well as comprehensive, scheme of all the parts, characteristical qualities, and operations, of such a work; which, without confusion, or mistake, could see through the whole, and discern every consequence, even in the remotest ages of being, which could so exactly prescribe the nature, determine the operations, and limit the number of parts, however great, however minute; and in the progress of duration find no cause for the least change in the work, or the least deviation from the system!

Such are the views, which justly arise from the contemplation of our world, as it now is. How much more forcibly would they have heen impressed on our minds, had we lived in the same world, as it came fresh and fair from the hands of the Creator, when He surveyed every thing, that he had done, and pronounced it very good' How delightfully should we have been affected by the objects, contained in the present world, had we been superior to death, and destined to live for ever; had we been planted in Eden, where the air, the earth, and the waters, teemed with life; and immortality breathed in the winds, flowed in the streams, ripened in the fruits, and exhaled from the flowers! At the side of our first Parents, and encircled by Paradise, how instinctively should we have exclaimed, Worthy art thou, O Lord, to receive blessing, and glory, and honour, and power, for thou hast made all things, and for thy pleasure they are, and

were created!

The source of all these wonders, is the Lord Jesus Christ. For by Him were all things created, that are in Heaven and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be Thrones, or Dominions, or Principalities, or Powers; all things were created by him, and for him; and he is before all things; and by him all things consist. To him, therefore, is this admiration and glory due; and to him the obedience, confidence, and worship, which the Creator of the universe justly challenges from his Intelligent Creation.

SERMON XXII.

CREATION.-MAN.

GENESIS i. 26, 27.-And God said, Let us make Man in our image, after our likeness; and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. So God created Man in his own image; in the image of God created He him: male and female, created He them.

IN several preceding discourses, I have considered the formation of the Heavens, the Character and Circumstances of Angels, both Virtuous and Fallen, and the Creation of the World, in which we dwell. The next subject of our investigation, is Man. This subject, though far less splendid than several of the preceding themes of contemplation, is yet peculiarly interesting to us. Every thing that relates to it, must directly and intimately concern ourselves; and nothing of this nature can be, to us, uninvested with serious importance, or undeserving of our particular attention.

Nor is this the only point of view, in which Man claims a high regard. God himself has bestowed an attention upon them, which has not been given even to angels themselves. Angels, when they fell, were banished for ever from the presence and favour of their Creator. But, when Man had fallen, the Son of God descended from Heaven; assumed our nature; lived in this world a suffering life; and died a shameful death; that we might be saved. From the grave, also, He arose on the third day; ascended to Heaven; sat down at the right hand of God the Father; and became Head over all things for the benefit of his Church. Angels themselves are employed by Him in promoting this mighty work; and are all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them, who shall be heirs of salvation. For men, Heaven, shut to the Apostate Angels, is again opened. For Man, also, when the earth and all the works that are therein, shall be burnt up, and the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved; new heavens, and a new earth, like the fabled Phoenix out of its ashes, shall arise, in which righteousness shall dwell for

ever.

Man, therefore, notwithstanding his humble origin, and guilty character, is an object, rendered highly important on account of the peculiar regard, exhibited to him by his Maker. At the same time, we ought, in every general estimate of man, to remember, that at his creation, he was endued with powers, placed in circumstances, and destined to enjoyments, of no inconsiderable distinction and glory. This reference we are, in every such case, taught to make by St. James; who, speaking of the abuses of the tongue, and of cursing our fellow-men as one of those abuses, mentions the original character of human nature as a consideration, plainly en

hancing both the absurdity, and the guilt, of this evil conduct. Therewith, says this Apostle, bless we God, even the Father, and therewith curse we men who ARE, or, as in the Greek, who wERE, made in the similitude of God.

In the text, the Author of all things is exhibited as holding a consultation, concerning the creation of man. And God said, Let us make Man in our image, after our likeness. The work of Creation is in the Scriptures indifferently attributed to the FATHER, the SON, and the HOLY SPIRIT. That it is attributed to the FATHER, will not be questioned. That it is attributed to the Son, and to the SPIRIT, can no more be questioned, if we allow the Scriptures to speak the customary language of men; or, indeed, if we allow them to speak language, that has any defensible construction, or

any meaning.

The text declares to us, in a clear and decisive manner, that more persons than one were concerned in the design of creating Man; and that some Person, or Persons, were addressed by the Speaker. Various attempts have, indeed, been made, to avoid the proof, furnished by this passage to the doctrine of the TRINITY; and in this manner to force out of view the obvious, and only, meaning of the terms. But none of these attempts, which I have seen, will bear examination.

In the first place, the style royal is not adopted here. This is the use of the plural personal pronoun, instead of the singular, to denote an individual; a practice, adopted by modern Princes with an intention to distinguish themselves from inferior mortals. He, who can believe, that JEHOVAH would in this manner violate the propriety of language, to distinguish himself, and countenance human pride and folly, in its ridiculous labours for the acquisition of personal superiority; must, to say the least, have formed extraordinary views, concerning the character of his CREATOR. That God has not acted in this manner, is unanswerably clear from the universal tenor of the Scriptural language. Only a single specimen, and that a doubtful one, of the style in question, can be found in the sacred writings. Nor is this in the Hebrew style; but copied from the decree of a Persian monarch, many hundred years after the Pentateuch was written. The simplicity of the Scriptural language, is supreme. Every thing is spoken of as it is; and in the mere phraseology of nature. A Jew, if the passage had been intended to speak ir. this manner, would hardly have been able to discover its signification.

But what places the point in question out of dispute, is the declaration of the same glorious Being, in the third chapter and twenty-second verse; And the Lord God said, Behold, the man has become as one of Us, to know good and evil. It will not be pretended, that even a modern Prince, when declaring that one of his subjects had become like himself, would say, "This man has become as one of Us"

Our Saviour, who understood this subject incomparably better than these Commentators, has explained to us this phraseology in a manner, which solves every rational doubt. Speaking, as St. John declares, John xii. 41, in Isaiah vi. 8; He says, Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us? Again, addressing his FATHER, John xvii. 21, He says, That they all may be one; as thou Father art in me, and I in thee; that they also may be one in Us. And again, verse 22, That they may be one, even as we are one. In all these instances, the same Person uses the same language with the same, and that both obvious and exact, propriety.

Secondly. This phraseology, also, is not addressed to Angels. Angels could not be addressed in this manner; for such an address would have had neither truth nor meaning. In the work of creating Man, Angels had as little agency, as the Man who was to be created. Suppose, instead of the proposal to Angels to unite with God in creating Man, we were to substitute a history of this transaction. We should then say, that God and his Angels created Man; and, therefore, that Angels performed a part of this work; or were, in some sense and degree, the Creators of man. The absurdity of this account needs no explanation. It is as really, it is equally, absurd to suppose, that God would address Angels in this manner; and propose to them to occupy themselves, or to be in any way concerned, in this work; in which both He and they knew it was neither proper, nor possible, for them to be at all concerned; as to suppose, that they actually performed a part of It was also, according to every Scriptural account of the Creator, and of Angels, wholly improper for Him to associate them with himself in a work, which was exclusively his own. Nor will it be asserted, that God here proposes to create man in the image of Angels. In verse 2, it is said, God created man in his own image. In addition to this, it is to be remembered, that Angels are not mentioned in this history, till a considerable time afterwards; and, therefore, if they had been intended, this could not be known: Whereas, in the sense in which these words have been customarily interpreted, the Persons, spoken of in the text, are expressly named. In the beginning Aleim, (the Covenanters*) created the heaven, and the earth.

it.

I have observed, that the Author of all things is exhibited in the text as solemnly consulting concerning the creation of Man. Let us make man, said the Divine Workman, in our image, after our likeness; not, "Let man exist," or "Let there be man;" as He had before said, Let there be light, Let there be a firmament, Let the earth bring forth grass: and so on, with respect to every thing else, which was made. This solemn manner of introducing Man into being, was strongly expressive of his importance, and very honourable to his character. The distinction, made between him

* Parkhurst

and all the preceding objects of creation, was intentional; and declared him to be of more consequence than them all.

This subject I will now endeavour to illustrate in the following observations.

I. The Time, at which Man was created, is strongly expressive of the importance of his character.

The Creation of the world was now completed. The heavens were finished, and all the host of them. The sun was constituted a perpetual fountain of light; and set in the firmament to rule over the day, and to distribute warmth and life, activity and enjoyment, to all the sentient inhabitants of this world. In his absence, the moon walked in brightness, to rule the night; and shed on the earth a softer, but not less beautiful, splendour, than that of the day. The stars, also, spreading their glory throughout the sky, delightfully illustrated the wisdom of the Creator, and rejoiced over the inferior works of his hands.

The whole process, also, of forming the earth, of clothing it with verdure, of replenishing it with animals, of providing the means of their subsistence and comfort, and of arraying it with beauty and magnificence, was brought to an end. Fresh from the perfect hand of its Creator, it was a work of such excellence, that the eye of infinite Wisdom, surveying all its parts, saw that it was very good. It was a habitation, which Angels beheld with delight; a palace fitted for the residence of an immortal, virtuous, happy being; of him, who was to be made in the image of God; of him, who was to have dominion over the earth, and every thing which it contained.

This mighty preparation conveys to us high ideas concerning the object, for which so much was done. God does nothing but with the strictest propriety. The bounty, which here flowed in such copious streams, was directed by infinite wisdom, as well as poured out by infinite goodness. While, on the one hand, it was glorious to its Author; it was, on the other, perfectly suited to the character of the recipient. The recipient, therefore, was of such a character, as to be the proper object of these illustrious communi

cations.

II. The Nature of Man is a still more interesting object of our al

tention.

Man is a compound existence, made up of two great parts; the Body and the Soul, or Spirit. The Body was formed of the dust of the ground; and can claim no higher origin, than that of the animals, by which we are surrounded; is possessed only, of the same life and activity; and is the subject of the same suffering, and enjoyment. Still, it is a frame of a most wonderful nature. The parts, of which it is composed; their number; their various natures, dependencies, operations, and uses; the arrangement, by which they are formed into a system, a world within itself; the faculties, attached to it, of seeing, hearing, smelling, tasting, and feeling;