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cises also a regal priesthood, whilst he pleads our cause in heaven, not ignobly, but gloriously, as becometh a King; being a priest for ever, after the order " of Melchizedec," and a "PRIEST UPON HIS THRONE."1

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XXVIII. This highest step of Christ's exaltation, is sometimes ascribed to the Father, sometimes to Christ himself, as its cause. In some passages the Father is said to have "set Christ at his own right hand." m To this effect are the following expressions: "Being by the

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right hand of God exalted:"n" Him hath God ex"alted with his right hand to be a Prince and a Sa"viour:"0 "Thou crownedst him with glory and "honour, and didst set him over the works of thy "hands." In other places of Scripture, Christ is said to have "sat down at the right hand of God ;" and to have taken that glory to himself by his own authority. We read in Zechariah," and he shall take "the glory.”" x 44

r

XXIX. Neither of these forms of expression is without its emphasis. The Father, according to the covenant into which he entered with Christ, gave him glory, conformably to the dictates of justice; which requires, that the glorious exaltation of the Son of God, should be exactly proportioned to his voluntary abasement. Since the latter was carried to the lowest degree, it is proper that the former should rise to the

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greatest height. That Christ hath acquired this right, we learn from the following words: "Ask of me," that is, according to the tenor of the covenant," and I will give thee the heathen for thine inheritance:"s "Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great;— "because he hath poured out his soul unto death :"t "Thou lovest righteousness, and hatest wickedness ;" (this refers to the obedience of Christ ;) therefore "God, thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of "joy, above thy fellows." The anointing here meant, is not the unction of grace on earth, but of glory in heaven. The metaphor is taken from joyful and festive entertainments.▾

xxx. The conferring of this glory is attributed elsewhere to grace, as in these words; "In mercy shall

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the throne be established ;"w 45 and again, “ He hath "graciously given him a name which is above every "name." Two things are thus taught us; first, that the exaltation, no less than the humiliation of Christ, flows from grace towards his people; and, secondly, that from the impulse of strong affection, God gratified the Son by conferring this glory upon him. The Greek expression, according to Hesychius, signifies, to do what is agreeable.* The term grace, however, must by no means be wrested for the purpose of disparaging that right, which on the very best grounds appertains to Christ; for the Apostle has, in this very place, clearly asserted that right. It is twofold. He has a

Χαρίζεσθαι, est δρᾶν тa xɛxagiousvα, grata facere.

s Ps. ii. 8.

u Ps. xlv. 7.

t Is. liii. 12.

Comp. Ps. xxiii. 5. Is. lxi. 3. Luke vii. 46.

V

w Is. xvi. 5.

* Εχαρισατο, Philip. ii. 9.

45 See NOTE XLV.

natural right founded in his having the same essence with the Father; for he was "in the form of God," that is, the true God, and also manifested and known as such;" and he thought it not robbery to be equal "with God;" that is, he believed in conformity to truth, that without any sacrilege or unjust usurpation, of the divine glory, he might openly profess equality with God, although, for good reasons, he concealed it for a time. He has also an acquired right, founded in his voluntary obedience, according to the covenant. "He became obedient-WHEREFORE God also hath

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highly exalted him."z "Will they deny,” says Vigilius,*" that all these honours have been conferred upon the Lord Jesus Christ, on account of the me"rit of his sufferings and death? Let them read the He humbled himself and became obedient unto death, even the death "of the cross: WHEREFORE God also hath highly "exalted him,' &c."

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Apostle, where he says of him,

XXXI. Christ himself is said to have sat down, because availing himself of his own right, he rests in peace, after having accomplished his labours; and because he takes, asserts, and vindicates the glory, to which he has an unquestionable title, and which is entirely his own; and, suitably to his celestial condition, magnificently displays it, for the glory of the Father, and the salvation of his people.

XXXII. THE GLORY OF THE FATHER, which cannot be separated from that of the Son, is concerned in this matter." That every tongue should confess, "that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the

"Father." Here the Veracity and Power of God shine forth, in the effectual and constant performance of the promise of Christ's sitting at his right hand ;Justice, in giving the recompence and glory that are due;-Grace, in the elevation of the human nature of Christ far above all Angels, and in the accomplishment of our salvation by that means. But this is not all. The Father cannot be honoured, nor recognised as a Father, by sinful men, but in the Son. Hence that expression of our Lord," that the Father may be "glorified in the Son." It is the glory of God, not only to be known as eternal, perfect, powerful, the creator, the chief good, and the chief end of man, worthy of obedience and of worship; but also to be known, loved, and honoured, as the righteousness of a sinner,— as a God who justifies, sanctifies, and glorifies the guilty. Now this glory is given to God, only in the Son, humbled in the first instance, and then exalted.

XXXIII. But OUR SALVATION also depends on this point. 1st, The whole of this glory of our Head, redounds to our honour. Since Christ himself in all that belongs to him is our's, it follows of necessity, that his glory is our's. The Father "gave him to be the "Head over all things to the Church, which is his

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body, the fulness of Him that filleth all in all.”c These words, as has been judiciously observed by a celebrated Interpreter, are to be understood in this sense. He gave him as Head to the Church, that through him the Church might be placed above all things. The Church, I say, "which is his body," namely, given and joined to Christ, that he might quicken it,

and live in it by his Spirit: "The fulness of Him "that filleth all in all;" that is, the fulness of God so that it may be filled, not merely by God, but also with God. The design is, that God may be all in the Church, and that it may not consist as now, of one part flesh, and another part spirit; one part living and another part dying; but that all things may be changed into incomprehensible glory and joy. Or the expression may denote the fulness, by which Christ himself is filled and completed; as the other members of the body tend to the perfection of the Head, and the glory of the Head cannot be separated from the glory of the members. It is the scope of the Apostle, to show that God exerts the same energy towards us, which he exerted in placing Christ at his right hand. And indeed, the eighth Psalm leads us to this interpretation. What is there said respecting the Son of man, must be understood not only of Christ, but also of the Church; that is, of Christ as the Head, and of the Church as the body. Of the man respecting whom it might be said, that he was unworthy that God should visit him, it may be affirmed also, after it has pleased God to visit him, that he is crowned with glory and honour. Now this belongs to the body, as well as to the Head. As all things, therefore, must be subjected to the Son of man, the Head; so must all things be subjected likewise to the Son of man, the body. To the same effect is the following expression of Christ in the Apocalypse: “To him that overcometh, will I grant, "to sit with me in my throne, &c."e An observation of Ludovicus de Dieu throws no small light on this passage. He remarks, that in Eastern countries the throne of a King is large and broad, like a splendid