the World) intimating, what they care not SER. VII. to speak out, that our Saviour was a mere Inftrument in the Work of the Creation, but forgetting, that the very fame Prepo-: fition is likewife applied to the Father,Through whom are all Things; forgetting likewise, that not only all Things were created BY him, but alfo FOR him; and by him they do confift. Coloff. i. 16, 17: And Things are not made for the Sake of the Inftrument by him, who made all Things for Himself. Prov. xvi, 4. And again, Thou, Lord, (not another, through him) Thou, Lord, haft laid the Foundation of the Earth, and the Heavens are the Wark of thy Hand: They fhall perish, but thou shalt endure. They all shall wax old, as doth a Garment; but thou art the fame, and thy Years ball not fail. Heb. i. 10, 11, 12. He is exprefly filed the Beginning and the End. Rev. xxii. 13. The Beginning, that is, the efficient Caufe, from which all Things proceed; and the End, that is, the final Cause, to which all Things are referred: and nothing higher can be faid of God the Father.

Add to this, that he is called God over all bleed for ever. Romans ix.

5. The

SER. VII. .first and laft, Alpha and Omega, which was, and is, and is to come, the Almighty. Rev.

i. 8, 17, 18. The mighty, the true, the great God: King of King, and Lord of Lords; in whom all the Fulness of the Godbead dwelleth fubftantially: All Things are naked and open to him: Upholding all Things by the Word of his Power.

If it be faid, that the Word, God, is a relative Term, and that our Saviour is ftiled God in Respect of his Office and the Relation he bears to us, but not in Respect of his Nature; I anfwer; he is ftiled God, before any Thing was made by him. In the Beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. All Things were made by him; &c. St. John i. 1, 3. Now, as he could have no Relation to his Creatures before they were made, nor any Office or Authority over them, he must be God abfolutely, not relatively, God by Nature, and not by Virtue of his Office or Authority. But, fuppofing the Word God to be relative; the Term Jehovah, which is often applied to the Son, is of abJolute Signification, and implies unchangeable, neceffary, independent Existence, the incommunicable Property of the fupreme

Deity, whofe Name only is Jehovah. Thus SER. VII. St. John faith xix. 37. Another Scripture faith, they fhall look on him, whom they have pierced. The Scripture is Zechariah xii. 10. where God is introduced fpeaking: They shall look on me, viz. Jehovah, as appears from what goes before, whom they have pierced. And again, Thefe Things faid Ifaiah when be faw our Saviour's Glory, and fpake of him. St. John xii. 41. Turn to Ifaiah, and you find it: Ifaw the Lord (Jehovah) fitting upon his Throne.

Above

it flood the Seraphims-and one cried unto another and faid: Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord of Hofts. The whole Earth is full of bis Glory. Ifaiah vi. 1, 2, 3. It would be endless to cite all the Paffages, in which the Name of Jehovah is given to our bleffed Saviour.

The Man, who is obftinate in the Disbelief of his Saviour's Godhead, muft be, one would think, ftrongly tempted to reject the Scriptures, as a Book big with Blafphemy; fince every Idea diftinctive of God from his Creatures is there afcribed to him; unless Paternity, a mere Relation of Order, be the diftinctive Idea of God: which is fo far from implying any Inferiority, that

it

SER. VII it proves the very Reverse.

For unless only Son, and only begotten, fignify the only created, (the Confequence of which would be, that our Saviour is the only Creature in the World;) it must follow, that he is uncreated, and therefore of the fame Nature with his Father.

To fay, that when creative and providential Powers are afcribed to the Son," these are the Attributes and Powers of the Father communicated to, exercised in, and manifefted by the Son, is to get rid of a Difficulty at the Expence of an Abfurdity.

For how can there be a Communication of the effential Properties of the Deity without a Communication of the divine Effence?

Whatever Attributes are communicated, must be proportioned to the Capacity of the Receiver. And if the Son be not infinite what is finite, cannot be fufceptive of infinite Attributes.

i

There is one material Flaw in the Arian Scheme, which must endanger the whole Fabrick, viz. that they have made two Gods, a God fupreme, and a God inferior, in direct Oppofition to the firft Commandment, Thou shalt have no other Gods, but me;

до

The

no other Elohim, a Word, as the Learned SER. VII. know, expreffive not only of fupreme, but alfo of inferior Gods: The plain Sense of the Commandment therefore is this: Thou fhalt have no other Gods, whether fupreme or inferior, but the one Jehovah. That can never be true and genuine Christianity, upon the Principles of which it is impoffible to confute any rational unprejudiced Jew; But upon the Principles of Arianism, it is impoffible to convince any rational Jew. For the obvious Reply would be, that Religion must be false, which expressly contradicts the firft Commandment: Arian Scheme does fo by fetting up, two Gods, the one Supreme, the other Inferior And therefore must be falfe. If the Arians should reply, that they have no other adorable God, but him, whom the fupreme God, as they express it, hath appointed to be worshipped; a Jew would reply, that God hath made the Commandment unalterable and irreversible. No Credentials, no Miraeles can prove, that the fupreme Being hath appointed any inferior God to be worShipped: because he hath entred his Caveat against admitting Miracles to be a Proof of his allowing any inferior to God to be a

dored.