lists, or in his own discourses; but we shall rather look for intimations, for principles implied in facts and assertions, and for conclusions from such facts and assertions deduced by minute attention and close examination on our own part. Such attention and examination are a part of that" obedience of faith," which is the indispensable duty of every man who has, or can obtain, a knowledge of the inspired volume. CAPITULE I. JESUS CHRIST, DECLARATIONS MADE, OR ACQUIESCED IN, BY ALL mankind, and, on the same principle, all other intelligent creatures, are justly called children or sons of God, as they are the offspring of his power and beneficence.* In a more restricted, and of course a higher sense, the scriptures give this title to persons who are dignified with any special kind of resemblance, or any constituted relation to God. Thus magis * "Have we not all one Father? Hath not one God created us?" Mal. ii. 10. "We are the offspring of God." Acts xvii. 29. "When the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy," Job xxxviii. 7. and i. 6. trates, who bear some shadow of supremacy and government,* the worshippers of the true God, in distinction from debased idolaters,† and especially the faithful and obedient saints of God, who are "conformed to the image" of his moral excellency, are on these respective accounts, styled sons of God. The MESSIAH is called THE SON OF GOD, once at least in the Old Testament: in the New, as all know, the epithet is of 'frequent occurrence. It is evident, however, that the application of this name to Christ will prove no superiority of nature, nor any dignity but such as we have just mentioned; unless it should be accompanied with other circumstances of description pointing out a different ground of application. This ground and reason, therefore, requires our principal attention. * Psalm lxxxii. 6. "I said, Gods are ye! And sons of the Most High, all of you!" The Psalmist appears to use the language of an ironical concession, in order to give the greater force to the humiliating contrast which instantly follows.-So the heathen styled their heroes διογενεῖς, διοτρεφεῖς, and diis geniti : but it is to be recollected that they believed those fabulous persons to have been actually the physical offspring of the gods. + Gen. vi. 4. Deut. xxxii. 19. In numerous passages. SECT. I. SON OF THE MOST HIGH. "He shall be great, and he shall be called THE SON OF THE MOST HIGH; and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of David his father; and he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever, and of his kingdom there shall be no end." Luke i. 32. THIS is the first instance of the occurrence of this term in the history of Jesus Christ, and a reason of the appellation is assigned, plainly referring it to his dignity as a sovereign. If he had literally occupied the throne of Israel, if his reign had been of this world, we should have been authorized to understand the title as merely answering to the instance before mentioned, in which magistrates and chieftains are called sons of the Most High. But this was not the fact. The case turns out immensely different. The dominion of the Messiah, in its nature, purposes, subjects, authority, power, extent, and duration is infinitely above comparison with the empires of men. Therefore, before we can on safe principles of interpretation determine the sense of the title as here applied to him, we must obtain a satisfactory knowledge of the peculiar nature of his regal office and dominion. That inquiry will be pursued in a subsequent part of this volume. SECT. II. SON OF GOD. "The Holy Spirit shall come upon thee; and the power of the Most High shall overshadow thee: on which account the Holy Offspring shall be called THE SON OF GOD." Luke i. 35.* HERE the miraculous production of the Messiah's human nature is manifestly given as the reason of the appellation. The words of the passage are evidently selected with a view to convey the idea of such a miraculous production. Whatever may be our opinion on the general meaning of the term HOLY SPIRIT, it cannot be doubted that, here, the design of the whole expression is to represent a peculiar exercise of almighty power, for the production of an extraordinary effect. This act of the Holy Spirit is put in parallelism with "the power of the Most High." It is said to "come upon her," and to "overshadow" her: expressions which, agreeably to the scriptural usage, mark the * In this and the last cited passage, though there is no article before rid, it must be translated with the definite article, since the noun is the predicate of a verb of designation or appellation. See Middleton on the Greek Article, p. 62. where also is quoted the decisive authority of the ancient Greek grammarian Appollonius. exercise of a peculiar, extraordinary, and divine energy.* The uncommon expression also, "the holy offspring," seems to be especially adapted to denote that the child would be produced in a way different from the generation of the rest of mankind. On the appellation, Son of the Most High, Kuinol, a very cool and cautious critic, observes "that it seems to be used to signify that Christ was procreated by an immediate divine intervention in which sense Adam also is called "the Son of God."+ * See in the LXX. Psalm xc. (xci.) 4.—cxxxix. (cxl.) 7. “The verb ἐπισκιάζειν answers to ἐνδύεσθαι, which the writers of the Old Testament use in passages when the Spirit of God is said to take men, to come upon them, or to rest upon them; and thus to exert his power upon them. The expression therefore intimates that Mary should bear a son, by the interposition of divine power."-Rosenm. in loc. + Comment. in Libros. Hist. N. T. vol. ii. p. 271. |