(for it seems that in heaven, as well as on earth and in hell, there are beings of different ranks and orders,) from his creating hand they have derived their existence, and from his sovereign will their station. Nor is there any thing in the whole creation which is not upheld by him. He directs the stars in their orbits, and causes the sun and moon to know their appointed seasons. The smallest insect too, which is so small as to be invisible to the naked eye, is as much noticed and supplied by him, as if it were the only work of his hands. For himself too, as the supreme God, he made these things : and all of them, whether wittingly or unwittingly, subserve his glory. If we could suppose that God had delegated to him the work of creating every thing, and of upholding it in its order, (though, as he was the Creator of all things, he could not be himself a creature,) still it would be impossible for God to devolve on him the honour of being the end of all things : that is incapable of being communicated to any crea- ture : it is the prerogative of God alone : nor could he divest himself of it, without giving a licence to his creatures to alienate from him the most essential rights of Godhead.
Behold, then, the Lord Jesus Christ, in this his personal dignity, as the author and end of all ; and then say, whether he be not entitled to a pre-eminence above all? The highest archangel has no such claims. In respect of these things, he is on a level with the meanest clod of earth; and must unite with all the rest of the creation in giving glory to our blessed Lord.]
2. His official excellency —
[In his mediatorial capacity he is no less glorious. He is " the Head of the Church, which is his body :" he is the Head of vital influence, from which every member receives his supply of grace ; and he is the Head and Representative of all his members, who at this very moment " are risen, as it were, in him, and sitting in heavenly places in hima." This I con- ceive is meant by his being " the beginning, the first-born from the dead." It is true that he existed before all; and that he was the most distinguished amongst those who have risen from the dead ; having raised himself by his own power, whilst all others have owed their restoration to life to the miraculous exertion of God's power. But, as he is called " the first-born of the whole creation," not because he was himself created, but because the rights of the first-born all centred in him, and he was, as mediator, the Heir and Lord of allb; so his being called "the beginning, the first-born from the dead," imports, that in his risen state the rights of primo-
a Eph. ii. 6. t> Heb. i. 2.