name/' /. e. thy character, " will put their trust in thee^" Consider then the character of Jehovah,
1. As described by himself —
[God, in infinite condescension, was pleased to make himself known to Moses, and by an audible voice to " proclaim his name^:" " The Lord j)assed by and proclaimed. The Lord, the Lord God, merciful and gracious, long-suffering, and abun- dant in goodness and truth; keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity, transgression, and sin, and that will by no means clear the guilty '^." Now we would ask the trembling sin- ner, What character he would wish Jehovah to bear ? Would he wish God in no instance to testify his displeasure against sin, but to treat all men alike, putting no difference between " the guilty" who are going on in all manner of wickedness, and the penitent, who are turning from all iniquity? No: there is not a penitent in the universe that would wish God to act in a way so unworthy of his Divine Majesty. But if he desire to be assured of mercy to returning penitents, it is not possible that any words he could devise could more richly portray this attribute, than those which God himself has used.
Consider them distinctly and separately, and see how
constantly they have been verified towards you hitherto, and how abundantly they contain all that you can desire.]
2. As revealed to us in Christ Jesus —
[The Lord Jesus Christ is " Emmanuel, God mth us ;" and he is particularly called, " The image of the invisible God." because in him the whole character of the Deity is made, as it were, visible to mortal men. He is " the brightness of his Father's glory, and the express image of his person ;" and his whole character is marked in the name given him before he was conceived in the womb'^. The name " Jesus" is the same with Joshua, or " Jehoshua," that is, Jah Hosea, Divine Sa- viour. What a glorious and comprehensive name is this ! All that he has done and suffered for us, and all that he has pro- mised to us, is contained in it ; together with his perfect suffi- ciency for all that he has undertaken to effect. The trembling sinner finds in the very name of Jesus a pledge of all that he wants. Besides, whilst we contemplate him in the whole of his work and offices, we are expressly authorized to apply to ourselves the benefit of them all, and to call him, " The Lord our Righteousness^." Follow this idea in all its bearings, and what unsearchable mysteries of love and mercy will it unfold to our view !]
a Ps. ix. 10. ^ Exod. xxxiv. 5. « Exod. xxxiv. 6, 7.
«i Matt. i. 21,23. « Jer. xxiii. 6.