say to the children of Israel when they asked him the name of Him who had sent Him? "And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM hath sent me unto you." The meaning here was, I AM THE BEING. Or, the future, I WILL BE WHAT I SHALL BE. And thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I SHALL BE hath sent me unto you. Or, we may put it in our own words, and read it thus, I am the God of the covenant, and I am now the Being who shall be, and the Being who shall be is to you now all that He ever can be. "Before Abraham was, I AM. Then took they up stones to cast at him" (John viii. 58). God is not only existing, and self-existing, but existence, present, future, and past in one. GOD, an abstract Being. JEHOVAH, a JEHOVAH, a complex Being; and a relative Being; not only the Creator of the creature, but the Father of his children. And thus it was He went on to recal that ineffable name to Moses, and to institute it a memorial name; and this no doubt from it having been partly lost sight of during the bondage in Egypt. I shall show later how it was also partly lost sight of during the captivity of seventy years in Babylon.

"God said moreover unto Moses, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, The JEHOVAH GOD of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, hath sent me unto you: this is my name for ever, and this is my memorial unto all generations." Here, then, is the name, not only authenticated throughout the New Testament history, but as a memorial name "to all generations." So it

remained to the Jews, and so it remains to the Christian, because all it portended is not yet fulfilled.

David said, "Sing unto the JEHOVAH, O ye saints of his, and give thanks at the memorial of his holiness" (Ps. xxx. 4). This was written in reference to the JEHOVAH as "The Holy One." "The JEHOVAH our Righteousness." Of the Being who was too holy to receive sinners, but who by his own work canreceive them. The Psalmist arrived at the full knowledge of how God can be merciful, although holy, and angry for sin. And having grasped the why and the wherefore, he wrote Psalm cxxxvi.

66

Rejoice in the JEHOVAH ye righteous; and give thanks at the memorial of his holiness (xcvii. 12).

"Thy name, O JEHOVAH, endureth for ever; and thy memorial, O JEHOVAH, throughout all generations" (cxxxv. 13).

And the prophet Hosea referring to the meeting of JEHOVAH with Jacob at Peniel, and at Bethel, wrote, "He found Him in Bethel, and there he spake with us; even the JEHOVAH GOD of hosts; the JEHOVAH is his memorial" (xii. 5). Here is the great august name as a memorial name; it was not to be forgotten, not to fall into disuse; but all its meaning as far as it could be conveyed to mortals, was to be kept in remembrance, laid hold of by the soul as containing eternal truth; the augur and guarantee of all good was to be rejoiced in, pleaded, and to be maintained to the end of life, to the end of time. And this justifies me in substituting the name throughout Revelation instead of the

name LORD as in our translation, as the mind of the Spirit.

I need therefore here only add, that it is the dispensational name of our economy; it was the seal of "the mystery of God," of the covenant of grace; the seal loosed from the beginning (Gen. ii. 4, iii. 3-15; Rev. vi. 1-2). It is a theocratic name, the JEHOVAH is the presiding Ruler, Potentate, Deity throughout sacred history, throughout time (xix. 16). It is a legislative name; He is the judge (xx. 15; Matt. xxv. 31–34). It is a theoretic name, for it constitutes Revelation a perfect whole, a perfect science. It was the triune name, for the work of the Three Persons of the Holy Trinity is included in it; the work of God the Holy Ghost to the time of the final restoration of all things (John i. 1; Rev. xxi. 5-6). The name is the seal and the signature of the Holy Trinity, of the One Eternal God. It is the sign-manual of "The King of Kings" (1 Tim. vi. 15). The prefix and the affix of every document, of every word of command issued from His throne (Exod. xxv. 1-22). The Messiah, or the promise of the gift of the Son of God was contained in it, He was "the Substance" of the covenant (Isa. vi. 13). The new, or the Gentile name Christ, was included in it, as explained by St. Paul, "Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to-day, and for ever" (Heb. xiii. 8). To the Jews it was a national name, now it is a universal name. The risen and ascended God was included in it. "I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the JEHOVAH, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty." The gift of the

Spirit was included in the great name (Luke xxiv. 49; Joel ii. 27, 28). JEHOVAH was, and is a relative name, it reveals the restored relationship between the Creator and the creature; between the Father and the child. "I ascend to my Father, and your Father." The God in Christ reconciling the world unto Himself, bore the restored paternal name, "the everlasting Father." "All the promises of God in him are yea, and in him Amen." The resurrection and eternal glory are included in the name (Hos. xiii. 4-14). Thus we have seen the great name, the prefix upon the first page of human history, and the affix upon the last sentence of the sacred volume. "The words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.” "The Word

that liveth."

All I now purpose is, a simple reading of the Scriptures, substituting the name JEHOVAH for Lord, as in our version; begging my reader to carry along with him the infinite, inexhaustible, and almighty meaning of the name as we proceed; still remembering that we have scarcely approached its heights, and depths, and lengths, and breadths.

The fact of the Divine Presence ever with the true Church will be manifest to all. We shall see the JEHOVAH GOD with her from the beginning of the world to the end; throughout the page of sacred history, down to the end of the prophetic vista. "God with us." "Lo I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world." Ours is the Jehovistic dispensation; and we should prize its fleeting hours; work while it is day, for the night cometh in which no man can work. "God

with us." With us, "The way, the truth, the light, and the life." With us, eternal mediation, that believers should never be condemned, and given up to justice. With us, made unto us, Wisdom, Righteousness, Sanctification, and Redemption. With us, a regenerating, ever-quickening Spirit. With us, a Guide, Protector, Upholder, Deliverer, Saviour, Friend. With us, the Creator of, and sustainer of the spiritual life. With us, Husband, Brother, Sister, Father, Mother. not leave you orphans. God with us." Such a realizing sense as this of the Divine Presence, is a certain safeguard against sin and wrong. It may make us severe against them. The Gospel is the only practical thing in the world; and thus Christianity should be bold to assert herself.

"I will

Christ said, "I am not alone, because the Father is with me." And St. Paul, "No man stood with me, but all men forsook me. . . . Notwithstanding the JEHOVAH stood with me, and strengthened me" (2 Tim. iv. 16). And in the Acts xxiii. 11 we read, The JEHOVAH stood by him and said, "Be of good cheer, Paul." When Jacob awoke from his dream of a ladder set upon the earth, and the JEHOVAH GOD above it, he exclaimed, "The JEHOVAH is in this place. This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven."

Then let us thank God for the Bible in our homes; for the possession of it as He has vouchsafed to us. That we can meet Him in it wherever we are, ask counsel of Him there, "Enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus," and worship him there. "This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven." With