THE GLORY ov CHRts1` as GOD -MAN. And whether Moses himself could have any other idea of this appearance but as God, the great and blessed God, dwelling or residing in, and acting and speaking by this angel ? Whether the mere idea of a creature, an angel sent as avicegerent or de- puty to speak in the name of God, could answer these sublime assertions of the sacred writer, and these divine characters so strongly assumedby the angel? And whether any unprejudiced reader could understand this to bethemere messenger of an ab- sent God, since there is no notice through all this narrative that lie was merely an angel sent from God, considered as absent, to carry a message to Moses, but rather many notices given both by the person appearing in the bush, and by the sacred historian, that God himself was there, or such an angel who was also the great and blessed God ? Exod. iv. 24. And it came to pass by the way in the inn, that the Lord met Moses, and sought to kill him, upon which Zipporah circumcised her son. This seems to be an apparition of the Lord Jehovah in the form of a man, something like God's wrestlingwith Jacob, and giving Moses a terrible reproof, be- cause he had neglected to make his son pass under that sacred rite of circumcision. Exod. vi. 2. And God spake unto Moses, and said unto him, I am the Lord ; and I appeared unto Abraham, unto Isaac, andunto Jacob, by the name of God Almighty, but by my name of Jehovahwas I not known to them. Can any thing more strongly express the ancient appearance of the true God himself to the patriarchs, who also appeared lately to Moses under a new name ? After this you have `a multitude of instances, wherein the Lord or Jehovah conversed freely with Moses upon every occa- sion ; whether under any visible appearance or figure, the scrip- ture does not acquaint us, except in the following instances : Exod. xiii. 2l. " And the Lord, or Jehovah, went before them by day in a pillar of a cloud to lead them in the way, and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light." Who in Exod. xiv. 19. is called the 0° angel of God which went before the camp of Israel; lie now removed and went behind them, andthe pillar ofthe cloud went from before their face, and stood behind them." And in verse 23. of this chapter, he is again called Jehovah : " It came to pass in the morning-watch, the Lord, that is, Je- hovah, looked unto the host of the Egyptians, through thepillar of fire and of the cloud." Exod. xvi. 9. Moses bid Aaron say to the people, GQ Come near before the Lord; and as Aaron spoke to the whole congre- gation, behold, the glory of the Lord appeared in the cloud; and the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, I have heard the murmur- ings of the children of Israel,and ye shall know that 1 am the Lord your God."
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