Sidor som bilder
PDF
ePub

principal and the agent, God and his Christ, are one; and accordingly Christ himself said, "He that receiveth you receiveth me, and he that receiveth me receiveth him that sent me."

[ocr errors]

In further application of the same principle, it is said in Isaiah and Malachi, "The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight"; and again, "Behold I send my messenger be fore my face ; which words in Matt. iii. 3 are applied to the coming of John the Baptist to prepare the way for Jesus Christ; for the coming of Christ as the messenger of God was the coming of God himself to bestow the blessings of a new revelation. If you will keep this rule of interpreta tion in your mind, namely, that the same language will often be applied directly to the principal and also to the agent, because whatever the agent does the principal may be said to do, it will remove much of the obscurity of the sacred writings.

3. There are a number of instances in the New Testa.

ment in which Christ is said to have been worshipped, either. by his disciples or other persons. For instance, Matt. xxviii. 9, when, after his resurrection, his disciples "came and held him by the feet and worshipped him"; and verse 17," When they saw him they worshipped him." Upon this passage Dr. Adam Clarke, the great Methodist commenta tor, remarks as follows: "This kind of reverence is in daily use among the Hindoos; when a disciple meets a public guide in the streets, he prostrates himself before him, and, taking the dust from his teacher's feet, rubs it on his forehead, breast," &c. And Dr. J. P. Smith, an equally good authority, says: "The prostrate position, which denoted the highest reverence and respect, is manifestly described, but the expression does not necessarily import more than the

most exalted kind of civil homage." In fact, the word "worshipped" is very frequently used to signify respect and homage, and so it is used in application to temporal rulers; see Matt. xviii. 26, in the parable of the creditor who took his servant by the throat, saying, Pay me that thou owest. "The servant therefore fell down and worshipped him, saying, Lord, have patience with me and I will pay thee all." Also see Luke xiv. 10: "Then shalt thou have worship in the presence of those who sit at meat with thee." We must, therefore, in all cases determine by the circumstances the nature of the worship given; but with regard to the highest or religious worship, we have the command of Jesus himself, "Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God and him only shalt thou serve.” Matt. iv. 10. I will remark that the word here translated serve, whenever it occurs, means religious worship such as we give to God only, and there is no case of its application to Jesus Christ.

There are two texts in which it is supposed that direct prayer is offered to Christ. The first is Acts vii. 59, at the martyrdom of Stephen: "And they stoned Stephen, calling upon God, and saying, Lord Jesus, receive my spirit!" By turning to your Bibles, you will see that the word God is printed in italics, from which we know that it is not in the original, but supplied by the translators. We may read, therefore, calling upon Christ, or simply "calling out." Now we are to remember that Stephen is represented as seeing Jesus at the right hand of God, and his exclamation was like an appeal made to one who was present. But apart from this, there is nothing in the words of Stephen which every believer in Christ may not adopt in his dying hour. Our brightest hope of heaven is to be with him, and the natural aspiration of our hearts will be, when the time of our departure comes, that he may receive

us into his fold and acknowledge us as his brethren. No one is more heartily Unitarian than I am, but I think that such words would come to my lips as the natural prompting of my heart. So have I often heard the dying Christian, with heaven already opening to his eyes, whisper the name of parent or child, or some dear friend long since departed, as if communion with the dead were already begun. How much more may we thus speak the name of Jesus, with whom the spiritual bond is closest of all, whose intercession with the Father is for us, and who hath gone before to the blessed mansions, to prepare a place for us, that where he is we may be also! It was only yesterday that I stood by the bedside of a dying friend, who, wearied with her long-continued suffering, exclaimed, "O, how I long to go home!

O that Jesus would take me to himself!" Yet her belief is as decidedly Unitarian as my own.

Another instance of what is thought to be direct prayer to Jesus Christ is found 2 Cor. xii. 8: "For this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me; and he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee, for my strength is made perfect in weakness; most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me." Dr. Hammond of the English Church interprets this as a prayer to God. But I think that the connection shows it to have been Christ whom Paul addressed. It is not, however, what we commonly call prayer, but a personal request to his master. For he has been giving us an account of Christ's appearing to him in a vision, by a special revelation, and in that vision, with Christ present before him, he makes the petition here recorded. It cannot therefore be considered as an authority for prayer to Christ, under ordinary circumstances. Our proper and only sufficient authority upon this subject is in

the words of Jesus Christ himself, who says, speaking of the time when he should no longer be on earth, John xvi. 23, “In that day ye shall ask me nothing; verily, verily, I say unto you, whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name, he will give it you; hitherto have ye asked nothing in my name ; ask and ye shall receive, that your joy may

be full."

This is the Christian doctrine of prayer. We pray to God the Father only, but we pray through Jesus Christ, or in his name; that is, as his followers and disciples, who be lieve in his words, who trust in his promises, who receive the benefit of his life, his suffering, and death, who look to him as our advocate with the Father, and who receive through him, as the mediator between God and us and as the living head of his Church, the spiritual blessings which are needed to sustain our souls: further than this the Scriptures do not authorize us to go.

The frequent ascriptions of praise and honor to Christ give us no trouble. To him, in fact, under God, we owe all our spiritual blessings; and so long as we keep it distinctly in mind, that all should be done to the glory of God the Father, the ultimate source of all blessing, we may properly ascribe "blessing and honor and glory and power," not only "to Him who sitteth upon the throne, but to the Lamb for ever." Rev. v. 13. You will observe in the words just quoted, and almost everywhere else in the book of Revelation, how clearly the distinction is kept up between God and Christ; between him who sits upon the throne, and the Lamb. Read the whole of the fifth chapter and it will appear still more plainly. There is no book of the New Testament which offers so great difficulties in its interpretation as that to which I now refer. It is written in the highest strain of poetry and prophetic imagery, and no two writers

can be found who agree as to its exact meaning. I think, therefore, that it ought not to be used as a principal authority upon disputed points of doctrine.

If it is true (which we consider by no means certain) that it is Jesus who says, Rev. i. 11, “I am Alpha and Omega," its explanation is difficult; for we can scarcely understand how such words are applicable to any one but the Almighty. But the difficulty is at once increased and removed, when we find the words used by one who commanded John not to worship him: "See thou do it not; for I am thy fellow-servant; worship God"; for it was the same person who used these words who said directly after, "I am Alpha and Omega; the beginning and the end; the first and the last." Rev. xxii. 8, 13. I can understand such language only by supposing that Jesus and also the angel were speaking in the name of God. In the same manner Moses says, Deut. xxix. 2, 6, “I have led you forty years in the wilderness; that ye may know that I am the Lord your God." See also Deut. xi. 13– 15. In both of these passages Moses used language, which, if it had been used by Christ, would be stronger in proving his Deity than any now quoted for that purpose. We should not, therefore, attach so great importance to isolated and obscure texts. I am persuaded that it is better to look to the plainer books of Scripture for our chief instruction.

[ocr errors]

4. The strongest support of the Trinitarian doctrine concerning Christ, and, as it appears to most readers, the greatest difficulty in the way of Unitarians, is found in the introduction to the Gospel of John; to which I now ask your attention for a few minutes. It is an obscure and difficult passage of Scripture. But its obscurity arises, chiefly, from our failing to consider the object which the Apostle had in view, and the circumstances under which he wrote. Upon

« FöregåendeFortsätt »