Righteousness Therefore it was the Word of the Lord that came to him in a Vision ver 1. and that made him that Promise ver 5. It followeth ver 7. that he said to Abraham I am the Lord that brought thee out of Ur of the Chaldees Who said this to Abraham Even the Word of the Lord according to Jonathan's Targum for there is no other Nominative Case of the Verb in his Paraphrase You see the same upon Abraham's dividing the Beasts in order to his making a Covenant with God it was done at God's Command who thereupon did appear between the Pieces to Abraham and did solemnly enter into a Covenant with Abraham Gen. xv 9 c. Now saith the Jerusalem Paraphrase on Exod. xii 42. It was the Word of the Lord that appeared to Abraham between the Pieces And according to Onkelos and Jonathan Exod. vi 8. It was by his Word that God made this Covenant with Abraham We must take notice that he that appeared then to Abraham saith I am El Shaddai which is here translated The Almighty God For according to Onkelos on Gen. xlix 25. in the Blessing of Jacob to his Son Joseph these Names The Word of God and El Shaddai are of the same Extent Thus it runs according to Onkelos The Word of the God of thy Father shall help thee and El Shaddai shall bless thee Where plainly El Shaddai is the same that is called The Word of the God of thy Father As Philo taught us that the Appearance of God to Abraham mentioned Gen. xviii 1. was an Appearance of the Word Alleg. 11. p. 77. E. where he calls one of the Three Angels that appeared to Abraham the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the Word of God and Josephus L. 1. Ant. c. 12. calls him God So the Jerusalem Paraphrase has it in the end of the next Verse The Word of the Lord appeared to Abraham in the Valley of Vision as he sat warming himself in the Sun because of his Circumcision Elsewhere the same Paraphrase quotes these Words as being the Words of Scripture saying on Gen. xxxv 9. The Scripture hath declared and said And the Word of the Lord appeared to him in the Valley of Vision Jonathan also in his Paraphrase on Deut. xxxiv 6. hath these words The Lord hath taught us to visit the Sick in that he revealed himself by the Vision of his Word to Abraham when he was sick of the cutting of Circumcision When God gave him a Command for the sacrificing of his Son Gen. 22.2 then as Abraham was doing it the Angel of the Lord called to him out of Heaven and told him Now I know thou fearest God seeing thou hast not withheld thy Son thine only Son from ME. This last word plainly sheweth that this Angel was God himself even the same that spake to Abraham and gave him that Command ver 1 2. And that Command was given by the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the Word according to Philo as it has been already shewn The Jerusalem Paraphrase hath the same on ver 8. where upon Isaac's enquiring for the Lamb that was to be sacrificed Abraham answereth him My Son the Word of the Lord will prepare me a sheep And so when Abraham found that the Word did provide him a Sheep and accepted of that for a Sacrifice instead of his Son Abraham worshipped and pray'd to the Word of the Lord saying among many other things Thou O Lord didst speak to me that I should offer up Isaac my Son In the other Targums ver 16 17. where the Angel of the Lord calls to Abraham out of Heaven the second time which last word sheweth that this Angel was God himself for it was God that called to him out of Heaven the first time as it has been already shewn and saith to Abraham By my self I have sworn saith the Lord because thou hast done this thing and hast not withheld thine only son from me From me is in the Samaritan and LXX therefore in blessing I will bless thee c. There both Onkelos and Jonathan have it By my Word I have sworn saith the Lord. What should be their meaning in this For the manner of speaking Thus saith the Lord it was properly used by the Word appearing here as an Angel and not according to his own Natural Being But for the Form of the Oath where according to the Hebrew Text chap. xx God swore by Himself the Paraphrasts render it that God swore by his Word and well they might who understood that the Word was God And indeed these Targums shew elsewhere That where this Form of Swearing was used it was the Word of the Lord that swore and held himself obliged to perform what was sworn Compare Exod. vi 8. with Deut. xxvi 3. And Numb xiv 30. with Deut. xxxi 7. We read of an Angel appearing to Hagar in the Wilderness Gen. xvi 7. He bid her return and submit to Sarah her Mistress ver 9. telling her withal what a numerous Issue she should have by the Child she now went with and what sort of man he should be But as this Angel spoke in the Stile of God saying I will multiply thy seed exceedingly ver 10. So she owned it was the Lord that spake to her and she said to him Thou God seest me ver 13. 'T is clear that it was God himself that appeared tho he is called an Angel in the Text. And therefore not only Philo calleth him the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in those places above-mentioned but the Targums likewise shew that he was the Word of the Lord according to the Sense of the Jewish Church for so Jonathan renders ver 13. She confessed before the Lord Jehovah whose Word had spoken to her And the Jerusalem Targum She confessed and prayed to the Word of the Lord who had appeared to her Again an Angel called to Hagar out of Heaven Gen. xxi 16. But he also said to her that which no created Angel could say speaking of her Son Ishmael I will make him a great Nation ver 18. Philo saith that it was the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 And who perform'd it 'T was God the Word according to the Targums For whereas the Text saith ver 20. God was with the Lad it is thus rendred both by Onkelos and Jonathan The Word of the Lord was his Support or Assistance We read also of Two Divine Appearances to Isaac one in Gerar Gen. xxvi 2. and the other at Beersheba ver 24. In the former of these places Isaac being ready to have gone down into Egypt God bid him continue in Canaan and gave him a Promise in these words Gen. xxvi 3. I will be with thee and will bless thee for unto thee and thy Seed I will give all these Countries and I will perform the Oath which I sware unto Abraham thy Father So then he that appeared now to Isaac is the same that swore this to Abraham so much we learn from
this Text But according to the Targums it was God the Word that swore all this to Abraham Elsewhere they also tell us That it was the Word that swore as well to Isaac as to Abraham that he would give them the promised Land Exod. vi 8. xxxii 13. At the second Appearance that God made to Isaac Gen. xxvi 24. he told him I am the God of Abraham thy Father But as the Jerusalem Targum on Gen. xxii 16. saith That Abraham worshipped and prayed to the Word of the Lord So according to Jonathan's Targum on Gen. xxvii 28. Isaac prayed for his Son Jacob in these Words The Word of the Lord give thee of the Dew of Heaven And in the same Targum on Gen. xxxi 5. where Jacob saith The God of my Father hath been with me Of thy Father so the Samaritan and LXX it is rendred The Word of the God of my Father or The Word being the God of my Father Amongst the Divine Appearances to Jacob those two at Bethel were more remarkable than the rest one at his going to Padan-Aram Gen. xxviii 13. the other at his Return from thence Gen. xxxv 9. where it is said expresly that then God appeared to him the second time The History of the first of these is given us at large Gen. xxviii 13 16. Jacob himself gives this account of the last to his Son Joseph Gen. xlviii 3 4. God Almighty appeared to me at Luz in the land of Canaan and blessed me and said unto me Behold I will make thee fruitful and multiply thee c. That it was the Word that appeared to him we have shewn already from Philo in several places and that this was the Sense of the Jewish Church in his time we have reason to believe For as to this first Appearance in the Introduction ver 10. where the Text speaks of Jacob's setting out from Beersheba to go to Haran there both Jonathan and the Jerusalem Targum tell us of the Sun 's making haste to go down before his time because the Word had a desire to speak with Jacob. Again in the Conclusion of this History Gen. xxviii 20 21. Where Jacob vowed a Vow saying If God will be with me c. then shall the Lord be my God Here we read in Jonathan's Targum That Jacob vowed a Vow to the Word saying If the Word of the Lord will be my help c then shall the Lord be my God Why should the Paraphrast say That Jacob made this Vow to the Word and not rather to God as it is in the Hebrew Text but that they believed that it was the Word that appeared to him And this being so we cannot be to seek who that Angel was that spake to Jacob Gen. xxxi 11. for he declares ver 13. I am the God of Bethel where thou vowedst a Vow unto me We see in the Targum on Gen. xxviii 20. That it was the Word to whom Jacob vowed a Vow at Bethel therefore according to this Targum it must be the Word that is called an Angel in the place next before mentioned The second time that God appeared to Jacob was in his Return from Padan-Aram Gen. xxxv 9. and it is expresly said in the Jerusalem Targum The Word of the Lord appeared to Jacob the second time when he was coming from Padan-Aram and blessed him which is as clear a Testimony as can be desired for our purpose Whosoever will reflect with some attention upon those Appearances of God to Jacob and compare them with what we read Gen. xlviii 15 16. and with what Hosea the Prophet saith ch xii concerning the Angel who was God could not but take notice of two things The first is that the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which is call'd an Angel was God indeed The second is that the wrestling of that Angel with Jacob was a preparation for the belief of the Mystery of the Incarnation by which the Apostles were made able to say which we have looked upon and our hands have handled of the Word of Life this is our Message 1 Joh. i. 1.5 But we must go on upon such important a Subject CHAP. XIV That all the Appearances of God or of the Angel of the Lord which are spoken of in Moses his time have been referred to the Word of God by the ancient Jewish Church WE read of no other Appearance of God or of an Angel of the Lord till that which Moses saw on Mount Horeb Exod. iii. 2. There we read that the Angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a Bush This is the only place where Moses calleth him an Angel that now appeared Elswhere he always calleth him God as particularly v. 4. where he saith that upon his turning aside to see why the Bush was not burnt When the Lord saw this God called to him out of the midst of the Bush and said to him I am the God of thy Father the God of Abraham and the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob v. 6. whereupon Moses saith of himself that he hid his face for he was afraid to look upon God After this he goeth on still calling him God as we read almost in every verse so ver 16. He saith God commanded him to go to the Elders of Israel and say to them The Lord God of your Fathers the God of Abraham and the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob appeared to me God would not have him tell them that which was not true and therefore we may be sure that it was not a Created Angel but God that appeared to him But why then should Moses once call him an Angel as we see he did in the second verse A created Angel he could not be for the reasons now mentioned he must therefore be God and yet he must appear as an Angel that came on a Message from God This is what Philo saith in one word He was the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or Word who is both God and the Messenger of God as we have shewn from him in several places As for the Targums the matter is clear for when Moses was sent to the Children of Israel to tell them that their God had appeared to him and sent him to bring them forth out of Egypt and that Moses askt him his Name and that God said unto Moses tell them I AM THAT I AM or in fewer words say I AM has sent me unto you that which here God calls himself is the sense of the Name Jehovah that signifieth the Eternal Being Now see how this is rendred in the Jerusalem Targum There we read that the Word of the Lord said to Moses He that said to the World let it be and it was and shall say Let it be and it shall be Here Moses askt God and the Word answereth his question But certain it is that he that answered the question was the same that he had been speaking with
has communed with Man ever since his fall into sin Upon this Ground Malachi ch iii. v. 1. names the Son of God the Angel or Messenger of the Covenant Which Prophecy is owned to this day by the Jews to speak of the Messias Isaiah ch lxiii v. 9. names him the Angel of the Presence of the Lord who saved and redeemed the Israelites According to what the Lord said to Moses Exod. xxiii 23. My Angel shall go before thee And Exod. xxxiii 14. My presence shall go with thee The Primitive Christians never doubted but that the Angel which appeared to Moses in the Desart and guided the Israelites was the Son of God St. Paul says expresly thus much 1 Cor. x. 9. when he affirms that the Israelites tempted Christ in the Wilderness by their Rebellions Lorinus himself quoting some places from the most Ancient Fathers is forced to acknowledge it on Acts vii And I shewed before that St. Paul has affirmed nothing upon this Point but according to the common Notion of the Jews It ought not therefore to seem strange that St. Stephen does distinguish the Angel of whom he speaks from the Lord himself when he names him the Angel of the Lord For the Son is distinct from the Father and the Son was sent by the Father But because they so partake of the same Divine Nature that they are in reality but one and the same God blessed for ever the Son in this regard might well say I am the God of Abraham c. and be called the Lord Jehovah If it be askt why Moses did rather call him an Angel than otherwise I answer that he did so for these two reasons First because the distinction of the Divine Persons was not so clearly revealed under the Old Testament by reason that it did not so well suit that Oecomy Secondly because God since he created the World commonly imploying Angels in those works which were not above their power and capacity It may very well be that the Son of God when he appeared to Men used the Ministry of Angels either to form the voice and the words which he spoke to his Prophets or to make the Body or the Figure under which he appeared It is objected in the last place that St. Paul seems to suppose that an Angel gave the Law upon Mount Sinai and not the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or the Son of God and that that Angel is called God because he spoke in God's Name Thus Gal. iii. 19. he says that the Law was ordained by Angels Heb. ii 2. that it was spoken by Angels And Heb. i. 1 2. making opposition between the Law and the Gospel he says to elevate this last above the former that God having formerly spoke to Men by his Prophets has in these last days spoken to us by his Son which could not be true if he had before made use of the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 to give his Law to the Jews The Socinians look upon this Argument as unanswerable And the truth is it has imposed upon many Learned Writers as Lorinus Grotius and others But it will be no difficult business to answer it if it be observed First that it hath been always the opinion of the old Jews that the Law was given by Jehovah himself Secondly that it was likewise their opinion that Jehovah who gave the Law was the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 And 3ly that 't is affirmed by Moses Deut. xxxiii 2. That when the Lord came from Sinai and rose up from Seir He came with ten thousands of Saints from his right hand went a fiery Law I say that 't is enough to prove those three things to convince any Man that when St. Paul says that the Law was spoken by Angels 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 he means only that they were present as witnesses where it was given not that they represented God's person The first appears by Philo who affirms that it was God who spoke when he gave the Law de Migrat Abrah p. 309. D. E. F. And de Decal p. 576. D. C. and p. 593. F. he spoke by a voice which he created And Lib. de Praem p. 705. The Targum affirms the same that Jehovah revealed himself with multitudes of Angels when he gave his Law 1 Chron. xxix 11. The second is clear by Hag. ii 6. where the Lord speaking of the time when he brought his People out of Egypt saith that he had shaken the Earth which relates to his giving the Law as appears from Psal lxviii 8. and Heb. xii 25 26. where St. Paul applies that place to our Saviour And it is acknowledged also by the Jews as the Author of Rabboth fol. 135. col 3. Onkelos Deut. iv 33 36. the People heard the voice of the Word of the Lord out of the fire And also Deut. v. 24. And likewise Exod. xx 7. Deut. v. 11. and vi 13. where the third Commandment is mentioned in these words None shall swear by the Name of the Word of the Lord. The third Point is evident according to the constant Maxim of the Jews that the Shekinah or 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is always accompanied with several Camps of Angels who attend him and execute his Judgments Those things being noted I maintain that when St. Paul saith that the Law hath been Ordained by Angels 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Gal. iii. 19. the Text must be rendred between Angels as St. Paul hath used the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 2 Tim. ii 2. not to say by many Witnesses but among or before many Witnesses 2ly That when St. Paul speaks Heb. ii of the Word that hath been spoken by Angels he doth not speak of the Law but of the several threatnings which were made by the Prophets to whom the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 sent his Angels to bring back the People of Israel from their wickedness And of the several punishments which fell upon Israel and were inflicted by Angels as Executors of the judgment of God It must be understood so necessarily or it is impossible to save St. Paul from having contradicted himself in the same Epistle For he supposeth ch xii 25 26. that 't was Jesus Christ that being the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 shook the Earth in which he follows the words of Haggai the Prophet and of the Psalmist Psal lxviii 8. and who can reconcile that with St. Paul saying that many Angels Ordained the Law Did they all personate God in that occasion No body hath ever imagined such a thing It cannot be objected to me that St. Paul opposes the Person of Jesus to Moses as it hath been done by St. John ch i. where he saith that the Law was given by Moses but Grace and Truth by Jesus Christ The reason is clear and it is because he opposes the Ministry of Reconciliation to the Ministry of Condemnation Moses hath been the Mediator of the first Covenant but Jesus Christ is the Minister of the second although both
And 47. And he did evil also in the sight of the Lord and cared not for the words that were spoken unto him by the Prophet Jeremy from the mouth of the Lord. 3ly They speak of the Bina or Understanding by which is to be understood the Holy Spirit from Prov. iii. and viii So in Eccles c. i. 4. Wisdom hath been created before all things and the understanding of prudence from everlasting So the Book of Wisdom chap. i. 4 5 6 7. For into a malicious soul wisdom shall not enter nor dwell in the body that is subject unto sin For the Holy Spirit of discipline will flee deceit and remove from thoughts that are without understanding and will not abide when unrighteousness cometh in For Wisdom is a loving spirit and will not acquit a blasphemer of his words for God is witness of his reins and a true beholder of his heart and a hearer of his tongue For the Spirit of the Lord filleth the world and that which containeth all things hath knowledge of the voice 4ly They acknowledg him as the Counsellor of God which knew all his Counsels So you read in the Book of Wisdom ch ix 17. And thy counsel who hath known except thou give wisdom and send thy Holy Spirit from above 5ly They speak of him as of he that discovers the secrets of God so Ecclus ch 39.8 He shall shew forth that which he hath learned and shall glory in the law of the covenant of the Lord. And ch 48.24 25. He saith of Isaiah He saw by an excellent spirit what should come to pass at the last and he comforted them that mourned in Sion He shewed what should come to pass for ever and secret things or ever they came 6ly They acknowledg him to be sent from God Wisdom ch ix 17. And thy counsel who hath known except thou give wisdom and send thy Holy Spirit from above After all if we consider what Notions they had of the Messias which was promised to them we shall find that they had much nobler Ideas than those which are now entertained by the last Jews and more like to them which we find among the Prophets 1. It is clear that they lookt upon him as the Person which was to sit upon the Throne of God the Title of my Lord which is given by the Author of Ecclus ch li. 10. shews that beyond exception by so clear an allusion to the Psal cx and ii which both speak of the Messias 2ly They did not look upon it as an absurd thing to suppose that God is to appear in the earth as you see in Baruch ch iii. 37. Afterward did he shew himself upon earth and conversed with men For they refer that either to his appearance upon Sinai or to the Incarnation of the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 3ly They suppose another coming of the Messias and then the Saints are to judge the Nations and have dominion over the people and their Lord shall reign for ever Wisd ch iii. 8. which words have been borrowed by St. Paul 1 Cor. vi 2. 4ly They acknowledg such Appearances of God as we have an example in 2 Macc. ch xi 6. and ch xxi 22 23. Now when they that were with Maccabeus heard that he besieged the holds they and all the people with lamentation and tears besought the Lord that he would send a good Angel to deliver Israel 5ly They speak of the Appearances of God as an 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which is the very word used by St. Paul for the first and second Appearance of Jesus Christ So the 2. of Macc. ch xv 27. and 34. So every man praised toward the even that glorious Lord saying Blessed be he that hath kept his own place undefiled So that fighting with their hands and praying unto God with their hearts they slew no less than thirty and five thousand men for through the appearance of God they were greatly cheared 6ly They expected at the second coming of the Messias such a manifestation of his Glory as in the Consecration of the Temple So 2 Macc. ch ii 8. Then shall the Lord shew them these things and the glory of the Lord shall appear and the cloud also as it was shewed under Moses and as when Solomon desired that the place might be honourably sanctified I believe these Proofs are sufficient to demonstrate 1. That there was before Jesus Christ's time a Notion of Plurality in the Godhead 2ly That they believed that such a Plurality was a Trinity 3ly That they look'd upon the Son or the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and the Holy Ghost as not created Beings but as Beings of the same Divine Nature with the Father by an Eternal Emanation from him as having the same Power and the same Majesty But these Ideas of the Apocryphal Books will appear more clear when we take them in conjunction with the explication of the like Notions among other Hebrew Writers which I shall now consider more particularly And withal those places of Scripture on which they ground their Explications CHAP. IX That the Jews had good Grounds to acknowledg some kind of Plurality in the Divine Nature AFter what I have quoted from the Authors of the Apocryphal Books which are in the hand of all people to prove 1. That the Jews before Jesus Christ had a Notion of a Plurality in God following herein certain Traces of this Doctrine that are to be found in the Books of Moses and the Prophets And 2ly that the same Jews did acknowledg a Trinity in the Divine Nature I will proceed to consider in particular the Grounds which they build upon to admit such Notions I begin with the first of those two Articles which is That the Stile of God in the Jewish Scriptures gave them a Notion of a Plurality in God To establish this Proposition I do not intend to gather all the Texts of the Old Testament which might be brought to prove a Plurality in the Divine Nature nor will I answer the several Solutions which the Unitarians have invented to darken this truth which they oppose It shall suffice me to do two things 1. To shew that the Stile of God in Scripture and of the Sacred Authors leads one naturally to the Notion of a Plurality of Persons in the Divine Essence 2. That this Stile made the like Impression on the Jews before Jesus Christ as was made by it anciently and is still made on it by the generality of Christians So that the Jews generally have acknowledged that the Divine Nature which is otherwise perfectly one is distinguishable into certain Properties which we call Persons For the proof of the first Point to wit that the Scriptures of the Old Testament suppose a Plurality in God I make these following Reflections 1. Moses the chief End of whose Writings was to root out of the minds of Men the conceit of Polytheism does yet describe the Creation of the World in words that insinuate a Plurality
come in like a flood the Spirit of the Lord shall lift up a standard against him and the Redeemer shall come unto Sion Again Isa lxi 1. The Spirit of the Lord Jehovah is upon Me because the Lord hath anointed me They are the words which Christ applied to himself Luke iv 18. It may not be amiss here to answer an Objection against the use that we have made of those Texts wherein God saith WE and US in the Plural which manner of speaking the Jews cannot but see does denote a Plurality R. Kimchi on Isa vi 8. makes that Observation But then he fancies it is spoken with relation to Angels whom God is pleased to call in by way of Consultation In the Text Isa vi those whom God consults with are to send as well as he and those in Gen. i. 26. are to make Man as well as he And surely God would not join the Angels with himself in the sending of his Prophets much less would he give Angels a share in the Glory of making Man the Master-piece of the Creation Angels are Creatures as well as Man and were but a Day elder than he according to some of the Jews a Week older than he they could not be And at the making of Man it is believed with very good reason that those Angels were not yet fallen whom we now call Devils It seems not very likely that as soon as they were made God should call them into Council for making of another of his Creatures much less that he should make them Creators together with himself especially when this gives them a Title to the Worship of Intelligent Beings such as Man who if this had been true ought to have worshipp'd not only Angels but Devils as being his Creators together with God But the Truth is so far on the contrary that as at first Man was made but a little lower than the Angels so there is a Man since made Lord both of Angels and Devils whom they are to worship This I know our Unitarians will now deny But to come to an end of this matter It is certainly below the Infinite Majesty of God in any of his works whatever to say to any of his Creatures Let us make or Let us do this or that And for that idle Fancy of a Consultation it is not only absurd in it self but it is contrary to the holy Scripture that asks Isa xl 13. Who has directed the Spirit of the Lord or who hath been his Counsellor Which in effect is a flat denial that there is any Creature to be call'd into Consultation with God And therefore whoever they were to whom God said this Let us make or Let us do this or that they could be no Creatures they must be uncreated Beings like himself if there were any such then in being But that then at the Creation such there were even the Word and the Spirit has been shewn from the beginning of that History I think beyond contradiction Thus we have collected a number of Places from the Old Testament which speak of a Trinity and consequently do reduce the Plurality which we proved before to a Trinity in the Unity of the Divine Nature We see there Three distinct Characters of the Father the Son and the Holy Spirit We see the Generation of the Son express'd and the Mission of the Holy Spirit upon the Son when he came to live in our Nature We see the number Three still observed in begging Pardon of Sins of Blessings and in returning Praises to God intimating there were Three from whom all good things come and who are therefore the Objects of Prayer It remains that we enquire whether the like Inferences which we draw from these Texts were made by the Jews before Jesus Christ which is the second Particular of our proposed Method I shall not repeat here what in the preceding Chapters I proved That both Philo and the Chaldee Paraphrasts had such Notions of the Unity of God as were not repugnant to his Plurality The Reader can't have forgotten already a thing of such importance My business now is to shew that the Ancient Jews plainly own Two Powers in God which they distinguish from God and yet call each of them God the one being the Son of God the other the Holy Spirit who is called the Spirit of God Notwithstanding that I take the Chaldee Paraphrasts to be ancienter than Philo yet I chuse to begin with Philo's Testimonies rather than theirs for three Reasons First Because he writ in the way of Treatises and therefore much larger and clearer than they did that writ only in the way of Translation or Paraphrase adding nothing of their own but only sometimes a very short Note on the Text And therefore their Writings are much likelier to be explained by his than his by theirs 2dly Because the Passages in Philo for the Existence of the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 as a Person coeternal with the Father are so evident as to leave the Socinians no other way of answering them but to deny with Mr. N. that the Books that contain them were written by Philo the Jew 3dly A third Reason is because these Passages of Philo being written at Alexandria and abounding with Expressions used by the Apostles when they speak of Jesus Christ as the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 will contribute to explain some of the Quotations we shall take out of the Paraphrases in use at Babylon and Jerusalem These three great Cities Babylon Jerusalem and Alexandria were the three great Academies of the Jews till the destruction of the Temple under Vespasian So that whatever was received among the Jews in these three Cities before our Saviour's time may well pass for the Opinion of the Jewish Church at that time Let us proceed then to some of those Passages in Philo the Jew wherein he declares that there are Two such Powers in God as we call Two Persons and no one shall make sense of those Passages that calls them otherwise 1. In general he acknowledges that God hath Two Chief Supreme Powers one of which is called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 God the other 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Lord. De Abrah p. 286 287. F. De vit Mos iii. p. 517. F. 2. That these Two Powers are Uncreated Quod Deus sit immut p. 238. A. Eternal De Plant. Noae 176. D. and Infinite or Immense and Incomprehensible De Sacr. Ab. p. 168. B. 3. On many occasions he speaks of these Two Powers as De Cherub p. 86. F. G. 87. A. De Sacr. Ab. p. 108. A. B. De Plant. Noae p. 176. D. E. Quod Deus est immut p. 229. B. De Confus Ling. p. 270. E. 271. Lib. de Prof. p. 359. G. and especially p. 362 and p. 363. B. C. D. Quis rerum divin Haer. p. 393. G. p. 394. A. C. De Somn. p. 457. F. De Monar p. 631. A. B. C. De Vict. Offeren p. 661. B. De Mund. p. 888. B. 4.
In particular Though he doth not directly name these Two Powers yet it is clear that by the first he means the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 for he saith it is the Power by which all things are created or to which God spoke when he made Man Which two Characters are ascribed to the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 by Philo in many of his Tracts The other which we call the Holy Spirit is often acknowledged by Philo Lib. Quod Deus sit immut p. 229. B. 5. These things being considered he saith it appears how God is Three and yet he is but One He sheweth how this was represented in that Vision to Abraham Gen. xviii where it is said Verse 1. That Jehovah appeared to him And Verse 2. Abraham looked and behold Three men stood by him Yet he spoke but to One Vers 3. saying My Lord if now I have found favour in thy sight pass not away I pray thee from thy servant c. This Vision according to the Literal Sense he expounds of the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and Two Angels as I have quoted him elsewhere * V. Phil. All. 11. p. 77. E. But he saith here was also a Mystery that lay under this Literal Sense like to Sarah's 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 so the LXX calleth the Cakes that were hid under the Embers According to this Mystical Sense he saith here was denoted 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the Great Jehovah with his Two 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 of which one is called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and the other 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 These are Philo's words De Sacrif Ab. Cain p. 108. B. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 God attended with his Two Supreme Powers Principality and Goodness being himself but One in the middle of these Two makes these Three Appearances to the seeing Soul which is represented by Abraham That these words did not drop from Philo by chance the Reader may see in another place where he speaks purposely of this matter De Abrahamo p. 287. E. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 c. In the middle is the Father of all things on each side of him are the Two Powers the oldest and the nearest to the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or Jehovah whereof one is the Creative Power the other is the Royal Power The Creative Power is called God the Royal Power is called Lord. He therefore in the middle being attended by these Powers on each side of him represents to the seeing Faculty the appearance of sometimes One and sometimes of Three Philo after all warns his Reader that this is a Mystery not to be communicated to every one but only to them that were capable to understand and to keep it to themselves By which he sheweth that this was kept as a Cabala among the Jewish Doctors for fear if it came out the People might misunderstand it and thereby fall into Polytheism As for the Targums they likewise are very clear in this matter For besides the Lord Jehova without any addition they speak of the Word of the Lord or the Shekinah of the Lord and that so often that it will be endless to quote all the places some of them however must be cited to put the thing out of dispute 1. Where ever the words Jehovah and Elohim are read in the Hebrew There Onkelos commonly renders it in his Chaldee Paraphrase the Word of the Lord as Gen. xxviii 20 21. xxxi 49. Ex. ii 25. xvi 8. xix 17. xxxii 20. Lev xx 23. xxvi 49. Numb xi 20. xiv 9. xxiii 21. Deut. i. 30 32. ii 7. iii. 12. iv 24 27. v. 5. ix 3. xx 1. xxxi 6 8. The Targums commonly describe the same Person under the Title of Shekinah which signifies the Divine Habitation The Origin of that expression is in the Hebrew word which we find in Gen. ix 27. and is repeated in many places of the Old Testament I acknowledg freely that in some few places of the Targums it seems to be employed to express the Holy Ghost so that Eliah in his Dictionary and some others who have followed him and transcribed his Book in their Lexicons takes the Shekinah and the Holy Ghost to be the same But after all I believe that Eliah hath been mistaken by not being fully acquainted with the Ideas of the most learned of his people And indeed we see that the most famous Writers of the Synagogue put quite another sense upon the Targums and decide that question against Eliah looking upon the Memra and the Shekinah as the same So doth R. Moses Maimonides R. Menachem de Rakanaty and Ramban and R. Bachaye It is very easie to be satisfied that these famous Authors are in the right For if you consider the places where Philo the Jew speaks of the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 you shall see that they are in the Targum explained either by the Memra da Jehova or by the Shekinah And on the contrary if you except very few places you shall find that the Targums employ the term of Holy Ghost as the proper name which we have in the Original And even to this day the Jews do oftner call the Spirit as by his proper name Ruach hakkodesh the Holy Spirit That the Targumists had the same Notions of these two that Philo had is I think plain if we compare what Philo saith of the two Powers of God De Plant. Noae p. 172. whereof as we shewed before he hath one on each side of himself with what we read of the two Hands of God in Jonathan and the Jerusalem Targum on Ex. xv 17. The like expressions are to be found in other places too many to be here collected but we shall consider them afterwards The mean while we cannot but take notice how that Doctrine of the Trinity past current among the Jews of the ancient Synagogue though they were as zealous Asserters of the Unity of the Godhead as our Socinians can pretend to be at this day No doubt the ancient Jews could have found as many Contradictions in these two Doctrines of Trinity and Unity as the Socinians do if they had not been more disposed to study how to reconcile them together being satisfied that both these Doctrines were part of the Revelation which God had made to their Fathers We cannot say so altogether of the Modern Jews who are very much alienated from the Doctrine of the Trinity by seeing much clearer Revelations of it in the New Testament and especially since they are treated with disputes against the Christians that make Christ to be the Messias or second Person in the Trinity which they can by no means endure now to hear This has set them to hunt for ways to avoid the Evidence of these Texts that speak of a Plurality in the Divine Nature and in this pursuit they forsake their ancient Guides and strangely intangle themselves and contradict one another Some of them flatly deny that any of those Plural words do denote any Plurality in God but
〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is begotten of God Alleg. ii p. 76. B. Which can agree only to a Person And 2. where he proves that the Word acted and spoke in all the Divine Appearances that are mentioned in the Old Testament which certainly supposes a Person 3. Where he describes the Word as presiding over the Empires of the World and determining the Changes that befall them Lib. quod Deus sit Immutab p. 248. D. 4ly Where he brings in the Word for a Mediator between God and Men Quis rer Div. haer p. 393. that renders God propitious to his Creatures de Somn. p 447. E. F. That is the Instructer of Men Ib. p. 448. and their Shepherd alluding to Psal xxiii 1. The Chaldee Paraphrases are full of Notions and Expressions relating to the Word conformable to those of Philo touching the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 So that he must wink hard who does not see that in their sense the word is truly a Person And 1. they almost always distinguish the Memra or Word of the Lord which answers to Philo's 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 from the word Pithgama which signifies a Matter or a Discourse as 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 does in Greek 2. They ascribe the Creation of the World to the Word 3. They make it the Word that appeared to the Ancients under the name of the Angel of the Lord. 4. The Word that saved Noah in the time of the Flood and made a Covenant with him Onkelos on Gen. vii viii 5. They say that Abraham believed in the Word which thing was imputed to him for Righteousness Onkel on Gen. xv 6. 6. That the Word brought Abraham out of Chaldea Onk. on Gen. xv 7. and commanded him to Sacrifice Gen. xv 9. and gave him the Prophecy related v. 13. 7. That Abraham swore by the Word Onk. on Gen. xxi 23. 8. That the Word succoured Ishmael Gen. xxi 21. and Joseph in his Bondage Gen. xxxix 2 3. The like Notions has Onkelos in his Targum on Exodus 1. It is the Word's assistance that God promises Moses Exod. iii. 12. iv 12. xviii 19. 2. It is the Word in whom Israel believed as well as in Moses Exod. xiv 32. 3. It is the Word that redeems Israel out of Egypt Exod. xv 2. 4. It is the Word against whom Israel murmur'd in Sin Exod. xvi 8. 5. It is the Word before whom the People marched to receive the Law Exod. xix 17. 6. It is the Word whose Presence is promised in the Tabernacle Exod. xxx 6. xxxvi 42. which is repeated Numb viii 29. 7. It is the Word between whom and Israel the Sabbath is made a Sign Exod. xxxi 13 17. and so Lev. xxxvi 46. 8. It is the Word whose Protection was promised Moses when he desired to see God Exod. xxxiv 22. Much the same has Onkelos on Leviticus and Numbers 1. It is the Word whose Commandments the Israelites were to observe carefully Lev. viii 35. xviii 30. xxii 9. Numb ix 19. xx 23. 2. It is spoken of the Word that he will not forsake the People if they continue in their Obedience Lev. xxviii 11. 3. By the Word God regards his People Ib. 4. The Majesty of the Word did rest among the Israelites Numb xi 20. 5. It is the Word whom Moses exhorts the Jews not to rebell against Numb xiv 9. xx 24. 6. They believed in the Word Num. xiv 11. xx 12 7. The Word meets Balaam Numb xxiii and opens his Eyes xxii 31. The same things or the like we find in Onkelos on Deuteronomy 1. The Word brought Israel out of Egypt and fought for them Deut. i. 30. iii. 22. viii 2. xx 1. 2. The Word led Israel in the Pillar of a Cloud Ch. i. 32. 3. The Word spake out of the fire at Horeb V. 34 36. Moses was Mediator between the Word and his People V. 5. 5. Moses Exhorts the Jews to obey the Word xiv 18. xv 5. xxvii 14. xxviii 1 3 15 45 62. xxx 8 19 20. 6. The Word conducts Israel under Joshua to the Land of Canaan xxxi 6 8. 7. The Word created the World Chap. xxxiii 27. So agreeable as you see are the Notions of Onkelos to those of Philo though the one writ in Egypt the other in Palestine and both before the time of our Lord Jesus Christ But besides Onkelos on the Pentateuch we have two other Paraphrases the one which is very diffuse is said to be Jonathan's the other which is called the Jerusalem Targum and is short and as it seems imperfect The Reader may soon judg by comparing them whether they differ from Philo and Onkelos or no. The Jerusalem Targum saith That God Created the World by his Wisdom which he grounds on the word Bereshith Gen. i. 1. And Philo means the same things when he calls the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the first Emanation de Confus Ling. p. 267. B. The same Targum saith the Word made Man after his Image Gen. i. 27. Jonathan's affirms the Garden of Eden was planted by the Word for the Just before the Creation of the World Gen. ii 8. And both Jonathan's and the Jerusalem Targum say the Word spoke to Adam in the Garden Gen. iii. 9. the Word lifted up Enoch to Heaven Gen. v. 24. Jonathan's affirms that the Word protected Noah and shut the Door of the Ark upon him Gen. vii 16. That the Word threw down the Tower at Babel Gen. xi 6. And both have it That God promised Abraham that his Word should protect him Gen. xv 1. Jonathan's makes it the Word that plagued Pharaoh for Abraham's sake Gen. xii 17. The Jerusalem Targum saith it was the Word that appeared to Abraham at the Door of the Tent Gen. xviii 1. And that the Word rained Fire from before the Lord Gen. xix 24. And both that Targum and Jonathan's say That Abraham taught his People to hope in the Name of the Word of the Lord Gen. xxi 33. The Jerusalem Targum makes Abraham say The Word of the Lord will prepare a Sacrifice Gen. xxii 8. And asserts that Abraham invoked the Word and called him Lord in his Prayer Gen. xxii 14. Jonathan's Targum brings in Abraham swearing by the Word of the Lord Gen. xxiv 3. And God promising his Word should succour Isaac Gen. xxiii 24 28. repeated Gen. xxxi 3 5 42. xxxii 9. The same Targum says That the Word of the Lord made Rachel bear a Child Gen. xxx 22. Which is consonant to what Philo saith That the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 caused Isaac to be born Alleg. l. 2. p. 77. According to this Targum the Word sent Michael to save Thamar Gen. xxxviii 25. The Word went down with Jacob into Egypt Gen. xlvi 1 2 3 4. The Word succours Joseph Gen. xlix 25. Which Joseph acknowledges Gen. l. 20. We may trace the same Notions in their Targums on Exodus According to Jonathan's The Word built Houses for the Midwives that feared God Exod. i.
21. The Word caused that miraculous Heat which disposed Pharaoh's Daughter to go and bathe her self in the Nile Exod. ii 5. It was He that spake and the World was made according to Jonathan's Targum or the Word of the Lord according to the Jerusalem Targum that spoke to Moses Exod. iii. Which clearly shews that they made use of the word Memra to express what is so often repeated Gen. i. And God said It is the Word who as God promised Moses was to be his Mouth Exod. iv 12 15. According to the Jerusalem Targum the Word appear'd to Abraham by the Name of the God of Heaven and the Name of his Word was not declared to the Patriarchs Exod. vi 3. The Word of the Lord slew the First-born of Egypt Exod. xii 29. The Word of the Lord hath appeared on Three remarkable Occasions First At the Creation of the World Secondly To Abraham Thirdly At Israel's departure out of Egypt And a Fourth time he shall appear at the coming of the Messiah Thus Jonathan and Targ. Jerusalem Exod. xii 42. The Word wrought Miracles by Moses Exod. xiii 8. The Word raised up those Israelites which were killed by the Philistines that left Egypt Three Years before the Departure of their Brethren out of Egypt Exod. xiii 17. For the neglect of the Commands of the Word were the Israelites killed Exod. xiii 17. It is the Word that looked on the Host of the Egyptians and to him the Israelites cried Exod. xiv 24 31. It is the Word that gives the Law concerning the Sabbath Exod. xvi 25. and he against whom Israel murmur'd ver 8. The Israelites hear the voice of the Word Exod. xix 5. who speaks v. 9. and pronounces the Law xx 1. being the same that redeemed Israel from Egypt Ib. and Lev. i. God promises to send his Word with his People and Israel is strictly enjoyned to obey him Exod. xxiii 20 21 23. The Word punishes Israel for the Golden Calf Exod. xxxii 35. The Word talks with Moses in the Tabernacle and the People worship him Exod. xxxiii 9 11. Lev. i. It is the Word whose Appearance is promised Moses Exod. xxxiii 19. and the Word is distinguished from the Angels that attend him Exod. xxxiii 23. It is the Word to whom Moses prays and who is called the Name of the Lord Exod. xxxiv 5. The Word makes Statutes Lev. xxiv 11. Numb xxii 18. according to the same Jonathan It is the Word of whom the Jerusalem Targum understands what is spoken by Jonathan of the Face of the Lord Numb ix 8. By the order of the Word of the Lord the Israelites Encamp Numb ix 19 23. It is the Word to whom Prayer is made upon removing the Ark of the Covenant Numb x. 35 36. The Word spoke to all the Prophets before Moses Numb xii 6. The Word gives Answer Numb xiv 20. The Word sent fiery Serpents and those that were healed were healed by the Name of the Word of the Lord Numb xxi 6 9 10. It is before the Word that the Idolatrous Isralites were hanged Numb xxv 4. It is the Word that wrought Wonders in the Desert in behalf of Israel Deut. i. 1. iv 34. vi 22. and whom the Israelites provoked Deut. i. 1. The Word multiplied Israel and fought for them yet they believed not in him Deut. i. 10 30 32. and iii. 2. both in Jonathan and the Jerusalem Targum The Word punished Israel for the Business of Peor Deut. iv 3. The Word sits on a raised Throne and hears the People's Prayers and speaks from the midst of the fire and gives the Law Deut. iv 7 12 33. v. 23 24 25. Moses is a Mediator between the Word and the People Deut. v. It is by the Name of the Word that Israel ought to swear Deut. vi 13. The Word was to drive out the Nations before Israel Deut. xi 23. The Word chose the Levites for his Service Deut. xxi 5. and the whole People of Israel Deut. xxvi 18. The Word protected Jacob from Laban Deut. xxvi 5. The Word destroyed Sodom Deut. xxix 23. The Word sware to the Patriarchs Deut. xxxi 7. The Word shall Judge the People Deut. xxxii 36. The Word saith of himself that he was is and is to come v. 32 39. The Word takes Moses up to Mount Abarim and Moses prays to him for a Sight of the Land of Canaan Deut. xxxii 49. The Word shews Moses the Generations of the Great Men of Israel Deut. xxxiv 1. The Word said he had sworn to give Israel the Land of Canaan xxxiv 4. To conclude Moses dies according to the decree of the Word of the Lord that is to say the Word recalls his Soul with a Kiss and with a huge Train of Angels Inters his Body being the same Word that had appeared to him and sent him into Egypt and by so many Miracles redeemed Israel from thence Deut. xxxiv 5 6 10 11 12. There is no need of making any profound Reflections on these many places of Philo and the Chaldee Paraphrases to convince the Reader that the Jews before Jesus Christ did regard the Word as a true and real Person The consequence is easily drawn by him that looks them over but with half an eye I know the word Memra in Hebrew is sometimes taken in another sense as well as that of 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is in the Greek But all the Personal Characters of Action of Commanding of Speaking of Answering of giving Laws of Issuing out Decrees of being prayed to of receiving Worship and the like are so expresly given that Word we now Treat of as render it absurd to take it for any thing else but a Person Let us next enquire into the Nature of this Person according to the same Testimonies of the ancient Jews whether it be Angelical or Divine and consequently whether this Person be truly God I propose this not that I think there is any necessity of proving it after all that I have already observed from the ancient Jews touching the Word but for the clearer manifestation of the absurdity into which our Adversaries fall in their striving to force another sense upon the word as the more knowing Men among them cannot but see when they consider these Proofs with attention He who writ against Vechnerus Endeavours in general to perswade us that in those places of the Targums where the Memra is spoken of it is used to express the Divine Providence over the Faithful of ancient times or else in particular it signifies the Attributes of God his Affections or Actions his Miracles his Appearances his Inspirations and the like This he repeats in several parts of his dissertation and at the end of his work he trys to apply it to several Texts in the Targum One might reasonably doubt whether he himself were satisfied with his own performance in this I have two great reasons to think he was not The first is that it seems he never
Israel or that is worshipp'd spoken of in the Old Testament were not referred by the Ancient Jews to created Angels who personated God And further I maintain That generally the Ancient Jews referred these Appearances to the Word whom they distinguish'd from Angels as they do God from the Creature and thereby justified the Patriarchs in paying him that appeared to them Divine Worship and Adoration To prove this I must return to Philo's Opinion which I have had occasion to alledge in several places I would willingly spare my self the Trouble and my Reader the Nauseousness of repeating the same things But this is a matter of such Importance as necessarily obliges me by a particular Enumeration of Passages to produce Philo's Judgment in this Point as I have done in the former He is indeed so ample and so much ours in his Testimony concerning the Dignity of the Angel that appeared to the Fathers as more he could not well be if we had hired him to depose on our side In general he asserts That it was the Word that appeared to Adam Jacob and Moses although in the Books of Moses it is only an Angel that is spoken of De Somn. p. 461. It was the Word that appeared to Abraham Gen. xviii 1. according to Philo for he saith It was the Word that promised Sarah a Son in her Old Age and that enabled her to conceive and bring forth Lib. 11. Alleg. p. 77. E. It was the Word that appeared to Abraham as an Angel and that called to him not to hurt his Son when he was about to sacrifice him De Somn. p. 461. A E. It was the Word that appeared to Hagar De Cherub p. 83. C. De Profug p. 352. De Somn. p. 446. B. It was the Word that appeared so many times to Jacob although he be called the Angel that delivered him out of all his Trouble Alleg. 11. p. 71. D. E. It was the Word that appeared to Jacob in Bethel Lib. de Migr. Abr. p. 304. E. p. 305. A. De Somn. p. 460. G. And afterwards directed him how to manage Laban's Flock De Somn. p. 461. F. and advised him to return to the Land of his Kindred De Somn. p. 460. G. It was the Word that appeared to Jacob in the form of an Angel and wrestled with him De Somn. p. 454. E. and changed his Name to Israel De nom mut p. 819. C. It was the Image of God which in other places is the same with the Word that appeared to Moses in the Bush De Vit. Mosis 1. p. 475. E. It was God that called to him at the same time De Somn. p. 461. D. Even the Word p. Ib. A. Whom Moses desired to see Alleg. 11. p. 61. A. De Sacr. Ab. p. 102. A. C. It was the Word who led Israel through the Wilderness Exod. xxiii De Agric. p. 152. B. He was the Angel in whom God placed his Name De Migr. Abr. p. 324. E. F. That Word which is called the Prince of Angels and who was within the Cloud Quis rer Divin Haer. p. 397. F. G. and is called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 De Vit. Mosis p. 534. G. And this Angel was he that appeared to Moses and the Elders of Israel on Mount Sinai Exod. xxiv De Confus p. 261. E. De Somn. p. 447. C. It was the Word whom those Jews rejected that said Let us make a Captain and return into Egypt Num. xiv 4. Alleg. 11. p. 71. B. It was the Word that governs the World that appeared to Balaam like an Angel De Cherub p. 87. F. G. Quod Deus sit immut p. 248. G. 249. A. It was the Word by whom Moses when he was to dye was translated De Sacr. Abr. p. 162. C. D. II. Let us come next to the Chaldee Paraphrases and see how they render those Texts that speak of the Divine Appearances in Scripture and let the Reader take these Remarks along with him 1. That whatsoever he finds in those Paraphrases he may be assured that it was the General Sense of the Jewish Church in Ancient Times 2. That any Judicious Writer can justly suspect those who first published those Targums to have cut many parts of them to favour the new Method of their last Writers which I have explained in the beginning of this Chapter The first Appearance of God to Man was when having created our first Parents Gen. i. 27. He blessed them and said unto them Be fruitful and multiply and replenish the earth Gen. i. 28. He that gave them this Blessing was he that created them as we read in the Jerusalem Targum on Gen. i. 27. The Word of the Lord created Man in his own Image For his giving them the Blessing we have it in that Targum on Gen. xxxv 9. We have these following words O Eternal God thou hast taught us the Marriage-blessing of Adam and his Wife for thus the Scripture saith expresly And the Word of the Lord blessed them and the Word of the Lord said to them Be ye fruitful and multiply and replenish the earth God appeared again to our first Parents after their Sin Gen. iii. 8. Where it is said that they heard the Voice of the Lord God walking in the midst of the garden Now as Philo said to us that it was the Word of the Lord that appeared to Adam so both Onkelos and Jonathan have it that Adam and his Wife heard the Voice of the Word of the Lord God walking in the garden Likewise in the Jerusalem Targum ver 9. it is said The Word of the Lord called to Adam c. And again ver 10. Where Adam makes this Answer to God I heard thy Voice in the garden both Onkelos and Jonathan have it I heard the Voice of thy Word in the garden In the History of the Deluge we see that there was a Revelation to Noah the Preacher of Righteousness to build the Ark and to warn others while that was preparing 1 Pet. iii. 20. But who gave Noah that warning Jonathan saith That the Lord said this by his Word And the Jerusalem Targum It was the Word of the Lord that said this And accordingly Jonathan has it in Gen. vi 6. That the Lord judged them by his Word and said I will destroy them by my Word Likewise for the saving of Noah Gen. vii 16. all the Paraphrasts attributed this to the Word The Jerusalem Targum saith The Word of the Lord spared Noah And Gen. viii 1. Jonathan has it That the Word of the Lord remembred Noah Lastly according to Onkelos and Jonathan The Lord said by his Word I will not again curse the ground any more for man's sake Gen. viii 21. After the Flood God appeared often to Abraham Now according to Jonathan on Gen. xv 6. a Promise being made unto Abraham that his Seed should be as the Stars of Heaven for Number Abraham's believing in the Word of the Lord was accounted to him for
by what the Apostle saith Joh. xii 41. that this was no other than our Lord Jesus Christ For there the Apostle having quoted the words that Isaiah heard from the Lord that spoke to him Isai vi 9 10. tells us These things said Isaiah when he saw his Glory and spoke of him That the Apostle here speaks of the Word made flesh is clear enough from the Text. But besides it has been proved by our Writers beyond all contradiction See Plac. lib. ii Disput 1. In like manner that which the Prophet Ezekiel saw was an Appearance of God represented to him as a Man sitting on a Throne of Glory Ezek. i. 26 27 28. x. 1. Which Throne was then upon Wheels after the manner of a Sella Curulis They were living Wheels animated and supported by Cherubims i. 21. each of which had four Faces i. 6. such as were carved on the Walls of the Temple xli 19. In short that which Ezekiel saw though he was then in Chaldea was nothing else but the Appearance of God as yet dwelling in his Temple at Jerusalem but quite weary of it and now about to remove and to leave his dwelling-place to be destroyed by the Chaldeans To shew that this was the meaning of it he saw this Glorious Appearance of God first in his place iii. 12. i. e. on the Mercy-seat in the Temple ix 3. Next he saw him gone from his place to the Threshold of the House Judges use to give Judgment in the Gate so there over the Threshold of his House God gave Sentence against his rebellious people v. 5 6 7. Afterward from the Threshold of the House x. 4. the Prophet saw the Glory departed yet farther and mounted up from the Earth over the midst of the City x. 18 19. And lastly he saw it go from thence and stand upon the Mountain on the East-side of the City xi 23. That is on Mount Olivet which is before Jerusalem on the East Zech. xiv 4. and so the Targum has it on this place After this departure of the Divine Presence Ezekiel saw his forsaken Temple and City destroyed and his People carried away into Captivity xxxiii 21 c. After this he saw no more Appearance of God till his People's return from Captivity And then the Temple being rebuilt according to the measures given from God xl xli xlii the Prophet could not but expect that God would return to it as of old So he saw it come to pass in his Vision xliii 2. Behold the Glory of the God of Israel came from the way of the East where the Prophet saw it last at M. Olivet So again v. 4. The Glory of the Lord came into the House by the way of the Gate whose prospect is toward the East And v. 5. Behold the Glory of the Lord filled the House So again xliv 4. It filled the House now as it had done in Solomon's time 1 King viii 11. All along in this Prophecy of Ezekiel it was but one Person that appeared from the beginning to the end In the beginning of this Prophecy it was God that appeared in his Temple over the Cherubims and there we find him again in the end of this Prophecy But that it was no other but the Word that so appeared in the Temple according to the sense of the ancient Jewish Church has been proved so fully out of their Targums elswhere that we need not trouble our selves about that any farther though we cannot find it in the Targum on this Book In the Books of Chronicles there is nothing remarkable of this kind but what has been considered already in the account that we have given of the Divine Appearances in the Books of Kings And there is no mention of any such Appearance in any of the other Books that were written after the Babylonian Captivity except on the Books of Daniel and Zechariah Of Daniel the Jews have not given us any Targum therefore we have nothing to say of that Book They have given us a Targum such as it is of the Book of Zechariah which is the last we have to consider In this Book of Zechariah we read of three Angels that appeared to the Prophet The first appeared to him as a Man i. 8 -10. But is called an Angel v. 9. In Zechary's words The Angel that talked with me By which Title he is often distinguisht from all others in the same Book i. 13 14 19. ii 3. v. 5 6. vi 4. A second Angel appeared to him also as a Man with a Measuring Line in his hand ii 1. But whosoever compares this Text with Ezek. xl 3 4 5 c. will find that this who appeared as a Man was truly an Angel of God Next the first Angel going forth from the place where he appeared ii 3. Another Angel comes to meet him and bids him Run speak to this young man whether to the Angel Surveyor or whether to Zechary himself and tell him Jerusalem shall be inhabited c. ii 4. He that commands another should be his Superior And yet this Superior owns himself sent from God But he own'd it in such terms as shew'd that he was God himself This the Reader will see more than once in his speech which is continued from v. 4. to the end of the Chapter It appears especially in v. 8 9 11. of this Chapter First in v. 5. having declared what God would do for Jerusalem in these words according to the Targum The Lord hath said my Word shall be a wall of fire about her and my Glory will I place in the midst of her He goes on to v. 8. and there he delivers a Message from God to his People in these words Thus saith the Lord of Hosts After the Glory * After the Glory of his Shekinah being returned into the Temple when that was rebuilt they should soon after see Babylon it self taken and spotled by their ancient Servants the Persians hath he sent me to the Nations that spoiled you c. Here the sense is ambiguous for it seems strange that the Lord of Hosts should say another hath sent me But so it is again and much clearer exprest in v. 9. where he saith Behold I will shake my hand upon them and they shall be a spoil to their Servants This none but God could say But he addeth in the next words And ye shall know that the Lord of Hosts hath sent me which words plainly shew that though he stiled himself God yet he came as a Messenger from God This is plainer yet v. 11. where he saith Many Nations shall be joyned to the Lord in that day and shall be my people and I will dwell in the midst of thee Thee Thou Thee are all Feminines in the Hebrew and therefore all three refer to Zion Thee Oh Zion v. 10. This again none but God could say And yet it followeth Thou Oh Zion shalt know that the Lord of Hosts hath sent
all Evils that might happen and that he esteems this to be no less a benefit than Sustenance or Cloathing which he mentions in the second place Here is no Angel spoken of here and since the redeeming Angel is to be expounded from this place he cannot be a created Angel for here is no other spoken of but the Lord. 4. By fancying him a created Angel who delivered Jacob from all Evil they make Jacob to be a mere Idolater as ascribing that to a Creature which belongs only to the Lord of the Creation The Scripture appropriates to God the Title of Redeemer 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 nor do godly Men ever say of a Creature that it delivers them from all Evil. David I am sure never does but when he speaks of the Tribulations of the Righteous he adds but the Lord delivers him out of all Ps xxxiv 20. And Jacob on another occasion directs his Prayer to the Lord that appeared to him at Luz saying Save me from the hand of my brother Esau for I fear him much Gen. xxxii 9 10 11. 5. God as I said has so appropriated the Name of Redeemer to himself that Jacob could not without Sacriledge communicate this Title to any Creature though never so excellent We cannot be ignorant that David makes this the proper Name of God Psal xix 14. as does Isaiah Chap. xliii 14. xlvii 4. And this Jonathan confesses on Isa lxiii 16. in these words Thou art our redeemer thy name is from everlasting i. e. this is the Name that was designed for God from the beginning which yet can't hold true if in this place Gen. xlviii 16. it be ascribed by Jacob to a created Angel 6. It appears plainly from Gen. xlix that Jacob neither desired nor expected any Blessing from a created Angel but only from God Thus he prays c. The God of thy Father shall be thy helper and the Almighty shall bless thee with the Blessings of Heaven above c. Not a word of a mere Angel that redeemed him from all Evil so far was the Patriarch in his former Blessing from begging of an Angel the Multiplication of his Seed which was the only thing which he could now expect of God as the Jews own Bechai Praef. in Pent. f. 1. c. 1. 7. The same Conclusion may be drawn from the very Order of Jacob's Prayer Had Jacob intended a created Angel by him whom he names in the last place as a Redeemer from Evil and whose Intercession with God he bespeaks in behalf of his Children would he not have prayed to the Angel in the first place It is most rational so to do He that wants the Interest of a great Man to introduce him to the King he does not in the first place direct his Petition to the King immediately but first to the great Man and afterwards by him to the King Let the Papists therefore look to the Absurdity of their proceeding while they first pray to God and then to Saints and Angels Let those Jews who are of the mind of Isaac Abarbanel and Franco Serrano in his Spanish Notes on this place and stickle for Angel-worship see how they can clear themselves of this difficulty as well as reconcile themselves with those ancienter Jews who abhor this sort of Idolatry Maim Per. Misna ad tit Sanh c. xi SECT IV. How firm these Reasons are to shew the Angel here spoken of to be an uncreated and not a created Angel is I hope evident to every one Something however of great importance may be still added to illustrate this weighty Argument and that is the Judgment of the Ancient Synagogue The most ancient Jewish Writers and they that received the Traditionary Doctrine from them though mortal Enemies of the Christian Religion yet agree with the Christians in the Sense of this Text. For God be thanked such Truths were not renounced all at once by these Enemies of our Faith but they began to dissemble them by degrees as they found them turning against them in their Disputes with the Christians To begin with the Writings of the Jews before Christ we find it is God the Word ver 12. who is described as he that delivers from all Evil in the Book of Wisd xvi 8. no doubt with respect to this place where he takes the Angel that delivered Jacob from all Evil to be God The same Doctrine is to be met with in Philo the Jew that lived before Christ and in Christ's time He * Allegor ii p. 71. D. expresly affirms of the Angel that delivered Jacob from all Evil that he was the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 And so does Onkelos in his Chaldee Paraphrase translating the Words of Jacob simply as they lie in the Text without any Addition Jonathan indeed seems to be of another mind in his Paraphrase that runs thus God before whom my Fathers Abraham and Isaac worshipped the Lord that fed me from the time I began to be till this day may be pleas'd that the Angel may bless the Lads whom thou hast ordained to deliver me from all Evil. Here he distinguishes the Angel from God but that he did not mean a Creature by this Angel is clear for that in other places he translates this Angel by the Word or 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and especially in that remarkable place where the same Angel is treated of Isaiah lxiii 8 9 10. he saith it was the Word that redeemed Israel out of all their Afflictions Let us pass to the Jews after Christ's time and shew that they did not immediately renounce the Doctrine of their Forefathers The Author of the Book Zohar in Par. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 fol. 123. hath these words which he repeats often afterwards 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 come see the Angel that redeemed me is the Shekinah that went along with him This is sufficiently intimated by the ancient Author Tanchuma in his Book Jelammedenu who notes on Exod. xxxiii that the Jews would not have a created Angel go before them but God himself in these words Moses answered I will not have an Angel but thy own self Now the Jewish Commentators on this place of Exod. xxxiii explain of the Shekinah the words thy own self and always distinguish the Shekinah from all created Beings R. Salomon in his Notes on this Text has these words The Angel that delivered me i. e. the Angel who was wont to be sent to me in my affliction as it is said Gen. xxxi 11 13. And the Angel of God spake to me in a dream saying Jacob I am the God of Bethel c. The Note of R. Moses Ben Nachman on this Text Gen. xlviii 16. is very remarkable The Redeeming Angel saith he is he that answered him in the time of his affliction and who said to him I am the God of Bethel c. he of whom it is said that my name is in him The like he has on Exod. iii. where the appearance in the Bush
in the Old Testament and to shew who they are I need not prove it of the Father since it will not be denied that he is called God by them that will deny it of any other But I shall shew that sometimes the Son is called so whether by that name of the Son or of the Word or some other name without mention of the Spirit Next I shall shew that the Spirit is spoken of as God even he is mentioned without the Son And lastly That the Father the Son and the Spirit are all Three mentioned as God and all Three spoken of together in some Texts of the Old Testament Scriptures To keep to this order I am first to shew that there is some kind of Intimation of a Trinity in places where God is spoken of in these Scriptures I shall name but two or three Texts of many for I call it but an Intimation and it may amount to thus much that we find the Name of God repeated three times over for it was certainly no vain Repetition Thus in the Blessing of Israel Numb vi 24 25 26. The Lord bless thee and keep thee The Lord make his face shine upon thee and be gracious unto thee The Lord lift up his countenance upon thee and give thee peace So Isa xxxiii 22. The Lord is our judge the Lord is our lawgiver the Lord is our king he will save us So Dan. ix 19. O Lord hear O Lord forgive O Lord hearken and do defer not for thy own sake O God The like Intimation we find in those words of the Prophet Isaiah which do both shew a Plurality in the Divine Nature and restrain it to a Trinity Isa vi 3. The Prophet heard the Seraphims cry one to another Holy Holy Holy Lord God of hosts These are Titles which taken together can belong to no one but God and the Repetition of them shews something in it which cannot but seem Mysterious especially to any one that considers those other words of God speaking in the same Chapter ver 8. Who will go for us words which clearly note a Plurality of Persons as also in Hos xii 4 5. and in some other places To shew who these are we must consider those places of the Old Testament where the Son and the Holy Spirit are distinctly spoken of as several Persons The Son is expresly spoken of by David who himself was a Type of the Messias and is so acknowledged by the Jews Psal ii 7. The Lord said unto me Thou art my Son this day have I begotten thee That the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 who as has been already proved is called Wisdom according to the Jewish Notions is the Son of God by Eternal Generation himself sheweth Prov. viii 23 24. The Lord possessed me in the beginning of his way before his works of old I was set up from everlasting from the beginning or ever the Earth was when there were no depths I was brought forth So in Prov. xxx 4. Who hath established all the ends of the earth What is his name or what is his Son's name The Son can be understood of no other than of that Eternal Wisdom that assisted in the Creation as was before mentioned Elsewhere the Son or the Word is spoken of according to the Jewish Expositions of such Texts where he is not named and yet he is called God and Lord as Psal xlv 7. O God thy God hath anointed thee And Psal cx 1. The Lord said unto my Lord Sit thou on my right hand till I make thy enemies thy footstool It was the same Son who appeared oftentimes under the Character of the Angel of the Lord though he was not a Created Angel but the Lord Jehovah himself This I only mention here being to treat of it largely in some of the following Chapters That the Spirit is spoken of as a Person in Scripture none can be ignorant of that reads but the beginning of Genesis where in the 2d Verse he is named the Spirit of God and said to have his part in the Work of the Creation The Jews could not make this Spirit to be an Angel because they all agree the Angels were not yet created when the Spirit moved upon the face of the Waters Nor was the Spirit of God a mighty Wind as some render it in that place for as yet there was no Air much less Exhalations till this Work was past But that Moses meant a Person sufficiently appears by that which followeth Gen. vi 3. Where God saith My Spirit shall not alway strive with man It was the Holy Spirit of God that inspired the holy Patriarchs to give those Admonitions and Warnings to the wicked World of Mankind before the Flood by which he strove to bring them to Repentance It was the same Divine Spirit whose Operations the Israelites were sensible of in his inspiring the Seventy Elders Numb xi 25 26. The Psalmist no doubt thought of those words of Moses in the beginning of Genesis when he said in speaking of the Works of the Creation Psal xxxiii 6. All the hosts of them were made by the Spirit of his mouth and this Spirit he sensibly knew to be a Person for thus he saith of himself 2 Sam. xxiii 2 3. The Spirit of the Lord spake by me and his Word was in my tongue Lastly In some places of the Old Testament there are plainly Three Persons spoken of together and especially in the beginning of Genesis where it ought to be remembred that the word Elohim Gods does naturally import a Plurality R. Bechai in Gen. chap. i. 1. and others quoted in the former Chapter Now there can be no Plural of less than Two in number and therefore at least God the Father and the Word are to be understood in the first Verse the second Verse adds the Spirit of God as it has been just now mentioned And it is very natural to think that God spake to these Two the Word and the Spirit in Verse 26. of that Chapter when he said Let Us make man after Our Image as also afterward Gen. iii. 22. Behold the man is become as one of Us And again speaking of the Builders of Babel Gen. ix 7. Let Us go down and confound their Language This must be to Two at least for had he spoke to One only he would have said in the Singular Number Come thou and let us confound their language The manner of speaking plainly imports a Plurality and they could be no other than those Three which were spoken of in the first Chapter As Moses brings in these Three Persons into his History of the first Creation so does the Evangelical Prophet in speaking of the Mission of Christ Isa xi 1 2 c. The Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him i. e. upon the Messias according to the received Opinion of the Jews Isa xlviii 16. The Lord hath sent Me and his Spirit Again Isa lix 19 20 21. When the enemy shall
me to Thee Oh Zion Here are plainly two Persons called by the name of Jehovah namely one that sends and another that is sent So that this second Person is God and yet he is also the Messenger of God So likewise in the next Chapter v. 1. the Angel that used to talk with the Prophet shewed him Joshua the High Priest standing before the Angel of the Lord and Satan standing over against Joshua as his Adversary And v. 2. the Prophet hears the Lord say unto Satan twice over The Lord rebuke thee for being so maliciously bent against Joshua that was come out of the Captivity as a brand pluckt out of the fire He that was called the Angel v. 1. is here called the Lord v. 2. and this Lord intercedes with the Lord for his Protection of Joshua against Satan That which gave the Devil advantage against Joshua was his Sins which as the Targum saith were the Marriages of his Sons to strange Wives His Sins whatsoever they were are here called filthy Garments and Joshua standing in these before the Angel v. 3 4. The Angel commands them that stood about him saying take away the filthy garments from him Here again by commanding the Angels he sheweth himself their Superior Afterward when the filthy Cloaths were taken off this Angel saith to Joshua Behold I have caused thy Iniquity to pass from thee words that if one Man had said to another the Jews would have accounted Blasphemy Mat. ix 2 3. For who say they can forgive Sins but God only But here was one that exercised that Authority over the High Priest himself This could be no other than he that was called of God a Priest for ever after the order of Melchizedek Psal cx 4. of whom the Jewish High Priest even Joshua himself was but a figure But he goes farther adding I will cloth thee with change of raiment that is according to the Targum I will cloth thee with righteousness ver 5. And he * 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 And he said Jon. Targ. said again commanding the Angels Let them set a fair Miter on his head and they did so and clothed him with Garments and the Angel of the Lord stood by Here again he is called an Angel at last as he was at first ii 3. It is an Angel's Office to be the Messenger of God and so he often owned himself to be in saying The Lord sent me And yet this Messenger of God commands the Angels ii 4. iii. 4 5. and himself stands by to see them do his commands v. 5. This Angel calleth Israel his People and saith he will dwell among them ii 10 11. He takes upon him to protect his People v. 5. and to avenge them on their enemies v. 10. He intercedes with God iii. 2. He forgives sin and confers Righteousness iii. 4. If all these things cannot be truly said of one and the same Person then here are two Chapters together that are each of them half Nonsense and there is no way to reconcile them with sense but by putting some kind of force upon the Text whether by changing the words Socin in Wiek 1. ii p. 565. or by putting in other words as Socinus honestly confesseth he has done in his Interpretation And he saith they must do it that will make sense of the words It is certain they must do so that will interpret the words as he would have it But he and his followers bring this necessity upon themselves They that will set up new Opinions must defend them with new Scriptures For our parts we change nothing in the words and in our way of understanding them we follow the Judgment of the ancient Jewish Church that makes all these things perfectly agree to the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 This we see in Philo who often calleth the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 * De Somn. p. 466. B. Eus praep vii 15. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Philo L. 1. Quaest Sol. as Philo calls the Father 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 De migr Abr. p. 416. B. 418. C. Quis rer Divin haeres B. p. 397. G. De Somn. p. 457. B. Quod Deus sit immut p. 249. B. Quis rer Divin haer p. 397. G. God and yet as often calleth him an †De Somn. p. 463. F. De Prof. p. 364. B. Angel the Messenger of God and ‖ our High-Priest and * De profug 466. B. De Somniis p. 594. E. Quis rer Divin p. 397. G. Vit. Mos iii. p. 521. B. our Mediator with God The same hath been shewed of the Word elswhere out of the Targums And here in this Targum though no doubt it hath been carefully purged yet by some oversight it is said ii 5. That the Word shall be a wall of fire about Jerusalem And if the Modern Jews had not changed the third Person into the first it would have followed that his Shekinah should be in the midst of her as himself saith afterward v. 10 11. He would dwell in the midst of her meaning in the Temple where the Word of God had his dwelling-place always before its destruction as has been abundantly shewn in this Chapter and as we shewed from Ezekiel it was promised he should dwell there again after its Restauration CHAP. XVI That the Ancient Jews did often use the Notion of the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or Word in speaking of the Messias I Hope what I have said upon the Appearances of the Word in the Old Testament proves beyond exception that the Word which is spoken of in the ancient Books of the Jews is a Person and a Divine one From thence it is natural to conclude that St. John and the other Holy Writers of the New Testament who made use of the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 could not rationally give to that word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 any other Idea than that which was commonly received in the Jewish Nation Nothing more can be required from me than to refute fully the Unitarians who pretend that the Word signifies no more than an Attribute or the eternal vertue of God and who to confirm this assertion of theirs observe that in the Targums the term 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is never employed when they speak of the Messias The Socinian Author who wrote against Wecknerus insists very much upon this observation Let us therefore examine how true that is which he affirms and supposing it true how rational the consequence is which he draws from thence in opposition to it I lay down these three Propositions which I shall consider in as many Chapters The first is that in several places of the Ancient Jewish Authors the Memra or the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is put for the Messias And so that it is certain that St. John hath followed the Language of the Jews before Jesus Christ in taking the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 for a Divine Person that in the fulness of time as it was foretold