"… I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ" (Eph. 3:14).

The truth of God, and especially that part of it which has to do with the honor and dignity of our blessed Lord, cannot be too much insisted upon and guarded in these days of widespread departure from the truth and the principles that flow from it. Assuredly every true-hearted child of God desires their maintenance. It is with this in view that I desire to dwell upon the significance of the three great titles that belong to Him; and may the Holy Spirit guide us as we tread such holy ground, ever remembering that He is holy that inhabiteth eternity. With what reverence should we approach such a subject! He is the Holy One of God, whose "throne is forever and ever," the Lord of glory; hence we cannot be too clear upon such a momentous and sacred subject.

There is, alas, on the part of a great number of God's people, a growing carelessness and indifference as to our Lord's claims as to this; not, seemingly, realizing how deeply His honor and name are affected by it; and therefore no pains should be spared to make clear all that it involves. "Loose thy shoe from off thy foot; for the place whereon thou standest is holy. And Joshua did so " (Josh. 5:15).

We will therefore, first of all, consider His titles, and then their significance, allowing the word of God to interpret them for us. I am well aware that in handling 'such a subject as this-one that so closely concerns the whole glory of the incarnate God, the whole weight and dignity of His person- jealous care must be taken not to, in any wise, make less of His manhood than of His Godhood; and this is what I am most earnestly desirous of maintaining ; for this, I know, the Scriptures themselves bear out.

In Matt. 1:20, 21, we find the angel of the Lord instructing Joseph in a dream as to the name of the child about to be born of the virgin Mary. "And thou shalt call His name Jesus; for He shall save His people from their sins." This name is but the Greek form of the Hebrew word "Joshua," or "Joshua" (Num. 13:16), and means "Saviour;" but, as though to guard our blessed Lord against being considered as merely a human person, with a merely human name, the Holy Ghost adds the quotation from Isa. 7:14-of course, as well to show the fulfilment of that prophecy-"And they shall call His name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us" (verse 23). This at once settles His divine identity, and introduces Him to the world as the incarnate God-Deity revealed in man, God manifested in flesh-sinless flesh, of course. Truly human, but absolutely without sin, and utterly incapable of it. No spot within, no stain without, internally spotless, externally pure, no trace of sin in Him, no trace upon Him-the Holy One of God (Luke 1:35). Well might the apostle exclaim (by the Spirit), "and confessedly the mystery of piety is great. God has been manifested in flesh, has been justified in [the] Spirit, has appeared to angels, has been preached among the nations, has been believed on in the world, has been received up into glory" (i Tim. 3:16-j. n. d., r. 5:). Let us pause here for a moment, and with reverent hearts bow before Him. The little Babe that lay in a manger was the fullest expression of eternal life, the omni-existent God, God incarnate, God come down in love to man. So, also, when He returns to His Father, in the glory whence He had come, He is still the same Man who had been "crucified through weakness," had emptied and humbled Himself to the lowest depths (Phil. 2:7, 8). What glory in all this grace and love! This is our Saviour, the One who bore our sins in His body on the cross, enduring to the full the awful blast of the judgment of a holy and sin-hating God!-settling forever the question of sin, and putting away forever our sins-God having laid them on Him. This One, then, is He whom the angel announced before His birth, and heralded afterwards; of whom Mary His mother could say, as she burst forth into an ecstasy of song, "My soul doth magnify the Lord, and my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour"-He is "Jesus," "Emmanuel," the Saviour, God with us, and, blessed be His holy name ever with us, His own blood-washed saints. Let us bow low before Him, and praise and magnify His name (i Chron. 29:13).

And now let us look at another title given Him, or rather, more correctly speaking, belonging to Him-that of "Christ" (Matt. 1:16). It is from the Greek word " Kristos," meaning the "Anointed One," or the "Messiah." This latter term is only found in four places in the Scriptures-Dan. 9:25, 26; John 1:41; 4:25. It was applied principally by the Jews to that sovereign Deliverer whom they expected (but, alas, whom they rejected when He did come,-John 1:ii). It is used in the Old Testament, and speaks of Him as the One to come (i Sam. 2:10; Psa. 2:2; Psa. 45:7; Isa. 61:i, etc.):the One prophesied of in the Old Testament and revealed to man in the New. Just here let us remember that this was no after-thought of God's because sin had come into the world and ruined man; or, later still, because of the failure of His people Israel, calling forth from Him new plans or purposes. No, but because He had purposed this according to His own counsels or ever the world was (Eph. 3:ii; i Peter 1:18-20). Our God has never had to formulate new plans to offset old or miscalculated ones. All was predetermined in the eternity of the past, 1:e., before creation.

Let the false critics hurl themselves against the word of God in their insensate folly, and in their endeavors to give the lie to it; it only recoils upon themselves, and makes "their damnation" all the
greater, and the word of God stands majestic in its divine entirety.

Scripture never seeks to vindicate itself; it is the written word of God, bearing testimony to the eternal Word who was made flesh.

The last title to be considered which concerns my subject–though, as we may well know, not the last of His titles-is that of " lord." It is upon this one that I would seek particularly to lay emphasis, as it involves solemn considerations. It may not be amiss to define it in some of its varied forms in the Old Testament before proceeding to enlarge upon it. "Jehovah," the first one that we will consider, is used seven thousand times, and means " He who is" -the "I Am that I Am" of Ex. 3:14. See, also, John 8:58, in which our Lord discloses His glory as the Ever- or Self-Existent One-"Before Abraham was, I am."

Another term is that of " Jah," meaning the lord. It is found forty-nine times in the Old Testament, and, being briefly interpreted, means, "The Eternal One." Then comes "Adon" (singular), meaning, simply, Lord, which signifies "master, possessor, proprietor," and is used thirty times.

Lastly comes "Adonai," the same as Adon, but plural form, and is used two hundred and ninety times. These terms are all translated "Lord" and "Lord," in our Authorized Version, but will be found as stated in various revised versions. (See Numerical Bible; J. N. D.'s trans., W. Kelly, etc.). In the New Testament the word used is Lord all the way through.

Now we have these titles linked together in their complete form, " Lord Jesus Christ." They will be
found placed in various ways in the Epistles, and not without a purpose, as the Holy Ghost writes nothing in a haphazard way-thus:"Lord Jesus Christ," "Christ Jesus," "Jesus Christ," " Lord Jesus," "Christ Jesus our Lord," and "the Lord Jesus Christ;" and in every case it is in order to present our Lord in some particular way, and which their contexts explain.

And now, as to this last title of "Lord," how frequently do we hear Christians, especially those uninstructed in the truth, speaking of Him as "Jesus "- "Jesus said this," "Jesus did that;" and, in fact, in some quarters He is alluded to as "Dear Jesus," " King Jesus," and even as "our elder brother Jesus," etc. Beloved, our Lord is risen, is ascended, and seated at the right hand of God the Father, on His throne; is crowned with glory and honor, and saluted of Him as God (Heb. 1:3-8). When in this scene, He was the lowly Jesus, the "Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief," the One who could weep in the presence of suffering humanity, identifying Himself with man in his sorrows. He ate, drank, slept, etc., and was wearied (John 4:6). But now, in the glory, He is crowned "King of kings, and Lord of lords," the "Alpha and the Omega," with the keys of hades and death hanging at His girdle. He is the Lord Jesus, our Lord and Master (John 13:13, 14). And we need to remember that the title of "Lord" implies authority on His part, and full subjection on ours. Thus-"the Lord's day," "the Lord's table," or, "Table of the Lord;" meaning that at that table His authority, and consequently Himself as the Divine Center, must be fully owned. It is the Lord's table, not the Father's, or the Saviour's, or the King's; thus implying that it is not only as children, saved people, or subjects that we have a place there, but as truly in subjection to Him. Remember, I am not saying that it is the amount of ecclesiastical light that a saint has that entitles him to that table; else where would the babes be ? but simply what the Lordship of Christ involves in connection with His table; neither do I set up barriers that He has not set up; but if holiness befits His house, is it not needful that which characterizes that table should be clearly recognized ?

Again, as to marriage, it is to be "only in the Lord " (i Cor. 7:39). It may not be sufficient that both of the contracting parties be believers, and all else be waived, for there might be a great breach, even, between them. How can one truly subject to Christ be united "in the Lord" to one who is walking in a path contrary to the Word, and thus ignoring the Lordship of Christ ? And now the question arises, Should we not, when speaking of Him, give to Him all that the Scriptures claim for Him ?- should we not speak of Him as the Lord Jesus ? I have no desire to hinder the fullest freedom of the Spirit of God in any one of His people; but were He personally before us on the earth, could we do less than give Him the title which belongs to Him ? Would we think of addressing Him simply as Jesus ? Surely not. I am not now alluding to quotations from the Scriptures, nor even as to the question of thus speaking of Him when preaching the Word (Acts 8:35), but refer to our habit of speaking of Him, or addressing Him, in a general way-what should characterize us when mentioning that blessed name among ourselves. He will always be our Lord and Saviour, both for time and for eternity, even when united to Him in spiritual wedlock. Brethren, all around us the holy name of our adorable Lord is being spoken of in a rude and irreverently familiar manner, as though He were a mere man-even if not compared unfavorably with some of the so-called great men of this age. He is looked upon by some as a sort of a Prophet, or a great Exemplar, a Philanthropist, a social Reformer; by others, as having been shut up, in a great measure, to the ignorance of His times, and consequently unable to know as much as men of our times. They have even gone to the extent of linking Him with such as Shakespeare and Mohammed. His holy name is made the subject of a lecture by some sordid-minded orator. He is impersonated by an ignorant Romanist; or, worse still, by a professional actor in the Passion Play, and His holy person pictured by exhibitors of the cinematograph. Thus is the adorable name of our glorious Lord handled by unpriestly, wicked, and impious hands; and the sorrowful part of it is that Christians seem to grow indifferent to such base indignities against their Lord.

We live in perilous, yea, in blasphemous times; and just as heresies have always originated from amongst the people of God, so do all these things find their conception amongst the ranks of profession -a bastard Protestantism, neither true in letter nor in spirit to its name; and so, quite aptly can a scriptural question be put to-day, "Do not they blaspheme that worthy name by the which ye are called" (Jas. 2:7) ? Men render to their earthly monarchs and potentates a reverence and homage that they fail to accord to Him who is " King of kings and Lord of lords."

Beloved, may our hearts be so stirred as to all these things that there maybe kindled afresh among us a holy desire to ever give to our Lord Jesus Christ the full honor due His holy name! Let there be no hint of irreverent familiarity. Let us gaze upon Him with hearts filled with admiration and love. "But we see Jesus, who was made some little inferior to angels, on account of the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honor" (Heb. 2:9-J. N. D.). O beloved, what an Object we have, in the glory, to contemplate! Surely the heart longs for the moment when waiting will be changed to seeing, and failure will be a thing of the past for ever.

But whilst here, let us allow nothing to slacken. Let us stand fast for the maintenance of all that blessed Person calls for-His honor, His name, His glory, His work, His present as well as His future exaltation, when "every eye shall see Him, every tongue confess Him, and every knee shall bow to Him."

My prayer is that this little paper may have the effect of "stirring up our pure minds by way of remembrance," and of stimulating us to renewed desire to exalt that One "who is Lord of all" (Acts 10:36). F. J. Enefer