THE

MAN CHRIST JESUS:

Tho was He, and what was He ?

BY

A FREE-CHURCH ELDER.

•BODL

LONDON: HAMILTON, ADAMS, & CO. ;

EDINBURGH: OLIVER & BOYD, AND

JOHN MENZIES & CO. ;

ABERDEEN: A. & R. MILNE.

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PREFACE.

MUCH has been written on the kindred subjects of the true and proper divinity, and of the equally true and proper humanity of Jesus Christ our Lord-so much, indeed, that nothing more requires to be written, if men had by them what has been thus written, and would also read and consider. Many of the treatises, however, are very lengthy, and many of them are not within reach of the means of many readers; yet the subject is one which equally concerns all menprince and peasant, the wise and the disputer of this world, and the babe in Christ who needs to be fed with milk, and not with strong meat: for, if Christ was not man, He could not atone for men, because it is the soul that sinneth (the sinning nature) that shall die; and, if He was not God, there was no virtue in His death by which atonement could be made.

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We deprecate very much the lavish condemnation which some good men pronounce on individual cases, as being at once presumptuous and uncharitable qualities which have no place in the Word of God. Even of Judas himself how does Scripture speak? "He went to his own place," and "good had it been for that man if he had never been born." We have heard some good men who would not have contented themselves with language like this and yet, one would think, the language was solemn and awful enough-enough to lead to solemn thought and to earnest prayer; but, amid all the charity which we wish to cherish toward and concerning all our brethren, we cannot help regarding the estate of those who discard the idea of atonement from their creed, and equally of those who attach a kind of idea of atonement to the death of Christ, whilst sternly renouncing His divinity, as an estate of most imminent danger and of awful peril. We are not their judge, but, if there be truth in the Word of God, God hath made that same Jesus-mere creature as they hold Him to be-Judge of quick and dead. We ask them to

ponder the question, Whether any creature is fit to exercise such an office as this,-whether God would delegate such an office to any creature? Awards affecting the eternal well-being of to us literally innumerable intelligent beings, are surely beyond the province of any creature, and must be the peculiar prerogative of Him who alone can search the heart, and try the reins of the children of men.

The following treatise is brief, and we trust within the easy comprehension of any one who will give it a candid perusal. To the blessing of Him whose honour it is very humbly intended to promote, we commend it. Will any kind Christian friend ask for it the same blessing which alone is fruitful? And if one fellowcreature is brought by its instrumentality to Jesus with the confession of Thomas in his heart, "My Lord, and my God!" infinitely over-paid will be the pains of the writer, and he that hath sown and he that hath reaped shall rejoice together in the one common Lord, who in His sovereignty works when, where, and by whom He will.

We would only remark, in conclusion, that