I fell down at his feet to worship him, and he faid to me, See thou do it not, I am thy fellow-fervant. And again, I fell down to worship before the feet of the Angel, and he faid, See thou do it not, for I am thy fellow-fervant-WORSHIP GOD. Inftances of a fimilar kind occur in divers parts of Scripture. As, Acts x. 25, 26. And as Peter was coming in, Cornelius met him, and fell down at his feet and worshipped him: But Peter took him up, faying, Stand up, I myself alfo am a man. And again, Ch. xiv. when the inhabitants of Lyftra were about to offer facrifice to Paul and Barnabas, they rent their clothes, and ran in among the people, crying out, Sirs, why do ye thefe things? We alfo are men of like paffions with you, and preach unto you, that ye fhould turn from thefe vanities unto the living God, who made heaven and earth, and the fea, and all things that are therein.

2. Well did these holy Men, and holy Angels, understand that Jehovah alone is the proper object of religious worship, according to what is repeatedly commanded in the Holy Scriptures. As, Exod. xx. 3. Thou shalt have no other Gods before me.-Deut. vi. 14. Hear, O Ifrael, The Lord our God is one Lord.- --Ver. 13. Thou shalt fear Fehovah thy God, and ferve him, and fhalt fwear by his name. Ye fhall not go after other Gods (for the Lord thy God is a jealous God among you) left the anger of the Lord thy God be kindled against thee, and defroy thee from off the face of the earth. Again, Ch. x. 20. Thou shalt fear the Lord thy God: Him fhalt thou ferve, and to Him fhalt thou cleave, and fwear by his name. He is thy Praife, and He is thy God. To these, and fuch like paffages, the Lord Jefus undoubtedly referred, when he faid, (Math. iv. 10.) It is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and Him ONLY fhalt thou f.rve.

3. Now, notwithstanding this, it is certain, firit, That the fame God who gave the above precepts concerning the proper object of Diving Worship, hath commanded his Son to be worfhipped:

fhipped:fecondly, That he hath accordingly' been worshipped, and that both before and after his incarnation, both while he was on earth, and after his afcenfion into Heaven ;-and, thirdly, That not one inftance can be produced, in which he hath ever refused the worship addressed to him.

First, God hath commanded him to be worfhipped as by David in the 45th Pfalm: He is thy Lord, and worship thou him.-Pfalm 97. Worfhip him, all ye Gods; or, as it is expressed, Heb. i. 6. When he bringeth his firft begotten into the world, he faith, Let all the Angels of God worship him. But this is ftill more clearly and fully declared by our Lord himself, John v. 19. in a paffage which is the more remarkable, as it contains an answer to the Jews, who, the Hiftorian tells us, fought the more to kill our Lord, becaufe he had not only broken the fabbath, but faid alfo that God was his own (dio_proper) Father, making himfelf. equal with God. Even to thefe fuch an occafion as this, among other things, Jefus faid, What things foever the Father doth, thefe doth the San likewife. For as the Father raifeth up the dead, and quickeneth them, even fo the Son quickeneth whom he will: For the Father judgeth no man, but hath committed all judgment unto the Son: that all men fhould honour the Son, even as they honour the Father. He that honoureth not the Son, honoureth not the Father who hath fent him. See also to the fame purpose, Phil. ii. 9-11. compared with Rom. xiv. 11.

upon

4. Now that this was a proper religious worfhip and honour, which was commanded to be given to the Son of God, is plain, Secondly, from this confideration,That fuch a worthip and honour was actually paid to him by those who undoubtedly underflood the meaning of the Divine Command: This appears from innumerable paffages, both of the Old Testament and the New. It has been proved, that all the appearances of God made in days of old to the Patriarchs

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and Prophets, were made in his perfon, no man having ever feen the Father at any time. Now, it is certain, they all worshipped the perfon that appeared to them. Jacob worshipped him at Bethel. (Gen. xxviii. 12-19. Jehovah is in this place (faid he, and I knew it not. And he was afraid, and faid, How dreadful is this place: This is none other than the houfe of God, and this is the gate of heaven. And he took the ftone which he had put for his pillow, and fet it up for a pillar, and poured oil upon the top of it: An act this of religious worship. And he called the name of that place Bethel, that is, the house of God. And Jacob vowed a vow, faying, If God will be with me, and keep me in this way that I go, and will give me bread to eat, and raiment to put on, fo that I come again to my Father's houfe in peace, then fhall the Lord be my God, and this ftone which I have fet up for a pillar, fhall be God's houfe: and of all that thou fhalt give me, I will furely give the tenth unto thee. Here again, in this prayer, and vow, and promife, is every mark of religious worship. In like manner, he worshipped him at Peniel, Gen. xxii. 25. For he faid, I will not let thee go, except thou bless me, which certainly implied prayer, with faith in his power, and love and faithfulnefs. Mofes worshipped him at the Buth, and put off the fhoes from off his feet, in token of his refpect for the very place where fo glorious a perfon had manifefted his prefence, hiding his face alfo in fign of the holy fhame and confufion he felt. Ifaiah worthipped him: (compare Ifaiah' vi. 5. with John xii. 13.) and faid, Woe is me, for I am undone, because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips, for mine eyes have feen the King, the Lord of Hofts. Nay, and what is more, he affures us, he faw and heard the Seraphim worshipping him too, and crying one to another, Holy, holy, holy, is Jehovah of Hofts, the whole earth is full of his glory!

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5. And as Divine Worship was paid to him. before his incarnation, when he appeared as the Angel, or Envoy Jehovah, or the Angel of God's prefence, in whom his name, that is, his nature, is ; fo alfo after his manifestation in the flesh, when he was God-man. Many instances of this occur in the Gofpels. As, John ix. 35-Jefus heard that they had caft him out, (viz. the blind man whom he had reftored to fight) and when he had found him, he faid unto him, Doft thou believe on the Son of God? And he anfwered and faid, Who is he, Lord, that I might believe on him? And Jefus faid · unto him, Thou haft both feen him, and it is he that talheth with thee. And he faid, Lord, I believe; and he WORSHIPPED HIM. Now this act of worfhip was grounded on his faith in the Lord Jefus as the Son of God, the promifed Meffiah, and was attended with a confeflion of it; and, therefore, muft imply more than fuch homage and refpect as may be paid to men of high rank and character. It must, I think, imply religious worship, in which grateful and devout affections to the benevolent Author of fo great a mercy as he had received, were felt in his heart, and manifested by the proftration of his body at the feet of Jefus. This appears from the cafe of the lame man healed at the beautiful gate of the Temple, who, though fuddenly and wonderfully restored by Peter and John, and full of joy and gratitude for fo extraordinary a deliverance, yet did not attempt to worship them on the account. reafon of this plainly was, he knew Peter and John were but mere men, and had not healed him by their own power or holiness, having heard them fay, In the name of Jefus Chrift of Nazareth,. rife up and walk. Hence though, no doubt, he was thankful to them as the inftruments of the cure, and, in token of this, held them, (as we are told) yet knowing they were not the proper authors thereof, inftead of worshipping them, the facred Hiftorian informs us, he praifed God.

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6. Nor is that the only inftance of Christ's being worshipped becaufe of his mighty works. Many more occur in the hiftory the Evangelists have given us of his life. Thus, Math. xiv. 22, 23. When the ship was now in the midft of the fea, toffed with the waves, the wind being contrary; in the fourth watch of the night, Jefus went unto them, walking on the fea. And when the Difciples faw him walking on the fea, they were troubled, faying, It is a fpirit; and they cried out for fear. But Straightway Jefus fpake unto them, faying,Be of good cheer, it is 1, be not afraid. And when they (viz. Chrift and Peter) were come into the fhip, the wind ceafed. Then they that were in the fhip came and WORSHIPPED him, faying, Of a truth thou art the Son of God. It feems, from thefe inftances, that their ideas of the Son of God, or true Meffiah, included fomething divine, as immediately upon their difcovering that Jefus was he, they worshipped him.

7. Sometimes he was worshipped by those that applied to him before the cure was wrought, as by the Ruler (Math. ix. 18.) who came and WOR SHIPPED him, faying, My daughter is now dead, but come and lay thy hand on her, and fhe fhall live : and by the woman of Canaan, who (Math. xv. 25.) came and WORSHIPPED him, faying, Lord, help me. And, methinks, when it is confidered that these outward acts of proftration of the body were accompanied with petitions for that help which God alone can afford, it can hardly be doubted whether they implied proper religious worship Have mercy on me, O Lord, thou Son of David, ver. 22.-Lord, help me, ver. 25.-Lord, fave me, Chap. xiv. 30. But if this be doubted, Surely when there arofe a great tempeft in the fea, infomuch that the fhip was covered with the waves, and the Difciples came to him and faid, LORD SAVE US, WE PERISH, and he arofe, and rebuked the wind and the fea, and there was a great calm; furely (Ifay) on this occafion, prayer was put up unto him for fuch deliverance as God alone can give.

And,