Again; in Isaiah xlv. 23, Jehovah swears by himself, that to him "every knee shall bow, and every tongue shall swear." When God swears by himself, it is" because he can swear by none greater." Heb. vi. 13. But from this passage in Isaiah, Paul informs the Romans, that "we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ. For it is written, As I live, saith the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God. So then, every one of us shall give account of himself to God."-In these two passages, we are taught, that Christ is God, the Judge, and the Jehovah, who sware by himself; and therefore knew none greater than himself, by whom to swear. It is the essential prerogative of God, to search the heart. Of the wicked deceitful heart of man, God says, "Who can know it? I, Jehovah, search the heart, I try the reins, even to give every man according to his ways." Much of such language as this do we read, of the eternal Jehovah. "The Lord's throne is in heaven; his eyes behold, his eyelids try the children of men." "The eyes of the Lord are in every place, beholding the evil and the good."-"His eyes behold the nations." "God looketh on the heart." "The righteous God trieth the hearts and the reins." "For thou, even thou only knowest the hearts of all the children of men." Now if we can find this very prerogative ascribed to Christ, we shall then find ourselves warranted to say, that Christ is indeed God, who only knows the heart of man. But we do find this very thing. "Jesus did not commit himself unto them, (the Jews,) because he knew all men; and needed not that any should testify of man; for he knew what was in man." "And Jesus knowing their thoughts, (Greek, Jesus seeing their thoughts,) said, Wherefore think ye evil in your hearts." "For Jesus

knew from, the beginning, who they were that believed not; and who should betray him." Should any, to evade this evidence, say, Jesus knew these things by information from God; I answer; let Christ himself decide it: The "Son of God," Rev. ii. 18, 23, says, "And all the churches shall know, that I am he, who searcheth the reins and hearts, and I will give unto every one of you according to your works." Christ does not say here, that I am given and enabled to know the hearts; but "I am He, who searcheth the reins and the hearts." I am that very God of the Old Testament, who said, "I, Jehovah, search the heart, and try the reins, even to give every man according to his ways." Christ accordingly adds, " And I will give unto every one of you according to your

works As if he had said, I am the very Jehovah, who by Jeremiah spake these words; and all my churches shall know it. What opinion then must we form of those, who are laboring to disprove, in the churches, this divine sentiment; and are laboring to propagate the opinion that Christ is derived, and totally distinct from that Jehovah, who searches the hearts? Peter did not view his Saviour thus, when he devoutly appealed to Christ's omniscience; "Lord, thou knowest all things; thou knowest that I love thee." And Thomas; when he said, " My Lord, and my God."

66

Could Jesus Christ have made the above application of an essential divine prerogative to himself, if he were only of derived Divinity, or were a constituted God; acting only by a delegated authority? Would not a magistrate, who thus treated his government, be guilty of high treason? And would not the crime be of a deeper die, in proportion to the grade of his magistracy? Should the lowest magistrate seriously assume to himself the title,

and all the honors due to his king, or emperor, it would be a serious offence. But it would be a much more serious offence, should a prime minister do it.

The infinite Jehovah, God of Israel, says, Isai. xliii. Thus saith the Lord, that created thee, O Jacob, and he that formed thee, O Israel, Fear not, for I have redeemed thee, I have called thee by thy name; thou art mine.-I am the Lord thy God, the holy One of Israel, thy Saviour-Every one that is called by my name;-I have created him for my glory, I have formed him, yea I have made him. Before me there was no God formed; neither shall there be after me. I, even I am the Lord; and beside me there is no Saviour.--Thus saith the Lord your Redeemer, the holy One of Israel --I am the Lord your holy One, the Creator of Israel, your King."

Here the one God is the Creator of Israel. But did not Christ create Israel? Johni. 10; “He was in the world, and the world was made by him; he came to his own, (came to the Jews, whom he had created, and taken into covenant with himself,) and his own received him not." "All things were made by him, (Christ) whether they be thrones or dominions, principalities or powers." Surely then Christ was that God of Israel, that holy One.

That holy One of Israel declares, that no God was formed before him; and none should be formed after him. Can Christ then be a distinct God from him, and formed or derived after him? Surely not. This holy One of Israel was their Saviour; beside whom there is no Saviour. But is not Christ the Saviour of Israel? The apostle says of Christ, "Neither is there salvation in any other." Inevitably then Christ is that holy One, that just God and Saviour of Israel, beside whom there is no

other God, no other Saviour. There is no evasion of this conclusion, without denying the decisions. of God himself. Jude says, "Now unto him, that is able to keep you from falling and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy, to the only wise God our Saviour, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and ever, Amen." And 1 Tim. ii. 3; "in the sight of God our Saviour." In these texts Christ is most clearly identified with the infinite Jehovah: Not merely morally one, as are all the saints: But essentially the same Being; the same infinite God.

66

This Jehovah, Israel's Redeemer and holy One, says in the above passage in Isaiah, "I am the Creator of Israel, your King." But is not Christ the King of Israel? Nathanael said to him, John i. 49; Thou art the King of Israel." The Jews expected their Messiah to come in this character. Pilate hence inserted it on his superscription"The King of the Jews." The Jewish rulerswished to have the following substitute, "He saith, I am the King of the Jews." Christ then is that King of Israel, that Jehovah, that holy One, in Isaiah. That same Jehovah, God of Israel, says, "Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth; for I am God, and there is none else." But Christ says, "I will draw all men unto me." Here he applies to himself the very idea of the above text. David, after describing Christ's humiliation, says, "All the ends of the earth shall remember and turn unto the Lord." But this, Christ applies to himself, by inviting all men to come to him; and predicting, that all men on earth (in the Millennium) shall come to him.

If Christ be not the true and living God, the Jews were justified by the divine law given them, in putting him to death, as a deceiver and a blas

phemer. For the law of God given to them expressly provided, that any person, who should attempt to draw them off to the worship of any God, beside the true Jehovah, God of Israel, should be surely put to death. Even should he "give a sign or a wonder, and the sign or wonder come to pass; yet if the object were, to lead them to worship any, beside the true God, they should surely put him to death; their "eye should not pity, nor spare, nor conceal him." If Jesus Christ then, were not the true and living God of Israel, the Jews were obliged, by their own law, to put him to death. For, notwithstanding the notices he gave them of the dependence of his humanity on God, Christ did present himself to the Jews, as God. They understood him thus. "Thou being a man, makest thyself God." He did receive, and never forbid, worship paid to himself; and he taught "that all men should honor (or worship) the Son, even as they honor the Father." Now therefore, if Christ were not the true God of Israel, did he not teach them to worship another beside the true God of Israel? And if he did, how could the Jews be exempt from the demand of their law, that such an one should be put to death? To say, that Christ acted under the divine commission, and exhibited plenary evidence of his being sent of God, though he were a distinct being from the God of Israel? and that God permitted him to receive divine honors, gives no relief in this case. For it is to say, that God acted contrary to his own law; that he thus denied himself; and betrayed his people. For the One God of the Jews did positively and abundantly assure them, that there was no God beside himself; that he knew not any; none formed before him, nor after him; that he was their Saviour; and

T