is said to mean eternal, is neither so agreeable to the Hebrew idiom, nor so well suited to the epithets which precede and follow it, and has the support of few scholars of any denomination.' Cruden gives six different meanings to the word Father, which we need not particularly enumerate; merely observing that God is called heavenly Father, and Father of Spirits. The prophets are sometimes distinguished by this term:-'My father, my father,' said Elisha to Elijah, 'the chariot of Israel and the horsemen thereof,' 2 Kings ii. 12. Our Saviour forbids us to give any man the name of father, because we have only one, who is in heaven, Matt. xxiii. 9. Not that we should abandon or despise our earthly fathers. God requires us to honor and respect them; but then what our parents have done for us, is, comparatively speaking, so inconsiderable, that we may say, our fathers are nothing to us, and that God alone deserves the title of our Father. It is worthy of remark, that this was the usual appellation which Jesus employed when he spoke of the Almighty. He seems to have loved this name above all others. In addressing the Being who sent him, he employs no pompous titles, as is the case with many who petition the God of the universe. It was the simple and touching name of Father; and when about to leave. a form of petition for all future ages, he directed it to be commenced, by saying, 'OUR FATHER.' We would love to dwell on such a striking trait in the character and teachings of Jesus, but our limits forbid. There is a very interesting sense in which this word is used, which deserves our notice, for it may assist us in arriving at correct conclusions respecting the title under consideration. A man is said to be a father to the poor and orphans when he takes care to supply their necessities, is affected with their miseries and provides for their wants. 'I was a father to the poor,' Job xxix. 16. God declares himself to be a Father of the fatherless, and a Judge of the widow, Psa. lxviii. 5. Joseph was a father in this sense, Gen. xlv. 8; and as he provided for the temporal wants of Egypt, so will Christ provide for the spiritual wants of the family of man. As all bowed the knee to Joseph, so all will bow before the Redeemer. Jesus, then, is our Father, our Lord and Saviour. But can he be thus called, if he should tyrannize over a part of the human race forever? This whole passage has been often adduced to prove the Trinity, but we believe that it does not support the doctrine. These were the titles by which Jesus was to be called. In reference to this point, I shall present an extract from one of the earliest treatises published in America on the Unity of God :— 'That this passage really respects the Lord Jesus, we shall not here undertake. to dispute; though there is no certainty, in our minds, that it has any such reference. Be this as it may, the passage is very far from asserting the supreme and independent divinity of Christ. For, '1. You will please to notice, that he is declared to be a child born, a son given. This is the description of his nature. This is what he actually IS. '2. The passage does not say, that the government is now upon his shoulder, but that it shall be; which implies, that he is about to be raised to an authority he does not now possess. 3. You will observe, the passage does not say, that he is the mighty God, the everlasting Father, &c., but that he shall be thus styled; he shall have these titles when the government shall be upon his shoulder. '4. If you ask how he, who is a child born and a son given, shall rise to the eminence of having the government upon his shoulder, and the high titles mentioned, the passage explains this matter, and says, The zeal of the Lord of Hosts will perform this; i. e. will see that these things be conferred upon him. 'In fulfilment of this prediction, if it really respects Christ, the Scriptures inform us that the zeal of the Lord of Hosts has actually performed all that is here declared, "The God of our Lord Jesus Christ has put all things under his feet, and given him to be head over all things to the Church.* God hath made that same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, Lord. Him hath God exalted with his own right hand to be a Prince. And given him a name above every name."|| Pray is the supreme and independent Deity of Christ to be inferred from the statement made in fulfilment of this prediction? If not, as no one will pretend, then why make this inference from the prediction itself? 'It is strange that this passage should be adduced, on every occasion, in proof of the Deity of Christ; seeing it only predicts that the child, the son should be elevated, by the power of the Lord of Hosts, to the government of his people, and have bestowed upon him high and exalted titles.'S * Eph. i. 22. † Acts ii. 36. Acts v. 31. || Phil. ii. 9. 'One God in one Person only,' by Rev. John Sherman, pp. 114, 115. Worcester, 1805. We need not be surprised to find the same titles applied to Jesus as to God. This is not uncommon in the sacred writings; indeed, it is not uncommon to apply the same appellatives to men that are applied to the Deity. Moses was a god to Pharaoh.* The design evidently is not to indicate the nature of the being to whom they are applied, but his character. Calling a person by any name does not alter his nature. Jesus is everywhere distinguished as a great and exalted being, yet never raised to an equality with the Father: for the very passage represents him as a child, a son, one that was to be born in due time. Such language certainly cannot with propriety be applied to the Supreme Being. We know what is said by Trinitarians respecting the divine and human nature, but we do not feel disposed in any part of our work to go into the depths of a subject where even the most celebrated have found difficulties which they could not solve. Ours is a plainer path, and we hope, more practical in its nature. We look to Jesus for all spiritual blessings. He is the medium through which God acts upon the moral world. Hence he gives him his own titles; but when the great work is complete, then 'God will be all in all.' 'Hallelujah : The Lord God Omnipotent reigneth.' * Exod. vii. 1. See tit. MIGHTY GOD. XXIX. FIRST-BORN FROM THE DEAD. And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the first-born from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence.' Col. i. 18. THE phrase 'first-born' occurs fifty-six times. Christ is called 'the first-born among many brethren,' 'the first-born of every creature,' the 'first-begotten of the dead.' We are not, however, to understand by such phrases that Jesus was the first to arise from the dead, but the first that rose by his own power; the first that rose to give others a pledge and assurance of their rising after him, and of their rising like unto him. His resurrection is the cause, the pattern, the pledge, the assurance of the believer's resurrection. Five instances of resurrection of the dead are found in the Scriptures previous to that of the Lord Jesus, and one after that event:-The resurrection of the widow's son at Zarephath;* the Shunammite's son; the daughter of Jairus; the widow of Nain's son; the resurrection of Lazarus; || and that of the saints 'after' the resurrection of the Lord Jesus.¶ But all these were probably raised to all the infirmities and ills of life, and were to die a second time. * 1 Kings xvii, 17-24. John xi. 11-16. †2 Kings iv. 18-37. Matt. xxvii. 52, 53. |