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John, that the Word is God; so as to destroy its very decisive testimony in favour of the divinity of Christ. Of such we must beg, that they will proceed with us to a dispassionate consideration of the next article in the Creed, which refers to Christ; with a sincere and ardent desire that their doubts may cease, and the difficulties vanish.

Q. Previously adduce Scripture authorities to sanction the words, Maker of heaven and earth?

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A. "In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth"." "In six days the Lord made heaven and earth *." They (the Apoştles) lift up their voice to God with one accord, and said, Lord, thou art God, which hast made heaven and earth"." "In that hour Jesus rejoiced in spirit, and said, I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth"." Lastly, with Nehemiah we unite in exclaiming, "Stand up and bless the Lord your God for ever and ever; and blessed be thy glorious name, which is exalted above all blessing and praise. Thou, even thou, art Lord alone: thou hast made heaven, the heaven of heavens, with all their host; the earth and all things that are therein; the sea, and all that is therein; and thou preservest them all."

"Gen. i. 1.
Luke x. 21.

* Exod. xx. 11.

y Acts iv. 24.

Neh. ix. 5, 6.

ARTICLE II.

AND IN JESUS CHRIST, HIS ONLY SON,

OUR LORD.

SECTION I.

And in Jesus.

BEFORE entering upon a particular explanation of each of the words in this second article, taken separately, we would premise generally, that the right understanding of it is beyond measure important. It is the corner-stone of our Christian profession; on which the whole system of our religious belief depends. By mean of which, all the Christian edifice, "fitly framed together, groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord." Without which we could scarcely, with propriety, claim even the nominal title of Christians, and could not certainly be considered true members of the reformed Protestant Church.

Q. What do you understand then by the words taken together?

Eph. ii. 21.

A. When we repeat this second article of our Creed, we mean to express thereby our belief in the second Person of the Trinity, Jesus Christ. We acknowledge that he is, what his name indicates, the Saviour of the world. We profess that he is, according to the declaration of the Creed, "the only Son of God." We declare that he is "our Lord," the Lord of glory, the Lord of all power and might, the Lord from heaven.

Q. Proceed now to explain each of these points separately: and, first, with respect to the name Jesus. Why was the second Person of the Trinity so called?

A. He was called Jesus in obedience to the commands of his Almighty Father, who sent an angel from heaven to Nazareth of Galilee, where his mother Mary was, saying unto her, "Behold thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name Jesus . Thus again, the angel appeared unto Joseph in a dream, saying, "Fear not to take unto thee

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Cum Filius dicitur proximus et secundus post Patrem, et minister Patris, hæc personarum subordinationem, quatenus altera ex alterâ originem habet, non differentiam aut inæqualitatem naturæ in personis divinis significant. Pater, ut Pater, in sacrosanctâ Triade primus est. Filius post Patrem secundus. Bulli Def. Fid. Nic. sect. iv. cap. ii. § 2.

Luke i. 31. ii. 21.

Mary thy wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost, and she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name Jesus "."

Q. Can you found any argument upon this name, as to Jesus being the promised Saviour of the world?

A. We observe that many names in the Old Testament were given by our Heavenly Father to particular persons, to mark the circumstances of their birth, their character, or their office. The first man was called Adam, because the Lord formed him of the dust of the ground. Eve was called woman, because she was taken out of man. Jacob, who was so called, because it was ordained that he should supplant his brother Esau, received also the name of Israel" from the angel at Peniel, on account of "the power he had with God, and with men."

Thus, not to multiply instances, which are open to every one's observation, the name of

d Matt. i. 20, 21.

Gen. ii. 7. DTX (Adam); TPN (Adamah) earth.

'Gen. ii. 23. MUN (Aisha) woman; WN (Aish) man.

g Gen. xxvii. 36. apy, Jacob, he who supplants or throws down, by tripping up the heels.

, Israel, one who prevails with God; from TV, to have power, and 8, God.

i Gen. xxxii. 28.

k

Bp. Newton, Dissert. 7, on the names Jesus and Christ.

Jesus was given to the only Son of God, to mark and typify that he was to be the Saviour of the world'. That the name was purposely given with this view, appears from a reference to the passage in St. Matthew, just quoted, where the angel said to Joseph, "Thou shalt call his name Jesus, for he shall save his people from their sins." The meaning and force of which words may be explained by a reference to the etymology of the Hebrew, as follows.

St. Stephen, speaking of the tabernacle of witness, in the time of Joshua, says, "Which our fathers (the Israelites) that came after", brought in with Jesus into the possession of the Gentiles "." Thus St. Paul, in allusion to the rest promised to the faithful in the heavenly Canaan, observes, "For if Jesus had given them (the Israelites) rest, then should not he (David) afterward have spoken of another day (of rest)." In both which passages it is evident that Joshua, the son of Nun, is the person spoken of, and not our Saviour. From which it follows, that Jesus and Joshua are in fact the same names, or rather,

'Jesus dicitur, quod salvet populum. Augustin. Acts vii. 45.

" After the forty years spent in the wilderness.

• Heb. iv. 8.

See also Zech. iii. 1. 10.

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