Watts - BX5200 .W3 1813 v.6

601 THE GLORY OF CHRIST AS GOD-MAN. as much as the children were partakers of ,flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same, that he might in all things be made like his brethren, as verse 17. And if he be said to take on him the seed of Abraham, verse 16. yet it is certain that the human body of Christ has a very proper and literal right to that name, rather than the. soul, though the word seed may more frequently include both. Again, it is said by the same apostle in Heb. v. 7. In the days ofhisfleshhe offeredup prayers and supplications with strong crying and tears, that is, when he had taken flesh upon him, and dwelt in it. And Heb. x. when God the Father sends his Son into the world, he is said to pre- pare a body for him, but not a human soul, verse5.A body hast thouprepared me. The apostle John speaks several times of Jesus Christ's be- ingcome in the flesh, to signify his coming into the world, in his first and second epistles, intimating that the person who is vested with the name and character of Jesus and Christ, liad every thing besides fleshbefore. On the other hand, if Christ did take a human soul upon him, or the whole complex nature of man, at the same time when he was born of the virgin, it is a wonder that there should not be any onescripture, neither in the Old or New Testament which should give such a hint to us, that he then tooka reasonable soul as well as a body? Or should tell us at least that he ex- pressly assumed human nature, which might include both flesh and spirit ? but that it should always use such words as chiefly and directly denote the body. This seems to carry some evident intimation that his human soul existed before. Perhaps it will be objected here, that the word flesh in many places of scripture signifies mankind or human nature, by the figure " synecdoche," including the soul also. It is granted that flesh doth sometimes signify mankind, and this objection might be good if the scriptural language never used any thing but the word flesh to denote human nature, and never distin- guished the flesh and the soul : But since there are a great numberof scriptures where the fleshor body is distinguished from the soul or spirit of man on many occasions, it seems very natu- ral and reasonable to expect there should be some one passage at least in all the bible wherein the divinenature of Christ should be said to assume a humán soul as well as a body or flesh, when he came into our world, if this spirit or soul had no existence before the incarnation. And we have the more reason to expect this also when we observe, that there is mention made of the soul of Christ himself in several places of scripture on other occasions; as Is. .ii. 10. Thou shalt make his soul an ofiering for sin. Verse 11. ile shall see of the travail of his soul. Luke xxiii. 46. Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit. Acts ii.

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