f the
honour be ascribed to Him, He must be a partaker of a divine nature.

Jesus not at all indistinctly designates Himself as the Captain of the
Lord's host spoken of in our passage, in Matt. xxvi. 53: [Greek: E
dokeis hoti ou dunamai arti parakalesai ton patera mou, kai parastesei
moi pleious e dodeka legeonas angelon]; This passage alone would be
sufficient to refute the view which conceives of the Angel of the Lord
as a mere emanation and messenger. It also overthrows the opinion that
he is an inferior angel, inasmuch as the Angel of the Lord here appears
as raised above all inferior angels.

Thus there existed, even in the time of Moses, the most important
foundation for the doctrine concerning Christ. He who knows the general
relation which the Pentateuch bears to the later development of
doctrine, will, _a priori_, think it impossible that it should have
been otherwise; and, instead of neglecting these small beginnings,
appearing, as it were, in the shape of germs, he will cultivate them
with love and care.

It is only at a late period, in Malachi iii. 1, that the doctrine of
the Angel of the Lord is expressly brought into connection with that of
Christ. But a knowledge of the divine nature of the Messiah is found at
a much earlier period; and we can certainly not suppose that the
doctrine of the Angel of the Lord, and that of a truly divine Saviour,
should have existed by the side of each other, and yet that manifold
forebodings regarding their close obvious connection should not have
been awakened in the mind.

Footnote 1: _Seb. Schmid_ says: "I have now come with my heavenly host
to attack the Canaanites, and to help thee and thy people. Be thou of
good cheer; prepare thyself for war along with me, and I will now
explain to thee in what manner thou must carry it on;" vi. 2 ff.

THE PROMISE IN 2 SAMUEL, CHAP. VII.

The Messianic prophecy, as we have seen, began at a time long anterior
to that of David. Even in Genesis, we perceived [Pg 131] it, increasing
more and more in distinctness. There is at first only the general
promise that the seed of the woman should obtain the victory over the
kingdom of the evil one;--then, that the salvation should come through
the descendants of Shem;--then, from among them Abraham is marked
out,--of his sons, Isaac,--from among his sons, Jacob,--and from
among the twelve sons of Jacob, Judah is singled out as the bearer
of dominion, and m