nifests that he was favoured with these privileges in an extraordinary degree. In John i. 18, 33, 52, this is expreffed in different phrafes. And the following paffages fpecify fome remarkable instances of it: Matt. iii. 17; xvii. 5; John xii. 28; ch. xvii.; ch. xi. 41 to 43; A&s i. 6 to 11; ii. 2 to 12; 1 Cor. xii. 4, &c. being To fay that the Word was that fame perfen whom he was with, is a contradiction in terms. de corrigendas of Ver. 1. θεος ην ο λογος.

O hoy occurs three times in the first verse, and once in ver. 14. That it is applied in both verfes to the fame person appears from hence. What is denominated the Word in the first verse, is called the life, and the light of men, in the fourth and fifth verses. Concerning this light John bare witness, ver. 6, 7, 8. This was the true light, ver. 9, which formed the world, ver. 10, and which caine to his own land, and his own countrymen in general did not receive him, ver. I I. But those who did believe in him had the privilege of Sons of God, ver. 12, 13. This Word was a man, σag eyevalo, ver. 14; the fame of whom John teftified, ver. 15; the Meffiah, by whom came favour and truth, ver. 16, 17; the only begotten Son, who is in the bofom of the Father, and hath made him known, ver. 18.

Now the two expreffions, the Word was a God, and, the Word was a Man, being used concerning the fame person, cannot both be taken in the plain obvious meaning of thefe terms to us, because this

involves feveral palpable contradictions. A word, or reason, or wisdom, or any mere attribute, cannot literally be either God or man. Nor can any of these be both God and man alfo, becaufe God and man are two distinct beings. The Moft High is a pure Spirit, John iv. 24, and therefore incorruptible and indivifible. Man has a fleshly, corruptible, divisible body, John i. 14. We are compelled, therefore, to look for a meaning of one, at least, of these paffages, that is not in our language, the plainest and most obvious, yet it must be such a sense as was well understood by Jews. It must alfo agree with the context, and be consistent with reason and scripture in general, otherwise it cannot be the true interpretation.

No stress, it must be allowed, can be laid upon Jeos being here without the article; for in ver. 6, 12, 13, and 18 of this chapter, it is used without the article, of the Supreme Being, as well as in many other places in fcripture. It may be remarked, however, that this word is least definite and expreffive when it is without the article.

The term 90s is used in several different significations. It will be fufficient, in this place, to notice thofe meanings of it that relate to the present fubject.

First, then, one of the modes in which the Jews expreffed a high degree or the fuperlative degree of any thing was, by adding one of the names of the Supreme Being to it. Thus by mountains of God, they meant great mountains, Pl. xxxvi. 6; by cedars of God, large and lofty cedars, Pf. lxxx. 10; by a

prince of God, a mighty prince, Gen. xxiii. 6. See Effay on the Hebrew Superlative, fect. 1, 2, 3.

Habituated as the Jews were to this manner of expreffing eminence or excellence of any kind, they would of courfe employ it in the strongest way to denote any dignity or diftinction of office, whether civil or ecclefiaftical, that was of divine origin, or countenanced by divine authority. Accordingly, they not only called Jewish magistrates and prophets, magiftrates of God, and prophets of God; but they applied to them appellations of the Moft High, and denominated them gods, as being his reprefentatives. Schleufner on the word eos, fenfe 4, remarks, that it is used metaphorically, to denote one who acts by the order, command, and authority of God, and in the ftead of God upon earth.

This metaphorical ufe of the names of the Supreme Being was fo cuftomary, that Jefus argues with his Jewish adverfaries upon the ground of its being a familiar and well-known practice; and though they would have been glad to have expofed his error, if he had committed one, yet they never contradicted him; John x. 34, 35. To the quotation from Pf. lxxxii. 6, “ I faid, ye are gods," (as applied to those to whom the word of God came,) Christ adds the following words, " and the fcripture cannot be made "void." By this addition he justifies and defends this sense of the word god, as it was used by the Pfalmift, who explains it in the next verse to be a mere title of human pre-eminence and fuperiority;

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for he fubjoins, ver. 7, "but ye fhall die like men, "and fall like one of the princes." In this inferior fense the Jews always understood any of the names of the Moft High, even that moft appropriate one Jehovah, when it was applied to any man. Thus, though the Supreme Being himself faid to Mofes, Exod. vii. 1, Behold I have appointed thee a god (Elohim, Jeov) to Pharaoh, and Aaron fhall be thy

tr

prophet;" the Latin tranflation of the Chaldee is principem, of the Arabic, dominum. And Exod. xxii. 28, Elohim, Je85, gods, and agxovтa rulers, are ufed fynonymously. Alfo Pf. lxxxii. 1, the gods, is synonymous with the mighty. Judges, magistrates, and prophets are called gods, Elohim, Jeos, Exod. xxi. 6; xxii. 8, 9; Deut. x. 17; 1 Sam. xxviii. 13.

The Jews being accustomed to call those persons gods, "to whom the word of God came," they would of course apply the fame name to the Meffiah, to whom a divine spirit was communicated in a greater measure than to any other prophet. No other term could adequately convey to them the fublime ideas which they annexed to the tranfcendent dignity of his office. The moft lofty expreffions are employed by the prophets, and especially by Ifaiah, upon this favourite fubject, the centre of all the best hopes and expectations of the Jews. Foretelling the advent of the great reprefentative of Jehovah, who fpake and wrought miracles in his name, and uttered the precepts and doctrines which the Moft High immediately communicated to him, he calls the Meffiah by the names Jehovah, Elohee, and Adonai.

לאלהינו

Ifaiah xl. 3. The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, prepare ye the way of Jehovah, xugi, make straight in the desert a high way for our #up+8, God 17787, 78 98 nuwx. This is explained by ημικο the parallel phrafe, ver. 5, and the glory of Jehovah MT, xupi, fhall be revealed, and all flesh fhall fee it together, (Sept. To σ40 78 de, see Luke iii. 6,) for the mouth of Jehovah (Sept. only kupios) hath spoken it. Continuing the fubject, after this explanation, he adds, ver. 9, fay unto the cities of Judah, behold your God, D, Deos vμwr. The Latin tranflation of the Targum of Jonathan, ver. 3, is, parate viam coram populo Domini, fternite in campestri planitie vias coram cœtu Dei noftri; ver. 9, dicite urbibus domus Judæ, revelatum eft regnum Dei veftri.

Isaiah lx. 1. Arife, be thou enlightened; for thy light is come; and the glory of Jehovah is rifen upon thee, ver. 2. For behold darkness fhall cover. the earth, and grofs darknefs the people; but upon thee shall Jehovah arife, and his glory upon thee fhall be confpicuous. Jehovah is explained by his glory. Accordingly, the Latin verfion of the Chaldee is, in te autem habitabit majeftas Domini, et gloria ejus fuper te revelabitur. See Ifa. xxxv. 2.

Ifaiah ix. 6. Unto us a child is born, unto us a fon is given; and the government fhall be upon his fhoulder; and his name fhall be called wonderful, counsellor of God, mighty, the Father of the future age, the peaceful prince. See the Hebrew and Sept. X

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