yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates?" (2 Cor. xiii. 5.) There are millions of real christians now upon the earth; some in Europe, some in Asia, some in Africa, and some in America: Jesus dwells in all their hearts; but this would be impossible were he a creature ; he must therefore be that God who fills immensity.

As God, he rewards the saints with everlasting happiness. "Jehovah will give grace and glory." (Psalm lxxxiv. 11.) Jesus Christ hath promised eternal life to those who serve him. 66 My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. And I give unto them eternal life, and they shall never perish, neither shall any pluck them out of my hand." (John x. 27, 28. Suppose Christ be not divine, and then this passage presents this strange phenomenon of a creature, for services done to himself, conferring immortality and happiness upon other creatures. A prophet may teach men the will of God, and assure them that the Most High will reward their obedience with the heavenly glory; but a mere prophet never yet pretended to call those who received his doctrines, his servants, nor to promise them that he would raise them from the dead, and grant them endless bliss. Jesus Christ, however, calls those who embrace the christian doctrine, his servants, John xii. 26, and promises that he will raise and glorify their bodies. "Our conversation is in heaven, from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body, according to the working whereby he is able even to subdue all things unto himself." (Phil. iii. 20, 21.) He will reward them for services done to himself with eternal happiness: "Come ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was an hungered, and ye gave me meat I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink; I was a stranger, and ye took me in: naked, and ye clothed

me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me." (Matt. xxv. 34-36.) It follows, that, if Christ be not God, christians do not serve God, nor will they receive any reward at his hands. The Almighty has declared that he will not give his glory unto another; and yet, on the supposition that Christ is a creature, it is difficult to say how the glory of God could be given to another more completely. To raise the dead, and to confer immortality, are works beyond the ability of any finite being; they are equal to creation out of nothing, and afford the most indubitable proofs of supreme divinity.

4. Divine honours are paid to him. Of these he made a formal claim: "All men should honour the Son, even as they honour the Father." (John v. 23.). Jesus had just before told the Jews, "My Father worketh hitherto, and I work." This incensed them so highly against him, that they "sought the more to kill him, not only because he had broken the Sabbath, but said also, that God was his Father, making himself equal with God." Many have supposed that because Jesus called God his Father, he must be inferior to the Father. In the text just cited we see, that the Jews understood the Son of God to be equal with God. Now supposing they were mistaken, would it not have been proper in our Lord to have set them right? particularly as it was under the notion of his making himself equal with God, that they sought so earnestly to kill him? When the people of Lystra mistook Paul and Barnabas for their gods, and were going to pay them divine honours, these men of God "rent their clothes, and ran in amongst the people, crying out, and saying, sirs, why do ye these things? We also are men of like passions with you, and preach unto you, that ye should turn from these vanities unto the living God, which made heaven and earth, and the sea, and all things that are therein." (Acts xiv. 14, 15.) But Jesus Christ was so far from showing similar zeal to satisfy the Jews that he was not divine, that he immediately asserts his equality with the Father, in works in general,

and in one work in particular-the raising of the dead. "What things soever he doeth, these also doeth the Son likewise.' "As the Father raiseth up the dead, and quickeneth them, even so the Son quickeneth whom he will." It does not appear possible to assert equality with God in stronger terms than these. Jesus draws the inference which these premises fully warrant, "That all men should honour the Son, even as they honour the Father." A stronger passage than this, in favour of the proper divinity of Christ, need not be desired. There is no medium-he was guilty of blasphemy, or he must be divine. Those who deny the Godhead of Christ, pretend a zeal for the honour of God the Father. It would derogate from his honour, they affirm, to put any other being on an equality with him. But our Lord assures us that "he that honoureth not the Son, honoureth not the Father." There is no jealousy of one another among the persons of the Godhead, "He that honoureth the Son, honoureth the Father also." The first christians honoured him as God: "To the only wise God our Saviour, be glory, and majesty, dominion and power, both now and ever. Amen." (Jude 25.)

As God he is worshipped. He himself taught, "Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve." (Matt. iv. 10.) The holy martyr, Stephen, however, performed the highest act of religious worship to Jesus Christ with his expiring breath: "And they stoned Stephen, calling upon God, and saying, Lord Jesus receive my spirit: and he kneeled down, and cried with a loud voice, Lord, lay not this sin to their charge. And when he had said this, he fell asleep." (Acts vii. 59, 60.) Happy saint! thou wast ignorant of modern refinement and criticism in divinity, which have robbed thy Lord of his glory. Thy heart never harboured the disposition to which they owe their origin-a coldness of affection! He honoured thee in death, and let thee " see the heavens opened, and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God!" Thou wast strengthened by his grace to suf

fer for his name! Thou prayedst fervently, "Receive my spirit, save my murderers," and sunk into his arms, and fell asleep! O blessed repose! May I thus in a vision leave this world, and wake in heaven!

There are many examples in the New Testament of Jesus Christ being worshipped. It has been said, that he was never worshipped with that religious respect which is due to God. Read Rev. v. 13, And every creature which is in heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, heard I saying, blessing, and honour, and glory, and power be unto him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb for ever and ever." Here we find that the same blessing, and honour, and glory, and power" are ascribed to the Lamb, as to him that sitteth upon the throne. This is the best comment you can meet with upon those words of our Lord," All men should honour the Son, even as they honour the Father."

I intended to have gone through all the particulars this morning, which I announced at the commencement of this discourse; but I have been rambling on, and our time is more than gone already. You know the divinity of our blessed Saviour is a topic which I love to dwell upon. I plead the importance of the subject as an apology for the time I have taken up in discussing it. I must now draw to a conclusion. I intend to speak to the other points at another opportunity.

We are met together this morning to celebrate Messiah's advent. God was manifest in the flesh. He was ushered into the world by a poor woman—in a poor village-in a stable. Can you look through all this poverty and meanness, and recognise the Lord of glory? Several remarkable circumstances will assist your faith. The word of prophecy pointing out the village the appearance of the angels to the shepherds, proclaiming the birth of a Saviour, Christ the Lordthe star directing the wise men to the place where the young child was:-all these were indications that this

lovely infant was no common personage. The shepherds wondered and rejoiced. The oriental sages worshipped and adored. All the holy angels, though unseen by mortals, attended at his birth: they beheld his glory shining through the human form: they knew their God, and did him homage. (Heb. i. 6.)

"Unto us a child is born, a Son is given. His name is called Wonderful, Counsellor, the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace." He came to instruct you to redeem you to govern you -to make you happy for ever. Embrace all his doctrines as your prophet; trust to the virtue of his sacrifice, as your atoning priest; obey his laws, as your sovereign; and, like the wise men and the angels, worship him as your God.

When he shall appear the second time to judgment, may we be ready! His divinity will then shine forth in all its glory may it not prove to us a consuming fire! O thou blessed Jesus, descend now in the power of thy Spirit! Inspire our hearts with devotion and holiness, and prepare us for thy kingdom, for thy mercy's sake! Amen.

SERMON II.

Concerning his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, which was made of the seed of David, according to the flesh, and declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead." (Rom. i. 3, 4.)

IN speaking to you from these words yesterday morning, I proposed to,

I. Prove by a variety of arguments the proper divinity of our Lord Jesus Christ.

II. Show that in point of personality he is distinct from the Father.

III. Make some observations on his human nature, and

IV. Assign some reasons why it is necessary he should be both divine and human.