Abraham, wrestling with Jacob, giving Orders to Mofes, incouraging Joshua and Gideon, &c. But I fhall have occafion to mention them immediately, and therefore I omit the Citations here.

Prop. II. Among thofe Expreffions of Scripture which difcover the Pre-existence of Chrift, there are feveral from whence we may derive a certain Proof that he has the Divine Nature in him, and is true God.

Such are thofe Places of the Old Teftament where the Angel that appeared to the Ancients is call'd God, the Almighty God, Jehovah, the Lord of Hofts, I am that I am, &c.

Such are thofe Places in Scripture in the Old and New Teftament where he is called God or Jehovah, and is faid exprefsly to create the World, John I. 1, 2, 3. Rom. 9. 5. Heb. 1. 10, 11. &c. with fome others.

It appears probable to me alfo, that when our Lord fays, John 8. 58. Before Abraham was I am, he does not only mean to exprefs his Pre-existence, but his Divine Nature alfo, I AM being the Name of God, Exod. 3. 14. And the great modern Refiner of the Arian Scheme, Dr. Samuel Clarke allows fo much as this, (viz.) That from our Saviour's ufing the Words I am inftead of I was, he might poffibly intend to infinuate that he was the Perfon in whom the Name of God was, (viz.) Jehovah, or I am : And he adds, This indeed cannot be denied; tho' he will not allow him here to defcribe himself as the felf-existent Being. See Dr. Clarke's Script. Doctr. Chap. 2. Sect. 3. Numb. 591.

But there are many more Proofs of the Divinity of Christ which are recited, and confirmed under the eighth and ninth Propofitions of the Difcourfe on the Chriftian Doctrine of the Trinity, and which are needlefs to be repeated here. L 4

Prop.

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Prop. III. There, are other Scriptures which denote the Pre-existence of Chrift, and may alfo perhaps include a Reference to his Divine Nature, but carry not with them fuch a full and convincing Evidence of his Godhead as utterly to exclude all other Interpretations.

Such are thefe, John 3. 31. He that cometh from above is above all, &c. 1 Cor. 15. 47. The first Man is of the Earth earthly, the fecond Man is the Lord from Heaven. John 3. 13. No Man hath afcended up to Heaven, but he that came down from Heaven, even the Son of Man which is in Heaven.*

Prop. IV. But there are fome Texts which infinuate the Exiftence of Chrift before he came into the Flefh, which in their most natural, obvious and evident Senfe feem to refer to fome Intelligent Nature belonging to our Lord Jefus Chrift, which is inferior to Godhead.

This will be made evident under the following Propofition.

Prop.

I confefs I have cited this Text in a former Treatife to prove the Omniprefence of Chrift as God, and perhaps that may be part of the true Meaning of it: but I have lately found two or three Writers of Name who heartily believed the Godhead of Christ, and yet fuppofe this Text may refer to his pre-exiftent Soul, because ev gave, which we render who is in Heaven, may be as well render'd who was in Heaven, the Participle av being equally capable of the past as well as of the present Tense or Time. So St. John himself expreffeth the Time paft, he was, by wv, Chap. 9. 25. where the blind Man cured by our Lord, fays, I was blind, TN. And St. Paul expreffeth (who was) in the fame Manner twice, pas las venge's, Eph. 2. 1. and 4.5. You who were dead. Beza himself inclines to conftrue this Word, who was in Heaven in this Text. Upon the whole, I doubt whether this Text will certainly prove Chrift's Divinity, and whether it may not more directly refer to his Pre-exiftent Soul. For fince there are Proofs enough of the Divinity of Christ, which are ftrong in my Opinion and unanfwerable, I would not conftrain fuch Paffages of Scripture into this Service whose Force and Senfe are render'd doubtful by any just Rules of Criticism..

Prop. V. Whatsoever Scriptures reprefent Christ as exiftent before his Incarnation in a Nature inferior to Godhead, do most naturally lead us to the Belief of the Pre-existence of his human Soul.

If there be any fuch Scriptures, they muft refer either to the Human Soul of Christ (which was afterward united to his Human Body) or to fome other Super-angelical Nature, as fome call it, which might belong to our Saviour, befides his Human Soul.

And this is evident, that this very Notion of fome Perfors concerning a Super-angelical Spirit belonging to him befide his Human Soul, arofe from those many Expreffions concerning him before his Incarnation which feem inferior to Deity. Some Writers faw thefe fort of Expreffions fo ftrong in Scripture, that they would venture to introduce three intellectual Beings into the Perfon of Chrift, rather than not yield to the apparent Force of these Expreffions.

But furely 'tis not worthy of a Philofopher, or a Divine to multiply Natures in our Lord Jefus without Reason, and to afcribe to him any fuch third intellectual Nature, if the Expreffions of Scripture on this Head may be most evidently explain'd without it, and may be better applied to his Human Soul.

Now

*Note, if in this or any other of my Writings I fpeak of the Soul of Chrift as being an Angel or an Angelick Spirit, or in an Angelick State, I mean nothing else but his exifting without a Body as Angels do, or his being a Messenger of God the Father as they are and in this Senfe the Scripture calls him an Angel feveral Times. Or if I fpeak of him as a Super-angelick Spirit, I intend no more than his having both natural and deputed Powers far fuperior to Angels: for I always fuppofe this Soul to be truly and properly a Human Spirit in its own Nature, i e. a Spirit fuited to the State of Union with a Human Body, and to all the natural Acts and Effects, Appetites and Paffions derived from fuch

a Union.

Now that there are fuch Expreffions that seem to intimate a Nature inferior to God, belonging to Christ before he came in the Flesh, will appear by the following Confiderations: And they may all be explain'd in the easiest Manner, by applying them to the Human Soul of Christ.

SECT. III.

Arguments for the Pre-existence of Chrift's Human Soul, drawn from various Confiderations of fomething inferior to Godhead afcribed to him before and at his Incarnation.

TH

HE firft Set of Arguments I fhall ufe arifes from feveral things afcribed to Chrift, before and at his Incarnation, which feem to be of too low a Nature for pure Godhead.

Confideration I. Chrift is reprefented as his Father's Meffenger, Minifter, or Angel, that was a diftin&t Being from his Father, fent by his Father to perform fuch Actions and fuch Services for his People long before his Incarnation, fome of which feem too low for the Dignity of pure Godhead.

The Appearances of Christ to the Patriarchs are defcribed like the Appearances of an Angel, or a Man, a glorious Man really diftinct from God, and yet fuch a one in whom God or Jehovah had a peculiar indwelling, or with whom the Divine Nature had a Perfonal Union. When the Angel of the Lord vifited Abraham, and talked with him, when the Man wrestled with Jacob till Break of Day, when the Angel converfed with Mofes and with Joshua, and yet calls himself, or is by the Holy Writers called Jehovah, the Almighty, the Lord,

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the God of Abraham, &c. the most natural and obvious Idea which they could have of the Perfon appearing to them, was the Idea of fome glorious Being or Spirit that belonged to the other World, and in whom the Great God had a peculiar Dwelling, and by whom the Great God pronounced those Words or converfed with them.

That Text, Exod. 23. 20, 21. very naturally leads us to this Sense; God fays to Mofes, Behold I fend an Angel before thee to keep thee in the Way, &c. obey his Voice, provoke him not, for he will not pardon your Tranfgreffions, for my Name is in him. Here is an Angel or Messenger sent by God the Father; that is certainly an inferior Character, yet he is to be obey'd with Reverence, for he can punish, or pardon Sins, this is a Divine Prerogative; and how does this Angel come by it? 'Tis not as he is an Angel, or in his Angelic Nature, but 'tis because God's Name is in him, i. e. his Divine Power, his Godhead is in him; this is given as the Reason of this high Prerogative: God is united to this glorious Spirit or this Human Soul of Chrift: Now 'tis plain that Christ is call'd an Angel in other Places. He is the Messenger or Angel of the Covenant, he is 'the Angel of God's Prefence, fo he is called Mal. 3. 1. and Ifai. 63. 9.

Let us argue a little further on these Appearances of Chrift to the Patriarchs: Does it not feem more congruous that a human Soul fhould animate that human Body which eat and drank with Abraham under a Tree, and fhould actuate thofe human Limbs, when a Man wrestled with Jacob? Is it not beneath the Grandeur, Decency and Dignity of the fupreme Majefty of Heaven, to fupply the Place of fuch a human Soul for the Purposes or Actions of animal Nature? And that the Great and Eternal God himself in an immediate Manner should con