cried, saying, This is he of whom I spake, He that cometh after me, is preferred before me.'

66

"And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us. And we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth." This is the same, which, in other words, is said in divers texts of the New Testament. Matt. i. 20-23, " And she shall bring forth a Son, and thou shalt call his name Jesus. Now all this was done, that it might be fulfilled, which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying: Behold a virgin shall conceive, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which is, God with us." And John iii. 34, 35, "For he whom God hath sent, speaketh the words of God. For God giveth not the Spirit by measure unto him. The Father loveth the Son, and hath given all things into his hand." Col. 1. 19. "For it pleased the Father, that in him should all fulness dwell." And ch. ii, " In whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge." And ver. 19, "For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the godhead bodily."

"And we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father." As before hinted, it was not " the Word," which St. John and others beheld, but Jesus in whom the Word dwelled. Him they beheld: and his greatness was conspicuous; so that he appeared, and they knew him to be "the only begotten of the Father," or the Messiah.

66

"Only begotten Son." The phrase is again in John iii. 16 and 18. In our Lord's conference with Nicodemus, Only begotten," and "well beloved Son" are equivalent. This last is the phrase in several texts: as Matt. iii. 17, Mark i. 11, Luke iii. 22, Matt. xvii. 5, Mark ix. 7, Luke ix. 35. So Prov. iv. 3, " For I was my father's son, tender, and only beloved in the sight of my mother." Comp. 1 Chron. xxix. 1.

"The Christ," or " the Messiah," and "the Son of God," are equivalent in the new Testament. Matt. xvi. 16, Peter's applauded confession of our Lord's character is in these words: "Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God." So likewise John vi. 69. But in Mark viii. 29, it is: "Thou art the Christ of God." And Luke ix. 20," the Christ of God."

And that in the language of the Jews the titles of Messiah and Son of God are the same, may be seen in Matt. xxvi. 63, and Luke xxii. 66, 70. But now I shall argue it more particularly from St. John's gospel, ch. i. 34-49. John the Baptist bears testimony to Jesus under several charac

ters, all equivalent to that of the Messiah. "And I saw," says he," and bare record, that this is the Son of God. Again, the next day after John stood, and two of his disciples. And looking upon Jesus as he walked, he saith: Behold the Lamb of God." These disciples are convinced: “ one of them, which heard John, was Andrew, Simon Peter's brother. He first findeth his own brother Simon, and saith unto him: We have found the Messias. Philip findeth Nathanael, and saith unto him: We have found him, of whom Moses in the law and the prophets did write, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph." Nathanael likewise, after some hesitation, is convinced, and makes a like profession, saying: "Rabbi, thou art the Son of God, thou art the King of Israel."

All these pious men, acquainted with the scriptures of the Old Testament, upon the ground of John's testimony, and their own conversation with Jesus, under somewhat different appellations, but of one and the same meaning, acknowledge Jesus to be the Christ. See also John ix. 35, 36, and 1 John v. 1, 5.

The Jews, it is likely, had learned this title and character of the Messiah from Ps. ii. 7, 12. And see 2 Sam. vii. 14.

When Jesus was baptized, he was solemnly and publicly declared to be the Messiah. "There came a voice from heaven, saying: This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased." After which having been led up of the Spirit into the wilderness, the tempter, when he came to him, said: "If thou be the Son of God," that is, If indeed thou art the Son of God, or the Christ," command that these stones be made bread."

I would now endeavour to show, upon what accounts Jesus is in the scriptures said to be "the Son of God."

Sonship is a term of nearness, dearness, and affection. In general, Jesus is the Son of God, or eminently so, as he is, so far as we know, the person in all the world most dear to God the Father. To be more particular.

1. Jesus is the Son of God, upon account of his miraculous conception and birth.

Luke i. 31–35, “ An angel appeared to Mary, and said unto her Fear not, Mary. For thou hast found favour

Il y a simplement dans le Grec, si vous êtes Fils de Dieu,' sans article. On ne laisse pas de l'ajoûter. Car le miracle, que le diable exige de J. C. montre, qu'il ne s'agit pas de savoir, si Jésus est enfant de Dieu,' mais s'il est le Fils de Dieu,' par excellence, c. a. d. le Messie. Lenfant sur Matt. iv. 3.

with God. And behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and shalt bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name Jesus. He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest. The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee. Therefore also that holy thing, which shall be born of thee, shall be called the Son of God." A like history of our Saviour's nativity is in the first chapter of St. Matthew's gospel.

2. Jesus is the Son of God, upon account of the especial commission given him by the Father, and the extraordinary qualifications bestowed upon him in order to his fulfilling

it. John x. 36, "Say ye of him, whom the Father has sanctified, and sent into the world, Thou blasphemest, because I said, I am the Son of God?"

When our Lord was baptized, "the Spirit of God descended like a dove, and rested upon him," Matt. iii. 16. Mark i. 10. Luke iii. 21, 22. And John i. 32-34, " And John bare record, saying: I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and it abode upon him. And I saw, and bare record, that this is the Son of God." And ch. iii. 34, says John the Baptist again: "God giveth not the Spirit by measure unto him." Is. xi. 1-3, " And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a branch shall grow out of his root. And the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge, and of the fear of the Lord. And shall make him of quick understanding in the fear of the Lord." Comp. Isa. xlii. 1-4. chap. Ixi. 1-3, and Matt. xii. 17, and Luke iv. 18, 19.

By virtue of this most plentiful and extraordinary communication of the Spirit," without measure," or " the indwelling of the Father's fulness in him," as the same thing is at other times expressed, or his being" in the bosom of the Father," and acquainted with all his counsels, Jesus knew the whole will of God concerning the salvation of men, and spoke the words of God with full authority, and wrought miracles of all kinds whenever he pleased, and knew the thoughts and characters of men, and things at a distance, and things to come.

3. Jesus is the Son of God, upon account of his resurrection from the dead, on the third day, to die no more.

Rom. i. 3, 4, "Concerning his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, which was made of the seed of David, according to the

flesh and declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead." And Heb. i. 6, "When he bringeth in the first-begotten into the world, he saith: And let all the angels of God worship him." Which some have understood of our Lord's coming into the world at his nativity. But more generally interpreters have understood it of our Lord's entering into his glory, and taking possession of his kingdom after his resurrection. Which brings me to another thing.

4. Jesus is the Son of God, on account of his exaltation to God's right hand, and being invested with authority and dominion over all flesh, and constituted Judge of the world, by whom God will pass sentence upon all mankind.

John iii. 35, "The Father loveth the Son, and hath given all things into his hand." Chap. v. 21, 22, “The Father judgeth no man, but hath committed all judgment unto the Son, that all men should honour the Son, even as they honour the Father." Heb. i. 1, 2, "God- -has in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he has appointed heir" or lord "of all things." Ch. iii. 5, 6," Moses verily was faithful in all his house, as a servant-But Christ as Son over his own house."

5. Another token of the especial love of the Father for Jesus Christ, as his own Son, is the pouring out of abundance of spiritual gifts, though in different degrees, upon his apostles, and all who believed in him, after his resurrec

tion.

John i. 32-34, " And John bare record, saying: I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove. And it abode upon him. And I knew him not. But he that sent me to baptize with water, the same said unto me: Upon whom thou shalt see the Spirit descending, and remaining, the same is he, which baptizeth with the Holy Ghost. And 1 saw, and bare record, that this is the Son of God." Comp. Matt. iii. 11. Mark i. 8. Luke iii. 16.

John vii. 37-39, " In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood, and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come to me, and drink. He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water. This spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive: for the Holy Ghost was not yet given, because that Jesus was not yet glorified."

Acts xi. 15, 16, " And as I began to speak, the Holy Ghost fell on them, as on us at the beginning. Then re

membered I the word of the Lord, how that he said, John indeed baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost." See Acts i. 5, and ii. 1-36.

Gal. iv. 6, "And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father."

Eph. iv. 8-11, "When he ascended up on high, he gave gifts unto men: and he gave some apostles, and some prophets, and some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers,"

Upon all these accounts, and not only upon account of his miraculous conception and birth, is Jesus "the Son of God." The texts alleged under each particular sufficiently show that they are all justly mentioned, and that none of them ought to be omitted.

There are some expressions in St. Luke's history of our Lord's nativity of a virgin mother, which show the truth of this observation. They likewise manifestly show, that it is in respect to his humanity, and the dignity conferred upon it, that he has the title of " the Son of God." The expressions, which were partly alleged before, are exceedingly remarkable." And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary; for thou hast found favour with God. And behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and shall bring forth a son; and thou shalt call his name Jesus. He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest. And the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David. And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever. of his kingdom there shall be no end," Luke i. 33.

And

The

Upon all the fore-mentioned accounts, then, and his transcendent greatness, Jesus is "the Son of God." And all these things may be supposed to be comprehended in that expression, Heb. i. 9, "Thou hast loved righteousness, and bated iniquity; therefore God, even thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows." words are a quotation from Ps. xlv. 7, and seem to have been originally intended of Solomon, who by divine choice and designation was preferred before his brethren," 1 Chron. xxviii. 5. But they are also fitly applied to the Messiah; who has been greatly distinguished, and highly honoured above his brethren: meaning men, of whose nature he partook, Heb. ii. 14-16, or prophets, who had the Spirit in a due, but less measure, bestowed upon them.

All these prerogatives has God the Father, in his unsearchable wisdom, conferred upon Jesus of Nazareth, whom he chose and appointed to be the Messiah: who is also the