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partially restored her, for a warning and a witness of that more terrible destruction which would come upon her when she should have rejected her King and her Prophet, and of that complete restoration when she shall have received her King and her Prophet. Many instances could I give of this, but two shall suffice the first, Jeremiah's prophecy of the seventy years' captivity; the second, Isaiah's prophecy of Cyrus and his deliverance. Of these two prophecies, the former is as follows: "For thus saith the Lord, That after seventy years be accomplished at Babylon I will visit you, and perform my good word towards you, in causing you to return to this place. For I know the thoughts that I think towards you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end. Then shall ye call upon me, and ye shall go and pray unto me, and I will hearken unto you. And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart. And I will be found of you, saith the Lord; and I will turn away your captivity, and I will gather you from all the nations, and from all the places whither I have driven you, saith the Lord; and I will bring you again into the place whence I caused you to be carried away captive" (Jer. xxix. 10-14). Here, though the seventy years' limitation had been expressly given, this could not prevent the Spirit of the Lord, in the mouth of his prophet, from including the final restoration from all nations and from all places. So likewise the prophecy of the downfal of Babylon before Cyrus and his Medes (Isaiah xiii. 6—13) is written in language which cannot be interpreted of any action that hath yet been, or that shall be, until the time of Zion's travail be accomplished and so of all other places where Babylon is written of: so that our interpretation is according to the spirit of the word of prophecy. The Prophet now proceeds to an action of Zion's enemies after her deliverance, which we reserve for the subject of our next interpretation.

JEWISH COMMENT ON GENESIS XV. 9.

To the Editor of the Morning Watch.

SIR,-The Talmudists say that Abraham was tried with ten temptations, one of which contains a prediction applicable to the present state of the world. You will find it nearly as follows in the Jewish Morning Service for the New Year, vol. i. p. 226. Speaking of these temptations, it is said, "The seventh was when he (God) made a covenant with him, and shewed him the four potent monarchies, who, each in their day, were to bear rule over them, but were afterwards to be totally lost." It is a comment on Gen. xv. 9.

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by Edom, which, like a heifer, tramples upon all. by Grecia, compared to a goat by Dan. viii. 20.

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“and Abram drove him away........

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David the Prince, who would have destroyed וַיַּרְךְ הָעַיִט.

“and when the sun was going down.. Nih

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them immediately.

riod appointed, according to the prediction,
"And it shall come to pass, at the time of
evening there shall be light." (Zech. xiv. 7.)

knowing the decree for their continuance until
sunset-namely, to the end of the day or pe-

The above is nearly as it stands in the Jewish Ritual; but as there are some

variations from the Authorized Version, it is right that they should be explained.

is translated here a bull, instead of a turtle-dove, as it is in the English Bibles. This word, however, in the plural, in Chaldee, occurs at Ezra vi. 9 and other places, and is translated bullocks. Moreover, it is not only the root of the Greek Tpuy, the Latin turtur, and the English turtle; but also of the Greek Taupos, the Latin taurus, the French taureau, and the Polish ourochs, to this day. by, in ver. 11, is translated in our version by the word fowls, which is certainly too generic; as, at the least, the original signifies rapacious fowls, or birds of prey. The Hebrew word is the ATOs of the Greek.

It is remarkable, connected with the conjectures of Mr. Forster, that Ishmael is put by the old Talmudists for Mohammedandism, of which the moderns consider the word Islam to be a corruption.

Oct. 1, 1830.

I am, Sir, your obedient servant,

H. D.

806

THEOLOGICAL DEPARTMENT.

ON THE NAMES OF CHRIST.

THE paper on the Names of God in our last Number, gave us occasion to speak directly of only one of the Names of Christ,

N, Adonai, or Lord. But it has been frequently and conclusively argued, that from the beginning all the manifestations of God which have been made, were by Christ himself. Him "the Lord possessed in the beginning of his way, before his works of old....from everlasting, from the beginning, or ever the earth was" (Prov. viii. 22). And when time began, and God resolved that "the invisible things of him from the creation of the world should be clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead " (Rom. i. 20), this act of manifestation came by the eternal Son, "who is the image of the invisible God, the first-born of every creature for by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him; and he is before all things, and by him all things consist" (Col. i. 15). But every subsequent manifestation was either made by Christ, or had him for its object for "the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy;" and "God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son; whom he hath appointed heir of all things; by whom also he made the worlds; who, being the brightness of glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high" (Heb. i. 1). Yea, all that can be known of God, is exhibited in Christ, "in whom dwelt all the fulness of the Godhead bodily" (Col. ii. 9, i. 19); who is "the great God and our Saviour, Jesus Christ" (Tit. ii. 10, 13); and who could 66 of himself, say I and Father "I am are one," in the Father, and the Father in me," " he that hath seen me, hath seen the Father" (John xiv. 9, 11). But, though full and ample is the revelation made by Christ to his chosen ones; to whom he saith," Henceforth I call you not servants; for the servant knoweth not what his Lord doeth; but I have called you friends; for all things that I have heard of my Father I have made known unto you;" yet the influence of the Holy Spirit is necessary to enable man to receive this revelation: that

my

Comforter who should supply the place of Christ during his absence; whose presence was so necessary to the church, that it was "expedient" even for Christ to leave the world, that the Holy Spirit might come: whom the Father sent in the name of Christ, to teach the church all things, to bring all things to their remembrance whatsoever Christ had said; and who shall glorify Christ, for he shall take of the things of Christ and shew unto them (John xiv. 26, xv. 15, xvi. 15). And since the Comforter is promised to abide with the church for ever" even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not neither knoweth him" (John xiv. 16)-let us lift up our hearts to our heavenly Father, that for Christ's sake he may send us the Spirit of truth, to guide us into all truth; that we may be prepared to receive, comprehend, and enjoy all the various manifestations of that one purpose of love to man, emanating from our God, whose very being love (1 John iv. 16), and who has sought the love of all his intelligent children, first, by all the exuberant beneficence of creating love-this goodly fabric of the universe, full fraught with objects of delight, and man, fitted with faculties to enjoy the good things so abundantly provided for his mind and bodyand then, when man had abused his liberty, had forfeited all title to the favour of God, and drawn the whole creation with him into a state of perdition, whose unwearied, inexhaustible love followed the wandering rebel, and sought his affection by the offer of the still more transcending bounties of Redeeming Love: and, when man still held back from the proffered Saviour, giving the last, the transcendant proof of love, by sending the Holy Spirit, in order to regenerate men; to dwell in his church for ever, making his people the temples of God; that, thus prepared by his Spirit in the inner man, and being rooted and grounded in love, we may be able to comprehend, with all saints, what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height, and to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that we may be filled with all the fulness of God, and so fitted for the high dignity, prepared for all the saints in the ages to come, of making known to the principalities and powers in heavenly places the manifold wisdom of God. (Eph. iii. 10.)

It were a subject of curiosity, rather than profit, to inquire whether the Patriarchs and Prophets recognised Christ in all the instances where we may do so. The proof is easy, that Abraham " rejoiced to see the Gospel day" (John viii. 56); that Moses" chose the reproach of Christ" (Heb. xi. 26); and that Isaiah "saw the glory of Christ" (John xii. 41); which we might extend and apply to all the different manifestations. But it will be more profitable to us to set our foot at once on the firm ground we living at this late period of time may occupy,

when the actual coming of our Lord has set the seal of history on all the prophecies which relate to the first advent; and, from this vantage ground, and with the New Testament interpreting the Old, look forward with steadier gaze than theirs on the bright prospect which unfulfilled prophecy yet holds out,-the glorious second advent of our Lord. The Gospel histories we should look back upon as certainties, and exercise our faith upon its proper objects, giving substance to the things hoped for, bringing evidence of things not seen. "I desire" (says the pious Sir T. Brown) "to exercise my faith in the difficultest point; for to credit ordinary and visible objects, is not faith, but persuasion......Tis an easy and necessary belief, to credit what our eye and sense hath examined: I believe he was dead, and buried, and rose again; and desire to see him in his glory, rather than to contemplate him in his cenotaph or sepulchre. Nor is this much to believe; as we have reason, we owe this faith unto history: they only had the advantage of a bold and noble faith who lived before his coming: who upon obscure prophecies and mystical types could raise a belief, and expect apparent impossibilities." Thus believing, thus loving, "we rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory; receiving the end of our faith, even the salvation of souls. Of which salvation the prophets have inquired, and searched diligently, who prophesied of the grace unto us: searching what, or what manner of time the Spirit of Christ which was in them did signify, when it testified before hand of the sufferings of Christ, and of the glory that should follow. Unto whom it was revealed, that not unto themselves, but unto us, they did minister the things, which are now reported unto you by them that have preached the Gospel unto you with the Holy Ghost sent down from heaven; which things the angels desire to look into" (1 Pet. i. 10).

In treating of the names of Christ, still more than in the names of God, distinct classification is necessary: for, Christ being Man as well as God, the distinction of the natures is preserved in the names; and having offices to perform to which both natures were equally necessary, a further distinction of name arises from these several offices. And though it be true, as Dionysius says, that the sum of every thing that is to be known or believed of God and of Christ is contained in the names given in Scripture; yet it is also to be remembered, as he says in the beginning of his treatise concerning the Names, that it is not lawful to speak, or think, any thing concerning these higher mysteries beyond those things which are revealed to us in holy Scripture. We shall, First, consider those names of Christ which indicate his Divine nature: Secondly, those which denote his human nature: Thirdly, his personal names:

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