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meaning CHRIST's Divinity, which proof of it he then teaches the people, (how weakly will appear in its place,) to evade. Great reafon therefore had the divines, who fled in Q. Mery's reign and tranflated the bible, (from thence called the Geneva bible, though printed at London,) to affirm, as they do, that by "restoring the names to their integrity many places of "the SS and fecret myfteries of the HOLY "GHOST fhall better be understanded." and to fpeak of them as having "fome godly advertisements in them," and being " memorials, though they have been forgotten and "now feem ftrange to us," to give a verfion of them.

ed Broughton fays, p. 198,

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and for these causes

Whence the learn"God giveth no

names at random, but to fingular great use, to "make plain the ftory, as in the whole courfe

"of SS is feen. Bochart (a) was fo well convinced of this defign in the names, that he confeffes it was of great fervice to him in his "work to obferve the fignification of the

words, which are feldom" (he might have faid never)" without their due fignificancy;" and truly adds, "if they are not written in vain, neither can the'explication of them be without its ufe." From all which we may gather this firm conclufion, that it is agreeable to the nature of language, to the matter of fact

(a) In his preface to Phaleg.

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in every age of revelation, both before, in the time of, and after CHRIST, and to the fentiments of Jews and CHRISTIANS, that the NAMES were given to be, and therefore are so many notorious indexes or memorials of, or fas Mr. Locke has it (a),) stand" for ideas" of certain properties of perfons or things, which they then had, or were to have in time to come; and which fo belonged to them, as to make their respective names to be, truly and strictly speaking, proper names.

But if names in general are found to be these indexes or memorial figns of the characters or properties of perfons, &c. then, without all doubt, the more frequent and eminent any particular name is, the more extraordinary and interefting the occafion on which it was given, the less reasonably can it be supposed to stand in the revelation of GOD without an important meaning. Now what name in the New Teftament (for its place in the Old will be spoken of in its order) is more frequently mentioned than that of JESUS? It has been computed by Genebrard to occur, in the epiftles of St. Paul only, 500 times. Much more frequent must its occurrence be, if the Gospels and the reft of the New Teftament are taken into the account. Nor is it more distinguished for the frequency of its occurrence, than for its transcendent dignity and eminence,

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(a) Essay, &c. vol, I, b. 2.

eminence darkning all human, all created glory. The bearer of it is revealed to be GOD manifeft in the flesh, 1 Tim. iii. 16; God the WORD, John i. 1; the GREAT and TRUE LIGHT, Mat. iv. 16. John i. 9; the MAKER of all things, v. 3; the SON OF MAN which is in heaven, c. iii. 13. Mat. 13, 14. xxvi. 64. Dan. vii. 13, 14; the Son of GOD, Luk. i. 35; of the HIGHEST, V. 32; of the MOST HIGH GOD, Mar. v. 7; the SAVIOR of the world, Luk. ii. 11. John iv. 42; HE that should REDEEM ISRAEL, c. xxiv. 21; the HOLY ONE OF GOD, Luk. iv. 34; the MESSIAH OF CHRIST, Mark viii. 29. John iv. 26, &c. the “END OF "CONSUMMATION" of the law, Rom. x. 4; HE of whom MOSES in the law, and the prophets did write, John i. 45. c. 5. 46; the great PROPHET, who should come into the world, c. vi. 14; the great HIGH-PRIEST, Heb. iv. 14; who came to give His life a ransom for the multitude, Mat. xx. 28; and by His own blood entered once into the holy place (heaven) having obtained eternal redemption for us, Heb. ix. 11; the KING of kings, and LORD of lords, Rev. xix. 16; with all power in heaven and earth, Mat. xxviii. 18; the JUDGE of the world, the quick and dead, Atts X. 42. c. xvii. 31; the GLORY of his people, Luke ii. 32, John. ii. LI. Characters thefe, that

place HIM indeed far above all principality and power; and His name, what it is declared to be,

far

far above every name, that is named, Ephef. i. 21, Then the occafion, on which it was given, is most extraordinary and interesting. It was at a time of a general expectation of the MESSIAH or CHRIST to be the greater GLORY of the fecond temple, Hag. ii. 10, at the fulness of time predicted for His advent, Gal. iv. 4. Dan. ix. 25. when all ranks of people were waiting for the kingdom predicted in Dan. c. ii. 44, to take place on the abolishing of the image, (which the Roman taxation fully proved,) and for the MESSIAH; and were looking for the fignal characteristics or tokens of HIM, the [ NeGID] GOVERNOR, Mat. ii. Luk. i. 66. ii. 25, 31. which made all men muse in their hearts of JOHN, if he were not the CHRIST, iii. 15.-made the wife men come to search him out, Mat. ii. and the Jews fend to JOHN to enquire, John i. 19, 21. who he was, whether the CHRIST or ELIAS, or that PROPHET? (referring to Deut. xviii. 15,) — which made the woman of SAMARIA fay to her people, Is not He the CHRIST? John iv. 29,- and many thus speak When the CHRIST cometh will he do more miracles than this man bath done? e. vii. 31; and others fay, THIS is the CHRIST, v. 41, &c. It was at the time when the Baptifl's father had been fo wonderfully visited in the fight of all the people, Luke i. 10, 21, 22; when the vision, the falutation of the virgin, and the prophecies concerning her son were noifed abroad

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abroad through all the hill-country of Judea, v. 65; and when GOD was about to bring into the world the PERSON who was this DESIRE of all the nations, Hag. ii. 8. to restore the tribes of ISRAEL, to be a LIGHT to lighten the GENTILES, Luk. ii. 32, and to be His falvation unto the ends of the earth, If. xlix. 6: nay, further, at the very juncture, when the fufpicions, JoSEPH had entertained about his efpoufed wife, were to be removed by a discovery of the wonderous circumstance and a description of the PERSON to be born, and he to be awed thereby into refignation and obedience. We have therefore the strongest grounds for faying, that this moft excellent name, affigned on fo important. and critical a juncture, to a person of such exalted characters, must have a determinate meaning, equal in importance to this occafion, and the high dignity and office He undertook to be manifest in and perform. If the eminent perfonages in SS have their fignificancy, as the JEWS Confefs they have, much more must the name of the MESSIAH, of whom they own thefe but to be lively fhadows and figures. Which will be yet clearer, if we take into our confideration that the name, at this time given HIM, was not (a)" unadvisedly or accidentally im"pofed at the pleasure of a man," neither conferred by a man claiming a divine direction, but brought

(a) As Calvin words it Inft. b. II, c. xvi. § 1.

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