of the earth) who hath loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood."

Revelation v. 13: "Blessing and honour, &c. be unto him that sitteth on the throne, and to the Lamb for ever and ever."

This is to be understood in the same way as Acts vii. 59. The blessing and honour is tendered to the object present and visible; and not upon the throne, but standing in the midst, ver. 5, or before the midst of the throne. The reason also, which is assigned for this worship being paid him, shews he cannot be God, or the object of divine worship, viz. ver. 12, his being the Lamb slain, and therefore worthy: i. e. spotless innocence, perfect virtue and goodness, tried and confirmed by sufferings.

The ascribing glory and honour to Christ, does in no degree imply him to be God, or authorize the worship of him, or prayer to him. It is no more than a declaration of reverence of him, and high esteem of his most perfect moral character and goodness. We may, therefore, in this sense, and we ought on all proper occasions, to join with his apostles in saying, 2 Pet. iij. 18, "To him be glory both now and for ever."

1 Tim. i. 12: "I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who hath enabled me, for that he counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry.”

This is no address of thanks to Christ as an object of worship, but a sudden emotion of gra

titude in the apostle's mind, and expression of his thankfulness to Christ for his own miraculous conversion (Acts ix.) and call to be an apostle.

2 Cor. i. 3. Rom. i. 7: "Grace to you, and peace from God our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ."

1 Thess. iii. 11: "Now God himself even our Father, and our Lord Jesus Christ, direct our way unto you." 2 Thess. ii. 16.

These, and other the like passages, are only pious wishes, not prayers. That this is the true interpretation, and not mere assertion, appears from Rev. i. 4. Otherwise it may as well be said, that the writer prays to the seven spirits there named, which are afterwards in the same book, v. 6, called the Lamb's eyes, i. e. Christ's angels, messengers, sent forth into all the earth.

2 Cor. xii. 8: "For this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me.”

St. Paul appears here to have directed his prayer to God, the Father, and to have had in his thoughts, and imitated our Lord's prayer in the garden, the night before his sufferings, when he prayed three times to God, that, if it pleased him, the cup of affliction might pass away from him, without his drinking it. Beausobre on the place.

N. B. The apostles were not so exact in the use of the words, Lord, Saviour, and the like, which they indifferently gave both to God and to

Christ; never supposing that any would mistake their Lord and master, so lately born and living amongst men, to be the Supreme God, and object of worship.

Dr. Hammond thus paraphrases: "And I earnestly prayed to God to be delivered from it." 1 Cor. i. 2: "With all that in every place

call

upon the name of Jesus Christ our Lord." Dr. Hammond rightly observes, that it should be translated-With all them that are called by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

"In the style of Scripture, to be called by the name of any one, or to have the name of any one called upon it, signifies to belong, to be the property, or to be in subjection to that, whose name is called upon the other." the other." Daubuz on Rev. p. 130.

But see in Dr. Clarke (Scr. Doct. No. 691), an enumeration of the various senses in which this phrase, calling on the name of Christ, and some like it, are used; among which there is none that implies directly invoking him, but Acts vii. 59, which has been considered.

Rev. xxii. 20: "Come, Lord Jesus"!

These words are only the reply of the apostle, addressed to the Lord Jesus present with him in the vision; who had said immediately before, "I come quickly,"

Matt, xviii. 20: "For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them."

G

It may be proper, to, take notice of this text, though out of its course, lest we should pass by any thing of consequence on the argument.

The following seems to be a valuable explication, of it:

"If we consider, the whole of this passage, in which our Lord is speaking of the great power of which his apostles, should be possessed, and especially of the efficacy of their prayers, we shall be satisfied that he could only mean by this form of expression, to represent their power. with God, when they were assembled as his. disciples, and prayed as became his disciples, to be the same as his own power with. God; and God heard him, always. That our Lord could not intend to speak of himself as the God who heareth prayer, is evident from his speaking of the Father in this very place, as the person who was to grant their petitions." Ver. 19.*«

Le Clerc, in his Harmony, seems to have had. somewhat of the like thought. "Where two.or three," &c. " it will be the same as if I was among them, and praying to God along with them." +

Melancthon, in a letter, to Camerarius, in 1532, after a prediction which hath since been but too.

* Familiar Illustrations of certain Passages of ScripturePrinted for Johnson, St. Paul's Churchyard, 1772, pp. 26, 27. + ipse inter eos esse, et Deum conjunctim cum iis orare censebor. Clerici Harm. Evangel.

much verified, of the disputes and disturbances that would arise some time or other about the Trinity, thus concludes upon the subject: "L take refuge in those plain declarations of Scripture, which enjoin prayer to Christ, which is to ascribe the proper honour of divinity to him, and is full of consolation."

Observe here, 1st. that this eminent person thought, and justly as it should seem, that prayer is the highest act of worship, the proper honour of God, and peculiar to him alone. And, 2. that the principal argument for Christ's divinity was to be derived from religious worship and prayer being enjoined to be addressed to him. If there be therefore no authority for offering prayer to him, as we have shewn there is not, Melancthon would own that he was not to be acknowledged as God, nor divine honour to be paid to him.

But one argument of another kind is to be considered.

Of Christ's high Power and Authority as a Ground of Worship.

1

That the Lord Jesus was intrusted with a mighty extensive power and † dominion for the

Ego me refero ad illas scripturæ voces, quæ jubent invocare Christum, quod est ei honorem divinitatis tribuere, et plenum consolationis est.”

Benson's Account of Servetus, p. 165, note.

+ I am now persuaded, that these passages of the New