for faith, the affurance of faith, the full affurance of faith-A bafis, firm as the pillars of nature; immoveable, as the eternal throne.

Whereas, if, with Socinians, we suppose that Jefus had no exiftence before his conception in the womb of the virgin, and fo look upon him as a mere nian; or if, with Arians, we imagine him to be a kind of fuperangelic fpirit, united to an human body; yea though we fhould compliment him, as fome of them have done, with afcribing all divine perfections to him, except eternity and felfexistence, which is abfurdly impious; yet we rob him of proper Deity, we make him a dependent being, we reduce him to the rank of mere creatures, and deprive ourselves of that foundation of confidence in him which his true character affords. For we never can perfuade ourselves, that the fufferings of a mere creature, and thofe for fo fhort a time, could be accepted by the most high and holy God, as a righteous compensation to his law and juftice, for the fins of innumerable millions of hell-deferving tranfgreffors. Hence it is, that thofe who deny the proper Deity of Chrift,commonly deny that he made fatisfactionfor fin to divine juftice. Thus far they are confiftent, and (what they affect to be called) rational. But they may do well to confider, whether they themfelves be able to fatisfy eternal justice; and how they can expect admiffion into the kingdom of glory, by the fin-avenging God, without any fatisfaction made for their crimes. For, certain it is, tha: He who governs the univerfe is inflexibly juft, as well as divinely merciful. THE JUST GOD AND THE SAVIOUR is his revealed character. As thus revealed, we must know him and truft in him, if we would efcape the wrath to come.

Here

Here let the reader admire and adore the love of the eternal Father, and the condefcenfion of the divine Son. The love of the eternal Father. For the glorious Perfon defcribed is the Son of God, and the Father's gift to finful men. In comparison with whom, all the angels and all worlds, beftowed upon us for an inheritance, would be trifling and next to nothing. Because all created things are equally eafy to divine power, being only the effects of the fimple will of God. The formation of an angel, or of an infect; of a thousand fyftems, or of a thoufand grains, is the fame thing to omnipotence. For which reafon, there could be no comparative greatnefs in any fuch gifts. If therefore the eternal Father would manifeft his love to an uncommon degree; if he would fo gratify his mercy, in bleffing his offending creatures, as to have an appearance of doing violence to himself; it must be by giving his only begotten Son, who is one in nature and equal in glory with him-by giving him to be their fubftitute, their propitiation, and their faviour. In this view, how great the propriety, how ftriking the beauty of thofe apoftolic fayings! He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how fhall be not with him alfo freely give us all things? God commendeth his love toward us, in that while we were yet finners Chrift died for us. Here divine love ap pears to the utmoft advantage; here it fhines in all its glory. For its rich donation is infinitely excellent, and the bleffednefs refulting from it is confummate and eternal. The condefcenfion of the divine Son. That He who was in the form of God, and thought it not robbery to be equal with God; that He whom angels obey, that He whom feraphs adore, and before whom they veil their faces; as confcious

of

of their own comparative meannefs, or as dazzled with the blaze of his infinite glories-that He fhould be made flesh, take upon him the form of a servant, perform obedience, and give up himself to the most infamous death, is amazing! But that he should furrender himself to die for finners, for enemies, and for fuch as were in actual rebellion against him, is unfpeakably more amazing! Thefe are demonftrative proofs,that the Lord Redeemer is as much fuperior to his creatures in the riches of his grace, as he is in the depths of his wifdom, or in the works of his power. Let all the heavens adore him! and let the children of men be filled with wonder, and burn with gratitude! For this glorious Redeemer is acceffible by finners; who was defigned for finners; and on them his power and grace are mag

nified.

Such is that reprefentation which the Gofpel gives of divine, redeeming love. But were we to deny the proper Deity of Jefus Chrift, and to reject the reality of his atonement, we fhould, in reference both to the Father and the Son, obfcure its glory, weaken its force, and almost destroy its very being. On Socinian principles, many of the most emphatical terms and phrafes of infpiration, relative to our falvation by the Son of God, must be understood in a fenfe directly contrary to their natural import; or, in other words, the language of fcripture must be reverfed,-For inftance: our Lord fays, God fo loved THE WORLD, that he gave his only begotten Son, But Socinianifm teaches us to underfland the divine declaration thus: God to loved the fon of Mary, that he gave him the government of the world.' Paul fays Ye kno-v the grace of our LORD JESUS CHRIST, that, though he was rich, yet for your fukes

he

he became poor. But, according to this hypothefis, the meaning and the fact are; Ye know the grace of God to the man Jesus Christ; who, though he was by nature poor, as any that are born of a woman; though, in the whole of his life, he was equally dependent on the Father's power and pleasure as any other person can poffibly be, and though neither the labours of his miniftry, nor ⚫ the pains of his martyrdom, were equal to those of many among his difciples; yet, for his own fake, and as the reward of his obedience, he became, through divine bounty, incomparably rich.'

In another Epistle the fame apoftle fays; Chrift Jefus, 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 fervant, 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. Now this according to the principles of SOCINUS, may be paraphrased thus: Chrift Jefus, being a merely • human creature, exifted in the form of a man. • Conscious of this, he thought it the most impious ⚫ robbery on the honours of Deity, for him to be equal with God; whether it were by bearing his names, by claiming his attributes, by prefuming to perform his works, or by receiving his worfhip. Yes, being made in the form of a fervant, (because as a mere creature, it was impoffible he fhould exift in any other form); and feeling his own emptiness, he was contented to appear in the likeness of men. And seeing he was a mere man, there is no reason to wonder that he was found in fashion as a man; or that, as a righteous person, and a teacher of truth, he was greatly humbled,as Bb <many

⚫ many other good men have been, by poverty, and reproach. Nor yet, feeling himself entirely at the Divine difpofal, is there any reafon to be furprised that as a a martyr, he became obedient to death, ⚫ even the death of the crofs; because he knew that fuch was the will of his Creator and Sovereign, But, as he had no bodily defeafe, to affect his ima gination with melancholy gloom; no guilt on his ⚫ confcience, to excite defpondency; no unhallowed attachment to family connections, to religious friends, or to any fenfible object; no doubt of spe⚫cial interest in the Father's love; nor any fear, ⚫ with regard to his own final felicity; the wonder

is, that, in his laft fufferings, and before any hu• man hand was upon him, he fhould be fo full of confternation, fo penetrated with anguish, as to sweat blood, and to exclaim, My foul is exceeding forrowful, even unto death My God, My God, why baft thou forfaken me! At this we may well be • astonished; because many of his difciples, even when in the hands of their barbarous execution⚫ers, and though confcious of perfonal guilt, have

sustained the extremeft fufferings without one complaint, and fometimes with indications of exuberant joy.

Befides, Jefus dying only as a martyr, being perfectly innocent of the crimes laid to his charge, and fuffering nothing at all from the hand of eter <nal justice for the fins of others; the love he expreffed to men like himself was far from being fo difinterested, fo fervent, or fo great, as multitudos have imagined. For he was abfolutely certain of rifing again from the dead within the space of three days; and, as the reward of his obedience to death, of being exalted to the throne of univer

fal