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you the word of God, whofe faith follow, confidering the end of their converfation, Jefus Chrift the fame yesterday, to-day, and for ever. Be not carried away with diverfe and ftrange doctrines. The whole is intended to inculcate a ftedfaft adherence to the genuine doctrine of Jefus Chrift.

It is plain, from many paffages in the book of Revelation, that the author of it considered Chrift as a perfon fubordinate to the Father, and the minister of his will, and therefore no fingle expreffion fhould be interpreted in fuch a manner as to make it imply the contrary. The very first words of the book fufficiently exprefs this. The Revelation of Jefus Chrift, which God gave unto him. ver. 6. Who has made us kings and priests unto God, and (or rather, even) his Father, ii. 26. And he that overcometh and keepeth my works unto the end, to him will I give power over the nations-even as I received of my Father, iii. 14. Him that overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple of my God, and he shall go no more out, and I will write upon him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, which is new Ferufalem, which cometh down out of heaven from my God, ver. 21. To him that overcometh will I grant to fit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am fitten down with my Father in his throne. Farther, this writer, evidently fpeaking of Chrift in his higheft capacity, uses the following expreffions, ver. 14. These things faith the

amen,,

amen, the faithful and true witnefs, the beginning (or the most excellent) of the creation of God; which, plainly implies that, how excellent foever he may be, he is but a creature,

Matt. xxviii. 29. And lo I am with you always, even to the end of the world. Chrift, who is conftituted bead over all things to his church, undoubtedly takes care of its interests, and attends to whatever concerns his difciples; and being with a perfon, and taking care of him are, in the language of fcripture, equivalent expreffions. See Gen. xxi. 20. 22. xxviii. 15. xxxix. 2. Befides, Chrift, having a near relation to this earth, may even be perfonally prefent with his difciples when they little think of it. But it is by no means neceffary that he be perfonally prefent every where at the fame time; fince God may communicate to him a power of knowing diftant events, of which he appeared to be poffeffed when Lazarus was fick. This is certainly no greater a power than God may communicate to any of his creatures.

Another paffage which feems to fuppofe the omniprefence of Chrift is, Mat. xviii. 23. For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them; but if we confider the whole of this paffage, in which our Lord is fpeaking of the great power of which his apoftles would be poffeffed, and especially of the efficacy of their prayers, we shall be fatisfied, that he could only mean by this form of expreffion to reprefent their power with

God,

God, when they were affembled as his difciples, and prayed fo as became his difciples, to be the fame as his own power with God; and God heard him always. That our Lord could not intend to speak of himself as the God who heareth prayer, is evident from his fpeaking of the Father, in this very place, as the person who was to grant their petitions, ver. 19. Again I fay unto you, that if two of you shall agree on earth, as touching any thing that they fhall afk, it fhall be done for them of my Father who is in heaven.

III. Confidering the great power with which Chrift was invefted on earth, and more efpecially the authority to which he is exalted now that he is in heaven, it is certainly right that a very high degree of respect fhould be paid to him; and from the manner in which this is expreffed, and especially because the word worship is made ufe of on thofe occafions in our English translation, fome perfons have been confirmed in their opinion, that he is the proper object of fupreme or divine worship, and is therefore truly and properly God; but any perfon, who will confider the real import of the following. paffages, muft fee that they afford no foundation for .fuch a conclufion.

Heb. i. 6. When God bringeth in the firft-begotten into the world, he faith, Let all the angels of God worship him. Alfo the leper, Mat. viii. 2, the ruler, Mat. ix. 18, the woman of Canaan, Mat. xv. 25, the poor people in the fhip, Mat. xiv. 33, and his difciples, Mat. xxviii. 9 ---- 17, are all faid

to

to have worshipped him. But the very circumstances in which this worship was paid to Chrift fufficiently prove that divine worship was not intended; because it is well known that the jews had no expectation of any other person than a man for their Meffiah; and when Nicodemus was convinced of the miraculous power of Jefus, he concluded, not that he was God, but that he must have been impowered by God; for he fays, John iii. 2. Rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher come from God; for no man can do thefe miracles that thou doeft, except God be with him. Befides, it is well known that the Greek word, which, in the above-mentioned paffages, is rendered worship, is frequently ufed to exprefs a very high degree of refpect; but fuch as may be lawfully paid to men of a proper character and rank. And indeed our word worship, though it is now appropriated to that worship which is due to God only, was formerly used with greater latitude, and even in our tranflation of the bible; as when a fervant, in one of our Saviour's parables, is faid to have fallen down and worshipped his mafter, faying, Have patience with me, and I will pay thee all: where certainly divine worship could not be meant. It is also an evidence of this ufe of the word, that in our marriage-fervice the man is directed to fay to the woman, With my body I thee worship; and the terms worship, and worshipful, are ftill applied to feveral of our magiftrates, and bodies of men, L

Alfo,

Alfo, in the Greek tranflation of the Old Tefta ment, the fame word that we render worship in the New is frequently used where fupreme worship could not be intended. Otherwife Abraham must be fupposed to have intended to pay fupreme worship to the angels, when he took them to be men ; and to the fons of Heth, when he was making a bargain with them for a piece of ground to bury his dead.

IV. Arguments have been brought to prove the divinity of Chrift from the names and titles, which are given to him, as well as from the powers ascribed to him, and the worship that is paid to him; but if we confider the proper meaning of other fcripture-names, and the occafions on which they were conferred, we must be fatisfied, that very little ftrefs is to be laid on fuch an argument as this.

Ifaiah vii. 14. Behold a virgin fhall conceive, and bear a fon, and fhall call his name Emanuel, Mat. i. 23. Behold a virgin fhall be with child, and bear a fon, and fhall call his name Emanuel, which is, being interpreted, God with us. Thefe texts have been thought to imply that Chrift is a compound-being, or that he is God incarnate; but if we confider other inftances of names impofed by the divine direction in the fcriptures, we fhall find that they do not always exprefs any thing characteristic of the perfon on whom they are impofed, but that they were intended to be a memorial of fome divine promife or affurance, refpecting things of a public and gencral

concern,

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