OF OUR SAVIOUR JESUS CHRIST. He shall stand and rule in the strength of the LORD, in the Majesty of the Name of the LORD his God; and they shall be converted*: for now shall he be great unto the ends of the earth.-Micah v, 4. Behold, my servant, whom I have chosen; my beloved, in whom my soul is well pleased: I will put my Spirit upon him; and he shall shew judgment to the Gentiles.-Matt. xii, 18; see Isa. xlii, 1–9. THE UNITY of the Most High God, is a TRUTH which, by his watchful Providence, has been preserved, in many, from the days of Adam, through all the dark and complicated systems of Religion, unto this clouded hour: it never has *It should have been thus rendered, according to Bishop Chandler; " for they (i. e. Jews as well as Gentiles) shall be "Converted;" (not, they shall abide) and then he, the Christ, shall be great, &c. As the passage stands in our English version, the meaning is not clear.-See the Bishop's Defence of Christianity, p. 131, and Matt. xviii, 3. been totally lost sight of, nor ever will be. Its permanent duration is, alone, a presumptive proof that it is a Truth. The violent Contentions relating to the Nature of our Redeemer, which have thrown the Christian World, for so long a period, into the most unhappy divisions, in all appearance, arose principally (as hath been noticed) from a very early admission of the Eastern Philosophy amongst Christians. The simplicity that reigns throughout the Gospel, was ill exchanged for those dark and delusive tenets which have introduced an almost total confusion into its Doctrines. The proper and necessary Distinction between the Invisible God and His Messenger, is, in a great measure, lost: How just and advantageous it would be to recover it in the minds of men, it is hoped, will be sufficiently shewn in the following pages. Happy it is that the undertaking is not difficult; since the authentic documents of our Religion have been Providentially transmitted to the present age, and the main points of the Gospel are comprised in so short and easy a Revelation. This is life eternal, that they might know Thee (O Father), the ONLY true GOD; and Jesus Christ whom Thou hast sent.-John xvii, 3. He who brought life and immortality fully to light, was sent by the Supreme Being to confirm also that Great and Essential Article, His Unity; as it had been before taught by the Prophets in the Old Testament*; and to instil into mankind the purest Religious Principles, the most benevolent Ethics, that ever were promulgated on Earth.-No one, who truly practises them, can remain unconvinced of their surpassing excellence, and divine origin. To know Jesus Christ, is to know and Acknowledge him to be the Messiah, and (by God's appointment) the Saviour of the World:-to love his Memory, to obey his Precepts, and to believe and reverence his Doctrines, as the best gift of heaven. The sacred and Willing Messenger, in his own person, exemplified a perfect and immoveable adherence to them, and calmly resigned his Life as a solemn Testimony of their truth and efficacy. From the dignity of his Mission, the force of his Instructions, his unexampled Inno * See Matt. v, 17 (the Moral Law is meant); Rom. xv, 8, 9. In what Sense this great Event may be said to be a Propitiatory, or an Atoning Sacrifice (when we consider the tender Mercy, and the Natural Placability of our Heavenly Father, whose Divine Justice is often declared to be appeased by Repentance and Amendment (Isa. lv, 7; Ezek. xviii; cency, and the Power with which he was Invested, he is called in Scripture the Son of God: Luke xiii, 2—5), we are unable to determine*. The Primary Cause of Redemption by Christ, was, the Love of GoD to Mankind (John iii, 16, 17), and the Means of our Redemption, Such as He was Pleased to Appoint. Therefore, in whatever Light we may consider the Death of Christ, and whatsoever are the Benefits arising to us from it; All the Consequences of his Mission, Death, &c., must be ultimately referred to the Wisdom and Goodness of God, the Father of all Mercies.-Gal. i, 4. And this may, and should be done, without in the least Detracting from the proper Honour and Gratitude due to Christ, for his patient Assiduity in Promulgating, and his Exemplary Resignation in Finishing the glorious Commission. According to the New Testament, Through Christ alone, as the Means or Instrument, God has been Pleased to grant Remission of past Sin: But not Unconditionally. By a faithful OBSERVANCE of the Doctrines of Christ, in which Repentance, and the Moral Virtues, are eminently Included; we are reconciled unto God (i. e. to His righteous Government), and have a way opened to Eternal Life. The Notion, which some have adopted, that the shedding of the precious Blood of our Lord (a Fact which, from its circumstances, strongly Illustrated his meritorious Obedience to the Will of God, and his excessive love of Mankind), was alone a complete and sufficient Satisfaction for ever, for the Sins of All;-a Satisfaction in such a Sense as supposes that the Death of Christ has entirely destroyed the Effects of Sin, or * See Bishop Law's excellent Considerations on the Theory of Religion, note #, p. 281, fifth edit. A denomination further justified by his supernatural Conception. His Precepts are clear, made It no longer Imputable to Christians;-This must certainly be Erroneous:-" Forgiveness through Christ, is obtained, not at all for those who continue in Sin, but for "those only who forsake it*." Besides, if the Notion above were true, there could be no need, now, of his Intercession; the Divine Rule, that every Man shall finally be Judged according to his deeds, would be Nugatory; and the Injunction unnecessary, which teaches us to endeavour to work out our own Salvation with fear and trembling.—Philipp. ii, 12. In This most arduous Undertaking, the working out our own Salvation, we cannot be said to want Assistance, while we have the Gospel open unto us, and while the Grace of God, by various means, Co-operates with it. But, indeed, the Offices to which Christ has been raised, also afford us ground to hope for every Advantage that can reasonably be expected. He is properly called The Mediator; because he, by the Command of God (Who anciently appointed Moses to a similar but Inferior Charge), Transacted the great Business of the New Covenant between God and Man, and thus became, by the Will of his Father (1 John iv, 14), the Anointed Saviour of the World. Our Lord is Ordained Head of the Church; having (under God) an Exclusive Authority over it; and by his Intercession, we may without presumption suppose, that the great Antidote to sin, the heavenly Light of the Gospel increases, and will Increase amongst us. He may at all times be considered as the Representative of the Christian World, in the Presence of God (Heb. ix, 24), and we * Dr. Samuel Clarke. |