ther can nor will give to any other. The very term -the expression itself, (the being placed at the right hand of power) implies inferiority, and carries with it as complete a refutation as can be imagined of the strange notion of Christ's supreme deity. I would also, by the way, farther remark, that if Christ had possessed a pre-existent dignity-if he was, under God, the Creator of the universe, and upheld all things, in the unrestricted sense of that phrase, by the word of his power, and if the glory he received upon his ascension were absolutely the same which he possessed with the Father before the world was, he might, with equal propriety, have been described as seated at his right hand, previous to his appearance in human form-but of this we find not the least intimation given, either before or afterwards. Let it be moreover considered, that every circumstance referable to the mediation of Christ, which was complete on the ground alone of his proper humanity, must have been necessarily confined to this world of our's, which is such a mere speck in the creationsuch an atom, that if, together with the whole system to which it belongs, it were annihilated, the blank would not be perceived. And if Christ were invested with the entire sovereignty of it, and he were, in this sense, "God over all," his title would not interfere with that of the blessed and only Potentate❞— the distance would still be infinite and inconceivable between him and the ETERNAL JEHOVAH, the great Lord and Ruler of innumerable worlds, who is present in them all, and watches, with paternal care, over all their infinitely various interests. It follows, that upon the supposition of Christ's possessing such a high, but at the same time delegated authority, we

should not be justified in paying him divine and equal honours. Whatever respect might be paid to a vicegerent when the sovereign is absent, the same would be improper in his presence. But God the Father is always present-in all things superior and supreme; and the interposition of Christ, with all its consequences both as to himself and to mankind, had its origin in the love, and is to terminate in the glory of the Father. Let us then,

4-Inquire into the true nature and extent of that authority with which the great Sovereign of all hath invested the Lord Jesus Christ.

The exercise of power, conferred by a superior, may be reasonably expected to bear an appropriate analogy to the source from whence it is derived; and, in this respect, Christ might be justly said, during his continuance on earth, to have been in the form of God. He enforced obedience to the divine law-forgave sins, exercised creative powers, stilled tempests, penetrated into the secret thoughts of men, restored the sick to health, and the dead to life. But, distinguishing as these honours were, they were only a prelude to those more transcendent glories, which crowned his obedience unto death, and succeeded his release from the prison of the tomb. His personal ministry was limited to a small district, and, in human estimation, all that he had said and done, was likely to be buried in oblivion, when he was left in the hands of his enemies, and became the victim of their malice and cruelty. But this was the beginning of his triumph, and the extension of his authority. No longer subject to any of the laws by which the natural course of things in this lower sphere is regulated, and laying aside the grosser veil

of flesh and blood, he was exalted to a nearer resemblance of the divine perfections, and obtained a still more excellent name. He became the depositary of the Father's authority in such instances as the following. Those extraordinary influences of the spirit, which, under prior dispensations, were immediately conferred by God himself, were now placed at the disposal of Christ, and displayed in a more illustrious manner. Seldom, if ever, had more than one patriarch or prophet appeared, at one time, withit authentic testimonials of a divine commission. Upon the exaltation of Christ, twelve were designated to the office at once, with the faculty of imparting their qualifications to others; when he ascended on high, he bestowed, with princely munificence, the gifts of apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers. God possesses universal dominion over all worlds the kingdoms of this world shall become the kingdoms of the Lord and of his Christ. He is also prepared, by his exaltation, for the exercise of high and most important functions in the subsequent periods of the divine government, introductory to the consummation of all things. The sovereign Arbiter of life and death, who at his pleasure introduces human beings upon this sublunary stage, and commands their exit, has committed to his Son, who is not the less on this account the Son of man, the power of recalling all that are in the graves to life, and convening them before his tribunal-has invested him with the authority of executing judgment, and determining their future condition, according to their different characters. And what an amazing extent and exertion of knowledge does this imply! If this awful proceeding is to take place, in a manner at all re

probability of such an event, from the general tenor of prophecy, the benign spirit of our holy religion, and the apparent tendency of human affairs, which presents, on a comparison of ancient with modern times, a vast addition to the knowledge, the improvement, and the happiness of mankind. Let us,

5. In the last place, endeavour to form some idea of the subsequent state of our glorified Lord, and of those who shall be accounted worthy to obtain that better world by the resurrection from the dead.

I wish not to appear wise above that which is written; but if we can make what little is revealed, consistent with what we know to be philosophic truth, or with what we have reason to consider as such, we do honour, at once, to science, and to the scriptures.

It is sufficiently clear, that in whatever form Christ now exists, it shall be, at his second coming, such as to admit of a resemblance and similitude, in that, which they who are to enter into life eternal, will wear. To the passage which I formerly quoted, respecting the change to be effected in the present abject fabric of their bodies, namely, that they may be fashioned like to his glorious body, may be added others from the same authority" As we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly" When Christ who is our life shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory." To the same purpose the apostle John"It doth not yet appear what we shall be; but we know, that when he shall appear, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is,”—that is, as he

then is; like him, completely exempt from all the sorrows of humanity-from the pains and weaknesses of a frail body, possessed of a constitution which shall never be subject to the attacks of disease, nor the stroke of death, and susceptible of every possible kind and degree of felicity, arising from the immediate contemplation of the divine perfections, the society of wise, holy, and happy beings, of all whom we have loved and esteemed while in the flesh, and especially of our great forerunner, who was made perfect through sufferings, that he might become the author and pattern of eternal salvation. But where will be the scene of all this blessedness? Doubtless, somewhere within the bounds of the visible creation of God. The world we now inhabit, without a great and important change, it cannot be

but, with such a change as may suit the improved and glorified state of its inhabitants, it certainly may. It was once, we may well suppose, adapted for the residence of happy and immortal beings. By an alteration, of which we can form no adequate idea, it has become otherwise. By another, no less within the compass of divine power to effect, it may recover its original properties, and be that very heaven, where, in the eternal counsels of God, are laid up for them that love him, things" which eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, and which it hath, not entered into the heart of man to conceive." Paul, indeed, tells the Thessalonians, that when the dead in Christ are risen, then they which are alive and remain ❝shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air." This may very consistently be supposed to be the case, during