or deposition, of that human nature, which, at the great day, will, for so long a time, have sustained such a connection with the divine nature.  For our present purpose, however, which is to show the intrinsic dignity of the human nature, it would be enough that it has been in such connection with the Godhead, and has passed through such scenes, and sustained such vast responsibilities.  This is sufficient to prove that human nature is intrinsically capable and great; and, indeed, it reveals to us as nothing else does, the real dignity of our nature.  Some, who have rejected the doctrine of Christ’s two natures, have written much and eloquently with regard to man’s greatness in creation.  They, however, missed the very thing which chiefly proves it; for all who believe in the Deity of Christ have a proof and illustration of this great theme which trancend all others.

This idea, of future capability and exaltation for human nature, as proved by the Saviour’s incarnation, is brought to view in the second chapter of the Epistle to the Hebrews.  The second Psalm is there quoted as speaking of man:  “Thou hast put all things under his feet.”  “But now,” the apostle says, “we see not yet all things put under him;” man, as a race, has not reached his full destiny of glory and honor; but, in the person of Christ, human nature has taken possession of its future inheritance.  We see not yet all things put under man, as a race; but “we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honor;”—­a sign and pledge of our destiny.

To the mind of Paul, the sight, in heaven, of what he was to become, set forth by the glorified person of the Son of God, his Saviour and infinite Friend, no doubt made the resumption of the body, at the last day, the most desirable experience of which it was possible for him to conceive.  Paradise, with all its social pleasures, gates of pearl, streets of gold, every thing, in short, external to him, must have seemed, to the apostle, not worthy to be compared with the glory which was to be revealed in him.  An intelligent man is far more interested in his own personal endowments, than in the accidental circumstances of his situation.  Every one, who is not degraded in his feelings, would prefer to be enriched with natural, moral, and intellectual powers, rather than be the richest of men, or an hereditary monarch, with inferior talents and worth.  To such a man as Paul, the possession of his complete, glorified nature, at the resurrection, must, for this reason, have seemed far better than all the pleasures or honors of the heavenly world.  That completed nature would constitute him a being wholly perfected, invest him with a likeness to the Son of God, bring him into still nearer union with that adorable Redeemer, who, Paul says, loved him and gave himself for him, and for whom, he says, he had suffered the loss of all things.  The sight of the man Christ Jesus wearing Paul’s nature