ALLEGED PROOFS. 3. Gen. i. 26: And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness; and let them have dominion, &c. 4. Gen. xi. 6, 7: And Jehovah said, Go to, let us go down, and there confound their language, &c. 5. Isa. vi. 8: I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? REMARKS. I must maintain that a book which so strenuously resists every approach to idolatry, or to a plurality of Gods, would never have contained such forms of expression, had there not been some sense in which there is a plurality in the one Jehovah.-Carlile. No sensible reason can be given, why God should speak of himself in the plural number, unless he consists of more persons than one. .... How absurd is it that God should borrow his way of speaking from a king, before a man was created upon the earth!-Jones. This is nothing more than the author's dramatic way of writing.—Belsham. It is agreeable to the established usages of speech for a single person to employ the plural pronouns, We, us, our, in order to denote his dignity and authority; whereas there is no rule, according to which several persons can speak of themselves by the use of the singular pronouns, I, me, my. Let the considerate and serious inquirer, therefore, make his choice; whether he will yield to the authority of thousands and tens of thousands of passages which teach that God is only one person, and understand the three exceptions to the general language of the Scriptures as phrases employed to denote the majesty of the speaker; or whether he will, on the other hand, adhere to the literal meaning of these three passages, and consequently set at defiance those thousands and tens of thousands of other passages, which cannot, by any rules of grammar or canons of criticism, be reconciled to the orthodox doctrine of a plurality of persons in the Godhead.— Yates. Nothing is more usual than for a person of authority to speak of himself in the plural number.-Doddridge on John iii. 11. For other citations, see Appendix, p. 264. ILLUSTRATIVE TEXTS. i 1 Kings xxii. 19-24: I saw Jehovah sitting on his throne, and all the host of heaven standing by him on his right hand, and on his left. And Jehovah said, Who shall persuade Ahab, that he may go and fall at Ramoth-gilead? And one said on this manner, and another said on that manner. And there came forth a spirit, and stood before Jehovah, and said, I will persuade him. And Jehovah said unto him, Wherewith? And he said, I will go forth, and I will be a lying spirit, &c. See Job xv. 8; xxix. 4. Jer. xxiii. 17, 18. j 2 Sam. xvi. 20: Then said Absalom to Ahithophel, Give counsel among you what we shall do. 1 Kings xii. 6-9: And King Rehoboam consulted with the old men that stood before Solomon his father, while he yet lived, and said, How do ye advise, that I may answer this people? And they spake unto him, saying, If thou wilt be a servant unto this people this day,... then they will be thy servants for ever. But he forsook the counsel of the old men,... and consulted with the young men that were grown up with him, [and] who stood before him: and he said unto them, What counsel give ye, that we may answer this people? &c. Ezra iv. 11-18: This [is] the copy of the letter that they sent unto him, [even] unto Artaxerxes the king: Thy servants, &c. ... .. [Then] sent the king an answer unto Rehum the chancellor, ... Peace, and at such a time. The letter which ye sent unto us hath been plainly read before me. k John iii. 11, 12: Verily, verily, I say unto thee, WE speak that we do know, and testify that we have seen; and ye receive not OUR witness. If I have told you earthly things, and ye believe not, how shall ye believe, if I tell you [of] See Mark iv. 30 heavenly things? (comp. Luke xiii. 18). 7 1 Thess. ii. 18: We would have come unto you, even I Paul, once and again; but Satan hindered us.-See chap. iii. 1 Cor. ii. 12, 13 (comp. chap. i. 17, and ii. 1). 2 Cor. x. 1-15. et al. m See Gen. xxxix. 14, 17. John iii. 2. n Gen. i. 27: So God created man in his [own] image, &c. See p. 19-23. OBSERVATION S. 3-5. Of these passages, three different explanations have been offered. The first is in accordance with Trinitarian principles, and supposes the three persons of the Godhead-or, in other words, three self-existent, almighty, and omnipresent Beings-consulting with each other, and employing the imperfect medium of communicating ideas which is daily used by mankind. This explanation is, on the very face of it, decidedly opposed to the Scripture doctrine of the oneness of God, and developes such low notions of the Deity as are totally unfit to be held by any one professing to believe in the all-powerful energy of the Creator of the universe. The second explanation considers the Almighty "as surrounded by his angels, declaring to them his purpose, and deliberating with them on its accomplishment. In correspondence with their own conceptions, or by way of accommodation to the conceptions of mankind in general, the writers of the books of Scripture frequently speak of the council of God, and represent the Governor of the world as surrounded by his ministers or courtiers, and holding consultation with them." This interpretation, so far as it may relate to God's consulting the angels on the creation of man, has been adopted by many of the Jews; but the Sacred Writers are totally silent on the subject. The third explanation-generally adopted by Unitarians-represents the all-wise God as deliberating on the formation of mankind, and making use of the solemn style of earthly sovereigns; intimating the vast skill and wisdom manifested in the creation of beings impressed with the image of the Deity. In illustration, it has been observed, that, in all nations, men of high authority, such as magistrates and kings, make use of the plural pronouns we, us, and our, to indicate the majesty of their persons, or the superlative importance of their commands. In Sacred Scripture may be found several instances of this phraseology, employed not only by kings, but by Jesus Christ," the Apostle Paul,' and other individuals." Whatever interpretation of the texts under consideration may be deemed the true one, we think it very evident that only one divine person or being is mentioned in the Bible as the Maker of the human race." Had there been a plurality of agents, we certainly should have met with some unambiguous passages favourable to this opinion. But no such thing; all the evidence we have for it being derived from the Hebrew "plural of excellence," and from the style of majesty or authority employed by God in a few instances. Perhaps no doctrine is so clearly, so expressly, and so frequently laid down in the Holy Scriptures, as that of the agency of only one almighty Creator-the Sovereign of heaven and earth-the Jehovah of the Jews-the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ." CHAPTER II.-OF THE DEITY OF CHRIST. SECT. I. EXAMINATION OF THE SCRIPTURE EVIDENCE FOR THE DEITY OF JESUS CHRIST, DRAWN FROM THE SUPPOSED APPLICATION OF THE NAME JEHOVAH TO HIM. ALLEGED PROOFS. 1. Gen. iv. 1: Eve... bare Cain, and said, I have gotten a man from Jehovah. See Appendix, p. 265. Acquisivi virum ipsum Dominum.-Fagius. III. 1. n, with, together with. Gen. iv. 1: "with God," i. e. with his aid.1 Chron. xx. 5. Gen. v. 22.-Gesenius. 2. Gen. xix. 24: Then Jehovah rained upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah brimstone and fire from Jehovah out of heaven. See p. 265. pluit Dominus a Domino.- Munsterus, Clarius: who interpret the words as denoting two Lords. God rained from himself.-Arab. Trans. apud Geddes. the Lord rained from himself.-Lindsey. REMARKS. We have here the visible Jehovah, who had talked with Abraham, raining the storm of vengeance from another Jehovah, and who was therefore invisible. Thus we have two Jehovahs expressly mentioned; and yet we have it most solemnly asserted, in Deut. vi. 4, Hear, O Israel! Jehovab, our God, is one Jehovah.-Watson. Nothing is more common in the oriental languages, than to use the noun for the pronoun; and this, indeed, seems to be the language of nature.-Geddes. 3. Hos. i. 7: I [Jehovah] will have mercy upon the house of Judah, and will save them by Jehovah their God, &c. See Appendix, p. 265. I will save them by myself.-Lindsey. ILLUSTRATIVE TEXTS. a Deut. iv. 39: Know therefore this day, and consider [it] in thine heart, that Jehovah he [is] God in heaven above, and upon the earth beneath: [there is] NONE ELSE. Chap. xviii. 18: I will raise them up a Prophet from among their brethren, LIKE UNTO THEE, and will put MY WORDS in his mouth; and he shall speak unto them all that I SHALL COMMAND HIM. Ver. 19: And whosoever will not hearken unto MY WORDS, which he shall speak in my name, &c.-See chap. vi. 4. c Neh. ix. 6-37: THOU [art] JEHOVAH ALONE,.. the God who didst choose Abram, &c. Acts iii. 13: The God of Abraham, and of Isaac, and of Jacob, the God of our fathers, hath glorified his Son Jesus. See chap. v. 30. John viii. 54. Heb. i. 1,2. d Gen. xvii. 23: And Abraham took Ish mael his son, and every male among the men of Abraham's house. 1 Kings xii. 21: And when Rehoboam was come to Jerusalem, he assembled all the house of Judah,... to bring the kingdom again to Rehoboam, the son of Solomon. - See Gen. iv. 23; xvi. 16; xxxvii. 23. Exod. xxxiv. 35. Josh. ix. 21. 1 Kings ii. 19. 2 Kings xvi. 12. Esth. viii. 8. Eccles. viii. 8. Ezek. xi. 24. Also, Gen. ii. 3; v. 1. Ex. xvi. 7. 1 Sam. iii. 21. 2 Chron. vii. 2. Dan. ix. 17. et al. e See Luke xi. 17 (comp. Matt. xii. 25). John iv. 1. Rom. i. 28. 2 Tim. i. 18. 1 John iv. 7-9. 1 Maccabees vii. 8. f 1 Kings x. 13: King Solomon gave unto the queen of Sheba all her desire, .. besides [that] which Solomon gave her of his royal bounty.-See chap. viii. 1. CHAPTER II.-OF THE DEITY OF CHRIST. SECT. I.-EXAMINATION OF THE SCRIPTURE EVIDENCE FOR THE DEITY OF JESUS CHRIST, DRAWN FROM THE SUPPOSED APPLICATION OF THE NAME JEHOVAH TO HIM. OBSERVATIONS. 1. The charge that Unitarians alter the language of the Authorised Version of the Bible to render it conformable to their own heterodox notions, comes indeed with a very bad grace from persons who scruple not to change the beauty and the truth of some of the texts in the same Version for translations which bear on their front characters expressive of the grossest absurdity. It is admitted, however, by some of the most eminent Trinitarians, that our common mother made no allusion whatever to the Deity of Jesus Christ, or even to him as the Messiah. Respecting the writer of the narrative, there cannot be any reasonable doubt that he was a Unitarian." 2, 3. Trinitarians seem generally to believe that the Jehovah God of the Jews was Jesus Christ, who acted as the visible Representative of the Father, or invisible Jehovah. This opinion has been adopted even by some eminent Unitarians, with this difference, that they consider the visible Jehovah as infinitely inferior to the invisible one. It does not appear, however, that the Scriptures, properly understood, give any countenance to either of these notions." In his dealings with the ancient world, the Deity may have employed beings of a celestial order, to speak and act in his name, or by his authority; or, what is more probable, he may have made use of external symbols," by which he revealed his will, and executed his purposes; but it is abundantly clear, that the "God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob," was not Jesus Christ, but "his God and Father". -the " one Jehovah" "who spoke unto the fathers by the prophets, but in the last days hath spoken unto us by his Son."c From several places of the Old Testament, it will be found that the repetition of a substantive instead of the use of a pronoun, is an idiom in the Hebrew language; and which also obtains in the Greek of the New Testament, and in that of the Apocrypha. If, from the repetition of the word Jehovah, it be inferred that there are two Jehovahs, or two divine persons constituting one divine being; it may, according to the same principle of interpretation, be deduced, from the repetition of the name Solomon, that there were two Jewish kings known by this designation; or that two persons of the name of Solomon were only one human being, though each of these must have separately possessed the properties of thought, feeling, and action.f ALLEGED PROOFS. 4. Jer. xxiii. 5, 6: I [Jehovah] will raise unto David a righteous Branch, and a king shall reign and prosper, and shall execute judgment and justice in the earth. 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. this is his name which they shall call him, Jehovah our Righteousness.-Smith. this is the name whereby he shall be called, Jehovah is our Prosperity.-Yates. this is his name by which Jehovah shall call him, Our Righteousness. -Blayney, Lindsey, A. Clarke. (See Appendix, p. 265.) REMARKS. Let this testimony concerning the person and office of Christ be particularly remarked. As regards his person, he is not only a man, and a very holy man, but also God. He is a man, because he was of the seed of David, or descended from David according to the flesh; a holy man,because a righteous branch; and God, because called Jehovah, &c.-Piscator. These words ought to be applied to Israel, who is spoken of immediately before, in the very same verse. ... Whether the words are to be understood of Christ or of Israel, the meaning of them is, that the Lord our God would then justify us; which, with respect to the Israelites, was accomplished by him when Christ appeared.-Racovian Catechism. .... ILLUSTRATIVE TEXTS. g Ver. 7,8: Therefore, behold, the days come, saith Jehovah, that they shall ... say,.. Jehovah liveth, who brought up, and who led the seed of the house of Israel out of the north country, and from all countries whither I had driven them; and they shall dwell in their own land. h See Luke ii. 1-5; iii. 1. et al. i See Matt. xxiii. 34-39; xxiv. 1—29. j Jer. xxxiii. 15, 16: In those days, . will I cause the Branch of righteousness to grow up unto David; and he shall execute judgment and righteousness in the land. In those days shall Judah be saved, and Jerusalem shall dwell safely; and this [is the name] wherewith she shall be called, Jehovah our Righteousness. this is he whom Jehovah shall call, Our Rightousness.-Blayney. this one who shall call to her, [is] the Lord our Justification.-A. Clarke. this is he who shall call to her, Jehovah our Rightousness.-Smith. this is the name whereby he shall be called, Jehovah our Righteousness.-Bagot. this [is that] which shall be called (or named) upon her, Jehovah our Righteousness.-J. S. Porter. k NAMES OF PERSONS AND THINGS. Jehovah-jireh-Jehovah will see.. Gen. xxii. 14. Jehovah-nissi-Jehovah my banner Exod. xvii. 15. Ahiah-brother of Jehovah Adonijah--my Lord Jehovah.... Elijah-Jehovah my God ........ Michaiah-who is like Jehovah Jedaiah-the hand of Jehovah Bedaiah-Jehovah alone ...... ... 1 Sam. xiv. 3. 2 Sam. iii. 4. 1 Kings xvii. 1. 2 Kings xxii.12. 1 Chron. iv.37. Ezra x. 35. ... SAID 1 Deut. xxix. 2-6: MOSES unto them, Ye have seen all that Jehovah did before your eyes in the land of Egypt, unto Pharaoh... And I have led you forty years in the wilderness. ... Ye have not eaten bread, neither have ye drunk wine or strong drink; that ye might know that I [am] Jehovah your God. Isa. 1. 3, 4: I clothe the heavens with blackness, and I make sackcloth their covering. The Lord God hath given me the tongue of the learned, that I should know how to speak a word in season, &c.-See Exod. vii. 17; xv. 25, 26. Deut. xi. 13-15; xxxi. 22, 23. Jer. iv. 19-27; vi. 22-30; ix. 1-3. m Zech. xiv. 9: Jehovah shall be King over all the earth: in that day shall there be ONE JEHOVAH, AND HIS NAME ONE. |