drásse, bene straduisse." Humbly, and yet confidently, looking to the Lord of the Harvest for success, he will not fail, so far as in him lies, to fulfil all the divinely-imposed conditions of success; and thus honoring God, God will honor him, by causing the pleasure of the Lord to prosper in his hand.

Not to detain you farther, let me conclude by suggesting, as covering most of the ground we have been over, three mottoes:

For the pulpit-I DETERMINED NOT TO KNOW ANYTHING AMONG YOU, SAVE JESUS CHRIST AND HIM CRUCIFIED.

For the study-SHOW THYSELF APProved unto God, a work

MAN THAT NEEDETH NOT TO BE ASHAMED, RIGHTLY DIVIDING THE WORD OF TRUTH.

For the closet-MY SOUL, WAIT THOU ONLY UPON GOD: FOR MY EXPECTATION IS FROM HIM.

ARTICLE V.-THE ANGEL JEHOVAH.

A BEING with this title is often spoken of in the Old Testament as appearing to different persons; and he evidently differs in character and station from those other angels who are referred to, and of whom we have already written.* We therefore devote an article to a consideration of the various appearances of this being, to an examination of his character, and to an inquiry as to his personal identity.

In the common English version of the Scriptures there are two different names of God, which are translated by the word Lord. These are Jehovah or Yehovah, and Adonai. Jehovah means "the self-existent one." Butterworth says it is explained, Rev. i. 4: "Which is, and which was, and which is to come." Adonai means, "my director, basis, supporter, prop, or stay." While Adonai is a name of God in some instances, see Gen. xv. 8, Exodus xxxiv. 9; it is also used as

*See January Number, p. 18.

an appellative of men, see Gen. xxiii. 6; xlii. 10. But Jehovah is never used except with reference to the Divine Being, and the Jews still think this name so sacred, that in reading the Scriptures they do not pronounce it, but substitute Adonai instead thereof. Our translators have in some instances rendered this word Jehovah; but have usually translated it Lord. When Jehovah is in the original, LORD is printed in capital letters, but when Adonai, whether applied to God or man, it is printed in Roman characters.

The being we propose to speak of has for his title, the sacred name compounded with angel, Malach Jehovah. This title occurs in the Old Testament a number of times. The first account we have of his appearance is in Gen. xvi. 7., when he came to Hagar as she fled from Sarai, her mistress. Probably the same being appeared to her again when she finally left Abraham's house, Gen. xxi. 17; but he is there called Malach Elohim, "the angel of God." He appeared to Abraham as he stretched forth his hand to slay his son, Gen. xxii. 11; to Moses, when in the desert at Horeb, Exodus, iii. 2; to Balaam, when he was going forth to the king of Moab, in answer to his request that he would come and curse Israel, Num. xxii. 22; to the Israelites, Judges ii. 1; to Gideon, Judges vi. 2; and to Manoah and his wife, before the birth of Samson, Judges xiii. 3-11.

A consideration of these passages will show that the "angel Jehovah" was not a mere created being, who was the messenger of God; but that he spake as if he were possessed of divine power, and claimed the attributes of Deity. Let us examine them. We commence with Gen. xvi. 7-14. It will be seen here that the angel of the LORD who appeared to Hagar, did not speak in the name of another, but in his own right. He did not tell her of what one superior to himself would do for her, but said, verse 10, "I will multiply thy seed exceedingly, that it shall not be numbered for multitude." In declaring that he would do this, he not only assumed divine power, but used language synonymous with that which we find in Gen. xvii. 10, where we are told God said to Abraham, "And as for Ishmael, I have heard thee: behold I have blessed him,

and will make him fruitful, and will multiply him exceedingly." Hagar seems to have believed him to be more than angel, for we read, verse 13, "And she called the name of the LORD that spake unto her: Thou God seest me: for she said, Have I also here looked after him that seeth me?" In Gen. xxi. 17, the angel of God says to her, when she was expecting the death of Ishmael from fatigue and thirst, "Arise, lift up the lad, and hold him in thine hands; for I will make him a great nation." Here we again see power which belongs alone to God assumed by one who is called " the angel of God," and who we think is the same being that appeared to Hagar before under the title, " Angel Jehovah," and to Abraham as God in Gen. xvii. 20, and also in chap. xxi. 13, saying of Ishmael, "And also of the son of the bond-woman will I make a nation, because he is thy seed."

We pass to Gen. xxii. Here we learn that God did try Abraham, and said unto him, "Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get thee into the land of Moriah; and offer him there for a burnt-offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell thee of." Abraham knew the voice of God, and the next morning started on his journey, that he might do as God had bidden him. Arrived at the place, and having made all ready, "he took the knife to slay his son," when (verse 11, 12), "the angel Jehovah called to him out of heaven," and said, "Lay not thine hand upon the lad, neither do thou any thing unto him; for now I know that thou fearest God, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only (Isaac) from me." And still further, verse 15-18, "The angel Jehovah called unto Abraham out of heaven the second time, and said, "By myself have I sworn, saith the Lord, for because thou hast done this thing, and hast not withheld thy son, thine only (Isaac): that in blessing, I will bless thee; and in multiplying, I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea-shore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies; and in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice." So that while in the first and second verses God is represented as directing Abraham to go and offer

Isaac, in the latter verses we have quoted, the angel Jehovah states that it was his voice which Abraham had obeyed, and himself to whom Isaac was to have been offered, and again promises to do what only God can perform, and predicts what only God could know.

Exodus iii. 2: "And the angel Jehovah appeared unto him (Moses) in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush ;" and when he turned aside to see the great sight, "God called unto him out of the midst of the bush," and proclaimed himself, "the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob," declared himself, "I AM THAT I AM ;" and sent Moses to Pharoah to demand that the children of Israel should be released. Moses evidently understood the angel Jehovah and God who spoke to him to be the same being, for (Deut. xxxiii. 16) he invoked upon the tribe of Joseph "the good-will of him that dwelt in the bush."

Num. xxii. Here we learn (verses 31, 32) that after the ass had spoken, "the Lord opened the eyes of Balaam, and he saw the angel Jehovah standing in the way, and his sword drawn in his hand." "And the angel Jehovah said unto him, Wherefore hast thou smitten thine ass these three times ? behold I went out to withstand thee, because thy way is perverse before me." And when Balaam had confessed his sin, and offered to go back again, "the angel Jehovah said unto Balaam, Go with the men: but only the word that I shall speak unto thee, that thou shalt speak." Ralaam evidently understood this angel to be more than a created being, for (verse 38) he said to the king of Moab, "Lo, I am come unto thee; have I now any power at all to say any thing? the word that God putteth in my mouth that shall I speak." And in accordance with the view we have taken, we find that while the angel announced that he should direct Balaam what to speak, we read (chap. xxiii. 4): " And God met Balaam" (verse 5)" and the Lord put a word in Balaam's mouth, and said, Return unto Balak, and thus shalt thou speak." And again (verse 16): "And the Lord met Balaam, and put a word in his mouth, and said, Go again unto Balak, and say thus."

In Judges ii. 1, we read: "And an angel of the Lord came

up from Gilgal to Bochim. and said, I made you to go up out of Egypt, and have brought you unto the land which I sware unto your fathers; and I said, I will never break my covenant with you. And ye shall make no league with the inhabitants of this land, ye shall throw down their altars; but ye have not obeyed my voice." Yet in Exodus xx. 2, we read, "I am the LORD thy God which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt." And in Gen. xvii. 8, that the LORD said unto Abraham, "I will give unto thee, and to thy seed after thee, the land wherein thou art a stranger, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession; and I will be their God." So that the angel here claims to have done, and to have promised, what Jehovah asserts he had done, and had promised.

"Je

Judges vi. 11-23: From this passage we learn that the angel Jehovah appeared to Gideon, and told him, “Jehovah is with thee, thou mighty man of valor." Gideon replied, "O my Lord (adonai) if Jehovah be with us, why then is all this befallen us?" "And Jehovah looked upon him, and said, Go in this thy might, and thou shalt save Israel from the hand of the Midianites: have not I sent thee?" That Jehovah just spoken of is identical with the angel Jehovah before named, may be seen from the answer of Gideon, for he says in reply, "O my Lord (Adonai) wherewith shall I save Israel?" hovah said unto him, Surely I will be with thee, and thou shalt smite the Midianites as one man." Such language as this indicates to Gideon that his visitor is a superior being, and he requests that he will not leave till a present (or as the margin has it, a meat-offering) is set before him. This is prepared and brought, and having been placed by direction of the angel upon a rock, he brought fire out of the rock, and consumed it, and then departed. Gideon now perceives it was the angel Jehovah, and said, "Alas, O LORD GOD! for because I have seen an angel of the LORD face to face. And Jehovah said. unto him, Peace be unto thee; fear not, thou shalt not die."

Now what we wish particularly to call attention to in this passage is, that we have a conversation carried on between Gideon and one who appeared to him, whom the historian speaks of indiscriminately as the angel Jehovah, and Jehovah;