CH. XV. ably to what God had faid, Exod. xxv. 22. I will meet with thee, and I will commune with thee from above the mercy-feat, from between the two Cherubims which are upon the ark of the teftimony, of all things which I will give thee in commandment unto the children of Ifrael. And there, as upon a throne, between the Cherubims, the glory of the Lord had its refidence in the holy place in Solomon's temple, after it had taken poffeffion of the houfe, at the confecration of it. King. viii. to, 11. [and there it continued till the Babylonifh captivity.] Hence God is faid to dwell between the Cherubims. 1 Sam. iv. 4. 2 Sam. vi. 2. 2 King. xix. 15. Pfalm. Ixxx. 1, &c. The glory of the Lord appeared to Jaiah in the temple. Ifai. vi. 1. and to Ezekiel, with many awful circumftances. Ezek. i. 28. iii. 23. x. 4. xi. 23. xliii. 2, 4, 5. xliv. 4. The glory of the Lord fhone round about the shepherds, and the angel of the Lord came upon them, Luke ii. 8, 9. and to the three Difciples at the transfiguration, Mat. xvii. 5. While be yet fpake, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and behold, a voice out of the cloud, which faid, this is my beloved Son, &c. The Shechinah appeared to Saul, Asix. 3. Suddenly there fhined round about him a light from heaven; and to Peter in the prifon. Acts xii. 7.

Thefe are the most remarkable Divine Appearances mentioned in Scripture. Now the question is, Who, in fuch inftances, was the perfon that appeared and fpake? For example, Exod. iii. 14, it is written, And God faid unto Mofes, I AM THAT I AM and be faid, thus fhalt thou fay unto the children of Ifrael, I AM hath fent me unto you. Who was it that fpake to Mofes? Or what notion are we to form of that being who pronounced thofe words, I AM THAT I AM? What makes the inquiry neceffary is this, that in the fecond verse it is said, The ANGEL OF THE LORD appeared in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush. And yet it is faid, concerning the fame perfon, ver. 4. When THE LORD faw that be turned afide to fee, GOD called to him out of the midst of the bush. ver. 6. Moreover he faid, I am the GOD of thy father, the GOD of Abraham, the GOD of Ifaac, &c. And, ver. 14. GOD faid unto Mofes, I AM THAT I AM. ver. 15. GOD faid unto Mofes, Thus fhalt thou fay unto the children of Ifrael, the LORD GOD of your fathers hath fent me unto you. Now, moft certain it is, that it was the ANGEL of the LORD that appeared to Mofes and certain it is, that the Angel of the Lord, that appeared to Mofes in the bufh, did, out of the bush, pronounce the feveral fentences I have quoted. It was the Angel of the Lord who faid, I am the GOD of thy father: I AM THAT I AM. But the Angel of the Lord God is not the Lord God, whofe Angel he is. How then can it be faid, that the Lord God appeared and fpake to Mafes? This is the difficulty; and the folution is ready, and very clear.

The folid and inconteftable foundation of the folution is laid by our Lord himself, who perfectly understood the whole affair of Divine Appearances, in John v. 37. And the Father himself, who hath fent me, hath born witness of me. Ye bave neither heard his voice at any time, nor feen bis Shape. John i. 18. No man bath feen God at any time. He is the invifible God, whom no man both feen, or can fee. It is often faid, that the Lord, the most high God, appeared to the Patriarchs, to Mofes, and to the Prophets, the ancestors of the Jews; but, according to our Lord's rule, the Appearance, form, or fhape, which they faw, was not the · Appearance

Appearance of the Lord God himself, for never, at any time, did they fee his fhape. Again, it is often faid, that the most High God Spake to the Patriarchs, to Mofes, and the Prophets; but our Lord affirms, that they never heard his voice at any time. How fhall we reconcile this feeming inconfiftency?

The true folution, according to the Scriptures, is this: That the Lord God never fpake or appeared in perfon, but always by a proxy, nuncius, or meffenger, who reprefented him, and therefore fpake in his name and authority, faying, I am God all-fufficient; I am the God of Abraham; I AM THAT I AM. Which words were pronounced by an Angel; but are true, not of the Angel, but of God, whom he reprefented, and upon whofe errand he came. So a herald reads a proclamation in the king's name and words, as if the king himfelf were fpeaking. Or, to ufe a more common inftance, fo a brief is published in the king's name and language, as if the king himfelf were addreffing the congregation where it is read. Thus, GEORGE by the grace of God, &c. whereas it hath been reprefented to US, &c. therefore they have humbly befought US to grant unto them OUR Letters Patent, &c. unto which their request WE have graciously condefcended, &c. But much, furely, would he be miftaken, who fhould imagine, that the perfon who reads the proclamation, or the brief, was his Majefty KING GEORGE, because he ufeth his words, and fpeaks as if the king himself were fpeaking. That this is a true reprefentation of the cafe, will appear, I. From the fignification of the word ANGEL, [@yyths ] which is a Greek word, and both in that language, and in the Hebrew, fignifies a meffenger, or nuncius, an ambaffador; one who acts and fpeaks, not in his own name, or behalf, but in the name, perfon, and behalf of him that fends him. And thus the word is frequently rendered in our tranflation. And had it always been rendered the messenger of the Lord, inftead of the Angel of the Lord, the cafe would have been very plain. But Angel, being a Greek word, which the English reader doth not understand, it throws fome obfcurity upon fuch paffages.

II. It is in Scripture exprefsly faid, that it was an Argel, a nuncius, or meffenger of the Lord, who fpake, even when the Lord himself is faid, or fuppofed to fpeak. As Gen xvi. 7. The Angel found Hagar; and, ver. 10, faid unto her, I will multiply thy feed exceedingly. Gen. xviii. 1. The Lord appeared unto Abraham, ver. 2. And he lifted up his eyes, and lo, three men, three Angels in the fhape of men, food by him. Now one of thofe men, or Angels, was a nuncius fent particuJarly to Abraham; for, ver. 1C, he faid, as he was fitting at meat, I will certainly return unto thee; and lo, Sarah fhall have a fon. And Sarah heard it, ver. 12, and laughed. Ver. 13. And the Lord, i. e. the Angel who fpake in the Lord, faid, Wherefore did Sarah laugh? Ver. 14. Is any thing too hard for the Lord? At the appointed time I will return unto thee, and Sarah fhall have a fon. Again, Gen. xxii. 15. And the Angel, or melle nger, of the Lord called, unto Abraham out of heaven, ver. 16, and faid, by myfelf have I fworn, faith the Lord, that in bleffing I will blefs ther, &c. U Upon which place St. AUSTIN, quoted by Bp. PATRICK in nis Commentary upon the place, argues in this manner.

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"In the beginning of this chapter, ver. 1, 2, we read, that GoD "tempted [tried] Abraham, and bad him go, and offer up his fon Ifaac ; "but, ver. 11, 12. The Angel of the Lord called unto him out of heaven, "and faid, Lay not thy hands upon the lad. What is the meaning of this? "Will they lay, that God commanded Isaac to be flain, and that his Angel forbad it? and that Abraham obeyed the Angel who bid him "fpare his fon, against God, who ordered him to flay him? This is "ridiculous, and not to be endured. The plain meaning is, that God fpake both times, in the one cafe, and the other; but he fpake by "an Angel, who was his minifter. That is the reafon Angels fome"times fpeak as if they were the Lord, because they spake in the Lord's

name. Juft as when a public crier in a court pronounces the sen"tence of the judge, it is not entered in the public records, that the "crier pronounced that fentence, but the judge, in whose name and "authority the crier pronounced it." Thus St. AUSTIN.In Exod. iii. 2. the Angel, nuncius, or meffenger of the Lord, appeared unto Mofes; and faid, I am the God of Abraham; I AM THAT I AM; fpeaking not of himself, but of the Lord whofe meffenger he was.-Joshua vi. 2. The Lord faid unto Joshua. It appears from chap. v. 13, 14. that it was not the Lord who ipake, but an Angel, under the title of the Captain of the Lord's Hoft.

Further, it is evident from every part of the law of Mofes, that it was given and ordained by God, the LORD, the most high God; and in his name it is every where worded and enjoined, Exod. xx. 1, 2. And God Spake all these words, faying, I am the Lord thy God. And the Lord faid unto Mofes. And Mofes faid unto the Lord. And yet it appears from repeated teftimonies in the New Teftament, that it was not the Lord, who immediately himself fpake, either to Mofes, or to all the people. Thus Stephen, a man full of faith, and of the Holy Ghoft. Acts vii. 35. did God fend to be a ruler, and a deliverer This Mofes, whom they refufed,by the hands of the Angel, or meffenger, who appeared to him in the bush; and who is called the Angel of his, God's, prefence. Ifai. Ixiii. 9. ver. 28. This [Mofes] is he that was in the church in the wilderness, with the Angel who fpake to him in Mount Sinai. [Note-it was an Angel, mellenger, that spake to Mofes in Mount Sinai.] ver. 53-who have received the law by the difpofition, in the Conftitutions published by the miniftry, of Angels. Gal. ii. 19. Wherefore then ferveth the law of Mofes? It was added, because of tranfgreffions, till the feed fhould come, to whom the promife was made; and it, the law, was ordained by the miniftry of Angels. Heb. ii. 2. For if the word fpoken by Angels was fleadfast, meaning the law given by Mofes. That law was fpoken to him, and to all the people, by angels, who fpäke, not of themselves, but what was communicated to them from God.

III. The Jews very well understood the nature of those manifeftations. They knew when a miraculous voice came to them, fpeaking as God himself would fpeak, that it was a meffenger from God, who fpake in his name and stead, Gen. xvi. 7, 9. The Angel of the Lord appeared and spake to Hagar; yet fhe knew it was a Divine Appearance, and that the Angel perfonated the moft High God. Therefore, ver. 13. She called the name of the LORD, that fpake unto her, thou GOD feeft me.

Gen. xxxii. 24,

Gen. xxxii. 24. There wrestled a man with Jacob. Now Jacob knew that man was a mellenger from God; and therefore, ver. 30. he called the name of the place Peniel; for I have feen God face to fate, i. e. I have seen an evident manifeftation from God. The common token, that fuch were Divine Manifeftations, was the glory which attended the mef. fenger, who pronounced the words of the meffage. And whenever that glory appeared, the Jews knew the meflage came from God, whoever it was that brought it. Thus Luke ii. 9. The Angel of the Lord came upon the shepherds, and the glory of the Lord fhone round about them. They knew the glory they faw was not the glory of the Angel, but a token of the Divine Prefence and authority, fignifying that the meffage came from the Lord. Therefore they fay, ver. 15, Let us now go and fee this thing, which the LORD hath made known unto us. And fo Saul knew the light shining from heaven, was the glory of the Lord, and an infallible proof of a Divine Manifeftation. And, 2 Pet. i. 17. He, our Lord Jefus Chrift, received from God the Father, honour and glory, when there came fuch a voice unto him from the excellent Glory, This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleafed. Whoever the meffenger was that uttered these words, the Difciples, that faw the transfiguration on the mount, knew that the thing came from God the Father; because the voice, or words, came from the excellent Glory, or the Shechinah.

It is very remarkable, that when our Lord was exalted to univerfal dominion, at the right-hand of God, as head of the church, he also had his ANGEL, Nuncius, or meffenger, whom he dispatched upon the affairs of his government. Rev. i. 1. The revelation of Jefus Chrift, which GOD gave unto him, to fhew unto his fervants things which muft fhortly come to pass; and he, Jefus, fent and fignified it by his ANGEL unto his fervant John. And therefore, though the glorious appearance, Rev. i. 13-17. is rightly understood of our Lord, yet it was not he in perfon, but his ANGEL, Nuncius, or meffenger, who reprefented him, and appeared and fpake in his name. And fo in other places of the Revelation ; where, nevertheless, our Lord may justly be fuppofed to appear and speak.

We may here observe, that it hath been commonly fuppofed, that our Lord, before his incarnation, was the ANGEL that appeared in the Shechinab, and fpake to Adam and the Patriarchs, to Mafes and the prophets, and is called the Angel of his prefence, Ifai. Ixiii. 9. In all their affliction he was afflicted, and the Angel of his prefence faved them; in his love and in bis pity be redeemed them, and he bare them, and carried them all the days of old. To this purpose they understand, John xii. 41. Thefe things faid Efaias, when he faw his glory and Spake of him, i. e. "faw, at that time, the glory of Chrift, who was then the medium of divine manifeftations, "and spake of him, and of his times, or what would happen with respect "to the reception of the Gofpel, when he should preach it to the Jews.' [Dr. Doddridge.] But, when he faw his glory, may be well interpreted, when he [Efaias] forefaw his glory, or the glorious manifeftations, "which God intended to make of himself to the Jews by his Son.' [Dr. Clarke.] So John viii, 56. Abraham faw, forefaw, my day, and was glad. Thus alfo, as he tabernacled among the Jews in the cloud of glory, they judge he was in the form of God, Phil. ii. 9; which form, or

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Jikeness he was not greedy of retaining, but emptied himself of it, and took upon him the form of a fervant. But this form, or likenets of God, may refer to the glory which he had with the father before the world was, John xvii. 5. With regard to which he may alfo be faid to be the image of Goa, 2 Cor. iv. 4. the image of the invifible God, Col. i. 15.-the brightness of his glory, and the exprefs image of his perfon, Heb. i. 3. However, I fhould willingly admit that fuch expreffions refer to the glorious appearances of the Shechinah under the Old Teftament, were it not for this objection, that our Lord must then be supposed to publifh the Law, and to prefide over the Jewish difpenfation, as well as over the Gospel; which feems to be quite inconfiftent with John i. 17. The law was given by Mofes, but grace and truth came by Jefus Chrift. See alfo Heb. i. 1, 2. ii. 2. [Here the Apoftle's argument proceeds wholly upon the difference of the perfons, the Angels, who publifhed the law, and the Lord Jefus Chrift, who publifhed the Gofpel; but his argument hath no ftrength at all, if thofe perfons are the fame *. See Mr. Pierce upon the text.] Heb.

But may we not diftinguish between the Ayos as a Proxy of Deity, or as perfonating the glorious Majefty of God in the Shechinah, and in that capacity, by the Holy Spirit, infpiring the Prophets, and prefiding over the Angels at the giving of the law; and the fame oyes acting and fpeaking to us, in his incarnate itate, in the capacity of a Prophet? In the former capacity he may be confidered in relation to God, as perfonating God, or as in the form of God, whofe agent he was under every difpenfation which God erected; and therefore as doing nothing in his own perfon. For thus, his person would coincide with that of the fupreme God, and is not to be confidered as different from him, but as acting in his name and authority. In the latter capacity he may be confidered in relation to us, and to our falvation by the Gofpel; for the accomplishment of which, he ftooped fo far as to take upon him our nature, and, not as perfonating God, but in quality of a Prophet fent from God, to publish among us in his own perfon and name, the promife of eternal life.

And must not this bring us under greater obligations to attend to him; and be fufficient to diftinguish him as acting in delivering the law, and preaching the Gofpel? He that was in the form of God, and reprefented God, when the law was delivered, and who delivered it by the miniftry of Angels and of Mofes; that tranfcendently glorious perfon afterwards became a man, and in his own perfon, and by his own miniftry, delivered to us the Gospel. Doth not this, in a very peculiar manner, recommend to us the Gofpel, and oblige us to attend to its doctrines? Heb. i. 1, 2. God who at fundry times, and in divers manners, spake in time paft unto the fathers BY THE PROPHETS, hath in thefe left days fpoken unto us BY HIS SON, &c. God always fpake by Proxy. And the Apoftle might fpeak as he doth, although it be true that our Lord was the Proxy of Deity under the Old Teftament difpenfation; for the Apoftle here confiders, not who was the Proxy of Deity, but by whom he immediately fpake to the fathers in the Jewish church, and to us in the Chriftian church. And the oppofition lieth between, not the Proxies or Reprefentatives of Deity, but between THE PROPHETS in the former difpenfation, and THE SON OF GOD in the latter. By his Son, as his Proxy, he fpake to the Prophets, and by the Prophets he fpake to the Old Teftament fathers. But under the New Teftament his well beloved Son, who before was indeed in the form of God, as his Proxy, himself became a Prophet, and in the form of a nian fpake to us immediately as a Prophet.