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that stretcheth forth the heavens alone; that spreadeth abroad the earth by myself. The miracles which Jesus wrought, in his own name, and by a word, evidence his almighty and underived power.

4. He is omniscient; that is, he knows all things. The disciples of our Lord repeatedly observe, that he knew all things-all men, and the thoughts of men and Peter, on a memorable occasion, made a solemn appeal to the omniscience of our Lord, when he said, Lord, thou knowest all things-thou knowest that I love thee. In Jeremiah xvii. 10. we have these words spoken of Jehovah-I the Lord search the heart, I try the reins. This is ascribed to Christ, Revelation ii. 23. I am he which searcheth the reins and hearts.

5. Our Redeemer is also every where present.We are this day assembled in his name, and he is in the midst of us, according to his gracious promise, Where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them: and he has promised to be with his ministers to the end of the world. At the same moment of time is Jesus present in numberless places, at the greatest distance from each other.

Thus have we shewn that Christ is the Mighty God, or, as the apostle expressly calls him, the Great God, our Saviour, by proving from scripture that he is eternal, unchangeable, of almighty power, knowing all things, and every where present.

I may add, that worship, which only belongs to the mighty God, is given to Christ. This is not a

mere outward worship, but it is the worship of the heart. He is the object of faith, of prayer, and of praise. In the sacrament of the supper, we dedicate ourselves to him, soul and body, and resolve to live to his praise, which is the highest act of adoration and worship that we are capable of. The servants of God have always opposed every thing that looked like worship being paid to themselves, or that seemed in the least to interfere with the glory of God; yet Jesus did not object to similar honours. The woman of Canaan came to him, and worshipped him; the man born blind, whom he endowed with sight, did the same; and his disciples prayed to him to increase their faith, and worshipped him after his resurrection. And it is the express command of God himself, that all men honour the Son, even as they honour the Father: and the grand peculiarity, or that which distinguished the primitive Christians, was this, that they called on the name of the Lord Jesus; as you have it in Acts ix. 14. 21. And to conclude this branch of the text, the apostle Peter says, Grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ: to him be glory, both now and for ever. Amen.-2 Peter, iii. 18.

VII. The next thing asserted of our Redeemer is, that he is THE EVERLASTING FATHER. The Greek translation of the Septuagint renders these words, the Father of the world to come, or final dispensation of grace and mercy, as the gospel is often called.

And Christ may be called so,

1. As he has chosen his people, in his eternal purpose, that they might be sharers in his bliss and glory.

2. Christ is the Father of all true believers, in a spiritual sense. They are all his spiritual seed, born again of the incorruptible seed of his word, regenerated by his grace, and formed after his image. The great outlines of his features are drawn upon them they are, in a certain degree, like Jesus himself, holy, harmless, and undefiled, and separated from sinners: and when they arrive at heaven, they shall attain to the likeness of Jesus in an eminent degree. They shall see him as he is, and be changed into the same image, from glory to glory.

VIII. The last thing asserted of the Redeemer is, that he is THE PRINCE OF PEACE.

Melchisedec was an eminent type of the Son of God, in this respect. He was King of Salem, which is, by interpretation, King of Peace. And peace is the disposition for which the Saviour was renowned; the blessing which he died to purchase, and lives to bestow. At his birth, peace was proclaimed on earth, and he bequeathed peace, when he was leaving the world, as a precious legacy to his followers; and this consists in peace with God, peace of conscience, and peace with one another.In Christ Jesus, we, who were sometime far off, are made nigh, by his blood: for he is our peace. The chastisement of our peace was upon him, that he

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might reconcile us unto God, by the death of the

cross.

I shall now conclude the subject with the following reflections :

1. What an honour did the Great and Mighty God, our Saviour, put upon our nature, by taking it into a personal union with his own Divine nature !

For our sakes, the Ancient of Days appeared in our world as a feeble infant-the Son of God became the Son of Man, and exchanged the bosom of his heavenly Father for a manger in Bethlehem. And is it not the glory of our world, that he, who made it, came into it-of the air, that he breathed in it-and especially of our nature, that he assumed it?

2. We may see from hence, how well the Redeemer was qualified for his office.

What arm so powerful to save as that of the Mighty God, who formed all things out of nothing, and upholds them by his power! We have forfeited heaven and immortality; but they are restored to us by him who made the heavens, who has immortal life in himself, and giveth it to whomsoever he will. And, indeed, none but he who is the Mighty God could have endured the wrath that was due to our sins. The curse of the law was a weight sufficient to crush a whole world; it sunk legions of angels, who excel in strength, from the highest heavens to the lowest hell. Nor could any created being have merited any thing at the

hand of God. The higher excellencies any creature is endowed with, the more is he indebted to the giver of them; and no services which he can possibly perform, can ever repay the obligations he is under, much less can they make the giver of all he possesses a debtor to him. But our Saviour had something to offer the divine nature did not suffer, but the human did; and this human nature, being taken into union with the divine, was an offering of infinite value. And as he stood in no need of any additional favours, being unspeakably happy in the enjoyment of himself from all eternity, may he not confer the reward of his obedience and sufferings on whomsoever he pleases? And, besides, if he had not infinite knowledge, he could not know the various wants and circumstances of his people: if he had not infinite power, he could not overcome their numerous and powerful enemies: if he had not infinite love and pity, he would not pass by their many sins and backslidings. In fine, if he were not possessed of every divine perfection, he could not have been so mighty a Saviour as the gospel assures us he is being able to save to the uttermost all that put their trust in him.

3. What a fund of consolation does this passage of scripture exhibit!

Take the doctrine contained in the text, and similar passages that prove the divinity of Christ, out of the Bible, and what is it? Take away this rock, on which our Lord himself declared to Peter that his church is built, and it falls to the ground.

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