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the ONLY BEGOTTEN of the Father, who was in the beginning with GOD, and therefore in fome fense is to be diftinguished from God, nevertheless WAS GOD, and that in the true and proper fense of the word, even the true GOD and eternal life, ■ John v. 20.

CH A P. VỊ.

That the Apoftles, in their quotations from the Old Teftament, apply to CHRIST many paffages which were moft manifeftly fpoken of the true God, the GOD of Ifracl, and confider all the appearances of JEHOVAH made to the Patriarchs and Prophets of old, to be made in his Perfon.

1. THE

HE true character of Chrift will more fully appear, if we attend to another point, viz. that the Apostles not only call him GoD, and that repeatedly and abfolutely, as, The Word was GOD, Immanuel, GOD with us, GOD manifeft in the flesh, My LORD and my GOD; but they apply to him, without fcruple, divers paffages of the Old Teftament, which were manifeftly intended of the true Go, the GOD of Ifrael. Of this we have had two remarkable inftances already. The Lord reigneth, [fays David, Pfalm xcvii. ver. 1, &c.] let the earth rejoice: let the multitude of the ifles be glad thereof. Clouds and darknefs are round about him, righteoufnefs and judgment are the habitation of his throne. A fire goeth before him, and burneth up his enemies round about. His lightenings enlightened the world. The earth faw, and trembled. The hills

melted like wax at the prefence of the Lord, at the prefence of the Lord of the whole earth. The heavens declare his righteoufnefs, and all the people fee his glory. Confounded be all they that ferve graven images, and boaft themfelves of idols: WORSHIP HIM ALL YE GODS. Now to this laft claufe the

inspired

infpired Author of the Epiftle to the Hebrews undoubtedly refers, in the paffage above quoted, from Ch. i. ver. 6, when [as we have feen] applying it to the Son, he says, LET ALL THE ANGELS OF GOD WORSHIP HIM. And with what propriety he could do this, if the Son, the Word, were not in union with his Father, the true God, I confess I am at a loss to say.

2. The other inftance we have had, is full as remarkable. My days [fays David, Pfalm cii. v. 1, &c.] are like a fhadow that declineth: and I am withered like grafs, but thou, O Lord [Heb Jehovah] fhalt endure for ever, and thy remem brance to all generations: Thou shalt arife, and have mercy on Zion, for the time to favour her, yea, the fet time is come. When Jehovah fhall build up Zion, he fhall appear in his glory, ver. 24. I faid, O my GoD, take me not away in the midft of my days: Thy years are throughout all generations. Of old haft thou laid the foundations of the earth, and the heavens are the work of thine hands: They fhall perish, but thou fhalt endure; yea, all of them fhall wax old like a garment; as a vefture fhalt thou change them, and they fhall be changed: But thou art the fame, and thy years fail not.

Now as no one can doubt but the true GoD is the perfon fpoken of by the Pfalmift in these words; fo no one that compares herewith the above cited paffage from the first to the Hebrews, ver. 10, 11, 12. can doubt whether the Author of that Epistle confidered the words to be applicable to Chrift, and indeed to be intended of him.

3. Another inftance of the fame kind we find in the fourth of the Epiftle to the Ephefians, where the Apoftle quotes and applies to Chrift a paffage of the 68th Pfalmin which David manifeftly celebrates the praise of the true God, the GoD of Ifrael, who had brought the peopleout of Egypt, led them through the wilderness, established them in the poffeffion of Canaan, and had taken up his abode firft in the tabernacle, and then in their Temple. 0 GoD, (fays

G 2:

he,

he, ver. 7.) when thou wenteft forth before thy people, when thou didft march through the wilder nefs the earth fhook, the heavens alfo dropped at the prefence of God: even Sinai itself was moved at the prefence of God, the God of Ifrael, ver. 17. The Chariots of God are twenty thoufand, even thoufands of angels: The Lord is among them, as in Sinai, in the holy place: Thou haft afcended on high, thou haft led captivity captive; thou haft received gifts for men, (Heb. in the man, that is, in the human nature) yea, for the rebellious alfo, that the Lord God might dwell among them. Now, as this last verse undoubtedly had a reference to something further and greater than the afcent of the Ark (an emblem of the Divine prefence) to mount Zion, even to the afcenfion of the Lord Jefus into heaven, (as recorded, Acts 1ft.) fo it is accordingly applied to this remarkable event in the place above mentioned, viz. Eph. iv. ver. 8-10. And it is applied in fuch a manner, as to fhew that the Apostle confidered it as chiefly intended of Christ. Unto every one of us fays he) is given grace according to the meafure of the gift of Chrift: Wherefore he, (David, or the Holy Spirit by David) faith when he afcended up on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men. Now, he that afcended, what is it? what does it imply? but that he defcended first into the lower parts of the earth? He that defcended is the fame alfo that afcended up far above all heavens, that he might fill all things, and he gave fome Apoftles, &c. And is it a mere man, or a mere creature, of whom the Apostle speaks in this paffage? to whom he applies the words of David, manifeftly fpoken, as we have feen, of the God of Ifrael, and of whom he says that he first defended before he afterwards afcended up far above all heavens, and that he FILLS ALL THINGS?

4. Nor is this the only paffage in which it appears, that St. Paul confidered that God that brought Ifrael out of Egypt, gave them the Law on Sinai, led them through the wilderness, by a

pillar

pillar of cloud by day, and fire by night, and dwelt in their Tabernacle and Temple, to be Chrift in his pre exiftent and divine nature. There are fundry other paffages of his writings, which manifeft the fame. For instance, 1 Cor. 10, 4, and 9. They drank of that fpiritual rock that followed them, and that rock was Chrift. Neither let us tempt Chrift, as fome of them alfo tempted, and were deftroyed of ferpents, Heb. xii. 25, 26. See that ye refufe not Him that fpeaketh: for if they efcaped not who refufed Him that fpake on earth, much more fhall not we efcape, if we turn away. from Him that fpeaketh from heaven: Whofe voice then fhook the earth, but now he hath promifed, faying, Yet once more, I fhake, not the earth only, but heaven alfo, Rom. ix. 32, 33. They ftumbled at that fumbling-ftone: As it is written, Behold, I lay in Zion a ftumbling-ftone and rock of offence; and whofoever believeth in him fhall not be afhamed. The Apoftle not only refers to Ifaiah xxviii. 16 Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation, a stone, a tried ftone, a precious stone; a fure foundation: He that believeth, fhall not make hafte- -but he alfo and efpecially refers to Ifaiah viii. 14. Sanctify Jehovah of Hofts, and let him be your fear, and let him be your dread: And he fhall be for a fanctuary; but for a stone of ftumbling, and for a rock of offence, to both the houfes of Ifrael Words, to which St. Peter also refers, 1 Epift. Ch. ii. ver. 7, 8-To you who believe he is precious; but unto them which be difobedient, a ftone of ftumbling, and rock of offence, to thofe that stumble difobeying the Word, unto which alfo they are difpofed. And, to the fame paffage, old Simeon alludes, Luke iį. 34. Behold, this child is fet for the fall, and rifing again of many in Ifrael, and for a fign that shall be fpoken against. In all which paffages, Ifaiah's words concerning Jehovah, are plainly applied to Chrift, and reprefented as fulfilled in him. Compare alfo Rom. x. 13 and 14, with Joel ii. 32. and Rom xiv, 11. with Ifaiah xlv, and 23.

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5. In this laft mentioned paffage, the only living and true God, the God of Ifrael, is undoubtedly the perfon who speaks-I am Jehovalt [fays he] and there is none elfe: There is no God. befide me. That they may know from the rifing of the Sun, and from the Weft, that there is none befides me: I am Jehovah, and there is none elfe. They shall go into confufion together, that are makers of idols: But Ifrael fhall be faved in the Lord, with an everlafting falvation: Ye shall not be afhamed nor confounded, world without end. For thus faith the Lord that created the heavens, God himfelf that formed the earth and made it. I am the Lord, and

there is none elfe. Look unto me, and be faved, all the ends of the earth: for I am God, and there is none elfe. I have fworn by myfelf, the word is gone out of my mouth in righteoufnefs, and fhall not return, THAT UNTO ME EVERY KNEE SHALL BOW, AND EVERY TONGUE SHALL SWEAR. Surely fhall one fay, In the LORD have I RIGHTEOUSNESS and STRENGTH :-- -Even to him fhall men come, and all that are incenfed against him fhall be ashamed: In the LORD fhall all the feed of Ifrael be juftified, and fhall glory.

6. Now as it is the Lord Chrift, the Word made flefh, that is in a special and peculiar fenfe the Saviour, the person to whom we must look and be faved, as it is in Him efpecially, that we have righteoufnefs and strength, and in Him that all the true Ifrael of God are juftified, and glory,-so we find the Apostle, in the paffage above named, (viz. Rom. xiv. and 11. applying thefe words, fo manifeftly fpoken by the true God, to Chrift. We shall all fland, (fays he) before the judgmentfeat of Chrift: For it is written, As I live (faith the Lord) every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue fhall confefs to God: So then every one of us fhall give an account of himfelf to God. How plain is it, from hence, that the Apostle confidered the God of Ifrael the only living and true God, as dwelling by his ETERNAL WORD in the human nature of Chrift, and fo intimately united there

with,

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