first and the laft only excepted. But before 1 lead you into a confideration of them, I would remind you, of what cannot efcape the attentive. reader of the gofpel hiftory, viz. that our Lord generally expreffes himfelf in figurative (b) language, peculiar to thofe eastern countries, and to the prophetic character. This is however more , obfervable in our evangelift, than in the others; because he records feveral of Chrift's longer difcourfes omitted by them; and thofe efpecially which he held with fuch of the common people, who had wordly views in attending him, and with the rulers of the country, who were exafperated against him for his felf-denying doctrine, and bold reproof of their vices: and to both of them, for reafons well known and generally allowed, he was obliged to be on the referve in declaring himself the mefliah, their heavenly prophet, and king, in fo many words; and therefore he made ufe of circumlocutions, and metaphorical expreffions; calling himself the bread of life, and faying, that he came down from heaven, that he

was

(b) The truly learned Bishop Pearce, at the end of his commentary on St. Matthew's gospel, in a lift of remarkable things, which he reckons up in it, inferts the following, viz.

That almost every where he (Matthew) makes Jefus exprefs himself in a figurative ftyle; which was the eastern manner.' If he had thought proper to have mentioned it, he would have faid, that this circumftance was ftill more remarkable in St. John.

was the light of the world; and fo on. Taking this key along with you, there will be no great difficulty in coming at our Lord's meaning, in any of the language which he uses concerning himself.

SECTION VII.

Of the teftimony of John the Baptift to Chrift.

John 1. 15. He that cometh after me, is preferred before me; for he was before me. The laft claufe of this fentence should not have been put in ambiguous terms, to induce the mere english reader to interpret it, as if the baptift had faid, that Jefus, though fomewhat younger than him, was nevertheless before him in time; intending thereby to denote a prior eternal exiftence, which fome would give him. A circumstance of this very extraordinary kind, if true, would not have been once only conveyed in a doubtful phrase, but frequently and explicitly mentioned. We may affure ourselves then, that the baptift speaks only of the dignity of Chrift, and the fuperior importance of his meffage from God, that he was before him in that refpect. And therefore it fhould be rendered into english, for he was greater than me. This is the sense of the words given by Dr. Clarke in his paraphrafe; and it is acknowleged by the beft critics to be a juft tranflation of them. See Glaffius. Philol.

Sacr,

Sacr. p. 274. Dr. Campbell (c) understands the words to imply priority of time, that Christ exifted before John; but then he refers it not to the perfon of Jefus, but to the λoyos, the word, the wif. of God, dwelling in him: a sense in which they may be taken, as L'Enfant before him obferved, but who adopts the interpretation here given.

SECTION VIII.

Of the paffages in St. John's gospel, containing thofe words of Chrift himself, which are fuppofed to prove his having existed in a former ftate.

John iii. 13. No man bath afcended up to beaven, but he that came down from heaven, even the Son of man which is in heaven. You will find by examples produced both from profane and facred authors, that to afcend up to heaven, fignifies

to

(c) The paffage, thus explained, yields a sense which is both juft and appofite, there being at least an apparent reference to the information the evangelift had given us concerning the 20yo;, the word, or wisdom, in the beginning of the chapter." Campbell in loc. This is an interpretation to which an unitarian could make no objection, though the other more probably was intended by St. John.

L'Enfant's translation of the verfe is; C'est ici celui, duquel j'ai dit; celui qui vient apres moi, m'eft préferé, parcequ'il eft plus grand que moi.

to be admitted into an extraordinary knowlege of the divine councils. I would particularly refer you to Raphelius the fon, in his preface to his father's annotations on the fcriptures, because he was an excellent critic, of good fenfe, and alfo a perfon who believed the divinity of Chrift, though he could not find it here. And there you will fee, that it was the fentiment of learned and judicious chriftians, as well his own, that our Saviour's intent in this paffage, was to fay; that no other of the human race, no prophet before him, was acquainted with the whole will of God for the falvation of the world, but himself.

But there is a difficulty notwithstanding made by fome, about the coming down from heaven, as if it implied Chrift's having before his birth, lived in heaven, and that he literally came down from thence. This however has arisen from an unwillingness in the fame learned men, to lose what they had long been accustomed to look upon as an argument of Chrift having lived in heaven before he was born here; which prevented their examining and feeing, that coming down from heaven is equally figurative language with afcending up to heaven, and is in other places ufed by our faviour to fignify his having a divine commiffion from heaven, or from God. This will by and by be proved in various inftances.

The

The remaining clause of the sentence, even the Son of man, who is in heaven; if it be not (d) an interpolation of fome officious transcriber, cannot be taken literally. For the Son of man could not be in heaven, at the fame time that he was upon earth. It is therefore by judicious commentators confidered in the fame light as John i 18, who is in the bofom of the Father; as metaphorical language, in which our Lord loved to exprefs himself: and both of them to fignify, the being admitted into the fecret councils of God.

Matth. xi. 27. All things are delivered unto me of my Father and [no man knoweth the Son, but the Father; neither knoweth any man the Father fave the Son, and be to whomfoever the Son will reveal bim.]

Juftin Martyr cites the words within crotchets, as our Lord's cenfure of the jews for their ignorance of him as their delegated God, who spoke to Mofes, &c. acting under the ineffable God, and father of the univerfe. Apolog. i. p. 81. (e).

N

The

(d) It is wanting in two antient MSS. alfo in the Ethio. pic version; and in Gregory Nazianzen, a writer of the 4th century.

(e) Eufebius Hift. Ecclef. p. 4. after citing Ifa. liii. 8. and rendering it, who shall declare his generation? as a proof of Chrift's divinity; adds this paffage of Math. xi. 27. as a fimilar declaration of Christ concerning himself. But his interpretation will be found in both cafes to be equally the language of imagination and prejudice, without duc inquiry.