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DEITY OF CHRIST.

[The following beautiful lines were addressed to a clergyman, after having preached a Sermon on the Deity of Christ.]

DEAR faithful servant of the Lord,

Thou hast most clearly proved “the Word"

To be Jehovah God;

The Father's co-eternal Son

In essence, power and mercy One
Whose name must be adored.

But that He might for sin atone,
He joined our nature to his own,
And perfect man became.

The God-man Jesus, matchless grace!
Died to redeem his chosen race
From everlasting shame.

The sacred, co-existent Dove,

Revealed to thee that scheme of love

Planned in eternity;

He taught thee sweetly to proclaim
The Lamb of God for sinners slain,
The Saviour's Deity:

1

What, tho' discouragements arise

From those who Jesu's love despise ;

He will thy labours own.

The Holy Ghost will Satan foil,
And fertilize with grace the soil
In which the seed is sown.

Defend thy dear Redeemer's cause,
Regardless of the world's applause,
Soon thou wilt hear him say ;—
Well done, thou good and faithful friend,
Enter my joy, to heaven ascend;

Here spend an endless day.

A crown of righteousness there is
Laid up for thee in realms of bliss,
By God's Eternal Son;

He's gone thy mansion to prepare,
That where He is, thou mayst be there,
Soon as thy work is done.

ON THE PHRASEOLOGY OF THE NEW

TESTAMENT.

No. II.

BY L. H. J. T.

(4.) AMEN-N-AMHN.

Verily, verily.

THE word which I have selected for elucidation in the present paper, is one of greater importance than we are in the habit of attaching to it. It is truly a precious and a wonderful word.

Most of the readers of the Christian Lady's Magazine will know that the VERILY, VERILY, with which our LORD commences his discourses, is, in the original, AMEN, AMEN, which form of asseveration is used by none but Him. The word verily does occur in the Acts and in the Epistles, but is there only the representative of some insignificant Greek particle, yap, de, &c., and not of the solemn and impressive AMEN.

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Every reader of the Apocalypse must have been struck with the remarkable assumption of this word by our LORD as an appellation. (Rev. iii. 14.) These things saith the AMEN, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God. Here we have the word AMEN used as a proper name, and joined

to a verb in the third person singular, Τάδε λεγεὶ ὁ ̓Αμνη (Tade legei ho Amen). The name AMEN is left untranslated. Our Lord speaking of himself, says, These things saith the AMEN, and I wish to show, that when he commences a discourse with this name, coupled with a verb in the first person singular, it should likewise be left untranslated.

We thus find it rendered in Theodore Beza's Latin translation of the New Testament:

John iii. 3. Respondit Jesus et dixit ei; Amen, Amen dico tibi, nisi quis genitus sit iterùm, &c. &c.

And the same passage in Jerome's Latin Vulgate : Amen, Amen dico tibi, nisi quis renatus fuerit, &c. &c. And, although it may sound strange to our English ear, I am of opinion that it should be thus left as an indeclinable, untranslateable name in our own versions, or at least, that all Bible-readers should be fully aware of the importance of this expression of our Lord's, which in reality signifies

I, the AMEN, say unto you, &c.1

It becomes necessary now, however, to examine into the true meaning of the word Amen, premising that the inspired writers of the New Testament merely wrote down such Greek letters as would best convey the sound of the Hebrew N.

I will now proceed to show that this untranslateable, immutable word 2 in its various Hebrew in

1 The Irish translation is as follows:-'Go Deimhin, Deimhin, a deirim riot,' and the Gaelic, Gu Deimhin, Deimhin, a ta mi ag ràdh riut,' in both of which interesting languages the word Deimhin is used, which evidently contains the root of the Amen.

2 An eminent and learned divine to whom these views were submitted, has favoured the writer with the following remarks on this word:

'It seems to me that originally the word is the mysterious name of God, and that its use in the sacred language in compounding terms of MARCH, 1840.

R

word which we should use cautiously and reverently. Each time that we utter it, we are calling upon the Almighty by one of his most solemn names. Let us take heed lest we take this name in vain, not knowing it to be the LORD'S.

ERRATUM.

Page 158, lines 23 and 27, for home read house.

CHRIST'S soldiers must obey him; they must look always to Him for directions; they must not act for themselves. We must not think that we can be of His army, and yet refuse to take the sentinel's post when He calls us to it. We must not throw away the sword (no, nor yet the scabbard,) without His commands. Whatever place He appoints us, we must fill, be it the post of danger or of observation.Rev. Dr. H. Cooke.

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