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Christ Jefus, God is become (in a Sense) visible, the Man Chrift Jefus being eina`v de doggo,the (visible) image (or refemblance) of the invifible God, Col. 1. 15. amáva qua î♪ns,the brightness of glory,or a glorious Beam fhot forth from that effential Light which no Man can approach unto, as well as aeans, the reprefentation or Pictures, of his fubftance, who is the Majesty on high, and whom the Eyes of Mortals cannot behold in himself, tho' they can see him in fuch his Appearance. In fhort, the felfexistent Being became manifest, visible and open to the Eyes of Men, by the Union of his WORD with the Man Christ Jesus; in Confequence of which Union, eòs, God was, because aby, the WORD was, we's nμs, with us; and our Savior juftly deserved the Name of 'Eujiavɣiλ, which being interpreted is use' weds, God with us, Mat. 1. 23. And accordingly 'tis obfervable, that the fame Apoftle St. John fays, Eternal Life was weist marieg, in oppofition to that Discovery of Eternal Life, which was made, when Eternal Life pavegan nuur, Ep. 1. ch. 1. v. 2.

You fee therefore, that there is no Neceffity of making St. John's Expreffions contain, either a Contradiction in Terms, or a Contradiction to the conftant Doctrin of the other infpired Writers of the Old and New Teftaments. For by granting that the WORD is the Very God, or the one felfexiftent Being, we preferve the grand Article of the Unity of God, which the Holy Scriptures do fo earnestly prefs and inculcat: Nor does his being we's Jedy, who is himself Jeds, mean more, than that God was not as yet es avledss, as by the Incarnation of the WORD he certainly was, even God manifeft in the flesh.

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You will give me leave,I dare fay, juft to mention one Objection more; which you indeed have paffed over in filence, becaufe (I am perfuaded) you were fenfible of its Weaknefs. It has been obferved, that when St. John fays, the WORD was God, there is no Article in the Original before deds, as there is very commonly when the felfexiftent God is meant. But I anfwer, that tho' the Article is often placed before Jeds, when the felfexiftent God is meant; yet 'tis alfo omitted at other times, when Jeds certainly and confeffedly bears the very fame fenfe; particularly tis omitted no less than four times in this very Chapter, viz, in the fixth, twelfth, thirteenth and eighteenth Verfes. And therefore notwithstanding this Remark, when the WORD is called ads, the meaning is, that he is the very or felfexiftent God.

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Secondly, St. Paul fays, There is one God, and one Mediator between God and Men, the Man Chrift Jefus, Tim. 2. 5. The Context and Scope of the Apoftle fhew, that by afferting there is as eds, he means, that there is but one God, even as there is but one Mediator. So thats is not barely unus, but unicus: not merely one (for the Heathens themselves had one God in that Senfe, at the fame time that they had fo many more than one) but the only God, in contradiftinction to a plurality of Gods. And accordingly the Apoftle expreffes himself more plainly in a parallel Place, faying, There is none other God but one; for tho' there be that are called Gods, whether in Heaven or in Earth (as there be Gods many, and Lords many) But to us there is one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we in him; and one Lord Jefus Chrift, by whom were all things, and we by him, 1 Cor. 8. 4,5,6. The As Jeds therefore, the one God, fignifys the felfexiftent

exiftent Being, as you your felf (i) allow; and the A poftle affures us, that the felfexiftent Being is the only God. Now this one and only God, viz. the felfexiftent Being, is declared to be the one and only God, in contradiftinction to the one and only Mediator between God and Men, the MAN Chrift Jefus. And therefore the Apoftle can't mean, that there is but one fupreme God, and that the WORD, who is perfonally united to the Man Chrift Jefus, may notwithstanding be an inferior or fubordinat God. For this exprefs oppofition of the only God, not to the WORD or Divine Nature of our Lord, but to the MAN Chrift Jefus, does either deny that WORD is God, in direct contradiction to St. John 1. 1. or elfe demonftrat, that the WORD is the felfexiftent and only God.

Thirdly, The Author of the Epiftle to the Hebrews affures us, that three Paffages of Scripture, which he particularly recites in his firft Chapter, are meant of the Son, viz. our Lord Jefus Chrift. Thefe Paffages, as I have already obferved, do all of them relate to the WORD or Divine Nature of our Savior: but I chufe to argue from the last of them only, in which the Author afferts, that fome Words of the 102d Pfalm (viz. Thou, Lord, in the beginning haft laid the foundation of the earth: and the heavens are the work of thy hands. They shall perish, but thou shalt endure they all fhall wax old as doth a garment, and as a vesture shalt thou change them, and they shall be changed: but thou art the fame, and thy years shall not fail) are spoken of the Son, v. 25, 26, 27.

Now that the Paffage above recited relates to the WORD, or Divine Nature of the Son, is evident from this Confideration, viz. that the Pfalmift

(i) Script. Doct. p. 6, 36.

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therein exprefly attributes the Creation of the World to him, which evidently belongs to the WORD, or the Son's Divine Nature, and can't poffibly be understood of the Son with respect to his Human Nature.

But I need not infift upon this. For in the Hebrew Text this Pfalm is exprefly addrefs'd to Jehovah. Now Jehovah is the incommunicable Name of the felfexiftent God, who was the God of Ifrael. Whatever latitude may be allow'd to Jeds, yet Jehovah is appropriat to that one God alone, in contradiftinction to all other of. This is the conftant ufe of Jehovah in Scripture. Accordingly, Mofes faid, Thou haft avouch'd (Fehovah, as 'tis in the Original, viz. the felfexiftent Being, diftinguifh'd from all others by that Name; tho' we tranflate it) the LORD this day to be thy God, Deut. 26. 17. and again, The Lord Jehovah, the fame felfexiftent God) bath avouched thee this day to be his peculiar people, ver. 18. Thus the Pfalmift fays to him, that his Name is Jehovah, Pfal. 83. 18. Nay, God himself fays, I am the Lord ('tis Jehovah in the Original) that is my Name. If. 42. 8. And whereas, according to our Tranflation, God commanded Mofes, faying, Thus Shalt thou fay unto the Children of Ifrael, The Lord God of your fathers, &c. we ought to read thus, according to the Original, Jehovah, even the God of your Fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Ifaac, and the God of Facob, bath fent me unto you: This is my name for ever, and this is my memorial unto all Generations, Exod. 3. 15. So that the Word Jehovah is the Memorial, or the Name by which God wou'd be called and known; and not the following Words, the God of your Fathers, &c. which are only affirmed of him, whofe Memorial or proper Name is Jehovah. For fo the Prophet explains it, faying (not as we tranflate it, even O

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Chap. XII. the Lord God of bofts, the Lord is his memorial; but) even Jehovah, the God of hofts; Jehovah is his memorial or peculiar Name, Hof. 12. 5. So that Jehovah does as ftrictly fignify the selfexiftent God, as any one Name can poffibly denote any one individual Being whatsoever.

I'm fenfible, it has been thought, that God's Angel is fometimes ftyled Jehovah, upon the account of his acting with Mankind in God's Name; and even the Orthodox Writers about the Trinity have been grievously puzzled to explain the Paffages urged for the Confirmation of that Notion.

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indeed unhappy for them, that they were not fufficiently aware of that Cuftom, of Meffengers fpeaking in the Words of their Principals, which is fo notorious in the Scriptures, and of which I have largely treated (k) above. I dare promife, that whoever will be pleafed to confider what I have written concerning that matter, will find no Difficulty in those Texts, in which it has been fuppofed, that an Angel is ftyled Jehovah: but readily grant, that Jehovah does, even in those Texts, as ftrictly denote the felfexiftent God, as in any one Text of the whole Bible.

I confefs, God fays, Behold, I fend an angel before thee to keep thee in the way, and to bring thee into the place which I have prepared. Beware of him, and obey bis voice, provoke him not: for he will not pardon your tranf greffions: for my name is in him. But if thou shalt indeed obey his voice, and do all that I fpeak; then I will be an enemy unto thine enemies, and an adversary unto thine adverfaries. For mine angel fhall go before thee, and bring thee in unto the Amorites, and the Hittites, and the Periz

(k) Chap. 7. p. 51, &c.

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