130 THE CHRISTIAN DOCTRINE OF TNT TRINITY. him that dwelt in the bush ;" neut. xxxiii. 16. Mere I shall take ,oecasion to enlarge a little on these appearances of Christ to the patriarchs.. Christ Jesus is that God who called to Abraham 'and bid him offer up his son ; Gen. xxii. 1, &c. for he iscalled the angel of the Lord, verse I1. when he " called to him out of heaven, and said--Now I `uow that thou fearest God; seeing thou hast nob withheld thy Son, thy only Son from me," that is, frein that God who commanded him to be offered up: This was the angel of the covenant, and yet the God of Abraham. " The ;angel which redeemed Jacob from all evil, is the God before whom his fathers Abraham and Isaac did walk, and the God which fed him all his life long ;" Gen, xlviii. 15, 16. And it is universally agreed by the ancient and modern wri- ters, that this angel . was the same who appeared to Abraham, when" theword of the Lord came to him in a vision :" Gen. xv. 1, 2. This was the Lord who appeared to him ; Gen. xvii. I. " And said, I am the Almighty God." This is one of those " three men who appeared to Abraham; Gen. xviii. 1, 2. who is called Jehovah," verse 13, 14, &e. " This was the manwho wrestled with Jacob ;" Gen. xx4ii. 24. who is called God ; ver- ses 28, 30. who is styled the angel of God, the angel of the Lord, and the Lord, or Jehovah, promiscuously, in his appear- ance to Gideon ; Judg. vi. 12, 14, 16, 20, 21; 22, 23. The Captain of the Lord's host, appearing to Joshua, who is called the Lord, or Jehovah; Josh. v. 14, 15. compared with vi. 2. who is also the angel of God's presence ; Isai. hill. 9. " The angel or messenger of the covenant ;" Mal. iii. J. and " the angel in whom is the name of God ;" Exod. xxiii. 20, 21. or in whom godheaddwells ; that is, the Messiah, or our Lord Jesus Christ, who appeared often to the patriarchs in a visible shape, as aprelude or token of his future incarnation. Nor did he favour the patriarchs only with such a visit, but the prophets wereblessedwith it too. 'Isai. vi. is a plain instance of it, as we have shewn before, where Isaiah saw Christ in great magnificenceand glory. Ezekiel had the same favour also, and that frequently ;. Ezek. i. 26. " And above the firmament that was over the heads of the living creatures was the likeness of'a throne and the likeness as the appearance of aman above upon it." Verse 28. " This was the appearanceof the likeness of the glory of the Lord, or Jehovah ; and when I saw it, I fell onmy face, and .I heard a voice of one that spake." Chap. iii 23. He enjoyed the same vision. And chap. viii. 1, 2, 3, 4. He was favoured with it again, and " the glory of the God of Israel was there." Chap. x. 15, 19, 20. The same again. And xi. 22. Amos also saw God in the form of a man or angel; Amosvii. 7. for " he stood upon a wall with a plumb-line in his hand," and talked with hilt. And chap. ix. 1. He stood on tlié
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