the house of David, until a child is born of a virgin, in a miraculous manner, who would be God himself, Immanuel: and, as there was not fuch a miraculous child in his kingdom, he might reft fecure, that the fceptre fhould not depart fo foon from the royal line. Thus, his alarms, concerning the houfe of David, are quieted, in hearing the prophecy foretelling a miraculous birth, which was to happen at a dif tant period. There ftill remained another doubt, viz. whether the confederate kings would take Jerufalem, befieged by fuch powerful forces? and this the prophet removed, by telling him, that his own child fhould not be of age to difcern good from evil, before the two kings would be cut off. Between Immanuel and Maher-fhalal-hashbas there is not the leaft connexion. The first fignifies, in Hebrew, " God with us :" the fecond fignifies, "haften to take the fpoils; make "hafte to take the prey." The one is conceived by a virgin the other is the fruit of connubial ties and the prophet exprefly declares it f. Upon this occafion, we do not read, that he married a fecond wife: neither was polygamy familiar to auftere perfons of the prophetic profeffion and the third verse, of the * Mentioned, chap. viii. verfe 4. feventh feventh chapter, abfolutely precludes a ftate of virginity, whereas the prophet is commanded. to go with his fon to meet the king and this fon must be older than Maher-fhalal-hafhbas. The prophecy, then, relates to two different perfons,-Immanuel and Maher-fhalal-hashbas;" two different objects,—the excision of the royal line of David, and the reduction of Jerufalem; two different events and figns,-the raising of the fiege, and the defeat of the two confederate kings, which was to be accomplished speedily, before the prophet's child could cry to his father and mother and the other, I mean the total extinction of the Jewith regal authority, when the fceptre was to be wrested from David's defcendants, and lodged in the hands of the Effenian kings, under the protection of the Romans, about the time of Immanuel's birth, "who is God above all, and bléffed for ever." Should any doubt ftill remain, concerning this famous prophecy, faith is the firm anchor that ought to fix the doubts of a fluctuating mind and humility fhould be fo far prevalent, as to induce us to prefer the opinion of an inspired writer before our own. We must renounce the scriptures, or acknowledge that an evangelift is a more competent judge of a prophet's meaning than we can pretend to be. After After wading through thofe difficulties, I shall not fwell my page with all the passages quoted in your book, to prove Chrift's humanity I allow them all. But what are we to do with all the texts that prove his Divinity? "The Alpha and Omega." "The beginning " and end." 66 My Father and I are one." "The firft and the laft." "A God manifested "in fleth a God mortified in flefh." "God was the Word." Supreme worship due to God alone." Let all the angels of God adore "him." Eternal generation. "This day I have "begotten thee." The exprefs appellation of a God, and his fovereign dominion. "Unto the "Son he faith, Thy throne, O God, is for ever "and ever," &c. &c. &c. To elude the texts that affert his Divinity, you take refuge in a vain diftinction of two characters in which Chrift appeared, -the one private, the other public: a man, in his private character; an ambaffador or meffenger of God, in his public miniftry, by fhewing his credentials, and affuming the title of God, in quality of an ambassador. I appeal to the judgment of the public, if this be not fporting with words, and perverting the ufe of language. In the most folemn negociations between monarchs, do their ambassadors or envoys arrogate to themselves the title of kings? And in the the most authentic ratifications of treaties, do not they fign in their masters names? Has any of them the prefumption to pass for the fon of his master? When Chrift faid to his difciples, "As my living Father has fent me, so I send you." When St. Paul faid, "We are Chrift's "ambaffadors," did either he or any of the apoftles fay, "I am Chrift,-Chrift and I are "one. Whatever Chrift does, I do in like man"ner. I am before Abraham. I am before all "things? When, by way of allufion, the title of God is given to any mortal in the fcriptures, the limitations and restrictions, under which it is given, evidently preclude an indifputable claim to fuch an awful title. It is a gift beftowed with a parfimonious hand. "I have made thee the God "of Pharaoh," fays the Almighty to Mofes. This word, Pharaoh, limits and circumfcribes the power of the deified mortal, and evinces a precarious title. I have faid ye are Gods, but the addition of the following words, ye shall die, clears up the prophet's meaning. Befides, this appellation is given by fome others: no perfon affumes it himself. Chrift declares, that he is the Son of God, the fame with his Father. In his perfon, all the lineaments of the Divinity are united. Prophecies and oracles, predicting "that God himself will come to fave us," are applied applied to him. He declares himself to be the fame and St. Paul affirms, that he thought it no ufurpation to be equal to the Moft High. In vain, then, is it alleged, that Christ and his apostles applied these oracles and paffages to the Son of God, in a figurative manner, or, to ufe the term of the schools, in an accommodate fense. Lucifer himself, who attempted " to raise his "throne above the clouds, and make himself like unto the Moft High," could not have used a more impious and blafphemous figure, than to ufurp the name and attributes of the fovereign Being; to require the fame homage, adoration, and love, that are due to the Divinity. "He that loves father and mother more than tr me, is not worthy to be my difciple." "Whoever loves his foul more than me is not "worthy to be my difciple." Did mortal before ever ufe fuch words. All other figures and allegories are explained in fome part of fcripture, or wrapped up in mysterious clouds, to be difpelled by the brightnefs of eternal day, after exercifing our belief: but, with regard to the Divinity of Chrift, if it be a figure, it is a metaphor continued through a long chain of prophecies and oracles, without the leaft explication to unfold its myfterious fenfe, |