chosen creature man. To destroy this diabolical work, or so far at least to frustrate the design of the evil one, as to prevent its final and effectual prevalence over human nature," the Son of God was ma"nifested." For this purpose, we are told by the Apostle, " he took part of flesh and "blood, that through death he might "destroy him that had the power of "death, that is, the devil. And deliver "them, who through fear of death, were subject to bondage."

But as preparatory to the Son of God's final and compleat triumph over this grand enemy of man, it appears to have been a part of the divine plan of redemption, that this Son of God should, in his human character, prove himself able to bind the "strong one, who had taken possession of "the house, and to spoil him of his goods." For this purpose, the same Apostle tells us, that "it behoved him, or it became in"cumbent upon him in the office he had "undertaken, to be made like unto his "brethren;" not only that he might be a merciful High Priest in things pertain

"ing to God," but that, like him, he might also be tempted; that knowing the infirmity of human nature, and the power of temptation, he might "be able to succour them that are tempted."

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To accomplish this part of the divine plan, it became necessary that the second Adam, or great Representative of human kind, should be, in circumstances, similar to those in which the first Adam was placed in Paradise; by being subjected to similar temptations from the same insidious tempter. Indeed it is not to be supposed, that so extraordinary an event would have been permitted to take place, were there not some very important ends to be answered by it.

The ends in view, on the present occasion, may be presumed to have been these. In the first place, the Son of God must, as man, be himself capable of resisting the power of temptation, otherwise he could not have been competent to redeem his brethren of the flesh from the consequen ces of that temptation, under which Adam had fallen; for had not such been the case, he would not have been in a condition to make

make that perfect offering for sin, which the justice of God demanded.

But to prove that our Saviour, as man, was able to triumph over temptation, it was necessary that he should undergo a trial. With this end in view, the transaction in the wilderness, constituted the most proper commencement of our Saviour's ministerial character; for it succeeded immediately to his baptism, and preceded any actual discharge of the office he had undertaken. On his coming up out of the water, and receiving the heavenly testimony to his divine character, "immediately," says St. Mark," the spirit dri"veth him into the wilderness."

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A second end which the transaction in question, might have in view, respected, it is probable, the tempter himself. The circumstance of the person with whom the tempter had to deal in the wilderness, being exempt from the infirmity of human nature; in consequence of which the the tempter, (to make use of our Saviour's own language on this head,) "had nothing "in him," or according to the ancient Greek MS., "could find nothing in him of

"which he could possibly take any advan"tage;" and although our Saviour appeared in the character of a mere man, and a man in a state of apparent distress in a wilderness, that he nevertheless proved himself to be a being far superior to Adam, when in his original perfection; this circumstance, or rather this connec tion of circumstances, was calculated, and probably intended to lead to a conviction in the tempter's mind, that the person who had so compleatly foiled him in all the different attempts which he had made to seduce our Saviour unto sin, was no common person; but that Seed of the woman, whom the sentence pronounced upon the tempter in Paradise had taught him to expect; even that promised seed, who was to bruise his head; in other words, to trample under foot, and destroy that power, which this tyrannical usurper, had long been permitted to exercise over the fallen sons of Adam. For by the issue of this trial, made on the human character of Christ, the tempter, it is presumed, was convinced that the victory which he had gained in Paradise, had been compleatly wrested

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wrested from him; the vanquisher of man, having thus in his turn been vanquished by man.

On this account, it may be presumed, it was, that the divinity of our Saviour's character remained under total eclipse during the whole transaction in question, Had a ray of it, on that occasion, been suffered to break forth, the object of our Saviour's appearance in the wilderness, at this time, would have been frustrated; for in such case the tempter would not have dared to enter into conflict with him. For though Satan, the tempter, may be supposed to have possessed some confused knowledge respecting the redemption of mankind, from that partial communication which appears to have been made on this subject in Heaven, previous to his expulsion from it; yet with respect to the union of the divine nature with the seed of the woman, that mysterious part of this great work, which the angels are represented as desirous of looking into, be had, it is presumed, at this time, no conception. It is consequently to be observed, that it was not till after our blessed Saviour, in

the