Christ, the same I, declares that he is one and the same with the Father, speaking of himself as God, and as to his divine nature; and that he is also inferior to his Father, speaking of himself as man, and as to his human nature; so that in these expressions is declared both that there is but one person in Christ, and that in this one person the two natures are united.

Q. 12. Does it appear from any other texts of Scripture that there are two natures in Christ, the divine and human natures?

A. Most evidently; for, as we have seen above, that Christ is both true God, and true man, all the texts which shew those two truths, shew that he has both the nature of God, and the nature of man: for, being true God, he must of necessity have the nature of God, and being true man, he must of necessity have the nature of man, since the being any thing, and the having the nature of that thing, is one and the self same.

Q. 13. Will this union of the divine and human natures in the person of Christ be ever dissolved?

A. It will never be dissolved; for the holy Scrip. ture assures us, that Jesus Christ, true God and true man, is " a priest for ever;" and that he is a King for ever;" that he will reign over his faithful, and over all his enemies, "for ever;" that all things are subjected to him, and that" of his kingdom there shall be no end." Thus, the Lord hath sworn, and he will not repent, thou art a priest for ever," Ps. cix. 4.; which St. Paul declares was said by God the Father to Christ, in these words: "So also Christ did not glorify himself to be made a high priest, but he that said to him, Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee," as he says also in another place, "Thou art a priest for ever," Heb. v. 5.; and a little af

ter adds, that Christ is make priest, "not according to the law of a carnal commandment, but according to the power of an indissoluble life; for he testifieth, Thou art a priest for ever," Heb. vii. 16. And with regard to his kingdom, Isaiah says, "A child is born to us, and a Son is given to us, and the government is upon his shoulders-His empire shall be multiplied, and there shall be no end of peace; he shall sit upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to establish it, and strengthen it with judgment and with justice, from henceforth and for ever," Is. ix. 6, 7. And Ezekiel, speaking of Christ's kingdom, says, " Thus saith the Lord God-and my servant David shall be king over them, and they shall have one shepherd-and David my servant shall be their prince for ever," Ezek. xxxvii. 24, 25. Hence the angel Gabriel says to the Blessed Virgin, "Thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS and the Lord God shall give him the throne of his Father David, and he shall reign in the house of Jacob for ever, and of his kingdom there shall be no end," Luke i. 31. The Jews themselves were very sensible of this truth, and therefore said, "We have heard out of the law that Christ abideth for ever," Jo. xii. 34. From all which St. Paul declares, that "Jesus Christ yesterday and to-day, he is the same for ever," Heb. xiii. 8.

Q. 14. Is the blessed Virgin truly and properly the mother of God?

A. Yes, she is truly and properly the mother of God; because she conceived in her womb, and brought forth, in due time, that Divine Person who is both true God and true man, as the angel declared to her, when he said "Thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and shalt bring forth a son-and

the Holy One which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God," Luke i. Now, to conceive and bring forth one is surely to be his mother. It is true the divinity of Jesus Christ was from all eternity, and as God he was begotten of the Father before all ages, without any mother; so that it cannot be said that the Blessed Virgin begot the divine nature of Jesus Christ. But this is nowise necessary to make her the mother of God; for our own mothers do not beget our souls, yet they are truly our mothers, both as to soul and body, because our souls, though created immediately by Almighty God, are united to our bodies in our mothers' womb, where we are conceived, and in due time brought forth by them. In like manner as the divine nature was united to the human nature in the person of Jesus Christ within the womb of the Blessed Virgin, and he who is true God, was conceived and born of her; this makes her, as here explained, truly and properly the mother of God. Hence St. Elizabeth, in-, spired by the Holy Ghost, gave her this sacred title, when she said, "Whence is this to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?" Luke i. 43.

CHAPTER VIII.

OF THE OFFICE AND DIGNITIES OF THE REDEEMER.

Q. 1. WHAT do you mean by the office of the Redeemer?

A. I mean all that Jesus Christ did, said, and suffered, for the Redemption of mankind, in quality of our Redeemer; which contains all the mys

teries of his birth, life, passion, death, resurrection, and ascension.

Q. 2. Where was our Saviour born?

A. In the stable of Bethlehem, of which the Scriptures give this account: "In those days there went out a decree from Cæsar Augustus, that the whole world should be enrolled. And all went to be enrolled, every one into his own city: And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and family of David, to be enrolled, with Mary his espoused wife, who was with child. And it came to pass, that, when they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered; and she brought forth her first-born son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn," Luke ii. 1.

Q. 3. When was our Saviour born?

A. On the twenty-fifth day of December, the most inclement season of the year.

Q. 4. What are we principally to observe in this account of the birth of Jesus?

A. First, The wonderful and over-ruling providence of God, which makes use of the very vices and passions of men to accomplish his own designs. Augustus Cæsar, the Roman Emperor, was moved by his pride and avarice to cause all his subjects to be numbered throughout his vast empire. In obedience to this decree, Joseph and Mary, who were living in Galilee, at a great distance from Bethlehem, the city of their family, came to that city to be numbered with their own family, just about the time of her being delivered; all which was so disposed by the divine Providence, in order to accomplish what had been foretold by the prophets, that Christ should be born in that city; "And thou,

Bethlehem, Ephrata, art a little one among the thousands of Judah; out of thee shall he come forth unto me, that is to be the ruler in Israel,” Mich. v. 2.

Secondly. The infinite love of Jesus Christ to us in beginning at so early a period, even at his very first entrance into the world, to suffer for us, and to give us, in his most tender infancy, the most perfect example of poverty, humility, and mortification; those darling virtues of his, which he knew were so necessary for us to practise, in order to cure all the spiritual maladies of our soul.

Q. 5. How did he practise these virtues at his birth?

A. He practised humility, in being rejected by all the rich and great ones in Bethlehem, none of whom would admit his Virgin Mother to their houses, nothwithstanding her condition of being great with child, which obliged her to take up her abode in a stable, where he chose to be born. He practised poverty, in ordering matters so by his divine Providence, that he should be born at a distance from the place where his mother dwelt, and on that account be deprived of all these conveniences which the poorest people have on such occasions; so he chose to be born in a stable instead of a palace, and laid in a manger instead of a soft bed. He practised mortification, in being exposed to much pain from the inclemency of the weather at that cold season, from the open stable in which he was born, and the hard manger in which he was laid.

Q. 6. What became of him after he was born? A. In his infancy he was circumcised, in obedience to the law, Luke ii. 21. He discovered himself to the shepherds by an embassy of angels from heaven, to shew that he came to be the Saviour of the Jews, Luke ii. 9. He afterwards