caufe the fame God was not only actually prefent at the Promulgation' of this laft-q mentioned Difpenfation, but the Matter which he made ufe of to give visible Tokens of his immediate Prefence, namely, their human Nature of Jefus Chrift was actually united to the divine

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But fuppofing that there had been an: innumerable Company of the heavenly Host attending upon almighty God at the Delivery of the Law upon Mount Sinai, as it hap pened when he gave Notice to the Shepherds of the Birth of the Meah, it appears from what I have been faying, that they could not have been vifible to the Ifraelites, with out firft clothing themfelves with fome Kind, of Matter of other; and any Matter that clothed them, might as properly be ftyled Angels, according to the original Sense of the Word, as any created Spiritual Beings. whatever, for Reasons which I have already fet forth. ss mat anebive de crite

I have been referring to all the Paffages: of Scripture which occurred to me, in order to fhew that the Interpretation which I have given of the Expreffion of the Angel of the Lord, is not a novel Conceit without. Foundation, but exactly agreeable to the Senfe

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Senfe of the whole Bible; and fhall now proceed to explain that other Expreffion of the Angel of Jefus Chrift: Which being of the very fame Kind, I fhall treat of it upon the very fame Principles.

The Expreffion of the Angel of Jefus Chrift, occurs no where but in Rev. i. 1. and xxii. 16. in the firft of which Paffages it is faid, that the Book which St. John was about to write was the Revelation of Jefus Chrift, which God gave unto him, to shew unto his Servants Things which must fhortly come to pafs; and he fent and fignified it by his Angel unto his Servant John: And in the last it is faid, "I Jefus have fent mine Angel to testify unto you thefe Things in the Churches." But notwithstanding it is faid fo expreffly in both thofe Paffages, that > it was the Angel of Jefus Chrift which appeared, yet it is altogether as certain, that he himself was actually present at the very fame time, as is evident from the Context; just in the fame manner as it was faid, that the Angel of the Lord appeared to the Father's, in the Paffages of which I have been treating, tho' it was the Lord himself that was prefent upon all thefe Occafions, as I have already made appear. 1

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The Meaning of all which is this, that Jefus Chrift, the Alpha and Omega, the firft and the laft, and confequently the one only Self-exifting and almighty Being, having a Design to give his beloved Disciple the last and fulleft Revelation of his Will, in refpect of his Difpenfations towards his Church in the laft Ages thereof, which had been foretold by his Servants the Prophets, in a manner lefs complete and perfect before; and at the same time, to give him likewise vifible Tokens of his more immediate Prefence with him, was obliged to clothe himfelf with Matter of fome Kind or other for that Purpose; because the Body, by means of which he became incarnate, was feated at that time at the Right-hand of God in Heaven, there to remain till the last! great Day.

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-Now this Matter which he took upon. him as aforefaid, is here ftyled his Angel, and agreeably hereto, St. John doth not fay in the Relation which he gives of this Tranfaction, Chap. i. 13. that it was actually the Son of Man, namely, the very Body of Chrift in which he became incarnate, which appeared to him, but only one like unto the Son of Man. The Godhead however was,

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it is evident, as much prefent under that Veil, as it was when God appeared to Mofes by the means of Fire, and to Joshua of an armed Man: For this Apparition not only styles himself by Titles peculiar to the Deity, as I have been just observing, but St. John paid thofe Acts of Adoration to him at the same time, which he could not have done, if God almighty had not been fo much present, as he was when Mofes paidActs of Adoration to the Fire, and Joshua to the Man, in the Cafes aforefaid. And, accordingly the fame St. John is forbidden to do the like, in regard of the Angel which fhewed him the Lamb, the Bride's Wife, namely, the New Jerufalem, as it stands recorded Chap. xxi. 9, &c. and xxii. 8. it being evident from the Text, that it was) one of the feven Angels which fhewed him of the Things relating to that City aforefaid, that he would have worshipped, and not the Angel of Jefus Chrift, the Alpha and Omega, the first and the last, as the Author of the Essay on Spirit would make us to believe*, for the want of his having given a due Attention to the Matters of Fact related in this Paffage; and at the fame time Reafon

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Reafon tells us, that if that Being, which is the firft and the laft, is not to be wor-fhipped, none other of any. Kind have a Right to demand any Acts of Adoration to be paid to them.

Having treated fo largely of these Subjects, I fhall, only offer a Conjecture, why the Holy Ghost, feeing it appears from what I have been saying, that the Lord or Jebovah, and the Angel of the Lord, are fynonimous Terms to exprefs one and the fame thing, fhould think fit to make use fometimes of the one, and fometimes of the other, in the manner as he hath done, and then conclude the firft Head which I propofed to fpeak unto.

Now here it must be obferved, that almighty God thought it neceffary, in the earlieft Ages of the World, to give frequent if not continual Tokens of his Prefence with Mankind, in fome certain Place or Places, fet apart for that Purpofe; as he did to the Ifraelites afterwards, when he formed their Constitution in Church and State, and became in a very peculiar manner their King, -appearing by the Shecinath upon the MercySeat of the Ark of the Covenant: For that he appeared frequently to the first Fathers,

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