Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus
Christ
God, the first person in the Trinity, is the God of Christ, as
Christ is man and Mediator; he chose and appointed him to be the
Mediator, and made a covenant with him as such; he formed and
prepared an human nature for him, and anointed it with the Holy
Ghost above measure, and supported it under all his trials and
sufferings, and at last glorified it: and Christ, as man, prayed
to him as his God, believed, hoped, and trusted in him as such,
and loved him as in such a relation to him, and cheerfully obeyed
his commands. And the same is the Father of Christ, as Christ is
God; as such he is the Son of God; not by creation, as angels and
Adam, nor by adoption, as saints, but by natural generation; he
being the only begotten of the Father, his own proper Son, of the
same nature and perfections with him, and equal to him. Now to
"bless" God is neither to invoke nor confer a blessing on him;
for there is none greater than he to be called upon; nor does he
need anything, nor can he receive anything from his creature; but
it is either to congratulate his greatness and goodness, to
ascribe blessing, glory, and honour to him, or to give thanks
unto him, both for temporal and spiritual mercies. And the
reasons why he is blessed, or praised by the saints as the God
and Father of Christ, are; because these are his New Testament
titles, under which he is more clearly made known, and in which
he delights; and because he is their God and Father in Christ;
nor can they come to him in any other way, but through him; and
because it is through him that all their blessings come to them,
and therefore all their praises must go this way, as follows:
who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in
heavenly places
in Christ:
God is the author and giver of all blessings; and he blesses his
people with them, as he is the God and Father of Christ, and as
he is their covenant God and Father in Christ; and he only can
bless; if he blesses not, none can; and if he blesses, they are
blessed indeed: the "us" that are blessed, are such who deserve,
according to the tenor of the law, to be cursed; and are not all
men, but some distinct from others; and who are before described
as saints, and faithful in Christ Jesus; and include both Jews
and Gentiles, who belong to the election of grace. And the
blessings such are blessed with are spiritual, so called to
distinguish them from temporal blessings. The Jews have the like
distinction of (twynmz
twbwj) , "temporal blessings", and (twynxwr twbwj) , "spiritual blessings"
F4; which latter are solid,
substantial, and lasting blessings; and which concern the good of
the soul or spirit of man; and are agreeable to, and desired by a
spiritual man; and are applied by the Holy Spirit of God; and so
the Ethiopic version renders it, "with every blessing of the Holy
Spirit": and which are very comprehensive, and take in all the
fulness of grace in Christ; all the blessings and sure mercies of
the everlasting covenant; all things pertaining to life and
godliness, such as justification, peace, pardon, adoption,
sanctification, and eternal life: and with these the saints are
blessed "in heavenly" places; God that blesses them is in heaven,
and so is Christ, in whom they are blessed; and the completion of
their blessedness will be in heaven, where their hope is laid up,
and their inheritance is reserved: and this phrase may denote the
safety of them, being out of the reach of any enemy, sin, Satan,
or the world, to deprive them of them, as well as the nature of
them; for it may be read, "in heavenly things", and so
distinguishes these blessings from such as are of an earthly
kind; and points at the original of them, being such as descend
from above, come down from heaven; and also the tendency of them,
which is to heaven; and being what give a right unto, and a
meetness for the kingdom of heaven: and these they are blessed
with "in Christ"; as he is their head and representative, and as
they are members in him, and partakers of him; through whom, and
for whose sake, they are conveyed unto them, and who himself is
the sum and substance of them. Agreeably to this way of speaking,
the Targumist, Jonathan ben Uzziel, on ( Numbers 6:27
) paraphrases the last clause thus, "I will bless them",
(yrmymb) , "in my word".
The date of these blessings, "hath blessed us", may respect
either first conversion, when the discovery and application of
the blessings of grace are made to God's people; or the making of
the covenant with Christ, their head, to whom all grace was then
given, and to them in him, and their election was in Christ, as
follows.
F4 Tzeror Hammor, fol. 79. 2.