THE CHRISTIAN ADVOCATE. JULY, 1824. Keligious Communications. LECTURES ON THE SHORTER CATECHISM OF THE WESTMINSTER AS the persons in the sacred Trinity; and in such a manner as distinctly to SEMBLY OF DIVINES-ADDRESSED recognise their personal character. TO YOUTH. LECTURE VIII. (Continued from page 243.) In farther speaking on this subject, I shall endeavour I. To show that the most peculiar attributes or characteristicks of perfect Deity, are, in holy scripture, asscribed plainly, explicitly and frequently, to each of the persons in the sacred Trinity; and in such a manner as distinctly to recognise their personal character. II. To refer to a number of passages of scripture, which plainly represent, sometimes a plurality, and sometimes a Trinity of persons, in the one only living and true God. III. To give explanations, offer cautions, and answer objections, relative to this important and interesting subject. IV. To make some inferences, of a practical kind, from what shall have been said. From this distribution, you will, of course, expect that only a part of it will claim your attention at the present time. The remainder of this lecture will be chiefly employed on the first division in the distribution; that is, in endeavouring to show that the most peculiar attributes or characteristicks of perfect Deity are, in holy scripture, ascribed plainly, explicitly and frequently, to each of VOL. II.-Ch. Adv. Now, with respect to the first person in the holy Trinity-God the Father-there is neither doubt nor controversy, in regard to the point before us. We have nothing, at present, to do with Atheists: and all Theists, who are not Trinitarians, ascribe divine perfection, or perfect Deity, to the Father. We agree with them entirely in this ascription. We say that the eternal Father is God— the fountain of Deity-and that every attribute or perfection, which we have enumerated and endeavoured to illustrate, unquestionably belongs to Him. But we also affirm, that to his coequal, coeternal Son and Spirit, the very same attributes and perfec tions are also ascribed, in the inspired volume of unerring truth. Here we differ, radically and totally, from all Anti-trinitarians, from the highest of the Arians, to the lowest of the Socinians,-from Dr. Samuel Clarke, to Dr. Joseph Priestley. Here, therefore, is the ground of controversy-But O! let us make it something better than controversy. Let us make it the subject of candid, humble, solemn inquiry. Let us approach it with a teachable, honest, truth-loving spirit. Yea, let us lift up our hearts to God, with earnest desires that he would lead us into, and confirm us in the truth; that he would enable us to see clearly, what he has condescended to teach us on this subject in his own 20 infallible word; and that seeing it, we may receive it in love, and rest upon it with unshaken confidence. We proceed, then, to allege evidence from scripture, that the most peculiar attributes or characteristicks of Deity, are ascribed, in the manner stated in the proposition, to the second person in the sacred Trinity, denominated the Son of God; and who, by taking our nature into union with his divine nature, is our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. 1. He is called by the name JEHOVAH, the peculiar appellation of the true God-the great I AM. There was often a visible appearance of Jehovah, the God of Israel, under the ancient Jewish dispensation. I shall cite but a single instance, out of many that might be mentioned. Gen. xviii. 1,-it is said, that "the LORD appeared to him," (that is to Abraham)-In the original it is, "And JEHOVAH appeared to him in the plain of Mamre; and he sat in the tent door, in the heat of the day: and he lift up his eyes and looked, and lo, three men stood by him." Then follows the whole narrative of the destruction of Sodom, and of Abraham's intercession for it, till he was silenced by the terms of his own plea. Now, although there were three that appeared to Abraham, let it be observed, that his whole address was to one; and that this one is called Jehovah, at least ten times, in this single chapter; is frequently called so, by Abraham himself; and that this one remained with Abraham, after the other two, who in the subsequent chapter are called angels, had left him and gone on to Sodom. Here then is a Being, who is repeatedly called in the language of inspiration JEHOVAH-the special, the appropriate name of the true God, the God of Israel. The question is, who this Being was? We are assured from scripture, as well as from reason, that the Father was not, and could not be seen-but that he is revealed by the Son. Mat. xi. 27. "No man knoweth the Father, save the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son will reveal him." John i. 18-"No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son that is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him." Can there be any reasonable doubt, without going farther, that the Jehovah who appeared to Abraham, was the Son of God, the second person in the Trinity; who at that time assumed a human form, and declared or revealed a part of his Father's will and purpose to Abraham, the father of the faithful? But there is much more evidence than has yet been alleged, of the. point here maintained. He who is spoken of as Jehovah, when visibly appearing to men, is sometimes expressly called "the angel of the Lord;" sometimes, as in his appearance to Joshua, "the captain of the Lord's host;" and once "the angel in whom the name of God was." There is no hint that a number of messengers were successively em ployed to make these divine commu nications. There was but one glorious Being, called both Jehovah and his angel, who was, under the ancient Jewish dispensation, the medium of the divine manifestations. And various things which in the Old Testament are said to have been spoken by, or addressed to Jehovah, are, in the New Testament, affirmed to have been spoken of, done by, or addressed to Christ. To give one exampleWhere the sin of the people against Jehovah, when they were destroyed by fiery flying serpents, is referred to by the apostle Paul, it is expressly affirmed to have been committed against Christ.-" Neither (says he) let us tempt Christ, as some of them also tempted, and were destroyed of serpents." But what appears to me to settle this point, on the authority of reve lation, is a comparison of a prophecy, in Isaiah xl. 3,-with what is expressly stated to be a fulfilment of that prophecy, in Mat. iii. 1, 2, 3.The prophecy is in these words"The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, prepare ye the way of Jehovah-so it is in the original make straight, in the desert, a highway for our God." Now, hear the Evangelist" In those days came John the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness of Judea, and saying, repent ye, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. This is he who was spoken of by the prophet Esaias, saying, the voice of one crying in the wilderness, prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight." Here is unequivocal evidence, that he who, in the Old Testament, is called Jehovah, was the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, of the New Testament. Let it then be well noted and remembered, that the incommunicable name of God,-the name which was chosen out by himself, to signify his absolute independency, self-existence, eternity of being, and the cause of existence to all creatures,-that this appropriate, sacred name of the Deity, is, under his own infallible guidance, applied to the Son of God, our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. My dear youth, I dwell so particularly on this point, because it does seem to me that it settles the whole question before us, on the authority of divine revelation. God has expressly declared-"I am the Lord"in the original-"I am Jehovah ; that is my name; and my glory will I not give to another." This very name, comprising in it the glory of the everblessed God, he has actually and repeatedly given-not indeed to an other-but to his own co-equal Son, who is one with himself. What can be more decisive than this? You will also remark, that personal acts and agencies, are constantly attributed to this glorious Being, this Son of God,-the Jehovah of the Old Testament, and the Christ or Messiah of the New. Observe, also, how the old dispensation and the new are connected together: and how the Son of God has always been the head of the church on earth; always the medium of every divine manifestation that has ever been made to the children of men. In alleging the remaining proofs, I shall be very brief: but I beseech you to give them a very careful attention, for there is not one of them, which even taken separately, does not, in my mind, completely establish the Deity of the Son of God, our adorable Redeemer; and prove his distinct personality in the Godhead. We cannot stay-it would be an endless task-to confute all the false glosses, and false interpretations, and allegations about interpolations and various readings, which the opposers of our Lord's divinity have used, to set aside the authority of the texts I shall quote. Be assured, however, that there is not one of these texts which I do not verily believe tends fairly to the point, toward which I purpose to give it a direction. Nor are the texts which I shall quote, by any means, the whole which the sacred volume contains of the same import. The difficulty is not to find proofs, but to select them. 2dly then.-The Son of GodChrist our Saviour-is, in the most direct, plain, and unequivocal manner, called GoD; and that repeatedly, in the New Testament. Matt. i. 23"They shall call his name Emmanuel, which, being interpreted, is God with us." Johni.1-"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the WORD was God." John x. 30-"I and my Father are ONE." It is undeniable that the Jews, to whom this text was addressed, understood it as asserting that Christ was God equal with the Father: for they declared that it was for this reason, that they took up stones to stone him. Phil. ii. 6-"Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus; who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God." Heb. i. 8-"Unto the SoN he saith, thy throne, O GOD, is forever and ever." 1 John v. 20-"We are in him that is true, even in his Son Jesus Christ-this is the true God, and eternal life." Mark, here, that Jesus Christ is affirmed to be the Son of God, and that his proper Deity is asserted in the strongest manner that language can express-" the TRUE GoD and eternal life.” 3. The incommunicable attributes of the Deity are declared to belong to Christ our Saviour-the Son of God. Eternity is attributed to him, Mic. v. 2-"Whose goings forth have been of old, from everlasting." Rev. i. 8"I am Alpha and Omega, the begin. ning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty." But the name Jehovah, itself, peculiarly implies this attribute. Immutability is also ascribed to him. Heb. i. 12-"Thou art the same, and thy years shall not fail." This is said in contradistinction from the mutability of the heavens, and the earth, and all created things. Again, Heb. xviii. 8-"Jesus Christ, the same yesterday, to-day, and for ever." Omniscience is also ascribed to Christ. John xvi. 30-"Now we are sure that thou knowest all things." It is worthy of remark, that a knowledge of what passes in the minds, or hearts of men, is represented as a peculiar prerogative of the true God, in the Old Testament, and this is expressly and repeatedly asserted to be a prerogative of Christ. John ii. 25— "Jesus did not commit himself unto them, because he knew all men; and needed not that any should testify of man, for he knew what was in man." Omnipresence is also attributed to Christ. Matt. xviii. 20-" Where two or three are gathered together, in my name, there am I in the midst of them." Again, "Lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the world." What is here asserted by our Lord, of himself, could not possibly take place, if the attribute of omnipresence did not belong to him. Omnipotence, in like manner is clearly asserted of Christ. Col. i. 17-"He is before all things, and by him all things consist." Creation, is expressly ascribed to him. John i. 3." All things were made by him:" ver. 10-" the world was made by him." And in the passage, of which I have already cited a part, there is a formal-I had almost saidan elaborate statement, of this prero gative of Christ-Col. i. 15, 16, 17. Observe that it is expressly the Son of God, of whom the apostle is here speaking, and of whom he says"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." Now, it is from creation, that the true God is made known, as distinguished from all false gods. "The heavens declare the glory of God, and the firmament sheweth his handy work." And cre ation, in all its extent, is here declared to have been produced by our omnipotent Saviour. 4. And finally, Worship was given to Christ the Son of God.-It is required to be given to him; it was accepted by him; it is forbidden to be given to any creature; and we know it was refused by an angel. The obligation to worship Christ, is clearly implied in what he says of himself, John v. 22, 23.-" For the Father judgeth no man; but hath committed all judg ment unto the Son: That all men should honour the Son, even as they honour the Father: He that honoureth not the Son, honoureth not the Father which hath sent him." The obligation to worship Christ, both in heaven and on earth, is distinctly stated in the following passages Phil. ii. 9, 10.-"Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: That at the name of Jesus, every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth: And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father." Heb. i. 6. "When he bringeth in the first begotten into the world, he saith-And let all the angels of God worship him." Worship was actually given to Christ when on earth, and received by him, without reproof or hesita tion, in a number of instances:-by the wise men at his birth; by the blind man whose healing is mentioned in the 9th of John; by the woman of Canaan, who besought him to heal her daughter: and after his resurrection, we are expressly told that "the eleven disciples went away into Gallilee, into a mountain, where Jesus had appointed them: And when they saw him they worshipped him." In like manner, we are told that at his ascension-"while he blessed them, he was parted from them, and carried up into heaven: And they worshipped him, and returned to Jerusalem." There is every reason to believe, that this worship offered to Christ, was religious worship. For although the original word used in describing itpoxva (proskuneo)-with its derivatives, does not, in all cases, denote religious worship-yet here we have reason to believe that this is its signification; because it is the very word which is used when the centurion attempted to worship Peter, and was forbidden; and when the Apostle, in the Apocalypse, fell down to worship the angel who spoke to him in vision, and was charged, "see thou do it not-worship God." In view of this, it seems impossible not to believe, that Christ would have forbidden any to worship him, if he had not been verily God-the proper object of religious worship. We have now seen, 1. That the appropriate, incommunicable name of God-JEHOVAH-is applied to the Son of God-Jesus Christ our Lord. 2. That he is plainly and frequently called God, in the New Testament. 3. That the incommunicable perfections of the Deity are attributed to him. And that creation, the great work of God, was his work. 4. That we are required to worship him as God; and that he was so actually worshipped, and approved the act. Now, if this does not completely establish his true and proper Deity, it is not for me to tell, or to conjecture, how it could be done. I repeat it, se riously and deliberately, that if the Deity of Christ is not taught in the scriptures, I do not know how it could be taught. That the evidence is somewhat diffuse, I admit. But although diffuse, it is not obscure: on the contrary, to an attentive and honest inquirer, it is the more satisfactory, because it meets him in so many places, and in so many forms. It remains to consider briefly, the Deity and personality of the Holy Ghost-the third person, or distinction, in the undivided Godhead. Much does not need to be said on this point-Not, surely, that it is of less importance to establish and hold fast the Deity and personality of our Sanctifier, than of our Redeemerbut because when the Deity of the Son is established, that of the holy and blessed Spirit is, I think, at least in modern times, not often denied. His personality, indeed, is denied, by some who consider the Godhead as residing exclusively in Christ Jesus. But that "when the Holy Ghost is spoken of, a person or substance is meant, as distinguished from any grace or qualification, that he may possess or bestow, may-says Dr. Witherspoon-be easily made to appear from many passages of scripture. John xiv. 16.-" And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever; even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive." John xvi. 13.-" When he the Spirit of truth is come, he will guide you into all truth; for he shall not speak of himself, but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak; and he will shew you things to come. He shall glorify me, for he shall receive of mine, and shall shew it unto you." 1 Cor. xii. 4.-"There are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit;"-and then, after a considerable enumeration of spiritual gifts, it is added-verse xi.-"But all these worketh that one and the self same Spirit, dividing to every man severally, as he will." The same thing is proved, in all those passages that |