nor could he claim that equality with his Almighty Father, which He so unequivocally asserts, were He not fully endowed with that essential attribute: He saw Nathaniel before that Philip called him; (John i. 48;) at a distance viewed the death of Lazarus; and wheresoever two or three are gathered together in his name He is in the midst of them. (Mark ii. 7.) Who can forgive sins but God only ?-This just opinion was far from being controverted by our blessed Lord, and accompanied by miraculous demonstration, that ye may know that the Son of Man (when acting in conjunction with the Son of God,) hath power on earth to forgive sins, "He saith to the sick of the palsy, I say unto thee, Arise, and take up thy bed, and go thy way into thy house."

In Luke ii. 9, we find a wonderful relation of circumstances attendant on the birth of Christ; such as never were or could be related respecting any other human being, except him in whom dwelt the incarnate Deity. And in verses 28, 29, and 30, pious Simeon blesses God, saying, "Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace, according to thy word, for mine eyes have seen thy salvation." The circumstances attendant on his death were as wonderful as those attendant on his birth. There was darkness over all the earth until the ninth hour: and the sun was darkened, and the veil of the temple was rent in the midst.*

"That at the time when our Saviour died, there was a miraculous darkness, and a great earthquake, is recorded by Phlegon the Traillian, who was a Pagan, and freeman to Adrian the

And on the first day of the week when the disciples came to the sepulchre, they found the stone rolled away from the sepulchre; and entering in found not the body of the Lord Jesus. And it came to pass, as they were much perplexed thereabouts, behold two men stood by them in shining garments and they were afraid, and bowed down. their faces to the earth. And certain women also of their company made them astonished, which were early at the sepulchre and when they found not the body of the Lord Jesus, they came, saying that they had seen a vision of angels, which said that He was alive. "And the word was made flesh, and dwelt among us: (that word, just before declared to have eternally existed, to have been with God from all eternity, and to be God, became incarnate in our nature;) and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth." (John i. 14.) No man hath seen God at any time: the only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He hath declared him; "He that cometh from above is above all;" (iii. 31;) "The Father loveth the Son, and hath given all things into his hand." (ver. 35.) My Father worketh hitherto,

emperor. We may here observe, that a native of Trallium, which was not situate at so great a distance from Palestine, might very probably be informed of such remarkable events as had passed among the Jews in the age immediately preceding his own times; since several of his countrymen with whom he had conversed, might have received a confused report of our Saviour before his crucifixion, and probably lived within the shake of the earthquake and the shadow of the eclipse, which are recorded by this author."-Addison's Evidences.

and I work." (v. 17.) Therefore the Jews sought the more to kill him, because He said that God was his Father; making himself equal with God. The truth of this observation our blessed Lord was very far from controverting; but took therefrom occasion to explain unto them that although He did not disclaim equality either of power or glory with his Almighty Father, yet that He owed the derivation of both his power and glory to his Almighty Father. "Jesus answered and said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, The Son can do nothing of himself, but what He seeth the Father do for whatsoever He doeth, these also doeth the Son likewise. For the Father loveth the Son, and showeth him all things that himself doeth and He will show him greater works than these, that ye may marvel. For as the Father raiseth up the dead, and quickeneth them; even so the Son quickeneth whom he will. For 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. He that honoureth not the Son, honoureth not the Father which hath sent him. (v. 19-23.) Not that any man hath seen the Father save He which is of God, He hath seen the Father." (vi. 46.) “But I know him, for I am from him;" (vii. 29;) I am from above, "I proceeded forth and came from God." (viii. 42.) "My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: and I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. My Father, which gave them me, is greater than

all, and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father's hand. I and my Father are one. Then the Jews took up stones again to stone him. Jesus answered them, Many good works have I showed you from my Father; for which of these works do you stone me? The Jews answered him, saying, For a good work we stone thee not, but for blasphemy; and because that thou, being a man, makest thyself God. Jesus answered them, Is it not written in your law, I said, Ye are gods? If he called them gods unto whom the word of God came, and the Scripture cannot be broken; say ye of him whom the Father hath sanctified and sent into the world, Thou blasphemest, because I said, I am the Son of God?"† (x. 27-36.) "He that

"Now it is a most certain truth, that I and the Father are ones and the union between us is so strict and intimate in nature, as well as in affection and design, that his Almighty power is mine, to be employed for the defence of my sheep; and no one can deprive them of eternal life, without prevailing against him as well as me: I and the Father are one. If we attend not only to the obvious meaning of these words in comparison with other passages of Scripture, but to the connexion of this celebrated text, it so plainly demonstrates the Deity of our blessed Redeemer, that I think it may be left to speak for itself without any laboured comment. How widely different that sense is, in which Christians are said to be one with God (John xvii. 21) will sufficiently appear, by considering how flagrantly absurd and blaspheming it would be to draw that inference from their union with God, which Christ does from his."-Doddridge.

"Jesus not judging it proper at that time to bring the sublime doctrine of his Deity into farther debate, answered them, Is it not written in your law, or in those sacred books which you own to be of divine original; (Ps. lxxxii. 6;) where it is plain the persons that are spoken of are princes and magistrates: I have said, ye are gods, and all of you are children of the Most High.

seeth me, seeth him that sent me." (xii. 45.) "Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, Now if the Psalmist thus applied this character, and it appears he called them gods to whom the word of God then came, merely with regard to that office which by divine designation. they bore, (and certainly, the Scripture cannot be broken, nor can you with any show of reason pretend to censure the propriety of those expressions which a divinely-inspired writer has used,) how is it then that you are so offended now? Or, how do you pretend to say concerning him whom the Father hath so solemnly sanctified or set apart to this great work, in his eternal counsels, and whom He at length has sent into the world under such an exalted character, Thou blasphemest; because I said, I am the Son of God?-when you allow there is a sense in which oppressive magistrates may be honoured by such a title-when you allow magistrates,' &c. A late learned and pious paraphrast apprehends, that our Lord here vindicates his claim to supreme divinity, by pleading that the Jewish rulers are called gods; not in a general regard to their office as rulers, but as types of the Messiah, the great Sovereign of the church, who (as it is expressed at the close of this eighty-second Psalm) was to inherit all nations. But not to urge that it seems improbable, that such wicked magistrates as are there spoken of should be described as types of Christ, this explication seems to imply that every person whose office was typical of the Messiah might be called a god and on the other hand, that a creature being called by that name, would intimate that he was a typical person; the consequences of which, I am sure, that worthy writer would. abhor. (Compare 2 Cor. iv. 4.) I think myself, therefore, obliged to acquiesce in that plain and natural sense of the passage, which the generality of commentators both ancient and modern, have given. Jesus was charged here by the Jews with ascribing divinity to his human nature; and in reply to this, He showed that calling himself the Son of God did not imply that; and that his works proved such an union with the Divinity as He had before asserted, than which no answer could have been more wise and pertinent." "And when I claim this character, and speak so highly of myself, I do not expect to be credited merely on my own affirmation; if I do not

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