As God-man mediator, in two distinct natures, yet but one person, he was his Father's servant. As such, he became obedient unto the death. Therefore the church is said to be redeemed with the blood of God. (Acts xx. 28.) And God is said to have laid down his life for us. 1 John. iii. 16. And, as such, he ascended to heaven and led captivity captive; and therefore St. Paul applies what is spoken of God in Psal. lxviii. 18. to him, in Eph. iv. 8. And, as such, he was exalted to the highest glory in heaven, and every knee ordered to bow to him; and so what is spoken of God in Isai. xlv. 23. is applied to him, in Phil. ii. 10. For he was GOD as well as MAN, God-man, one person; and as God's servant, in the great work of redemption, he was obedient unto death, and as God's servant, was rewarded with this high exaltation.

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Thus stands the character of Jesus Christ in the sacred writings of the Old and New Testaments: all which cannot be better summed up than in the words of the Apostle, who seems to have had all these things in his view. "Who being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God but made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men and being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. Wherefore God hath also highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; and that every tongue should confess, that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father;" in whose name he administers his mediatorial kingdom, and to whose honour he professedly refers it.

house of Jacob, [his redeemed ones,] for ever." It is needful now, that angels should be under him, to be his ministering spirits; and that he should have full authority over earth and hell, for the good and safety of his Church. But then the Mediator will need the angels no longer for ministering spirits, to minister to the heirs of salvation, who will be all safe in heaven. Nor will he have any thing more to do with wicked men and devils. As for the wicked, their day of ce will be over; and neither they nor the devils can do any more mischief. ng shut them up in hell, he will give up the keys to his Father.

And thus we have, as was proposed, taken a view of Jesus Christ; first, as being in the form of God, and speaking and acting as thinking it no robbery to be equal with God: and then, as having taken upon him the form of a servant, appearing in the likeness of men. And have seen the method infinite wisdom took to ascertain his true character, that the greatness of his abasement might not mislead frail mortals, nor raise one suspicious thought of the infinite dignity of his person, as our GREAT IMMANUEL. And now, therefore,

1. What an infinite condescension was it in the eternal God, the Creator of the universe, who had appeared in the form of God, and spake and acted as thinking it no robbery to be equal with God, through a long period of three or four thousand years, to lay aside all his glory, and from being worshipped as supreme God, to become of no reputation, and even take upon him the form of a servant and the likeness of men! Weil might St. Paul urge this example, as a powerful inducement, on all the disciples of Christ, to be full of love and condescension towards one another. Phil. ii. 1—5*. . But,

2. How ungrateful, yea, how impious would it be in us to take occasion from his appearing in the form of a servant, and in the likeness of men, which was for our sakes, to take occasion, I say, from this to call his DIVINITY into question. Especially, now since we are so plainly informed, by the HoJy Ghost, who inspired the writers of the New Testament, that he is the very same God who in the beginning created the heavens and the earth, and appeared to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to Moses and Isaiah, and who was believed to be the supreme God, and worshipped as such by all the Patriarchs

* But how does his argument lose all its force, as the Arians interpret and understand the Apostle's words! "Who being in the form of God, by being his minister and representative, did not proudly and vainly assume to be equal with God," &c. (thus Chubb.) For what condescension was it for a mere creature, as they say he was, not to aspire after supreme Godhead? Can a mere creature be looked upon as very condescending, because he is not as proud as satan himself? And can we suppose the inspired apostle would argue thus, ver. 8. "Let this mind be in you, which was also in Jesus Christ," who being but a mere creature, was so very condescending, as not to pretend to be equal with God.' And yet this must be his argument, as they interpret his words.

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and Prophets; only because he has laid aside his God-like form, and taken the form of a servant ; and instead of speaking like a God from Mount Sinai, appears and speaks like a man that we should immediately doubt his divinity, and look upon him as a mere man, when yet all this abasement was for our sakes! How must He look upon it! How must HE resent it!

Just thus did the wicked Jews, (yet we are more to blame than they; because we have more light and better advantages to form a right judgment of his true character,) I say, just thus did the wicked Jews, when they charged him with blasphemy, for saying, "I and my Father are one." "Thou," (say they,) being a man, makest thyself God." Here was his crime, and here was their proof. (John x. 33.) He had, upon a like occasion, some time ago, referred them to the scriptures of the Old Testament in general, to decide his true character, (John v. 18. 39.) but to little purpose. He now therefore only refers them to a particular passage in the 82d Psalm, the 6th verse, saying, " Is it not written in your law, I said, Ye are gods. And if he called them gods," &c. i. e. “If the types, which were shadows, were called gods; the antitype, which is the substance, must be real God. If they had the name, he must have the thing. For the scripture cannot, in any particular, be broken. Not only all the prophecies, but also all the types of the Messiah must be verified in him. You have no reason therefore to charge the Messiah with blasphemy, for claiming to be the Son of God*.

And

*It is worthy our attention, that, in the sacred writings of the Old Testament, the chief rulers in Israel are called gods, (Exod. xxviii. 28.) and children of the MOST HIGH; (Psalm. lxxxii. 6.) which doubtless was, because they were designed to be types of Christ, who was by nature God, and the very Son of God. For, as has been before observed, God himself was the king of the Jews.

As

it is written, "The Lord your God was your King," 1 Sam. xii. 12. And this God was Jesus Christ, as has been before proved. Then he appeared in the form of God. And that there might be a shadow of the state he was afterwards to be in, when in the form of a servant, acting as his father's delegate, he constituted the Jewish rulers to be his delegates then. He anointed and auhorized them, (1 Sam. x. 1. xvi. 12, 13) as he was to be anointed by his Father, ad sanctified and sent into the world, and to receive all his authority from him. hey were called the Lord's anointed, the Lord's Messiah, (as it is in the original,) that was the name by which he was to be known. He was to be called the

indeed, notwithstanding the meanness of my appearance in your eyes, while you behold me in the likeness of men, yet my works, which you also see, evidence my divinity. If you cannot give credit to my words, yet surely you may to the

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Christ, i. e. the Anointed, the Messiah: for all are the same name and mean the same thing. John. i. 41. And they were directed from time to time by the word of the Lord, which came to them when they went to inquire of the Lord. (1 Sam. xiv. 18. 19. xxviii. 6. xxx. 7, 8. 2 Sam. ii. 1.) And as gods they sat upon the throne of the Lord, and reigned over the kingdom of the Lord. (1 Chron. xxix. 23. 2 Chron. xiii. 8.) In all which, they were types of the Messiah, who in the fulness of time was to become incarnate, to be anointed, sanctified, and sent into the world, to act in all things according to his Father's commandment, as his Father's delegate, and as such to be exalted to sit on his throne in Heaven, át the head of the creation, to govern the church and the world. And these types were named gods, and called the children of the Most High; as the great antitype was the Son of God and one with his Father. They were shadows; he is the substance They were called gods, he is really God. So that this is the force of our Saviour's argument; "What the types were in name and shadow, that the antitype must be in reality and substance; for the Scriptures cannot be broken. But these types were gods in name and shadow. Therefore the Messiah, who is the antitype, must be God in reality and substance." Thus in the Jewish sacrifices there was a shadow of substitution, and they were called atonements; so in Jesus Christ there was a real substitution, and a real atonement. (See my sermon on Gal. iii. 24.) And indeed, the Messiah must be in reality all that which the types were in name and show, otherwise the Scripture would not be ascomplished and verified.

If any therefore should 66 say, that as the Jewish kings were gods by office, so Christ was only a God by office; as they only had the shadow of divinity, so He only has the shadow of divinity:" I answer, Then the Scripture is broken; the types are not accomplished in the antitype. It is all a shadow still. The substance is not come. And the prophetic prayer with which the 82d Psalm concludes, is never to be answered: "Arise, O God, judge the earth: for thou shalt inherit all nations." For it is not a GOD, but a mere creature, that is to have "the heathen for his inheritance, and the utmost parts of the earth for his possession." Ps. ii. 8. And if his divinity is but a shadow, so is his atonement. The true atonement is not come. The types are not fulfilled. The Scripture is broken, and we are yet in our sins. For the blood of one mere creature can no morè make a real atonement than the blood of another mere creature. The blood of a bull or a goat, and the blood of a mere man, are equally at an infinite remove from any virtue to make a proper atonement for sin. All that has been done is a mere shadow. There is no substance in it. And so the scripture is broken : and the truth of divine revelation, in general overthrown. For if any one thing held forth in a type or a prophecy should fail of accomplishment, the truth of that whole revelation in which that type or prophecy is contained, would be overthrown. So that granting the Old Testament to be divinely inspired, our Saviour's argument amounts to a strict demonstration.

works wrought by me; which evidently are not the works of a mere man. And they are a sufficient proof that the Father is in me, and I in him, i. e. that I and my Father are one." (John x. 34-38.) So spake the incarnate God, who of old dwelt in their tabernacle, from whence the word of God used to come forth to their chief rulers, when they came to inquire of the Lord. Then he was their GoD, and KING, and ORACLE. Now all his glory is laid aside. He is of no reputation. Nor can any thing he says, nor all the mighty works he had wrought, assuage their anger, or keep their hands from violence. He is obliged to leave the temple where he was, and be gone. However, the matter did not end here. For when they arraigned him before the High-Priest, they renew the charge of blasphemy, and pronounce him worthy of death. (Mat. xxvi. 63–66.) Nor did Pilate know how to express the crime, for which he was put to death, better than in this title put on the cross, JESUS OF NAZARETH THE KING OF THE JEWS. So that his claiming to be the SoN OF GOD and KING OF THE JEWS, cost him his LIFE.

And shall we crucify him afresh, and put him to open shame, and justify all the conduct of the Jews towards him, by saying, he was indeed but a man! For if so, it was blasphemy indeed to pretend to be supreme God. And we know the blasphemer deserved to die, according to the law of Moses.

The sense the Arians give to the words, is this. "I and my Father are one, i. e. engaged in the same design. And when the Jews through mistake thought he meant, that he was one with God; he answers, I do not mean, I am God by nature, but only God by office." Query 1. What was this answer to the purpose? 2. Why did not he expressly tell them, that he only meant he was engaged in the same design with his Father, as all other good men are? This would have cleared him from the odious character of a blasphemer, and prevented their taking up stones again to stone him And if indeed he was but a man, all must own, it was his duty to have spoken out in as plain a manner as Paul and Barnabas did, when the people of Lystra took them for gods, and were about to offer sacrifice to them. (Acts xiv. 15.) But to suffer himself to pass for a blasphemer now, and soon after to be pronounced worthy of death for blasphemy; and yet never clear up the matter; but leave his disciples after him, to follow his example, and call him "God the true God, God blessed for er, by whom and for whom all things were created," when he was as really re creature as you and I, is what can never be accounted for.