The Christian Life Volume 5, Discourse 2 (1 of 2)

The Christian Life Volume 5 · Discourse 2 (1 of 2)

p. 165OF THE Divinity & Incarnation OF OUR SAVIOUR.

JOHN 1. 14.

And the Word was made Flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his Glory, the Glory as of the only begotten of his Father) full of Grace and Truth.

THESE Words contain Three distinct Propositions; I. The Word was made Flesh: II. And dwelt among us full of Grace and Truth: III. And we beheld his Glory, the Glory as of the only begotten of his Father. Of each of these I intend to discourse in their order.

p. 166I. The first is, That the Word was made Flesh. In handling of which I shall do these three Things:

1. Shew you what we are here to understand by The Word.

2. Why it is called The Word.

3. What we are to understand by The Word's being made Flesh.

1. What is meant by the Word? I answer in general, That by the Word here we are to understand Christ: For in the following Verse you will find that this Word was He of whom Iohn the Baptist was the Forerunner, and to whom he bare Witness, saying, This was he of whom I spake, He that cometh after me, is preferred before me; for he was before me. And in the other Evangelists you will find that it was Christ whose Forerunner the Baptist was, and to whom he gave this Testmiony, as you may see at your leisure, Matth. 3. 11. and Mark 1. 7. Luke 3. 16. where you find Iohn Baptist giving the same Testimony to Christ which here he gives to the Word, especially v. 27. of this Chapter. Which is a plain Evidence that Christ and the Word are only different Titles of the same Person. But that I may more particularly explain to you the Meaning of this Phrase, p. 167I will briefly deliver my Sense of it in these following Propositions:

1. That this Phrase, The Word, as it is by way of Eminence applied to a particular Subject, is derived into the New Testament from the Theology of the Iews and Gentiles.

2. That the New Testament giving no distinct Explication of it, it is most safe and reasonable to fetch the Sense of it from that ancient Theology whence it was derived.

3. That the Theology from whence it was derived, uses it to signify a vital and Divine Subsistence.

4. That therefore our Saviour, to whom it is applied in the New Testament, is that vital and Divine Subsistence.

1. That this Phrase The Word, as it is by way of Eminency applied to a particular Subject, is derived into the New Testament from the Theology of the Iews and Gentiles. Which will plainly appear to any one that shall consider the exact Agreement between those Titles and Characters which are given to our Saviour in the New Testament, and those which the Iews and Gentiles give to the Word, so often mentioned in their Theology▪ For as for this Phrase foreign, The Word, it is very anciently used in the Writings both of Iews and Gentiles. For Rab. Azariel in p. 168his Treatise of Holiness, quotes it out of the Book of the Creation, which was written by Rab. Abraham an ancient Cabalist, who the Iews say was the Patriarch Abraham himself. The Spirit, saith he, meaning the most High God, bringeth forth the Word and the Voice, and these Three are one God. Thus also it is frequently used in the Chaldee Paraphrase as eminently appropriated to a Divine Person: So in Isa. 45. 17. instead of Israel shall be saved in the Lord, they read it, by the Word of the Lord; and Ierem. 1. 8. instead of I am with thee, they read, because my Word is with thee: and Gen. 15. 1. instead of I am thy shield, they read, my Word is thy shield; and so in sundry other places. And, which is very observable, Ps. 110. 1. instead of The Lord said unto my Lord, they read, The Lord said unto his Word; which Words our Saviour applies to himself, Matth. 22. 44. as being himself that Eternal Word, or foreign, there mentioned. And in the same Sense also it was very anciently used in the Writings of the Gentile Philosophy. Thus Zeno, as Tertullian tells us 11Tertull. Apologet. c 36. Pun. Hunc (i. e. foreign) Zeno det…minat sactito…m qui cunct… in dis positione form…it, …ndemq: & fatum voc…i & D…um & …imum Jo…is., speaks of a foreign by which the World was made, and which he calls Fate, and God, and the Soul of Iupiter. And the ancient Orpheus, as he is p. 169quoted by Clemens Alexandrinus 11Stromat. L. 5. p. 607. foreign., exhorts Men to behold and contemplate the Divine Word, who is the immortal King of Heaven. And Plato 22Epinomis.tells us, that the Motions of the Stars were disposed and ordered by the Word. By which it's plain that this Phrase was used as appropriate to a Divine Person, both by Iews and Gentiles, long before the Writing of the New Testament. And that the New Testament derived it from their Writings is apparent; for that it attributes to Christ the same Titles and Characters which they were wont to attribute to the foreign. Thus as the New Testament calls Christ the Messias, The Word, so the Chaldee Paraphrase expresly tells us that Messias is called the Word of God, Oseae, cap. 7. Thus as St. Paul calls him the King immortal, so Orpheus in the afore-named Place calls him foreign, the King immortal. And whereas Christ is said to be the Image of God, 2 Cor. 4. 4. to be the shining forth of his Glory, and the express Character of his Person, Heb. 1. 3. Philo calls him foreign 33Lib. 2. de Agriculturâ. p. 169. Edit. Genev. 1613., the foreign and foreign 44Leg. Alleg l. 2. p. 60.; that is, the Character of God, and the Shadow and Image of God: p. 170And Plotin, That it is a Light streaming forth from God, even as Brightness doth from the Sun 11Enn. 5. l. 1. c. 6.. And as St. Iohn in the first Verse of this Chapter tells us, That the Word was from the beginning with God, and that it was God; so Philo tells us, that by Prerogative of Eldership he abideth with the Father; and Zeno, in the afore-named place, that he is God; and Plotin 22Ibid.tells us, That being the Word of God, and the Image of God, he is inseparably conjoined with him. And whereas Christ tells us, That he is the Light of the World, Iohn 8. 12. the Manna which cometh down from Heaven; and the Bread of life, Ioh. 6. 33, 35. The same Philo stiles him the Word, the Light 33Philo de Opif. mundi. p. 4, 5., the Manna 44Quod det. pot. ins. …ol. p. 137., the foreign and foreign 55Leg. Alleg. l. 2. p. 70, & 71.; that is, the Bread and Food which God hath given to the Soul. And whereas it is said, that the Father is in Christ, that he dwells and abides in him, Ioh. 14. 10. the same Author says foreign 66De Mig…at. Abrah. p. 304.; that is, the Word is the House of the Father, in whom he dwells. Whereas Christ is said to have a Name, Phil. 2. 9. and to be advanced above all Principalities p. 171and Powers, Eph. 1. 21. Philo tells us that this Divine Word is foreign 11Leg. Alleg. p. 71.; that is, above all Worlds, and the most ancient of all things that are. Whereas Christ is said to be the High Priest over the House of God, Heb. 10. 21. Philo tells us, that the World is the Temple of God, foreign 22De Somniis, p. 463.; that is, in which the First-born Divine Word is the High Priest. Whereas Christ is said to be the Son of God, and the First-born of every Creature; Plato calls him, the begotten Son of the Good 33De Repub. l. 6.; Plotin, the Son of God 44Enn. 5. l. 8. c. 12.; and Philo, the First-begotten Son and Word of God. 55De Somn. p. 463.. Again, whereas God is said to have created the World by Christ, Heb. 1. 2. and to have committed the Government of it to him; Philo calls the foreign, the foreign foreign 66De Cherub. p. 88.; that is, the Governour of all things, and the foreign 77De Somn. p. 466., the Vice-roy of God; and also foreign 88Lib. Cherub p. 100.; that is, the Instrument of God by whom he made the World. As in Christ the Fulness p. 172of the Godhead is said to dwell, Colos. 2. 9. so Plotin tells us of the foreign, that it is filled with God. 11Ennead. 5. l. 3. c. 12.. As Christ is called the great Shepherd of our Souls, 1 Pet. 2. 25. so Philo tells us, that God, who is King and Pastor of the World, hath appointed the Word his first-begotten Son, foreign 22De Agricult. p. 152., to undertake the Care of his sacred Flock, as his own Vice-roy and Substitute: and accordingly in the same place he makes The Word to be that Angel whom God had promis'd to send before the Camp of Israel to conduct them through the Wilderness. In short, as the Angels are said to be subject unto Christ, 1 Pet. 3. 22. and as Christ is said to be the Angel or Messenger of God, Ioh. 9. 4. so Philo calls the most ancient Word the foreign 33Q…st B…um divin. hae…. p. 307.…; that is, the Prince of the Angels, and the foreign 44De So…. p. 466.; the Angel or Messenger of God. And, to name no more, as Christ is called the Mediator of the new Covenant, Heb. 12. 24. and the Intercessor between God and Man, Heb. 7. 25. and the Propitiation and Atonement: So saith Philo, (which is highly worthy of p. 173our Observation) the word foreign, &c.11Quaest. Rerum Divin. her. p. 397. is the Intercessor for Mortals with the immortal God, and also the Embassador of that great King to his Subjects; which Office, saith he, he willingly undertook, saying, I will stand in the middle between the Lord and you, as being neither unborn as God, nor born as you; but being a Medium between those two Extreams, I will be a Pledge for both; for his Creatures, that they shall not utterly apostatize from him; for God, that he will not be wanting in his Fatherly Care towards them. And in another place he tells us, that the foreign is foreign 22De Sem…iis, p. 447.; that is, the Beginning and the End of God's Good-will to the World; which is all one with Propitiation.

And these Authorities of Philo I have the rather insisted upon, because he being a Iew and a Platonick Philosopher, must needs understand the Theology of Iews and Gentiles; and living about the Time of our Saviour, he must be supposed to have written in Terms that were then in use, and were very well understood both by Iews and Gentiles: And if so, then it must necessarily follow that this Phrase The Word, so common in that Author, was very commonly used both by Iews and p. 174Gentiles in our Saviour's Time, and consequently that it was derived from them, and so appropriated to our Saviour by the inspired Writers of the New Testament. And indeed it is not to be imagined how those inspired Writers should ever have so exactly agreed with the Iews and Gentiles in the Titles and Characters of the Eternal Word, had not either they themselves, or the Spirit of God, which dictated to them, purposely derived it from them.

2. That the New Testament giving no distinct Explication of this Phrase The Word, it is most safe and reasonable to fetch the Sense of it from that ancient Theology whence it was derived. I do not deny but it is usual with all Writers to use Terms and Phrases by way of Accommodation, and to illustrate their Sense by alluding to something that is like it; and therefore are not always to be understood in the Sense which those Terms and Phrases do most commonly signify, but in a Sense that hath some Proportion with it, as the Drift and Connection of their Di…course doth plainly intimate. But when Writers use Words in a literal Sense, without any Note of Allusion, and without explaining themselves into any different Sense, either they must mean the same Thing which those Words do commonly signify, or else they p. 175must mean to deceive and impose upon their Readers. And thus stands the Case before us; our Saviour is here stiled The Word, a Term of Art which was very common both in the Iewish and Gentile Philosophy; and neither here, nor any where else, is there the least Intimation that he is called so, only by way of Allusion; nor is it in all the New Testament explained into any other Sense than that wherein it was commonly used; and therefore the Intent of the Sacred Writers in using it must be either to denote the same thing which it signified before, or to deceive and impose upon the World. But doubtless if the Holy Spirit, which inspired those Writers, had meant any thing else by it than what it ordinarily signifies, he would have told us of it, and not have given us such an unavoidable Occasion to mistake in so great a Doctrine, by clothing its Sense in such a Phrase as generally signifies what he never meant. For when he called Christ by the same Name, and attributed the same Titles and Characters by which the Iews and Gentiles were wont to describe their foreign, he could not but foresee that all inquisitive Persons would be apt to conclude that he meant the same thing; and therefore if he had not meant so, he would doubtless either not have given him that Name, and those p. 176Titles, or else, to prevent our being imposed upon by them, he would have explained them into some other meaning; which since he hath not done, we may safely and rationally conclude that he meant the same Thing by this Name, and those Titles with those from whom he did derive them; and consequently that the most certain way for us to under…tand what is the Sense of Christ's being The Word, is to consider what those Iews and Gentiles meant by it from whose Philosophy it was first borrowed and derived.

3. That both the Iewish and Gentile Theology used this Phrase The Word, to signify a Vital and Divine Subsistence. For as for the Iews, it's plain that by The Word they meant the Messias; and therefore, Ps. 110. which they say contains the Mysteries of the Messias, the Chaldee Paraphrase, instead of the Lord said unto my Lord, read the Lord said unto his Word, that is consequently to his Messias. And Rab. Arama upon Genesis, explaining that Passage in the 107 Ps. 20. The Lord sent forth his Word, and they were healed; expresly tells us, that by this Word is meant the Messias. And Rab. Simeon the Son of Iohni expounding those Words of Iob 19. 26. Yet in my Flesh shall I see God, saith, that the Mercy which proceeds from the highest Wisdom of p. 177God shall be crowned by The Word, and take Flesh of a Woman; by which it's plain that by The Word he understood the Messias. And that by the Messias they understood a Divine Subsistence, is evident from sundry Places in the Chaldee Paraphrase; which often applies the Name Iehovah to the Messias; which according to the Opinion of the Iews, ought not to be imparted to any Creature; as particularly, Isa. 28. 5. Iehovah Sabbaoth (for so it is in the Hebrew) shall be a Crown of Glory unto the residue of his People; which those Interpreters understand concerning the Messias. So also Isa. 18. 7. In that time shall the Present be brought unto the Lord of Hosts; that is, say they, unto the Messias. So also, Ierem. 33. 16. By Iehovah our Righteousness, they understand the Messias; and by the Name of the Everlasting, Moses Hadersan understands the Name of the Messias, or Anointed King. And certainly had they not believed the Messias to be a Divine Subsistence, they would never have attributed to him this incommunicable Name of God; of which they had so high a Veneration, that they thought it too sacred for any Creature to name, and much more to assume. And the Commentary upon the fourth Psalm expresly saith, Because the Gentiles cease not to ask us, Where is our p. 178God, the time will come that God will sit among the Righteous, so as they shall be able to point him out with the finger; which plainly refers to the Coming of the Messias. And so also the Septuagint change Shaddai, the undoubted Name of the Omnipotent God, into foreign, The Word, Ezek. 1. 24. where, instead of the Voice of God, (as it is in the Hebrew) they read foreign, the Voice of the Word of God. And so also the afore-named Paraphrase, as I have already hinted, doth often use the Word of God for God himself, and that more especially with relation to the Creation of the World. Thus instead of I made the Earth, Isa. 45. 12. they read it, I by my Word made the Earth: And instead of God made Man, Gen. 1. 27. the Ierusalem Targum reads, And the Word of the Lord made Man: And instead of They heard the Voice of the Lord, Gen. 3. 8. the Paraphrase reads it, And they heard the Voice of the Word of the Lord God. And Philo expresly calls this Word the foreign, or Second God next to the foreign.

And as the Iews believed The Word to be a Divine Subsistence, so did the Gentiles also. For so Numenius the Pythagorean, as he is quoted by St. Cyril 11Cyril cont. Julian. l. 8., calls the Father the First, and the Word the Second God; p. 179and Plotin tells us11Enn. 5. l. 1. c. 6., that this Word, or Image of God, beholdeth God, and is inseparably joined with him; and Porphyry, as he is cited by the fore-named Father22Cyril. ibid. l. 1., tells us that the Essence of God extends to Three In-beings, viz. the highest Good, which is the Father, and the Maker of all things, which is the Word, and the Soul of the World; and these he also calls the First, and Second, and Third God. And of Pythagoras Proclus the Platonist affirms, that he commended Three Gods together in ONE, (even as Plato also doth) the Second of which was the Word or Wisdom, whereunto he attributes the Creation of the World. And Plato, in his 6th Epistle, so far owns the Divinity of the Word, that he earnestly exhorts his Friends that they should foreign; that is, invocate God the Governour of all things that are and shall be, and also the Lord and Father of that Prince and Govenour; by the first of which he evidently means The Word, since 'tis to the Word that he elsewhere33Plat. Epinom. attributes the Government of the Stars and Heavenly Bodies. By all which it is apparent, that by The Word they understood some Divine Subsistence, whose p. 180Nature is exalted above all finite Beings whatsoever; and therefore,

4. And lastly, Our Saviour, to whom this Phrase The Word is applied, must be that Divine Person or Subsistence. And so we find him stiled in the first Verse of this Chapter; In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. Which Expressions are so exactly agreeable to the Phrase of the Gentile Theology, that Amelius the Disciple of Plotin, and a great Enemy to the Christians, was forced to acknowledge that this is that Word which was from Everlasting, and by whom all things were made, as Heraclitus supposed: And, per Iovem, saith he, Barbarus isle, meaning St. Iohn, cum nostro Platone consentit, Verbum Dei in Ordine Principii esse 11St. Austin. De C… vit. Dei, l. 10.. This Barbarian is of our Plato's Mind, that the Word of God is ranked among the Principles. And indeed, unless we understand this Place of the Eternal Deity of The Word, I know not how it will be possible to make any tolerable Sense of it; for if by In the Beginning here, we understand, as the Socinians would have us, in the beginning of the Gospel when Iohn Baptist began to preach, the Words will imply a gross Tautology, and the Sense of them must be this; that Christ was when p. 181Iohn Baptist preached that he was, or which is all one, that he was when he was. For how can it be worthy of an Apostle so solemnly to assert, that the Word had a Being in the Beginning of the Gospel, when we know the Baptist taught as much himself? who therefore came baptizing with water, that he should be made manifest to Israel, Ioh. 1. 31. And when St. Matthew and St. Luke, who wrote before, taught us more than this, viz. That he was in being thirty Years before, when we are sure it was as true of any other then living as of the Word, even of Iudas that betrayed him, and Pilate who condemned him. By in the Beginning, therefore must be meant the Beginning of the World; and that even then, the Word was with God, and the Word was God. So Phil. 2. 6, 7. Who being in the form of God, thought it no 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. From whence these three Conclusions do most naturally result; First, That Christ was in the form of a Servant as soon as he was made Man: Secondly, That he was in the form of God before he was in the form of a Servant: And, Thirdly, That he was in the form of God; that is, did as really and truly subsist in the Divine Nature, p. 182as in the form of a Servant, or in the Nature of Man. For the Words literally translated run thus; But emptied himself, taking the Form of a Servant, being in the Likeness of Men: Which plainly implies, that Christ was full before he emptied himself, that he emptied himself by taking the form of a Servant, that he took the form of a Servant by being made in the likeness of Men; which Emptying presupposes a precedent Plenitude, and which Plenitude consisted in being so in the form of God as to think it no Robbery to be equal with God. So Rev. 1. 11. he solemnly proclaims his own Divinity; I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last; which is the incommunicable Title by which God describes his own Being, and distinguishes it from all others. And Isa. 44. 6. I am the first, and I am the last, and besides me there is no God. These and many other plain Assertions there are in the New Testament, of the Eternal Deity of the Blessed Word. But since the Eternal God was constantly both by the Iews and Gentiles, signified by this Phrase the Word, there is no Reason to imagine that St. Iohn should make use of it in any other Notion; since in so doing he would have imposed upon the World, and taken an effectual Course to make us believe that he meant what he never intended.

p. 183And so I have done with the first Thing proposed, which was to shew you what is here meant by Christ's being the Word; the Design of which, you see is to express his Eternal Godhead and Divinity.

2. I now proceed to the next Thing proposed, which was to shew you for what Reason it is that he is here called The Word? In answer whereunto, it is to be considered that the Word foreign hath a twofold Signification: First, It signifies Reason, which is the inferring one thing from another, and this is the Birth and Off-spring of the Mind. Secondly, It signifies Speech, which is an audible Expression of our Thoughts and Reasonings, and this is the Image and Interpreter of our Minds; and it is also the Executer of the Mind, especially in those who are in Sovereign Authority, and do rule by their Word and Command. Now our Blessed Saviour is called the Word upon both these Accounts, both as he is the Reason, and the Speech of God; and accordingly his being the Word denotes these four Things:

1st. His being generated of the Mind of the Father.

2dly. His being the perfect Image of that Mind.

p. 1843dly. His being the Interpreter of his Father's Mind to us.

4thly. His being the Executer of his Father's Mind.

1st. His being generated of the Mind of the Father, even as our Word or Reason is the Issue and Off-spring of our Minds. For it was the Opinion both of the Iews and Gentiles, that the Eternal Word is nothing else but that most perfect Notion, Idea, and Conception which God from the Beginning had formed of himself, and all other Beings in his own Mind. For thus the Iews tell us, that every thing below hath some Root above; which Roots, say they, are the Sephiroth, or Seals by which all these inferiour Substances are stamp'd, and shaped, and fashion'd; and these Seals, they tell us, are those most perfect Ideas of things which God did form in his own Mind, according to which he fashioned all the Beings that are in the World. For, say they,11Vide Dr. Cudworth of the Union of Christ and the Church. all the Three Worlds, that is, the Rational, the Sensitive, and Inanimate, were printed with the same Print, and sealed with the same Seal; (that is, that great Seal in the Mind of God, consisting of the Ideas of all things) and that which is sealed, and receiveth the Sealing here below, is like to the Shape and Form of those p. 185things above which did seal and stamp the Signature upon them. And these three Worlds, say they, being one below another, God set upon them the Seal of Sephiroth so hard that he printed them quite through the Bottom of them, that is, he stamp'd them all into an exact Resemblance to those Ideas which he had formed of them in his own Mind. So that according to them, before God made the World he framed the Idea and Model of it in his own Understanding, which, together with that Idea or Notion which from all Eternity he conceived of himself, they called the foreign, or Eternal Word of God. Hence Philo calls the Word of God, the foreign, and also the foreign 11De Mundi Opif. P. 5. …, and the foreign, and the foreign 22Ibid. P. 3.: And tells us, that as a City before it was made, existed only in the Mind of the Builder; so the World had no other Place, foreign; that is, than the Divine Word that made it. And afterwards he tells us, that the Intellectual World, that is, the World which contains the Ideas of all things, foreign 33Ibid. p. 4., is nothing else but the Word of God now making the World. p. 186And accordingly the Iews call The Word the Wisdom of God, and tell us11Rab. Isaac… Ben Schola on the last Verses of the 111 & 112 Psalms., that this Wisdom is of the most inward Vnderstanding of God, who beholds himself in himself. From all which it is apparent that the Iews attributed the Original of this Divine Word to the Mind of the Father, it being, according to their Divinity nothing else but that most perfect Conception and Idea which God from Everlasting formed of himself, and all other Beings, in his own Mind. In which Opinion the most Divine Philosophers of the Gentiles also do most exactly consent. And hence they generally call The Word the foreign, or Vnderstanding of the Father, he being the perfect Idea or Conception by which the Father understands himself and all other things. And accordingly Alcinous tells us22Alein de Doctrinâ Platonis., that both Socrates and Plato taught that God is a Mind, and that in the same there is a certain Idea which in respect of God, is that Knowledge which God hath of himself, and in respect of the World, is the Pattern or Mould thereof, and in respect of it self, is very Essence. And Plotin tells us33Plot. Enn. 5. l. 6. c. 1., that God is both the Party that is conceived p. 187in the Mind or Vnderstanding, and also the Party that conceives him; and he makes The Word to be that which God doth mind in himself, which is Himself, and his own immense Perfections; and that the Nature of that Idea of himself which he beholds in himself is an Act that issues from him, which consists in beholding and minding of himself, and in beholding him becomes the self same thing with him. And this Vnderstanding or Knowledge which God hath of himself, he calls11Enn. 5. l. 8. c 12. & Enn. 5. l. 1. c. 7., the Son of the Sovereign Father, that bears the like Resemblance to him, as the Light doth to the Sun in the Firmament. And, to name no more, Porphyry, as he is quoted by St. Cyril, tells us, That it was the Doctrine of Plato, that of the Good, (which elsewhere he calls the Father) is begotten an Vnderstanding in a manner unknown to Men, in which are all things that truly are, and the Essences of all things that have a Being; that is, the substantial Ideas of God, and all created things whatsoever. And upon this account it is, that they call this Divine Subsistence The Word, because it was generated by the Mind of the Father, even as our Words are generated by our Minds. And accordingly the ancient Iews, and Christian Fathers, do generally expound that p. 188great Elogium of Wisdom, Prov. 8. concerning the Eternal Word; where it is said, that Wisdom was set up from everlasting, and possessed by God in the beginning of his way; that it was brought forth by him before the World; and that when he appointed the Foundations of the Earth, then was it by him, as one brought up with him, and was daily his delight, rejoycing always before him, v. 22.—31. And this Notion the New Testament doth plainly refer to when it calls Christ the Wisdom of God, 1 Cor. 1. 24. which is the same Title that both Iews and Platonists give to The Word upon the account of his being that Eternal Knowledge and Vnderstanding which God hath of himself and all other Beings; and in this, Iohn 1. 4. the Apostle seems plainly to hint this Notion to us; for speaking there of The Word, In him, saith he, was Life, and the Life was the Light of Men. Now I think it will be hard to give any natural Account how that Life that was in The Word should enlighten Men, unless we suppose his very Life and Being to consist in Knowledge and Vnderstanding; for by the Light of Men here is plainly meant that Divine Knowledge which is revealed to the World by Christ; and this Divine Knowledge he tells us is the very Life of The Word, or the Life that was in The Word: And afterwards p. 189he expresly calls The Word the Light it self from whence all our Knowledge of God and Goodness is derived, v. 9. which is exactly the same with what Philo saith of The Word, viz. that He is the Intellectual Sun that is altogether Light; and with what Plotin saith of the foreign ▪ or Divine Mind, 11Enn. 5. l. 1.that he is a Light shed forth every where, streaming from God, and begotten of him. Which is a plain Evidence of Christ's being the substantial Light, Knowledge, or Idea of all things which God from Everlasting formed in his own Mind, and of his being therefore called the Word of God, because he is the Off-spring of God's Understanding, even as our Reason is the Off-spring of ours.

2dly. He is called The Word of God, because he is the perfect Image of God, even as the Word is the Image of the Mind: For thus, as I have already told you, the Eternal Word is very frequently called the Image of God both by the Iews and Gentiles. For so Plotin 22Enn. 5. l. 1. c. 6., that this Divine Vnderstanding, being the very Word of God, and Image of God, everlastingly beholds God, and cannot be separated from him; and33Ib…d l. 2. that it is the begotten Issue, Word, and Image of the Sovereign God. And Plato himself calls p. 190him11Plato de Repub. l. 6. p. 478. the begotten Son of the Good, and most like unto him in all things; the foreign, and afterwards, foreign; that is, the begotten Son of the Good, who is most like unto himself. And Rab. Moses the Son of Neheman, as he is quoted by Masius, proving that that Angel of God's Presence which went before the Camp of Israel was the Messias or Eternal Word, tells us, that he is therefore called the Angel of God's Presence, nimirum quia ille Angelus est facies Dei; because he is the Face of God, in whom God's Face was to be s…en. And so Philo the Iew also doth very frequently call The Word Philo Legis Alleg. l. 2. p. 60., the Image and Resemblance of God, and the foreign, the most perfect and exact Representation of God. For they suppose that God being Omniscient he must necessarily know himself, and that knowing himself, necessarily he must act ad extremum Virium, to the utmost of his Power, even as all other necessary Agents do; that acting to the utmost of his Power, he must by knowing himself produce as perfect an Image, Idea, or Notion of himself in his own Understanding as it was possible for him to do; that it was possible for him to produce p. 191such a vital and substantial Idea of himself as is vested with all the infinite Perfections of his Nature; and consequently that such an Idea he hath produced, and that this Idea is the Eternal Word. For God can do whatsoever doth not imply a Contradiction; now there is nothing in God but what he can communicate without a Contradiction, but only Self-Existence; that implies a Contradiction indeed, for God to cause another thing to be without any Cause, and to exist of it self. But as for all his other Perfections he may communicate them; and when he acts necessarily, as he is supposed to do in the Generation of the Word, he must, because then he acts to his utmost Possibility. So then The Word must have the same Nature, Essence, and Perfections with the Father; and the only imaginable Difference between them must be this; that whereas the Father exists of himself, the Word exists of the Father; which is exactly agreeable to the Catholick Notion of Christians. And indeed if it be granted that God, who is infinitely knowing, must necessarily know himself perfectly, then it will seem to follow, that there must be the same Perfections in that Idea or Notion by which he knows himself, that there are in himself; for else it is not one perfect Idea of him. And hence it is that our Notions p. 192do so imperfectly resemble things, because we cannot communicate to them that Life and Substance that is in the things themselves; and therefore if God knows himself perfectly, as he must needs do being infinitely knowing, he must communicate Life and Substance to the Notion of himself, or else 'twill be no perfect Notion of his Life and Substance▪ and he must communicate to it all the i…mense Perfections of his own Nature, or else 'twill be no perfect Notion of his own Perfections. So then the Eternal Word, which is here supposed to be the most perfect Notion of the Father, must be a vital and substantial Idea, endued with all the Perfections of the Divine Nature, which is also very agreeable with the Christian Notion of the Divine Word: For he is described to be the Image of God, 2 Cor. 4. 4. the Brightness of his Glory, and the express Character of his Person, Heb. 1. 3. and being so he must necessarily be what God is, i. e. God essential, or else he cannot be the perfect Image, and express Character of God. And accordingly in the New Testament he is called God over all, blessed for ever, Rom. 9. 5. and the Perfections of the Divine Nature are very frequently attributed to him, as particularly Omniscience, Iohn 16. 30. Eternity, Heb. 1. 12. and Rev. 22. 13. I am Alpha and Omega, the p. 193beginning and the end, the first and the last. So that upon this Account also he may very properly be called The Word of God, because as our Words are the Images of our Minds, so He is the most perfect Image of God.

3dly. He is called The Word, because he is the Interpreter of the Father's Mind, even as our Words also are the Interpreters of our Minds to others. And this Philo the Iew doth also take notice of as the proper Work and Office of The Word to be foreign,11Quis rer. div. h…r. p. 397. the Embassador of the Great King to his Subjects, to communicate his Mind and Will to them; and also the Angel and Messenger of God to Men to declare his Will and Pleasure to them: And that in the Execution of this Office he doth foreign, &… 22De Somn. p 461.Some as a King he commands what they shall do, others as a School-master he profitably instructs, others as a Counsellor he faithfully admonishes; all which he performs as the Interpreter of the Mind of God. And elsewhere he calls him the foreign 33De Charitate, p. 552., the Divine Sun that enlightens the Souls of Men; and elsewhere he expresly calls him the Interpreter of the Mind of God to p. 194Men: So that it seems it was upon this Account as well as others, that He was called by the Ancients, The Word of God. And the same Account is given of it in the New Testament. So Ioh. 1. 18. No Man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him. Where there is a particular Reason assigned, why though other Men interpreted the Mind of God to us, yet Christ alone is called The Word of God; because he only was the immediate Interpreter of the Divine Will, even as the Word which we speak is of ours. For he was in the very Bosom of the Father, and there understood his Mind not by the Instructions of an Angel, nor by Dreams and Visions, nor only by the Holy Ghost, but by an immediate Intuition of his Thoughts and Purposes which from all Eternity were exposed to his View and Prospect. For as St. Gregory Nazianzen hath observed, He had the same Relation to the Father, as the inward Thought hath to the Mind, because of his intimate Conjunction with him, and Power to declare him to the World. For the Father is known by the Son, who is a brief and easy Demonstration of the Father, as every thing that is begotten is foreign, the silent Word of that which doth beget it.

p. 1954thly. And lastly, He is called The Word, because he is the Executor of his Father's Will, even as the Word and Command of a King is the Executor of his Will and Pleasure: For according to the Sense of the Ancients, God hath from the very Beginning governed the World by his eternal foreign, whom they therefore call the Immortal King, the Governor of all things that are or shall be, and the Vice-Roy of the great God, as I have already shewed you at large. And 'twas by this Word that God executed his Will when he made the World; For by his Word he made the Heavens, and all the Host of them, by the Breath of his mouth, Ps. 33. 6. He did but say the word, Let there be Light, and there was Light; and to his powerful and efficacious Fiat the whole Frame of Nature was but a real Eccho. For these Expressions, Let there be Light, and let there be a Firmament, &c. are not perhaps so to be understood as if God did actually pronounce those Syllables, but they rather seem to be a popular Description of the infinite Energy of the Eternal Word by which God made the Heavens and the Earth, to whom it was as easy to give Being to the World as it was to command it to be; and that Passage of the Psalmist, by the Word of the Lord were the Heavens made, and of the Author to the Hebrews, p. 196Heb. 11. 3. that the Worlds were framed by the Word of God, seem rather to denote that powerful Act of Creation which was exerted by the vital and substantial Word of God; whereby he instantly, and as it were with a words speaking, gave Existence to those Beings he intended to create, than any articulate Words or Phrases pronounced by God himself; because in this Chapter, and many other Places of the New Testament, it is expresly said that God made the World by Christ, who is that living and substantial Word that was with God from the Beginning. Well therefore may Christ be called The Word of God, since by him God doth as effectually execute his Will, as if it were done by the Word of his own Mouth. For Christ hath such Power both in Heaven and Earth, that at his Word and Command all things are presently done according to his Will; and therefore you may observe in that Vision to St. Iohn, Rev. 19. 13. Iesus, being represented as the King of Kings, and Lord of Lords, clothed in a royal Purple Robe, is called by the name of the Word of God, when he was executing the Divine Vengeance upon the Nations by that Power which he hath at God's Right-hand.

p. 1973. I now pass on to the third and last Thing, namely, what we are to understand by the Word's being made Flesh; of which I shall give you a brief Account, and then conclude with a few short Inferences from the whole. Which Words, being made Flesh, we ought not so to understand as if the Eternal Word was changed or converted into Flesh, as Cerinthus taught; or as if the Flesh was changed or converted into the Word, as Valentinus ridiculously asserted; for the Deity is immutable, and as it can be changed into nothing, so nothing can be changed into it. But by Flesh we are to understand Man, a Part being put for the Whole; for so the Scripture doth very frequently call Man Flesh, that being one of the Ingredients of his Nature. Thus Ps. 56. 4. I will not fear what flesh can do unto me: Ierem. 17. 5. Cursed be the Man that maketh flesh his arm, that is, that puts his Confidence in Man: Matth. 24. 22. Except those days be shortned, no flesh shall be saved; that is, no Man: And Rom. 3. 20. No flesh shall be justified in his sight, that is, no Man shall be justified. So here, The Word was made flesh, that is, The Word was made Man. Not that the Divine Nature was converted into the Nature of Man, but the Meaning is, p. 198it was made one with Man, even as our Soul is not turned into nor confounded with the Body; yet they two, though distinct in Natures, grow into one Man; so the Manhood of Christ was assumed, or taken into The Word, both being united into one Person, the Natures being preserved entire and distinct, without any Mixture or Confusion. For as the Fourth General Council hath defined it, He was so made Flesh that he ceased not to be the Word, never changing that he was, but assuming that which he was not. And though our Humanity was advanced by it, yet his Divinity was not at all diminished, and the Mystery of Godliness, God manifested in the flesh, was no Detriment to the Godhead, which is always unchangeably the same: And therefore the seeming Harshness of this Expression may be easily mollified by comparing it with others of the same import; for elsewhere it is said, that he was manifest in the flesh, 1 Tim. 3. 16. Which only denotes that the Divinity was made known, and did appear in the World in a Humane Nature. Elsewhere it is said, that he took on him the Nature of Man, Heb. 2. 16. which only denotes that the Divinity did assume the Humane Nature to it, and was personally united with it. So here, The Word was made flesh; that is, The Word was made p. 199one with the Flesh by assuming the Humane Nature into a personal Union with it self.

Having thus explain'd to you the Sense and Meaning of the Words, I shall now conclude this Argument with three or four short Inferences from the whole.

1. From hence we may infer the Eternal Divinity of our Blessed Saviour, even from this great name The Word, that is here attributed to him. For since it is so apparent that this Phrase is a Term of Art derived from the Schools of the Iews and Gentiles, and since by it they did all so generally understand a Divine Person subsisting from all Eternity, it must necessarily follow that the Holy Ghost, deriving it from them and applying it to our Blessed Saviour, must use it to the same Sense; for otherwise He were better never to have used it at all, because by discoursing in the same Language with them, he will give us just occasion to think that he means the same thing, namely, that Christ, whom he calls The Word, is a Divine Person subsisting from all Eternity; which if he doth not mean by using that Term, he will almost necessarily betray us into a false Belief concerning our Saviour▪ As, to instance briefly in a Case of anoth…r Nature; Our Saviour▪ in his Sermons d…h p. 200frequently press us to Meekness and Patience, Humilty and Charity, all which are Terms frequently used long before in the Moral Philosophy both of the Iews and Gentiles, by which they signify such and such particular Virtues. Since therefore our Saviour doth use the same Terms with them, we have just Reason to conclude that he means the same Virtues by them; and should he mean any thing else, his very using of these Terms would necessarily impose upon us a false Sense of his meaning; for how should we understand his Meaning but by his Words, and how should we understand his Words but by the common Import and Signification of them? And can we imagine that the Spirit of Truth would have ever described our Saviour by a Term that was so generally used to signify a Divine Person subsisting from all Eternity, and used it too, as he doth, without any Restraint or Limitation, nay and so seemingly at least to the same Purpose, as he doth in the three first Verses of this Chapter, where he describes the Divine Nature and Operations of Christ The Word, in the same terms in which the Iews and Gentiles were wont to describe the Divinity of their foreign; can we imagine, I say, that the Holy Spirit would have done thus, had he known Christ to be nothing but a meer Man that never was p. 201before he was born of his Mother? Far be it from us to charge that Blessed Spirit with imposing such a Delusion upon Mankind.

2. Hence I infer the astonishing Love of our Blessed Saviour in condescending so low as to be made Flesh for us, and assume our Nature. For what he was before he took our Nature, you have heard already: He was no less than the Eternal Word of the Father; in whose Bosom he enjoyed the supremest Degree of Bliss and Happiness, being crowned with Glory, and incircled about with the Essential Rays of the Divinity. And yet such was his Love to poor Mortals, so infinite was his Zeal and Concern for our Happiness, that, seeing the Misery we were plunged into, he could not rest, no not in the blessed Arms of his Father, but stript himself of all his Majesty and Bliss, and comes down among us, and assumes our Nature to save and rescue us, and invite and lead us to those Heavenly Mansions from whence he descended to us. Lord, what a Prodigy of Love was here, as doth not only puzzle my Conceit, but out-reach my Wonder and Admiration! For when I seriously consider it, though it be a Blessing beyond all my Hopes, and such as I could never have had the Impudence to desire; yet it fills my Mind with an awful Horror p. 202to think that there was a Time when the great God was here upon the Earth in my Form and Nature, and conversed familiarly with such mortal Wights as my self, and for my sake, and such poor Worms as I, patiently under-went the common Infirmities of Men, and willingly exposed himself to the Contempt and Scorn of a malevolent World, and the Malice and Cruelty of those barbarous Men to whom he gave Being, and could with the Breath of his Nostrils have scattered into Atoms, and all this in meer Compassion to a Company of apostatized Natures, who had so highly deserved to be thrown from his Care and Mercy for ever. O my Soul, how am I astonished at this Miracle of Love! Methinks when I consider it I am looking down from a stupendous Precipice, whose Height …ills me with a trembling Horror, and even over-setting Reason.

3. From hence I infer what mighty Obligations we have for ever to love and serve our Blessed Redeemer. If our Hearts are capable of being warmed into any degree of Affection, sure 'tis impossible but we must be affected at such an unheard of Instance of Love. For the Son of God to leave his Father's Bosom, where he was infinitely more happy than we can express and think of, and p. 203disguise himself in mortal Flesh, and become a Man of Sorrows that he might make me a Man of endless Joys; can my Heart hold when I think of this? Is it possible I should reflect upon such a prodigious Instance of Affection without being wrapt into an Extasy of Love? Blessed Iesus, what barbarous Hearts do we carry about with us, that will not melt before the Flames of thy Love! Flames that are sufficient to kindle Seraphims, and to fill all reasonable Breasts▪ with burning Affections towards thee! For how is it possible that any Man, I had almost said that any Devil, should be so disingenuous and ill-natured as not to be affected with such stupendous Kindness? When we see a Child slight his careful and indulgent Parents, we are ready to account him an unnatural Monster; when we see a Man neglect his Friend, or disregard his Benefactor, we presently call him base and ungrateful; nay when we see one abuse a poor brute Creature that fawns upon him, and expresses its Kindness to him, we look upon it as an undoubted Sign of a very hard Heart, and an ill Nature: What Term then can we find in all the World of Words that is odious enough to express our Disaffection to our Blessed Redeemer, to whom we are so infinitely obliged? Base, Disingenuous, Ill-natured, p. 204and Vngrateful, are all too soft; 'tis something beyond Barbarous and Devilish. For one would think that neither the most inhumane Canibal on Earth, nor the blackest Devil in Hell, could ever be guilty of so foul a Crime, which hath something in it too monstrous for any Words to express. Well therefore may the Heavens be astonished, and the Earth tremble, and all the Creation of God stand amazed at us, to see how insensible we are of this most ravishing and endearing Love. Well may we be amazed at our selves, and wonder at our own Stupidity to think that the Son of God should be so kind as to come down from Heaven to visit us, to leave the Habitation of his Glory, and sh…oud his Divinity in mortal Flesh, and make himself a miserable Wight, meerly that he might make us happy, and advance us to that Glory and Bliss which for our sakes he willingly abandoned; and yet that we are no more touched and affected with it, than with the most indifferent Thing in the World. Blessed God, what are we made of? What kind of Souls do we carry about with us, that no Kindness will oblige us, no not the most endearing that ever was known or heard of? Doubtless should any Man have shewn us but half this Kindness, should a Friend but offer to die for us, or a p. 205Prince to descend from his Throne, and put himself into the State of a Beggar to inrich and advance us in the World, we should have thought our selves bound to him as long as we lived; and should we have thought any Services too much, any Requitals too dear for him, we should have been lookt upon as Monsters of Ingratitude, as the Reproaches and Scandals of humane Nature, and been hiss'd out of all Society for a Company of infamous Villains, unworthy of the least Respect or Favour from Mankind. But for a Friend to die, or a Prince to become a Beggar for our sakes, alas what poor inconsiderable Things are they, compared with the Condescentions of the Son of God, who humbled himself much lower in becoming a Man than the most glorious Angel in Heaven could have done in assuming the Nature of a Worm. And can we be so inhumane as not to be moved by such a Miracle of condescending Love? Is it the less, because it is the Love of God, or doth it less deserve our Requital? What Excuse then can we make for our wretched Insensibility? O ungrateful that we are! with what Confidence can we shew our Heads among reasonable Beings after we have so barbarously slighted our best Friend, and behaved our selves so disingenuously towards our greatest p. 206Benefactor? How can we pretend to any thing that is modest or ingenuous, tender or apprehensive in humane Nature, when nothing will oblige us, no not that astonishing Love that made the Son of God leave all his Glory, and become a poor miserable Mortal for our sakes? O blessed Iesus! what do thy holy Angels think of us! how do thy blessed Saints resent our Unkindness towards thee! yea, how justly will the Devils themselves reproach and upbraid our Baseness, who, bad as they are, were never so much Devils yet as to spurn the Love of a Redeemer coming down from Heaven to die and suffer for their sakes! Wherefore as we would not be hiss'd at by all the reasonable World, and become Spectacles of Horror to God, and Angels, and Devils, let us endeavour to affect our selves with the Love of our Redeemer, and to inflame our own Souls with the Sense of his Kindness, who hath done such mighty things to endear and oblige us.

4. From hence I infer what monstrous Disingenuity it would be in us to think much of parting with any thing, or doing any thing for the sake of Christ, who for our sakes parted with his Father's Bosom, and all those infinite Delights which he there enjoyed, and united himself to our miserable Nature that he might make us good and p. 207happy for ever. And now after all this, with what Conscience or Modesty can we grudge to do any thing which he shall require at our hands? Should he command me to descend into the lowest Form of Beings, and to become the most wretched and contemptible of all Animals, could I be such a Caitif as to deny him, who descended much lower for the sake of me? Should he remand me back into Non-entity, and bid me cease to be for ever; alas! the Distance is nothing so great between me and nothing, as 'twas betwixt him, and that humane Nature which he assumed for my sake. Should he require me to die for him under all those lingering and exquisite Tortures which the blessed Martyrs suffered for his Name, what Proportion were there between what he requires of me, and what he hath done for me? He only requires that I should pass through Death to Heaven for him, but he came from Heaven to pass through Death for me; so that for his sake I should only put off a wretched Garment of Flesh, that I may be inrobed with Glory and Immortality; but for my sake he put off his Robes of Glory and Majesty, that he might wear my frail and mortal Flesh, and therein reconcile me to God, and make me everlastingly happy: And when I may advance my self into an Equality p. 208with Angels by suffering the Agonies of a miserable Death for him, shall I refuse, or think much of it; when he who was equal with God in Glory and Happiness, was so ready to be born a wretched miserable Man for me? Should he require me to give my Substance to the Poor, and leave my self destitute of all Supplies and Comforts; could I deny so poor a Request to him, who forsook a Heaven of infinite Pleasures for my sake, and exposed himself naked to the Mercy of a wretched, wicked, and ill-natured World, from whom he could expect nothing but the most barbarous Contempt and Cruelty? Sure, one would think 'twere impossible for any reasonable Being to deny such poor, such inconsiderable Boons to such a great and deserving Benefactor; and yet these are much more than what he ordinarily requires at our hands. For that which he ordinarily requires of us is, that we would forsake those Vices which are as injurious to us as they are hateful to him, and which are therefore hateful to him, because they are our Enemies; and that we would practise those Virtues in which the Perfection and Happiness of our Nature is involved, and which we can no more be happy without, than we can be without Being. And can I think much to part with those Lusts p. 209for his sake, which are my Shames and Infelicities, who never grudg'd to part with Heaven for mine? Can they be as dear to me as his Father's Bosom was to him? and yet he left that for Love of me; and shall not I leave these for Love of him? Methinks if we will not part with them for our own sakes, as being destructive to our Peace and Happiness; yet had we the least spark of Ingenuity in us, we should gladly part with them for the sake of our Saviour, who for ours was so ready to part with all that was dear to him. Can we be such Wretches as to refuse to serve him, when he requires nothing of us but what we are obliged to by our own Interest? Are we so lost to all that is ingenuous and modest, that we will not obey him when he only requires us to be kind to our selves? O wretched Mortals! doth his Coming down from Heaven to save you, deserve this barbarous Treatment at your hands, that to spite him you should injure your selves, and wound his Authority thro' your own Sides? Had he been wholly indifferent to you, it had been very unreasonable to reject his Service when it altogether consists in serving your selves; but to disobey so dear a Friend, to whom we are obliged by such stupendous Favours, when he enjoins p. 210us nothing but the Means of our own Happiness, is such a Piece of monstrous and unnatural Baseness, as the Devil himself can hardly parallel. O unkind that we are! that we will not be good to our selves for our Saviour's sake, and that when he conjures us to it, as he doth, even by all the Love that we owe him! For so Iohn 14. 15. If ye love me, saith he, keep my Commandments; Consider what mighty things I have done for you; how I left my Throne in Heaven for your sakes, and became a miserable mortal Man: And now that I am going from you, and am offering up my Life to redeem you, if ever I have merited any Love at your hands, express it in keeping my Commandments. 'Tis no great matter that I require of you, 'tis only that you would be kind to your selves, that you would let Misery alone, and endeavour to be as happy as Heaven can make you. This is all the Requital that I expect at your hands, that you would be as good and happy as I would have you; and this, which is the sum of all my Commands, I conjure you strictly to observe, even by all the Love that you owe me. O blessed Iesus! one would have thought thou hadst been requiring some mighty Trial of our Love to thee, that we should do some great Thing for thee to which nothing could prompt us p. 211but only our Gratitude and Kindness: But when thou only requirest us to express our Love to thee in doing that which is the highest Expression of our Love to our selves, can we be so disingenuous as not to do that for thy sake to whom we are so infinitely obliged, which we are bound to do for our own sakes as well as thine?

5. And lastly; Hence I infer what a glorious Thing it is to do Good, since the Son of God, having so great an Opportunity of doing Good to the World, thought it worth his While to come down from Heaven, and assume our Natures, and undergo our Miseries, as if he esteemed it more glorious and becoming the Majesty and Divinity of his Person to dwell upon Earth with poor miserable Mortals, among whom he might do the greatest Good, than to sit above upon the Throne of Heaven, and receive the most humble Adorations of Angels; for 'twas only for an Opportunity of doing the greatest Good that he exchanged the Glory and Happiness of Heaven, chusing rather to become a miserable Man to make others good and happy, than to continue among those infinite Delights with which the Heavenly State abounds. What a most glorious Thing then is it to do Good, when our most wise Redeemer p. 212chose it before Heaven it self, when he thought it more eligible to come down upon Earth and make us happy, than to dwell in the Bosom of his Father, and shine in Heaven with the Brightness and Glory of his Divinity. And if there be nothing in Heaven so glorious as doing Good, what is there upon Earth that may be compared unto it? What dim, what sullied Things are all the Pomps and Splendors of this World compared with the Glory of doing Good to others, when God preferred it before Heaven it self? To conquer Kingdoms, to lead the World in Triumph after us, how mean and inconsiderable are they compared with that Glory which the Son of God forsook meerly to do Good to the World? A Thing which he esteemed so great and illustrious, that he did not only leave Heaven for it, but scorned and despised the Kingdoms of the Earth, finding nothing below that was worthy of him but only to go about doing Good! For this was his constant Imployment, as you may see Acts 10. 21. And now is it possible that after this great Example, we should think Beneficence a cheap or vulgar Thing? Can we think it a Dishonour to stoop to the meanest Offices, whereby we may serve the Souls or Bodies p. 213of our Brethren, when the Son of God came down from Heaven, and vailed his Glory in mortal Flesh for no other End but to do Good? O foolish Creatures that we are! did we but understand and consider what a magnificent Thing it is to supply the Necessities of Men, and contribute to their Happiness, we should doubtless embrace it as our greatest Preferment, and think our selves bound to bless God for ever for furnishing us with Occasions of doing Good, that he doth deem us worthy of such an illustrious Imployment, to have some share with himself in the Glory of it, that he will vouchsafe to us an Opportunity to honour and magnify our selves by acting this Divine, this Godlike Part in the World. Never then let us think that we dishonour our selves, though we stoop never so low, when it is to do Good; no, though it be to visit a Beggar, to dress the Sores of a poor Lazar, to instruct or comfort the meanest Wretch in all thy Neighbourhood. For now thou actest the Part of God in doing the most glorious Thing in all the World; a Thing for which the greatest Princes may envy thee, and the blessed God for ever applaud thee! Now thou art doing that which the Son of God came down from Heaven to p. 214do, and which he thought more worthy of his Choice than to reign over Angels in Heaven: So that either we must say, that He was unwise for preferring it before Heaven, or else we must acknowledge that we are infinitely foolish in preferring any Thing in the World before it.

II. I now proceed to the Second Proposition, And dwelt among us full of Grace and Truth. For that these later Words [full of Grace and Truth] belong to the former, [And dwelt among us] you may plainly see by the Parenthesis in your Bible, by which they are interrupted and broken off from one another. In the Explication of these Words, I shall do these Two Things:

1. Enquire what is here meant by the Word's dwelling among us.

2. What we are to understand by his being full of Grace and Truth.

1. What is here meant by the Word's dwelling among us? In the Greek it is foreign; that is, he pitched his Tabernacle among us; which seems plainly to refer to God's dwelling in the Tabernacle p. 215under the Mosaic Law. For the Greek word foreign comes immediately from the Hebrew Shacan, and differs from it only by the Greek Termination; and from Shacan comes the word Shechinah, by which the Hebrews were wont to express God's glorious Presence upon Earth, and especially his Habitation in the holy Tabernacle between the two Cherubims, where he is said to dwell, 1 Sam. 4. 4. and 2 Sam. 6. 2. because from thence God was wont to speak, and discover himself by a visible Brightness and Glory: And accordingly this Presence, or Habitation of God, is called in the Greek foreign and foreign, Glory and Appearing. Thus Numb. 16. 19. it is said, that when the Congregation drew near to the Tabernacle, the Glory of the Lord appeared unto them; and, v. 42. it is said, that a Cloud covered the Tabernacle, and the Glory of the Lord appeared. So when the Glory is said to be departed from Israel, 1 Sam. 4. 21. it's plain that by that Glory is meant this visible Appearance of God in a glorious Brightness from between the Cherubims. So, Rev. 21. when it had been said of the New Ierusalem, that it was foreign, the Tabernacle of God with us, v. 3. that being repeated again, v. 11. is said to have the Glory of God in it, and the Glory of God to enlighten it, v. 23. Now it seems p. 216most probable that this glorious Shechinah, Presence, or Habitation of God, consisted in the Presence of Angels; who being the Courtiers of Heaven, where they appear there God is said to be peculiarly present. And hence it is that the Well Lahi-roi, where the Angel appeared to Hagar, Gen. 16. 7, 14. is by the Ierusalem Targum, stiled the Well ubi manifestata illi fuit Praesentia Domini Majestatica, where the Presence of God in Majesty was manifosted to her: And that visible Glory which appeared from between the Cherubims, is called by the same name, viz. the Gloria Majestaticae praesentiae Domini, the Glory of the Majestatick Presence of God; which is a plain Evidence that the Iews believed the Majestatick Presence of God to be nothing else but the Appearance of Angels. And of the same Mind was the Author to the Hebrews, Heb. 2. 2. For the Law, saith he, was spoken by Angels; and so St. Stephen, Acts 7. 53. The Law was received by the Disposition of Angels; and St. Paul, that the Law was ordained by Angels in the hand of a Mediato…, Galat. 3. 19. Whereas Exod. 19. 11. comp. with 20. v. 22. it is said, that the Lord came down in the sight of all the People, and talked with them; that is, as you will there find, he spoke the Law to them. Which is a plain Evidence that that glorious Descent p. 217of God's Presence upon Mount Sinai, where the Law was spoken, was in the Opinion of the Author to the Hebrews, nothing but the Presence of Angels; who when they were to represent the Divine Presence, were wont to appear in bright and radiant Bodies; and therefore where it is said in Isaiah's Vision, Is. 6. 1. that he saw the Lord sitting upon a Throne, and that his Train silled the Temple; that is, his Train of Angels; and this Train of Angels our Saviour calls the Glory of the Lord, Ioh. 12. 41. which is the same with the Shechinah, or Majestick Presence: And therefore perhaps they are called Angels of Light in reference to that lucid, shining, flaming Appearance which they were wont to make: And in Ps. 104. 4. God is said to make his Ministers a flaming fire, that is, when they are to make a visible Representation of his Majestick Presence to Mankind. But besides this, Isa. 63. 9. you have mention made of the Angel of God's Presence which saved Israel; which seems to denote the Head and Chief of those Angels, which by their glorious Appearances did represent God to Mankind. By which Angel the Iews did generally understand the Messias, or Eternal Word: For so Philo, 11De Agricul. p. 152.speaking of God's committing the Care of his p. 218Flock to his first-born Son, The Word, tells us, That this is that Angel whom God promised to send before the Camp of Israel, even the Angel of his Presence. And so also Rab. Menahem upon the 14th of Exod. 19. tells us, that the Angel which went before the Camp of Israel was Shechinah the Presence, or Majesty of God, and that he is called the Angel or Prince of the World, because the Government of the World is in his hands. And to the same Purpose Moses the Son of Neheman, Praeterea Scriptum est, saith he, & Angelus faciei ejus salvos fecit ipsos, &c. that is, It is written, the Angel of his Presence shall save them, viz. that Angel which is the Presence of God, of whom it is said, My Presence shall go before thee, and I will cause thee to rest. Moreover, saith he, this is that Angel of whom the Prophets foretold, The Lord whom ye seek shall suddenly come to his Temple, the Angel of the Covenant whom ye desire; which both the Ancient Iews and Christians interpret to be the Messias; and this, saith he, is He who governs the World, that brought the Children of Israel out of Egypt, and to whom the most High God communicates his own Name. And this without doubt was he whom God calls his Presence when he promised Moses, that his Presence should go along with him, Exod. 33. 14. for this Presence is there said to be p. 219the Angel of God; both which put together make him to be the Angel of God's Presence, Exod. 23. 20. And accordingly instead of, Say not before the Angel of the Lord, Eccles. 5. 6. the Septugiant render it, Say not before the Presence of God, that is, before the Angel of his Presence. And since to this Angel of his Presence, God doth attribute not only his Prerogative of Forgiving Sins, but also his own Name, as you may see he doth, Exod. 23. 21. it seems very probable, what not only the Iews, but many very Learned Christians do assert, that it was no created Angel, but the Eternal Word or Messias: For saith God to Moses, Behold I send an Angel before thee, &c. beware of him, and obey his Voice; provoke him not, for he will not pardon your Transgressions, for my Name is in him; that is, my Name Iehovah, which is the proper and incommunicable Name of God. And accordingly you frequently read of an Angel that is called by the Name Iehovah, which I doubt not was the same with this Angel of God's Presence. Thus that Angel of the Lord which appeared to Moses in the burning Bush, is called by the Name Iehovah, and stiled the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Iacob, Exod. 3. 2. comp. 4. 5. And one of those Angels that appeared to Abraham in the Plains of Mamre, is called the Lord, and p. 220the Iudge of all the Earth, Gen. 18. 1. 25. So also he that stood on the top of the Ladder in Iacob's Vision, is in Gen. 28. 13. called the Lord God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac; whereas in Gen. 31. 11. he is called the Angel of the Lord, and afterwards, v. 13. the God of Bethel. Which seems to me a plain Evidence that that Angel of God was God, since both those Titles were attributed to the same Person; and that he was also that very Angel of his Presence whom God promised to send before the Camp of Israel, since in him it is apparent the Name of God was, i.e. the Name Iehovah. And it's very observable, that this very Angel both Philo and the Chaldee Paraphrase stiles the Word of God; and therefore those Words of God to Ioshua, Ios. 1. 5. As I was with Moses, so I will be with thee, the Paraphrase renders thus, As my Word was assisting to Moses, so it shall be assisting to thee: And 'tis the Observation of the Learned Masius, that generally where the Hebrew Text speaks of God either conversing with Men, or managing their Affairs, that Paraphrase, instead of God, uses this Phrase the Word of God. From whence it is evident, that it was the received Doctrine of the Iews that God was always present with Mankind by his Eternal Word; which is therefore the more considerable, p. 221because it so exactly agrees with the Doctrine of the Primitive Fathers. For so Tertullian, Christus semper egit in Dei Patris nomine; ipse ab initio conversatus est cum Patriarchis & Prophetis. And in his Book against Praxian he tells us, That from Adam to the Patriarchs and Prophets, Christ always descended to discourse with Men; and that that God who conversed upon Earth with Men, was no other than that Eternal Word that was to be made Flesh. And the same Thing is strenuously asserted also by Iustin Martyr in his Discourses with Trypho the Iew. Nor can I see any Reason why he should not be the Angel of God's Presence, since elsewhere he is expresly called the Angel of that Covenant by which God hath oblig'd himself to be present with his Church for ever, Mal. 3. 1. And the New Testament so often declares him to be the Image, and Character, and Representative of God; and himself tells Philip that he did so perfectly represent the Father, that whosoever had seen him had seen the Father, Ioh. 14. 9. And if this be so, as it seems highly probable, that The Word was the Angel of God's Presence, that is, the Chief or Prince of those Angels that represented God in the World, then it will follow that the Shechinah, or Majestick Presence of God, consisted in a glorious and visible Appearance of p. 222the Word with a Troop of blessed Angels attending him in bright and luminous Forms And this I conceive was the glorious Presence. of God which came down first upon Mount Sinai, and afterwards removed into the Tabernacle, and abode between the two Cherubims. And this I am rather induced to believe, because I find the Descent of God's Presence upon Mount Sinai, is described in the same manner as Christ's coming to Judgment; for so, Matth. 16. 27. it is said, that he shall come in the Glory of his Father, with his Angels; and St. Iude tells us, that he shall come with his holy Myriads, or Ten Thousands, v. 14. for so it ought to be render'd: And the Lord in the same manner is said to come from Sinai with his holy Ten Thousands, or Myriads; for so it is in the Hebrew, Deut. 33. 2. And since they are both described in the same manner, it seems to follow, that they were both the same Majestick Presence of God, even the Eternal Word assuming a glorious Form, and attended with Myriads of bright and shining Angels. And this same Presence it was that was afterwards displayed in the Tabernacle, which was said to be filled with the Glory of the Lord, which shone from between the Cherubims with a bright and visible Splendour, that is, with the illustrious Appearances of the Eternal Word, p. 223and those glorious Angels that attended him. And upon that Mount, and in that Tabernacle, did this blessed Word represent his Father, even as the Vice-Roy doth the Sovereign Prince; for there in his Father's Person, and by his Authority, he gave forth his Laws and Oracles to the Seed of Abraham, and as the Vice-gerent of the most High God governed the House of Israel, and distributed to them Rewards and Punishments, according as they behaved themselves towards him: For upon all the fore-named Reasons it seems highly probable, that he was the Lord who spoke to Moses, and from between the Cherubims, and that thence delivered the Law to him. So that as he was the Shechinah, or glorious Presence of the most High God in the Tabernacle, he did there represent his Person by bearing his Authority, and ruling the House of Israel as his Substitute and Vice-Roy.

And that the Words of my Text do refer to this glorious Appearance of the Word in the Tabernacle, and to his representing of the most High God there, is very evident, in that it is not only said that he tabernacled among them, which evidently alludes to his dwelling in the old Tabernacle, but that they saw his Glory too, which is a plain Allusion to that Glory of his which filled the Tabernacle. So that the Meaning of these Words, p. 224He dwelt among us, seems to be this, that as Christ who is the Eternal Word, was the Shechinah, the Divine Presence, or Angel of God's Presence, which in the Tabernacle of old represented the most High to the Iews; so he also abode or tabernacled in our Flesh as the Representative of his Father to Mankind. In the Tabernacle of our Flesh he displayed the Glory of his Father to us; he openly manifested and represented him to the World, even as of old he was wont to do in the Tabernacle of Moses. For, for The Word to Tabernacle among us must necessarily signify more than barely to dwell or live among us; for it must signify to dwell as the Shechinah in the Tabernacle, that is, as the most glorious Presence or Representative of the most High God, as one that was vested with the Divine Authority, and that was the Vice-gerent of the Father of all things. So that, He dwelt among us, seems to signify the same with, He reigned among us in his Father's stead, as one who bore his Authority, and represented his Person, and to whom for the future we were to pay the same Homage and Reverence that we were bound to render to the most High himself, who under himself hath authorized him to be our Prince and Governour to declare his Divine Will to us, and exact our Obedience thereunto by rewarding p. 225and punishing us according to the Tenour of those Laws which he hath established in his blessed Gospel; for this is plainly implied in his Shechanizing or Tabernacling, viz. his being the glorious Representative of God in the World. He tabernacled among us, that is, he acted in God's stead, as one that represented his Father; and this he did in our Flesh in a far more glorious manner than ever he did in the Mosaic Tabernacle: For in our Flesh and Nature he tabernacled full of Grace and Truth; which brings me to the next Enquiry, viz.

2. What is here meant by his dwelling among us full of Grace and Truth? By these two Phrases the Design of the holy Penman is doubtless to distinguish the Manner of his dwelling among us from that of his dwelling among the Iews in the Tabernacle: For a little after he uses the same Phrases in Contradistinction to the Law of Moses: The Law, saith he, was given by Moses, but Grace and Truth by Iesus Christ, v. 17. God the Eternal Word gave the Law to Moses, and Moses gave it to the People of Israel; but Iesus Christ, that is, the Eternal Word incarnate, gave not the Law, but Grace and Truth. So in the Text, The Word incarnate, or tabernacled in our Flesh, did Shechanize, or perform the Part of his Father's supreme p. 226Representative among us full of Grace and Truth; which implies something beyond what he did when he dwelt in the Tabernacle of Moses, and there as the Vice-Roy of God reigned over the House of Iacob. That I may therefore more fully explain this Matter to you, I will briefly consider these two Phrases apart, and shew you in what Particulars they each of them distinguish his dwelling among us from his dwelling in the Mosaick Tabernacle.

1. He dwelt among us full of Grace, which distinguishes his dwelling among us from that more severe and rigorous manner in the former Tabernacle; and that in these following Particulars:

1st. He dwelt among us full of Grace in respect of the Sweetness and Obligingness of his Behaviour, in Contradistinction to that more dreadful and terrible manner of his conversing with the Iews, when he tabernacled among them. The Iews being a most stubborn and stif-necked Generation, (as they are often called in the Old Testament) the Eternal Word thought fit to converse among them in such a way as was most suitable to their Genius and Temper, to break their Stubbornness with the Dread of his Power, and awe them with the Terror of his Majesty. And accordingly you find p. 227that when he came down first upon Mount Sinai, he was attended with a loud sounding Trumpet, with Thunders and Lightnings, with Fire and Smoak, and all the Equipage of a most dreadful Majesty, such as caused the Mountain and the People to tremble, Exod. 19. 16, 20. And afterwards it is said that the Glory in which he appeared, when the People saw him upon the Mount, was like a devouring Fire, in which glorious Appearance he afterwards removed into the Tabernacle, and there abode between the Cherubims, Exod. 40. 34, 35. And when in all this dreadful Majesty he appeared unto them, they are kept at a great Distance from him, and were severely forbid to approach him, lest he should break forth upon them, and destroy them, Exod. 19. 24. And whenever they provoked him by their Murmurings and Rebellions, his Wrath broke forth like Lightning upon them, and consumed the ring-leading Rebels, that by their Example the rest might be warned to do no more wickedly. Thus in all his Converses with them he clothed himself in a formidable Majesty to break, and awe their sturdy Spirits, and force their stiff Necks to yield to the Yoke of his Sovereign Authority. But when he assumed our Nature, and tabernacled among us in our Flesh, he laid by that astonishing p. 228Majesty that was wont to render him so dreadful to the Israelites, and put on all the Condescentions and Sweetnesses of a most familiar and endearing Conversation, and conversed among Men in such a generous, friendly, and courteous Manner as was most apt to charm and inamour the World. He was free without being vain or trifling, serious without being four or morose; his Humour always chearful and uniform, and his Gravity was equally distant from Moroseness and Vanity; and in a word, his Deportment was made up of all the Accomplishments that can command either Love or Honour. And though now and then he falls into high Expressions of Indignation, yet 'twas only against those base Fellows the Pharisees, who under a Pretence of being Saints and the Godly Party, were bloted up with Pride and Arrogance, and canker'd with Malice and ill Nature; for which they were so abominable in his Eyes, whose Temper was altogether so loving and divine that he could not mention them without calling them Hypocrites, and the Children of the Devil. And if to all this you add his profound Humility and Condescention, his Meekness under Reproaches, and his Constancy and Patience under the greatest Sufferings, how much more sweet, grateful and charming, was p. 229this than when he appeared in such a dreadful and astonishing Majesty upon Mount Sinai, and in the Tabernacle of Moses? 'Tis true, the Innocency and Purity of his Life, the Divinity of his Doctrine, and the many mighty Miracles that he wrought, could not but imprint an awful Majesty upon his Person; but yet 'twas a graceful Majesty, a Majesty full of Grace and Sweetness, and such as was much more apt to endear than to affright Men! For, as for the Virtue of his Life, and the Divinity of his Doctrine, it could not but attract all those who had any Love and Esteem for Virtue and Goodness. And as for his Miracles, they were vastly different from those which he wrought in the Wilderness, which had little else in them but Matter of Terror and Astonishment; but these were all such as did express his Kindness to the World, and so were much more apt to oblige than to terrify those that beheld them: For he went about doing good, a…d healing all that were oppress'd with the Devil, Acts 10. 38. and healing all manner of Sickness, and all manner of Diseases among the People, Matth. 4. 23. So that in respect of the Sweetness and Obligingness of his Conversation, he tabernacled among us full of Grace, in Contradistinction to that terrible Majesty in which he tabernacled among the Iews.

p. 2302dly. He tabernacled among us full of Grace in regard of the Sweetness and Gentleness of his Laws, in Contradistinction to those many burthensom Precepts which he gave when he tabernacled among the Iews. It's apparent by the History of that People that they were obstinately addicted to the Customs of Egypt, from whence they were brought, and of the Neighbouring Nations round about them; and thence it was that notwithstanding those manifest Discoveries that God had made of himself to them, and of his being the only true God, such as one would have thought had been sufficient to have convinced the most obstinate Gainsayers; yet ever and anon we find them starting aside to the Idolatrous Customs of the Gentiles, and revolting from that God who had so gloriously manifested himself among them. The Eternal Word therefore, when he came to tabernacle among them, he gave them abundance of Laws, the Matter of which was in its own Nature perfectly indifferent, that by those as by so many Bounds and Fences he might keep them from breaking out of God's Inclosure into the wild Common of Gentilism; and such were the greatest Part of their Ceremonial Laws, some of which were instituted in Compliance with the more innocent Rites of p. 231the Heathen, and others in opposition to those which were purely magical and idolatrous. And hence it is that in the Law of their Ceremonies, there are so many things enjoined them of which we can give no tolerable Account, they being either innocent Customs derived from the Heathens in Compliance with the Iews, or Prohibitions of those magical and idolatrous Customs in which the Iews had been educated in Egypt, and to which they were always very prone and inclinable. So that merely to comply with the Iews in what was innocent, and to restrain them in what was hurtful and idolatrous, the Eternal Word was fain to impose a vast number of Positive Laws upon them, which contained nothing but what was purely indifferent, and might have been done or undone without any Prejudice to the Eternal Rules of Goodness. And accordingly, Ezek. 20. 24, 25. it is said, that because their Eyes were after their Fathers Idols, therefore God gave them Statutes that were not good, that is, had no intrinsick Goodness in them; and Iudgments whereby they should not live. And that God imposed these Things, not as good in themselves, but as accommodated to the present State and Temper of the Israelites, is evident from what the Psalmist says, Ps. 51. 16. Thou desirest not Sacrifi…e; thou delightest p. 232not in Burnt-offerings; though it is evident he had a farther End in imposing very many of these sacred Rites, namely to shadow out by them the Mysteries of the Gospel, and give them some preludious Hints of that glorious Kingdom of Christ that was afterwards to be established in the World: But by this means the Iewish Law was multiplied into so many Precepts, and those many of them so expensive and burthensom, that the Apostle calls it a Yoke which neither they, nor their Fathers were able to bear, Acts 15. 10. and else where, a Yoke of Bondage, Gal. 5. 1. Thus while the Eternal Word tabernacled among the Iews▪ his Laws were very rigid and cumbersom, being clogg'd with so vast a number of positive Rites and Observances: But when he came to tabernacle in our Flesh, he abolished all these numerous Ceremonies, and imposed nothing upon the World but what is sweet, and easy, and full of Grace. And hence himself tells us, Matth. 11. 30. foreign, My Yoke is gracious, (for so it is in the Greek) and my Burthen is light; for it imposes nothing upon us but what is most agreeable to our rational Natures, nothing but what we our selves, if we were wise and good, should reckon our selves obliged to though he had never enjoined it. For all the Duty he requires of p. 233us results immediately from the Frame of our Natures, and the unalterable Relations we stand in to God and the World. For the Sum of all Christian Duty is contained in those three Generals, to live soberly, and righteously, and godly in this present World; and these must necessarily oblige us so long as we carry such Beings about us, and continue in such Relations. Whilst God is our God and Creator, we cannot be disobliged from living godly, that is, from honouring and loving him, from fearing and trusting in him, from serving and adoring him; for unless we could destroy our Relation to him, and cease to be his Creatures, the Dueness of these Acts of Homage and Worship from us to him, must necessarily abide for ever: Whilst we continue to be reasonable Animals we cannot be freed from the Obligation of Sobriety, which consists in governing our Passions and Appetites by our Reason; for till we can lay by our Reason, which is the superiour Principle of our Nature, and step into another Form of Beings, it will be always fit that our inferiour Powers should be subject to its Conduct and Government. Whilst we continue in the Society of Men, and are Members of the Body of Mankind, we cannot be released from the Tyes of Righteousness, which contains in it Charity, p. 234and all other sociable Virtues; and till we cease to be related to Mankind, it can never cease to be reasonable for us to do what becomes our Relation, that is, to be just, benign, and charitable to one another. So that all that the Word incarnate hath enjoined us, is to do what we our selves must needs acknowledge is most just and reasonable, and what we should choose to do before any thing in the World, were we not prejudiced against it by our own base Lusts and unreasonable Passions. So that in respect of those gracious Laws he gave us whilst he dwelt among us, he may well be said to dwell among us full of Grace.