When Christ bears the title of the Word, it should ever put us in remembrance of his speaking the world into being, by his almighty fiat; of his upholding it by the same omnipotent power; and that he, as incarnate, hath revealed and spoke out, all the mind and will of God: so that he is the image of the invisible God, who hath, by his mysterious incarnation, revealed all of God that can be manifested to intellectual minds.

He is the Son of the living God; and is the living God, Heb. iii. 12. the fountain of eternal life; and he assumed human nature into personal union with himself; and so he is God-man in one person for ever: so that in the person of Christ, we have two distinct natures united, the divine and human. In consequence of which hypostatical union, all the fulness of the Godhead dwells in the man Christ Jesus. The human and divine natures remain distinct, yet are they so inseparably united, that they make but one person,

This is the subject before us. This is next the doctrine of the co-equal and co-eternal Three in one essence, the greatest of all mysteries. And this most important truth is expressed in the words of divine inspiration thus; "And the Word was made flesh." In which we have the distinct natures, the human and divine, clearly expressed, the person in whom they were united, and the method by which they were united.

"The Word was made flesh." It is not said, the Word assumed flesh. The reason is, because the Holy Ghost would, by this evangelist, set forth the truth and mystery of Christ's incarnation fully. It is not said, Christ was made mau, because he did not assume a person, but a human nature; but it is expressly said, "the Word was made flesh:" not by ceasing to be what he was before, but by taking on him what he was not before, to be true and very man.

"The Word was made flesh." Here are the two distinct natures in Christ, the divine and human; the Godhead and the manhood, in personal union with the essential Word, who is hereby very God, and very man, and God-man by the taking our nature into personal union with himself.

Thus "the Word was made flesh;" and thus the person of Christ, in whom dwelleth all the essential and incommunicable fulness of the Godhead, is set before us,

To magnify the grace of the eternal Three the more in their glorious display of it, in Christ's incarnation, to confirm the truth of Christ's human nature, to shew that he became man, by assuming flesh, and not by changing into it; and also to shew that he took our nature without spot or stain of sin, that he might make his church and people clean from all sin, this phrase

is made use of, "The Word was made flesh." O that we might be led to admire and adore the holy, blessed, and glorious Trinity, for their everlasting love to the elect thus displayed!

The Father provided a body for his co-equal Son, to take into union with himself; the Holy Ghost prepared and articulated it; and the essential Word took hold of it, and by taking it into personal union with his person, was made man. O, stupendous love! Unutterable grace! Such as will be matter of wonder and praise for ever and ever. For this union is indissoluble. The essential Word will be God-man for ever and

ever.

I come to my second head of discourse, and am to shew the infinite grace of God incarnate, manifested in living in our world, which is expressed in our text thus; "and dwelt among

us."

"And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us." The essential Word, the Son of God, became by his mysterious incarnation, in all things like unto us, yet without sin. Thus "he who sanctifieth, and they who are sanctified, are all of one;" i. e. of one nature. "The children being partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same," Heb. ii. 11, 24. The essential Word, and only begotten of the Father, took with our nature, all the sinless infirmities of it.

Thus the humanity, as united to him, was impeccable: it was impossible for sin to enter it, for death to touch it, there being nothing in it which could reduce it, and bring it under the power of the grave; and, therefore, our Lord's laying down his life, and submitting to the stroke of death, was altogether voluntary. Hence he says, "Therefore doth my Father love me, because I lay down my life, that I might take it again: no man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself: I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This commandment have I received of my Father." John x. 9, 10. Which fully proves that he had an absolute power over his own life, as God-man, to lay it down, and to take it again; and that his doing so was acting in conformity to the eternal transactions which had passed between him and his Father, in the counsel and covenant of peace. Yet his humanity, his body and soul, though hypostatically united to him, was the subject of all sinless infirmities. Hence he knew what it was to need support from the creatures, which received their being and support from him as their Creator and Lord. He was, in his incarnate state, subject to hunger and thirst, to weariness and grief; he knew personally all the sinless affections, feelings, sorrows, and apprehensions of the human mind, which gives us a most exalted idea of his infinite grace.

The essential Word, by his incarnation, became man, and lived as God incarnate, Immanuel, God with us, in our world, in the days of his flesh, that is, in his incaruate state, and prayed for us, fasted for us, was tempted for us, preached for us, obeyed for us, was made sin and a curse for us, suffered, was agonized, and died for us; and herein gave us such a lecture on the love of God towards us, and such an evidence of it in his own life of personal holiness, obedience, mercy, pity, sufferings, and death, as will be matter for perpetual admiration, gratitude, and praise, throughout the ages of eternity. "He dwelt among us," or, as it is in the margin, "He tabernacled among us."

The apostle, doubtless, refers to the feast of tabernacles, which was of divine appointment. It was kept on the fifteenth day of the seventh month, and lasted eight days: at which time the people of Israel were to make booths of the boughs of trees, and dwell in them, that they might remember how they dwelt in booths, when their predecessors came out of the land of Egypt, and also how they dwelt under the cloud of glory at Mount Sinai. It doubtless glanced at, and was to put them in remembrance that, the Son of God would become man, and tabernacle with us. The month Tizri, in which it was kept, answers to a part of our September. It was in this month Solomon's temple was dedicated: