DISCOURSE III. 593 possessed in a pre-existent state before he came todwell inour World, and to take flesh upon him. But I know and lament the unhappy force of prejudice. I have felt and feel it too often, and therefore wonder not at other men. A mind pre- engaged cannot easily yield to the force of plain expressions and the literal sense of scripture; therefore some will say, that Christ, as God-man, in the beginning of the union of the two natures, emptied or divested itself of the riches andglory which he sho ild have had, and which were his "de jure," though not " de facto;: that is, which he might justly have assumed and possessed, though lie did not actually assume and possess them. But I reply, why should this scripture be so strained, since this cannot be the sense of other scriptures which are parallel to this ? particularly Johnxvii. 5. which speaks ex- pressly of glory which Christ had with the Father before the world was. And as for the other texts, viz. Phil. ii. 6, 7. and 2 Cor. viii. 9. they intimate more than a mere right to glorious riches, and plainly refer to a former actual possession of those riches and glories of which he actually dispossessed himself. This is the most literal and obvious sense of the apostle, nor should we strain it to a tropical meaning without evident necessity. Thewhele current of scripture, as well as these particular texts, seems to lead us so naturally into_ this sentiment, that divines are frequently' ready to describe God the Father as part- ing with his only Son out of his bosom, when he took fleshupon him ; and they represent Christ, or the Son of God when he became incarnate, as "leaving the bosom of his Father, quit- ting the felicities of 'the upper world, laying by his glorious estate, and parting with heaven for a season," &c. which lan- guage cannot be true nor proper when it is applied to the god- head of Christ; but would most appositely denote and express the real humiliation of his pre-existent soul. Consideration III. "That very being which came down fromheaven and was sent of God into the world, is represented as capable of having a will different'from the will of God the h'ather, and therefore it must be inferiorto godhead : Now this could be no other but the will of his human soul." Our Lord Jesus declares, that he came downfrom heaven not to do his oren, but his Father's will; John vi. SS. It is manifest here that the very same being which Caine down from heaven, sought not by his descent to fulfil his own will, but his Father's. Now it is evident that at his agonies and passion he had such a will different from the will of his Father, when he manifestsau innocent reluctance of human nature at first, but afterward says; Luke xxii. 42. Father, not my will, but thy refill be done ; and you see he uses the same sort of language to rp2
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