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gels, chap. i. 8. who are fent to walk to and fro throughout the earth, ver. 10. and give an account of the state of matters to him as their Lord, ver. 11. He is defcribed as interceding with JEHOVAH, and as fuccessful in his interceffion, ver. 12. 13. as fent by the Lord of hofts, and yet as himself bearing this name, ver. 20. chap. ii. 8. It is obfervable that, throughout this prophecy, the title of the Angel of the Lord is appropriated to this one Angel who appears in the likenefs of human nature.

It may be afterwards fhewn that this was the Angel who appeared to Mofes as the I AM, and who went before the children of Ifrael. But fo ftrong is the evidence arifing from the paffages already confidered, in fupport of the doctrine of our Saviour's divinity, in connexion with that of his operation as an Angel under the Old Teftament, that it is scarcely conceivable that any one, who does not reject the Scriptures, fhould refuse the force of it, without wilfully refifting the teftimony of the Spirit. If this fcriptural proof has not been fairly stated, let Dr P. point out the fallacy, that none may be deceived.

Whatever ideas the Jews may be fuppofed to have generally entertained, at the time of our Saviour's appearance; and whatever have been their opinions fince; it is evident that when the prophecy of Malachi was delivered, they expected a divine Messenger, one who had both the nature of God, and the office of an Angel; that fame Angel who had faved them all the days of old. Therefore faith the prophet; The Lord, whom ye defire, fball fuddenly come to his temple, even the Messenger of the covenant whom ye delight in, chap. iii. 1. There can be no proper reafon to doubt, that the perfon referred to is the Meffiah. This is granted even by the modern Jews.

He

* Chizzouk Emounah, cap. 39.

He was peculiarly the object of their defire and delight. But our opponents muft either grant that, in the days of Malachi, the Jews defired, delighted in, and of course, expected a divine Meffiah; or charge the prophecy with carrying a falfehood in it; nay, one fo palpable, that it could not for a moment escape any individual of that nation. This muft undoubtedly have been the cafe, had they expected no other Meffiah" than a man like them"felves." For, although Adonai be the word here used, it is acknowledged by the Jews, as has been already seen, that it is a name expreffive of divine power *.

CHAP. IX.

Of the Son being revealed in the Old Teftament, as the Word, and Wisdom of God.

HAVING proved, as we hope, to the fatisfaction of the candid, that the ancient Jews believed in a perfonal Word; we proceed to examine the ground of their faith, or to inquire, if there be any evidence that the Meffiah was revealed, in the Scriptures of the Old Testament, under this character. Many paffages might be mentioned, which it seems most reasonable to understand in this sense. But we shall only attend to a few, which cannot with propriety bear any other meaning.

In the thanksgiving which David offered up, after the prophet was fent to inform him of God's acceptance of his intention to build him an house, instead of the action itself, he uses this language; For thy WORD's fake, and according to thine own beart, haft thou done all these things, H 3 2 Sam.

* See above, p. 80.

2 Sam. vii. 21. From the expreffion, as it appears in this place, there is no neceffity for fuppofing that David meant the perfonal Word. But the cafe is otherwise, when we turn our eye to the parallel paffage, 1 Chron. xvii. 19. O Lord, for thy SERVANT'S, fake, and according to thine own heart, baft thou done all this greatness. Here the Word of God appears as his fervant. Under this defignation, indeed, was he revealed to the church of Ifrael, Ifa. xlii. 1. Behold my SERVANT whom I uphold. Some understand the expreffion, as it is recorded in the Chronicles, as if it were an ellipfis, inftead of, "For the fake of the word which "thou haft spoken to thy fervaht." But we apprehend that no other instance of fuch an ellipfis can be produced. According to this view, in the one place it is the word; in the other the person to whom it was spoken. Thus, there must be an abfolute change of the fubject. If we take the language fimply, without fuppofing an ellipfis, and at the same time understand the word as denoting the revelation formerly made to David; there is a change of the very cause of the divine operation. For in the former passage, God is faid to do all this for his word's fake, that is, for bis own fake, for the honour of his faithfulness. But açcording to the latter, it is all done for David's fake: and this language is afcribed to him at the very time that he is disclaiming all merit, and humbly faying, What am I,— that thou haft brought me hitherto?

It feems also most natural to understand 1 Sam. iii. 21. in the fame fenfe: And the Lord appeared again in Shiloh : for the Lord revealed himself to Samuel in Shiloh, by the Word of the Lord. It is firft declared that the Lord appeared. The following claufe is added as an illuftration of the manner of this appearance: For JEHOVAH revealed himfelf by the Word of JEHOVAH. Literally, he fhewed himfelf.

felf. The expreffion is fingular. As far as I can observe, it is not elsewhere used.

If we look back to Gen. xv. I. we shall find another paffage that cannot well bear a different meaning: After thefe things, the Word of the Lord came unto Abram in, or by a vifion, faying, Fear not, Abram: I am thy fhield. It is evident that, on this occafion, there was an appearance of the speaker. He came, or was by vifion. Now it is clear from fcripture, that the Father never affumed any form. This could not be a creature. For not only is he called Lord God, and defcribed as the object of faith, ver. 6. but he exprefsly announces himself as that JEHOVAH who brought Abram out of Ur of the Chaldees, ver. 7. He is God the Judge, ver. 14. and he enters into covenant with Abram, ver. 18.

The Word not only appears, but is also the speaker. The Word came-faying. A mere word may be spoken or faid. But we cannot eafily conceive, how it should speak or fay. This form of expreffion, indeed, is frequently used in the Old Teftament. But no proof can be given, that it is not the perfonal Word who is meant in all the places where it occurs. The probability lies on the other fide; especially when it would be doing violence to the context to understand the expreffion differently. It cannot be said that Jebosab is the substantive agreeing with the participle faying; because the name is here in ftatu regiminis, and therefore under the government of Dabar, rendered the Word.

It does not appear that, in the Hebrew fcriptures, the noun governed, in the ftate of conftruction, is ufed as the nominative of the verb, or the antecedent of any perfonal. or relative pronoun, to the exclufion of the noun governing. It is this Word that fays, Fear not, Abram; I am thy field. Neither here, nor in most of the paffages where the fame mode of expreffion is ufed, do we find that

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common introduction of the divine meffages, Thus faith the Lord. If the Word be not here understood perfonally, no perfon is mentioned. For we have seen that the name, Jehovah, is fo connected, that it cannot denote a person diftinctly from the Word. The pronoun I neceffarily relates to the whole term, the Word of Jehovah. We also find the fame character elsewhere ascribed to the Word, which is here claimed by him: The Word of Jehovah is tried; he is a buckler, or shield to all those that trust in him, Pfal. xviii. 30. Here the pronoun be immediately refers to the Word of Jehovah.

There is evidently an interchange of language between this Word and Abram. And Abram faid, Behold, to me thou haft given no feed, &c. And behold, the Word of the Lord unto him, faying, This shall not be thine heir, ver. 3. 4. Came, in our verfion, is a supplement. I fhall only add, that the pronoun be occurs again in ver. 5. It is the Word of Jehovah of whom it is faid; And he brought him, viz. Abram, forth again.

Hag. ii. 4. 5. has been understood by various interpreters as denoting the Logos. I am with you, faith the Lord of bofts, according to the word that I covenanted with you when ye came up out of Egypt, fo my Spirit remaineth among you: fear ye not. Thus it is in our version. But the tranflators have marked these words, according to, as a fupplement. The introduction of it certainly obfcures the true fenfe. If we read the paffage fimply, without the fupplement, the particle N, eth, may be viewed as demonstrative; I am with you;-The Word, &c. But it seems more proper to confider it as a prepofition; because the be demonftrative is oined with 17, dabar. Thus it may be justly tranflated, with; I am with you,-with the Word, &c. To make the fenfe agree with the fupplement, our translators have rendered the conjunction 1 ve, Jo. But there is no

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