DISCOURSE L.

PART IV.

WHEREFORE God alfo hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name; that at the name of Jefus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; and that every tongue should confefs that Jefus Chrift is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. In these words the Apoftle fets before us the exceeding great glory to which God the Father exalted Chrift, as the end and reward of his great humility and fufferings: words which very well deferve our serious attention and confideration, as inftructing us in the true reason, and discovering to us the true foundation of the honour and worship and glory, which the Chriftian church has ever, and ftill continues to give and pay to our bleffed Lord.

There is indeed a difficulty in conceiving how any acceffion of glory or honour fhould be made to him, who was, before his coming into the world, in the form of God, and, as fuch, was in poffeffion of the majefty and glory belonging to the form of God; and yet the Apostle's argument feems to fup

pose an acceffion of honour to be made to him upon his exaltation, as the reward of his humility and obedience. For thus the argument ftands; Jefus Chrift, who was in the form of God, and in poffeffion of divine glory, laid afide the divine glory, and took upon him the form of a fervant, being made in the likeness of men; and, appearing as mere man, he submitted to death, even the death of the cross: wherefore God, as a reward to his humility, has more highly exalted him, (for fo the original word fignifies,) and given him a name above every name, This glory therefore, according to the strain of the Apoftle's reasoning, ought to be a more excellent, glory than the firft glory; for, if God gave him nothing but what he had a right to, according to the very excellency and dignity of his nature, how did he reward his humility? To exalt a man for his hu mility, is to raise him to a station above what he had before his humility: according to parity of rea fon, therefore, the glory to which Chrift was exalted, as a reward to his humility, ought to be a greater glory, than that which he had before his humility.

But how can these things be? you will fay: how can he, who is the brightness of his Father's glory, the exprefs image of his perfon, how can he be exalted in glory? or, what greater glory can we conceive than the glory of the only-begotten of the Father? especially confidering that Chrift himself, in praying for glory for himself, prays for no other glory than that which he had before the world was: And now, Q Father, glorify thou me with thine own felf, with the glory which I had with thee before the world was, John xvii. 5.

To fet this matter in a true light, you must confider, that the glories of nature and the glories of office are very different and diftinct glories; that the Apostle, in the place before us, fays nothing of nature or effence; he speaks of the Perfon Jefus Chrift, and confiders him as the fame Person in all his different ftates of glory, humility, and exaltation: the fame nature which he had being in the form of God, the fame he had in his state of humiliation, and now has in his ftate of exaltation: fo that the Apoftle does not confider him, in his exaltation, as having an higher nature, or greater natural powers and dignities, than he had before his exaltation; and it would indeed be very abfurd to fuppose he did; for the exaltation of any person does not confift in a change of nature, or natural powers, but in acquired honours and authority. When a man is raised to be a king, he is still a man, has ftill the natural powers of a man, without increase or diminution, though he receives new honour and new authority.

The Apoftle's argument then does not infer that the natural powers and dignities of Chrift Jefus were increased, or that they were capable of being increased; but only that, in confequence of the redemption, God put all things immediately under him, making him head over all, and confequently entitled him to that worship, and those honours, which were not before paid to him. Chrift Jefus was indeed fubfervient to his Father in the creation of the worlds: By him all things were made, and without him was not any thing made that was made, John i. 3. And yet the worship and honour which

flow from the relation of the creature to the Creator always were paid, and ftill are paid, to the Father; for the evidence arifing from the works of nature lead to the acknowledgment of one, and but of one, great Being; and therefore there could be no pretence of setting up another, either in oppofition or conjunction with him, to be an object of worship: but when Christ undertook and completed the redemption of the world, then it was thought proper to make known the glory which he had before the worlds began; that we might know that we were to expect falvation from a hand that was able to fave, and that the honour and duty owing to him who made us, and to him who redeemed us, might be confiftent: for when Chrift purchased mankind at the price of his own blood, they became his by the ftricteft bonds of juftice and gratitude; there arofe a new relation between the Redeemer and the redeemed, and the duty and worship and honour, which flow from that relation, are immediately owing to Chrift Jesus.

Thus Chrift, having perfected the redemption of the world, was by the Father made Lord of all things: all things were put in fubjection under him, and the head of every man is Chrift: we are no longer our own, but Chrift's, being bought with a price, even with the precious blood of the Son of God. This is the Scripture account of the matter, almoft in Scripture words: and you fee here is no room to fpeculate about nature or effence, or to fuppose that Chrift, before his exaltation, was lefs honourable, as to his nature and effence; any more than there is room to fuppofe that God was lefs ho

nourable, as to his nature, before the creation, because at the creation the fons of God fung together for joy, and paid new honours and adorations to the great Creator.

Having, I hope, removed this difficulty, I shall proceed to confider the doctrine of the text, in the following method:

First, That the power and authority exercised by Christ Jefus, in and over the church of God, are derived from this exaltation: and confequently,...

Secondly, That the honour and worship paid to Christ, in and by the church of God, are founded in this exaltation.

Thirdly, That the power and authority exercised by Chrift, and the honour and worship paid to Christ, are, and ought to be, ultimately referred to the glory of God the Father.

These propofitions are fo evidently contained in the words of the text, as to be fubject to no doubt in the explication: but it may be of fervice to fhew that the doctrine is agreeable to, and is confirmed by, the whole tenor of Scripture.

First, I am to fhew you, that all power and authority, exercised by Christ Jefus in and over the church of God, are derived from this exaltation.

And the first authority which I fhall produce, in confirmation of this propofition, is a very great one, .even that of our bleffed Lord himself; who, after his refurrection, and not long before his afcenfion, appeared to his difciples, and gave them a folemn commiffion to teach and baptize in his name: but, before he gave them commiffions, he did, as it were, -open his own, which was the foundation of theirs: