DISCOURSE III. 615 substance of the first-created nature, that is, the human soul of Jesus Christ, at the moment of its creation. By this means the Word as man became the head of mankind, who were to be made by him after his image and likeness ; and as the first-be- gotten, he had the right of primogeniture or government over the rest.See his as Considerations on Mr. Whiston, &c. pages 108, 109, Rte." 3. I rèmark also, that though the Hebrew language may express the eternity of God, by saying, " Before the mountains and the hills, &c." yet since we suppose the soul of Christ to be the first of the works or ways of God, this manner of expression may more particularly and expressly describe the date of his ex- istence before this world was made, though it be not co-eval and co-eternal with the godhead. But I proceed, 4. To mention some other difficult text which may derive light from this doctrine. If we can but suffer ourselves to believe what I have intimated before, that the sonship of Christ does not belong to his divine nature, but rather to his human soul consi- dered in its original derivation fromGod the Father, and in its being appointed to the sacred office of the Messiah ; then we have a most evident and obvious interpretation of those scriptures in the New Testament which have been attended with so much darkness and difficulty, and have given so much anxiety and pains to our divines, viz. John v. 19. The Sort can do nothing ofhimself. Mat. xxiv. 36. Mark xiii. 32. But of that day knoweth no man, neither the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but the Father. Heb. v: 8. Though he werea Son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered. Now this sonship refers to verse 5. Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee. 1 Cor. xv. 28. Then shall the Son also himself be subject unto him that put all things under him, that God may be all irz all. These expressions sound very harsh if applied to thedivine nature of Christ, but are very naturally applicable to a being or spirit inferior to godhead. To these expressions I might add ; John xiv. 28. The Fa- ther is ;greater than 1 ; which is very hard to apply to the divine nature of Christ, and to make a greater and lesser God : And yet it seems but a poor low assertion if our Saviour spoke of it himself as á mere common man, who begun to exist thirty-four years ago : It was no strange thing that God shouldbe greater than a man. But if we suppose it refers to Christ's glorious hu- man soul, which was the first-born of every creature, it carries in it somethinggrand and august, andhe pays hereby a sublimer honour to God his Father. All other places of scripture wherein the Son of God is represented, either as receiving or invested with sublime powers from God, or as bearing any inferior characters, have a most
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