the new name of the Son, our Lord says, " I will write upon him the name of my God," Rev. iii. 12. CXXXVIII. The angel who spoke to John, and signified to him those things which he was sent by Jesus Christ to reveal to his fervant John, Rev. i. 1, testifies as follows, "the Lord God of the holy prophets fent his angel to shew unto his servants the things which must shortly be done," Rev. xxii. 6. And our Saviour immediately after, speaking of this very angel, which has said that he was sent by, and has called himself the angel of, the Lord, declares, "I Jesus have fent mine angel to testify unto you these things in the churches," Rev. xxii. 16. Jesus Christ, who fent his angel, which was fent by the Lord God, is therefore one with the Father, the Lord God. CXXXIX. Such farther evidence as I mean to produce from the holy fcriptures, to prove the Godhead of our gracious Redeemer, I shall reserve till I come to confider and confute the arguments by which Mr. Lindsey has endeavoured to depose him from the throne of his glory: and as I closed the apoftolical teftimony of our Saviour's divinity, by shewing that the appointed witnesses of Jefus Chrift had brought God himself to speak the fact, and to pronounce that he who had been flain, and had taken that body, by the blood of which we are cleanfed, into heaven, there for ever to remain, is one with himself, "God Almighty, whose throne endureth for ever and ever, and the sceptre of whose kingdom is a fceptre of righteousness;" so I shall conclude this chapter by bringing together those doxologies with which all things both in heaven and in earth have glorified the Son of man; and if by these also, the kingdom, and the power, and the glory be ascribed to him, who, of ransomed mankind, admitted to fellowship with him, can then refuse to " magnify A " magnify the name of the Lord Jesus," and to unite his voice with "ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands of angels, who rest not day and night, saying, holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, which was, and which is, and which is to come," "worthy art thou, O Lord, to receive glory, and honour, and power *," " worthy is the Lamb that was flain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing †;" " and with every creature which is in heaven and in earth, and under the earth, and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, faying, Blessing, and honour, and glory, and power, be unto him that fitteth on the throne, and unto the Lamb for ever and ever. Amen ; " Salvation to our God which fitteth on the throne, and unto the Lamb §," "which is in the midst of the throne || ?" For fuch is the song of angels, and of every creature "created by him, and for him **;" such are the grateful hymns of those who are redeemed by the blood of the "flaughtered Lamb ††," which have come out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb," and who "therefore are before the throne of God, and serve him night and day in his temple," "a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues standing before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes ‡‡." To these the glorious company of the apostles have added their praise, saying, "To the King of kings, and Lord of lords §§," " who only hath immortality, dwelling in the light which no man can approach unto, whom no man hath seen, nor can fee, be honour and power everlasting. Amen ||||;" دو "To our Lord * Rev. iv. 8, 11. † Rev. v. 12. § Rev. vii. 10. || Rev. vii. 17. ** Coloff. i. 16. ‡ Rev. v. 13. †† Ifai. liii. 7. |||| 1 Tim. vi. 15, 16. Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ be glory both now and for ever. Amen * :" " to whom be praise and dominion both now and for ever. Amen t." "Wherefore feeing we also are compassed about with fo great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the fin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who, for the joy that was set before him, endured the cross, despising the shame 1," which was undergone for our redemption; and let us " with every tongue confess that Jesus Chrift is Lord; with every knee, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth, bow our knee also at the name of Jesus §;" and knowing that the fame Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him, let us also call upon the name of the Lord, and be saved; and to him that fitteth on the throne, and the Lamb, one God, the Father and the Son, with the whole host of heaven and earth, and all created beings, join in afcribing " bleffing and honour, and glory, and power. Amen," در 2 Pet. üi. 18. HAP. † 1 Pet. iv. 11. ‡ Heb. xii. t. § Phil. ii. 15. Controverted Evidence of our Saviour's Divinity established. Objections answered. The Divinity of the Holy Ghost proved from the Scriptures. " "Religious worship, fays Mr. Lindley, " is the incommunicable honour and prerogative of God alone," Apology, p. 137. Among the multitudinouş proofs which I have already given of our Lord's divinity, I have produced many instances of prayer, of praise, and thanksgiving, preferred to him both in earth and in heaven; by angels and those who have already become partakers of the benefits of his passion in heaven; and in earth, by men filled with the Comforter, the holy Spirit of truth, to whom "the testimony of Jesus" * was given. These I look upon to be acts of religious worship: But this honour and prerogative of God alone is ascribed to Jefus Chrift; it is incommunicable, and must therefore perfectly and essentially diftinguish the poffeffour; but Jesus Christ is the pofleffour; Jefus Christ is therefore one with the Father, that God alone, whose incommunicable honour and prerogative it is to be the object of our religious worship and adoration. Mr. Lindsey is so exceedingly anxious to emancipate himself from the service of Jesus Chrift, whose fervant and prifoner Paul declares it is his joy and glory to be; he bends so reluctantly under the easy yoke, the light burden of the gospel; he fo boisterously dashes about the bonds of peace, and fo fretfully endeavours to cast the cords from him; and with fuch a foaming hydrophobia flies from "the fountains of living waters," that he has really become a very melancholy spectacle, and there Bb2 * Rev. xix. 10. fore fore I feel it a duty incumbent upon me to force, as strongly as I can, this conviction upon him, that if he will drink of these waters, they will refresh him, and he shall not thirst again; that if he return to Chrift, the great shepherd and bishop of our fouls, however forrowful and heavily laden he may be, he shall find rest to his foul; that if he knock, Christ shall open; and, that " if he ask any thing according to his will, the Son of God will hear him, and he shall have the petition that he defired of him *." Let me therefore now, prefuming that Christ at hand is not different from Chrift afar off; and that no merits can put any created being into posseffion of the incommunicable prerogatives of God, or render inferiour natures worthy of the honour which belongs to God alone, recapitulate, and once again present him with an inftance of each; of prayer, by that of Stephen, "Lord Jefus receive my fpirit;" "Lord, lay not this fin to their charge." Of praise, by that in the Revelation, "Blessing, and honour, and glory, and power, be unto him that fitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb for ever and ever;" "falvation to our God which fitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb." And of thanksgiving, by that of St. of Paul, " I thank Chrift Jefus our Lord, for that he counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry." There is yet another species of religious worship, which I have intentionally omitted to take notice of in its course; it is Benediction; and my reason for deferring to observe upon it, is, that it demanded a separate confideration, on account of Mr. Lindsey's doctrine concerning it. He denies benediction to be any evidence at all; and, till I had established its competency, it is therefore easy to fee I should have produced it out of its place before. Mr. Lindsey's affertion, Apology, p. 131, * 1 John v. 14. |