SECT. XI.-PASSAGES OF THE NEW TESTAMENT, EVINCING THE FATHER TO BE THE ONLY PROPER OBJECT OF RELIGIOUS WORSHIP.

(1) Christ prayed to the Father only.

1. Luke x. 21: In that hour, Jesus rejoiced in spirit, and said, I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth! that thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes. Even so, Father, for so it seemed good in thy sight.— Par. Pas. Matt. xi. 25, 26.

2. John xi. 41, 42: Jesus lifted up [his] eyes, and said, Father, I thank thee that thou hast heard me. And I knew that thou hearest me always; but because of the people who stand by, I said [1t], that they may believe that thou hast sent me.

3. John xii. 27, 28: Now is my soul troubled; and what shall I say ? Father, save me from this hour: but for this cause came I unto this hour. Father, glorify thy name, &c.

4. John xiv. 16, 17: And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever; [even] the Spirit of truth, whom the world canno receive, &c.

5. John xvii. 1, to the end: These words spake Jesus, and lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, Father, the hour is come glorify thy Son, that thy Son also may glorify thee....And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent. ...And now, O Father! glorify thou me with thine own self, with the glory which I had with thee before the world was, &c.

6. Matt. xxvi. 39-44: And he went a little farther, and

fell on his face, and prayed, saying, O my Father! if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless, not as I will, but as thou [wilt]. ......He went away again the second time, and prayed, saying, O my Father! if this cup may not pass away from me, except I drink it, thy will be done. ...And he left them, and went away again, and prayed the third time, saying the same words.-Par. Pas. Mark xiv. 35-39. Luke xxii. 41-45.

7. Matt. xxvi. 53: Thinkest thou that I cannot now pray to my Father, and he shall presently give me more than twelve legions of angels?

8. Luke xxiii. 34: Then said Jesus, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do.

9. Matt. xxvii. 46: And about the ninth hour, Jesus cried

with a loud voice, saying, ...My God! my God! why

hast thou forsaken me ?-Par. Pas. Mark xv. 34. 10. Luke xxiii. 46: When Jesus had cried with aloud voice, he said, Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit. And having said thus, he gave up the Ghost.

In the following passages, it is not stated that he whom Christ addressed in prayer and thanksgiving was the Father. But, as all his addresses to the Deity that are recorded by the Evangelists were uniformly directed to the "one God, the Father," we have not the slightest hesitation in believing, that those which are merely alluded to were presented to the same beneficent Source of intelligence and power.

11. Luke vi. 12: He (Jesus) went out into a mountain to pray, and CONTINUED ALL NIGHT IN PRAYER TO GOD.See Matt. xiv. 23. Mark i. 35: vi. 46. Luke iii. 21; v. 16; ix. 18, 28, 29 : xi. 1; xxii. 31, 32.

12. Matt. xv. 36: And he (Jesus) took the seven loaves and the fishes, and gave thanks, &c.-See Matt. xiv. 19, xxvi. 26, 27. Mark vi. 41; viii. 6, 7; xiv. 22, 23. Luke xxii. 17, 19; xxiv. 30. John vi. 11, 23. 1 Cor. xi. 23, 24.

13. Matt. xxvi. 30: And when they had sung a hymn, they went out into the Mount of Olives.-Par. Pas. Mark xiv. 26.

14. Heb. ii. 12; I will declare thy name unto my brethren; in the midst of the church will I sing praise unto thee.

15. Heb. v. 7, 8: Who (Christ) in the days of his flesh,

when he had offered up prayers and supplications, with strong crying and tears, UNTO HIM THAT WAS ABLE TO SAVE HIM from death, and was heard in that he feared: though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience, &c.

16. Heb. vii. 25: Wherefore he (Jesus) is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them.

17. Rom. viii. 34: Who [is] he that condemneth? [It is] Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us.

* "EvτvyXavεiv ÚTEρ TIVOS signifies, in a forensic sense, to manage and recommend the cause of another; or, simply, to intercede, to do something for the advantage of another, to assist or bring help."-SCHLEUSNER: Lex. in Nov. Test.

"The word εvrvyxavw is of very general import. It signifies interposing in any way, either for or against another. It is applied to Christ only twice in the New Testament, here and Rom. viii. 34. There is no reason to limit the sense to intercession, or praying for or against another. 'The perpetual intercession of Christ here noted,' says Mr. Lindsey, 'may perhaps be the continual operation and effect of his miracles and doctrine in the world, by which men are brought to believe in God by him, and to be saved.' Perhaps it may mean, that Christ, in his exalted

OBSERVATIONS ON THE THREE PRECEDING PAGES.

Who can read the many pathetic passages contained in the preceding list, without acknowledging that the Being whom Christ addressed in the language of entreaty, of thankfulness, and submission, was no other than the Creator and Governor of the universe the Jehovah whom he declared to be One, and to be alone absolutely good-the only true God-his God and Father, and the God and Father of all? Who would hesitate to admit, that this Being was distinct from, and superior to, the humble, earnest, devout Petitioner? Who can conceive that the addresser and the addressed were in essence one and the same ?-that he who repeatedly prayed, "O my Father! if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as thou wilt," was on a footing of perfect equality with Him to whose will he bowed with perfect resignation ?— that, in short, he who, in the agony of suffering humanity, cried out, My God! my God! why hast thou forsaken me?" was himself the ever-blessed and omnipotent Deity? Catechisms and creeds, liturgies and hymns, may and do recognize such absurdities; but the prayers and the thanks

state, is exerting his powers, in some unknown way, for the benefit of his church."EDS. OF IMP. VER.: note on Heb. vii. 25.

"Although the original word evrvyxavw... be not found in the four Gospels, yet the true sense and meaning of it may not be overstrained, if it be construed in a literal sense; for Christ, while here on earth, said, 'O Father! I thank thee that thou hast heard me, and I know that thou hearest me always.' John xi. 41, 42. Much more, then, when siting at God's right hand, in a state of high favour; where it is not to be supposed his charity and high regard for his followers were abated."HAYNES, C. lvii.

givings of our divine Master protest against them: his words and his actions-his life and his death-were all directed to the worship and the glory of one Person, the Father. Yes: Jesus Christ, the Righteous, devoted to the service of the One Almighty and Universal Parent, every emotion of the heart-every faculty of the soul-every action of the life commencing in childhood to perform the business of his Father; making it his daily meat and drink to do the will of his Father; and presenting his last benevolent prayer to the same gracious Being-to HIS FATHER AND OUR FATHER, to HIS GOD AND OUR GOD.

Now, if Christ were himself the infinite Source of all power and happiness, he could not possibly have submitted to the will of another, or have required his assistance or support. Suppose, however, that, in order to exhibit to his disciples merely an example of piety and devotion, he considered it fit to offer up petitions and thanksgivings to the Deity, it would surely not be unreasonable to expect, that the Gospels should contain some allusions to the prayers which he in his human nature presented to his divine, if he possessed these two opposite natures, and he were equally with the Father entitled to religious adoration. But, in all the devotional acts of our Lord, no mention is made of any other object of worship, than the one only God; no ascriptions of praise-no humble acknowledgment of merciesno prayers-no pious aspirations-either to himself, or to an ever-blessed Trinity. So far, indeed, was Jesus from countenancing the worship of two divine persons, called God the Son, and God the Holy Ghost, that, in the clearest and most unequivocal manner, he requested his disciples to pray to the Father only. This assertion will be fully borne out by the following passages from the Gospels.