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light of truth. You hear him faying, "I am "meek and lowly in heart;" but you must learn by inferences, whether his meeknefs and humility be attended with all other virtues; and alfo, whether thofe virtues refide in him to perfection. You may hear him ask his adversaries, with confidence, "Which of you convinceth "me of fin?" and this, I acknowledge, implies, that he is not an offender like men in common; but yet he does not exprefsly fay, "I am without fin.'-I conclude, therefore, that it is not neceffary the most interesting truths fhould be contained in the Scripture, in exprefs and formal terms; and that it fuffices to infer them by juft and reasonable confequence, For though we had not been favoured with the epiftle to the Hebrews; though feveral paffages in other epiftles, exprefsly to the fame point, had never been read by us; and though we had never heard that those words in Isaiah," He had done no violence, "neither was any deceit in his mouth," related to Jefus Chrift; yet we fhould have been affured that he was perfectly holy and righteous; both by the analogy of faith, and by a multitude of texts, from which we might have inferred the important confequence.-Hence also it appears, that there is no neceffity for a capital and fundamental truth, to be mentioned in every page of the Scripture, nor yet in every book of which that facred Volume confifts. For the whole œconomy of falvation, and all our happiness, depend on the confummate holiness of Jefus Chrift; and yet you may read a great part of the Bible, and not find it fo much as once mentioned.

But, more directly to answer this objection, it may be observed; That the facred writers keep a mysterious filence, on foie occasions, even on

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matters of great importance; which filence may be attributed to various caufes. Sometimes to the nature of that œconomy under which they wrote. So Mofes and the prophets, did not fpeak fo clearly of the life to come, as Jefus Chrift; because the perfpicuity of Revelation, in this refpect, was to be a diftinguishing character of the Meffiah's appearance; and life and immortality were to be revealed by him. Nor was it agreeable to the wifdom of God, that Chrift, in his perfonal miniftry, fhould fpeak fo clearly concerning the fpirituality, or fo fully concerning the myfteries, of his kingdom; as the apoftles did after his afcenfion, when led into all the truth by the Holy Spirit.-At other times the Spirit of wifdom makes ufe of the clearest and eafieft things, to lead us into those which are more abftrufe and difficult. The great things which the apoftles were called to declare, were facts and doctrines; fome of which doctrines were very myfterious. The former were objects of fenfe; the latter abftract and fpiritual. Now it would have been prepofterous for them to have recommended matters of fact, by first recommending myfterious doctrines: because the order of nature and reafon requires, that the latter fhould be recommended, by relating and authenticating the former. If only matters of fact had been neceffary to be laid before us, the four gospels would have comprifed the whole of the New Teftament; they being the history of such facts as are neceffary to our falvation. But as, in the grand fcheme of falvation, there are mysterious doctrines, with which it is requifite mankind fhould be acquainted; the apoftles were infpired to write the other parts of the New Teftament, that we might be informed of them. And if fo, it is far from being strange that Peter, in his

first fermon, after he had received the Holy Ghost, should engage the attention of his auditors, by making remarks on that Divine effufion, the effects of which were fo fenfible and fo wonderful, without faying any thing about the incarnation. Nor is it at all amazing that the fame apoftle, after he had healed the poor beggar who lay at the gate of the temple, and perceived the aftonishment of the people, fhould take occafion to speak of our Lord's refurrection, in whose name he wrought the miracle; and that he should infift on the leading circumftances of the life and death of his Divine Mafter, as being adapted to enlighten their minds and alarm their confciences, to foften their hearts and fubdue their pride-much better adapted, to answer these important ends, than a difcourfe on the myfterious hypoftatical union would have been. The fame remark may be made on the conduct of Paul, on fimilar occafions.-The filence objected against us is frequently to be afcribed to the marvellous condefcenfion of God, in proportioning his inftructions to our capacities. As it is written, "I have yet many things to fay unto you, but ye cannot bear them now.' And again, "We have many things to fay and hard to be "uttered, feeing ye are dull of hearing." Thefe affertions, and the reafon on which they proceed, shew the propriety of Peter's conduct and that of other apofties, when speaking to finners not yet converted, or to fuch as had but just received the light of the gospel: whom they treat as infants, in the grace of God and the knowledge of Chrift, rather than as adults; laying before them the plainest truths, and referving the more abftrufe till a fitter feafon occurred.

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The objection boldly suggests, that the Scripture is entirely filent, as to the doctrine of the incarnation.

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incarnation. But this is a great mistake. For we find hardly any remarkable occafion to make it known, but the Holy Spirit improves it for that purpose. Jefus, at his birth, is called "God with us." At his baptifm, he is honoured in fuch a manner as cannot agree to a mere creature. In the history of his life and ministry, by the evangelifts, the names and attributes, the works and worship of God, are frequently ascribed to him. And the apostles, in their invaluable writings, act in a fimilar way, by defcribing and treating him as the true God.

The objection afferts, that the paffages adduced to prove our doctrine are fuch, that we are obliged to draw feveral conclufions before they can ferve our turn. And what if they were? this would not invalidate the argument formed upon them, provided the conclufions be fairly drawn. But it is a mistake. For the Scripture exprefsly afferts, that Jefus Chrift is "God manifefted in the flefh"-That He is "the Word," that "the Word was God;" and that "the Word was made flesh." Here we need only take the natural sense of the expreffions, without any further reasoning, to find the incarnation. For the term fleb is taken, either for the body, merely; which cannot be the meaning here, becaufe Chrift not only affumed a body, but a body united to a spirit or it fignifies fin; but this cannot be intended, because Jefus affumed a holy, not a finful nature: or it muft fignify the human nature; and this, undoubtedly, is the fenfe of the term. The obvious meaning, therefore, of the text is; God was manifeft in the human nature. If we must reafon, it is only for the fenfe of the terms; not that we may infer, by confequences, a truth

which lay concealed. For these two propofitions, God was made man-God was manifeft in the hu man nature-are perfectly equivalent.

CHA P. III.

An Objection from John xvii. 3. anfwered. ONE of the principal arguments in favour

of the Socinian hypothefis, is formed on those words of our Lord; This is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and "Jefus Chrift whom thou haft fent."- Nobody queftions, fays Crellius, but that, by the true God, must be understood the Supreme God.. When, therefore, Jefus Chrift reprefents his Father to us, as the only true God; it follows, ⚫ that none but the Father is the Supreme God.'

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Before we return a direct answer, it may not be improper to make a few general remarks. Let it, then, be here obferved, That as our Lord may be confidered, either in a state of the lowest humiliation, or in a ftate of the highest glory; fo he is variously reprefented to us, according to thefe two very different conditions. Accordingly he affumes, in reference to the former, fuch characters as exprefs his abafement; and, with a view to the latter, fuch as denote his exaltation. In the time of his humiliation, he calls himself

the Son of man," much more frequently than "the Son of God:" but, after he was glorified, his apoftles conftantly call him, "the Son of "God;" hardly ever, "the Son of man." Before his refurrection, his difciples thought they faid a great deal in this confeffion of their faith, "Thou art Chrift, the Son of the living "God:" but, their light increafing with his glory, when they faw him rifen from the dead,

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