Simon, who contends that being in the form of God is equivalent to being truly God, renders the latter part of the verfe, did not imperiously affume to himself an equality with God. Indeed the word, but, which introduces the next verfe, evidently leads us to expect fome contraft between what goes before and after it, which is very ftriking in the manner in which I tranflate this text; but it is al-together loft in our common verfion. For be made himself equal to God, but humbled himself, is not even sense. Lastly, I would obferve that the word, which is here rendered equal to, is also used to express a very high degree of resemblance, which it is very certain that Chrift was poffeffed of with respect to God; and Dr. Doddridge renders it, to be as God.

VII. Chrift may be fuppofed to have pre-exifted, or to have had a being before he was born of the virgin Mary, without fuppofing him to be the eternalGod; but it appears to me that the apostles confidered Chrift as being, with respect to his nature, truly and properly a man, confifting of the fame conftituent parts, and of the fame rank with ourfelves, in all things like unto his brethren; and the texts which are thought to fpeak of him as having exifted before he came into this world, appear to me to bear other interpretations very well. them have been explained in a different

Some of

fenfe al

ready,

ready, and I shall now endeavour to explain the reft.

1

John viii. 56, &c. Your father Abraham rejoiced to fee my day, and he faw it, and was glad. Then faid the jews unto him, Thou art not yet fifty years old, and haft thou feen Abraham? Jefus faid unto them, Verily, verily, I fay unto you, before Abraham was I am. The meaning of this paffage clearly is that Abraham forefaw the day of Christ, and that Chrift was the subject of prophecy before the times of Abraham. This faying of our Lord is alfo illuftrated by what the author of the epiftle to the Hebrews fays concerning all the ancient worthies, viz. that they all died in faith, not having received the promifes, but having feen them afar off. In this manner, therefore, Abraham also saw the day of Christ. Agreeably to this it is easy to explain John xvii. 5. Giorify me with the glory which I had with thee before the world was, of the glory which was intended for him in the councils of God before all time. Nay this muft neceffarily be our Lord's meaning in this place; fince in many other paffages the power and glory which were conferred upon Chrift are exprefly faid to be the reward of his obedience, and to be fubfequent to his refurrection from the dead. It is with peculiar propriety, therefore, that this request of our Lord follows his declaration, that he had done the work for which he was to receive the reward; ver. 4. I have glorified thee on the earth, I have finished the work which thou

gaveft me to do; and now, O Father, glorify thou me, &c. As the connection of this prayer fhews that whatever it was that our Lord requested, it depended upon the part which he had to act in the world, it is plain that it could not be any thing which he had enjoyed antecedently to his coming into it.

In the fame manner we may explain the following prophecy of Micah concerning Chrift, v. 2.Thou Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be a ruler in Ifrael, whofe goings forth have been from of old, from everlafting. For this may be understood concerning the promifes of God, in which the coming of Chrift was fignified to mankind from the beginning of the world. The Chaldee paraphrafe renders it, whose name was foretold of old.

As to thofe who think that our Lord meant to intimate that he was truly and properly God because he uses that expreffion I am, by which the true God 1 announced himself to Mofes, they will perhaps be fenfible how little ftrefs is to be laid upon it, when they are informed, that, though the fame phrase occurs very often in the hiftory of Chrift, our tranflators themselves, in every place excepting this, render it by I am he, that is, I am the Chrift. It is used in this fenfe in the 24th verfe of this chapter, If ye believe not that I am he, ye shall die in your fins. And again in the 28th verfe, When ye shall lift up the fon

of

ef man, then fhall ye know that I am he. That the words I am in this place do not mean the eternal God, is manifeft from the words which are immediately connected with thefe; then shall ye know that I am be, and that I do nothing of myself, but as the Father hath taught me, I speak these things.

John xvi. 28. I came forth from the Father, and am come into the world; again, I leave the world, and go unto the Father. In order to understand this text, it should be observed, that by the world is not always meant the material world, and leaft of all in the 'difcourfes of our Saviour; but the world confidered. as a flate of trial, exercise and discipline, and especially the unbelieving and ungodly part of the world. The world fhall hate you, John xv. 10. I pray not for the world, xvii. 9, &c. Our Saviour alfo fpeaks of fending his difciples into the world; though, confidered as a part of the material fyftem, they had been in it long before. John xvii. 18. As thou haft Sent me into the world, even so alfo fend I them into the world. Since, therefore, the miffion of Chrift, and that of the apoftles, are spoken of in the very fame words, and reprefented as commencing in the fame manner, there can be no more reason to suppose that Christ had a being before he came int the world, than there is to fuppofe that the apoftles had preexifted. Also when our Lord fays, John xvii. 11. Now I am no more in the world, he could not mean the material world; for, after his refurrection, he

was

was feen by many, and even after his afcenfion he was feen by Paul, if not by Stephen; and he is probably in this world at prefent, attending to the affairs of his church; and therefore may even be literally with his disciples, upon important occasions, even to the end of the world; and the notion of a local heaven, above the clouds, is altogether fanciful.

John 13. No man hath afcended up to heaven, but be that came down from heaven, even the fan of man, who is in heaven. This language is evidently figurative; but if Chrift could be in heaven at the fame time that he was on earth, converfing with Nicodemus, it is plain that his being faid to have come down from heaven cannot necessarily imply that he had ever been any where but on the earth. In fact, the phrases being in heaven, being with God, or in the bofom of God, &c. exprefs a ftate of very intimate communication with God, fuch as qualified Chrift to speak of heavenly things, as he expreffes himself to Nicodemus, and to make his Father known to us. John i. 8. No man bath feen God at any time: the only-begotten fon, which is in the bosom of the Father, be hath declared him.

The omniprefence, and confequently the proper divinity of Christ, could not be meant by his being faid to be in heaven at the fame time that he was visible on earth, because he is, on this occafion, called the fon of man, which is always allowed to

denote