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PROVERBS-ECCLESIASTES.

33

PROVERBS.

CHAP. II.

V. 5.-Then shalt thou understand the fear of JEHOVAH, and find the knowledge of ELOHIM. 6. For JEHOVAH giveth wisdom; out of his mouth cometh knowledge and understanding.

CHAP. III.

V. 4. So shalt thou find favour and good understanding in the sight of ELOHIM and man. 5. Trust in JEHOVAH with all thy heart. 7. Fear JEHOVAH, and depart from evil. 9. Honour JEHOVAH with thy substance.

CHAP. XXX.

V. 5.-Every word of God is pure. He is a shield unto them that put their trust in him. 8. Remove far from me vanity and lies; give me neither poverty nor riches, feed me with food convenient for me. 9. Lest I be full and deny thee, and say, Who is JEHOVAH? or lest I be poor and steal, and take the name of my God in vain.

These extracts from the Proverbs show that its author addressed and spoke of the Deity by the usual distinctive appellations.

ECCLESIASTES.

CHAP. V.

V. 1.-Keep thy foot when thou goest to the house of ELOHIM Be more ready to hear than to give the sacrifice of fools, for they consider not that they do evil. 2. Be not rash with thy mouth, and let not thy heart be hasty to utter any thing before ELOHIM; for ELOHIM is in heaven and thou upon earth, therefore let thy words be few. 7. For in the multitude of dreams and many words, there are always also divers vanities. But fear thou ELOHIM.

D

CHAP. XI.

V. 9.-Rejoice, O young man, in thy youth, and let thine heart cheer thee in the days of thy youth; but know, that for all these things ELOHIM will bring thee into judgment.

CHAP. XII.

V. 7. Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was, and the spirit shall return to ELOHIM who gave it. 13. Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter. Fear ELOHIM, and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. 14. For ELOHIM will bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good or whether it be evil.

These few extracts from Ecclesiastes will be sufficient to prove that its author observed also the distinctive names of the Godhead; and observe that in Gen., chap. ii. v. 7, it is JEHOVAH ELOHIM who is Isaid to have breathed into the nostrils of man the breath of life. Compare this with the 7th verse in the foregoing extract, and you will perceive how accurately the author of Ecclesiastes preserves the appropriate name of that person of the Godhead who made man a living soul.

In the SONG OF SOLOMON the name of God does not occur once.

ISAIAH.

CHAP. XII.

V. 1.—And in that day thou shalt say, O JEHOVAH, I will praise thee. 3. Behold, GOD is my salvation; I will trust, and not be afraid; for JAH JEHOVAH is my strength and my song, he is also become

his name. 5. Sing unto

my salvation. 4. Praise JEHOVAH, call upon JEHOVAH, for he hath done excellent things. 6. Cry and shout, thou inhabitant of Zion, for great is the Holy One of Israel in the midst of thee.

Here JEHOVAH is called the GOD of salvation, which clearly identifies him with CHRIST Our Saviour. And remember that these titles are very frequently assigned both to JEHOVAH and to CHRIST; and moreover the inhabitant of Zion is commanded to shout and cry aloud, because this JEHOVAH, this Saviour, is in the midst of it. Surely this indicates a more immediate presence than the generally understood ubiquity of God.

CHAP. XXV.

V. 1.—O JEHOVAH, thou art my GOD, I will exalt thee, I will praise thy name. 6. And in this mountain (Zion) shall JEHOVAH of hosts make unto all people a feast of fat things. (And JEHOVAH of hosts) 7. will destroy in this mountain the face of the covering cast over all people, and the veil that is spread over all nations. 8. He will swallow up death in victory, and ADONI JEHOVAH Will wipe away tears from off all faces, and the rebuke of his people shall he take away from off all the earth, for JEHOVAH hath spoken it. 9. And it shall be said in that day, Lo, this is our God, we have waited for him, and he will save us. This is JEHOVAH, we have waited for him; we will be glad, and rejoice in his salvation.

It is surely not possible to read this beautiful quotation without recognising a clear prophecy of the events that took place in Jerusalem. At the crucifixion, the vail of the temple, which screened the Holy of Holies, was rent in twain, from the top to the bottom, typical of the future dispersion of the true religion throughout all the world; and Christ indeed swallowed up death in victory, for he rose triumphant from the grave. Can we then resist identifying ADONI JEHOVAH with JESUS CHRIST, who was thus anxiously waited for and expected?

CHAP. XXXIV.

V. 16.-Seek ye out of the book of JEHOVAH and read. No one of these shall fail, none shall want her mate, for my mouth it hath commanded, and his SPIRIT it hath gathered them.

In the above quotation there is one Person speaking of the Spirit of another Person; so that the whole Trinity is here included. Whether GOD the Son, or GOD the Father, is to be understood as the speaker, it is neither easy nor material to determine. The above note is quoted from that excellent divine, the Rev. W. Jones of Nayland.

CHAP. XXXVII.

Hezekiah prayed unto JEHOVAH, saying, 15. O JEHOVAH of Hosts, God of Israel, that dwellest between the cherubims, thou art ELOHIM; thou hast made heaven and earth. Incline thine ear, O JEHOVAH, and hear; open thine eye, O JEHOVAH, and see, and hear all the words of Semacherib, which hath sent to reproach the living ELOHIM.

Isaiah is called the Evangelical Prophet; and he not only prophesies most explicitly the events concerning CHRIST, but it is also to be remarked that JEHOVAH and ADONI JEHOVAH is almost exclusively addressed and stated as acting throughout the whole book, and yet, in unison with other inspired writers, how emphatically does Isaiah introduce the comprehensive term ELOHIM in this beautiful prayer of Hezekiah!

CHAP. LIII.

V. 4. Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows, yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of ELOHIM and afflicted.

In the 5th chapter of the 2d Cor., v. 19, we read, "That GOD was in CHRIST reconciling the world to

himself." How beautifully does this account for the term ELOHIM being used in the above extract! Had St. Paul written in Hebrew, ELOHIM is the term he would have adopted, for GOD in the New Testament is synonymous with it.

JEREMIAH.

CHAP. X.

V. 6. There is none like unto thee, O JEHOVAH; thou art great, and thy name is great in might. 10. JEHOVAH is the true ELOHIM, he is the living ELOHIM, and an everlasting King.

If due attention were paid to the quotations of the Apostles and Evangelists from the Old Testament, they would strongly confirm the doctrine of the divinity of CHRIST. It should here be noticed that the JEHOVAH ELOHIM is declared to be an everlasting King, which title is only assigned to JEHOVAH. Apostles, &c., often declare that CHRIST was JEHOVAH; and Pilate affixed to his cross, "This is the King of the Jews."

The

Ought not these coincidences to be duly and reverently reflected upon?

CHAP. XXIII.

V. 5.-Behold the days come, saith JEHOVAH, that I will raise unto David a righteous branch, and a king shall reign and prosper, and shall execute judgment and justice in the earth. 6. In his days Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell safely; and this is his name whereby he shall be called, JEHOVAH Our Righteousness, (or rather our Justification, according to the Hebrew).

How clearly does this again identify our Saviour and Redeemer with this JEHOVAH our Justifier!

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