Passing over many glimpses afforded of this mystery from time to time to patriarch and prophet, which will be perceived by a careful reader of the Old Testament, we notice next the vision of Isaiah recorded in the sixth chapter of his Book, where he saw "the Lord sitting upon His throne," and above it stood the Seraphim, which answered one another and said, "Holy, Holy, Holy, is the Lord of Hosts," corresponding with the vision of St. John in the Revelation more than eight centuries after, where the "four beasts" (Cherubim) rest not day and night, saying, "Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God Almighty, which was, and is, and is to come." So in the Te Deum, that grand hymn of praise for thirteen centuries used in the Western Church, whose origin is lost in the mist of ages, we sing, "To thee Cherubim and Seraphim continually do cry, Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God of Sabaoth." So also in the Ter Sanctus, or triumphal hymn of our Communion Service, we have virtually the same words and threefold repetition.

Hitherto we have considered those notices, shadowy and indistinct, vouchsafed in the old Dispensation of the existence of a Triune God, with no indications except in a general way of the nature and office of the Three Persons of the ever-blessed Trinity, as revealed to us later in the clearer light of the Gospel dispensation.

In the third chapter of St. Matthew we have the first glimpse into the fuller revelation of the nature

of the Holy Trinity. Our Saviour, the Eternal Son, being found upon earth in the likeness of man, had just received baptism at the hands of His servant, as the representative of fallen humanity, "fulfilling all righteousness" for those who have none. "And

lo, the heavens were opened unto Him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and lighting upon Him:" thus visibly, "in bodily form,” typifying the unseen action of the Third Person of the Trinity upon the hearts of those who have been "buried with Christ in baptism," that, receiving and being "led by the Spirit of God," they may be "the sons of God."

And lo, a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased." Our Lord alludes to this when He says to the unbelieving Jews, "The Father Himself, which hath sent me, hath borne witness of me." Borne witness

that He hath sent His Son to be the Saviour of the world, that whosoever believeth in Him shall receive remission of their sins and the gift of the Holy Ghost. "There are Three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost; and these Three are One."

Finally, "Go ye, therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them into the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost." Observe the Lord says the Name, not the names. We are baptized into the Name of the Father, into the Name of the Son, into the Name of the Holy Ghost; and yet it

is but one Name into which we have been baptized; one God into covenant with whom we have entered; one Lord in whose power we live our resurrection life; for "the Godhead of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost is all one; the glory, equal, the majesty co-eternal."

ARTICLE II. "Of the Word, or Son of God, which was made very Man."

This Article is virtually the same with that in the Forty-two Articles of 1552, with the exception of the clause "begotten from everlasting of the Father," &c., which was inserted in the Elizabethan revision.

The Article is taken mainly from the Augsburg Confession, which is as follows:-" The Word, that is, the Son of God, took man's nature in the womb of the blessed Virgin Mary, so that two natures, the Divine and human, were joined together in one person, never to be divided, (whereof is) one Christ, very God and very Man, born of the Virgin Mary, (who) truly suffered, was crucified, dead and buried, to reconcile His Father to us, and to be a sacrifice, not only for original guilt, but also for all actual sins of men."

The Incarnation, which this Article sets forth, is the doctrine next in order in the plan of salvation, shadowed forth by the later prophecies of the Old

Testament books, and with the declaration of which the New Testament opens.

"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same

was in the beginning with God."

So speaks St. John in his Gospel; and the Church replies, "I believe in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only-begotten Son of God; begotten of His Father before all worlds."

Now to the casual reader there appears a decided contradiction to these declarations in the second Psalm, where the Father says to His Eternal Son on the occasion of His rising from the dead, "Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten Thee." This psalın is always accepted as typifying our Saviour's Resurrection, not His birth into the world, and is appointed for one of the special Easter Morning Psalms. Whatever discrepancy may however appear, the fact remains that the Bible, being God's entire truth, cannot contradict itself, or deny in one passage any statement contained in another. It is therefore evident that these expressions are easily reconcilable.

The second Psalm, like the rest of the Psalter, was written by Hebrews for the use of the Israelites, and therefore contains references to customs and ceremonies which they observed and understood, but which are almost unintelligible without explanation to those living in other times and countries.

The Messiah is set forth in the second Psalm as the historical Christ in His human kingly dignity, not as the everlasting Son of the Father in the glory which He had before the world began.

The Jewish custom was that on the day of a monarch ascending the throne of David he was considered and spoken of as that day "begotten" of his ancestor David, and henceforth his son sitting on his throne; and this was typical of Him to whom the promise was made, and is even now being fulfilled, "I will give unto Him the throne of His father David, and of His kingdom there shall be no end." The reference here is therefore clearly made, not to the commencement of Christ's existence as the Son of God, but to the establishing of His kingdom upon earth as the Son of David, which took place when, having conquered sin, Satan, and death, He rose from the dead into dominion and glory, with the declaration, "All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.”

The wording of this Article is almost identical with that of the Athanasian Creed on this subject, of which more hereafter. It sets forth plainly and decidedly the Divine and human natures joined together in "one Christ." Only as Divine could He atone for sin; only as human could His atoning death benefit man. "For us men and for our salvation." This is the reason our Article gives for the Incarnation. "To reconcile His Father to us, and to be a sacrifice, not only for original guilt, but