5.

In the beginning was the Word, &c.

In the sacred Books of the Prophets, we find numerous testimonies concerning the character of the Redeemer, some of which it will be important for us to notice. In these, he is, most explicitly called God. One of the most interesting scenes, that has ever occurred on earth, is that in which the Most High appeared to the humble shepherd of Midian, to declare his gracious purpose for the redemption of his afflicted Israel. Ex. 111.--"Now Moses kept the 'flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of 'Midian:-And the Angel of the Lord appeared 'unto him in a flame of fire out of the midst of 'a bush; and he looked, and behold, the bush 'burned with fire, and the bush was not consum'ed. And Moses said, I will turn aside and see 'this great sight, why the bush is not burned. 'And when the Lord saw that he turned aside 'to see, God called unto him out of the midst of 'the bush, and said, Moses, Moses! And he said, 'here am 1. And he said, draw not nigh hither: 'put off thy shoes from off thy feet; for the place 'whereon thou standest is holy ground. More'over he said, I am the God of thy father, the

'God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the 'God of Jacob. And Moses hid his face; for 'he was afraid to look upon God." I think no case can be mentioned from the scriptures, in which the true God is more clearly spoken of, or in which the divine majesty more fully appears. Yet a little attention will convince us that the person thus brought into view, with such great solemnity, is Christ. He is called in the beginning, "the Angel of the Lord." The original expression, used in this case, would be more correctly rendered "The An'gel the Lord," or rather "the Angel Jeho'vah." This is a term very often applied to Christ, but never to the Father. Jacob says, Gen. XLVIII; "The Angel which redeemed me 'from all evil, bless the lads." Here the prophetic patriarch speaks of the Angel as his Redeemer, and he invokes his divine blessing. The Angel his Redeemer is Christ.

The Saviour is denominated an angel by the prophet Isaiah. "In all their affliction he was afflicted, and the angel of his presence saved 'them in his love and in his pity he redeemed 'them; and he bare them, and carried them all 'the days of old." Here, the angel of his presence, which is the same as the angel of the Lord, is said, explicitly, to have been the Saviour and the Redeemer of Israel. Israel's Saviour and Redeemer can be none but Christ; yet the prophet calls him, as Moses does, "the

Angel of the Lord." Many passages might be adduced from the scriptures of the old Testament, were it necessary, in which the same expression is applied to the Redeemer. It is, therefore, sufficiently evident, that The Angel Jehovah, who appeared to Moses, was Christ. The passage of the prophet Isaiah, to which we have referred further illustrates the one in Exodus, now under consideration. The prophet says, "the angel of his presence saved them;" that is, his people Israel; "he bare them, and 'carried them all the days of old." Referring, primarily, to what God did for them, in delivering them from the oppressions of Egypt, and bringing them to the heritage of Canaan. The same thing which the Angel that appeared to Moses in the bush declared that he would do. And as it is clear, from what is said of him, that the Angel mentioned by the prophet is the Saviour, the one seen by the shepherd of Midian must be the same.

We notice a few instances in which the term Angel is applied to Christ. Malachi, III. 1. "Behold, I will send my messenger, and he 'shall prepare the way before me: and the Lord, 'whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to his tem'ple, even the messenger of the covenant, whom 'ye delight in." The messenger of the covenant is the same as the angel of the covenant; the terms angel, and messenger, signifying the samething. But the messenger, or angel, of the covenant,