fore the judgment seat of Christ, and to give ac count of himself to God; to be Lord both of the. dead and living, ver. 6, 10, 12. and this majeftic language, which would be blafphemy in the mouth of a fimple creature, As I live, saith the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God, wer. 11.

Finally, That Jefus Chrift acquired that fupremacy by his fufferings and death, in virtue of which all true chriftians render him the homage of adoration, the apostle establisheth, if poffible, ftill more clearly. This appears by the words juft now cited, to this end Christ both died, and rose, and revived, that he might be Lord both of the dead and living, ver. 8, 11. To the fame purpose the apoftle fpeaks in the epiftle to the Phi-lippians, "He became obedient unto death, even the death of the crofs. Wherefore God hath al-fo highly exalted him, and given him a name, which is above every name; that at the name of Jefus every knee hall bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; and that every tongue fhall confefs that Jefus Chrift is Lord, to the glory of God the Father." This is the fovereignty which Jefus Chrift acquired by dying for the church.

But the most remarkable, and at the fame timethe most difficult article on this fubject, is this." Thefe texts, which feem to establish the divinity of Chrift in a manner fo clear, furnish the greateft objection, that hath ever been propofed against it. True, fay the enemies of this doctrine, Jefus Chrift is God, fince the feripture commands us to worship him. But his divinity is an acquired divinity; fince that fupremacy, which entitles bina to adoration as God, is not an effentiál, but an acquired fupremacy. Now, that this fupremacy is acquired, is indubitable, fince the texts, that have been cited, exprefsly declare, that it is a fruit of his fufferings and death. We have two arguments to offer in reply.

1. If

1

1. If it were demonstrated, that the fupremacy established in the forecited texts was only acquired, and not effential, it would not therefore follow, that Jesus Christ had no other fupremacy belonging to him in common with the Eather and the holy Spirit. We are commanded to worship Jefus Chrift, not only because he died for us, but alfo because he is eternal and almighty, the au thor of all beings that exist; and because he hasha all the perfections of Deity, as we can prove by other paffages, not neceffary to be repeated here.

2. Nothing hinders that the true God, who, as the true God, merits our adoration, fhould ac quire every day new rights over us, in virtue of which we have new motives of rendering thofe : homages to him, which we acknowledge he al ways infinitely merited. Always when God bew ftows a new bleffing, he acquireth a new right What was Jacob's opinion, when he made this. vow?" If God will be with me, and will keep me in the way that I go, and will give me bread 10 eat, and raiment to put on, fo that I come again to my father's houfe in peace; then shall the Lord be my God," Gen. xxviii. 20, &c. Did the patriarch mean, that he had no other reafon for regarding the Lord as his God, tham this favour, which he asked of him? No fuch thing. He meant, that to a great many reasons, which bound him to devote himself to God, the favour which he afked would add a new one. Ite would be eafy to produce a long lift of examples of this kind. At prefent the application of this one should fuffice. Jefus Chrift, who, as fupreme God, hath natural rights over us, hath alfo acquir. ed rights, because he hath deigned to clothe him... felf with our flesh, in which he died to redeem › us.. None of us is his own, we are all his, not only because he is our Creator, but because he is alfo our Redeemer. He hath a fupremacy over us peculiar to himself, and diftinct from that,

which he hath in common with the Father and the holy Spirit.

To return then to our principal fubject, from which this long digreffion hath diverted us. This Jefus, who is the fupreme head of the church; this Jefus, to whom all the members of the church are fubject; willeth that we should tolerate, and he himself hath tolerated, thofe, who, having in other cafes an upright confcience, and. a fincere intention of fubmitting their reafon to all his decifions, and their hearts to all his commands, cannot clearly fee, that christian liberty includes a freedom from the obfervation of cer tain feasts, and from, the diftinction of certain foods. If the fovereign of the church tolerate them, who err in this manner,, by what right do you, who are only fimple fubjects, undertake to condemn them? "Who-art thou, that judgest another man's fervant? to his own malter he ftandeth or falleth. For none of us liveth to himself, and no man dieth to himself. For whether we live, we live unto the Lord; and,. whether we die, we die unto the Lord whether we live therefore or die, we are the Lord's. Let us not therefore judge one another any more." Let us, who are strong, bear the infirmities of the weak:

* པ

This is the defign of St. Paul in the words of my text, in fome of the preceding, and in fome of the following verfes. Can we proceed without remarking, or without lamenting, the blindnefs of those chriftians, who, by their intolerance to their brethren, feem to have chosen for their model those members of the church of Rome, who violate the rights of toleration in the most cruel manner? We are not fpeaking of thofe fanguinary men, who aim at illuminating people's minds with the light of fires, and faggots, which they kindle against all, who reject their fyftems. Our tears, and our blood, have not affuaged their

rage

rage; how can we then think to appeafe it by, our exhortations? Let us not folicit the wrath of heaven against thefe perfecutors of the church; let us leave to the fouls of them, who were flain for the word of God, to cry, How long, O Lord, boly and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our Blood on them, that dwell on the earth? Rey. vie 10.

But, ye inteftine divifions! Thou fpirit of faction! Ye theological wars! how long will ye be let loose among us? Is it poffible, that chrif tians, who bear the name of reformed, chriftians united by the bond of their faith in the belief of the fame doctrines, and, if I may be allowed to fpeak fo, chriftians united by the very efforts of their enemies to deftroy them; can they violate, after all, thofe laws of toleration, which they, have fo often preferibed to others, and against the violation of which they have remonstrated with fo much wifdom and fuccefs? Can they convoke ecclefiaftical affemblies, can they draw up canons, can they denounce excommunications and anathemas against thofe, who, retaining with themselves the leading truths of chriftianity and of the reformation, think differently on points of fimple fpeculation, on questions purely metaphyf ical, and, if I may fpeak the whole, on matters, fo abftrufe, that they are alike indeterminable by them, who exclude members from the communion of Jefus Chrift, and by those who are excluded?

ye fons of the reformation how long will: you counteract your own principles how long will you take pleasure in increafing the number of thofe, who breathe only your destruction, and move only tos deftroy you! Oye fubjects of the fovereign of the church! how long will you encroach on the rights of your fovereign, dare to condemn those whom he abfolves, and to reject thofe whom his generous benevolence tolerates! "Who art thou, that judgest another man's fer

which are unknown, would probably make larger volumes yet.

self;for, if we live,

Our life is not ours. Winds, waves,` heat, cold, aliments, vegetables, animals, nature, and each of its component parts, confpire to deprive us of it. Not one of thofe, who have entered this church, can demonstrate that he shall go out of it alive. Not one of thofe, who compofe this affembly, even of the youngest and ftrongeft, can affure himfelf of one year, one day, one hour, one moment of life. None of us liveth to bimwe are the Lord's. Further, No man dieth to bimself. If we die, ve are the Lord's. How abfolute foever the dominion of one man over another may be, there is La moment, in which both are on a level; that moment comes when we die. Death delivers a flave from the power of a tyrant, under whose rigour he hath spent his life in groans. Death terminates all the relations, that fubfift between men in this life. But the relation of dependence, which fubfifts between the Creator and his creatures, is an eternal relation. That world, into which we enter when we die, is a part of his empire, and is as fubject to his laws as that into which we entered when we were born. During this life, the Supreme Governor hath riches and poverty, glory and ignominy, cruel tyrants and clement princes, rains and droughts, raging tempefts and refreshing breezes, air wholefome and air infected, famine and plenty, victories and defeats, to render us happy or miferable. After death, he hath abfolutiou and condemnation, a tribunal of justice and a tribunal of mercy, angels and devils, a river of pleasure and a lake burning with fire and brimstone, hell with its horrors and heaven with its happiness, to render us happy or miferable as he pleaseth.

Thefe reflections are not quite fufficient to make us feel all our dependence. Our vanity is mortified,