HE import of this glorious name has been considered in the former Volume, in which it was shewn, that the Almighty called himself by this title, to explain, to our understandings, his necessary, independent, self-existent Being, and to impress us with the idea of his own immutability and eternity, and of the derivation of all other existence from him. This name of course cannot belong to a creature, is never applied to any, but is claimed distinctly from all other names and attributes by the Great Author and Creator of all things.

It is the purpose of this Essay to prove, that the incommunicable name JEHOVAH belongs to the HOLY SPIRIT : And such testimonies will be brought for this end, as (it is hoped) may confirm every believer, and do something to silence the mouth of the gainfayer; because they will be testimonies from Him who cannot lie-from Him, who cannot be mistaken himself, and who is too good and gracious, in the remotest degree to deceive us. We shall see, as we go along, what a glory this sublime truth throws upon all the other doctrines of the gospel, and in what perfect agreement it proceeds with the analogy of faith revealed in the Old and New Testaments, and (it may be added) revealed in every ChrisVol. II.

B.

tian's soul for his comfort and salvation. To those whe neither know the Scriptures nor the power of God, it is not presumed, that any evidence upon this subject, from those Scriptures, can be satisfactory; since, as our Lord assures us, that, rejecting these, they would not (or could not) believe though one arose from the dead. The SPIRIT JEHOVAH himself must afford an Elenchus, or energy, to his own testimony; or, could they cease to be declared infidels, they would only become mere speculatists, and consequently notional, not real believers. But to those, whose understandings are opened to understand the Scriptures (Luke xxiv. 45-) and from whose hearts the stone is in some measure removed (Ezek. xxxvi. 26.) it is hoped, that the evidences of this great truth will not only be convincing and undeniable, but (what seems, to the author, of more moment) edifying and establishing in their most holy faith. Merely to inform the judgment, is but half the object: The desire is, that, with a clear and sound comprehension of the truth, the heart may be warmed with the love of it, and the soul built up thereon by a happy and divine experience. The SPIRIT, of whom we are treating, is alone able to effect this: Reader, look up to him for his blessing, that thou mayest be led, in a right way to a right end; which is, by the power of grace, to the glory of JEHOVAH, and thine own salvation.

Our first design is to prove, that the HOLY SPIRIT is JEHOVAH; and our next, that, being JEHOVAH, HE is able to accomplish all that is faid of HIM, and all that is necessary for us to life eternal.

It will be granted by all but professed Atheists, and no Christian therefore can deny it, That there is but ONE JEHOVAH.' We are slandered, consequently, when, upon our profession to believe, that the Father is Jehovah, the Son Jehovah, and the Spirit Jehovah, it is said of us that we talk of three Gods; for the very name JEHOVAH (if our adversaries would but understand it) entirely precludes that notion. A simple, infinite, perfect essence must necessarily be indivisible: Nor do we, in our idea, presume to make divisions in the Deity, but to believe only those distinctions of persons, hypostases, or subsistences in Him, of which he himself hath been pleased to give a revelation, and by which revelation alone we can know any thing of the matter. We are not wise

One cannot help wishing with Forster, that the Hebrew name Jehovah were preserved in all translations of the Bible, quod hæc attributa [i. e. Dominus et Deus] neque essentiam divinam, neque nominis propriam significationem exprimant; "because these titles of Lord and God can neither express the divine essence, nor give the proper signification of his names."

above what is written; nor would we be too proud or selfsufficient to follow the written wisdom of God. In another case, when our philosophers speak of the light, or fire, or substance of the material sun; they would deem it an insult, if they were accused of maintaining, that there were several suns; because of those distinctions, which they perceived in his nature. And, by a very small share of candor, those, who charge the Christians with Tritheism, for holding the doctrine of the Trinity, might have saved themselves from committing a violent injustice; because, though we maintain, that "each Person by himself is Jehovah," yet we also declare, that there are not three Lords, but one Lord, according to what is written in Deut. vi. 4. Hear, O Israel, Jehovah our Alehim is one Jehovah.-Nor doth it strike our reason with more repugnance to assert this concerning a spiritual essence, of which we can know nothing but what is revealed, when God himself hath revealed this doctrine to us; than it can the reason of a philosopher to conceive light and heat in a material substance, without affecting the unity of that substance, when he knows this only by his senses, which in some respects are acknowledged to be fallacious. In the one case, there is the testimony of God, who surely knows the mode of his own being, and who is himself pure and perfect reason; but in the other, we have only the evidence of sense, which not only is not reason, but very often is contrary to it. Yet were we to assert the existence of three separate suns, because we could find as many properties in our one sun; we should have enough to laugh at us for our notion, and especially among those who are so unfair (not to say worse) as to accuse us of believing in three separate Gods, because we assert three divine hypostases, or persons, to be in the Godhead, and this upon the authority of God himself. Who then act the most rationally; they, who, confessing God to be incomprehensible, yet presume to define his infinite nature according to their own low and limited notions; or we, who, acknowledging that his being infinitely transcends all human investigation, receive with humble submission that testimony, which he hath given us of himself? We never pretend, that God's existence is a subject of human reason: Nor have we so little reason as to attempt the measure of all infinitude by a finite rule. The presumption of infidelity, which affects to believe nothing beyond its own puny comprehension, and yet blames those who cannot believe it upon a point confessedly incomprehensible; is at once too daring to be safe, and too ignorant to be trusted, in a matter of such importance. God's own wisdom and truth, in this respect, are only sufficient to satisfy us: But, if they were not, we certainly could not be satisfied with the cogitations of poor mor

tals, who know not even the mode of their own being, or how themselves think, nor indeed the essence of any one material substance about them,

The SPIRIT is JEHOVAH.

JEREMIAH XXXi, 33, 34. This shall be the covenant, saith JEHOVAN they shall teach no more every man his neighboursaying, know JEHOVAH; for they shall all know mesaith JEHOVAH.

JOHN xvi. 13. When He the SPIRIT of truth is come, be will guide you into all truth.

This is the accomplishment of the promise, that JEHOVAH the SPIRIT guides into all truth, and makes himself known to his people. An obvious distinction is here made between the teaching of God and of man: And as obvious a fact it appears, that the SPIRIT guiding, in one text, is JEHOVAH promised

to be known in the other.

DEUT. vi, 16. with Matth. iv. 7. Thou shalt not tempt JEHOVAH thy ALENIM,

ACTS v. 9. How is it that ye have agreed to tempt the SPIRIT of the LORD?

ANANIAS and SAPPHIRA for this temptation were judicially seized by immediate death which proved upon fact, that they bad not lied unto men, but unto God, and that to tempt the SPIRIT, is no other than to tempt JEHOVAH himself, which could not be unless the SPIRIT were JEHOVAH.§

ACTS xxviii. 35. Well SPAKE the HOLY GHOST by Esaias the propbet, &c. But we read in

LUKE i. 68, 70. that it was the the LORD GOD [Jehovah Alehim] of Israel, who spake by the mouth of his boly Prophets, which have been since the world began. See Micah

iii. 8.

It follows, then, that the HOLY GHOST is the LORD GOD of Israel.

I SAM. xvi. 13. The SPIRIT of JEHOVAH came upon David from that day forward.

But in the 18th verse, it is said expressly, that JEHOVAH was with him.

DEUT. xxxii. 12. Jehovah alone [172 entirely alone] did lead bim [Jacob, a collective name for his people]. But in ISAIAH lxiii. 11, 12. We read that it was the HOLY SPIRIT, that led them by the right band of Moses, with bis glorious Arm.

‡ See an excellent note upon this argument, in JONES's Catholic Doctrine of a Trinity. p. 41. 3d. Edit.