Jahweh's host,' who is also called Jahweh (Jos 5»'- 6=); 'His Holy Spirit' (Is 63™-); see also the thrice repeated name (Nu 6"=''), and the Tersanctus (Is 6').* According to the reports of His teaching as contained in the Gospel records, our Lord expressly formulated the truth of the unity of God, but never that of the Holy Trinity ; and yet the latter pervades the whole record. ' In the gradual process of intercourse with Him, His disciples came to recognize Father, Son, and Holy Spirit as included in their deepening and enlarging thought of God.' But the truth is definitely implied in the discourses in the Upper Room (Jn 14-17), and in the baptismal formula (Mt 28"). See Gore's Bampton Lectures, pp. 134 ft. ; Illing- worth's do. pp. 67 if. ; Gibson, The Thirty-nine Artieles, vol. i. pp. 93-101.
(b) Covenant. — The monolatry which preceded nionotheism was calculated to give birth to the idea that between Jahweh and His jieople there was a close and mutual agreement. If He was exclusively their God and Protector, they were bound to do Him service. It is not easy to say at what period the conception arose. But tlie earlier prophets, though they do not expressly mention a covenant — except Hosea (6' doubtful, 8') — all teach the truth that Jahweh requires moral, ethical service from His people. And in the JE compilations of the national traditions the covenant relationship with God is firmly established in the religious thought of Israel. The covenant with Abraham (Gn 15) is the starting-point. Tlie covenant at Sinai (Ex 24'"" 34i"-=8) opens the second stage of the history. D has yet another covenant, based on the contents of the Deut. law, and made on the borders of Moab (Dt 29 '■ "• '-■ "• -' ; cf. 26'8-i9, 2 K 23=- -'■). But when Israel was carried into Babylon, the Old Covenant was in reality at an end ; they had broken it by their sins. Jeremiah, therefore, speaks of a New Covenant (31'"'-), for- giveness of sins, righteousness, peace and joy. It had been foreshadowed in the life story of Hosea, and was to be the fulfilment of the dreams and longings of all the prophets. ' In tlie visions of the new covenant the OT becomes Christian.' And the thought is the inspiration of Ezekiel and of Deutero-Isaiah. But there were two other crises in Israel's history where the idea of a covenant is prominent. God gave a covenant, i.e. a promise, to Levi of a perpetual priesthood in the tribe (Dt 33', Jer 33i8- -"•, Mai 2'»-«), and to David of a per- petual lineage on the throne (2 S 7. 23*, Ps89'-''"-, Jer 33"- -"■). Thus there were several factors which went to make up the fulness of the Christian cove- nant. In the Gospels, with the exception of Lk 1'-, where the Abrahamic covenant is referred to, the only occurrence of the word is at the Last Supper (Mt 26^ II Mk W\ Lk 222") ; our Lord uses Jeremiah's term, ' the new covenant,' but at the same time the words ' This is my blood ' refer to the covenant at Sinai (Ex 24-''). This application of the word to the results of His own Person and work served as a starting-point for the fuller working out of the thought by the Apostolic writers. The analogy of the Abrahamic covenant is drawn out chiefly by St. Paul (Ro 4, Gal 3), while the Ep. to the Hebrews deals with the kingship (ch. 1 ; cf. Mt 22-'-'), the priesthood (7-10), and, closely connected with tlie latter, the spiritual covenant of the forgiveness of sins (10""").
(r) Law. — A study of the passages in the Gospels which speak of the "Mosaic Law sliows in a striking manner the relation of Christ's teaching to the religion of Israel. On the one hand, He recognized the Divine authority of the Law, in its true mean- infj and spirit, and not as interpreted and em-
* On the use of the indefinite plural ' they,' eee Taylor on PirlieAboth,i\.i.
ISEAEL, ISRAELITE
ISRAEL, ISRAELITE
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bodied in the ' deformed righteousness ' of the scribes and IMuirisees (Mt 5"-=" 12^ 19"23», Lk 16"). But, on the other hand, in order to ' fulKl ' (w\-qpCi- aai) the Law He was obliged to take a negative or critical attitvide. 'The Law and the Prophets,' as a dispensation, have had tlieir day, and liave given place to ' the kingdom of heaven ' (Mt II'-'- || Lk 16"*), and to ' grace and truth' (Jn 1" ; and see Mt 9" II Mk 2="-, Lk 5^'). Even the Law and the Prophets meant something deeper than they had hitherto been understood to mean (Mt 7'^ 22"*"'") ; and this deeper meaning is contained in a ' new commandment' which Jesus gives to the disciples (Jn 13**). The Law had generally been considered as a compendium of positive commands bearing on the details of life ; but the only parts of it that mattered were 'the weightier things,' judgment, mercy and faith (Mt 23^3 y lj. u4a)_ other criti- cisms of the Law are found in Mt 5"'"*' 19"* (divorce) 12'-'=, Lk 13'»-" 14'-6, Jn 5»-" 9 (Sabbath). Our Lord took care to avoid causing ott'ence (Mt 18'"'), though showing at the same time that He was raised above bondage to purely ritual and non- ethical enactments : e.g. in the payment of the Temple tax (Mt 17"*"^) ; in toiichiiif! the leper, but at the same time telling him to oiler the requisite sacrifices (Mt 8'"^). The one decisive breach that He made with Jewish legalism was in dealing with the distinction between clean and unclean foods, and with ceremonial washings (Mt 15'"-", Mk 7'"°^ [note KV of v. '"], Lk 10' IP'"*').