with hope and joy. Others have made progrefs in the divine life and all the habits of grace are more confirmed, and all the fruits of their righteoufnefs increased. What immense bleffings are these to enkindle our love, and awake our praife? Faith indeed may look forward to the glorious days when all God's people fhall be righteous, when every destroyer fhall be cut off from his holy mountain, and the whole earth be filled with the knowledge and glory of the Lord. Nay, it may look further ftill, and contemplate that plenitude and eternity of happinefs which the faved fhall enjoy in his prefence, and further fee his glory and worthinefs to be praised. In these most comprchenfive views which we are able to obtain of the glorious Jehovah, let us unite now and eternally to praife him. Sing forth the honor of his name and make his praise glorious. Live as well as fpeak his praises.

you may die, or your dearest enjoyments may be removed into darknefs and filence; and that great changes may be made in the church of God. In thefe views praise him, by numbering your days in such a manner as to apply them all to wisdom. Praife him by an unreserved fubmiffion to his will with refpect to all events, whether profperity or affliction, life or death be appointed unto you. By an holy confidence in the divine power and goodness to support you under all your labors and trials, and to prepare you for all events. By this practice of piety and righteoufnefs, and by these exercises of faith, fubmiffion and hope, wait all the days of your appointed time until your change fhall come. By thus offering praise you will glorify God. For you to live will be Chrift; and if you fhall die in this, or any fu ture year it will be your eternal gain. Then, when Jefus fhall fay, Surely I come quickly, you will be Praise him with the united and prepared, in the language of the fupreme affections of your fouls.church, to re-echo to the folemn Praise him with the voice of your words, Amen. Even fo come Lord lips. Talk of his mighty acts, and Fefus. of the glorious majesty of his kingdom. Praise him by an imitation of his goodness; doing good to all men as ye have opportunity, and efpecially to the household of faith By loving the mount Zion which he hath loved; by the most spirited and perfevering exertions, the moft fervent and abundant prayers for the furtherance of the gofpel, and its greater profperity. Praife him by an univerfal obedience to his commandments in all your rela-views are falfe, we must of course tions and in all conditions: By ferious contemplations upon the vanity of man, and the exceeding mutability and uncertainty of all human things; and on what may be the events of the year which we have now begun : That this year

:

On the perfon of Jefus Chrift. ID the human foul of our Lord Jefus Chrift exist before his incarnation ?

D

Chrift is the author of falvation for our world, the object of the Chriftian faith. It is important to obtain just ideas of his perfections, that we may exercise suitable affections towards him. If our

have an erroneous faith, and erroneous affections. And as error produces error, it will have a pernicious influence, and may endanger our falvation. For thefe reafons, the holy fcriptures have very particularly revealed to us the per

dren, from infancy to maturity, are from a state of perfect ignorance, to a good degree of underftanding, by a regular and gradual progrefs; and the appearance entirely correfponds with the idea, that the foul began its existence no earlier than the body. It proves that it did not before this begin its existence as a foul-an intelligent nature, capable of intellectual improvements; for it is manifeft, that no fuch improvements have been made. The fcriptures do alfo fupport this idea. They teach us that men fhall be judged according to the deeds done here in the body. But if fouls exifted before their bodies, and were intelligent beings, they were virtuous or viciouswere moral and accountable agents, and of course amenable for other things than the deeds done here in the body; and therefore at the last day, merely thefe deeds, would not be the righteous ground of rendering judgment. Besides, men are confcious to themfelves of nothing before their refidence in the body: Which appears worthy of notice in determining the question, as it refpects men in general. Therefore fince men are not confcious of any pre-existent state of their fouls, and there is nothing done before their union with bod

1. Chrift Jefus is a perfect man, poffeffing all the qualities of a man in union with his divine nature. This is granted in the queftion; but if it were not granted, it is evident from the holy fcriptures. Mofes fpeaks of him as man, when he fays, "The Lord thy God will raife up unto thee a prophet, from the midst of thy brethren, like unto me." Ifaiah predicts, that he would be a man of forrows, and acquainted with grief. Paul calls him The man Christ Jefus; and tells us that he took not on him the nature of angels; but the feed of Abraham, and that it behoved him in all things to be made like unto his brethren. He often called himself The Son of Man; and his appearance in his birth, life, fufferings and death, as related by the evangelifts, declare him man. There is all the evidence of his being man that there is that any inhabitant of this world is a man. Therefore, unless there is fomething in the fcriptures to the con-ies either virtuous or vicious, which trary, we have no reafon to fufpect, but that his human foul and body began their existence, as to time, in the fame relation to each other, as the fouls and bodies of other men.

is to come into judgment, it does. not appear, that there are any ends to be answered by fuch pre-exiftence, which goes far to convince a rational mind, that there is no fuch thing. Further; The fcrip2. The pre-existence of the tures affert that Adam begat a fon fouls of men in general to their in his own likeness, after his imbodies is without evidence either age, and called his name Seth. from fcripture or reafon; and to This imports, that according to a believe it without evidence is ab- divine conftitution, Adam was the furd. Reafon and feripture both caufe of his existence. But the contradict the fuppofition. The body alone was not Seth, and was intellectual improvements of chil-not the principal thing belonging

It is only faid,

the child grew, and waxed strong in the Spirit, and the grace of God was upon him, and he increafed in wifdom, and ftature, and in favor with God and man. This fuggefts, that in early life, like other pious and diligent chil dren, he made a progreffive, tho'

to him in which he was in the im-recorded of him. age of his father. His foul his fuperior part was alfo in Adam's likeness and feems to have been the chief, or only thing intended in the expreffion. He was therefore equally the father of both. This inftance will doubtless apply to his pofterity in general. Thus we have no evidence of the pre-exist-more rapid increafe in wifdom and ence of fouls to their bodies in or- understanding; fo that at the age dinary cafes, many confiderations of twelve years he could undercontradict the fuppofition, and it ftand, and propofe pertinent quef is reasonable to conclude that there tions to the Jewish doctors. And was no fuch pre-exiflence. the reafon for this uncommon imgene-provement is given, The grace of God was upon him.'

3. If the fouls of men in ral begin their existence with their bodies, we have reafon to believe 4. The fcriptures acquaint us this of the fouls of all men, and with the reafons, why it was ne of the human foul of Jefus Chrift, ceffary, that Chrift fhould affume as well as of any other man, unless humanity. The reafons they af there is fome evidence, that in this fign are fufficient; and we have no refpect, he is an exception from right to fuppofe any others beyond the general conftitution of God in what are written. The fcriptures this matter. But what evidence are our only rule in matters of have we of any fuch exception? faith, and efpecially refpecting the It is true that the man Chrift Je- perfon and offices of Chrift. I fus was conceived in the womb of know of no reasons which they afthe virgin, in a fupernatural man- fign for his taking upon him the ner that he might be perfectly holy nature of man except the following, and without original taint. But That by his obedience and fufferit does not appear but that his ex-ings he might furnish a complete iftence as a creature began and redemption for, our finful race and was bro't to perfection, in all oth-know how by fympathy to fuccour er refpects, according to the ufual the tempted; that he might be our courfe of nature. His human example on earth, our judge at foul and body were fubject to all the last day, and the vifible head our infirmities which are not of a of the church in glory. The moral kind. The idea of the pre- whole hiftory of Chrift, all that is exiftence of his foul is very incon- faid of him by the Prophets, Evanfiftent with the hiftory of his ap-gelifts and Apoftles, it is conceivpearance in his infancy and child-ed, give us no account of any thing hood, as it is given us by the evan- that he has done, or is to do in gelifts. Had he appeared with all in the human nature, or which rethe acquirements of four thoufand quires humanity, except the above. years spent in the prefence of God Neither of thefe required the prein glory, even from the creation of existence of his human foul. the world, he would have afton-Thofe expiatory fufferings, by ifhed the world in his infancy, un- which he made atonement for fin, lefs be either loft or diffembled his did not commence till his incarnaattainments. But no fuch thing is tion. It was after he took upon

him the form of a fervant, that he became obedient unto death for our juftification; and it was after he had offered his vicarious facrifice for fins, that he fat down on the right hand of God, as the visible head of his church, awaiting the fubjection of his enemies. Therefore, fo far as appears, the only things for which the fcriptures tell us his humanity was neceffary, are fubfequent to his incarnation; and fo did not require the pre-existence of his human foul.

5. It is prefumed that the hiftory of Chrift's incarnation never fuggefted the idea of the pre-exiftence of his human foul. It was probably invented to fupport fome favorite fyftem; and being adopted, the fcriptures were narrowly fearched for fomething to fupport it. A number of texts and expreffions have been adduced; but none of them require the conftruction that has been impofed upon them for this purpofe. Some of them require a very different one to be confiftent with themselves, and all to be confiftent with the general tenor of the fcriptures on this fubject, which it is believed has been already ftated. Thefe paffages are few, and the principal ones will now be noticed.

at the name of Jefus, every knee fhould bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth."It is faid that this paffage muft refer only to the human foul of Chrift, because his divine nature could not be humbled and die; and that it refers to his human foul in a pre-existent ftate, when it was in the form of God; and that it must have been origin. ally in an exalted ftate, or it could not properly be faid to have been humbled, and to have taken the form of a fervant; and that his divine nature could not have been exalted in confequence of his humiliation, because it was always infinitely exalted.

That this objection may be anfwered, it is neceffary to premife, that the fcriptures do not speak of the divinity and humanity of Chrift as two perfons, but as two natures combined in one perfon. But the objection confiders thefe natures as two perfons, and derives all its apparent force from that confideration. The objection is at once removed, by admitting the fcriptural idea, that the fecond perfon in the facred Trinity has affumed humanity, and is one perfon fill. He humbled himself by condefcending to take upon him the fubordinate One paffage that is bro'tto prove office of a Mediator between God that the human foul of Chrift ex- and finners, by veiling his divinity ifted before he came in the flesh for a while with humanity in the is Philip. ii. 6-10. "Who being fight of creatures, by placing himin the form of God, tho't it not felf in the form of a fervant, by robbery to be equal with God: but obeying as one fubject to law, and made himself of no reputation, at length offering himself up as a and took upon him the form of a facrifice for fin. All which was fervant, and was made in the like-wro't in his own perfon, as God. nefs of men, and being found in and man united. This perfon was fashion as a man, he humbled him- afterwards exalted. His divinity felf, and became obedient unto was no longer shrouded by his hudeath, even the death of the crofs; manity. It became manifeft that in wherefore God hath highly exalt him dwelleth all the fulness of the ed him, and given him a name Godhead bodily. His humiliawhich is above every name that tion and fufferings had laid the

inevitably lead us to conclude that he never became man, but only a fuper-angelic nature incarnate. And the equality with God, af cribed to this created nature, would on Arian principles fuperfede the neceffity of a union with the uncreated Deity; and fo carry us the whole length of that dangerous herefy. This conftruction of the paffage goes to the denial both of his divinity and humanity, and is equally inconfiftent with the whole tenor of the fcriptures, and the fcheme which it is brought to fupport.

foundation for the whole of his own glory, in the office he had undertaken, as Mediator and King in Zion, and for a more tranfcendant manifeftation of divine glory than creatures had ever before feen; for the display of those perfections of wisdom, justice, mercy and faithfulness, which diftinguifh the gospel difpenfation above all the known works of God. God was manifest in the flesh, and feen of angels in this advanced glory, in confequence of his mediatorial work. And as Mediator, he is highly exalted and made head over all things to the church, whether they be things in heaven, or things in earth, or things under the earth, that under his direction they may contribute to his king-"And now, O Father, glorify dom of grace. And in this, as the brightness of the Father's glory, and the exprefs image of his perfon, he exhibits his perfections before angels and men.

But if this paffage, as is objected, related only to the human foul of Chrift, as diftinct from his divine nature, could it be faid to have been in the form of God? Would it not have been pride, arrogance and blafphemy to have claimed equality with God? Was it no more than man that was humbled? Did humanity only complete the great vicarious atonement which furnishes falvation for a world of finners? And is it to humanity only that every knee fhall bow in heaven and earth and un. der the earth? But this is the construction that must be put upon it, to make it fuppport the pre-exift ence of his human foul.-Befides, on the fuppofition that this was fpoken only of the human nature of our Lord, it would overthrowitfelf. It exhibits not an human, nor an angelic nature, but one unfpeakably above them both. It would

In anfwering the construction impofed upon this paffage, an anfwer is alfo furnished to a fimilar one, put upon John xvii. 5.

ye

thou me with thine own felf, with the glory which I had with thee before the world was." And to a like conftruction upon 2 Cor. viii. 9. "For know the grace of our Lord Jefus Christ, that tho' he was rich, yet he became poor." And upon John vi. 38. “I came down from heaven." The idea that the two natures of Chrift conftitute but one person, removes all objections, that are grounded upon any texts, which represent him in a ftate of humiliation.

It has been objected, that Chrift often rendered himself vifible before his incarnation, and therefore his human foul must then have exifted; for God is invifible. It may be replied, that fo alfo is the foul of man. It must have been as great a miracle for his foul to have become vifible, fuppofing it exifted, as for his divine nature to have produced a visible shape, or the fymbol of his prefence. Thefe appearances would fooner favor the pre-existence of a body, that is by nature visible, than of a foul. Therefore they must have