nifestation in the flesh was so great a mystery, his essential nature must be an infinite mystery; and that I ought therefore to admit of so great a mystery on the authority of scripture, without inquiring "How can these things be?" Another portion of scripture which afforded me peculiar satisfaction was this, "His Son, Jesus Christ; this is the true God, and eternal life." 1 John v. 20. I found also a considerable measure of satisfaction in my mind from John x. 33, which is an inference the Jews made from Christ's calling God his Father, "that thou being a man, makest thyself God." I concluded that the appellation Son belonged to him as God, and was implied in what he had declared of himself; for his enemies reckoned him a blasphemer, for making himself God, which they concluded only from his calling God his father: nor does he blame them for so interpreting his words. He does not deny that he made himself God, or that the words which he had spoken conveyed the sentiment that he was God; but his reply to them rather confirms that to be his meaning; verses 36, 37, 38. Heb. vii. 28; and not that the office of High Priest made him the Son. And further, considering several other scriptures in their connexion, which speak of Christ as the Son of God, I conceived that he is sometimes so called as God and man, on account of the near relation and union of the two natures in his person; and that therefore he is so called, in reference to his offices, to set forth his infinite ability for his offices and work. Christian O In this manner, reader, my mind is become, through mercy, settled and satisfied, and admits that great is the mystery of godliness. And I humbly think that it is better for us to receive such deep things on the authority of scripture, than to attempt to comprehend by the strength of reason what is infinite and incomprehensible; lest by aiming to pry into what is not revealed, we should be broken with an incurable breach. let us recollect the sin of Uzza, and the breach which the Lord made upon him, 1 Chron. xiii. 9, 10. Let us also not forget what happened to the men of Beth-Shemesh, 1 Sam. vi. 19; and at the same time, think of My attention was also turned God's warning to the people by to Matt. xxviii. 19, "Baptizing Moses, Exod. xix. 21, " And the them in the name of the Father, Lord said unto Moses, Go down, and of the Son, and of the Holy charge the people, lest they Ghost." I considered that bap-break through unto the Lord, tism was enjoined as an act of to gaze, and many of them pedivine worship, and was to be rish." administered in the name of all the divine Persons, or, the Trinity; and that in the words of administration, Christ is called the Son, as an object of divine worship, and as equal with the Father and the Holy Ghost. It is also declared that the Son is made a High Priest, 2. That Christ was a man, appears from the following scriptures: Rom. ix. 5, "Of whom as concerning the flesh, Christ came;" Luke xxiv. 39, "Handle me, and see, for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see me have;" 1 Tim. ii. 5, "The man Christ Jesus;" 1 Cor. xv. 21, "By man also came the resurrection of the dead ;" and 47, "The second man is the Lord from heaven." Observe further, some things are spoken of Christ in the scriptures which relate to him as God; means conceive properly, that God received an adequate ransom, or that justice was fully satisfied. WISG WEN. and at other times, things which REMARKS ON GRATITUDE. apply to him as man; and not unfrequently things which belong to him as God and man. Those things which belong to him as Mediator and Saviour, regard him, in my view, chiefly as God and man; as when his active and passive obedience are mentioned, or what he has done and suffered towards bringing in everlasting righteousness for the justification of sinners. It was necessary that Christ should be a man : I. Because the law being given to man, and requiring obedience from him, it was necessary that the obedience it demanded should be rendered to it in the nature of man; and as man was become a transgressor of the law, under its curse, and bound to suffer its penalty, it was necessary that he who should undertake his deliverance by a vicarious sacrifice, should be himself a man; and therefore Christ took upon him the human nature, Heb. ii. 16. II. It was necessary he should be God. (1.) To uphold the human nature in the work, and carry it through, against all opposition. Of all the emotions of which the human mind is susceptible, those of gratitude are the most delightful. A proper sense of benefits conferred on ourselves, produces a felicity that exceeds the power of description; and an act of kindness rendered by us to others, meets with an ample recompense, as well in the pleasure we take in conferring it, as in the perception that a suitable sense of it is entertained by them. Gratitude differs from affection. They are often united, but may exist separately. The former supposes a favour conferred; the latter, the existence of some excellence in its object. If a man assist me in a time of difficulty, I am bound to acknowledge his assistance. He may in his general character be an enemy to God and man, yet his kindness to me demands a grateful return. I ought to love the man who possesses moral excellence, although I am under no obligation to him; because he resembles the supreme Being, whose moral beauty demands the affection of all intelligent creatures. Unless this be admitted, self-love must be our governing principle, instead of the love of God. But religion, while it requires us to pay a suit (2.) To give infinite value to his obedience; for perfect satisfaction could not have been yielded to infinite justice, if he who gave this satisfaction had not possess-able regard to our own happiness, ed an infinite nature; and if we requires us to devote our supreme do not consider that the divinity affection to God for what he is of Christ gave value to his work, in himself, and to spend all our but merely assisted and supported powers in the promotion of his his humanity, we can by no glory. Gratitude and love are united, and have full exercise, in | be ready to say, that had there the Christian religion, which dis- been a repetition of the siege, covers the infinite amiableness of they ought to have felt all the Him from whom we have re-evils of capture. We easily perceived innumerable benefits, and who continually gives us richly all things to enjoy. It is said, that most of the works of the Pagan poets either were hymns immediately addressed to their supposed deities, or tended indirectly to the celebration of their perfections. How much more ought we to celebrate the glories of the Father of mercies! Ingratitude is a crime at which our minds revolt: it awakens our indignation and disgust, in a degree proportioned to our ideas of the obligation. Every one who reads the history of Joseph, must feel indignant at the ingratitude of the chief butler: "Think on me," said Joseph, "when it shall go well with thee, and show kindness, I pray thee, unto me, and make mention of me unto Pharaoh, and bring me out of this house." A request so modest and impressive, founded upon so much personal kindness, might surely have prevented his forgetfulness: "Yet did not the chief butler remember Joseph, but forgat him," Gen. xl.; and he was left to linger two years longer in prison. Alas, what an ungrateful and selfish creature is man! When we read, "There was a little city, and few men within it; and there came a great king against it, and besieged it, and built great bulwarks against it; now there was found in it a poor wise man, and he by his wisdom delivered the city; yet no man remembered the same poor man," Eccles. ix. 14, 15; -we are disgusted at the ingratitude of the citizens; and did not the religion of Christ teach us to render good for evil, we should ceive the propriety and force of Scipio's address to the Roman Tribunes, when they treated him with disrespect; "Do you think that your clamours can intimidate me? Me, whom the fury of your enemies never daunted? Is this the gratitude you owe to my father Paulus, who conquered Macedonia, and to me? Without my family, you would have been slaves. Is this the respect you owe your deliverers? Is this your affection?" If gratitude is due from man to man, how much more must it be due from man to his Maker! and when exercised towards him, it elevates the soul, and inspires it with the most exalted ideas of his character. Thus gratitude and affection, exercised towards God, promote and strengthen each other. To be distinguished by the kindness of him who is altogether lovely, must necessa rily increase our sense of that kindness: and this again will enkindle in our breasts warmer and more devout affection. Contemplating his beauty and goodness, as displayed in the works of nature, providence, and grace, we must say, with feelings of peculiar delight, "Bless the Lord, O my soul; and all that is within me, bless his holy name." Base, however, as ingratitude is, we are very prone to it; and the more numerous our obligations, the more apt we are to forget them. Every condition of life has its snares; but, through the evil of our nature, none is so dangerous as prosperity. "When the Lord thy God shall have brought thee into the land which he sware unto thy fathers, to became insolent, and when reproved by the prophets, or corrected by the Lord himself, was fired with indignation, and “ revolted more and more." Deut. xxxii. 15. Such conduct could not pass unpunished. Jehovah brought on that nation the judgments which he had threatened; and they still remain an example of his just dis titude. While we observe the effects of this evil in them, we have great reason to guard against it in ourselves. Pride, love of the Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give thee great and goodly cities which thou buildedst not, and houses full of good things which thou filledst not, and wells digged which thou diggedst not, vine-yards and olive-trees which thou plantedst not; when thou shalt have eaten and be full; then beware lest thou forget the Lord, who brought thee forth out of Egypt, from the house of bond-pleasure against the sin of ingra. age." Deut. vi. As though the Lord had said, "Do not be intoxicated with your prosperity, nor suffer yourselves to forget your cruel service under Pha-world, and forgetfulness of God, raoh. You will not get the goodly land in possession by your own sword, neither will your own arm save you; but my right hand, and my arm, and the light of my countenance, because I have a favour unto you. Be humble, therefore, and say, A Syrian ready to perish was my father, and he went down into Egypt, and sojourned there with a few, and became there a nation great, mighty, and populous; and the Egyptians evil-entreated us, and afflicted hard and laid us, bondage; and when we cried unto the Lord God of our fathers, the Lord heard our voice, and looked on our affliction, and our labour, and our oppression, and hath brought us into this place, and hath given us this land, even a land that floweth with milk and honey.' Deut. xxvi. Cultivate the feelings of gratitude, therefore, and remember the Lord thy God; for He it is that giveth thee power to get wealth, and without his favour thou wouldest have been mean and contemptible." Notwithstanding these admonitions, Jeshurun waxed fat and kicked: he forsook God who made him, and lightly esteemed the Rock of his salvation; he upon us spring up spontaneously in our evil hearts; and when these noxious weeds are manured by outward prosperity, they become luxuriant in their growth, and destructive in their influence. The man who thought himself thankful to God for his homely food and decent apparel, has become awfully insensible in a change of circumstances: he has ascribed his wealth to his own industry; his elevation to his own prudence and foresight; he has looked with indifference on his former friends, and has felt no heart to do good with his abundance. When poor, he could occasionally contribute for the relief of the afflicted and distrest ; but now his heart is evidently set upon his riches, and in the fulness of sufficiency he is in straits. Pitiable man! thou hadst better have remained poor, have lived and died in obscurity! But stay, my soul! is there no likeness between this character and thy own? Examine thyself impartially. To whatever degree such likeness prevails, it is dishonourable to God, and highly injurious to thy happiness. If gratitude denotes a sense of favours conferred, by which the posses sor is induced to make all the return in his power, it is ingratitude to receive favours without acknowledging, or endeavouring to repay them. If thanks to our benefactor are the natural effect of gratitude, which cannot be denied; then our thanksgiving to God should bear some proportion to the innumerable blessings we receive from him. It is said of Hezekiah, that he rendered not again according to the benefit done unto him, 2 Chron. xxxii. 25; implying, that had he been suitably impressed with a sense of the Divine goodness, he would have offered proportionate praise. Do we not then stand reproved? Goodness and mercy have followed us all our days; the Lord has been mindful of us; and has blessed us with all things necessary for life and godliness; yet how insensible have we been! Not that any thing done by us can be an adequate return for his distinguished kindness; but where there is a grateful sense of it, it will be humbly acknowledged; and though we cannot raise an equal song, we shall earnestly strive to promote his glory. We ought to examine ourselves by this rule, and endeavour to awaken those lively emotions, which will afford an intellectual and spiritual feast. them to our own excellency; but do we not too often receive them with dull insensibility, and like the Israelites of old apply them to sinful purposes?" She did not know," that is, did not properly consider, " that I gave her corn, and wine, and oil, and multiplied her silver and gold, which they prepared for Baal.” Hos. xi. 8. Let us guard against this stupidity, remember our perpetual dependance on God, and offer incessant thanks to him for supplies of daily food. But how great must be our obligations for spiritual and eternal favours! "Behold what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God!" When we contemplate the holiness, the justice, and the beneficence of the Divine character; together with our own guilt, vileness, and misery; the number and magnitude of spiritual blessings; and the medium through which they are bestowed;-our minds are overwhelmed; we feel the inability of mortal tongues to speak immortal love! Who and what are we, or what have we done, that the Almighty should thus distinguish us? What ineffable love, thus to redeem, regenerate, adopt, and save such worthless worms! such polluted It is delightful to survey the and guilty rebels!" He raiseth Divine goodness; it raises and up the poor out of the dust, and animates the mind, and begets lifteth up the beggar from the esteem and veneration to our gra-dung-hill, to set them amongst cious Benefactor. It is much to princes, and to make them inherit be lamented that we, who receive the throne of glory. This hoso many mercies, should be back-nour have all the saints." If we ward to magnify him from whom are properly affected with this they came. Temporal favours inexpressible goodness, we shall would always excite our thankful devote ourselves, and all we have, adoration to God, did we recollect to the glory of God; nothing on how miserable would be our cir- earth will be too dear to consecumstances should he withhold crate to his service; we shall them. We may not indeed ascribe count it our greatest happiness |