DISCOURSE III. 027 which may be derived from this doctrine of the pre-existent soul of Christ, viz. That it explains and reconciles many dark and difficult passages tf scripture, and it casts a new lustre upon other texts', whose beauty, justness, andproprietywere not before so much observed. I proceed now to mention some other advantages of it. Advantage III. Another argument for this doctrine, drawn from the consequences of it is, That as it does exceedingly ag- grandize the personal glory and dignity of our Lord Jesus Christ," of whom we never can have too high an esteem, while we keep within the boundsof scripture. This supposition admits and confirms all the honours paid him by other hypotheses, and adds yet other honours to him. It allows him all the supretneklignity and perfectionof the di- Vine nature, and the titles and attributes of the true God by virtue of the personal union, and it also better secures and main- tains the honour of his deity, by guarding it from those infe- rior attributions and characters, which otherwisemust be ascribed to it before his appearance in flesh ; and this it doth by pro- posing a nature below godhead, which is a fitter subject of these attributions. It allows him also all the honourable and peculiar prero- gatives of his conception and the birth of his body, upon which account, as well as Others, he was called the Son of God. And besides this, it supposes his human soul to be a most illustrious spirit, which had a long prior glorious existence before his incarnation, and to be the first -born of the creation of God, and to have been present with the Father, surveying and ap- proving of his works of creation, and perhaps also employed by him in adorning and disposing various parts of the new- created world ; so far as any thing below pure godhead was capable of being employed in that work. Perhaps it will be. objected, Objection. That this exalts his human nature indeed, and raises iX as high as the Arians have raised'the notion of their Logos or soul of Christ, whichthey suppose to be the sub- limest nature he has, and call it his godhead or divinity. But it may be easily replied here, Answer. And what if we do take in all the advantages which the Arians so much boast of, and thereby support our own faith more honourably ? This will bereave their scheme of its fairest allurerneats and strongest supports. What if we do advance the human nature of Christ as high as their Logos ? Yet whilst we strenuously maintain the necessity of true and proper godhead to belong to the person of our Lord Jesus Christ, in order to answer the marry divine names, titles, attri, xr2
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