Isai. xlv. 23 — 25. I have sworn by myself, the word is gone out of my mouth in righteousness, and shall not return, That unto me every knee shall boiv, every tongue shall swear. Surely, shall one say, In the Lord have I righteousness and strength: even to him shall men come; and all that are in- censed against him shall be ashamed. In the Lord shall all the seed of Israel be justified, and shall glory.
TO those who know the infinite importance of the doctrine of the divinity of Christ, it is delightful to see the irresistible evidence of it in the Old Testament as well as in the New. Who is it that in the two preceding verses says, " I am the Lord, I am God, a just God and a Saviour; there is no God else beside me, there is none beside me, there is none else?" Is this a creature? Who is this that, in the text, pre- sumes to swear by himself ; that arrogates to himself universal dominion; and that so frequently appro- priates to himself the incommunicable name, Jehovah? Is this a creature ? Who is it that can fulfil the pro- mises here made to his friends, or execute the judg- ments here denounced against his enemies ? Is he a mere creature ? No person that is not blinded by prejudice, or warped by controversy, can doubt one moment, but that it is the supreme God, who is speaking throughout the whole passage : yet this very passage does St. Paul expressly apply to Christ, affirm- ing that it was a prediction of his final victory, and of the appearance of the whole human race at his tribunal3.
For the further elucidation of these solemn words we shall consider,
I. The subject-matter of the oath —
To comprehend this aright, we should notice parti- cularly those very opposite circumstances which were appointed to take place, before the predictions in the text were to receive their accomplishment. Christ
a Rom. xiv. 10, 11.