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swers, Messiah;" fo. 119. c. 473. On Psa. 89 25, 20, "I will set his hand in the sea, and his right hand in the rivers; he shall cry unto me, Thou art my Father!" All the Targums apply this to the Messiah. On Psa. 2: 7, "Thou art my Son," the Zohar interprets it thus: This Son is the faithful Shepherd, and he is the Prince of Israel, the Lord of things below, the Lord of ministering angels, the Son of the Highest, the Son of the God of the universe, the gracious Shechinah, he is the King Messiah;" fo. 88. c. 348. R. Sol. Yarchi says, "What is the name of the Messiah? Abba, the son of Cashmah, replies, Jehovah is his name, for it is written, (Jer. 23: 6,) And this is his name whereby he shall be called, Jehovah our Righteousness.' Lam. p. 68. R. Alshech says, "Who will he be that shall thus call on Jerusalem to comfort her according to that exhortation, Speak to the heart of Jerusalem and call on her?' (Isa. 40 2.) Is it not he, even Jehovah our Righteousness, the King Messiah? as it is written, and he is Jehovah from his righteousness and just conduct." Comment. on Jer. 33, p. 98. c. 2. Hence our people, in the days of Christ Jesus, expected the Messiah to be the Son of God, as is evident from the following passages:

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"Thou art the Son of God; thou art the King of Israel." John, 1: 49. "We believe and are sure that thou art Christ the Son of the living God." John, 6: 69. "Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art Christ, the Son of the living God." Matthew, 16: 16. Martha says, " Lord, I believe that thou art the Christ, the Son of God, who should come into the world." John, 11: 27. The high priest says, "I adjure thee by the living God, that thou tell us whether thou be the Christ, the Son of God." Matthew, 26: 63. Hear also the confession of devils, "What have we to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of God?" Matthew, 8: 29.

§ 14. Now, my dear Benjamin, I have endeavored to prove, both from the sacred Scriptures and the testimonies

of our Rabbins, and I humbly hope to your perfect satisfaction, the doctrine of the Trinity of persons in the unity of Jehovah; and that the Messiah was expected to be the second person in the blessed Trinity. I should, perhaps, not have detained you so long, were it not to show that these all-important truths are as ancient as the Bible, and not " modern inventions, the invention of priestcraft and the mere productions of the illiterate fishermen."

And now, may the God of all grace open your eyes that you may behold wondrous things out of his word. Psa. 119 18. Farewell.

Ere the blue heavens were stretch'd abroad,

From everlasting was the Word;
With God he was, the Word was God,
And must divinely be ador'd.

By his own power all things were made;
By him supported all things stand;

He is the whole creation's head,

And angels fly at his command.

Ere sin was born or Satan fell,

He led the host of morning stars; (Thy generation who can tell,

Or count the number of thy years?)

But lo! he leaves those heavenly forms;

The Word descends and dwells in clay;
That he may converse hold with worms,
Dress'd in such feeble flesh as they.

PART III.

JESUS IS TRULY GOD.

Letter I.

SIMILARITY BETWEEN CHRIST AND THE ANGEL.

Dear Brother Benjamin,

Permit me now to call your attention to a subject to me the most interesting and important, viz. the divinity of Jesus Christ, my blessed Lord and Savior. To establish this truth, I will show, first,

That he is the angel Jehovah.

This is evident,

1. 1st, From the striking similarity between him and that angel who appeared under the Old Testament. I will select but a few particulars.

Did the angel appear as a man? Gen. 32:24; Judges, 13:16. So Christ became incarnate.

Did the angel assert that he was sent by Jehovah, and yet that he was equal with him? Zech. 2: 11, 12. So did Christ. Did the angel call himself the "I am?" Exod. 3. So did Christ. John, 8:58.

Did Jacob call the angel Goail, i. e. Kinsman, Redeemer? Gen. 49: 16. So did Christ become our kinsman.

Was the angel sent to reveal the will of Jehovah? So Christ came from the bosom of his Father.

Did the angel make the covenant with Abraham? Judges, 2: 1. So Christ was given as a covenant to the people. Isa.

42:6.

Was the angel the captain of the Lord's host? Joshua, 5:14. So Christ is the captain of our salvation. Heb. 2:10.

Did the angel in love and pity redeem his people? Isa. 63:9. So Christ loved the Church and gave himself for her. Eph. 5: 25.

Was it the prerogative of the angel to forgive sins? Zech. 3: 4. So does Christ. Acts, 5: 3.

Did the angel intercede for Joshua? Zech. 3:2. So did Christ for Peter. Luke, 22: 32.

Did the angel bless Abraham and Jacob? Gen. 22: 17; 32:29. So does Christ bless his people. Acts, 3:26.

Did the angel commission Moses? Exod. 3: 2, 14. So does Christ commission his apostles. Matt. 28: 19.

Did the angel put his spirit in them? Isa. 63:11. So did Christ send his holy Spirit.

Did the angel govern the world? Gen. 21:18; 22: 17. So Christ had all power in heaven and on earth.

Did the angel employ other angels as his ministers ? Zech. 1:11; 2: 3, 4; 6: 8. So does Christ. Heb. 1:14. Did the angel speak out of heaven? Gen. 21: 17; 22: 15. So did Christ. John, 3:13. Heb. 12: 25.

Was the angel promised as a leader to Israel? Exod. 23:21. So is Christ. Isa. 55: 4.

Was it dangerous to offend this angel? Exod. 23:21. Much more to disobey Christ. Heb. 2:3; 12: 25.

How beautiful, my dear Benjamin, is the harmony of the Old and New Testaments. Moses bore witness of Jesus, and Jesus came to fulfill all that was written of him. "The law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ." John, 1:17.

§ 2. It further appears that Jesus is the angel Jehovah, from the united testimony of Christian writers.

The learned Dr. Jordan tells us "that all the visible or audible manifestations of God, of which mention is made

in the Scriptures of the Old Testament, seem to have been appearances of the Word, or the Son of God, acting and speaking in his Father's name; as after the incarnation he acted and spake in his own person; as when he appeared to St. Stephen, to St. Paul, and to other saints and disciples. In this the ancient Christians and most of the moderns are agreed." Ser. fol. 4. p. 218.

Dr. Samuel Clarke speaks somewhat more at large. He says: "It is the constant doctrine of all the primitive writers of the Church, that every appearance of God the Fa ther in the Old Testament, was Christ appearing in the name or person of the Father, in the form of God, as being the image of the invisible God, Col. 1: 15; of him 'whom no man hath seen at any time.' John, 1:18; of him whom no man hath seen or can see. 1 Tim. 1:16." Script. Doct. p. 93. Again he says: "It is the unanimous opinion of all antiquity, that the angel who said, I am the God of thy fathers, Acts, 7:30, 31, 32, was Christ the angel of the covenant, Mal. 3:1; the angel of God's presence, Isa. 63:9; and in whom the name of God was, Exod. 23: 21, speaking in the name of the invisible Father. See Gen. 16:10; again, Gen. 31: 11, 13, and 48: 15; Hos. 12: 3, 4, and Zech. 12: 8." Ibid. p. 105. The learned Dr. Bellamy says: "God the Father is never called the angel of God, but the God of Bethel is called the angel of God. Therefore the God of Bethel is not God the Father. The God of Bethel is the same who is called the angel of the covenant in Mal. 3:1; but that angel of the covenant is Christ, as is plain from Mark, 1:2, therefore the God of Bethel was Christ. The God of Bethel was the God who appeared to Abraham, Gen. 12: 1-7; to Isaac, Gen. 26: 24, 25; to Jacob, Gen. 28: 13; 31:13; to Moses, Exod. 3: 2-6; on Mount Sinai, Exod. 20: 2; and is usually called the God and King of Israel through the Old Testament. But the God of Bethel was Jesus Christ, therefore Jesus

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