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posing, we should cultivate in ourselves that mind which was in Chrift Jesus, and humbly submit to his will, who has in part revealed, and in part referved for future revelation, the mystery of our redemption, for a mystery I must agree with St. Paul in calling it, rather than with any mere human authority in denying it to be such.

Mr. Lindsey says, That, in a multitude of passages to which he refers, "Jesus Christ formally professes his inferiority and dependence, that he received his being and all his powers from God." It is of no confequence whether the passages referred to prove it or not, for I readily grant him this pofition, "There is one God, and one mediator between God and Men, the Man Chrift Jefus," 1 Tim. ii. 5. And when I have granted it, what will he infer more than I have already laid down, that, as Man, the man Jesus Christ (evidently intended here to be distinguished from God by that name only, and therefore in other respects implied to be one with the Father, God) was inferior to God; that is, that having two natures, one was greater, and consequently one less than the other. Were I in the midst of an argument, proving the immortality of the foul of man, to declare, that I laboured under a lingering disease of which I feared that I should die, would even Mr. Lindsey say, that I had confuted my own doctrine of the soul's immortality? Would he pronounce that I meant my foul should die? And yet he might as well, as in the cafe before us, declare, that when Jesus Christ speaks as Man he denies his Godhead.

I do not mean to fay, that there exists any analogy between the union of spirit and flesh in man, and the union of God and Man in Christ; for I do not at all understand

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understand how the union of foul and body exifts, and confequently cannot compare it with that which I as little understand, for I cannot fay that I understand it lefs; and how, if I am abfolutely unacquainted with an union, which not only subsists in every perfon I hourly converse with, but even in myself, how, I say, am I to declare that an union between God and Man, of which but one instance has ever offered itself to human observation, is impossible? And I refer it to Mr. Lindsey, or any of his disciples, to explain the nature of Spirit, and to shew its compatibility with Flesh; or that of Flesh, and to shew its compatibility with Spirit; and if my request be not complied with, from their absolute and entire ignorance, I must then request farther that they will defift from denying the compatibility of Natures, which they must allow they as little understand. They yield their affent in the one cafe, because daily observation confirms the existence of an animal in which spirit and flesh are conjoined, and they take their affent to be a conclufion from premises supplied by reason; but because Christ is but one, they have not had an opportunity of analysing him, as they think they have done by their own nature, and so deny what they could never have understood, had there been as many Christs as Men. Would they defire such an intimacy? would they defire fuch a multiplication? See where the impious tenet ends, "Jesus Christ once crucified is not a sufficient atonement for the fins of mankind." I shall make no farther comment than to declare, that whensoever reason withholds belief in that which it comprehends not, merely because it is beyond the reach and comprehenfion of reason, the union of the body and foul in man must be denied; for it never can be proved by reason, which must understand the compatibility of both before the union can be declared to exist. I would then advise every man not determined to be a sceptic

sceptic, whom I will not hesitate to pronounce a fool, to look upon a revelation of one, the fufficiency of which precludes the neceffity, and corsequently the exiftence of more, to be adequate to a fuller view of that which admits of a fuller view. In short, my recommendation amounts to no more, nor less, than the old eftablished maxim, that proofs, and confequently our credit, are to be deduced from the best evidence the nature of the case admits.

The best evidence then, which the nature of the cafe before us admits of, is the revelation of God, allowed to have been made by him, and admitted incontrovertibly true, Whatsoever is related therein, is advanced upon authority sufficient to warrant our affent; but as the revelation is not itself supported by an equally ftrong evidence as that which, upon admittance, it affords to whatsoever it testifies, we are not required to yield more than belief to the assertions contained in it; were it as certainly the word of God, as the word of God is certainly true, we should possess little less than certainty of the facts revealed therein, but being allowed, upon that evidence which is unquestionably fufficient to induce credit, it remains to be enquired into, whether it bear testimony to the divinity of our blefied Redeemer Jesus Christ, or not?

As I have now reached the threshold, and am just entering into the proofs, and the nature of the proofs, which the scriptures afford of the truth of this great mystery, once more let me warn, and deeply inculcate the warning, to beware of the delufions of natural religion, if fuch a religion there be, and if that which we conceive to have been derived from nature, be not rather a refiduum, after our pride has rejected whatsoever is revealed beyond its reach.

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The Chinese philosopher believes, that the earth stands upon the back of an elephant, which stands upon the back of a tortoise, which stands upon the back of, &c. &c. &c. Now, suppose this same philosopher to be instructed in the Copernican system, and that he had, upon full confideration, yielded his assent to the great probability of its truth; would it not rather seem absurd in him, after a time, to recur to his old tenets, because the sufficiency of the fun's attractive power to support this world, was inconsistent with the occupation of his old elephant and tortcise, and that he could not see how it should be possible for animals so loaded, and of themselves none of the swifteft, to carry the earth, whirling through its orbit with fuch aftonishing velocity? Just so absurd shall we be, if, after our assent to the truth of God, and admission that he has revealed himself, we suffer any one previous perfuafion to recur, and require that fcripture should be consonant to it, after we have admitted that the word of God is true, whether it be confonant to any previous perfuafion or not. The sensible Chinese would furely reject his ancient tenets upon the admission of that to which he had assented, because of the value of those arguments which had induced his affent; let us then, upon the admiffion of the fcriptures as the ultimate boundary of argument, reject whatsoever seems to make against their ceded truth; howsoever we may perfuade ourselves that reason had supplied it to us, we must have expatiated beyond her limits to feek for the tenet, for within her proper province it is not to be found.

CHAP.

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Of the Nature of the Evidence of our Saviour's Divinity afforded by the Scripture.

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HE full effulgence of the Gofspel did not burft suddenly upon mankind. That fun of righteoufness, by the light of which we are enabled to walk, did not at once reach its meridian height; so exceedingly gradual was its progress, that, when first it dawned upon the world, its rays were not difcernible; "it shone in darkness, and the darkness comprehended it not;" it encreased in splendour, but was not sufficient to be the "light of those who come into the world; at length the day-star arofe, and a light shone forth to lighten the Gentiles, and the day-spring from on high hath visited us, to give light to them that fit in darkness, and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace."

To drop the metaphor. We find the prophecies of our blessed Saviour, from great obscurity, become more and more explicit as they approach the great event: At the first they were extremely indefinite, and such only as were adapted to the purposes for which they were pronounced. The first hope of redemption to mankind accompanied the sentence of condemnation, and was graciously conveyed by God himself, who comforted the forlorn state of our fallen parents with a promife conceived in general terms, that the feed of the woman should bruise the head of the ferpent which had beguiled her.

Noah is afterwards taught by the Spirit to hope, and to exclaim, " blessed be the Lord God of Shem." To

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