thou knoweft that I love thee. He faith unto him, Feed my lambs. He faith to him again a fecond time, Simon fon of Jonas, lovest thou me? He faith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knoweft that I love thee. He faith unto him, Feed my sheep. He faith unto him the third time, Simon fon of Jonas, loveft thou me? Peter was grieved because he said unto him the third time, Lovest thou me? And he faid unto him, Lord, thou knoweft all things; thou knowest that I love thee. Jefus faith unto him, Feed my fhe p," John xxi. 14, 15, 16, 17. A charge attended by fuch circumftances, and repeatedly conveyed in fuch terms, muft neceffarily have been deeply impreffed on the memory of Peter, who was grieved that he who knew all things should think it neceffary to renew it a third time. That Peter should therefore ever afterwards confider the office conferred upon him as that of a fhepherd, and thofe to whom he was fent as the flock of the chief fhepherd who had committed them to him, is not to be wondered at; and accordingly we find him in another place fay of him, who had declared himself "no hireling, but the fhepherd, whose own the fheep are; the good fhe pherd, who giveth his life for the theep," John x. 13, 14, "Ye were as fheep going aftray; but are now returned unto the Shepherd and Bifhop of your fouls," Pet. ii. 25, So that here is that flock of Jefus Chrift, the good shepherd, whofe own the sheep are, exprefsly declared to be the flock of God. St. Paul too has called "Jefus Chrift, that great shepherd of the sheep," Heb. xiii. 20; and fpeaking to the Ephefian elders, he defires them to. “take heed to all the flock, over which the Holy Ghost had made them overfeers, to feed the church of God," Acts xx. 28. From the chief Shepherd alfo, when he fhall appear, we are to receive a crown of glory which fadeth not away. "Bleffed is the man that endureth temptation; for when he is tried, he fhall receive the crown crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him," James i. 12. This promife is explained; "Hath not God chofen the poor of this world, rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom, which he hath promised to them that love him?" James ii. 5. From whom now are we ❝* to obtain an incorruptible crown," "a crown of righteoufnefs, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, fhall give at that day, unto all them that love his appearing? +" Certainly from that God who hath promised the kingdom; that Lord who hath promised the crown of life to them that love him, fhall we receive a crown of glory which fadeth not away, when the chief Shepherd fhall appear as a righteous judge to give an incorruptible crown of righteoufnefs to all them that love his appearing. This chief Shepherd is therefore that righteous Judge, that Lord, that God who hath promifed, and will give a crown of glory to all that love him, even Jefus Chrift, one with the Father, God;" to whom be praife and dominion for ever and ever. Amen." 1 Pet. iv. II. ་ "The flock of God" is, in the paffage before us, called "God's heritage" alfo, which affords a very fufficient answer to such as shall object to the divinity of our Lord, that he was appointed "Heir of all things," and therefore that he was not the original Poffeffour. No man denies God's original and underived property in all things," created by him and for him;" and yet here even God himself is pronounced only the Heir, whofe heritage the flock is. Inheritance therefore does not, in fcripture acceptation, mean a right devolved upon an heir, but poffeffion however obtained. Jefus Chrift is heir of all things, God also is Heir, Jefus Chrift is therefore one with the Father, God," the original Proprietour of all creation. The word heir, * I Cor. ix. 25 +2 Tim. iv. viii. in în common language, fignifies the fucceffour to rights or poffeffions upon the death of a former poffeffour; and, if it be infifted upon that it bears this meaning in fcripture, the death of God the Father, in order to the eftablishment of his Succeffour" the Heir of all things," is to be supposed; nay, farther, as God the Father is declared to be in prefent poffeffion of the heritage, we muft carry up the idea, and pronounce that he formerly had a Predeceffour fince deceafed, and by whofe demife the inheritance has devolved upon him. Into what horrid blafphemies and abfurdities do Mr. Lindfey's tenets betray us! It is true that the poffeffive word "God's" is fupplied by the tranflators of the Bible; but in our language the name of the Inheritour required to be expreffed, and the structure of the fentence in the original Greek pointed out the true one, which is accordingly made ufe of. But, left the verse before us fhould be difputed as the interpretation of the translator only, and not the intention of the apoftle, I will fupply a fimilar expreffion from the Old Teftament, in which the God of the Unitarians is certainly addreffed; and first from the song of Mofes, who fays, concerning the people which thou haft purchased, Thou fhalt bring them in, and plant them in the mountain of thine inheritance," Exod. xv. 17: and again, "the Lord's portion is his people: Jacob is the lot of his inheritance," Deut. xxxii. 9. David alfo fays, "Bleffed is the people whofe God is the Lord," (or as in the Common Prayer Book verfion, "whofe God is the Lord Jehovah,") "and the people whom he hath chofen for his own inheritance," Pfalm xxxiii. 12. "Remember thy congregation which thou haft purchased of old; and the rod That the Lord of thine inheritance," Pfalm lxxiv. 2. Jehovah, the object of Mr. Lindsey's adoration, is an inheritour none can now doubt; and therefore, exclufive of the obvious propriety of rendering St. Peter's text as it ftands ftands in our Bible, the tranflators were warranted, in interpreting it as they have done, by the frequent return of the fame expreffion in the holy fcriptures; and this equally answers the purpose of my argument. The gofpel of Jefus Chrift is figuratively called a teftament, and in order to conftitute the force of a teftament, St. Paul declares the death of the Teftator to be neceffary*, Heb. ix. 16; and accordingly the Son of God bled in order to give force to the New Teftament, by which he has appointed us heirs of eternal life and of the kingdom. Now are we to fuppofe that Jefus Chrift, in having put us into poffeffion of eternal life, or of the kingdom by his teftament, has relinquifhed eternal life in himself, or abdicated the throne of his glory, that we as heirs may ascend it? furely not. By a fimilar figure, the prophets looking forward to the redemption of mankind, and the apostles recording the gra cious means by which this great falvation has been extended to us, have pronounced God the Heir of mankind ranfomed by his death, which inheritance (or "flock) he hath purchafed with his own blood," Acts xx. 28: they have pronounced him as it were the fucceffour to himself, after he had taken up that life, by the laying down of which the bequeft became valid, and the property might be faid to have paft. Such language is only figurative, and intended for illuftration, not doctrine. Our Saviour himself feems to have had the very fame idea with that of St. Paul, that the fhedding of life was neceffary to the validity of a teftament; for, delivering the cup to his difciples at his laft fupper, he called it "his blood of the New Teftament, fhed for many for the remiffion of fins," Mark xiv. 24, and accordingly * In order likewife to the rendering the law a Teftament, bloodshedding is faid to have been neceffary: the blood of bulls and goats was poured out to maintain this type; and in conformity with it the blood of our Lord and Saviour was poured out. tordingly made our taking it a memorial of his death for ever. I shall here take occafion to obferve upon Mr. Lindfey's mode of adminiftering the facrament, which he erroneously supposes preferable to ours, as being a clofer imitation of the manner in which our Saviour himself gave the bread and wine at his laft fupper. Jefus Chrift, it is true, did not then say that his body was already given, or his blood already fhed for thofe to whom he miniftered; he could not fay fo, for they had not yet been given or shed for them. But furely it is a duty incumbent upon us, who come after the event, and to whom the death of our bleffed Redeemer has been duly teftified, to commemorate him in thofe fufferings by which he became our Benefactor; and "the cup of bleffing which we blefs, is it not the communion of the blood of Chrift? the bread which we break, is it not the communion of the body of Chrift?" 1 Cor. x. 16. Such is the language of the apoftle; language to which no other meaning can be affixed than that we take the facrament of the Lord's fupper in remembrance of his body given, and his blood fhed for the prefervation of our bodies and fouls unto everlasting life; for if any tranfubftantiation, which, in fome degree, I fuppofe to be the fubject of Mr. Lindsey's apprehenfions, be fignified by them, or by our Saviour's own words, "take, eat, this is my body," and "this is my blood, &c." Matth. xxvi. 26, 28, a strange confequence muft neceffarily follow, and a very univerfal tranfubftantiation take place; for as the bread in the facrament is changed into the body of Chrift, fo we all, who receive the facrament, and are partakers of that tranfubftantiated bread, are converted into bread ourselves: for this counterchange of our bodies into bread is just as literally fet forth in 1 Cor. x. 17, as the converfion of the bread into the body of our Saviour X I |