It is evident that God made himself gradually known, as the state and condition of mankind required. In the earlier ages of the world, while revelation was but dawning on the human race, he was but little known, in comparison of the subsequent diffusion of his glory and perfections. When he, according to his promise, came to deliver the children of Israel out of Egypt, he revealed himself to them by his name JEHOVAH. He had before declared himself by this name to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; but not as it imports the performance of his promises; in which sense, their posterity afterwards, in the time of Moses, well understood it. Of all the names which the Divine Being has been pleased to designate himself by, that of JEHOVAH is the greatest. It comes from a root which imports his eternity, independency, efficacy, and truth. In the Hebrew it is written with four letters, י _yod_, ה _he_, ו _vau_, ה _he_, thus יהוה i.e. JHVH:[1] the points used in that language, make our English word consist of seven letters, J_e_H_o_V_a_H. God himself gives the interpretation of this name. “And the Lord passed by before him, and proclaimed יהוה YEHOVAH, the LORD GOD, merciful and gracious, long-suffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity, and transgression, and sin, and that will by no means clear the guilty.” These different names have been considered as so many attributes of the Divine Nature. Commentators divide them into eleven, thus: 1. יהוה JEHOVAH. 2. אל EL, the strong or mighty God. 3. רחום RACHUM, the merciful Being, who is full of tenderness and compassion. 4. חנין CHANUN, the gracious One: He, whose nature is goodness itself--the loving God. 5. ארך פיםא EREC APAYIM, long-suffering, the Being who, because of his goodness and tenderness, is not easily irritated, but suffers long and is kind. 6. רב RAB, the great or mighty One. 7. חסד CHESED, the bountiful Being: He who is exuberant in his beneficence. 8. אמת EMETH, the Truth, or true One: He alone who can neither deceive nor be deceived--who is the Fountain of truth, and from whom all wisdom and knowledge must be derived. 9. חסד נצר NOTSER CHESED the preserver of bountifulness: He whose beneficence never ends, keeping mercy for thousands of generations--showing compassion and mercy while the world endures. 10. נשא עון ופשע וחטאה NOSE _âvon vapeshâ vechataah_: He who bears away iniquity and transgression and sin; properly the REDEEMER, the Pardoner, the Forgiver, the Being whose prerogative alone it is to forgive sin, and save the soul. נקה (לו) לא ינקה NAKEH _lo yinnakeh_, the righteous Judge, who distributes justice with an impartial hand; with whom no innocent person can ever be condemned. 11. And פקד עון PAKED _âvon_, &c. He who visits iniquity; he who punishes transgressors, and from whose justice no sinner can escape. The God of retributive and vindictive justice. These eleven attributes, as they