Now, what say you to these enquiries? Will you not reply-No, Lord, this is not my cafe; all I can say is this" I desire to love God, with all my heart, with all my foul, and with all my fstrength, and it is my daily forrow that I feel so little of the influence of this facred principle." If this is the cafe, then say to thy foul, "Could I grieve for what I feel Again, Watch against every emotion of the corrupt passions. These will be ready to rise, on the approach of every temptation. When these are indulged, guilt is incurred; and a confciousness of guilt will invariably cloud your evidences; hence a flavish fear is produced in the mind. The comfort of the Christian depends on the Spirit of God resting on him, and refiding in him. He that is joined to the Lord, is one Spirit with him. Labour, therefore, to cultivate the graces of the Spirit; and imbibe the meek, gentle, humble, and forgiving disposition of Jesus. This will have the most powerful tendency to lead on the foul to the enjoyment of the full afsurance of faith. Watch against the insinuations of Satan. Be not ignorant of Satan's devices. This great adversary will endeavour to rob you of your joys; but refift him stedfastly, and he will flee from you, and be not discouraged by these temptations: they are proofs that the strong man is disarmed and caft out. The wicked feel not these struggles; their goods are in peace. Above all, permit me to beseech you, my dear friend, to be fervent and frequent at the throne of grace. Thence you will derive your greatest strength-thence you will receive your richest blessings,, mercy to pardon, and grace to help in time of need. Wrestle hard, and you shall prevail. "Look unto Jesus, the author, and the finisher of "your faith." Look forward to the bright hills of everlasting day. There you shall walk in the uninterrupted light of God's countenance; every doubt shall be removed. Perfect love shall reign and triumph in your foul without a rival, and confequently all those fears which now distress you, shall be experienced no more for ever! Thus, my dear Sir, I have freely given you my opinion, en this important part of experimental religion, and it shall be my unremitting prayer, that you may be established in the faith, the hope, and the joy of the gospel of our blessed Lord and Saviour. I remain you affectionate friend, HORATIO. REMARKS ON EXOD. vi. 3. "I appeared unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob, by the name of God Almighty; but by my name JEHOVAH was I not known to them. T 'HE difficulty which has been obferved in explaining this text, is briefly this: that the Lord had not only appeared to the early patriarchs by the name Jehovah previous to this declaration, but that this name is much more frequently used than that of God Almighty, as a distinctive appellation of the Supreme Being, as well in the book of Genefis, as throughout the Old Testament. Having thus stated the difficulty, I shall now attempt to shew the confistency of this passage with the other writings of Mofes ; for I believe that he was the writer of both Genefis and Exodus, that he was a holy man of God, and wrote by divine inspiration. It seems evident that these words, " By my name Jeho"vah, was I not known to them," cannot signify that the patriarchs had never heard of fuch a name; for, even on the fuppofition that the book of Exodus had been written by an uninfpired historian, no man could have been so inattentive to the former part of the fame history, as flatly to contradict what is repeatedly and plainly declared in it, while his intention evidently was to establish and confirm it in all its parts. May we not suppose that the thing intended was, and indeed of neceffity must have been, something else than the letters or the found of the glorious name Jehovah? It is easy to conceive that persons who called God Jehovah, might be in a great measure ignorant of what is signified by this name, though they must have known the etymology, and literal meaning of the word. The controverted passage may be fatisfactorily explained, without entering into any critical explanation of the word. if we only admit that the name Jehovah gives a more complete and appropriate idea of the Divine character and perfections than the other appellation, God Almighty; and this is demonftrated by the text itself, for no person can read it without difcerning that it represents the knowledge of the Deity by his name Jehovah, as a greater thing than the knowledge of him as God Almighty. Angels and men were called gods, but the name Jehovah was applied to Him only who is "Most High over all the earth." This name, which conveys the idea of felf-existence, immutability, and eternity, is at once the dread and the confidence of all who know it; and it is so in a peculiar and diftinguished manner. The people of Ifrael were strictly commanded to "fear this glorious and fearful name, JEHOVAH THEIR "GOD, left JEHOVAH should make their plagues wonderful;" and that man only is pronounced "blessed, who trusteth in "JEHOVAH, and whose hope JEHOVAH is." Abraham, Ifaac, and Jacob, knew the Supreme Being, as the Almighty God, the Creator and Preferver of all things. They had experienced his goodness in providing for all their temporal wants, and bestowing innumerable mercies on them and their families. He had also given them the promise of a temporal inheritance, in the land of Canaan, and of spiritual and eternal blessedness through a great deliverer, the feed of Abraham, in whom all the families of the earth were to be blessed. But neither of these promises were yet fulfilled, nor had any steps been taken, prior to the miffion of Mofes, which seemed to indicate that the time of their accomplishment drew nigh; on the contrary, the children of Ifrael were groaning under a load of cruel bondage and oppreffion in Egypt. The Lord therefore now determined to make himself known to his people by his name Jehovah, in a way far beyond that in which he had manifefted himself to their fathers, that his name might not only be understood by them, but alfo, "that it might be declared throughout all the earth." This he proposed to do, not merely by instructing them verbally in the knowledge of his character and perfec tions; but by mighty works and figns, and by an exact and punctual accomplishment of all the good things which he had fpoken. In this manner they were assuredly to know that he alone is the great, felf-exiftent, and eternal Jehowah, unchangeable in his purposes of love and mercy, and all-fufficient to execute those purposes, and to deliver his people from all their enemies and oppreffors. That this was the knowledge which God had withheld from Abraham, Ifaac and Jacob, and which he now intended to convey to their pofterity, appears very plainly from what follows. For immediately after what he had faid to Mofes, "By my name, Jehovah, was I not known to them," he declares the establishment of his covenant with Ifrael, and then adds (ver. 6. 7, 8. ) " Wherefore say unto the "children of Ifrael, I am Jehovah, and I will bring you out "from under the burdens of the Egyptians, &c. And I "take you to me for a people, and I will be to you a God; "and ye shall know that I am Jehovah your God, who bring "eth you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians. "And I will bring you unto the land concerning which I did "swear to give it to Abraham, to Ifaac, and to Jacob, and "I will give it to you for an heritage: I am Jehovah." This name was illustrated and displayed by the wonderful works of God towards his people, who thus celebrated the first complete public deliverance which he vouchsafed them. " I will fing unto Jehovah, for he hath triumphed glorioufly: "the horfe and his rider hath he thrown into the sea. Who " is like unto thee, O Jehovah, among the gods? Who is "like thee, glorious in holiness, fearful in praises, doing "wonders?" And this is the conclusion of their triumphant fong. "Jehovah shall reign for ever and ever." There are alfo frequent references to the fame event in the fucceeding scriptures, as in Ifaiah li. 15. "I am Jehovah thy God, "who divided the sea when the waves roared. Jehovah of "Hofts is his name." The design of God, in the whole train of his miraculous providences towards Ifrael, in Egypt, in the wilderness, in the land of promife, when they were led captive by their enemies, and when they returned from their captivity in Babylon, was to make himsfelf known to them by his name Jehovah : "Ye shall know that I am Jehovah ;" and other expressions of fimilar import, are very frequently to be met with in the writings of the prophets. Such expreffions were always ufed on fome great occasion, when Jehovah was about to do fomething peculiarly manifestative of his glorious perfections. From these confiderations it appears, that knowing the Deity by his name Jehovah, has a respect to the manifestation of his name by divine works, and especially the work of redeeming Ifrael, that they might be to him a peculiar people, to shew forth his praise. It is almost unnecessary VOL. II. Uu to observe that Abraham, Ifaac, and Jacob had no opportu nity of thus knowing and understanding that he is Jehovah. "who exerciseth loving kindness, and righteousness, and judgment in the earth," On this ground alone, however, they were faid not to have known him by his name Jehovah. It will not invalidate the above explanation, although it be admitted (as I readily do admit) that the Patriarchs not only called the Supreme Being Jehovah, but also knew in some degree, the import of that name; for things are often expreffed in abfolute terms, when they are evidently intended to be understood in a limited, or in a comparative fenfe. Innumerable instances of this, might be quoted from the Scriptures, of which a very few only shall be mentioned. Did ever any perfon conceive that Jesus Christ meant to deny that there is such a thing as goodness among creatures, when he faid, "There is none good but one, that is "God?" or did the God of Ifrael mean entirely to fet afide his own institution of facrifices, when he thus spoke, "I "will have mercy, and not facrifice?" Paul affirms that the preaching of the Gospel to all nations was the revelation of the mystery which had been kept fecret since the world be gan." Does he mean that no fuch thing had been declared by the former prophets ? No, surely, for their writings are full of it. Their prophecies with respect to this fubject, however, were not fully understood, and the preaching of the unsearchable riches of Chrift to the Gentiles remained a mystery, till after his refurrection from the dead, when the prophecies concerning it began to be fulfilled. And the fame Apoftle fays, in another Epiftle, that " In other ages, "this my ftery was not made known as it is now revealed to "the Apostles and Prophets by the Spirit;" intimating that it had been formerly revealed, but not with equal clearnefs, though he alfo affirms in the fame passage it was "the myf"tery which from the beginning of the world had been hid in God." Thus, was it equally proper to say, that God was not known to the Patriarchs by his name Jehovah, while he had not, by his wonderful works, and by the fulfilment of his promises, given those demonftrations of his power, faithfulnefs, and mercy, which he intended to give to their posterity, for the express purposes of making them know that their God was Jehovah, and of proving in the most incontestible manner, that "this is his name for ever, and this his memorial unto all generations." : Edinburgh. W. B. |