the Son, and so is the Holy Ghost. Is the Father omniscient? So is the Son, and so is the Holy Ghost. Is the Father uncreated? So is the Son, and so is the Holy Ghost. Is the Father incomprehensible? So is the Son, and so is the Holy Ghost. Was the Father concerned in the work of creation? So was the Son, and so was the Holy Ghost. Is the Father the upholder of the universe? So is the Son, and so is the Holy Ghost Is the Father engaged in the regeneration of human souls? So is the Son, and so is the Holy Ghost. Are we baptized in the name of the Father? So likewise in the name of the Son, and in the name of the Holy Ghost. Is prayer addressed to the Father? So likewise to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost. Are we blessed in the name of the Father? So likewise in the name of the Son; and in the name of the Holy Ghost. Hath the Father a personal existence? So hath the Son, and so hath the Holy Ghost. Did the Father conduct the Israelites to the holy land? So did the Son, and so did the Holy Ghost. Is the incommunicable name Jehovah given to the Father? So is it given also to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost. Is holiness ascribed to the Father? So is it ascribed to the Son, and to the Spirit. Is goodness attributed to the Father? So to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost. Is glory given to the Father? So to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost."

And equally clear are the representations that the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, are three distinct persons, and exercise three distinct offices. Thus "the Father holds the rights of the Godhead;" the Son is the Mediator between Him and our fallen race, and the Redeemer from Sin and Hell; the Holy Ghost applies to us the benefits of the Gospel, and prepares us for the enjoyment of Heaven.

And what shall we say to these things? Being of an hour! Canst thou by searching find out God? Does thy capacious mind contain the grasp of Infinity? Canst thou scan that shoreless ocean, the nature of Jehovah? When thou shalt return from exploring His immensity, then may we believe thy doubts in preference to His word. Till then we must be content with our Bibles, supported as they are by the concurrent voice of all antiquity.

And-wouldst thou be persuaded-instead of rashly endeavouring to explain away the plain word of unalterable revelation, be thankful to thy Maker, that, in amazing and inconceivable goodness, He has been pleased to become thy Redeemer, and to humble Himself as thy Sanctifier. Wait till the full glory of a brighter world shall shine upon thy faculties, before thou presumest to be wiser than thy God.

What though in this strong hold of thy salvation, there is an imperfect discovery, wilt thou refuse all benefit from it because it is in some degree veiled in clouds? Then, if thou wert in a day of miraculous visitation, and an angel were sent to release thee from a dungeon, thou, forsooth, wouldst refuse his deliverance, because thine eyes were dazzled by the brightness of his splendours.

II.

Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God:

But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men.-Phil. ii. 6, 7.

The great truth contained in the text is the rock of all our hopes. It is the fountain whence flow the streams of the waters of life to make glad our wilderness. The fact that there is a God who is the Creator and Judge of all things is calculated to give comfort to holy beings; but to us, who are transgressors, the mere annunciation of it is a revelation of terror. We can not look unto the Eternal One without seeing His Justice arrayed against us. The

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greater His glory, the more are we overwhelmed. We need, then, a Mediator to stand between us and His majesty:-One more than a mere mortal like ourselves;-One more than even an angelic intellect; for He must be mighty to save:-so powerful that His plea shall be heard: so righteous that He can impart to us righteousness. And, moreover, this Mediator must have His greatness so veiled, as that we shall be encouraged to approach Him. If He be clothed in all the splendour of His power, we shall be as certainly consumed in approaching Him, as in approaching the One who holds the rights of the Godhead. Glory be to God on high, such a Mediator appears in the Lord Jesus Christ. Yes, as says our 2nd Article, in perfect accordance with the words of the text,

"The Son, which is the Word of the Father, begotten from everlasting of the Father, the very and eternal God, of one substance with the Father, took Man's nature in the womb of the blessed Virgin, of her substance: so that two whole and perfect Natures, that is to say, the Godhead and Manhood, were joined together in one Person, never to be divided, whereof is one Christ, very God, and very Man; who truly suffered, was crucified, dead, and buried, to reconcile his Father to us, and to be a sacrifice, not only for original guilt, but also for actual sins of men."

The second person of the Trinity bears to the first the relation of Son, having been begotten, in an ineffable manner, from all eternity. He continually addressed the first with the title of Father, and was acknowledged by the first as Son. It is said, "we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth:"* And, that He was not of recent date, we are informed in that language of the Most High to Bethlehem-Ephratah"Out of thee shall he come forth unto mewhose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting:+-God sent forth his Son, made of a woman:‡-When he bringeth in the first begotten into the world he saith, and let all the angels of God worship him."

"There are several senses in which Messiah is called the Son of God.-1. He is so called because of the miraculous manner of his conception. See Luke i. 35.-2. He is so called because of his resurrection from the dead. See Acts xiii. 32, 33.-3. He is so called because of his dignity and authority. See Heb. i, 2—5. 4. He is so called because of his office. John x. 36.

But then Christ is called the Son of God in such a way and manner as never any other was, is, or can be, because of his own divine nature, he being the true, proper, and natural Son of

*John i. 14. † Micah. v. 2. Gal. iv. 4. § Heb. i. 6.