LVII. MIGHTY GOD. 'For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The Mighty God, The Everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.' Isa. ix. 6. ALL these several titles may be found in their appropriate places, for the reader will bear in mind that our work is arranged in alphabetical order. The phrase Mighty God occurs in twelve instances, all of which are in the Old Testament. We begin by observing, that the personage here spoken of was to be called by these names, but barely giving these names to any one would not prove that the person was the Almighty, or was equal to him in any respect whatever. Among the Orientals, the appellations given as names are always significant. In the Old Testament, we find that the child was named in many instances from the circumstances of its birth, or from some peculiarities in the history of the family to which it belonged.* Frequently the name was a compound one, one part being the name of the Deity, and among idolatrous nations the name of an idol. Thus, SAMUEL signifies heard of God; ADONIJAH, God is Lord; JOSEDECH, God is just.† * Gen. xvi. 11. xix. 37. xxv. 25, 26. Exod. ii. 10. xviii. 3, 4. See JAHN's Biblical Archeology, sec. 164. Also an Introduction to the Holy Scriptures. By T. H. HORNE. Vol. iii. p. 413. Phil. 1826. It should be observed, that there are various translations of this passage. It is rendered by some, 'And his name shall be called ** a Mighty God, the Father of the everlasting age: that is, of the christian dispensation, which is to continue to the end of time. Lowth agrees with this rendering, except that he uses the definite article before Mighty God. In the Vatican edition of the Septuagint, the titles are wanting, the whole verse being rendered, 'And his name shall be called messenger of great counsel, for I will bring peace upon the rulers, and health to him.' It is difficult to see how the Greek translators could have so rendered the Hebrew text. It is rendered by some as follows: 'For to us a child is born, To us a son is given; And he shall be called --- Wonderful, counsellor, mighty potentate, or hero, This is Luther's translation. It is also adopted by Gesenius and De Wette. We have before remarked that we need not be surprised to find the same names and titles that are applied to God, ascribed also to Jesus Christ.* Some exceptions, however, must be made. Jehovah is never thus applied. It is said, however, that even the Jews themselves consider this name as incommunicable. The truth is, the word God is applied to human beings, as our Saviour himself affirmed, in his conversation with the Jews on that point, John x. * See title EVERLASTING FATHER. 35. We are taught from our earliest years to consider the term God as the proper name of the Deity, and as applicable to him alone. But it was not so when the Bible was written. The Hebrew word, rendered God in this verse, has another meaning perfectly suited to the connexion. We have only to turn to any Heb. lexicon to ascertain that the radical meaning is power, strength, and that it is applied in the Scriptures to a mighty personage, a hero, a potentate. The same word is applied to Nebuchadnezzar, Ezek. xxxi. 11, where he is styled 'mighty one,' or hero of the nations. It is applied to human beings in Ezek. xxxii. 21. Jòb xli. 25. In conclusion, we observe, in the words of a learned Unitarian, that 'the question is not, Whether Christ is called GOD in Scripture, for that is undeniable; but, In what sense the word is to be understood.' 'Since, therefore, it is a fact, about which there is among Christians no dispute, that Jesus was a person "unto whom the word of God came;" since we know, that he vindicated the application to himself of the title Gop, taken in this sense, (John x. 34, 35.) and since we do not know, until it be proved, that the title belongs to him in any other sense, we ought thus to understand it, wherever we find it * Those who wish to see the various passages where, the word God is thus applied, are referred to a work, which we think of great value in settling the true meaning of the various names and titles that are applied to the Father and the Son; entitled 'A Vindication of Unitarianism.' By JAMES YATES. Chap. v. Also to a work entitled 'One God in one Person only.' By Rev. JOHN Sherman. + H. Taylor's Considerations on Ancient and Modern Creeds compared, p. 124. applied to him in the Sacred Scriptures, unless there be some particular circumstances in the mode of application, which point him out as THE SUPREME God, the ONE LIVING AND TRUE GOD, THE GOD OF GODS, or THE GOD WHO IS ABOVE ALL.' We have been thus particular, because it seemed to devolve upon us to show that this title appropriately belonged to the Saviour. That has been shown, and now the next step is to inquire why the same titles are given to him that belong to the Father? It is a consoling fact, that we are not only told what this Child, this Mighty God, is to be called, but we are also informed respecting the great object of his mission. 'For every battle of the warrior is with confused noise, and garments rolled in blood; but this shall be with burning and fuel of fire.' Then follows the motto. Then we are informed, that 'of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end.' And to make all certain, the whole bears the broad seal of Jehovah. Lord of hosts will perform this.' "The zeal of the What could be more grand than such a view of the character of Jesus, the purpose for which he came? and the word of the great Father to confirm the whole! Under another title* we have treated largely of the nature and duration of this kingdom, and we shall, therefore, here only point out the manner in which it is to be established. Now let the reader turn to the passage just cited, and he will see that this kingdom is to be established in a very different manner from those of * See title KING. earthly conquerors. No bows, nor spears, nor armor, nor chariots, are wanted in building up this kingdom. There will be no mighty men of war; no flourish of drums and trumpets; no nodding plumes; no foaming steeds trampling upon the bodies of the slain and the wounded; no clashing of swords, and bristling of bayonets. In this kingdom, we shall not hear the shouts of victory of man over man, the roar of cannon, and the groans of the wounded and the dying. No. This is to be a kingdom of peace and love. The 'weapons are not carnal, but mighty;' and well may they be thus called, for they are wielded by a being who is himself denominated the Mighty God! In this new kingdom, all the implements of war are to be destroyed or burned with 'fuel of fire.' If our limits would only permit, how beautifully would the various prophecies that allude to this blissful period come in here! And then the imagery brought in to illustrate that blessed period-that golden age, which has so brightly played in vision before the poets, the saints, and the good and wise of all ages! But we must stop, for the vast theme is too much for the mind now to bear. Blessed be God, such a period will arrive; and we will now enjoy in prospect what we hope to see in reality. We close with the glorious assurance given to us by the prophet, after he had presented the various titles that Jesus was to bear, and the nature and duration of his kingdom: 'The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this.' |