faid before: Equal to the Father as touching his Godhead, though inferior to the Father as touching his Manhood. The Jews flattered themselves with a Meffiah, who should make his Entrance among them in worldly Pomp and Magnificence, loaden with Spoils and most famous for his Conquefts, making them thereby the Lords of the whole Earth. Now we affert that our Jefus was a most victorious Meffiah, not fuch indeed as they expected; but wherein he differed, his Atchievements and Glories were fingular and more confpicuous; He cured all manner of Diseases, raised the Dead, and triumphed over Devils. And never was there fuch a Defeat given, never thought of before, as when Death was overcome by dying, difarm'd by him, that feem'd its Prey and Prisoner, and when all the Powers of Hell were fhaken and fubdued by their own, as they thought, profperous Stratagems. So that we may juftly affirm that his divine Nature wrought the Miracles, and his human fuffer'd the Afflictions, and that though the Temple of his Body feem'd to be destroy'd by Death; yet himself by his Divinity did on the third Day raise it up again for our Juftification. The Body, it is true, fell, and the human Soul was feparated from it, but his his divine and human Natures ftill continuing united, his Godhead restored the one to the other; fo that what he declared to the Jews, is moft true, that he himself would raise it up again; and that he had Power to lay down his Life, and had Power to take it again. John Io. 18. Another Argument for our Saviour's Divinity may be taken from what he condefcended to do in Order to convince St. Thomas of the Truth and Reality of his Resurrection. He repeated the very Words, which he had faid to his Brethren, which was a Proof of his Omniprefence and Omnifcience, and he gave him fuch fenfible Evidence of the Reality of his Body, as convinced and made him acknowledge, that a Perfon able thus to know his Words and Thoughts and raise himself from the dead, muft needs be his very Mafter Jefus, and his very Lord and God. The Apostle, now fully convinced, admires and adores him, as the almighty and everlasting God. And indeed the Original here, as it is obferved by fome learned Men, is in Terms fo ftrict and with fuch an Addition of the Greek Article, as fome Hereticks even confefs to be a Character of the Word God being taken in its its proper and natural Senfe, and intended of the only true God. As to a farther Proof of our Saviour's Divinity, need I mention, that there are in the Pentateuch exprefs Prophecies concerning him, which were punctually and literally fulfilled? Let any one read Deut. 18. 15, 16, 17; 18, 19. and deny this, if he can. Here is a Prophecy delivered 1400 Years before the Event and literally fulfilled, as appears in the Gofpel. If any Perfon would fee or be fully acquainted with the Proofs taken from the old Testament of the Nature and Dignity of our bleffed Saviour Jefus Chrift and of the Holy Spirit; I cannot do any Thing better than to recommend to him a ferious Perufal of the eight Sermons preached at the Lecture founded by the honoured Lady Moyer, by the very learned and worthy James Knight, D.D. Vicar of St. Sepulchre's London, whom I had the Honour to be acquainted with at Oxford, when he was Fellow of St. John Baptift's College there. On this Occafion also I take the liberty of recommending an accurate and excellent Performance of the Reverend Dr. Randolph, the prefent worthy Prefident of C. C. C. in Answer to the late Bishop of Clogher's Effay on Spirit. And if any Perfon is defirous to have a full and perfect Knowledge of the Nature of Chriftiam Faith, let him read the Sermons preached at the Lady Moyer's Lecture by my old intimate Friend Dr. Felton Principal of Edmund Hall. He will there find the Christian Faith clearly and fully explained and afferted against Deifts, Arians and Socinians; the Divinity of the Son and Holy Ghost fully and clearly proved, as also the Unity of the Godhead, as expreffed in the Athanafian Creed: And he very juftly obferves, Page 429. that in this Controversy we cannot depart from this Creed without going into the Arian or Socinian Creed. And here give me Leave to observe, that in this Creed, as expreffed in our Liturgy, there is not one Sentence that cannot be proved from Scripture; for even the damnatory Sentences, as they are usually called, may clearly and most exprefly be proved from it. What in this Respect can be more clearly expreffed, than in the Words of St. Mark 16. 16. He that believeth and is baptized fhall be faved; but he that believeth not shall be damned, or condemned, i. e. in the Day of Judgment; for the Greek Verb, here ufed by the Evangelift, is used in civil Courts, and implies first, the pronouncing of Sentence upon a Male factor, κρίνω factor by a Judge: and fo it is ufed by our Saviour himself in St. John's Gofpel, Chap. 8. 16. Again, fecondly, this Greek Verb xarαxiv, fignifies a pronouncing of Sinners guilty, and adjudging them to Punishment upon Conviction of a Fault, as St. Paul feems to intimate in Rom. 8. 34. And here by St. Mark it is used in Oppofition to the Greek Verb, which fignifies to be faved. And what we are here told by St. Mark our bleffed Saviour faid to his Disciples, may be farther confirmed by what he faid in John 3. 17, 18. For though the fimple Verb xpvw is here ufed by St. John, yet it is often in Scripture taken in the worst Senfe for the compound Verb κατακρίνω, which properly fignifies to condemn; as in Rom. 14. 3. and 2 Theff. 11. 12. where the Apostle's Words are very remarkable, and ought by every Christian to be remembered. That all, fays he, may be damn'd who believed not the Truth, but had Pleafure in Unrighteousness. To what has been faid upon this Point, I need only add what is faid in the last Verse of this third Chapter of St. John's Gofpel. He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting Life; and he that believeth not the Son, shall not fee Life, but the Wrath of God abideth on him. What I have now faid or produced, fuf ficiently, |