Like

having been the maker of the world, the giver of the law, and the medium of all the divine communications to the patriarchs, and efpecially the doctrine of his being equal to God the Father himself) must have been quite new and extraordinary doctrines; and, therefore, must have been received as fuch, whenever they were firft divulged. all other new and extraordinary doctrines, they must have been first heard with great furprize, and they would probably be received with fome doubt and befitation. The preaching of fuch doctrines could not but excite much speculation and debate, and they would certainly be much exclaimed against, and would be urged as a most serious objection to chriftianity, by those who did not become christians. These have always been the confequences of the promulgation of new and extraordinary opinions, the minds of men not having been previously prepared to receive them. Let us now see whether we can perceive any of these natural marks of the teaching of doctrines fo new and extraordinary within the compass of the gospel history.

It cannot be faid that John the Baptift preached any fuch doctrine; and when the apostles first attached themselves to Jefus, it is evident they only confidered him as being fuch a Meffiah as the rest of the Jews expected, viz. a man, and a king. When Nathanael was introduced to him it was evidently in that light, John i. 45. Philip findeth Nathanael and faith unto him, we have found him of whom Mofes in the law and the prophets did write, Jefits of Nazareth, the Son of Jofeph. He had then, we may suppose, no knowledge of the miraculous conception.

That Jefus was even the Meffiah, was divulged with the greatest caution, both to the apostles and to the body of the Jews. For a long time our Lord faid nothing explicit on this fubject, but left his difciples, as well as the Jews at large, to judge of him from what they faw. In this manner only, he replied to the messengers that John the Baptist sent to him.

If the high-prieft expreffed his horror, by rending his cloaths, on Jefus avowing himself to be the Meffiah, what would he

have done if he had heard or fufpected, that he had made any higher pretenfions? And if he had made them, they must have tranfpired. When the people in general faw his miraculous works, they only wondered that God fhould have given fuch power unto a man. Matt. ix. 8. When the multitude faw it, they marvelled, and glorified God, who had given fuch power unto men ; and yet this was on the occafion of his pronouncing the cure of a paralytic perfon, by saying, Thy fins be forgiven thee, which the Pharifees thought to be a blafphemous prefumption.

It

At the time that Herod heard of him, it was conjectured by fome that he was Elias, by others, that he was the prophet, and by fome that he was John rifen from the dead; but none of them imagined that he was either the most high God himself, or the maker of the world under God. was not fo much as fuppofed by any perfon that Jefus performed his mighty works by any power of his own; fo far were they from fufpecting that he was the God who had spoken to them by Mofes, as many now fuppofe him to have been.

If he was known to be a God at all before his death, it could only have been revealed to his difciples, perhaps the apostles, or only his chief confidents among them, Peter, James, and John, fuppofe on the mount of transfiguration, though nothing is faid concerning it in the hiftory of that tranfaction. Certainly what they faw in the garden of Gethsemane could not have led them to fufpect any such thing. But if it had ever been known to Peter, can we fuppofe that he could have denied him as he did? Befides, as our Lord told the apostles that there were many things which he could not inform them of before his death, and that they should know afterwards; this was a thing fo very wonderful and unfufpected, that if any articles of information were kept from them at that time, this muft certainly have been one of them. '

If it be fuppofed that Thomas was acquainted with this moft extraordinary part of his mafter's character, which led him to cry, My Lord and my God, when he was convinced of his refurrection, as he was not one of the three who had been entrusted

with any fecrets, it must have been known to all the twelve, and to Judas Iscariot among the reft. And fuppofe him to have known, and to have believed, that Jefus was his God and maker, was it poffible for him, or for any man, to have formed a deliberate purpose to betray him (Peter, it may be faid, was taken by furprize, and was in perfonal danger) or if he had only heard of the pretenfion, and had not believed it, would he not have made fome advantage of that impofition, and have made the discovery of this, as well as of every thing else that he knew to his prejudice?

If it be fuppofed that the divinity of Chrift was unknown to the apoftles till the day of Pentecoft; befides lofing the benefit of several arguments for this great doctrine, which are now carefully collected from the four evangelists, we have no account of any fuch discovery having been made at that time, or at any subsequent one. And of all other articles of illumination, of much less confequence than this, we have distinct information, and alfo of the manner in which they were impressed by them. This is

particularly