<^)^'^^f>^<»nu^7^^?m'.^J^ 
 
 lAjsuf^f^ • ;• • . .;r>ratfl 
 
 .Jr*^'*Stf»r%..C»>^Oiv»S^^^^ 
 
WJ..^P<, 
 
A VIEW 
 
 OF 
 
 THE HUMAN HEART, 
 
 BY BARBARA ALLAN SIMON, 
 
 KVANRELICAL REVIEW OF 
 TO WHICH IS ADDED, 
 
 AN APPENDIX, 
 
 nOXTAIXING 
 
 TKOUaHTS 
 
 ON 
 
 X;> >CRIPTURAL EXPECTATIONS 
 
 /• /;, 
 
 OF THE 
 
 CHRISTIAN CHURCH. 
 
 PlIlLADELPHLl: 
 PRINTKD BY L. R. BAILEY, No. 10, NORTH ALLEY. 
 
 182S. 
 
A SERIES ^37^ 
 
 OF 
 
 ALLEGORICAL DESIGNS, 
 
 REPRESENTING 
 
 THE HUMAN HEART 
 
 FROM 
 
 ITS NATURAL TO ITS REGENERATED STATE, 
 
 WITH 
 
 EXPLANATORY ADDRESSES, MEDITATIONS, PRAYERS, 
 AND HYMNS, 
 
 FOR THE INSTRUCTION OP YOUTH. 
 
 BY BARBARA ALLAN SIMON, 
 
 At7TnOTl Cr THE ** EYAJTGELICAL REVIEW OF IflODERN GESIUS. 
 
 ** At our gates are all manner of choice fruits, new and old, 
 which I have gathered for thee O my beloved." — Solomon's Song. 
 
 PHILADELPHIA: 
 PRINTED BY LYDIA R. BAILEY, 
 
 No. 10, North Alley. 
 1S2S. 
 
.Southern iJistrict of Kew-Yorky ss. 
 
 BE IT KEMEMCERED, That on llie sixteenth day of May, 
 V. D. 1825, in the forty-ninth )^ear of the Independence of the 
 United States of America, Barbaua Allaiv SiMoif, of the said 
 District, hath deposited in this Office the Title of a Book, the 
 ig-ht whereof she claims as Author, in the words following, to 
 wit:— 
 
 *'A Series of Allegorical Designs, representing the Human 
 TIeart from its Natural to its Regenerated State, with explanato- 
 y Addresses, Meditations, Prayers, and Hymns, for the Instruc- 
 tion of Youth. By Barbara Allan Simon. * At our gates are all 
 manner of choice fruits, new and old, which I have gathered for 
 thee O my beloved.' — Solomon's Song." 
 
 In conformity to the Act of the Congress of the United States, 
 entitled, ** An Act for the encouragement of learning, by secur- 
 ing the copies of maps, charts, and books, to the authors and pro- 
 prietors of such copies, during the times therein mentioned ;" 
 und also to the Act, entitled, •• An Act supplementary to an Act, 
 entitled, * An Act for the encouragement of learning, by secur- 
 ing the copies of maps, charts, and books, to the authors and 
 proprietors of such copies, during the times therein mentioned,* 
 and extending the benefits thereof to the arts of designing, en- 
 graving, and etchinsT, historical and other prints." 
 
 JAMES DILL, C/erA:o///ie 
 Southem District of New-Yerk, 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 Page 
 
 Dedication, - 7 
 
 Introduction, - , . 9 
 
 Pride, - 19 
 
 Covetousness, - - - 22 
 
 Envy, 30 
 
 Anger, - - 32 
 
 Sloth, 40 
 
 Sensuality, 44 
 
 Intemperance, 49 
 
 First Stage of Regeneration, . . ^ . . 5S 
 
 More advanced state of Regeneration, - - - 59 
 
 The form of Religion, 63 
 
 The Backslider, 65 
 
 The Philosopher, 71 
 
 Regenerated Heart, 75 
 
 The Laws of God written on the Heart, - - - 81 
 
 The Heart of one who has overcome, &c. - - - 87 
 
 Concluding Address, - 95 
 
 Appendix — Thoughts on the Scriptural Expectations 
 
 of the Christian Church, 119 
 
 \ 2'. 
 
DEDICATION. 
 
 I DEDICATE this work to the Chiefs of the In- 
 dian tribes of this land, as an expression of esteem 
 for the moral grandeur of their feeling, and of ad- 
 miration at the noble, mild, and conciliatory sen- 
 timents contained in their late addresses to go- 
 vernment, in hehailf of justice, honour, and hu- 
 manity — in behalf of their nation. Accept this 
 sincere, though humble tribute, from one who is 
 affectionately desirous of seeing your tribes icnil- 
 td in love to the Redeemer, 
 
 chiefs of the forest ! whose sun-setting g-lory 
 
 To morning- awaketh the orient earth. 
 Tribes of a secret, but Heaven whispered story ! 
 
 Lords of the land which gave Freedom her birth ; 
 To you would a stranger this tribute of feeling 
 
 Inscribe — for its spirit no fetters confine, 
 tireat Spirit ! the truth of thy record revealing 
 
 Arise on the tribes who are destined to shine i 
 
I^ong have you wander'd as outcasts forsakeii — 
 Been driven by the lawless to ocean's wild shore , 
 
 But now shall your spring-time of promise awaken, 
 As vines yield their blossoms when winter is o'er> 
 
 Your free-born spirits, unquell'd by oppression, 
 
 Have tower'd o*er the wrongs that would smother theu' 
 flame — 
 Untutor'd by art — unsubdued by depression. 
 
 Have nobly defended your dear native claim, 
 lllumin'd by Truth, that pure light of the Holy ! 
 
 How bright its reflection shall lighten from you ! 
 O say not salvation to you hath moved slowly 
 
 " The last" it o'ertakes ** shall he first" to pursue. 
 
 THE AUTHOR 
 
 New- Y&rh -fipril 7th, 1 825. 
 
ZNTRODUCTZOK 
 
 I'he fashions of the world are ever ehanorine;— 
 the opinions of men are ever vacillating — the 
 truth of God is always the same, and shall endure 
 for ever ! Like a mighty rock which raises its 
 awful head above the waves that spend them- 
 selves against its immoveable base, the word of 
 God has met the assaults of human and satanic 
 rage; successively have they spent their com- 
 bined strength for nought : the place which once 
 knew them now knoweth them no more, but eter- 
 nal, vmmutable truth is the same yesterday, to- 
 day, and for ever ! 
 
 ^' The holy scriptures are able to make us wise 
 unto salvation,^' through faith in Christ Jesus ; 
 and they teach that the foundation of all know- 
 ledge which includes salvation, is to know what 
 we are by nature, and what we must become by 
 T^generation, The posterity of fallen Adam ^xe- 
 
10 
 
 there declared, without exception, to be born in 
 sin, and under the dominion of Satan the deceiver ; 
 and that unless we are born again, proving by- 
 moral resemblance our affinity to the second 
 Adam, as unequivocally as we never fail to de- 
 monstrate our derivation from the first, we can- 
 not enter into the kingdom of God. This truth, 
 50 decidedly, so repeatedly taught in Scripture, 
 and so much illustrated by knowledge of our own 
 heart, and daily observation, is the first which 
 children ought to learn ; for not until they are 
 thoroughly convinced in themselves that to do 
 evil is the native and spontaneous growth of their 
 heart, can they feel their need of Christ as an 
 atonement and mediator between them and an 
 infinitely holy God, whose justice is ready to be 
 glorified in consuming them ; for while **God is 
 love" *Ho those who come to him by Christ, 
 w^hom he hath appointed to be the way, the truth 
 and the life," he is a consuming fire to the^ dis- 
 obedient. 
 
 Without thus laying the axe to the root of this 
 deadly evil, the most elaborate instruction which 
 the schools can furnish on other subjects will be 
 of no avail. The youth may by any other species 
 of mental improvement become superficial cha- 
 racters. As whited sepulchres, they may bear 
 
11 
 
 an imposing aspect, but within they are full of 
 every abomination. Their lives are spent in 
 deceiving and being deceived, and their end is 
 without hope. 
 
 Parents and teachers have hitherto found it 
 difficult to gain more than a passive commitment 
 of these all-important truths to memory. Chil- 
 dren instinctively revolt from abstract doctrines, 
 these requiring a stretch of thought, and an exer- 
 tion of their yet undeveloped intellect, which fa- 
 tigues them. Weariness and lassitude thus cre- 
 ate an aversion which is not easily conquered. 
 
 From a studious observance of the character 
 and earliest mental developments of children, I 
 have constantly found that the instruction which 
 has been, by their own free will, conveyed to 
 their understanding through the medium of alle- 
 gorical representations of good andevilpassionSy 
 excites the deepest interest, affords the greatest 
 pleasure, and makes the most lasting impression. 
 
 Thus they pursue with the consent of all their 
 powers a research whose object it is to lead 
 them into all truth, and bring into captivity every 
 power to the love and service of the Redeemer. 
 
 The care of youth is a trust of the greatest 
 responsibility. They are not only to become, so 
 far as the bent which good instruction and exam- 
 
12 
 
 pie can give, happy and useful, or uiiserable, aiul 
 unprofitable in themselves ; but they are to give 
 tone and colour to the generation which shall suc- 
 ceed ours. They are to be as lights, so shining 
 in their sphere of duty, that all around may glo- 
 rify the name they bear, or to become moral 
 plagues, blasting all within their influence. 
 
 The prevention of evil, by training up a child 
 in the way he should go, is wiser and safer than to 
 attempt the cure of it in any subsequent stage. 
 When the moral soil, from neglect — from the want 
 of being duly cultured, vreeded and watched over, 
 has become covered with ramified and aspiring 
 weeds; — when, in other words, the heart has been 
 permitted to harbour its spontaneous growth of 
 secret and presumptuous sins unchecked, there is 
 little hope of sowing the precious seed of reveal- 
 ed truth there. The thorns will choak it, or the 
 watchful tempter will hurry it away, before it has 
 gained more than surface ground. Can the 
 Ethiopian change his hue, and the leopard his 
 spots ? then may they who are accusiomed to do 
 eyil, do good. 
 
 If w^e desire to promote the interests of Christ's 
 kingdom on earth — if we desire that the rising 
 generation should adorn the doctrine of God the 
 Saviour in all things, "let those to whose care 
 
13 
 
 they are intrusted watch over their souls, as they 
 that must give an account — let the youth be root- 
 ed and grounded in the faith once delivered to the 
 saints'' — that when the winds of false doctrine 
 shall afterwards assail them, they may remain 
 steadfast, immoveable — always abounding in that 
 faith which purifieth the heart, and works by love 
 to God. 
 
 Much catechetical instruction may be committed 
 to memory without at all affecting the heart, or 
 even acting on the understanding ; but even admit- 
 ting that children could comprehend that body 
 of theological divinity wliich the catechism con- 
 tains, such kind of knowledge seldom does more 
 than constitute them speculative professors. It 
 is that kind of knowledge which is more likely to 
 puff up than edify ; the head has been recognised, 
 but no appeal has been made to the heart ; and 
 therefore this source, from whence proceeds the 
 issues of life, remains the same. 
 
 The very terms employed to convey these ab- 
 stract doctrines are unintelligible to children ; 
 and the consequence is, that under the notion of 
 a duty to God, they acquire {by this lip service) 
 the habit of taking His great and dreadful name, 
 and the solemn truths of his word on their lips, 
 while their hearts are far from him, 
 B 
 
14 
 
 The children of the higher and middle classes 
 must needs be sent to liberalize their minds, and 
 form their taste by the study of the profane, im- 
 moral, and gross productions of Heathen genius. 
 Knowledge of the revealed mind of God, and 
 self-knowledge, are deemed much less essential 
 than the Latin classics. The tree of prohibit- 
 ed knowledge is coveted, and the tree of life 
 is rejected. If the world be thus, deceived by 
 Satan it is no marvel. But that those who 
 believe in Christ for salvation, and are there- 
 fore required to come out from among them, and 
 be separated, should permit the hearts of their 
 children to be thus contaminated, and taught 
 to glory in shame, is inexplicable. If you, 
 however, determine still to be the deluded fol- 
 lowers of that multitude who throng the broad 
 way, be entreated to fortify the susceptible hearts 
 of your unsuspecting children with the antidote, 
 before you permit them to imbibe the poison — 
 then if they receive the deadly mixture it cannot 
 hurt them. This doctrine is, we are aware, ill 
 suited to the taste of the world ; but are Chris- 
 tians to be conformed to the world ? It is long 
 since the influence, and even the existence of 
 the God of this world, who ruleth in the heart of 
 the disobedient, has been exploded as an old fash- 
 ioned legend or an obsolete figure of speech. 
 
15 
 
 The German, the French, and other schools of 
 false philosophy are sound asleep on this alarm- 
 ing subject ; consequently the enemy has taken 
 advantage of their situation, liberally to sow his 
 tares among them. These take root inwardly, 
 but bring forth fruit, which cannot he hid ; yet 
 they have not sufficiently recovered their sen- 
 ses to say, "surely an enemy hath done this? 
 or to recognise in that enemy, the Devil : of 
 whose devices (the scriptures teach us) we ought 
 not to be ignorant. For whether as a roaring 
 lion he goeth about seeking whom he may devour, 
 or seduces men from obedience by transform- 
 ing himself into the semblance of an angel of 
 light, still, he is the enemy. Christ teaches 
 that certain characters are of their father, the 
 Devil, and his works they will do. Paul teach- 
 es by the same spirit, that Satan blinds the 
 minds of men, lest the glorious light of the 
 gospel should enlighten their hearts. Again, he 
 testifies that he is the god of this blinded world. 
 He having the bestowment of those things which 
 worldlings covet, and for which they contend, and 
 to whom he icill he giveth them. Their service 
 and homage is the tribute he demands, and they 
 wiltingly render it, to be put in posession of the 
 hist of the eye, of the flesh, and the pride of life. 
 
16 
 
 John teaches that whoso committeth sin h 
 of the Devil, who shmed from the beginning ; 
 and that Christ was manifested to destroy the 
 works of the Devil, James admonishes believers 
 to resist the Devil and he will flee from them. 
 Again John characterizes him as the adversary of 
 Christ's kingdom, and the accuser of the brethren, 
 warning the latter days, that he shall then come 
 down having great power, knowing that his time 
 is short. The prophets make mention of him un- 
 der various titles suited to the versatile aspects he 
 assumes. Our Lord and Master was tempted of 
 him as we are, yet without the sin of yield- 
 ing : and has, as our great Exemplar taught us, 
 to resist his allurements (which are always ad- 
 dressed to self) by the authority of the written 
 word of God. 
 
 This chief of the powers of darkness is ever 
 wakeful, and persevering, watching the moment 
 when the servant of Christ is off his guard, or has 
 laid aside that shield which is able to repel his fiery 
 darts. To such characters he affects another 
 than his ordinary form i to appear in the shape 
 oi moral deformity would shock and disgust Mez?^ 
 — to such he appears as an angel of light. Thus, 
 under the mask he assumed to deceive them, he 
 has whetted and put into their hand the sword of 
 
17 
 
 persecution to do God service — kindled and in- 
 vested them with the torch of discord under the 
 notion of zeal — furnished and assisted them to 
 scatter the seeds of contention — prepared mate- 
 rials and afforded direction in building up the 
 walls of separation — and meted out to each his 
 measure of party spirit. ^' Ye therefore belov- 
 ed, seeing ye know these things before, beware 
 lest ye also, being led away with the error of the 
 wicked, fall from your own steadfastness. But 
 grow in grace ! and in the knowledge of our Lord 
 and Saviour Jesus Christ — -to whom be glory 
 both now and for ever. Amen !"* 
 
 * 2 Peter, iii. 17. 
 
(j^l think it proper to acknowledge that I am 
 indebted for the leading ideas of the allegorical 
 designs to the wood cuts of a nameless little book 
 written in the German language. 
 
1 y /^ 
 
 mm 
 
 
 J>ra*rn hv UL^m tiA.. 
 
 
19 
 
 FRIDS. 
 
 After considering attentively the picture of 
 our natural heart, I tliink I hear you say, what 
 has pride to do among such shameful associates ! 
 This inconsistency, my dear child, must strike 
 every one. The truth is, pride is so blinded by 
 self-love, as to be ignorant of where it is, and tvho 
 are its associates. Could it only see the vile rab- 
 ble among whom it has been so long shut up, in- 
 stead of showing off its self-important airs, it 
 would hide its head for shame. 
 
 Before Adam fell from his original innocent 
 and happy state, which you know he did, by dis- 
 obedience to the ivill of God plainly revealed to 
 him in the garden of Eden, he had none of those 
 evil passions in his heart, because he was formed 
 in his Maker's image. 
 
 The holy scripture teaches us, that the father 
 oi pride is the Devil. He who has fallen so hope- 
 lessly, was once an angel of light in heaven ; 
 there God had appointed him the rank he should 
 hold, and the sphere of duty he should adorn ; 
 but he became ambitious of ^e//" exaltation, not 
 reflecting, that to be truly great and distinguish- 
 ed, is to subdue self, seeking above all the glory of 
 God. He was cast down from that abode of 
 
20 
 
 peace and love because of his rebellionj together 
 with those angels he had seduced to partake of 
 his sin, and is with them, reserved under chains 
 of everlasting duration for that place of horror 
 and despair prepared for him. 
 
 Beware, dear child, of being tempted by this 
 seducing sin of Satan. You can only escape its 
 attacks by watch/ul?iess and prayer, and argu- 
 ments from the holy scripture. 
 
 Although this dangerous sin is most easily dis- 
 covered in others, it is safer and wiser to detect 
 it in ourselves. I shall tell you how to know it, 
 in order that you may guard against its attempts 
 to seduce you : — 
 
 Are you disposed to boast of your own merit 
 or doings ? Do you seek to be admired, or no- 
 ticed ? or are you eager to obtain the precedence 
 of your brothers, sisters, or school-fellows ? This 
 is the evil spirit called pride, from which you 
 should flee as from the face of a serpent. Hear 
 what the holy scripture teaches: — "God hath 
 respect to the lowly, but the proud he knoweth 
 afar off." Again : '' Before honour is humility — 
 and a haughty spirit before a fall." What a mon- 
 strous inconsistency is pride in man ! — a creature 
 made of dust, and continually depending on his 
 maker for his very breath, as well as every thing 
 
21 
 
 he possesses. Alas ! what has he to be proud 
 of, whose heart has been declared " deceitful 
 above all things, and desperately wicked ?" — 
 Sooner may the garden be proud of its thorns, and 
 the field of its thistles, than man of aught he may 
 call his own. 
 
 PRAYER. 
 
 Heavenly Father ! preserve thy frail and erring 
 child from being tempted to indulge this great sin ; 
 let thy good spirit enlighten my dark mind, that I 
 may be enabled by that light, to discover the evils 
 of my heart. Grant me, Father, power from 
 thee to resist and to subdue my other corrupt pas- 
 sions. When I meditate on the humility of the 
 Lord of Glory, who, to do thy will, became of no 
 reputation in the eye of the world — who was meek 
 and lowly of heart — I am overwhelmed with 
 shame and confusion at my own ingratitude, folly 
 and stupidity, in having so long oflended thy pure 
 eye with a heart at enmity with thee. Help me, 
 Heavenly Father, by the influence of thy holy 
 spirit, to devote my future life to thy service. I 
 ask this and every other petition, in the name, and 
 for the sake, of my Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, 
 
 Amen. 
 
22 
 
 HYMN. 
 
 « O happy is the child who hears 
 ** Instruction's warning voice, 
 
 '* And who celestial Wisdom makes 
 *• His early, only choice ! 
 
 '* For she has treasures greater far 
 ** Than east or west unfold ; 
 
 *' And her rewards more precious are 
 '* Than stores of gems or gold. 
 
 '• in her right hand she holds to view 
 
 ** A life of peaceful days ; 
 *' True riches with true honours join'd 
 
 *' Are what her left displays. 
 
 ** She guides the young with innocence 
 " The path of life to tread ; 
 
 " A crown of glory she bestows 
 " Upon the hoary head. 
 
 ** According as her labours rise, 
 
 " So her rewards increase ; 
 '^ Her ways are ways of blessedness — 
 
 " They lead to perfect peace !" 
 
 COVETOUSNESS. 
 
 CovETousNESs IS an evil spirit, which the holy 
 scripture expressly forbids us to harbour. To de- 
 
23 
 
 sire any thing which belongs to another, is, in the 
 dight of God, (who knows our thoughts,) as bad 
 as stealing ; a vice so base and shameful, that none 
 but the outcasts of society would be guilty of it. 
 
 The tenth commandment contains the prohibi- 
 tion of God against covetousness, which if in- 
 dulged, would turn society into an image of hell. 
 In reading history, we learn how much mischief 
 this lawless passion has brought on the world. — 
 The ambitious worldling has covetedihe possession 
 of another, and having power, he has seized it, 
 while the blood of thousands of immortal beings 
 has been shed to pay its price. 
 
 I shall illustrate the deceitful and desperately 
 wicked nature of this passion, by two interesting 
 selections from sacred history. Achan the son of 
 Carmi saw, coveted, and took possession of a 
 splendid Babylonish garment, although he knew 
 that the command of God had prohibited the peo- 
 ple of Israel from even touching the least thing 
 that had belonged to that people. The tribes of 
 Israel were smitten with a dreadful visitation from 
 the Lord ; so that Joshua, their leader, began to 
 fear that some individual had committed a great 
 sin : He assembled the people, and having cast 
 lots, Achan was discovered to be the guilty one : 
 then Joshua said, <* My son, give glory to the God 
 
24 
 
 of Israel, and make confession unto Him, and tell 
 me what thou hast done, hiding nothing from me. '^ 
 Then Achan answered saying, 'indeed I have 
 sinned against the Lord God of Israel, for thus 
 have I done : When I saw among the spoils a good- 
 ly Babylonish garment, and two hundred shekels 
 of silver, and a gold wedge sixty shekels weight, I 
 coveted them — and took them — and behold they 
 are hid in the earth, in the midst of 7ny tent ; and 
 Joshua and all Israel took Achan, and the silver, 
 and the gold, together with his sons and daughters, 
 his oxen, his asses, his sheep, his tent, and all that 
 he had ; and they brought them to the valley of 
 Achor. And Joshua said, why hast thou troubled 
 us ? The Lord shall trouble thee this day, and all 
 Israel stoned them with stones, and burned them 
 with firc.'^ The other illustration is in the Book 
 of 2 Kings, chapter 5. 
 
 Naaman the Syrian was a great man, loaded 
 with riches and honours ; but he was a leper, (that 
 is to say) afflicted with a very loathsome, and al- 
 most incurable disease. He had brought away 
 captive a little maid out of the land of Israel, who 
 now waited on his (Naaman's) wife. This little 
 maid had in her own land heard much about the 
 Prophet Elisha, and she said to her mistress, would 
 to God, my lord were with the prophet that is in 
 Samaria ! for he would recover him of hislepresy. 
 
^5 
 
 This kind desire of the little maid was told the 
 King of Syria, who greatly esteemed Naaman, and 
 he said go, and I will send a letter unto the King 
 of Israel. Naaman therefore departed, loaded 
 with costly presents, and gave the letter to the 
 king. The contents of this letter were dictated 
 by the wisdom of the ivorld, which is in reality 
 foolishness, for there the Syrian monarch asks the 
 Jdng to cure Naaman, as if the wealth, and power, 
 and greatness of this world could do what could 
 only be done by the Spirit of God. The King of 
 Israel rent his clothes, and said, ^^ am I a God to 
 kill or make alive, that this man doth send unto me 
 to recover a man of his leprosy ? But when Eli- 
 sha, the man of God, heard that the King of Israel 
 ivas shocked at this proposal, he said to him, 
 ** Wherefore hast thou rent thy clothes ? Let him 
 come now to me, and he shall know that there is 
 a prophet in Israel." Naaman therefore came 
 with great pomp, and stood in his chariot at the 
 door of Elisha. The Prophet sent to him a mes- 
 sage that he must bathe seven times in the river 
 Jordan. Naaman had woi faith to believe that he 
 could be cured by means so simple ; he had not 
 yet learnt that the whole secret of the cure lay in 
 obeying the will of God: he was wroth, and went 
 away ; he thought that the prophet would come 
 in person, with much ceremony inyokingthe name 
 C 
 
26 
 
 of his God, and that he would recover him by vir- 
 tue of his touch : like his monarch, he was blind- 
 ed and seduced by worldly wisdom, and thus he 
 reasoned: ^* Are not Abna and Pharpar, rivers of 
 Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel ? 
 May I not as well wash in them to be cured V So 
 he turned and went away in a rage ; but a wise 
 servant of his advised him to try the simple reme- 
 dy which the prophet had prescribed. He was 
 persuaded — went down to Jordan, and dipped 
 himself seven times, according to the command of 
 God, by the prophet, and he became renewed in 
 body as fresh as a little child. He being reco- 
 vered, went back to the man of God, declaring to 
 him, that now he knew there was no God but the 
 God of Irsael, and also entreating the prophet to 
 receive from him a token of his gratitude ; but the 
 prophet, desirous of recommending that religion 
 which actuates men to do good without reward, 
 said, as the Lord liveth, before whom I stand, I will 
 receive nothi ng. Naaman then entreated to be per- 
 mitted to carry home with him two burdens of 
 earth from the place where he had been cured, and 
 taught to know God ; then he departed in peace ; 
 but the servant of Elisha had none of his master's 
 spirit The evil spirit of covetousness took pos- 
 session of him. He thought it was hard to see 
 the rich gifts which Naaman brought as a reward 
 
27 
 
 for his cure, return back with him to his own coun- 
 try : he determined, since his master had refused 
 his reward, to take it instead of him ; therefore, 
 he followed and overtook Naaman, who alighted 
 from his chariot to meet him, saying, is all well? 
 The spirit of covetousness now was insufficient to 
 act alone ; another evil spirit must be called in to 
 cissist in the deception : it became necessary to 
 tell a lie in order to make his return plausible. 
 iNIy master, said he, hath sent me to say, two young 
 men, sons of the prophets, are arrived from Mount 
 Ephraim — give them, I pray thee, a talent of sil- 
 ver and two changes of raiment. So Naaman 
 made his servants carry them before this covetous 
 and false deceiver. Such deeds cannot endure 
 the liglit : he hid the goods in a tower of the house, 
 and having let the servants go, he was again be- 
 fore his master, as if nothing had happened. What 
 must have been his surprise and shame, when the 
 man of God said to him, "Whence comest thou, 
 Gehazi .'"' t^nother lie had again become necessa- 
 ry. <* Thy servant went no where," said he : 
 But his master said, did not mine heart move when 
 the man turned from his chariot to meet thee? — 
 The leprosy, therefore, of Naaman, cleave unto 
 thee and thy seed for ever : and he went out from 
 Jiis presence a leper. 
 
MEDITATION. 
 
 How often docs a covetous spirit, lead its pos- 
 sessors to aflfect distinction in spheres of life in^ 
 volving other duties and capability than they have 
 the power to exercise. To desert the sphere 
 which Providence has pointed out to us, and for 
 which nature has fitted us, is a subversion of moral 
 and social order ; for there is no situation which 
 the Christian may not adorn, by letting his light 
 so shine in it, that his Heavenly Father may be 
 glorified. A usurpation which is thus effected by 
 the power of money , instead of affording that dis- 
 tinction which has been coveted, only holds its 
 dupes forth to notice as ridiculous imitators. In 
 aspiring after a new selection of titled and fashion- 
 able associates, they have heartlessly forsaken the 
 pious and worthy whom they formerly knew, 
 while those for whom they have been sacrificed, 
 stoop only to recognise the equality of their ac- 
 companiments. Themselves they ridicule and 
 despise. True nobilit}^ is not to be purchased. — 
 It throws around the chiefs of the wilderness a 
 moral grandeur of feeling and sentiment, before 
 which adventitious attributes sink into insigni- 
 ficance and contempt 
 
29 
 
 PRAYER. 
 
 Merciful Father ! Thy erring child entreats 
 thee to take entire possession of a heart too long 
 the unguarded retreat of the adversary and de- 
 ceiver. thou giver of every good and perfect 
 gift ! give me thy Holy Spirit, that I may hence- 
 forth yield my heart as a temple dedicated to thee, 
 enlightened from above, and having the flame 
 of pure love ever ascending from Christ its altar. 
 I have now seen what a hateful thing sin is ; I 
 have no longer a desire to be enslaved by the vile 
 passions which have so long been harboured in 
 my heart ; I wish now to serve and obey my Re- 
 deemer, who, to ransom me from the power of 
 evil here, and its punishment hereafter, shed his 
 own blood. I come to thee weak and frail ; but 
 ivho ever asked of thee in faith, and was sent 
 empty away ? Who ever trusted in thy power, and 
 was confounded ? I ask all in the name and for 
 the sake of Jesus Christ my Lord and Saviour. 
 
 Amen. 
 
 *' God is a spirit just and wise, 
 
 *• He knows our inmost mind ; 
 " In vain to him we raise our voice 
 
 *' And leave our hearts behind, 
 c 2 
 
30 
 
 " In spirit and in truth alone, 
 «* We must present our prayer ; 
 
 " The formal and the false are known 
 ** Through each disguise they wear. 
 
 " Their lifted eyes salute the skies, 
 ** Their bending knees the ground^ 
 
 *• But God abhors the empty form 
 •' Where not the heart is found." 
 
 ENVY. 
 
 Envy is an immediate influence from Satan — 
 he first conceived envy against Adam and Eve in 
 Eden. He could not endure to contrast their 
 state with his own. They were happy in the fa- 
 Tour of God, and in communion with him and his 
 holy angels, while he was hopelessly driven from 
 his presence for ever. Envy of their blessedness 
 and peace led him to plan their ruin. He tempt- 
 ed them with the desire of becoming greater than 
 they ic ere ^ by forbidden 7?ieans: they listened — 
 were deceived — disobeyed God ; and thus, instead 
 ofimproving their condition, in becoming as Gods 
 to know good. and evil, they acquired by iYidX pro- 
 hibited krwivledge the new feelings of fear and 
 
31 
 
 sha}ne. They were now afraid of God — why ? Be= 
 cause they had disobeyed his command; and they 
 were ashamed of themselves, because they had lost 
 their innocence. Conscious guilt taught them to 
 hide themselves from God, whom they were wont 
 to behold with perfect delight. 
 
 Again : The evil spirit of envy took possession 
 of Cain, who first envied, then hated, and finally 
 slew his brother. Another illustration of this Sa- 
 tanic passion, we have in the history of Joseph 
 and his brethren : first they envied him, and then 
 concerted hov/ to destroy him. By the interpo- 
 sition of Reuben and Judah, he was delivered 
 from them, and sold to a company of Ismaelites, 
 who carried him to Egypt. God overruled their 
 evil purpose for much good to Joseph, and also to 
 hi§ brethren, who repented, and weTe/o?'give7i by 
 him. 
 
 Envy is seldom without its usual accompani- 
 ments, which are deceit, malice, perfidy, and 
 fraud ; so that a person who cherishes, or even 
 admits pride, covetousness and envy, may be said 
 to possess a legion of evil spirits. Such a heart 
 had Mary Magdalene, out of whom our blessed Sa- 
 viour cast seven devils. Such devils have a kind of 
 faith ; they know that Jesus Christ is the holy one 
 9f God, but they still continue devils : their faith 
 
32 
 
 only teaches them io fear that he will give them 
 up to their decreed torment before the time. 
 
 Anger is a passion, which we are informed by 
 scripture, '' rests in the bosom of fools." A good 
 man never for any injury associated with self, lets 
 the sun go down upon his wrath ; but there is a 
 holy indignation against sin, iinhclief, and hy- 
 pocrisy, which is sometimes in scripture called an- 
 ger. Thus, God is represented as being '^ angry 
 with the wicked every day.'^ He is indignant that 
 all that light and privilege which his revealed word 
 unfolds to them, is abused and neglected, or per- 
 verted. The psalmist experienced this feeling of 
 loyalty to God and zeal for his glory, when he 
 said, "do not I hate them who hate thee, and hold 
 them as mine enemies?" Our Heavenly Master, 
 who was meek and lowly as regarded his indivi- 
 dual requisitions, was roused to resentment when 
 he characterized the chief priests, scribes and 
 pharisees of those times, as serpents — a generation 
 of vipers ! ! who ought to bring forth fruits meet 
 for repentance. Instead of being disinterested, 
 upright, and sincere, having an eye single to the 
 glory of God, whom they professed to honour, 
 they were self-interested hypocrites. The same 
 
33 
 
 holy indignation urged him to enter into the 
 temple, and drive out those who had turned 
 it into a place of merchandise. Yes ! an individu- 
 al, insignificant in their eye, having neither the af- 
 fluence nor investment which secures influence, 
 and purchases the respect of men, said, *^take 
 these things hence — it is written^ ^my house shall 
 be called an house of prayer for all people, but ye 
 have made it a den of thieves !' " 
 
 But this holy excitement of zeal for the glory 
 ©f God, is as opposite to any emotion of personal 
 anger, as light is from darkness. If we admit or 
 cherish resentment toward those who have 7?e?'- 
 sonally injured us — or against persons instead of 
 sins, (even when our resentment is not associated 
 with self) our prayers are unacceptable to God j 
 for if we have any cause of disagreement with our 
 fellow men, we are required first, to go and grant 
 submission or forgiveness to those who offend us, 
 and then come and offer our prayers ; because, *' if 
 we forgive not men their trespasses against us, nei- 
 ther will our Heavenly Father forgive our tres- 
 passes against Him." 
 
 The apostles of our Lord on one ©ccasion, were 
 moved to resent a personal affront which the Sa- 
 maritans offered to their Lord and themselves ; 
 who, (because Vi^face was toward Jerusalem y^x^- 
 fused from him a passing visit : they were deter- 
 
34 
 
 mined if they could not have a first, to refuse a 
 secondary place in his regard. The apostles said 
 to their master, <'Lord, shall we command fire to 
 come down from Heaven, and consume them as 
 Elijah did ? But Jesus said, ** Ye know not what 
 manner of spirit ye are of, for the son of man came 
 not to destroy men, but to save them." Another 
 illustration of this zeal, which is not according to 
 knowledge, we find in the history of the prophet 
 Jonah. The city of Ninive was very great, and 
 had become very wicked in the sight of God. Jo- 
 nah was commanded (much against his will) to go 
 and declare to them their iniquity, and warn them, 
 that if they did not repent, the city would be de- 
 stroyed within lorty days. When he had done 
 this, the King of Ninive came down from his 
 throne, put on sackcloth, and humbled himself to 
 the dust: he also proclaimed a universal fast 
 during three days, when neither man nor beast 
 should eat or drink ; but by prayer and contrition, 
 avert the judgment which the prophet had pro- 
 claimed in the name of God. 
 
 Jonah went up to a mountain which overlook- 
 ed the city, to see its destruction — which he now 
 heartily wished, in order that he might have credit 
 as a true prophet. This selfish feeling taught him 
 to forget that he had preached repentance to tho. 
 
35 
 
 ^ people, as well as retribution, and that their 
 repentance was to be the condition of their 
 preservation from the threatened vengeance of 
 God ; an issue which glorified God as much, and 
 even more than the infliction of unconditional 
 destruction would have done, his promise being 
 fulfilled in either case. The people of Ninive 
 actually did repent, from one end of the city to the 
 other: they abstained from their worldly pur- 
 suits^ and repenting in dust and ashes, fasted and 
 prayed to the Lord for pardon and mercy. The 
 universal cry of contrition which the whole city 
 sent up, reached the Lord, and was accepted by 
 him as the fulfilment of that condition which 
 should avert his judgment. Jonah knew nothing 
 of all this while he waited on the mountain, im- 
 patient to see the fulfilment of his denunciation. 
 The Lord taught him his error by a striking em- 
 blem. The sun beat fiercely on the spot where 
 he stood, having no shelter there. He wished for 
 death, to relieve him of his present bodily suflfer- 
 ing, as well as affronted feelings ; for now the time 
 was elapsed in which the destruction of Ninive 
 should have taken place. He at length sunk un» 
 der the oppression of his mind and body, int# 
 sleep. While he slept, the Lord caused a magni- 
 ficent plant to spring up, whose broad and fresk 
 
36 
 
 leaves covered him from the scorching rays of the 
 sun. When Jonah awoke and saw this refreshing 
 and friendly shelter, he felt attachment to the 
 beauteous plant for the protection it afforded him 
 — but the Lord caused a worm to attack its root, 
 when presently it began to droop, fade, and final- 
 ly die. Again — Jonah felt actuated by personal 
 anger. Then God said to Jonah, dost thou well 
 to be angry for the loss of the gourd? which nei- 
 ther grew, nor was planted by thy care or labour ! 
 which was the growth of a day ! — and should I not 
 spare Ninive, that great city, wherein are more 
 than six thousand childrtn, that cannot discern 
 beliveen their right hand and their left—nnA also 
 much cattle ? How compassionate is our Hea- 
 venly Father ! — for we learn that little chil- 
 dren, and even the inferior animals, are objects of 
 his solicitude and care. 
 
 Many, during the dark ages, have thought they 
 did God service, in robbing and murdering the 
 Jews and others who differed from them in opi- 
 mo?i, while they only were actuated by their own 
 parti/ ov personal anger, which never burns so 
 fiercely as when contending for opinion. The false 
 zeal which this evil passion excites, has deluged 
 Christendom with crime and blood. The most 
 impious of all wars, was that which they miscalled 
 
37 
 
 the holy war. But if this evil spirit has stolen the 
 cloak of religion, it has also borrowed the mask of 
 fashion. When you mix with society, dear child, 
 you will not unfrequently hear of the sacrifices 
 which this evil spirit demands as the tribute 
 of its infatuated votaries. Yes, you will hear 
 of rational, accountable, and immortal beings, 
 paying what are styled debts of honour, with their 
 lives ; or by taking the life, at least shedding the 
 blood, of their fellow immortals. One allows the 
 spirit of anger to arise in his breast — (always in 
 some cause where self'i^ concerned,) he gives it ut- 
 terance in reproach, ridicule, or malicious insinu- 
 ation. When such an assault is made against a 
 Christian character, he would not degrade himself 
 by resenting it in kind : he knows that a mind of 
 his own rank cannot offend him ; and from a lower 
 grade of character he will not receive any affront 
 — he would in doing so, be sunk to the same un- 
 principled level. But unhappily, when such a 
 challenge as an angry word or look, is given to a 
 person having the passions of his natural heart un- 
 expelled, his pride is hurt, his anger is roused, his 
 passions are in a wild tumult, Satan foments their 
 disorder — affront is taken, redress is demand- 
 ed, a convenient place is appointed, instruments 
 of death are provided, and forthwith the men of 
 honour adjust the quarrel : By means of acknow- 
 D 
 
38 
 
 iedgment of error, by reason, by argument? no ! 
 This magnanimous conquest of pride, and passion, 
 and self, the deceiver has taught them to consider 
 cowardice : their manner of settling the affair, 
 must be by means of steel and balls : these are 
 the arguments to which each party resort, leaving 
 the worthy part of society to think that both cham- 
 pions are alike unprincipled ; both alike cowards 
 of opinion, and slaves of passion. 
 
 MEDITATION. 
 
 When I meditate on the long-suffering patience 
 of God, I am lost in wonder and praise ! How 
 many and aggravated have been my provocations, 
 and still I am spared that I may repent. I have 
 too long been a cumbercr of the ground ; the 
 good fruit of the Holy Spirit I have not brought 
 forth, so as to reward the labour of the heaven- 
 ly husbandman. My Lord, who planted, and 
 daily bedewed me with his choicest blessings, 
 looked for grapes, and have I yielded only 
 w41d grapes ? but still I am not cut down ! — 
 Teach me. Lord, to be long-suffering, weaned so 
 much from exactions for self, as to feel no emotion 
 of anger for personal injury, or provocation. For 
 
39 
 
 the meek alone shall inherit the earth, when thy 
 will shall be done as in heaven ! 
 
 PRAYER. 
 
 Our Father who art in Heaven ! constrain us by 
 the power of thy good spirit to yield up our hearts, 
 with all our first and warmest affections to thee ! 
 Forbid, Lord, that (having known thy revealed 
 mind from our youth,) we should devote our early 
 years, and our prime of life, to the service of the 
 world, the Devil, and self; and afterwards provoke 
 thee to just anger, by offering thee the sin- 
 worn remnant of our age, when not the will, but 
 i\\Q power to sin, becomes extinct. Henceforth I 
 determine by thy help, to offer up soul and body 
 to thee, my Redeemer, as a //ij/t?^ sacrifice, which 
 is my reasonable service ! I desire not only to be 
 free from the pufiishmenl of sin hereafter, but to 
 be free from its dominion here. Lord take forci- 
 ble and entire possession of my heart ! When its 
 affections ebb, let it be to centre in thee ! and 
 when they flow forth, let it be in thy service ! I 
 ask this and every blessing, in the name and for 
 the sake of mv Lord and Saviour. Amen. 
 
40 
 
 HYMN. 
 
 '♦ Giver of concord, Prince of Peace^ 
 
 *« Meek lamb-like Son of God ! 
 " Bid our unruly passions cease — 
 
 " Efface them by thy blood. 
 ♦* Then shall we find the ancient way, 
 
 ** The wondering world to move ; 
 "* Again fierce disputants shall say, 
 
 " * See how these Christians love 
 
 SLOTH. 
 
 Not slothful in business ; hut /erve?it in spirit 
 serving the Lord, is an injunction exemplified in 
 the lives of Christ, and his apostles. Sloth is a 
 base and degrading characteristic of the natural 
 heart. Man in a savage, barbarous, and degene- 
 rate state, is slothful. Activity of mind and body, 
 are attributes of the Christian character: their time, 
 and every other talent, are considered a loan to be 
 improved by industry : so that when an account 
 of their stewardship is demanded, they may not be 
 found unprofitable servants. 
 
 The wise Monarch of Israel, bids the sluggard 
 '* go to the ant,^^ in order to receive instruction 
 and reproof. The bees are also a wise communi- 
 
41 
 
 ty, from which man may derive much instruction : 
 their labours are not selfish, but social : each fur- 
 nishes some part of the common stock of provi- 
 sion : those who refuse to work, are not permitted 
 to partake of the sweets which joint labour has 
 furnished. 
 
 However shameful is this disposition, and how- 
 ever deplorable are its results to society, there is 
 a much more lamentable and common expression 
 of it in that sphere of duty which man as a ration- 
 al, accountable, and immortal being, was intended 
 to adorn. There are persons as active and 
 as wise in making temporal provision for the 
 future, as the ants or htcs ; wiio nevertheless are 
 sluggards, where the interests of their soul are 
 concerned : they have fallen sound asleep, and 
 dream that without 5/r^^'^XJ?•, they may enter into 
 the strait gate ; without knocking, the door of 
 mercy will open to them ; without seeking, they 
 will find salvation ; without doing the will of their 
 Father, they will be acknowledged by Christ when 
 they only call him Lord ! Lord ! * * * ^ * * * 
 
 The slothful professor has not the feeling of love 
 to the Saviour in his heart ; for this would redeem 
 his time from waste ; it would impel him to be ac- 
 tive in improving this, and every other loan, from 
 his heavenly Father. When those faculties wMiich 
 are capable of becoming exalted, expanded, and 
 d2 
 
42 
 
 enlightened by exertion in their proper sphere, be- 
 come by slothfulness, torpid and unprofitable ; how 
 must the sluggard be terrified, when the account of 
 his stewardship is demanded by an all righteous 
 Judge ? Alas ! like the spider's airy web, his long 
 cherished delusion vanishes. He novj finds that 
 speculative faith is a deception of Satan's own con- 
 trivance : he now finds that God is not an arbitrary, 
 but a righteous sovereign ; not reaping where he 
 never sowed, nor requiring what he never gave. 
 He is then taught, but too late, that not the igno- 
 rant, but unbelievers, hypocrites, liars, &c. are ex- 
 cluded from those blessings which the blood of 
 Christ had power to procure for the world. 
 
 MEDITATION. 
 
 When I contemplate the history of Christ my 
 master ! — when I consider his unwearied activity 
 in doing good to the souls and bodies of those 
 among whom he sojourned, I am ready to blush 
 for shame at my sluggishness of soul and mind. — 
 How often have I seen difficulties in the path of 
 duty, rising like mighty mountains j and instead of 
 going on in the spirit of true faith, I have been dis- 
 mayed : yet blessed be thy name, and be it testi- 
 fied to thy glory, thy servants have found these 
 
43 
 
 mountain-like difficulties disappear, as often as in 
 true faith they have gone fearlessly forth leaning 
 upon the divine Redeemer ! Heavenly Father ! 
 give me that activity which love to thee, and gra- 
 titude to my Redeemer, inspires ! Then when I 
 am no longer fettered hy any weight, not even 
 the sin which most 'easily besets me, I shall run 
 without being weary or faint in my prescribed 
 path of duty : Like the rising sun, I shall go forth 
 increasing in glory as I advance on my way. I 
 have got a sight of my native sin, and loathe it: 
 and by thy grace, I have learnt to taste the sweets 
 of holiness, love, and peace ! Never leave me, 
 never forsake me, my heavenly Father! lest if 
 left to myself, I should fall into temptation, and 
 thus grieve thy holy spirit. I have now no more 
 relish for the gross and insipid husks which the na- 
 tural heart covets : I desire to be fed with the 
 bread which came from heaven, for the life of my 
 immortal being: having tasted theblessings of free- 
 dom /ro/w sin, let me die, rather than be again en- 
 slaved by its power. 
 
 I give myself to thee wholly : take my heart, 
 and reign tliere its Lord and love for ever. 
 
 Amen. 
 
44 
 
 " Ye indolent and slothful rise ! 
 ** View the ant's labours, and be wise ; 
 ** She has no guide to point her way, 
 ** No ruler chiding her delay. — 
 *• Yet see with what incessant cares 
 *' She for the winter's storm prepares ; 
 " In summer she provides her sweets, 
 " And autumn her research completes. 
 
 ** But when will sluggish fools arise ? 
 ** How long shall sloth seal up their eyes t 
 " Sloth more indulgence still demands; 
 " Sloth shuts the eyes, and folds the hands 
 ** But mark the end : — want shall assail 
 •* When youthful strength and vigour fail. 
 ** Just retribution on shall rush, 
 " Their vain delusive hope to crush." 
 
 SENSUALITY. 
 
 Sensuality is a base passion. Self is the idol 
 of the sensualist : Its early stage discovers itself in 
 children who have a special regard to themselves 
 in all they think, say, and do. When I see a boy 
 selecting for himself what he considers the best of 
 every thing, this disposition assures me that he will 
 be a sordid character through life, the slave of his 
 
45 
 
 passions, and his will be ignoble pursuits, and dis- 
 honourable gains. To expect that such a charac- 
 ter will aspire after moral or intellectual improve- 
 ment, is as vain as to expect that a bat can be 
 taught to love day-light. Such characters exem- 
 plify that the curse of the serpent extends to those 
 he tempts to love themselves : they grovel in the 
 mire, and eat dust : when a selfish boy, who loves 
 ease too much to improve his mind, and refine his 
 taste by study, becomes a man ; he is truly an ob- 
 ject of disgust : his impurity of heart evinces itself 
 by grossness of expression : even people who are 
 not regulated by the decisions of religion, shun 
 such a pest. Education has refined their minds ; 
 and of such a person they say, ** he is a brutal fel- 
 low :" he was baptized with water without his 
 own consent, and this is all the title which he has 
 to the name of Christian. Such a mere animal 
 would be quite out of his element in the society of 
 the '' holy and blessed :" to him, holiness, peace, 
 and love, would be misery : his passions are his 
 masters, and hell is their kindred sphere. But if 
 there are under the Christian name multitudes of 
 such characters who assimilate more with the brutes 
 that perish, than with man as a rational and immor- 
 tal being, there is another class equally self-wor- 
 shippers, who may be characterized as the insects 
 
46 
 
 of fashion. Large cities swarm with these ephem- 
 era, who flutter from one trifling pursuit to another, 
 with the same claim to reason as the gaudy and 
 trifling butterfly ; for neither they, nor the restless 
 insect they resemble, think of or provide for the 
 time to come. 
 
 **A fool," sa3'sthe wise man, ^^may be known 
 by his laughter, manner, and attire," even before 
 he confirms the fact by speaking. Again : The 
 eyes of a fool are in the ends of the earth : self- 
 knowledge he has none. The wise heathen max- 
 im, ** Know thyself," has never entered his ear. 
 Such characters instinctively shun any exposure of 
 their heart, even to themselves. There the goods 
 of their strong master are secure. Should truth 
 in the form of a cherub, declare that their hearts 
 are deceitful above all things, desperately wick- 
 ed ; like the deaf adder they would close their ear 
 against such information ; they would refuse to be 
 charmed to self-knowledge, though wisdom herself 
 should charm them ever so wisely. 
 
 When I meditate on the great, the magnanimous 
 souls, whose histories are recorded in the holy 
 book of God, I am covered with shame and confu- 
 sion. Moses chose rather to sufier afiliction with 
 the people of God, (in the faith of participating in 
 their promised glory) than to enjoy a luxurious life 
 
47 
 
 in the court of Egypt. Abraham, simply trusting 
 in the promise which God revealed to him, left his 
 native land, and went forth in faith, not knowing 
 whither, or for what purpose. This the Lord re- 
 vealed when he set out on his journey, but not be- 
 fore. Daniel, a man greatly beloved for the sanc- 
 tity of his character, chose to subsist on pulse, 
 rather than revel in the luxury of the king's ban- 
 quets. He refused to obey the king's order to 
 cease from praying to the Almighty, and was 
 thrown into a den among fierce lions, whom God 
 restrained from harming him. Such was his faith 
 in the omniscience of God, and of his power to 
 protect those who trust in him ; that the lions^ 
 mouths wei^e shut by it: they dared not harm him. 
 
 PRAYER. 
 
 O Holy Father ! enable me to strive against m} 
 besetting sins. Give me power to prevail against 
 those principalities and strong-holds, which Satan 
 has so long fortified for himself in my heart. I 
 know that our present state of existence is a state 
 of probation ; that here we are to be proved and 
 tried, in order that the use or abuse of our privi- 
 
48 
 
 leges may determine our eternal destination. I 
 know that it is only they who overcome the world, 
 the Devil, and the flesh, that shall have a right to 
 that tree of life, which is in the midst of the para- 
 dise of God ; even the true vine ! give me a 
 child-like confidence in thy word, written for my 
 instruction by thy faithful servants, and dictated 
 by thy holy spirit ; give me a teachable and sub- 
 missive spirit, that when I sit at the feet of Jesus 
 to hear his commands, I may obey them. 
 I ask all in the name of my Redeemer. 
 
 Amen. 
 
 *' Lord, if thou thy grace impart, 
 *' Self and sin shall leave my heart : 
 " I shall as my master be 
 ** Adorned with meek humility. 
 " Simple, teachable, and mild, 
 " Changed into a weaned child. 
 " Pleased with all thy word decides, 
 *♦ Weaned from all the world besides. 
 ** Father, fix my heart on thee ! 
 *' Thine would its affections be ! 
 ** All its treasure is above, 
 * Where reigneth Christ — ^its light and love.'" 
 
49 
 
 INTEBXPERANCE. 
 
 The apostle enjoins Christians to '* let their 
 moderation (or temperance) be known to all 
 men.'^ This moderation has unhappily, in mo- 
 dern times, been in many instances transferred 
 from its original application, namely, the things of 
 this worlds to the things which belong to oar eter- 
 nal peace. Here a lamentable moderation pre- 
 vails ; while much superfluous extravagance con- 
 tradicts the apostolic injunction. The wants of 
 nature are i^vv, and easily supplied ; and in a ha- 
 bitual temperance, there is great reward ; for not 
 only the body is thus preserved from languor, 
 disease, and suffering, but the mind is healthful 
 and vigorous, with no intercepting clog to with- 
 hold communion with its risen Lord, and that 
 eloud of witnesses who, although withdrawn in 
 body, are yet present in spirit, to instruct and 
 comfort believers. On the contrary, to abuse by 
 intemperance those good things which God hath 
 bestowed for a temperate use, is to lay up a store 
 of physical as well as moral evil for the time to 
 come. Who hath redness of eyes ? saith the wise 
 man : who hath babbling, and hurts without cause ? 
 They that tarry long at the wine, &c. Who hath 
 E 
 
50 
 
 sleepless nights, and a diseased mind and body r 
 They that wallow in luxurious abundance, << whose 
 God is their belly." 
 
 When I have seen a table groaning under cost- 
 ly and successive variety of vitiated blessings, I 
 have contrasted this prodigal waste with the scan- 
 ty meal of penury. How many destitute widows 
 and orphans, I have said, might be relieved from 
 the gnawings of hunger by the very refuse of 
 these voluptuaries. Insult not the majesty of hea- 
 ven, ye votaries of riot and waste, by invoking, 
 with affected grimace, his blessing on your abuse 
 of his gifts. Be consistent. Your banquet declares 
 that ye refuse to obey his precepts. Aggravate not 
 his indignation by asking a blessing on his dis- 
 honoured laws. "Be not deceived:" God is 
 not mocked : <* They that sow to theflesh, shall of 
 the flesh reap corr^(/?/20?i. " An asp lurks in the 
 wine cup to sting you ; and diseases of every form 
 lie in ambush in that vitiated profusion. 
 
 Our Lord and Master was strictly temperate : 
 and he admonishes his followers to take no 
 thought what they shall eat or drink, nor with 
 w^hat they shall be clothed. Even Heathen 
 worthies have been remarkable for inculcat- 
 ing and practising temperance. It constituted 
 fbne of their most eminent virtues. Nobilitv of 
 
51 
 
 soul was never associated with the characteristics 
 of an epicure or glutton. The character whom 
 our Lord represents as awaking from his sensual 
 dream in hell, is not accused of any positive 
 breach of the law of God ; but he fared sumptu- 
 ously, while he neglected a destitute child of God, 
 who desired the crumbs, or refuse of his table. 
 Another sensualist is represented as saying, ^' Soul 
 take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry, for thou 
 hast much store laid up for many years. '^ To 
 whom God replied, ^*Thou fool, this night thy 
 soul shall be required of thee ; for whom then hast 
 thou provided these things ?" Our Lord not on- 
 ly recommends uniform temperance, but occasion- 
 al fasting. When besought to heal a youth who 
 liad a certain evil spirit ; this kind, said he, can on- 
 ly be expelled by prayer and fasting. To attempt 
 drawing the attention of this lowest grade of man, 
 to the enlighteiiingd^ndi purify ingirxxihs ofdivme 
 revelation, is as inconsiderate as it would be to 
 ihrow pearls before swine, in the hope that they 
 would be enabled by a miraculous change of nature 
 to appreciate them : both animals must hopelessl} 
 wallow in their congenial mire. fallen man ! 
 luho, seeing thy inglorious slavery and sordid des- 
 tiny, would for one moment question, that human 
 nature, and human intellect in thee, is sunk to the 
 level of animal instinct ! 
 
52r 
 
 PRAYER. 
 
 Merciful Father ! I have the will to come t(& 
 ihee, that I may become thy child ; grant me the 
 power/ My prayers are not yet inspired by 
 filial gratitude. They are like the cry of the 
 young raven, w^hich yet thou deignest to hear. I 
 cannot yet hope that thou wilt hear mi/ supplica- 
 tion as those of thy obedient children ; for, alas, I 
 have not yet the claim of ihy friend — but because 
 of my importunity I know thou wilt answer me 
 in peace. Lord ! I pray not for the distinction, 
 wealth, or reputation of this vain world. I ask 
 that I may receive the gift of thy Holy Spirit! to 
 illumine what is dark in me — to ennoble what is 
 sordid — to expand what is contracted — to elevate 
 what is mean. I have seen what a hateful thing 
 sin is ; I abhor and detest the crooked serpent 
 in every shape of evil he assumes to tempt and 
 deceive — I admire virtue, and love peace ! I de- 
 sire to grow in grace and in the knowledge of my 
 Lord and Saviour ; but I am weak, and I distrust 
 myself. I would, as a little child who makes a 
 first eflfort to stand upright, cling to thy proffered 
 aid ; conscious that if I take one step, even to- 
 ward thee; trusting in my 0W7i ability, I shall fall. 
 
53 
 
 Lead me and guide me in the path of life which 
 conducts to peace, for the sake of thy beloved 
 Son. 
 
 Amex. 
 
 HYMN, 
 
 ** While woi'dly men with all their mig'ht 
 
 " Their worthless cheats pursue, 
 ** How slow is each advance I make 
 
 *« With Christ my Lord in view ! 
 *♦ Inspire my soul with lioly zeal, 
 
 ** My cold dead heart inflame — 
 " Religion without zeal and love 
 
 ** Is but an empty name. 
 ** To gain the rest of Zion hill, 
 
 *• May I unwearied strive ; 
 ** And all those powers employ for thee 
 
 ** Which I from thee derive." 
 
 E 2 
 
.fr?. 
 
 
 
 f! 
 
 
 
 \ 
 
55 
 
 This Heart represents one who has had a sight 
 of death and judgment. Many must be laid on 
 beds of sickness, before they permit themselves to 
 think on this alarming subject. When the sinner, 
 conscious of guilt, expects to be launched into that 
 eternal existence for which he has made no prepa- 
 ration, the vanities of the world lose their power 
 to fascinate. Sometimes on recovering, this salu- 
 tary conviction is retained; but in most cases, with 
 health, the sinner returns to his wallowing in the 
 mire. The holy spirit is ever ready to act in con- 
 cert with the first emotion of this conviction. 
 Sometimes a continued will to sin repels its striv- 
 higs. In other cases, its admission is permitted, 
 and its stay secured by using the appointed means 
 for growing in grace. 
 
 When the husbandman has ploughed and 'sow- 
 ed, he may pray to Him, who by giving sunshine 
 and rain can crown his labour with a good har- 
 vest ; but without using these means, he has no rea- 
 son to expect a crop as an answer of prayer. It 
 is equally vain to dream that the influence of the 
 great spirit, which is as sunshine and refreshing 
 showers, would produce the good fruits of the 
 spirit, without the co-operation of the affec- 
 tion and will. When affliction, or some other 
 cause; ploughs the heart, the affection and will 
 
56 
 
 must receive the precious truths of revelation ; thus 
 taking root, they soon yield the peaceable fruits of 
 righteousness. Watchfulness and prayer are 
 equally to be observed, as the means of guarding 
 the heart from the re-admission of temptation. 
 '' Watch and pray that ye enter not into tempta- 
 tion. '^ If these duties could be dispensed with in 
 ns, why are they so solemnly, so repeatedly urged 
 upon us by our heavenly Father ? Would he say, 
 <« My son, give me thy heart,'' if it was not in our 
 power to give or withhold its alFections ? Why 
 would he bid us cease to do evil, and learn to do 
 well, if we were no more than passive machines? 
 What means our Lord and Saviour, when he says, 
 <^ Behold, I stand at the door and knock V Why, 
 and for what, dear child, does thy Saviour stand 
 knocking at thy heart, but for admittance ? He 
 W'Ould call its affections his own ! Surely thou wilt 
 not refuse him ! Has he not bought thee with the 
 price of his blood? To whom then dost thou belong 
 but to him who gave himself for thee ? A death-bed 
 repentance, as it is termed, is in many cases a la- 
 mentable delusion. How can God be reconciled to 
 those who have given the service of their youth 
 and prime to the Devil, the world, and self, and 
 have spurned the instructions, invitations, and 
 warnings of his beloved son, whom he sent into 
 
57 
 
 the world top urify unto himself a peculiar 'people 
 zealous of good works ? Not filial love, but slavish 
 fear of punishment, compels their tardy submis- 
 sion. What ! shall Christ become thus the minis- 
 ter of sin ? Shall the mere confession which fear 
 has extorted from alarmed consciousness, seive as a 
 passport to that society who have fought the good 
 fight of faith, and obtained the victory over 
 those very enemies, which the unregenerated have 
 served and obeyed ? Why is the gospel hid to 
 any? The apostle solves the question : ** The god 
 of this world has blinded them ; they have been led 
 captives by him at his wilV Can Christ and Belial 
 assimilate ? Can holiness and pollution reign to- 
 gether ? No ! Such characters are not branches of 
 the true vine ; neither will he own their too late 
 cry of Lord ! Lord ! it is a fatal delusion, 
 from which thousands have awaked in those 
 ffames which just retribution has kindled. — 
 The case of the pardoned thief on the cross bears 
 no affinity to such infatuated presumption. He 
 believed in Christ as soon as he knew him : both 
 his knowledge of him, and his faith, were at the 
 last hour of life ; but the modern sinner has sin- 
 ned against line upon line and precept upon pre- 
 cept. During his whole life he has slighted his 
 proffered mercy, and neglected his great salvation. 
 
58 
 
 Tremble then, ye who delay repentance till the 
 horrors of a death-bed shall surround you. Instead 
 of receiving the salutation of ^* Well done good 
 and faithful servant, enter thou into the joy of thy 
 Lord," to such it shall righteously be said, <^ When 
 I called, ye w^ould not answer ; when I spake, ye 
 would not hear ; but did choose that in which I 
 delighted not : therefore, I will laugh at your ca- 
 lamity, and mock when your fear cometh as de- 
 solation.'^ The unimproved loan shall be taken 
 from the unprofitable steward, and given to that 
 servant who gained an increase by a beneficial 
 improvement of the talents he received. These 
 are the declarations of Christ — these are the tests 
 by which he judges : and an angel from heaven 
 cannot reverse them. 
 
JfTJ 
 
 "{'(>////'// f/c .IV' /// //<)' /tn'f ." 
 
 SA.f^/i^'f M-MT' Si», 
 
 /JnrHH M- £71. .)>'.'- 
 
59 
 
 The third Heart exhibits a more advanced stage 
 of the spirit's influence, in him who has had a 
 Tiewof death and judgment. Much depend S7^o^^J in 
 using the means oi groioing in grace. Vigilance 
 and watchfulness are required to guard against the 
 surprisals of temptation, which the dethroned ene- 
 my will not fail to renew. Yerweut prayer is also 
 indispensable; for only those who ask shall receive 
 power to withstand that guileful fascination, which 
 the enemy now assumes. The constant and assi- 
 duous study of the revealed mind of God, is the 
 third means within our power. Satan cannot 
 break this three-fold cord: Thus the spirit (not 
 being grieved nor resisted) carries on the work of 
 sanctification, until the babe in Christ attains the 
 stature of a perfect Christian character. 
 
 But if the sinner who has obtained a view of 
 death and judgment, fails to make use of these ap- 
 pointed means for going forward in the Christian 
 life, he shall /a// away : the good seed which fell 
 On a stony place soon withered, because it lacked 
 depth and moisture. If for want of striving, and 
 asking, and seeking, the influence of the spirit 
 withdraws from his heart, and his love waxes cold, 
 it were better that he had never heard of the way 
 of salvation, and the holy commandment delivered 
 unto him ; for he shall be speechless before his 
 
60 
 
 judge. The heathen are in a safer condition, if 
 from ignorance they sin and worship stocks and 
 stones. They have a cloak for their sin : and if Je- 
 sus was never made known to them as their sa- 
 viour and teacher, they can urge as a plea, that 
 they have never re/e^^efi? him, nor rem/e^/ his spirit, 
 theo?z/y sin which he Cff/z7zo/ forgive. The fourth 
 Heart represents such an one. This class involves 
 various grades ; from the lukewarm formalist, who 
 has the form of religion, while he denies its power, 
 up to the party zealot, who contends for specula- 
 tive opinion. Characters of this kind would be 
 shocked and surprised to have it even hinted by 
 an angel from heaven, that they are in a more dan- 
 gerous state than the heathen, whom they have 
 probably, with very little reluctance, doomed to 
 everlasting misery for the crime of ignorance. 
 They are punctual attenders of outward ordinan- 
 ces ; but unhappily rest there. They have not 
 omitted an occasional reading of the scriptures; 
 but they have never studied them. Instead of 
 •^'asking" in prayer the enlightening and sanctify- 
 ing giftof the holy spirit, who is promised on these 
 terms, and whose office it is to lead into all truth! 
 human commentators and expositors have been 
 applied to for this purpose : Me2> judgment is re- 
 lied on ; their opinions are imbibed : while, could 
 
61 
 
 they exercise a small portion of discernment, they 
 would learn from the contradictory nature of their 
 opinions, that they have also failed to apply (as 
 little children) to the SOURCE of all truth, forthe 
 gift oihis '^ spirit y which sear chet hall things ^ yea 
 even the deep things of God.^^ The higher grade 
 of this character has, in addition to these charac- 
 teristics, a persecuting zeal : they have their heads 
 filled with speculative theory, but there is no love 
 in their hearts : the sacred fire has subsided into 
 ashes and smoke : these are the characters whom 
 the second coming of Christ, as the bridegroom of 
 his church, shall surprise by stealth. They cal- 
 culated on other circumstances than those which 
 he has chosen, to bespeak his approach. They are 
 surprised with the empty lamps of profession in 
 their hand; instead of being replenished with the 
 holy fire of love, fed from the source of divine 
 light, truth and wisdom. 
 
 F 
 
jr?4 
 
 ■/',) //yy/// /,) /yf'y,)y ///yy // //r> /ry/ / y/ // / y/ y . 
 "//ai'///y/ yy /yy////f' A" //'rf /'/// /,'(• y/fy/f/ ." 
 
 ',.,/ fy- .-ty^yjv,. 
 
 I 
 
63 
 
 The fourth Heart represents one of whom the 
 glorified Sayiour thus speaks : I know thy works, 
 that thou art neither cold nor hot. — ^I wish that 
 thou wert cold or hot. So then because thou art 
 lukewarm I will cast thee out. Such an one says, 
 I am rich — I want nothing, and knoweth not that 
 he is poor, wretched, miserable, blind, and naked. 
 The language of the judge again is : I counsel thee 
 to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou may?- 
 est be rich ; and white raiment, that thou mayes^t 
 be clothed, and anoint thine eyes with eye salve, 
 that thou mayest see. As many as I love I rebuke 
 and chasten: Be zealous therefore and repent. 
 Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If any 
 man hear my voice and open the door, I will 
 come in to him, and sup with him, and he with 
 me. Such persons frequently pass through the 
 mechanical business of religion with great punc- 
 tuality. They go to church, and participate in 
 the memorials of the Lord's broken body and shed 
 blood ; they also devote set times to read pious 
 books ; and even the holy scripture is not altoge- 
 ther forgotten, but their favourite commentators 
 must guide them through what appears to inexpe- 
 rienced vision deep waters and inaccessible moun- 
 tains. This character has the dead form of reli- 
 gion — the living spirit is gone, or never existed 
 
64 
 
 there. Such an expression of duty, as, "Lord, 
 xahat wilt thou have me todo?^^ never breaks on 
 the complacent torpor of that nominal professor. 
 The outward means of grace are beautiful in their 
 order, and all needful to build up ; but these pri- 
 vileges ought not to supersede the still more ur- 
 gent duties oi sea7*ching the scripture^ prayer and 
 watchfulness : the former may be compared to 
 the candlestick; but the latter is the holy oil 
 which keeps alive the flame of devotion. The pe- 
 culiar set of opinions they adopt have been hand- 
 ed down from their forefathers, just like any other 
 property. They are called protestants because 
 their remote ancestors protested against some glar- 
 ing corruption ; but any corruption may exist for 
 those who have a name to live, and are dead. 
 
^ riA^r// r//r/ii/ . jf were ^e/ter not tfy /f^fy/' AYNmfi 
 
 lA^e way o/'rit/Ateoi/^ne/s //lan er/ter Aavi'n^ /tNown t/f/' //f/r 
 rommam^nent to turn^/9-ont it. It ^ tmpo/sit'/ejor tAosr wAo 
 were cynce e/ili^/Uened Q? Aave t^^ted ttie ^i/ood word o/' ti^od & t/u 
 power >^^tAe world to come ly t/iey s/uid Jad awaj\ to re/tew t/t^m ' 
 
 a^o.i?z 
 
 Itr/r/ir,/ M- .If^Smoi 
 
 /)rmrnM-/J>'S/nM. 
 
65 
 
 This Heart exhibits that state of hopeless apos- 
 tacy, which is characterized in holy writ by the 
 imagery of ^' Trees twice dead, plucked up by the 
 roots." 
 
 They have trodden under foot the means which 
 God appointed for their salvation ; and they ^* have 
 done despite to the spirit of grace : There remains 
 therefore, no more sacrifice for their sin, but a 
 fearful looking for of judgment, which shall devour 
 the adversaries." It is impossible to renew them 
 unto repentance again; seeing they crucify the 
 Lord of glory afresh, and put him to open shame. 
 
 Our Redeemer illustrated the hopeless case of 
 the backslider by a parable. The evil spirit 
 which had been driven out of a man, is represent- 
 ed by him as going about seeking rest , and finding 
 none, he saith, I will return to the abode from 
 whence I came. The evil spirit knew well, that if 
 he should be admitted a second time, he would 
 have rest, for it would then be impossible to de- 
 throne him. He seized a fit opportunity when the 
 man was oflf his guard ; he gained admittance ; he 
 entered the Heart which had once been his pollut- 
 ed habitation, and found it empty, swept, and gar- 
 nished. This change had been efiected by the 
 holy spirit Not only its native passions were 
 gone ; but it was free from any trace of them : nay, 
 
 F 3 
 
66 
 
 it was adorned with some of the graces of the spi- 
 rit, instead of them. How lamentable, that at such 
 a stage of advancement in the new life, the man 
 should be lost, only because he had neglected to 
 ■watch andpray against thepower of temptation ! 
 -How sad, that the subtle enemy should have ta- 
 ken advantage of the moment when he had laid 
 aside thsit armour with which the word of God ivas 
 stored for his supply. That evil one took to him- 
 .self seven spirits more wicked than himself, in or- 
 der to secure his continuance. These evil spirits, 
 brought back all his former depraved passions, 
 and perverted affections : end tliat Heart became 
 the image of hell : and its latter end was worse 
 than its beginning. Such characters are scattered 
 as tares among the wheat : both are permitted to 
 t^row, and in some measure be associated, until the 
 harvest, when they shall be cut down and gather- 
 ed in bundles, to be thrown into the fire. Their 
 .?<elf-tormentingco;25Czoti5?ie55 of abused mercies is 
 i'ompared to a worm which dieth not; and the in- 
 exorable wrath of God, which their ingratitude 
 has kindled, shall be to them an unquenchable 
 flame, to burn without purifying them yb?' ever. — 
 There is no repentance in the abyss of outer dark- 
 less. Hope there assumes the name and charac- 
 Ler of despair : weeping, wailing^ and gnashing of 
 
67 
 
 teeth, are the varieties of their experience. They 
 u'eep at having refused instruction ; and rejected 
 every offer of mercy. They wail, because of 
 their folly and jnadness in selling their heavenly 
 birthright for the base pleasures of sin. They 
 gnash their teeth, for envy of those whom they 
 see coming from the east, and west, and north, and 
 south, to sit down in the heavenly kingdom, with 
 Christ and his faithful servants, (who have denied 
 themselves to follow him,) while they cannot pro- 
 cure even a momentary respite from their intole- 
 rable misery, aggravated by self-reproach. dear 
 youth, turn ye, turn ye, for why would ye create 
 for yourselves an eternity of horror and despair, 
 of weeping and wailing, when you are invited 
 1o join that happy company who surround the 
 throne of the Majesty on high, singing his praise 
 with hearts overflowing with grateful adoration ? 
 The everlasting fire was not prepared for you ^ ye 
 children of men, but for the Devil and his angels. 
 delay not, dear children and youth, to come to 
 Christ, for he hath said, that " whosoever cometh 
 unto him, he will in no wise reject : Whosoever 
 will, let him come, and take of the water of life 
 freely." Know ye not that ye were chosen by 
 God to be conformed to the image of his son ? — 
 The foreknowledge of God enabled him to know 
 
68 
 
 that comparatively few would submit to tiie terms 
 of salvation : they will neither strive against sin, 
 norybr holiness : they will noicome to Christ, that 
 they may have life : they will not repent and return : 
 any thing that requires self-denial they refuse to 
 acknowledge : therefore, Christ says, his is a little 
 flock. Few there be that find the strait gate, and 
 the narrow way. Pray for faith, dear youth, for 
 without it, you cannot please God in any thing 
 you do ; nor can you without it be saved. When 
 our Lord healed the bodily diseases of men, he 
 required their will to co-operate with his power. 
 To illustrate this, the man who had a withered 
 arm did not say, I cannot stretch it forth. When 
 the Lord said, '' Stretch forth thine hand,^^ had 
 the man indulged reason instead of faith, he would 
 have said, " how can I stretch forth an arm that 
 has for many years been motionless ?" But the 
 man had faith, and obeyed Christ ; and in making 
 the exertion, (^thus giving evide7ice of his faith) 
 he was cured. The prodigal actually was return- 
 ing with a penitent heart, when his father met 
 him. 
 
 If the diligent maketh rich in temporal things, 
 this is much more the case in a higher sphere of 
 action. Paul compares the Christian life to a race, 
 in which the prize is keptinview, as an incitement 
 
69 
 
 to the utmost exertion. '^ Looking unto Jesus, the 
 author and finisher of our faith," we are to run our 
 prescribed race, having laid aside every encum- 
 bering weight that might impede our course, or 
 check our speed. Here is not only a voluntary 
 surrender of all our worldly passions implied, but 
 a strainingof every nerve, in attaining the mark of 
 our high calling. Again : The apostle compares 
 the Christian life to a warfare ; and the Christian 
 to a soldier fighting against sin and Satan, with the 
 sword of the spirit ; satisfied with nothing short 
 of a glorious victory over these enemies. There- 
 fore, " be sober, be vigilant, for your adversary, 
 the Devil, goeth about like a roaring lion, seeking 
 whom he may devour ; whom resist steadfast in 
 the faith.'' 
 
^r*^. 
 
 Jf 
 
 -(>//■ 
 
 
 .(XvA-z^y /!• .w-s 
 
 M;iii/i /'I- /.A'A/iM. 
 
 A/it/r. fy J!^t/,ti-rnfA. 
 
71 
 
 The Heart of the philosopher exhibits the sub- 
 jugation of the meaner passions by the power of 
 reason and philosophy. The study and love of 
 science, history, languages, and works of master 
 minds, have contributed to cultivate his mind arid 
 refine his intellectual taste. Every thing base in 
 principle and gross in manners shocks and disgusts 
 him ; he is as far removed from the grade of the 
 sensualist as the lion is from that of the mole. 
 Both are unregenerated animal nature ; but the one 
 has in his studies and pursuits recognised mind, 
 and the other body alone. 
 
 But after all, with this contempt of every ig- 
 noble pursuit and sordid action, the splendid edi- 
 fice of morals, taste, and imagination, which the 
 philosopher has raised to immortalize his name, 
 is built on a sandy foundation ; his own unrenewed 
 will and afiections being the only security of its 
 existence. When all is calm sunshine, it wears 
 its imposing aspect on high, as if it were for a 
 length of time to be the admiration of every eye ; 
 but the wintry storms of adversity — of bereave- 
 ment — of disease, beat upon it; and not being 
 founded upon the rock of ages, it falls. Adversity 
 finds the theorist unprepared for its bitter practi- 
 cal experience — bereavement of his idols, incura- 
 bly lacerates his heart. He becomes disgusted 
 
72 
 
 with life and society. His fine and susceptible 
 mind, whose powers had been quickened by cul- 
 tivation in that intellectual sphere which he un- 
 duly prized, has lost the objects on which his 
 affections centred ; he sinks under the weight of 
 his visitation ; he is the prey of melancholy, or 
 subsides into a gloomy misanthropy. When 
 the discipline of the Creator secures its design in 
 turning such characters from the love of idols to 
 the love of the Saviour, to whom they are bound 
 by every tie of duty, affection, and gratitude, 
 they become burning and shining lights to the 
 world ; such an one was Saul of Tarsus — such an 
 one was Moses. 
 
 What is the proud name of philosopher but a 
 sound? They are theorists; hut practical phi- 
 losophy is most frequently illustrated by true 
 Christians, and that in every rank of society. 
 The poor cottager has here far outdone the phi- 
 losopher; his philosophy did not forsake, but for- 
 tify him at the hour of death. What is philosophy ? 
 Is it not to be resigned and contented under every 
 vicissitude of fortune ? Is it not to be possessed of 
 that magnanimity of soul which is neither elated 
 with prosperity nor depressed by adversity ? Is 
 it not *o meet death undismayed, not with stoical 
 insensibility of his terrors, but with the conviction 
 
73 
 
 ihat the Redeemer lias deprived him of his sting, 
 and the grave of its triumph ? Is it not with the 
 dark valley full in view, and when about to leave 
 what the heart holds dear on earth, to be able 
 to say '^ I know in whom Ihave believed, and that 
 he is able to keep that which I have committed 
 to him, against the great day.^^ 
 
 Our Lord informs us, that which is highly es- 
 teemed among men (in philosophy and every other 
 mere profession) is abomination in the sight of 
 God. However amiable and accomplished the phi- 
 losopher may be, God accounts him an ungrateful, 
 wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked rebel, 
 having a heart at enmity with revealed truth. God 
 has appointed that Jesus Christ shall be the 
 way through whom all must come ; but the phi- 
 losopher, like the sceptical Syrian, says of his 
 unsanctified attainments, are not Abna and Phar- 
 par, rivers in Damascus, better than the waters 
 of Israel ? God cannot look without abhorrence 
 on a heart in which the evil passions still exist, 
 however asleep they may be, while he has offer- 
 ed to bestow a power which is capable of ex- 
 pelling them ; and nothing but a renewed heart he 
 can own or behold with complacency. Unless ye 
 be born«^fl5m, miscalled philosopher, ye c«?i?zo^ 
 enter into the kingdoni of God : other foundation 
 G 
 
74 
 
 can no man lay than that which is laid, Christ 
 Jesus. The ordeal which God has appointed to 
 try men's works in the latter day, will reveal whe- 
 ther they have raised on it those Christian virtues 
 which are compared to gold and precious stones, 
 dr those vain theories which are the creatures of 
 their own device, and which, like wood, hay and 
 stubble, are in their very nature unprofitable but 
 as fuel to the fire. To the philosopher as well as 
 to the sordid slaves of their passions, the call is, 
 ^^%B.wake thou that sleepest ! arise from the dead, 
 and Christ shall give thee light !" 
 
^F7. 
 
 
 
 /u/f/' ' 
 
 //- 
 
 ^^ 'll|||||t(Mf, t / //> f//<j/ f///A' //tt <f/ft/ / '/■/// 
 
 |j[ijj„ //../.../. /. ^A ^. 
 
 " Te are t/ie /ij^/tt p/' f/ie wzzrM " 
 
75 
 
 The Heart which has become a temple for the 
 Holy Spirit, holds communion with the Father and 
 the Son, having peace and joy in believing ! 
 
 The will and affections are changed into obedi- 
 ence and gratitude. The fruit of the holy spirit 
 admits not of counterfeit. Love is the seal of its 
 alliance to the Holy One ; and the bond which 
 unites the new creature to his whole, sinless, and 
 ransomed family above, and on earth. 
 
 ^'Ifye love me," saith the Redeemer, ^'keep my 
 commandments.^^ Happy they whose hearts are 
 thus renewed after the image of the second Adam ! 
 Newness of life bears witness that they are indeed 
 the children of God. They trust with implicit 
 confidence in the guidance of their glorified Head. 
 His will prompts every action ; dictates every en- 
 terprise ; regulates every wish. Was he crucified 
 to the blandishments of the world, which lieth in 
 the wicked one ? Was he cold to its applause ; re- 
 gardless of its censure ; dead to its attractions.'' So 
 are his members. Was he made perfect by suffer- 
 ing ? So are they. Did he bear witness to Truth, 
 regardless of personal consequence ? So do they. 
 Was he reproached without a cause ? So are they. 
 The servants are as their Lord. 
 
 Wouldstthou be acknowledged, dear youth, by 
 thy Lord, when he comes surrounded with hosts 
 
76 
 
 of holy angels, to be admired by all who believed 
 his testimony ? Wouldst thou participate in the 
 glory then to be revealed ? Wouldst thou wear a 
 crown which shall never pass from thee ? Seekest 
 thou to be one of those who shall be the first fruits 
 of the first resurrection of believers ? One of those 
 whom thy Lord calls blessed and holy, in being 
 made partakers with him of that rest which re- 
 maineth for the people of God ; of that heavenly 
 kingdom, where his w^ill shall be done on earth as 
 it is in Heaven ? Art thou then that blessed youth, 
 who walketh not in the way of sinners ; nor stand- 
 eth in the counsel of the ungodly ; nor sitteth in 
 the seat of the scoruer ; but whose delight is in the 
 law of the Lord, meditating thereon day and night? 
 Dost thou hunger and thirst after Righteousness ? 
 Dost thou pray for the guidance of thy Lord, and 
 watch for the manifestations of his will, more than 
 they that watch for morning ? Is thy soul as a 
 weaned child to the allurements of the world, sin, 
 and self? Dost thou dig for truth as for hid trea- 
 sure, seeking wisdom before all worldly honours, 
 gains, and rewards ? Dost thou prize those who 
 are upright and virtuous, wherever, and under 
 whatever circumstances they are found ? Hast 
 thou an eye to discover, and a heart to love the 
 image of thy Lord, whether those who bear it in^ 
 
77 
 
 habit a hut, or adorn a palace ? Couldst thou have 
 discovered a constellation of heavenly attributes 
 in Him, who was born in the stable, and cradled 
 in the manger of Bethlehem ? Couldst thou have 
 discerned the divine root and offspring of David, 
 in the lowliest plant of the Judean valley : in other 
 words, art thou free from the blinding sins of 
 prejudice and worldly wisdom ? As a little child, 
 willing to be instructed, dost thou sit at thy Sa- 
 viour's feet, to hear his words ? Then art thou, 
 beloved youth, not far from the kingdom of thy 
 Lord. Such characters, and such alone, shall en- 
 ter therein. The good Shepherd will bear thee, 
 as it were, in his bosom, above the rough path of 
 tribulation, which leadeth to rest and peace. — 
 Those good angels, who are sent forth to minister 
 to the heirs of salvation, watch over thee with un- 
 remitting care. Their benevolent natures rejoice, 
 that a ransomed child of the human family should, 
 by the mediation of Him they adore, approach 
 nearer the thrx)ne of the Holy One than they. — 
 There was joy throughout their hosts, on the day 
 thou turned st thy heart to seek their Creator. — 
 When thy Lord's voice was heard amid the stilU 
 nessof acloud of witnesses, saying, " My son, give 
 me thiiie heart, ^^ how did they rejoice, when 
 thine heart replied. Lord, it is thine by creation, 
 g2 
 
78 
 
 thine by redemption ; purify its affections, and ac- 
 cept of them all as thy living sacrifice, and my rea- 
 sonable service ! But, I tremble at the thought ! 
 Can it be possible, that these animating truths are 
 addressed to a youth who is dead in trespasses and 
 sins ? who is as void of the noble ambition of God's 
 dear children, as the brutes who live by instinct, 
 and perish without hope ? If thou canst no^ answer 
 in the affirmative to the preceding questions, thou 
 art such an one. Perhaps thou makest thy boast, 
 that thou art negatively good : that is to say, thou 
 dost hot commit glaring immorality. Admitting 
 this to be the case, thou hast little cause of self- 
 complacency : thou art convicted of that black, 
 that monstrous crime, ingratitude ; and that to- 
 ward thy first benefactor ; to love and serve whom, 
 thou art bound by every tie human and divine. — 
 Art thou willing and content to wear out thy term 
 of probation, deceivingand being deceived ; living 
 in open rebellion against the authority and law of 
 God, which constrains thee by every noble motive 
 to serve him here, and reign with him hereafter } 
 Is it thy voluntary lot to grovel amid the perish- 
 able enjoyments of animal nature, and at last 
 experience that dust is thy portion ? Hast thou 
 a human soul, and one spark of that spirit which 
 was breathed into thy being with its life, and canst 
 
ihou slavishly endure the ignominious yoke of 
 Satan's bondage, without one aspiring thought 
 diiiGT freedom from sin — without one magnani- 
 mous struggle to assert thy iT/ZTnor/a/ character and 
 claims ? Pluck out a right-eye passion — cut off a 
 right-hand prejudice without hesitation, if thou 
 wouldst yet be saved : let the vile idols on whom 
 thou hast mispent thy service and worship, no 
 longer provoke the holy one of Israel to anger. 
 He cannot share thy heart with such abominations. 
 Beware of procrastination : another, and another 
 year hath the Father, at the intercession of his 
 beloved Son, had patience with thee : another 
 day, and he may say in his wrath, cut down the 
 unprofitable cumberer of the ground. Arise now, 
 prodigal, and with a contrite heart return to 
 thy heavenly Father from whom thou hast so long, 
 so deeply revolted. If thou comest to him in the 
 name of Christ, he will in no wise reject thee, 
 for as his Majesty, so is his mercy to the peni- 
 tent. deceived youth, instantly determine 
 — and having determined, linger not by the way 
 — neither waste one moment in looking behind 
 thee : danger is in delay — ruin in hesitation — 
 and despair in turning back ; none such being 
 fit for the k' igdom of God. 
 
 Should mountain-like difficulties arise in terrific 
 
80 
 
 range to oppose thy return — should floods of tri- 
 bulation threaten thee, fear not to go forward : 
 these are unreal phantoms which the adversary- 
 has raised to frighten and seduce thee back to his 
 bondage. Mountains oppose no barrier to trWi 
 Faith ! Many waters cannot quench pure Love ! 
 
^'?a. 
 
 /'///// //y^^v/' /y^ fr'^y fy ^/f^/^,}. 
 
 r/r^./'f^^) 
 
81 
 
 The Heart on which the laws of God are writ- 
 ten, is in a more advanced stage of the new life 
 than the former ; not that it is more enlightened, 
 or more holy, or more devoted — but faith and the 
 other fruits of the spirit are called into vigorous 
 exercise in contending earnestly for the faith once 
 delivered to the saints, and in bearing testimony 
 to Truth in opposition to popular prejudice. 
 
 The Apostles of our Lord exhibited the higher- 
 grade of this matured stage of the new life. 
 
 With what patience did they endure opposition 
 and wrong — with what magnanimity did they fol- 
 low their Lord without the camp, bearing his re- 
 proach ! With what zeal did they prosecute the 
 glorious object they had in view, even the work 
 which he gave them to do, in his name, and for 
 his glory ! How disinterested were their works of 
 faith ! their labours of love ! 
 
 We are, says Paul, troubled on every side, yet 
 not disheartened ; perplexed, but not in despair ; 
 persecuted, but not forsaken ; cast down, but not 
 destroyed. For our light affliction, which is but 
 for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceed- 
 ing, an eternal weight of glory, while we look not 
 at the things which are seen, but at the things 
 which are unseen. Hear how the man who hath 
 the law of God written on his heart speaks: 
 
'•After tliat we had suffered before, and were 
 shamefully entreated as you know, we were bold 
 in our God to speak unto you the Gospel of our 
 God with much contention, (or opposition.) For 
 our exhortation was not of deceit, or of unclean- 
 ness, or of guile ; but as we were permitted of 
 God to be put in trust with the gospel, even so we 
 speak, not as pleasing men, but God, who trieth 
 our hearts. 
 
 ^^ Neither at any time used w^e flattering words, 
 as ye know ; nor a cloak of covetousness : God is 
 witness. Nor of man sought we glory, neither of 
 you nor of others, when we might have taken 
 authority as the apostles of Christ ; but we were 
 tender among you even as a nurse cherisheth her 
 children. So, being affectionately desirous of 
 you, we were willing to have imparted unto you, 
 not the gospel of God only, but also our own souls, 
 because ye were dear to us. For ye remember, 
 brethren, what labour and travail, for labouring 
 night and day,, because we would not be charge- 
 able unto any of you, we preached unto you the 
 gospel of God. Ye are witnesses, and God also, 
 how holily, and justly, and unblameably we be- 
 haved ourselves among you that believe. And 
 ye know how we exhorted every one of you as a 
 father doth his children, that ve would walk wor-^ 
 
83 
 
 thy of God, who hath called you unto his kingdom 
 and glory.'' 
 
 Blessed, says our Lord, are they who are per- 
 secuted for righteousness^ sake, for theirs is the 
 kingdom of heaven. Blessed are ye when men 
 shall reproach you, and say all manner of evil 
 against yow falsely for my sake. Rejoice and be 
 exceeding glad ; on their part he is evil spoken of, 
 but on your part he is glorified. 
 
 Some of the attributes of this stage of the new 
 life, may grace a mud- walled cottage. The hum- 
 ble cottager may be careful to observe the com- 
 mandments of his heavenly Father, to whom he 
 prays for his daily bread ; may train up his chil- 
 dren to fear and love their Creator and Redeem- 
 er in the days of their youth ; his heart may be 
 pure, and his hands clean of dishonest gain ; he 
 may abhor a perverting bribe ; and may so adorn 
 the doctrine of God his Saviour, that all who know 
 him must acknowledge that blessed is the man 
 who feareth the Lord and obeyeth his command- 
 ments. 
 
 The mother may so shine in her assigned 
 sphere of duty, as to glorify her heavenly Father, 
 having his laws written on her heart ; she may 
 give an early direction to the will and affections, 
 and establish the principles of her children ; she 
 
84 
 
 may win their ductile minds to the love of noble 
 and disinterested feeling and pursuits ; she may 
 represent vice in all its moral deformity, so as to 
 be an object of their detestation ; she may sow 
 the precious seed of the word in their hearts, as 
 yet uncorrupted by the contagion of example ; she 
 may weed the moral soil, and plant therein the 
 love of truth, integrity and virtue ; she may watch 
 over the growth of these buds of promise. The 
 unmarried may evince the same characters of the 
 new life, by ministrations of compassion, sympa- 
 thy, and benevolence, to the desolate widow, the 
 helpless orphan, the sick, the aged, and the 
 friendless stranger. 
 
 Widows and women not having the care of fa- 
 milies of their own, may do offices of love to the 
 homeless and friendless — may, as of old, be 
 fellow labourers in the Gospel, and wash the 
 feet of the saints. Even the youth may show 
 the law of God written on their heart ; they may 
 adorn the doctrine of their Lord by diligently 
 seeking to know and do the will of God, and by 
 abstaining from all appearance of evil. The 
 young Samuel was, from his early childhood, de- 
 voted by his pious mother to the service of the 
 Most High, and to that little one the Lord revealed 
 himself; for the child Samuel n;inistered before 
 
85 
 
 iiim in the temple ; and was commissioned to m- 
 form old Eli of the punishment that awaited 
 his sons, for they were exceedingly wicked in 
 the sight of God ; and the foundation of that 
 wickedness was in consequence ot i\\Q false indul- 
 gence of their father, who restrained them not, nor 
 corrected them. 
 
 Our Lord was well pleased with the hosannalis 
 of the children on a certain occasion, when he 
 said to his disciples, *^have ye never read, that 
 out of the mouth of little children God hath per- 
 fected praise ?" There is something in the cha- 
 racter and disposition of little children which the 
 Lord loves. He referred to their simplicity, 
 their implicit confidence, their obedience, their 
 artless openness, their want of trust in them- 
 selves, their purity of mind, their ignorance of 
 hypocrisy and deceit, their fear of offending, and 
 their perfect sincerity, when he said, Suffer the 
 little Children to come to me, and forbid thenx 
 not, for of such is the kingdom of heaven. 
 
 H 
 
ATt9 . 
 
 
 AV///, 
 
 /o 
 
 /A>/', ' 
 
 "-^ "■■'■" ^\/:f' ' ■' '■' 
 
 ^'^^^^llilpi^^ 
 
 "/57- //./^ />,////:'////// ^/^-'/^ ./.v^/// ..yf.?// /vvwlv //^.' r/vwv? of fif^ ■' " 
 
87 
 
 This Heart represents one who can say, " I have 
 nnished my course ; I have kept the faith I Hence- 
 forth there is laid up for me a crown of glory." 
 
 In addition to the preceding stages of the new 
 life, this veteran in faith and love, has stood stead- 
 fast when assaulted by the combined powers of 
 darkness. His faith is unshaken, for it is built on 
 the Rock of ages ! That heart is fortified by a 
 triple guard, on the right hand and on the left; it 
 cannot be taken by surprise, because its affections 
 are centred in the Redeemer. There is no mo- 
 ment in which they are not exploring their trea- 
 sure, or diffusing HIS blessings. His power to re- 
 sist temptation is omnipotent ; for Christ, the wis- 
 dom and power of God, has become the wisdom 
 and power by whom he is made more than con- 
 queror. There is now no condemnation for such 
 a character. Neither death nor life, nor any cre- 
 ated thing, can separate him from Christ, the life- 
 breath of his renewed existence. Divine light 
 clothes him as with a glory. The earth is under 
 his feet : he looks down upon the world as a con- 
 quered foe : he treads on serpents and scorpions, 
 and all the powers of the enemy, and nothing can 
 by any means hurt him. He is called, and chosen, 
 and faithful, and shall be of the first fruits of the 
 first resurrection. There the remembrance of his 
 
88 
 
 suffering and sorrow hath passed away; the days ot 
 his mourning and conflict are ended : what he sow- 
 ed in tears he shall reap in joy. The Lord whom 
 he loved even unto death, now wipes all tears 
 from his eyes ; yea, he maketh that faithful servant 
 sit down to meat, while he girds himself to serve 
 him. Blessed 4 how blessed ! are the dead who 
 die in the Lord, who is their resurrection, their 
 life ! Yea, saith the spirit, that they may rest from 
 their labours and their works follow them. 
 
 Dear child, dear youth ! Thy Saviour invites 
 thee to become, by regeneration, such a noble spe- 
 cimen of the Christian character. The same spi- 
 rit which has here been admitted, cherished, and 
 by whom the work of grace was completed, strives 
 for admission to thy heart ; and wilt thou grieve 
 and rem^ the heavenly Comforter? Wilt thou still 
 be a wretched imitator of the children of this 
 world, who devour the husks of animal nature, and 
 grub like moles in the earth for that which is ta 
 the worldling the root of all evil, and which never 
 fails to pierce them with many sorrows ? Or wilt 
 thou not rather aspire after the enjoyment of mind 
 to which thy high destiny invites thee ? Compare 
 the ignoble pursuits, the sordid character of the 
 diild'ren of the world, the slaves of Satan, v/ith the 
 godlike fame of him who has subdued Satan, and 
 
89 
 
 conquered self, and who gives glory, and honour, 
 and praise, to Him in whose name and strength 
 he won the victory. 
 
 Dost thou expect, dear youth, to sit down with 
 Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of hea- 
 ven ? Dost thou pray for this blessed lot at the 
 end of the days ? This is not enough. Art thou 
 willing to fulfil the conditions of thy reception 
 there ? Canst thou make those sacrifices which 
 are indispensable to thy admission ? Hear how 
 the Divine Teacher illustrates this, to one who on 
 a certain occasion said, ^^^^7Ao^// reflection, ''Bless- 
 ed are they who shall eat bread in the kingdom of 
 God,'' "A certain nobleman made a great sup- 
 per, and invited many. At supper time he sent 
 his servant to say, Come, for all things are now 
 ready ;" but instead of accepting this invitation 
 with gratitude, they all with one consent began to 
 make pitiful excuses. Each had to attend some 
 sinister object, in which selfwdiS concerned. A 
 piece of land prevented one from accepting the in- 
 vitation ; another allowed a still more frivolous 
 pretext to be his apology ; another found an equal- 
 ly absurd reason for a refusal. When the servant 
 told these things to his Lord, the Master of the 
 House was angry or indignant that they should 
 slight his society and feast, and that too for paltry 
 H 2 
 
90 
 
 concerns of their own. The servant was sent tc; 
 bring from the outskirts of the city, the poor, the 
 lame, the blind. These gladly accepted the invi- 
 tation ; but the servant told his Lord that there 
 was room for more guests. The master of the 
 feast then commanded him, saying, *«goout to 
 the highway sand hedgeiy^n^ compel them to come 
 271 that my house may be filled, for I say unto 
 you, that none of those jnenthat icere bidden shall 
 taste of my supper.*^ The explanation of this 
 parable is contained in the verses which immedi- 
 ately follow it. ffTiosoever he be of you, that 
 foi^saketh Jiot all thai he hath, cannot be my dis- 
 ciple. 
 
 In like manner {he prescience of our Lord en- 
 r^bles him to declare that comparatively yeif? of 
 the highly privileged will, on these terms, eat 
 bread in the kingdom of Heaven, and if they re- 
 fuse on account of self-interested motives, in any 
 relation or shape, those who they may consider 
 unworthy, shall supply their place ; yea, the hea- 
 then from the ends of the earth, shall even with- 
 out adequate preparation, he compelled to come 
 in rather than that the feast should be without 
 guests ; rather than those hypocritical professors, 
 who expected to arrive there by means of a spe- 
 culative dead faith, unassociated with love and 
 
91 
 
 obedience, should partakeofit. Thisis the doctrine 
 of thy Saviour, which an Angel cannot gainsay, 
 nor reverse ; but the time comes, saith the apostle, 
 when they will not give heed to sound doctrine, 
 having itching ears ; that is to say, having no re- 
 lish for that which demands sacrifice and obedience, 
 but wholly giving themselves up to a curious in- 
 truding into those things which are kept secret, 
 and shall remain so ; as the nature and mode of 
 the divine existence — the deductions of reason 
 from the sovereignty of God, his decrees, and such 
 like ; these theorists mistake the shadow for the 
 substance ; they spend their lives in visionary spe- 
 culations, without reflecting that while they thus 
 trifle, tliey fail to give those practical demonstra- 
 tions of their attachment which shall secure them 
 an entrance into the kingdom of God. Your 
 judge will not investigate the orthodoxy of your 
 creed, but the evidence of your faith. He will not 
 ask under what name or leader you rank yourself: 
 not arbitrary power will divide between the sheep 
 and the goats ; their own actions will be made the 
 separating cause. They who have done evil shall 
 without one exception be found on his left hand, 
 and those who have done good shall without fail 
 be found at his right hand. To them on his right 
 hand he shall say, "Come ye blessed of my Father, 
 
92 
 
 inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the 
 foundation of the world V^ He then enumerates 
 the proofs which they gave of their faith and love 
 to him. To those who are at his left hand he says, 
 " Depart from me accursed, into everlasting fire, 
 prepared /or the Devil and his Angels, When 
 I was an hungred, ye gave me no meat ; when I 
 was athirst, ye gave me no drink ; when I was a 
 stranger, ye took me not in ; when I was naked, 
 ye clothed me not ; when I was sick and in prison, 
 ye visited me notj for inasmuch as ye did it not 
 to one of the least of these, my brethren, ye did 
 it not to me." 
 
 Seeing then, that this is the Truth ; and that ye 
 have been duly warned of the consequence of 
 slighting it, take heed that ye make your calling 
 and election sure. In the language of the inspired 
 Apostle, I entreat you, dear youth. * ** Giving all 
 diligence, to add to your faith virtue, to virtue 
 knowledge, to knowledge temperayice, to tempe- 
 rance joa/zewc^, to patience ^0fi?/2we56', to godliness 
 brotherly -kindness, to brotherly-kindness chari- 
 ty ; for if these things be in you, and abound, they 
 make you that ye shall neither be unsound nor 
 imfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus 
 
 » 2 Peter, i. 5. 
 
9S 
 
 Christ. But he that lacketh these things is blindf 
 and cannot see afar oflf, (or the end,) and hath for- 
 gotten that he is purged from his old sins. Where- 
 fore rather, brethren, give diligence to make your 
 calling and election sure; for if ye do these things 
 ye shall never fail ; for thus an entrance shall be 
 ministered to you abundantly into the everlasting 
 kingdom of our Lord Jesus Christ. Wherefore I 
 will not be negligent to put you ever in mind of 
 these things.^^ The latter part of the verse I put 
 to you in the form of a question : Do you know 
 these things ? are you established in this truth ? 
 
SECOND PART. 
 
 Having by the light of revelation endeavoured 
 to show the necessity of securing personal reli- 
 gion ; I proceed to illustrate the progressive, ge- 
 nerous, and diffusive nature of Christianity, which- 
 teaches us, that even the hope of personal salva- 
 tion, and the peace and joy which arise from that 
 hope, are not to engross our attention, limit our 
 exertions, 6ownfl?our views, or a^^ori our feelings, 
 these being no longer selfish, but social. We are 
 now to participate in all the vicissitudes of that 
 visibly separated, yet invisibly united body of 
 which our Lord is the Head. Do you ask what 
 causes produce visible separation, and what invi- 
 sible ties unite the members to their head, and to 
 each other ? Human names, opinions, and inven- 
 tions, separate what is visible — love, obedience, 
 and purity, are the invisible ties which unite the 
 whole family in heaven and on earth. These being 
 the only ties acknowledged by God, they only 
 can survive that jealous flame which shall ia 
 
96 
 
 the last days make inquisition of every visible 
 association : the wood, hay", and stubble, shall be 
 consumed, and that which cannot suffer loss shall 
 remain. 
 
 There is a time, dear youth, to be instructed 
 in the rudiments of revealed truth ; and there 
 is a time when we are expected to bring forth out 
 of the treasures which we have laid up, things 
 new and old, for the use of the less privileged 
 members of our Lord's household. Paul sharply 
 •reproves certain characters, whom he character- 
 izes as silly, ever learning, and never able to 
 come to the knowledge of the truth ; the whole 
 counsel of God being revealed for our instruc- 
 tion : of such persons our Lord said, *^ 1 have ma- 
 ny things to say, but ye cannot bear them nowJ^ 
 To such persons Paul alludes, when he would 
 trace the nature of the divine priesthood of Christ, 
 which the mysterious king and priest of Salem 
 prefigured many ages before. " Of whom," says 
 he, **I have many things to say, and hard to be 
 understood, seeing ye are dull of hearing ; for 
 when for the time ye ought to be teachers, ye 
 have need that one teach you again, which be 
 the first principles of the oracles of God, and are 
 such as have need of milk, and not of -strong meat i 
 for every one who useth milk is unskilful in the 
 
97 
 
 word of righteousness, for he is a babe. Bui 
 strong meat belongeth to them that are of full 
 age — those who by reason of use have their senses 
 exercised to discern good and evil." 
 
 What must we think of that student, who, in- 
 stead of advancing to the varied, luminous, and 
 decisive demonstrations contained in a self-illus- 
 trating science, should never attain to more than 
 the knowledge of those scattered elements, with- 
 out connexion or result, which are found in its 
 alphabet or rudiments ? The Apostle John cha- 
 racterizes three stages of attainment : little chil- 
 dren — young men — and fathers. 
 
 In the former part of this little book I have fed 
 you with the milk which belongs to babes in di- 
 vine knowledge ; but remember, the same pro- 
 gress which takes place in the natural, is expect- 
 ed in the renewed life : " Leaving, therefore, the 
 principles of the doctrines of Christ, let us go on 
 to perfection ;'' let us not be of those whom the 
 apostle reproves as silly — ever learning, and ne- 
 ver taught ; since the Word of God is revealed 
 for the instruction of the lowest and least of the 
 flock. 
 
 The glorious expectation of the latter-day re- 
 novation and restitution of all things, to which 
 prophets, apostles, and our Lord, have especially 
 I 
 
98 
 
 directed the attention of believers, as an incite- 
 ment to fidelity, watchfulness and patience, claim 
 a full share of our regard. 
 
 With reference to this blessed hope of his se- 
 cond coming, our Lord's command is, ** Let your 
 loins be girded about, and your lamps burning, 
 and ye yourselves like unto men that wait for 
 their Lord : Blessed are those servants whom the 
 Lord when he cometh shall find watching.^^ 
 
 At midnight, the season of darkness and security, 
 when professors are slumbering, and the children 
 of this world are fast asleep as to this expectation, 
 the cry shall be heard, ^' Behold the Bridegroom ! 
 go forth to meet him !^' This anticipation of latter- 
 day glory was once the delightful experience of 
 his servants, from the days of Enoch to John, whose 
 vision in the isle of Patmos was a revelation of Mes- 
 siah's Kingdom on Earth. The warnings, exhor- 
 tations, promises, and consolation of the prophets 
 and apostles, were all with reference to this re- 
 ward of Messiah's sufierings, this crown of his 
 glory, this consummation of his triumph. Our 
 Lord, who knew the end from the beginning, 
 foretold that there would be great blindness 
 on this animating subject, in the latter times, 
 when transgressors are come to the full. Thus has 
 he made watchfulness the subject of many warn- 
 
99 
 
 ings. Hence he declared, that as it was in the 
 days of Noah and Lot, it shall be in the day when 
 the Son of man is revealed ; for as a snare shall the 
 manner of his coming be to the whole earth. The 
 foolish who are ignorant of it, shall be surprised in 
 the depth of carnal security ; and even the wise 
 who believe in his coming as the Bridegroom of 
 his Church, and who are thus far enabled to re- 
 ceive him, shall yet not meet him in the attitude 
 oi ivatchful attention. Whatever the unwise do, 
 Jet us who are of the day, not sleep as do others, 
 but let us watch and be sober, lest that day should 
 overtake us by stealth. 
 
 The prophets, apostles, and our Lord, teach us 
 /^/i«/ constitutes the blessedness of his Kingdom on 
 Earth, which in its nature and character is Hea- 
 venly. One feature of its blessedness is the ab- 
 sence of all sin and temptation ; another is, the 
 universal love, peace, holiness, and unity, which 
 shall prevail on earth, where the will of God 
 shall be done as in heaven. *^The kingdoms of 
 this world shall become the kingdoms of our Lord 
 and of his Christ. The whole earth shall be full 
 of his glory. Then shall none teach his neighbour 
 to know the Lord, for all shall know him from the 
 least to the greatest." John saw a ransomed and 
 glorified host above, and they sung a new song of 
 
100 
 
 praise to the Lamb who had redeemed them out oi 
 every nation and people, saying, <*Thou hast made 
 us kings and priests unto God, and we shall reign 
 on the earth.'''' Of these same faithful servants, 
 o«r Lord had said while he was yet with them, 
 '^ Ye are they who have followed me in the rege- 
 neration, and I have appointed unto you a kingdom, 
 even as my Father hath appointed unto me, that 
 ye may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom.'" 
 Again, **Ye shall sit on twelve thrones, judging 
 the twelve tribes of Israel." 
 
 Perhaps you imagine that God will enlighten 
 this Blessed and Holy time with some new revela- 
 tion, in order to produce this general knowledge,, 
 this perfect and uniform standard of belief and 
 practice. No f " The word of the Lord endureth 
 for ever, and this is the word which by the Gospel 
 is ministered to you." 
 
 The sun constantly shines with the same degree 
 of splendour. The reason why one time is darker 
 than another to us, is the intercepting medium of 
 clouds and earthly vapours. Thus also has the 
 Sun of Righteousness been darkened in his going 
 forth. But the secret of this universal change will 
 be easy of solution, if we consider that all, from 
 the least to the greatest, shall seek '' to the law and 
 to the testimony. ^^ Then the language of all shalt 
 
101 
 
 be, ^^By thee only will ive make mention of thy 
 name. The Lord shall teach us his ways, and we 
 will walk in his paths?^ Jesus rejoiced in spirit 
 when he said, " I thank thee, Father, Lord of 
 heaven and earth, that thou hast hid these things 
 from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them 
 to babes !" Why was the truth hid from the wise 
 and prudent ? Because human expositions led 
 them to form other calculations than those of di- 
 vine appointment. Why was it revealed to chil- 
 dren ? Because they had no preconceived opi- 
 nion. They believed simply on the evidence of 
 their own senses. Unity of spirit shall then super- 
 sede diversity of opinion. Love, the principle of 
 unity, shall characterize all. The Church of 
 Christ shall then be without spot or wrinkle, or 
 any such thing ; fair as the moon, clear as the sun, 
 terribly surrounded with banners. 
 
 But before these things, or rather when the sign 
 of them begins to appear, Satan, the adversary, 
 shall come down to earth with great power, know- 
 ing that his time there is short. He would crush, 
 in its infancy, the hope of all the faithful, which 
 have been since the world began. But God pre- 
 vents his evil design, by placing his purpose above 
 and beyond his reach. In studying with attention 
 the testimony of our Lord and his apostles, you 
 I 2 
 
102 
 
 will learn that a false and deceitful spirit called 
 Antichrist, shall practise and prosper ; even " that 
 "Wicked whom the Lord shall consume with the 
 spirit of his mouth, and destroy with the light of 
 his coming." This evil spirit is characterized as 
 a usurper, demanding a homage which is due to 
 God alone. He is also a deceiving and lying spi- 
 rit ; for were it not that mankind are deceived by 
 his false reasoning, they would not be overtaken 
 tinawares by the coming of the Lord ; nor would 
 that happy day of blissful expectation come upon 
 them as a snare. This false spirit has taught many 
 to follow his pernicious waj- s, by reason of which 
 the way of Truth is evil spoken of. The inspired 
 apostles testify, that Christ shall again come in like 
 manner as he was seen ascending into heaven. — 
 Antichrist teaches, that Christ shall not come in 
 like manner as he went, but shall reign in spirit 
 ss he has done eighteen centuries on earth. Zion 
 and Jerusalem, whose renovation to more than 
 pristine glory formed the theme of their prophetic 
 thanksgiving. Antichrist teaches are no long- 
 er realities, but figures of speech, to be applied to 
 any thing but the LAND OF PROMISE. When 
 our Lord and his apostles make mention of coming 
 fl?oz^?n to dwell among men, Antichrist teaches that 
 Earth means Heaven : that wherever Jews and 
 
103 
 
 House of Israel are addressed, connected with pro- 
 mised blessing, any order of professing Gentiles 
 may engross these names ; those who own them 
 having been superseded by them for ever. Anti- 
 christ moreover teaches, that an eternity of punish- 
 ment, as the well-earned wages Qi privileged un- 
 believers, is quite a mistake ; the words eternal, 
 everlasting, for ever, being intended to convey the 
 notion of a limited term : while the declaration 
 that ^nheir worm shall not die, neither shall their 
 fire be quenched," describes in vivid imagery a 
 hopeful stage of reforming discipline. The lan- 
 guage of the Deceiver again is, ^^Ye shall not sure- 
 ly die." — The Lord may change^ or cease to be 
 holy, just, and true J or your consciousness oi me- 
 rited punishment, may cease to accuse and tor- 
 ment you: perhaps your i7WW0?'/a/ spirit may die. 
 Although Satan with all his artifice never could, 
 never shall, pass that great gulph which separates 
 the holy from theunregenerate, under his precept 
 and example he has sufficient address to make the 
 deceived imagine they need not despair. This is 
 the doctrine of Antichrist the deceiver ; and many 
 shall it lull as an opiate to sleep, until they awake 
 from their delusion in the fire which never shall be 
 quenched. 
 
 I would not have been thus explicit in detailing 
 
104 
 
 the characteristics of Antichrist, had not the apos- 
 tles said to those who are awake and watching, 
 ^' See that ye put the brethren in continual 
 remembrance of these things ; namely, the se- 
 cond coming of Christ, and the efforts which the 
 adversary of his kingdom shall finally make to op- 
 pose its first feeble struggles into existence. That 
 the adversary has discountenanced, and well nigh 
 discarded this doctrine which Christ and his apos- 
 tles so sedulously taught, is no marvel ; for Satan, 
 who knows that his time is short when these 
 things begin to be signified, also knows tljiat the 
 kingdom of Christ shall be raised on the ruins of 
 Antichrist. 
 
 To be wise above what is written ; intruding in- 
 to the secret counsels of the infinite one, is prohi- 
 bited. To be wise up to what is written, ''taking 
 heed to the sure word of prophecy, which shineth 
 as a light in a dark place," is commended. '' Se- 
 cret things belong to God : things revealed, belong 
 to us and our children. " How shall we avoid hav- 
 ing the name and mark, and authority of the 
 Deceiver, unless we know the prohibited charac- 
 teristics of his doctrine, by contrasting the nature 
 of it with the doctrine of Christ and his apostles. — 
 We are solemnly required, nay commanded, to 
 guard against them, unless we would drink of the 
 
105 
 
 wrath of God poured into the cup of his indigna- 
 tion for ever ; and that, too, in the presence of the 
 holy angels, and in the presence of the insulted 
 Lamb. I subjoin, with cordial assent to them, the 
 remarks of a latter-day luminary of the Church of 
 England, written with reference to the state of 
 feeling preceding the restoration of the covenant 
 people of God; an event synonymous with the 
 Kingdom of Messiah. 
 
 <' It is necessary to show that the plain words 
 of inspiration cannot have a literal signification ; 
 it is necessary to show that body means spirit, 
 that earth means heaven ; — that Jerusalem and 
 Mount Zion mean the throne of God above, or 
 the respective churches below ; — that Jews and 
 Israelites mean Gentiles and Christians, in eve- 
 ry text connected with latter-day glory. — In 
 short, it is necessary to show that the language 
 of Scripture needs an index formed by human au- 
 thority, before it can be rightly understood." 
 
 *^ We would ask our spiritualizing interpreters 
 what they w^ould have to offer with respect to 
 this prophecy, (alluding to Ezek. 36.) How 
 poor, and jejune, and flat, are those schemes of 
 interpretation which instead of coming up to the 
 standard of the sanctuary, lead their abettors into 
 the pernicious error of bringing down the stand- 
 
106 
 
 ard of the sanctuary to the scanty measures of 
 human theory. Persons who support such 
 schemes, never come to the scriptures, to learn, 
 with simple and teachable understanding, the 
 mind of the spirit, but like those whose vision is 
 imperfect, and who need the help of spectacles 
 to read the letter of the word, these persons bring 
 their systems in their pockets to aid them in dis- 
 covering the purpose of Him, who, as if to mock 
 the aberrations of human wisdom, hath said, Who 
 directed the Spirit of the Lord ? or being his 
 counsellor, who hath instructed him? &c. Without 
 doubt spiritualizers will boldly affirm that the pre- 
 diction which Ezekiel addresses to the mountains 
 of Israel, contains nothing about their return to 
 their own land, as the Papists maintain that after 
 the consecration of the wafer, nothing of the real 
 substance remains, but is really and substantially 
 transubstantiated into the body of Christ, although 
 they cannot deny that the outward appearance 
 continues to be that of a wafer. So these persons, 
 taking a bold flight in allegory, will tell us that 
 the mountains, hills, rivers, valleys, desolate 
 wastes, and cities, of Israel, in this prophecy, are 
 by no means to be understood in a literal sense, 
 but are to be understood of the Christian Church 
 among the Gentiles ; and that the return of the 
 
107 
 
 Children of Israel to those places means their con- 
 version to Christ. Now by what argument are 
 we to assail those who thus twist and pervert the 
 Word of God ? Assuredly, to reason with them 
 would be a loss of time and pains, because our 
 arguments cannot be plainer than those promises 
 to Israel, which we charge them with turning 
 aside from the plain meaning of scripture, which 
 unequivocally declares to us, that the unchange- 
 able purpose of God, with regard to his people 
 Israel, is not only to graft them again into their 
 own olive tree, but also to plant them in their 
 own land, with his whole heart and with his 
 whole soul, whence thty shall no more be pluck- 
 ed up for ever. We shall therefore close this pa- 
 per with remarking, that they, who, under the 
 notion of spiritualizing the Word of God, set up 
 their own crude and jejune systems, in opposition 
 to that Word, were in reality under the spirit of 
 unbelief; and instead of reasoning with them, 
 we may address to them the words spoken on an- 
 other occasion : — ' slow of heart to believe all 
 that the prophets have spoken.' ' Hath God said, 
 and shall he not do V '' 
 
 '<To my mind, the apostacy of the Intellect 
 amongst the Protestant nations, hath been, for a 
 century, as remarkable and afflictive as the apos- 
 
108 
 
 iacy of Sense is amongst the Catholic nations. The 
 intellect hath become all-sufficient, and such an in- 
 tellect ! We must preach from the intellect to the 
 intellect, instead of preaching from the Word of 
 God to the faith of his children. No one will be- 
 lieve more than he can understand, and that is ge- 
 nerally as much as he can see the good of. As an 
 instance whereof, this doctrine of Christ's second 
 coming, which was wont to shine so bright in the 
 eyes of believers, that they were always plunging 
 forward to reach it before the time, hath become, 
 through the decay of faith, almost forgotten, till 
 within these few years, some of God's faithful 
 ones have made a strong effort to revive it again. 
 And in general, the prophecies, which are the test 
 of faith, as being unseen, are given up by this clear 
 headed, sound minded generation of believers, who 
 have tuned the whole organ of scripture to their 
 own flat key. The long probation of the Gentiles 
 will come to an end in the great battle of Arma- 
 geddon. Oh, how it afflicts me while I write, not 
 so much that punishment will come upon us, as 
 that the punishment should have been merited by 
 us. Who is he that saith Satan is not still the prince 
 of this world, and his angels the ministers thereof? 
 But this is not to go on for ever. The spirit of God 
 is not to be blasphemed for ever, and the blood of 
 
109 
 
 Viie covenant for ever trampled under foot, nor the 
 Holy City for ever trodden down of the Gentiles. 
 The Gentiles have had almost as long a proba- 
 tion as the Jews, and tenfold more advantageous. 
 The Jews thought theirs was to be perpetual ; ant! 
 the Gentiles are now, in the last hour of theirs, 
 dreaming the same. Principle of every kind v/as 
 never so much disregarded, nor expediency so 
 much idolized. Will the Lord be worsted ? Will 
 he flee before his enemies ? Shall his word fail in 
 its promises? Shall there be no peace, no bless- 
 edness, no glory, in the latter days, upon this 
 Earth ; no keeping of a Sabbath, no reign of the 
 Saints, no second coming of Messiah to rule the 
 world with righteousness, and the folk with equi- 
 ty ? Shall these things utterly fail ? Heaven and 
 earth shall pass away, before one jot or tittle of 
 these things shall fail. And this which remaineth 
 to be accomplished before any glory can be ma- 
 nifested upon the earth, will be accomplished in 
 the battle of Armageddon. All the mighty effects 
 preparatory to the reign of peace, shall be accom- 
 plished in that great day of controversy and judg- 
 ment which the Lord shall hold with the Gentiles 
 in the valley of Jehoshaphat, when that sacrifice 
 of nations shall be offered up on the mountains 
 of Israel. The issues and effects of this great 
 achievement of divine justice, it hath been the 
 K 
 
110 
 
 custom, during the last century and half, where- 
 in all things have drooped and faded, (until with- 
 in these few years that we have been holpen with 
 a. little help,) — to refer till the end of the world, 
 and the last general Judgment, thereby removing 
 them wholly from the region of space and time, 
 into the region of the invisible world. That this 
 blindness should come upon the churches, I per- 
 ceive is foretold by our Lord, in the parable of 
 the ten virgins and of the householder, and every 
 other parable which refers to the event of his 
 second coming. And I further perceive that this 
 very condition of security and carelessness will 
 be the exclusion of many, who if they would be- 
 lieve, and hold themselves in readines.^, might be 
 saved. Before concluding this, I beg, (for what 
 hath been set forth therein,) to apologize, to the 
 soft effeminate spirit of this generation of pro- 
 fessors, whose untempered edge I must oft have 
 injured — and to the political and expedient spirit 
 of this generation of saintg, whose zeal for expe- 
 diency and temporizing I must oft have galled — to 
 all such spirits, sorely tried by the above discourse, 
 I have my apology to make, by referring them 
 back to the history and commemoration of God's 
 former dealings with the impenitent generations 
 of men since the world began — if they will not 
 be enlightened by the past history of truth, natu- 
 
 ! 
 
Ill 
 
 ral and revealed, nor give ear to the perpetual 
 voice of prophesy since the world began ; what 
 do these dreamers of poetical and sentimental 
 fancies say to the awful and overwhelming debt 
 of justice, which the Gentiles have been contrac- 
 ting? Or shall Messiah not be a king and deliver- 
 er to his people ? And shall his dealings with his 
 saints no longer be justified in their sight and in 
 the sight of all the nations round about? And, 
 what ! Shall he allow his people to be captive for 
 ever, and for ever hang their harps upon the wil- 
 lows, and mourn for Zion which is desolate ? 
 Shall the remnant which still remaineth a distinct 
 people, scattered among all nations and oppressed 
 with scorn and cruelty, remain a despised and 
 rejected people? And shall the names with which 
 they have been railed against not be written 
 against themselves, and the evil measures which 
 they served out, be returned upon their own 
 heads, and their prosperity perish, and all their 
 glory and strength be scattered like chaff before 
 the wind ? Then hath the Lord forgotten to be 
 gracious, and his covenant is no longer sure; and 
 there is no more a Judge over all the earth to do 
 righteously. If the life of the soul were not dear 
 in my sight, I would not be moved with horror 
 against those who consume souls by thousands 
 and tens of thousands. If the liberty of the soul 
 
112 
 
 were not glorious, I would not thus be grieved by 
 the captivity of so many millions, or rejoice that 
 the day of their redemption draweth nigh. The 
 Lord judge between me and these soft-hearted 
 optimists, if I love not the souls of men better 
 Than they. The apologies for that which I have 
 set forth concerning the last catastrophe of divine 
 wrath, I make as to a generation whose travail in 
 the prophecies is small, and whose faith therein m 
 faint. But the true apology is to teach them what 
 this battle of Armageddon is, if indeed they will 
 be taught, which I count to be no less than the last 
 crisis of the strife between good and evil, where- 
 of the event is to determine whether Messiah or 
 Satan shall have it and hold it for ever. When in 
 their true sense and full significancy, all the pro- 
 mises made to the saints shall flourish like the ce- 
 dar of Lebanon, and all the prophecies, fully rip- 
 ened, shall shed fruit every where, and Jerusalem 
 and Zion shall no longer be figures of speech » 
 and Messiah's kingdom and reign shall be no long- 
 er a figure, the resurrection shall be no longer 
 a figure, but a reality j and there can be no more 
 scepticism when the faithful people are standing 
 in their lots — Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and all the 
 patriarchs — Job, David, and Daniel, and all the 
 prophets. And let no man calling himself a Chris- 
 tian, go to sicken the life of these conclusions 
 
113 
 
 from the faithful Word of God, by his puling sen- 
 timent concerning this miserable earth, and his 
 desire to escape from it as fast as may be. Who 
 art thou ? man ! that speaketh so of this earth, 
 to reclaim which the Lord of Glory came down, 
 and was a despised and rejected servant ? And 
 what are thy sentiments, thou fallen reptile, to 
 set them up against the true and faithful book of 
 God ; which forsooth thou wilt foreclose because 
 thou hast a sentiment? Perish thy sentiment, 
 which thus veileth one word of the everlasting 
 truth, of which, before one iota shall pass, heaven 
 and earth, and thou too, with all thy sentiments, 
 shall likewise pass. But if thou wilt bring thy 
 meagre mind and more meagre faith to take a mo- 
 ment's thought upon the subject, wilt thou please 
 to answer this question — If this earth was deem- 
 ed worthy to be the place of the contest between 
 Christ and Satan, why should it not be worthy 
 to be the place of the triumph? If saints are re- 
 generated on earth, and on earth maintained in 
 their warfare, why on earth should they not have 
 rest and victory ? But besides this childish senti- 
 ment of the mind, there is another of the heart, 
 widely prevalent in the Church, (if I might call 
 that heterogeneous mixture of worldly wisdom 
 and divine wisdom, of human fancies and faith- 
 ful truths, of form and expediency, by the holy 
 K 2 
 
114 
 
 Dame of Church,) that these judgments ot iU; 
 Lord upon the nations are not to be spoken in 
 charitable ears. Ye tender hearted objectors to 
 God's most righteous judgments, what say ye to 
 the holocaust of a generation at the deluge ? what 
 to the smiting of Egypt's first born ? what to the 
 root and branch destruction of the Canaanitish na- 
 tions ? and to Saul's cutting off, because he spar- 
 ed any creature of Amalek who breathed the 
 breath of life ? And what say ye to the five cities 
 full of men who were consumed by fire from 
 heaven ? Niniveh had but sixty days for repent- 
 ance. These nations have had almost two thou- 
 sand years. Was not Jesus of Nazareth as tender 
 as you when he wept over Jerusalem, yet brought 
 on it the destruction which maketh the ear still 
 tingle? Weep, yea weep, and because you pity 
 ory aloud like Jonah. It is a weighty commission, 
 but flee not from it ye who bear the name of pro- 
 phets, lest the Lord overtake you in the way, and 
 bring on you swift destruction. Ye lovers of your 
 »atural tastes and feelings more than of the reve- 
 lation of God ! Ye disbelievers of his holiness 
 and truth ! Ye intolerant indulgers of heresy, 
 smd the arch heretic ! Ye disguised lovers of the 
 Mother of harlots ! Fear, greatly fear, I say, lest 
 ye be overwhelmed with her. But take not on 
 you the name of God's messengers, if ye dare not 
 
115 
 
 deliver his fearful messages. Let others stand 
 forth to be the videttes of the camp, the watch- 
 men of the holy city, if ye speak favourable 
 words, and hold out signals of peace to the ene- 
 my. The promises shall be taken from you, and 
 ye shall not enter into his rest, by means of un- 
 belief. Fear, fear, lest a promise being left you of 
 entering in, any of you should fall short. * * * 
 There can be no doubt that the second coming 
 of Christ is attended with the resurrection of 
 them that sleep in him, who are thereafter to in- 
 herit the earth, and reign with him on the earth. 
 Christ the first fruits, afterwards they that are 
 ChrisVs at his coming. It is a poor view of 
 Christ's reign upon earth, though we believe it is 
 the common one, that it shall be over those saints 
 who are thus found in being, and over the genera- 
 tions which shall follow, till the thousand years 
 have run their course — that it will be but a gene- 
 ral amelioration of the world — the optimism of 
 the philosophers, not the glorious kingdom of 
 Messiah and his saints. It is poor consolation to 
 his saints who have suffered and died, looking 
 forward to this second coming, to be defeated 
 of all share in it when it doth come ; and it is 
 against the word of every prophecy and every 
 promise. Blessed and holy is he that hath part in 
 the first resurrection : on such the second death 
 
116 
 
 hath no power : but they shall be priests of God 
 and of Christ, and shall reign a thousand years.'' 
 
 <«When reasoning on righteousness and judg- 
 ment to come, is forced on the ear of the present 
 age, many may like Felix tremble ; but the con- 
 venient season for laying these things to hearty 
 seldom arrives. The consideration that all things 
 remain as they were, has acted as an opiate to 
 lull the attention even of professors themselves, 
 to the signs of the times. AVhere is the promise 
 of his coming? would not be confined to scoff- 
 ers, did not decency prescribe silence. 
 
 **It is time for professors to live in ceiled 
 houses ; but according to their calculation, the 
 time is not come for the Lord's House to be 
 built. They are as secure and worldly-minded, 
 as if no Bridegroom were expected. 
 
 *^The religion of too many consists in being 
 as good as their neighbours, and in doing no vi- 
 sible harm ; and they expect to escape as it were 
 with their neighbours, and suffer no harm, in the 
 day of retribution, which shall burn as a fur- 
 nace ; when all the proud, yea all that do wick- 
 cdly, shall be consumed as sttibble. Remember, 
 dear youth, your blood shall be required at your 
 own hand, if you are overtaken unawares. Be 
 not deceived ; for it is when mankind say peace 
 and safety, that sudden destruction cometh upon 
 
117 
 
 them, and they shall not escape. Let not then the 
 universal aspect of security which prevails, lull 
 you asleep ; for the Bridegroom cometh at a time 
 and in a manner that few can discern. Hear what 
 thy Lord saith ; and thus at the mouth of two or 
 three witnesses every word shall be established. 
 
 **I know thy works, that thou hast a name to 
 Kve, but art dead. Be watchful, and strengthen 
 the things that remain and are ready to die ; for I 
 have not found thy works upright before God. — 
 Remember, therefore, how thou hast received and 
 heard; and holdfast and repent. If thou wilt not 
 watch, I will come on thee as a thief, and thou 
 shalt not know what hour I will come upon thee. 
 Blessed is he that is called to the MARRIAGE 
 supper of the Lamb. Blessed and holy are they 
 who have part in ihe first resurrection; on such 
 the second death hath no power, but they shall be 
 priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with 
 Him a thousand years." 
 
 Search the Scriptures ; watch and pray, that 
 thou may est be enabled to say, with all those who 
 love his appearing, COME LORD JESUS, 
 COME QUICKLY. 
 
 FINIS. 
 
APPENDIX, 
 
 Containing the Thoughts of Basilicus on the 
 
 Scriptural Expectations of the Christian 
 
 Church. 
 
 The Writings of Basilicus require no eulogy. 
 They are now freely offered for publication, with- 
 out other motive than that of giving *' a bright and 
 shining light;" not only to rejoice the hearts of 
 *' our Lord's household," but to arrest the attention 
 and enlighten the minds of the many who are in the 
 outer courts of speculative knowledge, and fast 
 asleep to the *' Scriptural expectations of the 
 Church" therein revived. 
 
 The enlightened character who writes under the 
 signature of '• Basilicus," is justly esteemed one of 
 the most exemplary of men, and one of the most 
 accomplished of scholars. — His learning is not of 
 that common-place kind which is associated with 
 the thoughts or opinions of men. — "• His genius has 
 angelic wings, and feeds on manna !" Master of the 
 original languages in which Holy Writ was penned, 
 he draws pure Truth from its unsullied source. 
 
 Hundreds of the higher class in London, attract- 
 ed by his eloquence, have, by this mighty Student 
 of Scripture Truth, been brought from the narrow 
 enclosures which connned their views and attach- 
 ment, to "look for and hasten unto that glorious 
 appearing and kingdom," to which prophets and 
 apostles bare testimony in their times. — May the 
 
120 
 
 writings of *' Basilicus" allure many to ''Starch the 
 Scriptures daily, proving tvhefher these things are so,'* 
 and may none reject them before appealing "to the 
 law and to the testimony." 
 
 THOUGHTS ON THE SCRIPTURAL EXPECTATIONS 
 OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. 
 
 To the Editors of the Jeivish Expositor. — 
 Gentlemen, 
 
 While under the awful circumstances of the pre- 
 sent day, the secular arm is constrained to interpose 
 to stop (if possible) the mouth of blasphemy, the 
 spiritual mind cannot but discern in existing facts 
 a new development of the mystery of iniquity, by 
 so near an approach towards a renunciation of all 
 authority, human and divine. Support and conso- 
 lation under such an appalling prospect can alone 
 proceed from an anticipation derived from the word 
 of truth, that when iniquity abour 's to the full, 
 the transgressors shall themselves be " brought to 
 desolation in a moment, and be utterly consumed 
 with terrors." Another mystery will receive a si- 
 multaneous accomplishment and issue in the reno- 
 vation of a distracted world, and the triumphant es^ 
 tablishment of the kingdom of God. 
 
 Under these impressions the author of this letter 
 conceives the Jewish Expositor to be a suitable ve- 
 hicle for some thoughts on the scriptural expecta- 
 tions of the Christian Church, because he considers 
 the cause to which its labours are devoted as most 
 immediately connected with the subjects hereby re- 
 
121 
 
 commended to a sober consideration under the fol- 
 lowing distribution. 
 
 1. The glorious Epiphany. Titus ii. 13. 
 
 2. The first Resurrection. Rev. xx. 5. 
 
 3. The End of the World. Matt, xxviii. 20. 
 
 4. The World to come. Hebrews ii. 5. 
 
 5. The Restitution of all things. Acts iii. 21. 
 
 6. The Kingdom of Israel. Acts i. 6. 
 
 7. Types. 
 
 8. Practical View. 
 
 Some of these titles it is imagined may afford oc- 
 casion either of ridicule to the profane or of of- 
 fence to the serious, but such consequences arc not 
 justly to be charged upon the writer, who has taken 
 them from the word of God, and purposes to ex- 
 amine their import by the law and testimony thereof, 
 without any undue partiality for human authority 
 whether of early or later date. It is by no means his 
 intention to question any article of " the Faith once 
 delivered to the Saints," but to examine how far 
 the purity of its stream may have been affected by 
 the channels of interpretation through which it has 
 come down to us. As an apology (if any be requi- 
 site) for such an attempt to elucidate some import- 
 ant passages of scripture, he would observe, that any 
 former abuse or absurd exhibition of the doctrines 
 they contain, will afford no better argument for their 
 absolute rejection, than such as the corruptions of 
 Christianity can offer to justify the denial of its truth. 
 
 The several points intended for discussion in the 
 following papers, are stated at once in the order in 
 which they will be treated. The candid reader who 
 may deem them not unworthy of his notice, may 
 thus be prepared, if he will, by a previous exami- 
 nation of corresponding passages, and be induced to 
 
122 
 
 withhold a premature and therefore defective judg- 
 ment on the whole argument, until the light which 
 these converging subjects may afford shall be col- 
 lected into one and the same focus. 
 
 The great counsel of God in '•'the dispensation of 
 the fulness of times'* is far too important to have es- 
 caped from the devices of the enemy, and it has ac- 
 cordingly been much darkened by w^ords without 
 knowledge; it may be collected from scripture, that 
 this obscurity would be allowed to continue till the 
 period immediately preceding its fulfilment. 
 
 The latter part of the vision of Daniel was sealed, 
 but the revelation of it in St. John, is an open book. 
 It is " the Revelation of Jesus Christ which God 
 gave him to show to his servants, " and " blessed is 
 he that readeth, and they that hear the words of 
 this prophecy, and keep those things which are 
 Written therein, for the Time is at hand, '* 
 
 Sect. 1. The glorious Epiphany, Titus ii. 13. 
 
 The context of this expression will introduce at 
 once the distinction of the first and second Epipha- 
 ny intended to be marked out in the whole subse- 
 quent discussion. " The grace of God hath appeared" 
 sTit^ojvri^ and by it we are taught to look forward to 
 **the appearance of the glory" t7ii(^im.v\ grace came 
 by Jesus Christ at his first, and He will come in 
 glory at his second appearance. We are exhorted 
 to live soberly, righteously, and godly in this pre- 
 sent world, or the "age that now is," that in the 
 age to come we may be partakers of this glory, or 
 as it is expressed by the same Apostle, Ephesians 
 ii. 2, by " grace we are saved" or raised up already 
 to a new life with Christ, that *' in the ages to come," 
 tie might show the exceeding riches of his grace. 
 
123 
 
 that is, his glory, of which present grace is the 
 pledge and assurance — for ^' the Lord will give grace 
 and glory," (Psalm Ixxxiv. 11.) ''whom he justi- 
 fied them he also glorified," (Romans viii. 30.) " He 
 shall come to be glorified in his saints," (2 Thess. 
 i. 10.) ''If we suffer with him that we may be also 
 glorified together ; for I reckon that the sufferings 
 o{ this present time, are not worthy to be compared 
 with the glory which shall be revealed in us, for the 
 earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the 
 manifestation of the sons of God," and their deliver- 
 ance " from the bondage of corruption into the glo- 
 rious liberty of the children of God," who have " the 
 first fruits of the Spirit," and yet groan within our- 
 selves waiting for the adoption, to wit, "the redemp- 
 tion of the body," (Romans viii.) "Looking for the 
 Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall change 
 their vile body, that it may be made like unto his 
 glorious body," or the body of the glory of himself. 
 (Phil. iii. 20, 21.) 
 
 This glorious appearance is coupled with the king- 
 dom of glory, and the saints are connected with 
 the one as with the other. (1 Thess. ii. 12.) "I 
 charge thee before God and the Lord Jesus Christ, 
 who shall judge the quick and the dead at his ap- 
 pearing and kingdom, (2 Tim. iv. 1.) "That ye 
 would walk worthy of God who hath called you to 
 his kingdom and glory." "That ye may be count- 
 ed worthy of the kingdom of God, for which vrct§ 
 r^i (not in which) ye all suffer, seeing it is a righte- 
 ous thing with God to recompense tribulation to 
 them that trouble you, and to you who are troubled 
 (to recompense) rest with us." " When the Lord 
 Jesus Christ shall be revealed from heaven with his 
 inighty angels, in flaming fire, taking vengeance 
 on them that know not God, and that obey not the 
 
124 
 
 gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ, who shall be pun- 
 ished with everlasting destruction from the presence 
 (face, rt^oaciftH) of the Lord, and from the glory of 
 .his power." (2 Thess. i.) "If we suffer, we shall 
 also re/o-w with him. " (2 Tim. ii. 12.) *' Henceforth 
 there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, 
 which the Lord, the righteous judge shall give me 
 tit that day^ and not to me only, but unto all that love 
 his appearing'' (2 Tim. iv. 8.) '' When" Christ our 
 life shall appear, then shall ye also appear with Him 
 IN GLORY.*' (Col. iii. 4.) And when the chief Shep- 
 herd shall appear, ye shall receive a crown of glory 
 that fadeth not away." (1 Peter v. 4.) '*The church 
 will then be presented by Christ to himself, a glo- 
 rious church, not having spot or wrinkle, or any 
 such thing." (Eph. v. 27.) At his first appearance 
 he -'made an end of sin," (Dan. ix. 24.) and " unto 
 them that look for him, shall he appear the second 
 lime without sin unto salvation." (Heb. ix. 28.) At 
 the first, God was manifest in the flesh, and at the 
 second, the human nature will be manifested in the 
 divine, for the *' Son of man shall come in the glory 
 of his Father." (Mark viii. 38.) 
 
 As before the incarnation, Christ had appeared 
 as man, to prepare the church for his Epiphany in 
 the flesh, so it should seem he had given a pledge 
 of his future Epiphany in glory, for after his speak- 
 ing of that coming in connexion with " the king- 
 dom of God," (Luke ix. 26.) the account of the 
 transfiguration follows, in which the disciples " saw 
 bis glory," and Moses and Elias also "appeared in 
 glory," and there came a cloud and overshadowed 
 them^ 
 
 St. Peter, (2 Peter i. 16.) directly alluding to this 
 remarkable manifestation, refers it to the "power 
 
I 
 
 125 
 
 and coming of Christ," as if exemplified in tlie h©- 
 ly mount, and declares it to be '*no cunningly de- 
 vised fable." On this occasion, the dispensations of 
 grace and of glory — the kingdoms of patience and 
 of power — the church militant and triumphant were 
 exhibited at once, affording an illustrious pattern 
 , of things to come in that glorious appearance and 
 kingdom, when all will be " eye witnesses of his 
 majesty ;" when the Lamb and his company shall 
 stand on the mount of Zion ; "when the glory of 
 God shall lighten that city, in the light whereof the 
 tuitions of them which are saved shall walk." Rev. 
 xiv. and xxi. 13. 
 
 If the nations and kings of the earthy are to bring 
 their glory and honour into it, this must be a dis- 
 pensation here below and in time — such distinctions 
 do not seem applicable to the eternal state — they 
 seem rather to signify the kingdom appointed to 
 Christ by the Father, as the crown of his mediatori- 
 al office ; when all kings shall fall down before Him, 
 all nations shall do Him service ; when He shall be 
 King of kings, and Lord of lords ; when " there 
 shall be given to Him, dominion and glory, and a 
 kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages 
 should serve Him," when ''the greatness of the 
 kingdom under (not in) the whole heaven shall be 
 given to the Saints of the Most High," (Dan. vii. 
 14 and 27,) until ''the end, when He shall have de- 
 livered up the kingdom to God even the Father;" 
 when " the Son also shall himself be subject unto 
 Him, that put all things under Him, that God may 
 be all in all." (1 Cor. xv. 24 and 28.) 
 
 It will be allowed that the first Epiphany was dis- 
 tinctly revealed to Daniel, (chap. ix. 24,) in the in- 
 terpretation of the seventy weeks, and that He had 
 
 T ^ 
 
126 
 
 understanding given Him to understand the matter ; 
 but of another vision, he says, "none understood 
 it,'* (chap. viii. 27,) and of the time of the end, 
 when the w^ise shall shine as the brightness of the 
 firmament, as the glorified bodies in the transfigu- 
 ration, it v^as said, (chap. xii. 4.) "Shut up the 
 words, and seal the book," till "the knowledge of 
 it shall be increased," " the words are closed and 
 sealed up till the time of the end," when '•'•the mine 
 shall understand. " 
 
 Whether the glorious Epiphany be not also de- 
 clared by Daniel, though he understood it not, and 
 whether this appearance be not also conjoined im- 
 mediately with the kingdom of God, then to be es- 
 tablished on earth, shall now be considered by re- 
 ference to the passages. 
 
 It appears that a comprehensive vision was vouch- 
 safed to Him of all the kingdoms of the world, 
 from the first King of kings to the last. (Comp. 
 Dan. ii. 36, and Rev. xix. 16.) Every revolution of 
 universal empire was set before Him, from the king- 
 dom of Babylon, to the kingdom of God. The 
 whole body politic was represented by the parts of 
 a body, natural in figure, but composed of various 
 materials ; after so much discussion, and so gene- 
 ral a consent upon the point, it is needless to show 
 in detail the application of the several parts. We 
 are concerned at present only with the feet and toes 
 of the image composed of iron and clay, and these 
 will be allowed to represent the Roman Empire in 
 its last divided state, partly strong as iron, partly 
 tyeak as clay, but divided into ten kingdoms at least. 
 
 " In the days of these kings, shall the God of hea- 
 ven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroy- 
 ed, and the kingdom shall not be left to other peo- 
 
127 
 
 pie, it shall break in pieces, and consume all these 
 kingdoms, and it shall stand forever." (Chap. ii. 
 44.) 
 
 The means by which this universal revolution is 
 produced, are supernatural. "A stone was cut out 
 without hands, which smote the image upon his feet 
 of iron and clay, and brake them to pieces, and the 
 stone that smote the image became a great moun- 
 tain, and filled the whole earth." (Verse 34, 35.) 
 
 Without hands, is a scriptural expression, for that 
 which is spiritual, as the ''Circumcision not made 
 with hands,'' or the " building of God, an house not 
 made with hands." 
 
 The stone smites the image on the feet, or last 
 divided state of the Roman Empire, and breaks the 
 rest of the image in pieces. It may be doubted, 
 whether this figure can properly represent the first 
 advent of our Lord, as the Empire was not then in 
 its divided state, but it seems to be referred by Christ 
 himself to the judgments attending or preceding his 
 second appearance. '' The stone which the builders 
 rejected, is become the head of the corner. Who- 
 soever shall fall upon that stone shall be broken, 
 but on whomsoever it shall fall, it will grind him in 
 powder." (Luke xx. 17. 18.) 
 
 In the corresponding passage, (Matt. xxi. 43.) the 
 transfer of the kingdom of God from the Jews to 
 the Gentiles is introduced, and thus it should seem, 
 that when the Gentile kingdoms are to end, the 
 stone will fall upon them, and become itself the uni- 
 versal kingdom, the kingdom of the mountain fill- 
 ing the whole earth. In the discourse on Mount 
 Olivet, our Lord tells his disciples, " Jerusalem 
 shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the 
 'times of the Gentiles be fulfilled," and " then (after 
 
128 
 
 other signs) shall they see the Son of man coming; 
 in a cloud with power and great glory,*' (Luke xxi. 
 24.) " When ye see these things begin to come to 
 pass, know ye that the kingdom of God is nigh at 
 hand." This then is the "glorious appearance 
 and kingdom" yet to come, for the times of the 
 Gentiles continue, and the ten kingdoms of the 
 image yet exist. 
 
 Nor is this all; in the viith chapter of Daniel, 
 the " appearance and kingdom" still more distinctly 
 point to the second glorious Epiphany. The Ro- 
 man Empire is there designated by a beast with ten 
 horns, in the midst of which a little horn arises 
 speaking great words. The beast is slain, his body 
 destroyed and given to the flame, and then follows, 
 •'I saw in the night visions," and behold one like 
 '•^tJie Son of Man came with the clouds of Heaven." 
 Saint Paul says, '*The Lord Himself shsiW descend 
 from Heaven," 1 Thess. iv. 16. but not till " that 
 Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume 
 with the Spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with 
 the brightness of his coming." (2 Thess. ii. 8.) 
 
 Saint John says, when the " Word of God" is 
 revealed under the title of King of kings, the beast, 
 and the false prophet are both cast alive into a lake 
 of fire. Let the devout inquire into what is noted 
 in the scripture of truth. Compare the description 
 of the Ancient of Days, in Daniel vii. 9, 10, 13, 14, 
 with that of the Son of man, in Rev. i. 13 — 18, and 
 see if they can arrive at any other conclusion, than 
 that the same glorious Epiphany is represented in 
 both, in which the Son of man is revealed in the 
 glory of his Father, as a priest on a throne, when 
 the God of Heaven sets up the kingdom which is 
 given to the Son of man. 
 
129 
 
 If any further confirmation be wanting, the scrip- 
 tures afford it. It is not perhaps too much to sup- 
 pose, that our Lord, who gives so decided a testi- 
 mony to Daniel,) referred to this prophecy, in his 
 answer to Caiaphas, *• Hereafter shall ye see the 
 Son of man, sitting at the right hand of power, and 
 eoramg in the clouds of heaven." (Matt. xxvi. 64.) 
 When He was transfigured, a cloud overshadowed 
 Him ; when He ascended, *' a cloud received Him;'* 
 to remove all doubt upon the subject, two special 
 Witnesses to the fact declared, " This same Jesus 
 which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so 
 eome in like manner, as ye have seen Him go into 
 heaven." (Acts i. 11.) 
 
 Therefore we, who know the living and true God, 
 •^* looking for that blessed hope and glorious appear- 
 ance," will wait for his Son from heaven, remem- 
 bering his own admonition, "Watch ye therefore, 
 and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy 
 to escape all these things that shall come to pass, 
 and to stand before the Sen of man." (Luke xxi.) 
 
 " Behold ! He cometh with clouds, and every 
 eye shall see Him, and they also which pierced Him, 
 and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of 
 Him — Even so. Amen." 
 
 Sect. 2. The First Resurrection. I ^!v. xx, 5. 
 
 The doctrine of the resurrection of the body 
 •>eems to have been little un^rstood, till '* the appear- 
 ance of our Saviour Jesus Christ, who hath abolish- 
 ed death, and brought life and immortality to light 
 through the Gospel."' That holy men of old had 
 some intimations of this glorious truth, is evident 
 from the confidence of Job, whose expectation of 
 seeing his Redeemer stand at the latter day upon 
 
130 
 
 the earth, after the destruction of his own body by^ 
 worms, yet remains to be realized at the second ad- 
 vent. Many passages of the Psalms are referable 
 to the subject, and our Lord's observations to the 
 Sadducees, who said, there is no resurrection, are 
 sufficient to show, that under the old dispensation 
 some light was vouchsafed concerning it — " As 
 touching the dead that they rise, &c." — Mark xii. 
 26, 27. 
 
 The Pharisees appear to have had some appre- 
 hensions (beyond their suspicion of the disciples) 
 from their caution to make sure the sepulchre; 
 they had noticed and remembered that " that de- 
 ceiver said while he was yet alive. After three days 
 I will rise again," but the blindness and incredulity 
 of the disciples themselves is remarkable. When 
 Peter and John came to the sepulchre, " as yet they 
 knew not the Scripture that he must rise again 
 from the dead. " Thomas doubted the fact, and re- 
 quired the evidence of his senses— the two disciples 
 at Emmaus were " slow of heart, to believe all that 
 the prophets have spoken," — when the women " re- 
 turned from the sepulchre, and told all these things 
 unto the apostles, their words seemed to them as 
 idle tales, and they believed them not." "He ap- 
 peared unto the eleven, as they sat at meat, and 
 upbraided tfi^ .ti with their unbelief and hardness of 
 heart, because they believed not them which had 
 seen him after he was ri^sen." 
 
 If so much doubt and unbelief prevailed among 
 the disciples of our Lord concerning his own resur- 
 rection, it is not surprising, that a similar spirit 
 should have been manifested in the latter ages of the 
 church, with respect to the resurrection of the mem- 
 bers of his spiritual body. Notwithstanding the 
 
131 
 
 additional light which the epistles of St. Paul hare 
 cast on the general testimony of the sacred record, 
 notwithstanding the clue of interpretation given in 
 *' the Revelation of Jesus Christ" for the solution 
 of corresponding passages in either Testament, the 
 subject yet remains obscure and intricate to the ma- 
 jority of professed and even devout believers. The 
 time and nature and order of this great event are for 
 the most part merged in generalities, or confound- 
 ed with the popular idea of the last judgment, and 
 it is possible that many things may be advanced on 
 these beads on good and solid foundation, which 
 may still appear as idle tales to many who receive 
 the scriptures, and yet are slow of heart to believe 
 ALL that the prophets have spoken. Many like Mar- 
 tha would say of a departed brother, *' I know that 
 he shall rise again at the last day," who know not 
 the hour and " power of that resurrection" which 
 is peculiar to those only who are quickened toge- 
 ther with Christ, as "bone of his bone, and flesh of 
 his flesh," " very members incorporate in his mysti- 
 cal body. " 
 
 A few in all ages have followed the beloved John 
 from Calvary to Patmos, and by faith have seen 
 the glory of God in that ulterior dispensation most 
 fully revealed to him \w\\o first believed in the resur- 
 rection of his Lord, — they have meditated with de- 
 lightful anticipation over the sepulchre of '' the first 
 begotten from the dead," and considering that 
 ** the graves were opened and many bodies of the 
 saints which slept arose, and came out of the graves 
 after his resurrection, and went unto the holy city 
 and appeared unto many," they have not been back- 
 ward to believe or to declare the counsel of God as 
 spoken by the prophets concerning " the whole 
 
1^ 
 
 house of Israel." It is enough lor them that it is 
 written, ** Behold, O my people, I will open your 
 g-raves, and cause you to come up out of your graves, 
 and bring you unto the land of Israel," Ezck.xxxvii. 
 12, these words are too specific to admit of a merely 
 figurative application, and the context abundantly 
 proves their reference to a local and yet future dis- 
 pensation. — '' The resurrection of the just," (Luke 
 xiv. 14.) " The resurrection of life," (John v. 29.) 
 '* A better resurrection," (Heb. xi. ^^5.) " The first 
 resurrection," (Rev. xx. 5.) appear to be terms de- 
 claratory of some remarkable distinctions to be put 
 between the evil and the good, not only as to their 
 final sentence of condemnation or acquittal, but as 
 to the time and circumstances of the resuscitation 
 of their bodies. 
 
 " The children of God" are so named by our 
 Lord when speaking on the subject (Luke xx. S6,) 
 " Being the children of the resurrection^' and if this 
 were intended solely of the fact that their bodies 
 shall be raised in common with " the rest of the 
 dead," it would seem no such distinguishing title 
 as it is made in that passage, with reference more- 
 over to a period of time, and an age of the world 
 (as will be shown afterwards) during which the rest 
 of the dead are not restored to life at all. If there 
 be no such distinction as implied above, what con- 
 struction is to be put upon the earnest desire of St. 
 Paul> " if by any means I might attain to the resur- 
 rection of thfe dead." The spiritual resurrection of 
 the soul by faith he had already attained to— he was 
 in this sense "risen with Christ," and no peculiar 
 means were requisite to certify the resurrection of 
 his own body, for he knew from his Master's assur- 
 ance that "all who are in their graves should come 
 
133 
 
 forlh." He who of old '' was called in question touch- 
 ing the resurrection of the dead,'* well knew that 
 "in Christ all shall be made alive," but He was 
 taught to give to each a gradation and priority of 
 rank and succession, "Christ the first fruits" ('' he 
 should be the first that should rise from the dead," 
 Acts xxvi. 25,) "afterwards they that are Christ's 
 at his coming^'* (1 Cor. xv. 22.) He was witling to 
 be ** planted in the likeness of his death, that He 
 might be also in the likeness of his resurrection." 
 (Rom. vi. 5.) He desired to suffer with Christ that 
 he might be glorified together with him, (Rorn. viii. 
 17,) to be made conformable to his death, that he 
 might attain to a resurrection which he seems to 
 distinguish from any other by a word never applied 
 to the general resurrection or to tb.at of the unjust 
 — it seems to express a rising i/p out of the mass of 
 the (lead — the word is Elamj-atftj, while the usual word 
 ams-afft? in the passage referred to, (Phil. iii. 2.) is 
 used of Christ's own resurrection — it is the only 
 place where it occurs, and is rendered by Schleus- 
 ner, ^ ut eonsequar aliquando bealain e mortuis resur- 
 rectionem." Thus it appears that the first resurrec- 
 tion is that of the Martyrs who have suffered for the 
 truth, or otherwise borne a faithful testimony, Rev. 
 XX. 4, and xi. 18, — it is coincident with the coming 
 and kingdom of Christ, when "the Lord my God 
 shall come and all the Saints." (Zech. xiv.) At the 
 opening of the fourth seal, power is given to death 
 and hell, " to kill with sword, and with hunger, and 
 with the beasts of the earth;" — under the fifth seal, 
 they " that were slain for the word of God, and for 
 the testimony which they held," cried, " How long, 
 O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge, and 
 avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth f 
 
134 
 
 when **it was said unto them that they should rest 
 yet for a little season until their fellow servants also, 
 and their brethren that should be killed as they 
 were should be fulfilled." (Rev. vi. 2.) At the 
 sounding of the seventh trumpet, Christ takes his 
 kingdom and reigns, '* and the nations Avere angry, 
 and thy wrath is come, and the time of the dead that 
 they should be judged^ and that thou shouldest give 
 reward unto thy servants the prophets, and to the 
 saints and them that fear thy name small and great." 
 This time of the dead is manifestly their resurrection, 
 or the ^'resurrection of the just,'' and their reward is 
 that they receive their glorified bodies, live and 
 reign with Christ — for on the binding of Satan, and 
 the destruction of the bestial or Roman Empire, " the 
 souls of them that were beheaded for the witness 
 of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had 
 not worshipped the beast, Sec. they lived and reigned 
 with Christ a thousand years, but the rest of the 
 dead lived not again until the thousand years were 
 finished. " This is the first resurrection, (rj ams-acni 
 rj Tt^oittj) the article is twice significantly used, and 
 the passage may be rendered, " This is the re- 
 surrection the first,'' *' Blessed and holy is he that 
 hath part in the first resurrection, on such the second 
 death hath no power." Rev. iii. 6. 
 
 The living of the saints and the living of the rest 
 of the dead in this passage must obviously intend 
 living in the same way, or the character of the re- 
 surrection is similar, in both cases it is bodily, for 
 in this sense alone is any resurrection co?nmon to the 
 saints, and the rest of the dead or mankind in gen- 
 eral— ^Aws "in Adam all die," and thus truly in or 
 by Christ '' shall all be made alive." In a spiritual 
 sense, those who live and reign were already *' risen 
 
135 
 
 with Christ," and ''alive unto God'* by faith, and 
 in that sense the rest of the dead whose bodies are 
 raised at the end of the thousand years will never 
 live at all — they were dead already in their souls, 
 and will receive their bodies only to be placed un- 
 der the power of " the second death. " As the psalm- 
 ist speaks of the wicked, (Psalm xlix.) " Like sheep 
 they are laid in the grave, death shall feed on them, 
 and the upright shall have dominion over them in 
 the morning, (i. e. of the first resurrection) and 
 their beauty shall consume away in the grave from 
 their dwelling, but God will redeem my soul (or 
 me) from the power of the grave, for he shall receive 
 me," that is, at the second coming of Christ, who 
 says to his disciples, " I will come again and receive 
 you to myself, that where I am ye may be also." 
 (John xiv. 3.) The same distinction is put between 
 the just and the unjust, between God's people and 
 their oppressors. (Isaiah xxvi. 14—19.) Of the one 
 it is said, "Dead they shall not live, deceased they 
 shall not rise," of the other, "Thy dead shall live, my 
 dead body shall they arise." ''Awake and sing, ye 
 that dwell in the dust, for thy dew is as the dew of 
 herbs, and the earth shall cast out her dead ;" and 
 this takes place at the second advent, for it follows, 
 *' the Lord comcth out of his place to punish the in- 
 habitants of the earth," when according to Malachi, 
 chap. iv. "all the proud, and all that do wickedly 
 shall be stubble, and the day that cometh shall burn 
 them up, saith the Lord of Hosts, that it shall leave 
 them neither root nor branch, but unto you that fear 
 my name shall the Sun of righteousness arise with 
 healing in his wings, and ye shall go forth and grow 
 \jp as calves of the stall, and ye shall tread down 
 the wicked for they shall be ashes under the soles of 
 your feet," and this again by the context is at the 
 
136 
 
 coming and appearance of Christ, for *• who mav 
 abide the day of his coming, and who may stand 
 when he appeareth." (chap. iii. 2.) The first resur- 
 rection is thus one of the distinctions which will 
 be put *' between the righteous and the wdcked, 
 between him that serveth God, and him that serveth 
 Kim not." It was the great consolation of the early 
 suffering Church. — " Comfort one . another Avith 
 ihcse words," concludes the passage in the 1 Thess. 
 iv. 14, where the doctrine of the first resurrection 
 is most plainly intimated, and put upon the same 
 ground of faith as the resurrection of Christ himself 
 — where the distinction is drawn between soul 
 and body, and their re-union in the persons of the 
 risen saints is declared — the soul is said to sleep in 
 Jesus, and this God will bring with him, but the 
 bodies of the saints are dead in Christ. The souls 
 are waiting for " the adoption, to wit, the redemp- 
 f'ion of the body," the prayer of the Apostle is that 
 *' your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved 
 blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ,'* 
 '-^for if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, 
 even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring 
 with him," (verse 14,) " and the dead in Christ shall 
 rise first.*' The bodies of the saints shall rise in an 
 order of priority more distinctly marked in other 
 passages of sacred Scripture, and by the Apostle in 
 1 Cor. XV. which tj-eats largely of the resurrection 
 of the body as connected with the resurrection of 
 Christ, of whom the spiritual resurrection of the 
 soul in this life from the death of sin cannot be pre- 
 dicated at all. 
 
 With reference to the literal resurrection of the 
 body, a distinct succession is declared. *' By man 
 came death, by man also the resurrection from the 
 dead — as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all 
 
137 
 
 be made alive," that is, receive their bodies, a//, but 
 all are not made alive in their souls. — Some in that 
 sense, are " twice dead," but every man (as to the 
 resurrection of the body) " in his own order, Christ 
 the first fruits, afterward, they that are Christ's at 
 his coming," expressio uniusest exclusio alte.rius — 
 therefore, it might be inferred from this declaration, 
 that ** the rest of the dead, (bodies) lived not again, 
 or were not raised at that time; and the time Avhen 
 they shall live again or be raised, is distinctly mark- 
 ed out, when this part of the mystery is more fully 
 revealed by Jesus Christ himself. St. Paul says, " Be- 
 hold, I show you a mystery, we shall not all sleep, 
 but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the 
 twinkling of an eye, at the last trump, for the trum- 
 pet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incor- 
 ruptible, and we shall be changed, for this corrup- 
 tible, (that is, the body) must put on incorruption, 
 and this mortal must put on immortality." These 
 expressions must relate to the body ** dead in 
 Christ," to be raised at his coming, and not to the 
 soul, which sleeps in Jesus, for they that sleep in Je- 
 sus, when "absent from the body, and present with 
 the Lord," have already in that sense, put on both 
 incorruption and immortality, — they are already 
 **born of incorruptible seed, by the word of God 
 which liveth for ever," — they are already '' passed 
 from death unto life," and they, who are thus " alive 
 and remain" till the coming of Christ, will be chang- 
 ed as soon as the "dead in Christ," and asleep in 
 Jesus, are reunited in body and soul; — this is that 
 celestial body, like unto the glorious body of Christ, 
 the image of the heavenly Adam, which every mem- 
 ber of the invisible church will bear, and of which 
 ^^ may say with David, *' I shall behold thy face 
 M 2 
 
138 
 
 in righteousness, I shall be satisfied v heu fawakt 
 with thy likeness," 
 
 " The second Adam is a quickening spirit" as to 
 the body, of which St. Paul is here speaking; and 
 in another place he says, •• If the Spirit of him that 
 raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that 
 raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken 
 your mortal bodies, by his Spirit that dwelleth in 
 you.'* Rom. i. 8. And this will be. as appears by 
 the same chapter, at the •• manifestation of the sons 
 of God," at "the redemption of the body," when 
 *• the creature itself also shall be delivered from the 
 bondage of corruption, unto the glorious liberty of 
 the children of God." But *• the children of God" 
 are called by our Lord, (as observed above) "the 
 children of the resurrection," in a peculiar sense, 
 (Luke XX. 36.) for -^ when they shall rise from the 
 dead, they are as the angels," (tt^ayyfXoc) Mark xii. !25. 
 * neither can they die any more, for they are equal 
 to the angels," (eytw^'yfXo*} Luke. This honour have 
 all his saints, but above ail, those who have suffered 
 for the testimony of Jesus, " If so be that we suffer 
 with him. that we may be also glorified together,** 
 ** these light afflictions work out a far more exceed- 
 ing and eternal weight of glory," — •*one star differ- 
 eth from another star in glory, so also is the resur- 
 Tection of the dead." — '* Many of them that sleep in 
 the dust of the earth shail awake." — ** and they tliat 
 be wise, shall shine as the brightness of the firma- 
 ment, and they that turn many to righteousness as 
 the stars," — Dan. xiL 3. A beam of this glory seems 
 to have fallen on the face of the proto-martyr Ste- 
 phen. — ''All that sat in the council, looking stead- 
 fastly on him, saw his face as it had been the face 
 efanangely" and " he looking up steadfastly into hea- 
 
139 
 
 veil, saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the 
 right hand of God," and so will all "the congrega- 
 tion of saints" when the " Son of man shall come in 
 the glory of his Father with his holy angels;" when 
 every Israelite indeed, shall, with Nathanael, see 
 " heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and 
 despending upon the Son of man. " 
 
 The first resurrection is thus immediately con- 
 nected with the appearance, and kingdom, and com- 
 ing of Christ " with all his saints," when '^ he shall 
 change their vile body, (or the body of humiliation, 
 arw/xa tri<; taTinvi^rjii^i) that it may be fashioned like unto 
 his glorious body," Phil. iii. 21. comp. vcr. 10, 11. 
 ''When he will present them faultless before his 
 presence with exceeding joy," (Jude 25.) "holy, 
 and unblamable, and unreprovable in his sight," 
 (Col. i. 22.) when they who are already risen in spirit 
 with Christ, and are seeking those things that are 
 above, shall also *' appear with him in glory," 
 " when the times of refreshing shall come from the 
 presence of the Lord," Acts iii. 19. — the expression, 
 in our translation of this passage, falls far short of 
 the original word, and seems only its secondary 
 sense. If there be meaning in language, it signi- 
 fies the times (or seasons) of reanimation, restora- 
 tion of the soul to the body ; according to all analo- 
 gy of diction — if wm-s-acrtj means re-surrection, ava- 
 •4.v|t? implies re-animation, — "am-4t;;^£w, dicuntur 
 (iu'^.uit Eusthasius) quae animam reducunt, ut con- 
 tra a7to4u;tf tv, animam efflare, ava^^D;l;«, idem quod re- 
 animo." (vide Steph. Lex.) If this be so, the mean- 
 ing of the expressions in Rev. xx. 4 — 6. is plain 
 enough, and cleared at once from all objections rais- 
 ed against the doctrine so clearly maintained by the 
 context, — because St. John speaks of the souls, it 
 
140 
 
 may be sug^gested it does not follow, that the bodies 
 
 were raised at that time, but at the last and general 
 
 resurrection. But let it be observed, they that livedo 
 
 M-ere they that were beheaded^ who had not received 
 
 the mark of the beast on their forehead or hands. 
 
 These are all bodily signs, and, as the martyrs had 
 
 glorified Christ in their " bodies terrestrial," so now 
 
 they are glorified by Christ, with "bodies celestial." 
 
 St. John says, '• I saw thrones, and they sat onthem;'* 
 
 — the bodies were beheaded, but now they lived — 
 
 their souls were reunited to them — this is the time 
 
 of their re-animation^ for the soul is the life of the 
 
 body. — ^" Hoc potissimum cogitasse arbitror illos, 
 
 qui animam, •^x'n^ vocitarunt, quod hsec quoties 
 
 adest corpori, causa est illi vivendi, respirandi, et 
 
 refrigerandi vim exhibet, et cum desierit quod refri- 
 
 gerat dissolvitur corpus, et interit — unde -^vxriv no- 
 
 minasse videntur quasi avo.-\vxov, respirando refrige- 
 
 rans.''' Dialog. Plat, in Cratyllo. 
 
 " The soids of the righteous" being " in the hand 
 of God," and their life '* hidden with Christ," could 
 not properly be said to live again out of the body in 
 any sense, or to be reanimated at all. ^ In the sight 
 of the unwise they seemed to die, but in the time of 
 their visitation they shall shine, and run to and fro 
 like sparks among the stubble; they shall judge the 
 nations, and have dominion over the people, and 
 their Lord shall reign for ever." " We fools account- 
 ed his life madness, and his end to be without ho- 
 nour. Now is he numbered among the children of 
 God, and his lot is among the saints." — "Then the 
 righteous that is dead shall condemn the ungodly 
 that is living." — '■'' Blessed are the dead that die in 
 the Lord." " Blessed is he that hath part in the 
 
141 
 
 For a clear and practical view of this interesting- 
 'rubject, the reader is referred to " The Nature of 
 the First Resurrection^ and the Character and Privile- 
 f^es of those that shall partake of it : ivith an Appendix, 
 containing extracts from the works of Bishop Newton 
 and Mr. Mede : by a Spiritual Watchman, pnntedfor 
 Seeley and Hatchard, Dec. 1819."— This Sermon was 
 published after the above imperfect sketch was drawn 
 up, and Basilicus is encouraged by perceiving, that 
 others are sent forth to spy out the land of pro- 
 mise — the cluster of grapes, which is thus cut 
 down, is weighty enough to be borne by two — the 
 eongregation of our Israel may possibly murmur 
 and doubt our report, that ''the land which we pass- 
 ed through to search it, is an exceeding good land ;" 
 but we will say as to the company of old, (Numbers 
 xiii. 8.) " If the Lord delight in us, then he will bring 
 us into this land, and give it us, a land which flow- 
 eth with milk and honey ;" and if our report be 
 false, how are some of the promises to Israel of old, 
 ever to be verified, as they must be, in their own 
 land ? The Sermon is here recommended not only 
 for its own sake, but on account of the judicious se- 
 lection of authorities annexed to it. Basilicus, was 
 it not contrary to his present avowed design, could 
 add many more from the fathers of the church and 
 others — " Veteres duplicem resurrcctionem crede- 
 bant, unam particularem justorum in adventu Mes- 
 sise, alteram generaliorem in fine mundi." (Hulsii 
 Theol. Jud.) 
 
 The general resurrection appears to take place 
 before " the white throne and him that sat on it," 
 at the expiration of the thousand years, when death 
 and hell give up their dead, (Rev. xx. 11. 15.) which 
 is the last judgment according to- works, and is thus 
 
142 
 
 distinguished in the parallel account, (Mat. xxv. 31.) 
 when the second advent is set forth under the figure 
 of the nobleman who cometh after his departure 
 for a season, to take account of his servants, where 
 the unprofitable servant is cast alive into outer dark- 
 ness, as the false prophet in the Revelations is, at 
 the same period, cast alive into the lake of fire. The 
 different statements seem to show, that the living 
 wicked (then in the flesh) will be destroyed at the 
 appearance of Christ. — They that will not have him 
 to reign over them will be slain before his presence, 
 when he returns ''having received the kingdom," 
 (Luke xix. 8. 27.) and will be raised up with the 
 dead, great and small, when the thousand years are 
 expired, and all enemies being subdued, the kingdom 
 is given up, and the mediatorial dispensation closed. 
 These remarks on the general resurrection are add- 
 ed, to show that it is no more affected by this view 
 of the first resurrection of the just, than other gene- 
 rals are affected by their respective joar/icw/«rs, or, 
 as other parts of any truth affect the whole, viz. by 
 illustrating and confirming the same. 
 
 When defending himself before the tribunal of a 
 Roman governor, Paul testifies, " There shall be a 
 resurrection both of the just and of the unjust." 
 When writing to a church of believers, he points to 
 a distinction between the two, which he does not 
 stop to explain to heathen ears — he did not cast 
 such a pearl before those who would turn and rend 
 him. — The above thoughts are suggested by one, 
 believing all things which are written, not only in 
 the Law and the Prophets, but in the Gospels, Epis- 
 tles, and Apocalypse, concerning Christ and his 
 church. The whole of his argument rests on its 
 conformity to the testimony of the book of life, ta- 
 
143 
 
 ken in its most obvious and literal acceptation, and, 
 by this test, he desires it may be tried by com- 
 petent judges, men of faith and prayer, more 
 mighty in the Scriptures, more instructed in the 
 way of the Lord, than he can presume to be. He 
 will be truly thankful to any of this description, 
 who will take up these subjects, and expound 
 unto him the way of God more perfectly. But, 
 while there be many who have not so m.uch as heard 
 that there be a first resurrection and kingdom to 
 come on earth otiier than that within the soul of the 
 regenerate, he is constrained to declare these things 
 which he believes to be revealed among the lively 
 oracles of God — they were considered among the 
 tests of enHre orthodoxy in the first centuries of the 
 Christian aera — they will not amalgamate with the 
 heresies of the last — their gold is that of the sanc- 
 tuary, and will lose nothing by refinement in its 
 fire, but the dross of imperfect interpretation. While 
 such diligence is manifested in the revival of explod- 
 ed errors, an earnest inquiry after neglected truths 
 cannot be unseasonable, "multa renascentur qu3e 
 jam cecidere," and the first resurrection is one of 
 them; — "out of the old fields assuredly shall the 
 new corn spring," and this doctrine must revive as 
 the Scriptures are searched — it is hidden therein 
 as seed in the ground, and it will take root down- 
 wards, and bear fruit upwards — it is planted in the 
 house, and will flourish in the courts of the Lord-— 
 it has arisen already as a day star in the hearts of 
 many who believe, and it will set no more till the 
 sun of righteousness shall burst on a benighted 
 church, and a world that sitteth in darkness — till the 
 noble army of martyrs shall appear '* clothed in fine 
 linen, white and clean," till Jerusalem shall awake 
 
144 
 
 and arise and shake herself from the dust, and put 
 on her beautiful garments, \vhen the holy church 
 throughout all the world shall be astonished at the 
 strangeness of her salvation, and walk in the light 
 of her glory. 
 
 Sect. S. The End of the World— -MsLtt, xxviii. 20. 
 
 This expression is the same in the original with 
 that in Matt. xxiv. 3. " What shall be the sign of 
 thy coming and of the eyid of the world.'* They are 
 both understood by the generality of Christians 
 with reference to the final catastrophe of this earth- 
 ly scene, and the translation of the church to its 
 eternal and unchangeable state. 
 
 The validity of this interpretation will now be 
 considered. Whether such be " the plain and full 
 meaning of the words in the literal and grammatical 
 sense," is a matter well deserving a sober and judi- 
 cious inquiry, considering how many passages of 
 sacred scripture are made to turn upon the above 
 construction as their cardinal point ; no other con- 
 sequence will necessarily result from this discussion 
 than a more distinct anticipation of an event in 
 which all mankind are implicated, and which all be- 
 lievers are agreed in expecting at some period of 
 time or other, while none can by any possibility be 
 assured of its *'day and hour." When ''some de- 
 part from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits," 
 others " turn away their ears from the truth :" when 
 ••' scoffers, walking after their own lusts, and saying, 
 Where is the promise of his coming," are systema- 
 tically carrying on the mystery of iniquity towards 
 its entire consummation ; when damnable heresies, 
 and especially that of denying the Lord, (the pro- 
 per deity of Christ) are privily brought into, and 
 
145 
 
 are widely spreading in the church, it is high time 
 to consider whether '* the last days" of Peter, and 
 the "perilous times" of Paul, be not actually com- 
 menced ; and if so, *' the coming of the Loi-d draw- 
 eth nigh," and the " time of the end" cannot be very 
 distant. The signs of the times in which we live, 
 exhibit the very characteristics of the period imme- 
 diately preceding the appearance of the Son of man, 
 and the manifestation of the sons of God, the chil- 
 dren of the resurrection, who shall be '' accounted 
 worthy to obtain that world" aiwroj (xswh, which 
 of course will not commence (whatever it be) till the 
 end of "this world," ai^voi tata, be come, (Luke 
 XX. 34.) 
 
 A general expectation has existed in all ages con- 
 cerning a future stale of retribution, of which the 
 merit or demerit of man as a moral agent, is the 
 standard and criterion of judgment as to punishment 
 and reward. When life and immortality were brought 
 to light l)y the Gospel, this indistinct apprehension 
 was cleared up, the gates of heaven were opened to all 
 believers, and final condemnation denounced only on 
 the impenitent. Under a general concurrence of 
 expectation on this momentous subject, diversities 
 of opinion have existed in the church, as to the cir- 
 cumstances under which it will be realized ; and the 
 most prevailing idea is, that a great extension of the 
 spiritual kingdom of Christ will take place towards the 
 dose of the Chnstian dispensation, at the end of which 
 Christ will appear in person as the Judge of quick and 
 dead, when the general resurrection, the dissolution of 
 the material universe, the condemnation of the wicked, 
 and the translation of the church to the glories of hea- 
 vm will take place together— dii\d these things are, per- 
 haps, invariably viewed in connexion with such ex- 
 N 
 
146 
 
 pressions in sacred Scripture as "the end of the 
 world," "the world to come," " the day of judg- 
 ment," " the kingdom of heaven," &c. 8cc. 
 
 A review and comparison of the different passa- 
 ges of sacred Scripture, which have a direct appli- 
 cation to these subjects, may suggest a somewhat 
 different expectation, which is termed Scriptural^ as 
 being exclusively derived from the positive declara- 
 tions of Holy writ, taken from the original, in their 
 most obvious and literal sense — the scope of which 
 will be nearly as follows. 
 
 That the present system, secular and ecclesiasti- 
 cal, (as far at least as Christendom and the Roman 
 and Mahometan empires are concerned) will pass 
 away at the close of a certain period or aera of the 
 world, fixed in the determinate counsel of God, and 
 so far revealed in his written word that its near ap- 
 proach may be anticipated from specific and infalli- 
 ble tokens contained therein, whenever their real 
 application shall be manifested by existing circum- 
 stances, and the palpable fulfilment of the sure word 
 of prophecy concerning the last times of the Gospel. 
 That a new order of things, and a distinct period 
 or sera of the world will then commence, to which 
 all preceding times and dispensations have only 
 been preparatory and subordinate, and which is the 
 perfection and consummation of them all. That the 
 change thus effected in the physical and moral, se- 
 cular and spiritual state of the world, will be so com- 
 plete, so general, so extraorditiary, as to correspond 
 with the nature and significancy of the expressions 
 by which it is exhibited in Scripture, such as, "a 
 new creation," a "new earth," making " all things 
 new," "restoring all things," 8cc. 
 
 It will be readily admitted that a new aera com- 
 
147 
 
 menced at the first appearance of Christ, and the 
 promulgation of the Gospel throughout the Roman 
 empire, the scriptural designation of which is, 
 '' Hie fulness of time." This expression refers dis« 
 tinctly to the mission and personal office of our Lord 
 himself, and the period which thus commenced, 
 appears to be continued without any marked inter- 
 ruption to his second coming. The whole aera be- 
 ing spoken of in this way by himself, and charac- 
 terized by his apostles under the general title of 
 *' the last days," in distinction from sundry other 
 times, as the Paradisaical, Patriarchal, or Mosaic 
 dispensations. But another aera seems to be express- 
 ly noticed, and is specifically entitled, " The dispen- 
 sation (or ceconomy) of the fulness of times,'* under 
 which, scattered parts will be gathered together, 
 disjoined parts united in one great recapitulation 
 of the whole mystery of God — when the detached 
 and manifold gradations of the system hitherto in 
 action, will appear to have been working together 
 towards one determinate issue, the final develop- 
 ment of the glorious scheme of man's redemption 
 in body and soul as originally conceived and planned 
 in the eternal counsels of Jehovah. — When the whole 
 creation, so long groaning and travailing in pain to- 
 gether under the corruption introduced by the fall, 
 shall be delivered by the power, and subjected to 
 the dominion of the Son of man, the second Adam. 
 When the earth, once cursed for the sake of man, 
 shall be blessed again, renewed, and fitted for the 
 habitation of the righteous — when the typical theo- 
 cracy of the people of God shall be realized in the 
 kingdom of Israel restored to the risen saints of the 
 JMost High — when *'the Lord shall reign in Mount 
 Zion, and before his ancients gloriously" during the 
 
148 
 
 time appointed of the Father. " Tlien cometh tlif. 
 end, " properly so called, to ti7.o^^ thus clearly to be dis- 
 tinguished from the ''consummation of the age," 
 
 The detail of this subject, and the Scriptural evi- 
 dence in its support, will appear in future papers ; 
 the pui'port of the present section, is a critical ex- 
 amination of the expression in St. Matthew which 
 is rendered in our version, " The end of the ivorld.'* 
 
 The greatest respect is unquestionably due to the 
 authorized English translation; but the original 
 must ever remain the standard of doctrine and in- 
 terpretation, to persons in any degree qualified by 
 education to search after the mind of the Spirit 
 through the medium of that language in which it is 
 primarily expressed. The indiscriminate usage of 
 the term world, as a common rendering of xoa/nos 
 oixHfjitpij and atiov, each of which appears to have a 
 distinct signification, must necessarily occasion some 
 ambiguity in those passages wherein any two of 
 ihem are used in connexion; and if this ambiguity 
 should in any degree be removed by the simple sub- 
 stitution of more appropriate and analogous expres- 
 sions, some light may be thrown upon subjects of 
 the greatest concern and moment. Take for instance 
 a passage in the same Evangelist, where xoisi.ig<; and 
 aicov are used in the same connexion, and both trans- 
 lated "world." (Matt. xiii. 38.) ''The field is the 
 world. " The " harvest is the end of the world. " "So 
 shall it be in the end of this world.'' On perusing 
 the passage in which these words appear, any plain 
 mind must draw the inference, that at the destruction 
 of this mat eri(d globe, the procedure represented un- 
 der the figure of an harvest would take place — but 
 -^yhen it appears in the original, that different words 
 
149 
 
 are used, that the world which is the field, is xoff/*oj, 
 mundus, universe, and the world which is then to 
 end is at«v, saeculum, age; and that '* this world," re- 
 fers to the word signifying age; and not to that 
 ^^'hich signihes universe ; the natural and obvious 
 inference would rather be, ''when this age of the 
 world shall end, then shall the harvest come.'* 
 
 That '« this age" is not the proper end of the 
 world, and, therefore, that the harvest is not the end 
 of all things here below, may appear from a passage 
 where our* Lord is also the speaker; "this world" 
 is contrasted with " that world," which on any con- 
 struction will be allowed to be still future — and as 
 the word is there also acwv, if 'U hat world" means 
 eternity, then *' this luorld" must mean eternity also, 
 for it is the same expression precisely. " This world" 
 used for the earth, may be opposed in an English 
 translation to ''that ivorld" as heaven; but if atwt« 
 be age and not world, then this age and that age 
 have both a reference to times and seasons, and are 
 periods distinguished from each other. Luke xx. 
 34. '"The children of this world marry and are giv- 
 en in marriage, but they which shall be accounted 
 worthy to obtain that world and the resurrection 
 from the dead, neither marry nor are given in mar- 
 riage," that is, one to another : for they are now be- 
 trothed, and then will be married to Christ; for at 
 his glorious appearance and kingdom, and the first 
 resurrection of the just, *' the marriage of the Lamb 
 is come." The bridegroom is absent in this age, 
 and the church mourneth ; but in that he will be pre- 
 sent, an4 the church will rejoice. " Lo ! I am with 
 you alway, even unto the end of the world," (atwy, 
 age.) This presence will be allowed to be spiritual, 
 not personal ; but it will then be personal? as well 
 N 2 
 
150 
 
 as spiritual. The sacrament was instituted Ipr tJih 
 age, in that it should seem it would cease. " Ye do 
 show forth the Lord's death till he come," but when 
 Christ who is our life shall appear, we shall appear 
 with him, and enjoy the fulness of that intermediate 
 pledge in the marriage supper of the Lamb. 
 
 In the parable of the tares, he that soweth the 
 good seed is the Son of man, (Luke xiii. 37.) and 
 when the " harvest of the earth is ripe,*' (Rev. xiv. 
 15.) " the chief reaper is the Son of man, having on 
 his head a golden crown, and in his hand a sharp 
 sickle." Thus the sower and the reaper will re- 
 joice together, not in the destruction of the world; 
 but of the wicked on the face of it ; not in the end of 
 the world^hut in the termination of the age of the reign 
 of Antichrist, and in the fall of Babylon. "Rejoice 
 over her, thou heaven, and ye holy apostles and pro- 
 phets." Rev. xviii. 20. "Let us be glad and rejoice, 
 for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife 
 hath made herself ready." It is thus manifest, that 
 if the harvest in Matt. xiii. 39. be the end of the 
 world literally, it is not so in Rev. xiv. 14 — 16, for 
 many things succeed the harvest on the face of it, 
 till it is renewed, not destroyed. **The heavens 
 and the earth shall perish," that is, in their present 
 form, '' they shall wax old as a garment, and be fold- 
 ed up as a vesture, and they shall be changed" for 
 £1 more beautiful garment, a xoafios ornamentum, a 
 new earth, whemn righteousness shall dwell. If the 
 promise to Abraham that he should be heir of the 
 tvorld, xorifiov, (Rom.iv. is.) is to be fulfilled, it must 
 be in another age and state thereof, for neither he 
 nor his posterity have enjoyed that inheritance as 
 yet; if it be limited to his spiritual seed ; if the meek 
 are to inherit the earth, (yr^v) Matt. v. it must be 
 
151 
 
 the 'Miew earth," yr^v xaivt^v of the Apocalypse, in 
 one of "' the ages to come," atw(jc sTCspx^i^^voi, in which 
 God will show the exceeding riches of his grace, in 
 his kindness towards us through Christ Jesus, Eph. 
 ii. 7. when Satan will be bound, and not in this age 
 of this world, of which he is the ruler, and (ver. 2.) in 
 which he now worketh in the children of disobedi- 
 ence. 
 
 There is another passage, where the same indis- 
 criminate use is made of the term world, as used for 
 xotfuoj and atcov, Heb. ix. 26. "Then must he often 
 have suffered since the foundation of the world, 
 (xocsfioi) but now once in the end of the world, (atc^) 
 hath he appeared to put away sin, by the sacrifice 
 of himself, and then follows, *' to them that look for 
 him, shall he appear the second time, without sin 
 unto salvation ;" If he appeared in the end of the ivorld 
 to put away sin, and he is to appear again without 
 sin, and promises after he had put away sin, by 
 the sacrifice of himself, to be with his disciples to 
 the end of the world, these expressions cannot refer 
 to the end of the world, properly so called, for of 
 that kind there can be only one, and these are clearly 
 as distinct as the first and second advent, or the dis- 
 pensation of '' the fulness of time,'' when " God sent 
 forth his Son made of a woman," Gal. iv. 4, and 
 ** the dispensation of the fulness of times,'' when he 
 will *' gather together all things in Christ," Eph. i. 
 10, or when *' he shall send Jesus Christ, which be- 
 fore was preached unto you, whom the heaven must 
 receive until the times of restitution of all things." 
 Therefore neither of these expressions properly sig- 
 nify the end of the world, (xocj/ioj) but the termination 
 of an age, (at«i/) respectively. 
 
13i 
 
 Sect. 4. " 77ie world to come.''* Heb. ii. 5. 
 It has been remarked, that the Gospel dispensa- 
 tion is denominated by the apostle to the Hel)rews, 
 ** the last days," in reference to anterior periods; 
 — and thus the first advent of Christ was the consum- 
 mation of all preceding ages, owtt'Ksut, tuv aiwyeoy, 
 and in this sense only, *'the end of the World," in 
 •which He appeared, and of all these ages, past, pre- 
 sent, and to come, He is the sovereign disposer, BA- 
 2IAETS Ti2N AliiNQN, 1 Tim. 1. 17. Ac « xat ta^ 
 aiiovas sTioit^us, Heb. i. 2. per quem fecit et saecula, 
 Trans. Vulg. They were all constructed, and re- 
 spectively adapted to successive dispensations un- 
 der each, by the word and wisdom of God, as the 
 Creator and Redeemer of man, the Saviour of the 
 world; (xocf^ov) as Prophet, Priest, and King; — and 
 thus even the passage in Heb. xi. 3. *' through faith 
 we understand that the worlds (rouj atwmj) were 
 framed by the word of God," is translated by the 
 best Vulgate, *'Fide intelligimus aptata esse saecula 
 verbo Dei," and by Tremellius, '' Per fidem intelli- 
 gimus quod constructafuerintsa?ci^/a Sermone Dei:" 
 and if atwv, in this passage, be properly rendered 
 sseculum, age, it may be questioned whether there 
 be any in which it may not, with equal propriety, 
 or rather with advantage to the sense, be so trans- 
 lated. — It has already been shown, that atwv, thus 
 understood as age or aera, is to be distinguished 
 from xoafxoiy which may properly be translated \vorld. 
 —And the same remarks may be applied, it is pre- 
 sumed, with equal justice to the propriety of this 
 translation of atwv, when used in connexion with 
 the word otxovjxsv^, habitable earth; and it is con- 
 ceived that much light will thus be thrown upon 
 
153 
 
 the whole doctrine and argument contained in the 
 first and second chapters of the Hebrews, where 
 the expression now to be considered occurs, " 77ic 
 icorld to come.'' 
 
 The unlearned consider these terms with refer- 
 ence to the eternal state, and the learned have la- 
 boured to show, that in this passage, and perhaps 
 in others, they relate to the present state under the 
 Gospel; but if the suggestions already offered have 
 any foundation, the reference*may be neither to the 
 one nor the other, but to that yet intermediate state 
 between the two, which will take place at the con- 
 summation of the present age. 
 
 The apostle sets out with distinguishing swiclry 
 limes and divers manners, in which God had reveal- 
 ed himself to man; and then says, that in these 
 " last days," avowedly the time of the Gospel, he 
 has spoken by his Son, "by whom also he consti- 
 tuted the ages," in one of which, he sent his Son into 
 the world, and in another of which, he will " bring 
 him agahi" (Heb. i. 6,) into the world, otx(n)|i*fv»7v which 
 •• world to come," as appears by chap. ii. 5, he hath 
 not put in subjection to angels, neither are they to 
 be any longer ministering spirits, (as at present,) 
 chap. i. 14, " for them who shall be heirs of salva- 
 tion," for the heirs of salvation are in that world, 
 as hath been abundantly evinced, already entered 
 upon their inheritance, even the redemption of the 
 body, and the angels are then employed in pay- 
 ing adoration, with the rest of the elect, to the first 
 begotten, then sitting on his mediatorial throne, in 
 the glory of his heavenly Father; who says to the 
 Son, " Thy throne, O God, is forever and ever, ftj 
 tcv atwfa tov aiuvos, "in saeculum S3eculi," Vulg. for 
 the age of the age, not in saecula sxculorum, for 
 ages of ages, or all eternity, "Sit thou on my right 
 
154 
 
 hand until I make thine enemies thy footstool;" " but 
 now we see not yet all things put under him." 
 When Antichrist is destroyed, and Satan bound ; 
 when Babylon fails, and the Beast and false Prophet 
 tS^e cast into the lake of fire: when the man of sin 
 is destroyed, by the brightness of the coming of the 
 Lord; then his enemies being made his footstool, 
 all things will indeed be made subject; and then 
 the new earth and heaven, spoken of by Isaiah, then 
 the new heaven and earth, wherein righteousness 
 shall dwell, expected by the church, according to 
 St. Peter; then the new earth, yvj xat^iy, of St. John 
 will appear: and this will not be tv -rw fuj/ at«rt, in 
 this age, but in that which is to come, ev fw fiB7J)Mvti. 
 Evf fw srttp xf^jxivM — into this oixwfiBvrj, God will bring 
 his Son, and during this atwr, age, his saints will 
 live again, and ''''reign on the earth;" and when this 
 age of the world shall end, heaven and earth may 
 pass away, but the word of God will not, for unto 
 THE King Eternal (of the ages) there remaineth 
 ** honour and glory for ever anrf ever" (ages of ages) 
 or throughout ETERNITY, properly so called. 1. Tim. 
 i. 17. 
 
 Sect. 5. " The restitution of all things ." — Acts iii. 21. 
 
 The consistent interpretation of the passage in 
 which this expression occurs, and the doctrinal 
 views inculcated therein, will most readily be ascer- 
 tained by a consideration of the original and appro- 
 priate usage of the word translated restitution 
 (artoxafaoftacrts.) The primary sense is that of a return 
 to a former state, or a re-establishment^ and its se- 
 condary is, consummation or perfection. 
 
 In speaking of the natural body it would imply 
 what is termed convalescence, and it is especially 
 
155 
 
 used by the classical authors to signify the recovery 
 of a dislocated or fractured limb. 
 
 With reference to the body politic, both the verb 
 and noun are used by Polyblus to signify the resto* 
 ration of an original constitution or form of govern- 
 ment, arloxoLtsfi^ejaa' sli Tftjv f| ^%>ji xatacftaacv tr^ TtoXt- 
 tiifxi (Exc. Legat. 5i^.) 
 
 In the motion of the heavenly bodies, the same 
 expression would import the return of a planet to a 
 given point in its orbit, after a complete periodic re- 
 volution. 
 
 "The restitution of all-things," when spoken 
 of in connexion with the power and coming of Him 
 *' by whom all things were made," suggests the 
 simple but awful consideration of what *' all tuings" 
 were at first, what they afterwards became, and 
 what, according to the sacred oracles, they are to 
 be hereafter. Comprehensive as this outline may 
 appear, it may be defined sufficiently for the present 
 purpose by three passages of Scripture, containing 
 together the whole compass of a subject, thus col- 
 lectively represented by St. Peter. 
 
 On the sixth day of the creation, " God saw every 
 thing that he had made, and, behold ! it was very 
 good.'' Gen. i. 31. 
 
 In the days of Noah '* God looked upon the earth, 
 and, behold 1 it was corrupt, for alljlesh had corrupt- 
 ed his way upon the earth." Gen. vi. 12. 
 
 "The times of restitution of all things, which 
 God hath spoken by the mouth of all his holy pro- 
 phets since the world began," he confirms by .he 
 last "words of prophecy," saying, "Behold! I 
 make all things new." Rev. xxi. 5. 
 
 St. Peter recognises this threefold distinction 
 with reference to one and the same material universe: 
 
156 
 
 ill the concluding chapter of his second- epistle we 
 find, 
 
 1. "The heavens were of old and the earth," 
 ver. 5. 
 
 2. ** The heavens and the earth which are now," 
 ver. 7. 
 
 3. " New heavens and a new earth," ver. IS. 
 The first ^^pcrisheii, being overflowed with water. " 
 The second is " reserved unto fire," and is to be 
 
 ** dissolved." 
 
 The third is the subject of ^^ promise'" and of ex- 
 pectation. 
 
 The same word, "perish," applied by St. Peter 
 to the first, is used by St. Paul with reference to 
 the second, and qualified by his own explanation, 
 gives the sense of "dissolved" in the language of 
 St. Peter. 
 
 "They shall perish but thou remainest, and they 
 all shall wax old as doth a garment, and as a vesture 
 (rtfptSoi^atoi') shalt thou fold them up, and they shall 
 be CHANGED ; but thou art the same, and thy years 
 shall not fail." Heb. i. 11. 12. 
 
 As the perishing of the " old world" was not its 
 litter destruction, but a material alteration in its 
 form, properties, and appearance; so, from analogy, 
 as well as direct inference from the text, the dissolu- 
 tion of the present world may be expected to amount 
 to no more than a very material alteration, or such 
 as may be signified by a change of raiment; which, 
 though it may denude for a time, does not essential- 
 ly destroyed the body, but may increase its comeli- 
 ness and beauty. 
 
 Some analogy has ever been recognised between 
 the two great works of God, creation and redemp- 
 tion J Jewish and Christian writers (since the time 
 
157 
 
 as supposed of Elias) have intinrnted the idea, that as 
 the one was finished in seven days, the other will be 
 accomplished in 7,000 years. — St. Peter admonishes 
 the church that ''one day is with the Lord as a thou- 
 sand yearSy and a thousand years as one day,*' and as 
 he is there speaking of '* the day of the Lord," "in 
 which the heavens shall pass away," and '' the earth 
 also, and the works that are therein shall be burned 
 up," is not this " f/oy of ilie Lord,'' to be identified 
 with THE THOUSAND YEARS six times specified by 
 St. John, in six successive verses, where he saw "a 
 new heaven and a new earth," and heard the word 
 of regeneration, sublime as the creative fiat, saying 
 unto him, " It is done." This is the declaration 
 of him, who says, "I am Alpha and Omega, the 
 beginning and the end." It is his word, written for 
 our instruction, on whdm the ends of the ivorld are 
 come. — The last pages of the sacred volume are en- 
 titled to the same consideration as the first, and may 
 be shown by internal evidence to refer to a dispensa- 
 tion here below. Some have contended for a mere 
 allegorical sense and interpretation of the fall of man 
 and the corruption of nature, — and they would be 
 consistent in considering the recovery of man and 
 the restitution of all things as an allegory also. How 
 it has happened that so many pious and able men, 
 convinced of the reality of the former on earth, 
 should transfer the fulfilment of the latter beyond 
 any sublunary state, it is not the province of the 
 writer of these pages to explain, but it may be in- 
 cumbent on him, differing as he does, toto coelo, 
 from such interpretation, to give some reasons for 
 that difference. 
 
 The word Restitution, if its sense has been justly 
 defined, can have little or ratherno reference to hea- 
 O 
 
1d8 
 
 ven, or the kingdom thereof, generally so called* 
 The subject of prophecy is that of prayer, a kingdom 
 to come, in which the will of God will be done on 
 earth as it is in heaven. The three first chapters 
 of the sacred record contain an history of the forma- 
 tion and corruption, and the three last may be con- 
 sidered as a prophecy of the reformation and resti- 
 tution of all things. The former took place on earth, 
 and therefore the latter may be expected to take 
 place in a terrestrial state; but the inherent evi- 
 dence of the prophecy seems plainly to declare it:— • 
 
 1st, The establishment of the New Jerusalem is 
 coincident with the downfal of the mystical Baby- 
 lon; the same angel points out both. "One of the 
 seven angels which had the seven vials full of the 
 seven last plagues." Rev. xx. 9. comp. xvii. 1. The 
 tingel appears to be the seventh, or last, because 
 when the seventh vial is poured out, the same voice 
 is heard, saying, '^It is done," and thus the downfal 
 of Babylon, and the descent of the Holy City from 
 heaven, are synchronical ; and 2/" one takes place un- 
 der a dispensation on earth, so also the other. 
 
 2nd, A new earth is an earth still, having its na- 
 tions and kings, for '' the nations of them which are 
 saved shall walk in the light of it, and the kings of 
 the earth do bring their glory and honour into it." 
 
 3d, It appears by ch. xx. 9, that after the expi- 
 ration of the thousand years, Gog and Magog " went 
 up on the breadth o{ the earth, and compassed the 
 camp of the saints about, and the Beloved Ci/y." If 
 this be *' that great City, the Holy Jerusalem," a 
 church state on earth must be intended by the last 
 chapters of the Apocalypse, for how are Gog and 
 Magog, or any other enemies on earth, to encompass: 
 the mansions of the blessed above? 
 
► 
 
 159 
 
 Many other instances might be adduced to show 
 ?he inconsistency of placing the New Jerusalem 
 state beyond the confines and existence of this ter- 
 restrial globe. 
 
 The immediate successors of the apostolic church 
 uniformly coupled the restitution of all things with 
 the triumphant state of the church on earth, where- 
 as the abusers of this doctrine in subsequent times 
 have generally been disposed to assert their pre-emi- 
 nence during the present disordered state of things, 
 and have appeared more desirous of reigning with- 
 out Christ over the earth, in the present world, than 
 of reigning with him upon it in the world to come. 
 The Scriptural expectation of the church, wholly 
 orthodox on this subject, never did, and never can 
 hold out any encouragement to pride or ambition, 
 spiritual or temporal; it seeks not the honour which 
 cometh from man, but participates **in the earnest 
 expectation of the creature waiting for the manifest- 
 ation of the sons of God." " ^ e know,'* says the 
 Apostle, " that the whole creation groaneth and tra- 
 vaileth in pain together until now." And these ago- 
 nies are not the pangs of dissolution, but the strug- 
 gles of life, — " Because the creature (or rather the 
 creation) itself shall be delivered from the bondage 
 of corruption into the glorious liberty of the chil- 
 dren of God." Compare Rom. viii. ver. 19 — 23, 
 with the new song of the redeemed, the voice of an- 
 gels, and the chorus of "every creature which is 
 in heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, 
 and such as are in the sea, and aU that are in them;" 
 Rev. V. 9 — 13; then read in connexion Psalm cxlviii, 
 and it will appear, how far the restitution of all 
 things will constitute that regeneration, in which 
 the Redeemer promised to his disciples that they 
 i^hould sit on thrones, — and of which ia their inter- 
 
160 
 
 mediate state, they declare with joyful anticipation, 
 — " We shall reign on the earth. " Angels* and saints 
 before the throne of heaven, kings of the earth upon 
 the earth, the sea and all that is therein, the redeem- 
 ed and the regenerate, — ''every creature, the whole 
 creation," once " subjected to vanity in hope" — all are 
 represented as rejoicing together in the accomplish- 
 ment of the mystery of God ; and this is " the mys- 
 tery of his Avill," *' that in the dispensation of Me 
 fulness of times, he might gather together in one 
 ALL THINGS in Christ, both which are in heaven and 
 which are on earth," Eph. i. 10, and thus when the 
 fulness of the times is come, the solemn declaration 
 of the angel is made in the name of Him "who cre- 
 ated heaven and the things that therein are, and the 
 earth and the things that therein are, and the sea 
 and the things which are therein, that there should 
 be (prophetic) time no longer." But " in the days 
 of the voice of the seventh Angel, when he shall be- 
 gin (be about) to sound, the mystery of God shall 
 be finished, as he hath decla^red to his servants the 
 Prophets.*' "And the seventh angel sounded, and 
 there were great voices in heaven, saying, The 
 Idngdoms of this avorld are become the kingdoms 
 of our Lord and of his Christ." Rev. x. 5, xi. 15. 
 comp. Dan. xii. 7. 
 
 The restitution of all things is connected with 
 the second advent, or rather mission, of Christ to the 
 Jews. "He shall send Jesus which before was 
 preached \xn\oyou, (of the house of Israel,) whom 
 the heavens must receive until the times of restitu- 
 tion ;" and thus saith the Saviour by Hosea, chap. 
 V. 15. " I will go and return to my place till they 
 acknowledge their offence^' — ^" and so all Israel 
 .^all be saved, as it is written. There shall come 
 
161 
 
 out of Zion the deliverer, and shall turn away ungod- 
 liness from Jacob." Rom. xi. 26. 
 
 '' The heavens and the earth were finished, and 
 all the host of them, and on the seventh day God 
 ended his work which he had made, and he rested 
 on the seventh day,*' Genesis ii. 2; and as in the 
 third chapter of the Hebrews, the apostle is discours- 
 ing of the several rests of God and his people, he 
 draws a due analogy between the rest of creation, 
 and that of redemption, and shows that they conter- 
 minate in the rest (Sabbatism) of the people of God: 
 — when they will not harden their hearts as in the 
 wilderness, and when they will enter into that rest 
 which Joshua of old could not give them. The re- 
 jected state of Israel is spoken of in the language 
 applied to the state of chaos, Jer. iv. 23. '* I be- 
 held the earth, it was witlioiit form and void, and the 
 heavens and they had no light," — but when '* the 
 captive exile hasteneth that he may be loosed,*' the 
 Lord declares his purpose in the language of crea- 
 tion, saying, ''That I may plant the heavens, and 
 lay the foundations of the earth, and say unto Zion, 
 Thou art my people," Isaiah li. 14 — 16. And thus 
 again the restoration of Israel is spoken of in con- 
 nexion with, or under the figure of the new creation. 
 Isaiah Ixv, 17. '* Behold, I create new heavens and 
 a new earth, and the former shall not be remembered 
 nor come into miud, but be ye glad and rejoice in that 
 which I create; for, behold I create Jerusalem a re- 
 joicing and her people a joy." It might appear by this 
 passage, that the new heavens and earth are only a 
 figurative expression for the restoration of Israel — 
 but the same expressions in St. Peter are clearly to be 
 taken in a literal sense. He says, " We look for new 
 heavens and a new earth, according to his promise." 
 o 2 
 
162 
 
 riie promise referred to may be found in a corres- 
 ponding passage, where the new heavens are spoken 
 of in comparison with, and apparently distinguished 
 frona the new Jerusalem church. '' As the new hea- 
 vens and the new earth which I luill make shall re- 
 main before me, so shall your seed and your name 
 remain.'* Isa. Ixvi. 22. And this will be when "the 
 Lord will come with fire and with his chariots, like a 
 whirlwind," Isa. Ixvi, 15. When" he cometh out of his 
 place to punish the inhabitants of the world for their 
 iniquity" — "he hath promised, saying, Yet once 
 more I shake, not the earth only, but also heaven ; and 
 this. Yet once more, signifieth, the removing of those 
 things that are made, that those things which can- 
 not be shaken may remain." Heb. xii. 26. Haggal 
 ii. 6, 7, 15. XXV i. 2. 
 
 The first Adam was '* a figure of him that was to 
 come," the second Adam, ** the Lord from heaven." 
 To the first was given *' dominion over the fish of 
 the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the 
 cattle, and over all the earth." (Gen. i. 26.) This 
 dominion, lost by transgression, is restored to "the 
 Son of Man," (Ps. viii. 6.) "Thou madest him to 
 have dominion over the works of thy hands, thou 
 hast put all things under his feet; all sheep *ind ox- 
 en, yea, and the beasts of the field; the fowl of the 
 air, and the fish of the sea, and whatsoever passeth 
 through the paths of the seas. O Lord, our Lord, 
 how excellent is thy name in all the earth," 
 
 The comparison of this passage, as interpreted 
 by St Paul, Heb. ii. 6—8, with 1 Cor. xv. 22—28, 
 manifestly proves the same to be the dominion of 
 the second Adam, and not of the first, and in a king- 
 dom yet to come on the earth. 
 
 •* By one man sin entered into tl^e world, and death 
 
163 
 
 by sin," and to Adam, he said, ' • Cursed is the ground 
 for thy sake. Therefore the Lord God sent him 
 forth from the garden of Eden to till the ground 
 from whence he was taken, so he drove out the man, 
 lest he should take of the tree of life." But the first 
 promise of the Spirit to the churches is, " To him 
 that overcometh, will I give to eat of the tree of life, 
 which is in the midst of the paradise of God." This 
 paradise will then be upon earth. For the tree of 
 life, and the leaves are for the healing of the nations. 
 And there shall be no more curse. (Revel, xxii. 2, 3.) 
 Consequently, all the effects of sin will be done away, 
 for " there shall be no more death, neither sorrow 
 nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain, 
 for xht former things are passed away,'' Rev. xxi. 4. 
 
 "The Son of God was manifested to destroy the 
 works of the devil, " Satan was the author of all evil. 
 He was permitted to enter the first paradise, but 
 will never gain admission into the second. For he 
 is shut up till the thousand years are fulfilled, and 
 when loosed, at their expiration, he is foiled in his 
 last attempt against the camp of the saints, and is 
 cast into the lake of fire. (Rev. xx.) 
 
 The church is "God's husbandry, God's build- 
 ing." The Lord God planted a garden in Eden, 
 and there he put the man whom he had formed in 
 his state of innocence. The second paradise Avill 
 be ''a city which hath foundations, whose builder 
 and maker is God," to which the divine presence 
 and communion will be restored, for "behold the 
 tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell 
 with them. And God himself shall be with them 
 and be their God." 
 
 All were once perfect, and all must be at length 
 
 RESTORED. 
 
164 
 
 Sect. 6. — " Tlie Kingdom of Israel." Acts i. 4. 
 
 The kingdom of Israel, in its primary constitu- 
 tion, was an ecclesiastical and civil polity. The 
 supreme government was neither human nor ange- 
 lical; but, regulated by the immediate superintend- 
 ence of the divine presence and conduct, might 
 justly be denominated a theocracy. Whatever 
 subordinate agents were commissioned as vicege- 
 rents in the administrations of its concerns, the first 
 and only king of Israel was God himself. 
 
 In the renewal of the covenant with Abraham, 
 which included the grant of the land of Canaan to 
 the patriarch and to his seed as an everlasting pos- 
 session, the original promise, " I will make of thee 
 A GREAT NATION," (Gcn. xii. 2.) was thus enlarged, 
 ** I will make nations of thee, and kings shall come 
 out of thee." (Gen. xvii. 6.) 
 
 On the declaration of the covenant in Horeb, the 
 divine supremacy and superintendence were more 
 clearly announced. The descendants of Abraham, 
 on their deliverance out of Egypt, were more dis- 
 tinctly recognised as ihe people of God, "Judah 
 was his sanctuary, and Israel his dominion," (Psalm 
 cxiv. 2.) the subjects of his peculiar government 
 and guidance; the Mosaical administration supersed- 
 ed the patriarchal, the lively oracles were received 
 by the church in the wilderness, and the regal dis- 
 pensation was established on the mount of Sinai, 
 (Exodus xix. 2. Acts vii. 18.) *' And Moses went 
 up unto God, and the Lord called unto him out of 
 the mountain, saying. Thus shalt thou say to the 
 house of Jacob, and tell the children of Israel, Ye 
 have seen what I did unto the Egyptians, and how 
 I bare you on eagles' wings, and brought you unto 
 
165 
 
 inysflf; HOW, therefore, if ye will obey my voice ill- 
 deed and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a pe- 
 culiar treasure unto me above all people, for all the 
 earth is mine ; and ye shall be unto me a kingdom 
 
 OF PRIESTS, AND AN HOLY NATION." 
 
 Moses was but as viceroy, though called " King 
 in J^hurun," (Deut. xxxiii. 5.) The Lord said un- 
 to Joshua, Moses' minister^ '* As I was with Moses, 
 so will I be with thee," (Josh. i. 2. 5.) On the de- 
 cease of Joshua, the government was administered 
 by Prophets, Priests, and Judges, but during all this 
 period, the supreme theocracy continued uninter- 
 rupted ; " The Lord was with the Judge," (Judges 
 ii. 18.) And when the elders of Israel gathered them- 
 selves together and said unto Samuel, who had made 
 his sons judges over Israel, " Make us a king to 
 judge us like all the nations," the thing was evil in 
 the eyes of Samuel; and Samuel prayed unto the 
 Lord, and ''The Lord said unto Samuel, Hearken 
 unto the voice of the people in all that they say unto 
 thee, for they have not rejected thee, but they have 
 rejected me, that I should not reign over them." (1 
 Sam. viii. 7. and xii. 12.) *' Ye said unto me. Nay, 
 but a king shall reign over us, when the Lord your 
 God luas your king." 
 
 Two material objects appear to be combined in 
 one design by the institution of the Hebrew polity— 
 the preservation of the knowledge of the one God, 
 as the Creator, and as the moral governor of the uni- 
 verse. True religion and civil subjection were close- 
 ly compacted togethei' — devotion towards God, and 
 obedience to the powers ordained of him, were enjoin- 
 ed by the same sanction, and held as of common obli- 
 gation. The disruption of one tie led to the disso- 
 lution of the other. Resistance against human au~ 
 
166 
 
 ihtMPity was accompanied by the renunciation of an 
 heavenly king — the close relation in principle be- 
 Iween sedition and impiety was exemplified in the 
 days of Moses and of Samuel. '* Our fathers would 
 not obey, but thrust him from them, and in their 
 hearts turned back again unto Egypt, saying unto 
 Aaron, Make us gods to go before us, for as for this 
 Moses which brought us out of the land of Egypt, 
 we wot not what is become of him." (Acts vii. 39.) 
 
 So when '' The people refused to obey the voice of 
 Samuel, and they said, Nay ; but we will have a king 
 over us, that we also may be like all the nations^ and 
 that our king may judge us and go out before us," 
 (1 Sam. viii. 19,) the Lord said concerning them, 
 "I gave thee a king in mine anger, and took him 
 away in my wrath," (Hosea xiii. 11,) the distin- 
 guishing character of Israel was lost, — discontent 
 led to division, and revolt issued in idolatry — gov- 
 ernment and religion fell as they stood, together; 
 priests were made of the lowest of the people; calves 
 were set up in Dan and Bethel, and the kingdom of 
 Israel was rent in twain. The defection of Israel 
 from the divine government, and the subsequent 
 revolt of the ten tribes, were overruled of Providence, 
 to promote the final establishment of that kingdom^ 
 to come, the future organization of which appears 
 to be the great scope of the word of prophecy, as 
 the closing and consummate dispensation of the 
 whole mystery of God. 
 
 The accession of Saul to the kingdom of Israel 
 led to the establishment of the throne of David, in 
 whose seed according to the flesh, the kingdom of 
 Israel was to be set up for ever in a peaceful and 
 triumphant state, adumbrated by the reign of Solo- 
 mon his son, commenced during the life of his fa- 
 
iher. The revolt of the tribes, to omit other pur 
 pose|^ which it might be permitted to answer in the 
 divine economy, still serves this important end of 
 proving that the kingdom finally to be established 
 in the seed of David cannot yet have commenced, 
 because in that the breach is to be repaired. The 
 tribes of Israel and Judah are to be united in one 
 house under one head, one fold under one shepherd, 
 one kingdom under one king, '^one nation in the 
 land upon the mountains of Israel, and one king 
 shall be king to them all, and they shall no more 
 be two nations, neither shall they be divided into 
 two kingdoms any more at all." (Ezek. xxxvii. 24.) 
 The children of Israel shall abide many days with- 
 out a king, and without a prince, and without a sa- 
 crifice, and without an image, and without an ephod, 
 and teraphim ; afterward shall the children of Israel 
 return and seek the Lord their God, and David their 
 king, and shall fear the Lord and his goodness in 
 the latter days.** (Hosea iii. 5.) 
 
 As the separation between the kingdoms of Israel 
 and Judah did not take place till after the death of 
 David the son of Jesse, and as the condition of the 
 children of Israel could not at that, or any time 
 since elapsed, correspond with the last cited passa- 
 ges from Ezekiel and Hosea, it follows as a neces- 
 sary consequence, that eitherthc former David must 
 be raised from the dead, and actually sit again upon 
 the throne of Israel, or some person typified by him, 
 must (if there be meaning in language, or truth in 
 prophecy) be yet expected to occupy that station 
 in future. The general consent of Jewish and Chris- 
 tian interpretation admits that David is spoken of 
 in the sacred Scriptures as a type of the Messiah ; 
 ^d that David himself speaks continually in the 
 
168 
 
 ;4f iscn of the Christ, rather than in his proper chai 
 racter, is a point noAv sufficiently ascertained, and 
 additional illustration may be deemed superfluous. 
 Our Lord's last declaration to his disciples is deci- 
 sive as to the prophetical and typical relation of the 
 book of Psalms, and their application to transactions 
 manifestly subsequent to his incarnation and suffer- 
 ings ; "All things must be fulfilled which are writ- 
 ten in the law, and in the prophets, and in the 
 Psalms concerning me.'" (Luke xxiv. 44.) The duty 
 of a Christian inquirer is to follow the line and rule 
 of interpretation adopted by the Saviour, when " be- 
 ginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expound- 
 ed to them in all the Scriptures the things concern- 
 ing himself. " The mode he pursued as to his suffer- 
 mg\% equally applicable to his trimnphaiit kingdom, 
 and the result of comparing Scripture with Scrip- 
 ture will be, that a kingdom is yet to come, in which 
 Christ will sit on the throne of David as king of 
 Israel, and that this can be neither the kingdom of 
 God within us, nor the eternal throne of God in the 
 highest heaven, is manifest from the consideration, 
 that the literal David (his father according to the 
 flesh) never could be supposed to set up the one, and 
 never can be expected to sit upon the other. 
 
 With this preliminary remark, which if correct, 
 must never be lost sight of in the inquiry, we pro- 
 ceed to search the Scriptures, and to consider what 
 grounds they afford to sanction the expectation of a 
 kingdom of Israel yet to come, or rather to be re- 
 -stored, in the person of the Messiah, as a descend- 
 ant of David according to the flesh. 
 
 It has generally been supposed, rather on admis- 
 sion than examination, that all pronmises and pro- 
 phecies of this character were fulfilled at the incarr 
 
169 
 
 halion of Christ in his personal ministry, and that 
 they are altogether satisfied and accomplished in 
 the spiritual dominion which he still exercises ac- 
 cording to his promise in his believing people ; or, 
 that the complete establishment of his triumphant 
 and glorious kingdom is reserved unto the last state 
 of eternal blessedness in heaven after the destruction 
 of the world. 
 
 In support of this opinion, such a passage as '* the 
 kingdom of God is within you," will be cited with 
 ready confidence, and received as a sufficient answer 
 to the expectation of any other upon earth ; forget- 
 ting that the expression, "The kingdoms of this 
 world are become the kingdoms of our Lord and of 
 his Christ," is equally clear and decisive (or rather 
 more so, according to the original and the context) 
 as to the certainty of a temporal and earthly king- 
 dom, far exceeding that of David or of Solomon. 
 The fact is, that by opposing passages of Scrip- 
 ture to one another, instead o{ comparing them, thus 
 observing their consistency and respective applica- 
 tions, we mutilate the character of both, cast them 
 out of our hands as it were, and break them to pie- 
 ces as Moses did the first tables of the Law, where- 
 as by holding them up together, we may find them 
 to be as consistent as the two parts of the decalogue 
 itself; for instance, compare Luke xvii. 20 — 30. 
 with Luke xxi. 25 — 2»^, oppose ov confound the king- 
 doms of God mentioned in each, and the whole is 
 inconsistent. Compare their relative application by 
 the line of distinction between the two given in ver. 
 25. of chapter xvii, and both are put in their places, 
 and all difficulty removed. 
 
 *' When he was demanded of the Pharisees when 
 the kingdom of God should come, he answered them, 
 P 
 
170 
 
 The kingdom of God cometh not with observation^ 
 (outward display) neither shall they say, Lo, here 1 
 or, Lo, there I for the kingdom of God is within you. '* 
 To the Pharisees who placed all their religion in 
 outward forms and the observance of the ceremoni- 
 al Law, he spoke of a spiritual kingdom to be es- 
 tablished by himself, and afterwards carried on and 
 maintained by his Spirit in the heart. But to his 
 disciples in whose hearts this kingdom was in a mea- 
 sure come, he speaks of another, and yet future : 
 ''He said unto the disciples, The days will come, 
 ivhen ye shall desire to see one of the days of the 
 Son of man, and ye shall not see it ;" and then he 
 speaks of a coming with much observation^ "for as 
 the lightning that lighteneth out of the one part 
 under heaven, shineth unto the other part under 
 heaven, so shall also the Son ofm,an be in his day ;'* 
 and then follows the key verse of the subject, that 
 which opens and explains the two kingdoms within 
 and without ; " But first must he suffer many things, 
 and be rejected of this gerieration.*' The kingdom of 
 patience and the kingdom of power are here distin- 
 guished as to the Messiah himself, and in chap. xxi. 
 the distinction is extended to the disciples and to the 
 whole people of the Jews ; " They shall lay their 
 hands on you, and persecute 2/ow ,*'* "Ye shall be 
 hated of all ;'* " In patience possess ye your souls ;'* 
 and " There shall be great distress in the land, and 
 wrath upon this people^ and they shall fall by the edge 
 of the sword, and shall be led away captive into all 
 nations, and Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the 
 Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles shall be ful- 
 filled ;" and then, after certain prognostics of his 
 approach, " then shall they see the son of man com- 
 ing in the clouds with power and great glory;*' and 
 
171 
 
 after other indications as clear as those of summer, 
 which none can mistake/' When ye see these things 
 come to pass, know ye that the kingdom of God 
 IS nigh at hand." Here then we find a kingdom of 
 God which is not to commence or to be nigh at hand, 
 till the second coming of the Son of man, and there- 
 fore, as clearly to be distinguished from " the king* 
 dom of God within^'' as a secret operation on the 
 soul of an individual differs from an atmospheric 
 phenomenon, co-extensive with the limits of the na- 
 tural horizon, and discernible by every dweller on 
 the earth. Consequently, these two kingdoms are 
 not to be confounded^ whatever may be their coiinexioriy 
 and that is truly very close and intimate, for none 
 but the subjects of the one have any part or lot in 
 the other. 
 
 At the first coming of the Saviour to establish his 
 spiritual kingdom, the children of Israel, to whom 
 he was sent, were pre-occupied by the numerous 
 and distinct declarations of prophecy, concerning 
 their final deliverance and emancipation on the es- 
 tablishment of the kingdom given by covenant to 
 David, and at that time subjugated by the Romans. 
 Nothing could therefore be more natural, than the 
 expectation expressed by the disciples at Emmaus, 
 '•We trusted that it had been he which should have 
 redeemed Israel^'' (a tyrannide Romanorum, est in 
 his verbis descriptio Messiae ex recepta eorum tem- 
 porum scntentia. — Pole in loc. Lukexxiv. 21.) Our 
 Lord said nothing at the lime to refute such an ex- 
 pectation as groundless, but upbraided the disciples 
 for not observing and believing what the prophets 
 had also spoken concerning the sufferings which 
 were to precede; '' Ought not Christ to have suffer- 
 <*d these things ?" Afterwards, when the question 
 
172 
 
 was distinctly put to him, " Lord, wilt thou at this 
 time restore again the kingdom to Israel ?" His 
 answer cast no doubt on the expectation itself, but 
 respected only the time of its accomplishment ; " It 
 is not for you to know the times and the seasons 
 which the Father hath put in his own power." "To 
 «very thing there is a season, and a time for every 
 purpose under the heaven;" (Eccl. iii, 1.) and the 
 season was now arrived, for a more complete estab- 
 lishment of the kingdom within, which the disciples 
 had before been commissioned to set up immediate- 
 ly, beginning at Jerusalem. A manifest proof that 
 neither in the question of the disciples, nor in the 
 answer of our Lord, was any reference had to the 
 spiritual kingdom, for that had wo fixed time of com- 
 mencement, and the set time for its enlargement was 
 come, and was already knoivn. It is worthy, how- 
 ever, of remark, that at the period when a know- 
 ledge of the time of another kingdom (that of Israel) 
 was hidden, the manner of its commencement was 
 specially declared; '' This same Jesus which is ta- 
 ken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like 
 MANNER as ye have seen him go into heaven." "A 
 cloud received him out of their sight." The com- 
 ing of Christ and the kingdom to come, are mani- 
 festly coincident. — When the kingdom of Israel was 
 first established, Ex. xix. 5, 6, the Lord said unto 
 Moses, '^Lo, I come unto thee in a thick cloud.'" 
 When St. John '' in the kingdom of patience," re- 
 ceived a fuller revelation concerning the Son of man 
 coming in his kingdom of poiver, he says concerning 
 that, "Behold he cometh with clouds." Our Lord 
 testified the same to Caiaphas; ''Ye shall see the 
 Son of man sitting at the right hand of poiver, and 
 coming in the clouds of heaven," (Mark xiv. 6}. 
 
173 
 
 This declaration, as remarked in a former section, 
 being made to a high priest, might refer to the same 
 testimony in the prophecy of Daniel, by which it 
 appears, that the kingdom to be set up is the same 
 with the kingdom of Israel. 
 
 When the metal image, representing the monar- 
 chies or kingdoms of this worlds is broken by the 
 stone which becomes a mountain, and filleth " the 
 WHOLE EARTH ;" the tocs represent the ten or several 
 sovereigns of the Roman empire, (Dan. ii. 44). ''In 
 the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up 
 a kingdom which shall never be destroyed," or, as 
 explained in the same verse, " the kingdom shall 
 not be left to other people, but it shall break in pie- 
 ces and consume all these kingdoms." 
 
 In the corresponding vision of the four beasts, 
 (chap, vii.) the prophet is told, " these great beasts, 
 which are four, are four kings (or monarchies) which 
 shall arise out o^ the earthy'* and on the destruction 
 of the last, " one like the son of man came with the 
 clouds of heaven," to whom there was given "do- 
 minion and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, 
 nations, and languages should serve him ;" which is 
 afterwards, (ver. 27) said to be " under the ivhole 
 heaven^'' and by consequence, over and upon the whole 
 mrth; and this kingdom is thrice (v. 18 — 22 and 27) 
 :.aid to be given also to the saints of the Most High. 
 Compare these expressions with the promise of 
 Christ to his disciples ; "-l appoint unto you a king- 
 dom as my Father hath appointed unto me." "in 
 the regeneration, when the Son of Man shall sit in 
 the throne of his glory, ye also shall sit on twelve 
 thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel,'* (Matt, 
 xix. 28). "Ye shall see Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, 
 and all the prophets, in the kingdom of God.'' " And 
 p2 
 
174 
 
 they shall come from the east and the west, and 
 from the north and the south, and shall sit down in 
 the kingdom of God,*' (Luke xiii. 28). 
 
 Consider the 144,000 sealed of all the tribes of the 
 children of Israel, with " the multitude which no 
 man could number of all nations, and kindreds, and 
 people, and tongues, which stood before the throne^*' 
 Rev. vii. 9). Comp. Dan. vii. and Rev. xix, and 
 it appears most manifest that the kingdom which 
 the God of heaven gives to the Son of Man, is the 
 same which Christ appoints to his disciples, and in 
 this kingdom of Israel they and all the saints men> 
 tioned in Dan. and Rev. xx. 4. will live and reign 
 with Christ a thousand years on the earth. 
 
 In order to elucidate the proposition that this tri- 
 umphant state of the church on earth is the king- 
 dom of Israel promised to the Messiah, as the seed 
 of David, nothing is requisite but candidly and cau- 
 tiously to examine the several passages, or the most 
 prominent, in which mention is made of David's 
 kingdom as the subject of promise and of prophecy ; 
 and a more legitimate conclusion can scarcely be 
 drawn than //«§, that whatever received only a par- 
 tial accomplishment in the person of the literal Da- 
 vid, remains to be fulfilled in the person of his anti- 
 type, the Messiah, and that whatever was not fulfil- 
 led at ih^Jirst^ remains to be completed at the second 
 coming of Christ. The argument of the Apostle 
 (Acts ii. 29.) concerning the resurrection of Christ, 
 to show that David in spirit spake of Christ, will 
 apply with equal force to the kingdom as well as to 
 the person of David ; David's kingdom is passed 
 away, but that of Christ when set up is never to be 
 removed — the kingdom in question is not to com- 
 meneCj as has been shown, till the second advent 
 
175 
 
 or mission of Christ, at the restitution of all thin gs, 
 (Acts iii. 18—26.) " Those things which God be- 
 fore had showed, by the mouth of all his prophets, 
 that Christ should suffer^ he hath so fulfilled,'* and 
 of these times (when he shall come to reign) when 
 he will restore all things, and above all, the king- 
 dom of Israel, " God hath spoken by the mouth of 
 all his holy prophets." — God promised to Abraham 
 that in his seed, " which is Christ," (GaL iii. 16,) 
 all the families of the earth should be blessed. — He 
 promised to David, *' I will set up thy seed after 
 thee, which shall be of thy sons, and I will establish 
 his kingdom. He shall build me an house, and I 
 will establish his throne for ever. I will be his Fa- 
 ther, and he shall by my Son, and I will not take 
 my mercy away from him, as I took it away from 
 Saul," (in whose person the theocracy of Israel was 
 first interrupted) 2 Sam. vii. 12, and 1 Chron. xvii. 
 These passages compared with Ps. Ixxxix. Heb. i. 
 Rom. i. and especially Acts ii. 30, show that Christ 
 and his kingdom, and not that of a literal David, was 
 the great and ultimate scope of the promise. 
 
 Accordingly Isaiah testifies the same in his most 
 distinct prophecy of the Prince of peace — " Of the 
 increase of his government there shall be no end, 
 upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to 
 order, and to establish it with judgment and with 
 justice, from henceforth, even for ever; the zeal of 
 the Lord of Hosts will perform this^** (Isaiah ix. 7.) 
 So chap. xxiv. 25, '* The Lord of Hosts shall 
 itign in mount Zion, and in Jerusalem, and before 
 his ancients gloriously." So chap, xxxii. 1, ''^A. 
 king shall reign in righteousness, and princes shall 
 rule in judgment;" and chap. i. 26, **I will restore 
 thy judges as at the first, and thy counsellors as at 
 
176 
 
 the beginning ; afterwards thou shalt be called, the 
 City of Righteousness.'* 
 
 So Jeremiah xxiii. 3, '*I will raise unto David a 
 righteous branch, and a king shall reign and pros- 
 per, and execute judgment and justice fn the earthy'* 
 and this must needs be at the second coming of 
 Christ, for it cannot apply to the first: " In his days 
 Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell safely," 
 and the context proves beyond dispute, that it is not 
 on the return from Babylon, but on the last restora- 
 tion of the Jews from *' all the countries*' where they 
 are scattered. — See also Jer.xxxiii. 14 — 16, proving 
 the same position beyond all controversy. 
 
 The xxxviith of Ezekiel from ver. 11, deserves 
 the fullest consideration, as it contains the most 
 comprehensive and conclusive arguments on the 
 point — this having been already noticed, one more 
 most remarkable passage shall be cited, viz. chap, 
 xliii. 7, *• Son of man, the place of my throne^ and 
 the place of the soles of my feet, where I will dwell in 
 the midst of the children of Israel for ever, and my 
 holy name shall the house of Israel no more defile,'* 
 
 So in Hoseaxiii. 9, " O Israel, thou hast destroy- 
 ed thyself, but in me is thy help: I will be thy 
 SING." So Micah iv. 7, " I will make her that halt- 
 ed a remnant, and her that was cast off a strong 
 NATION, and the Lord shall reign over them in mount 
 Zion, from henceforth, even for ever. And thou, O 
 tower of the flock, the strong hold of the daughter 
 of Zion, unto thee shall it come, even the first do- 
 minion; THE KINGDOM SHALL COME TO THE DAUGH- 
 TER OF JERUSALEM;" and chap. v. 2, ^*Thou Beth- 
 lehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the 
 thousands of Judah, out of thee shall he come forth 
 ■unto me who is to be ruler in Israel." 
 
177 
 
 Thus in Zech. vi. of " the man whose name is 
 the BRANCH," ''He shall sit and rule upon his throne, 
 and he shall be a priest upon his throne." 
 
 And,- finally, Zech. chap. xiv. concerning the 
 day of the Lord. (ver. 4.) "His feet shall stand in 
 that day upon the mount of olives, which is upon 
 Jerusalem on the east." (ver. 5.) "The Lord my 
 God shall come, and all the saints with thee." (ver. 
 
 9.) "and THE LORD SHALL BE KING OVERALL THE 
 EARTH." 
 
 Such is the testimony of Moses and the Prophets; 
 that of the Psalms is general and clear: taking Ps. 
 ii. as the key. Other passages might be adduced, 
 but those have been selected which refer distinctly 
 t-o the regal dispensation of the Son ofman^ under 
 circumstances not realized at his first advent. — Ist^ 
 The salvation of Judah and Israel. 2d, The restora- 
 tion of the ten tribes. 3d, The gathering of the 
 Jews out oi all countries. 4th, The settlement of them 
 in their oivn country, to be "pulled up no more." 
 5th, 77ie universal establishment of Christianity. 6th, 
 The entire destruction of the monarchies of the metal 
 image and the enemies of the church. 7th, The uni- 
 fy of doctrine, and uniformity of Christian Avorship. 
 It remains briefly to advert to a few of the passages 
 in the New Testament not already noticed, confirm- 
 atory of an expectation, recognised even by heathen 
 writers at the first advent of Christ. 
 
 "An old and firm opinion had prevailed over all 
 the East, that it was written in the ancient books of 
 the priests, that some coming out of Judaea should 
 obtain the empire of the world." (See Suetonius, 
 life of Vesp. chap. iv. Tacitus's History, Book v. 
 chap. xiii. and Josephus, Book v. chap. xiii. Sect. 
 iv.) It originated as supposed in the prophecy of 
 
178 
 
 Balaam, *' A sceptre shall rise out of Israel," '' out 
 of Jacob shall come he that shall have dominion," 
 and possibly the Agag and the Amalek of that chap- 
 ter may have more reference to the Antichristian 
 enemies whose destruction is to precede the last 
 kingdom of Israel, than is generally supposed. 
 (Comp. Num. xxiv. with Ezek. xxxviii. Jer. 1. and 
 Rev. xviii. and xix.) The first and most remarkable 
 testimony is that of Gabriel to the Virgin, " The 
 Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his Fa- 
 ther David, and he shall reign over the house of Jacob 
 for ever, and of his kingdom shall be no end." (Luke 
 i. 32.) 
 
 And thus (to omit the citation at length of passa- 
 ges which must be familiar to every Christian read- 
 er,) it may be remarked that our Lord was born 
 and died " King of the Jews;" that he was adored 
 as such by Gentiles in the manger, and reviled as 
 such by Jews on the cross. The chief priests and 
 the scribes could neither obtain from Pilate an al- 
 teration in his superscription, neither could they 
 vary the terms on which the kingdom of Israel was 
 to be maintained. " Let Christ the King of Israel 
 (said they among themselves) descend noiv from the 
 cross that we may see and believe," (Mark xv. 
 32) whereas God had sworn unto David, that "He 
 would raise up Christ to sit on his throne. " Acts ii. 
 30. He was to ascend and to sit down on the throne 
 of his Father, before he would give to his followers, 
 to sit on his throne when all his foes should be 
 made his footstool. To those who thought that "the 
 kingdom of God would immediately appear," he 
 had testified by a parable that he was to go away to 
 receive this kingdom, and to return to set it up, (Luke 
 xix. 21.) and thus the penitent on the cross asked a 
 
179 
 
 participation of his glory, when the crown should 
 succeed. He had seen the superscription, and cried 
 out, " Lord remember me when thou comest in (not 
 into) THY KINGDOM," (iv tr^ 6aaasLa an.) 
 
 The Jews however, would not have " this man to 
 reign over them," or this God to reign in them. 
 They, like their forefathers, would be as the nations, 
 *'We have no king but Caesar," and this is the lan- 
 guage of many among them still, " but that which 
 Cometh into your mind shall not be at all, that ye 
 say, We will be as the heathen." "For in mine 
 holy mountain, in the mountain of the height of 
 Israel, saith the Lord God, there shall all the house 
 of Israel, all of them in the land, serve me." Eze- 
 kiel, XX. 32, 40. *'If those ordinances of the sun 
 and moon depart, saith the Lord, then the seed of 
 Israel shall cease from being a nation before me 
 for ever." Jer. xxxi. 36, It is written, "I will over- 
 throw the throne of kingdoms; and I will destroy 
 the strength of the kiiigdoms of the heathen," "but 
 they shall call Jerusalem the throne of the Lord ; 
 and all the nations shall be gathered unto it, to the 
 name of the Lord, to Jerusalem." (Haggai ii. 22. 
 and Jer. iii. 17.) 
 
 " Blessed is the king of Israel that cometh in the 
 name of our Lord;" "Blessed be the kingdom of 
 our Father David ;" (Mark xi. 10. and John xii. 13) 
 was the proclamation, when Christ entered Jerusa- 
 lem—and then was one prophecy of Zechariah ful- 
 filled; (chap. ix. 9.) "Thy king cometh sitting on 
 an ass's colt:" but another of the same prophet yet 
 remains to be accomplished: (Zech. ii. 10 — 13.) 
 ^ When the Lord shall inherit Judah his portion, in 
 the holy land, and shall choose Jerusalem again."— 
 *' These things understood not his disciples at the 
 
180 
 
 first," (Johnxii. 16.) neither do they seem to under 
 stand them now, for if our Lord had intended this 
 inauguration of his kingdom as the seed of David 
 on the throne of his father according to the flesh as 
 its last and only manifestation, how could he teach 
 his disciples that the kingdom of God would not 
 be nigh at hand or commence, till " the times of 
 the Gentiles should be fulfilled ?" How could he 
 teach us to pray, '"Thy kingdom come,'* if already 
 and altogether established ? He told his followers, 
 that "Jerusalem is the ciiy of the great king;" 
 and when has it yet been as it is to be, "a quiet 
 habitation, a tabernacle that shall not be taken 
 down, not one of the stakes whereof shall ever be 
 removed ?" — Never has this yet taken place, nor to 
 all appearance will it till the theocracy of Israel be 
 restored, and all its ancient forms of administration 
 be concentrated in one\ for the name of the city 
 from that day shall be '* The Lord is there;" " Jeho- 
 vah is our Judge; Jehovah is our Lawgiver; Jehovah 
 is our King." (Isaiah xxxiii.) 
 
 " Shout, O Israel: be glad and rejoice with all 
 thy heart, O daughter of Jerusalem. The Lord hath 
 taken away thy judgments; he hath cast out thine 
 enemy : the king of Israel, the Lord is in the midst 
 of thee : thou shalt not see evil any more. " (Zeph. 
 iii. 14. 15.) 
 
 Sect. 7. Types. 
 
 The design of the preceding sections, has been to 
 elucidate in a doctrinal form, the most prominent 
 circumstances of the closing period of the Christian 
 economy — distinguished as it is from all others, 
 past or present, and exclusively denominated *'the 
 
 DISPENSATION OF THE FULNESS OF THE TIMES." 
 
181 
 
 With this view, six passages of Scripture have 
 been selected, which have hitherto been referred in 
 their application to the present constitution of the 
 church on earthy or transferred, for complete accom- 
 plishment, to a state ulterior to the existence, and 
 consequently independent of the circumstances of this 
 material universe: whereas, an intermediate and de- 
 fined condition between the two, terrestrial ami hea- 
 venly, temporal and spiritual, legal and evangelical, lo- 
 cal and universal, will appear, on due examination, 
 to be no *' cunningly devised fable," but the scrip- 
 tural expectation of the church; a consumma- 
 tion partially revealed and successively exemplified, 
 from the commencement to the conclusion of the 
 sacred record of inspiration. 
 
 This doctrine is not only maintained by the texts 
 and contexts already discussed, but is implied or 
 corroborated by numerous other passages, which 
 it must be allowed will, on every other mode af in- 
 terpretation, admit only of a forced and very inade- 
 quate construction, whereas that suggested in these 
 papers, while it is repugnant to no received article 
 of revelation, is consistent with the whole analogy 
 of faith, and runs parallel with the gradual develop- 
 ment of the entire scheme of man's salvation in bo- 
 dy and soul, concerning which, " God in sundry 
 parts (rtoxviufpwf) and in divers manners'* hath spo- 
 ken to his church. 
 
 Each succeeding dispensation has added some- 
 what to the glory and dignity of that which came 
 before, and this, which is the last, the most digni- 
 fied and most glorious, seems to have been progres- 
 sively represented by all. The paradisaical state 
 was succeeded by the patriarchal, and the legal by 
 the evangelical, which, as to its present form, will, 
 
 Q 
 
182 
 
 it should seem, give place at last to that which may 
 be termed the regal dispensation. The propheti- 
 cal office of Moses, and the Levitical priesthood 
 of Aaron, have already found their antitypes in the 
 prophet like unto Moses, and in the more excellent 
 ministry of Christ, but even these, in the delivery 
 of the law from Sinai, and in the coming forth of 
 the high priest to bless the people, after the accept- 
 ance of the sacrifice within the veil, will not receive 
 their perfect and correspondent accomplishment 
 under the gospel, until the fulfilment of the new co- 
 venant made with the literal Israel, when the law 
 shall be written on their hearts, and go forth again 
 from Jerusalem; till Christ, who is *'not entered 
 (like Aaron) into the holy places made with hands," 
 but into heaven itself, shall come again an high priest 
 of good things to come, for, *' unto them that look 
 for him, shall he appear the second time without sin 
 unto salvation." 
 
 *' The law made nothing perfect," being only " a 
 shadow of good things to come ;" and yet under the 
 Gospel, *' We know in part (only), and we prophe- 
 sy in part, but when that which is perfect is come, 
 that which is in part shall be done away." '*Now 
 we see through a glass darkly, (in an enigmatical 
 manner) but then face to face." *'When Christ 
 shall appear, Ave shall appear with him in glory." 
 **We shall see him as he is." *'We shall know as 
 we are known." Till then, it is "given," to his 
 true disciples only, 'Ho know the mysteries of the 
 kingdom," to others, they are concealed in para- 
 bles, announced in prophecy, or adumbrated by ty- 
 pical institutions, events, and persons, the most re- 
 markable of which will now be briefly considered : — 
 
183 
 
 TYPICAL PERSONS. 
 
 The first representative of Christ was Adam, OX 
 i:STI TTnOS TOT MEAAONTOS, who is a TYPE of 
 him who is to come. Our version renders it, " Who 
 is the figure of him who was to come." (Romans v. 
 4.) It may be questioned whether the word fnxxaxv, 
 which has a future reference, can with propriety be 
 thus retrospectively applied, where the verb in con- 
 nexion is in the present tense ; and it seems as 
 though the apostle were speaking in the context, 
 of that life which is to be manifested, and that reign 
 which is to date its commencement in the persons 
 of the saints, rather from the second than from the 
 first advent, when ** they that receive abundance of 
 grace shall reign in life." However this may be, the 
 apostle has used the word ^iTJ^ovtoi, and our transla- 
 tion confirms the remark in a passage where that 
 kingdom and life are distinctly recognised and iden- 
 tified with the second coming; *' I charge thee 
 therefore before God and the Lord Jesus Christ, 
 who shall (|Uf?L?iovroj) judge the quick and the dead at 
 his appearance and his kingdom.'* (2 Tim. iv. 1.) 
 
 The principle of an inchoate and complete accom- 
 plishment of prophecy, (and so of typical represen- 
 tation) suggested by Lord Bacon, and adopted by 
 Bishop Horsley, is that which alone can reconcile 
 and rightly divide those portions of Scripture which 
 speak of a double advent collectively — this principle 
 will illustrate the type of Adam. It is not to the 
 present purpose to enumerate the particulars in 
 w hich this significant outline of the Messiah's cha- 
 racter was filled up by his incarnation and offices as 
 the covenant head of his people, all that is requi- 
 site, is to notice a few of the peculiar features defi- 
 cient in the first, which remain for exemplification 
 •M the second appearance of the Son of Man. 
 
184 
 
 The first Adam was formed at once in the perlec- 
 tion of manhood, and in the fuhiess of strength and 
 of stature ; the last Adam appeared as a babe, '* He 
 grew up as a tender plant, and as a' root out of a dry 
 ground." The head of nature was gifted with all 
 his knowledge at once; the head of grac-e ** increased 
 in wisdom;" the one was subject by nattiral' relation 
 to his parents — the other, by divine appointment, 
 "had no superior on earth. *' The first itian" was 
 placed in a garden of delights ; the second Avas led 
 into a wilderness and passed through a vale of tears. 
 To the first, all creatures were submissive, all na^ 
 ture tributary; the last, was destitute of the refuge 
 of the animal world — a place, whereon to lay his 
 head — and acknowledged his dependence in his ci- 
 vil relation, by condescending to pay tribute to Cae- 
 sar. The first Adam was "a living soul," the se- 
 cond, made his soul an offering unto death for sin. 
 *'The first man was of the earth," and had domi- 
 nion over it ; the second refused the kingdom thereof, 
 atid descended into hell ; but when he shall appear 
 again as ** the Lord from heaven," and as " a quick- 
 ening Spirit," all deficiencies in the original type 
 will be supplied : the Father of mankind will be ful- 
 ly represented in the glorious person of his antitype, 
 ^The Father of the age to come," rtarjjp (nM^ovtoi 
 Auovoi. (Alex. Sept.) He will quicken the mortal bo- 
 dies of his saints, by his Spirit which dwclleth in 
 them, and they shall " reign with him in life." '* To 
 him will be given dominion, and glory, and a king- 
 dom, that all people, and nations, and languages, 
 should serve him," Dan. vii. 14. *' All things (will 
 be put) under his feet ; all sheep and oxen, yea, and 
 all the beasts of the field; the fowl of the air, and 
 the fish of the sea, and whatsoever passelh through 
 
185 
 
 the paths of the seas." (Psalm viii. 9.) His name 
 %vill be excellent in all the earth, for the earth it- 
 self shall be renewed^ (Ps. civ. SO.) The wilderness 
 shall blossom again like Eden, and the desert like 
 the garden of the Lord. The wolf and the lamb 
 will feed once more together ; the creation cease to 
 groan; all that fell will be restored, and every breach 
 repaired; the natural offspring of the first, who arc 
 also found among the spiritual seed of the second 
 Adam, will be admitted " to eat of the tree of life 
 which is in the midst of the paradise of God," Rev. 
 ii. 7. When the whole mystical body shall come 
 unto a PERFECT MAN, " unto the measure of the 
 stature of the fulness of Christ." (Eph. iv. 18.) 
 
 '* Enoch, the seventh from Adam," walked with 
 God. — *'He pleased the Lord, and was translated" 
 —and thus prefigured those who shall be alive, and 
 remain, and be caught up to meet the Lord in the air; 
 when, according to his own prophecy of the seventh 
 age of the world, " The Lord cometh with ten thou- 
 sand of his saints." 
 
 Noah lived in a corrupt age, and under a general 
 defection of doctrine and manners; and under such 
 circumstances will the Son of man be revealed, ac- 
 cording to his own testimony, Matthew xxiv. 37. 
 Noah was a preacher of righteousness, and doubt- 
 less gave ample warning of the approaching deluge; 
 but his preaching does not appear to have been very 
 successful. The building of a vessel upon dry land 
 was considered in as contemptuous a manner as a 
 preparation for a correspondent judgment would now 
 be regarded by the world which lieth in wickedness. 
 The church itself seems to rest contented with the 
 figure, as representing the dangers to which the 
 church militant is at all times exposed, without re- 
 Q2 
 
186 
 
 ferring it at all, or, as the Scriptures do, exchisicdii 
 to the great tribulation immediately preceding the 
 second advent; thus inadvertently completing the 
 parallel, and fulfilling the type themselves; ''They 
 KNEW not until the flood came and took them all 
 away: so shall also the coming of the Son of man he** 
 
 Abraham, as *' the heir of the world" and the fa- 
 ther of the faithful, in his call, on the destruction of 
 Sodom by fire; in the barrenness of his wife, and 
 his possession of the promises, is an eminent type 
 of his posterity in the latter days. The circumstan- 
 ces of his two sons are declared by the apostle to be 
 an ALLEGORY, Gal. iv. 24. " Agar answereth to Jeru- 
 salem, which now is, and is in bondage with her 
 children, but Jerusalem which is above is free, which 
 is the mother of us all." 
 
 Considering that Abraham died 1822 years before 
 Christ, and the descendants of Ishmael possess the 
 land promised to Isaac at this very day, considering 
 that God has already fulfilled his promise to Hagar 
 concerning her son, "I will make him a great na- 
 tion," we may be assured that the counterpart of 
 the allegory will he realized on the descent of the 
 new Jerusalem, the antitype of the old, and that the 
 promise to Abraham, " In thee and in thy seed, 
 shall all the nations of the earth be blessed," will be 
 as literally fulfilled, when the descendants of the 
 bond-woman will be cast out of the land of promise, 
 and the posterity of the free-woman be placed 
 therein, and be "•*• plucked up no more.'' 
 
 Melchisedec was an eminent type of Christ. 
 His regal and sacerdotal character has never re- 
 ceived its full exemplification, and never will upon 
 earth, till "the Priest of the Most High God," after 
 the similitude of an unchangeable order, shall sit 
 
187 
 
 upon his throne, and '*he shall be a Priest upon his 
 throne, (Zech. vi. 13.) king of Righteousness and 
 king of Peace." ^'And this shall come to pass;" 
 read in succession Gen. xiv. Psalm Ixxvi. Zech. xiv. 
 Heb. vii. and Rev. xix. " Melchisedec king of Sa- 
 lem, Priest of the Most High God, met Abraham 
 returning from the slaughter of the kings, and bless- 
 ed him." (Hebrews vii. 1.) "At Salem is his ta- 
 bernacle, and his dwelling place in Zion. There 
 brake he the arrows of the bow, the shield, the 
 sword, and the battle. He shall cut off the spirit 
 of princes; and is terrible to the kings of the earth.'* 
 (Psalm Ixxvi.) Then shall the antitype of Melchi- 
 seder be fully manifested, '* When the Lord of Hosts 
 hath visited his flock, the house of Judah, and hath 
 made him as his goodly horse in the battle." ''And 
 they of Ephraim shall be like a mighty man, and 
 their heart shall rejoice as through wine." 
 
 A priest upon his throne, is the very character 
 which Antichrist has assumed and endeavoured to 
 maintain; but it belongs exclusively to Christ, on 
 the final establishment of the regal dispensation, on 
 the destruction of the beast and his army, who fight 
 against the King of kings. 
 
 Of David and Solomon, it is sufficient to remark 
 in general, that as the former was a type of the mi- 
 litant, so the latter was a type of the triumphant 
 and peaceful state of the church on earth. 
 
 TYPICAL INSTITUTIONS. 
 
 Of the numerous institutions of the legal econo- 
 my, three only shall be touched upon, which bear 
 fUrectly on the dispensation in question. No sub- 
 stance under the Gospel has yet, in any degree, been 
 answerable to these shadows under the law. These 
 
188 
 
 are. The Sabbatical Year; The Jubilee; and thr 
 Feast of Tabern acles. 
 
 First, Hie Sabbatical Year. 
 
 By this institution, every seventh year was sancti- 
 fied, it was called a sabbath to Jehovah, Lev. xxv. 
 4. Its privilege was extended to the land; '* A Sab- 
 bath of rest to the land," Ibid. Every seventh year, 
 every creditor was obliged to release his debts; *'He 
 shall not exact of his neighbour, or of his brother, 
 because it is called The Lord's release," Deuter. 
 XV. 2. All Hebrew servants were discharged from 
 bondage; *' Six years shall he serve, and in the 
 seventh he shall go out free for nothing," Exo- 
 dus xxi. 2. Animals were included in the blessing, 
 *'For thy cattle, and for the beast that are in thy 
 land, shall all the increase thereof be meat," Le- 
 viticus xxv. 7. At the conclusion of the year the 
 Feast of Tabernacles was kept; the law was read; 
 and the Jubilee year ensued, in which the great 
 trumpet was blown, and ''every man returned to 
 his possession," Deut. xxxi. 10 — 13. Leviticus 
 xxv. 7. 
 
 It is obvious, that under the Gospel dispensation, 
 nothing analogous to these institutions has yet oc- 
 curred. Oneyear is not more sanctified than another; 
 the land has no remission; and it yields its fruits re- 
 luctantly; creditors exact their debts with unabating 
 rigour; service has no intermission; and slavery is 
 scarcely abolished among men. 
 
 The Feast of Tabernacles has no commemoration 
 in the church, and animals derive no benefit from 
 divine institutions of any kind; but a time is to. 
 come, when the creature shall be delivered from the 
 bondage of this corruption, and there is a Sabbatism 
 Which remaineth to the people of God. ** The great 
 
189 
 
 trumpet shall be blown, and they shall come which 
 were ready to perish — and shall worship the Lord 
 in the holy mount of Jerusalem," Isai. xxvi. 15. 
 *' The ransomed of the Lord shall return, and come 
 to Zion with songs, and everlasting joy upon their 
 heads," Is. xxxv. 10. Exactors will be righteous, 
 and violence will be heard no more — '' Holiness unto 
 the Lord be written on every vessel, and upon the 
 bells of the horses" — the hallowed Jubilee will be 
 kept, and '* liberty be proclaimed throughout the 
 land." When the Sabbatical period shall commence, 
 when "the year of the redeemed" is come, God 
 will in very deed dwell with men upon earth. 
 
 As Moses was admonished of God when he was 
 about to make the tabernacle, **See that thou make 
 all things according to the pattern (tov tvjtov^ the 
 type) showed to thee in the mount," Plebrews viii. 
 5: so Christ, when raised up a Prophet like unto 
 Moses, ''a minister of the sanctuary and o{ the true 
 tabcr/iacte^*' appears to have exhibited on another 
 mount a pattern, or type, of another and future 
 condition of the church on earth. When "the former 
 things are passed away," '* behold, the tal)ernaclc 
 of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, 
 and they shall be his people, and God himself shall 
 be with them their God," Rev. xxi. 3. This is a ter- 
 restrial state, for it is in "« 7iew earth;" and yet it is 
 heavenly, for where God dwelleth there is heaven. It 
 is a temporal state, for '* every one that is left of the 
 nations shall go up from year to year i" and it is 
 spiritual, because its object is *' to worship the 
 King, the Lord of hosts. " It is le^al, because it is 
 to keep the feast of tabernacles, which was a typi- 
 cal as well as commemorative institution of the lavj; 
 and it willbe evangelical, because theGospel, which 
 now only commemorates the time when the Word 
 
190 
 
 'was made flesh and dwelt in a t?.bcrnaclc of day 
 (scxrjvuaev), will then be perfected in the redemption 
 of the body, and the manifestation of the sons of God: 
 when the Saviour will no longer veil the majesty of 
 his divine person, but be manifested in the glory of 
 God his Father. 
 
 The dispensation will be local, because '"in Jewry 
 will God be known, and at Salem will be his taber- 
 nacle;" it will be universal, for "'ail the ends of the 
 earth shall remember and turn unto the Lord, and 
 all the kindreds of the nations shall worship before 
 him." (Ps. xxii. 27.) Zech. xiv. 17, "It shall be, 
 that whoso will not come up of all the families of the 
 earth unto Jerusalem, to worship the King the Lord 
 of hosts, even upon them shall be no rain ;" but " the 
 Lord will smite the heathen that come not up to 
 keep txhe feast of tabernacles;" and " all the nations 
 shall ht punished that come not up to keep the feast 
 of tabernacles." To what period, it may be asked, 
 of the legal economy, are we to look for the fulfil- 
 ment of this remarkable prophecy ? In what stage 
 of the Christian dispensation have these circumstan- 
 ces been hitherto exemplified? Under the law, no 
 uncircumcised person had any lot in the common- 
 wealth of Israel, nor communion with the ceremo- 
 nial service of ihe temple at Jerusalem. The great 
 object of those institutions was, to separate the de- 
 scendantsof Abraham from the heathen round about 
 them, and from all the nations of the earth. Sisice 
 the substitution of the Gentiles as the spiritual Israel 
 and church of God, no pains have been spared by 
 Christian interpreters, to make out an almost exclu- 
 sive claim to the blessings of prophecy yet unac- 
 complished. No dexterity has been wanting to show, 
 if it were possible, that the figures of the legal econo- 
 my have already received theii- full and ultimate ap- 
 
191 
 
 plication in the spiritual ordinances and worship of 
 the Christian church as already established. Christ, 
 it is true, is our passover, and the feast of weeks is, 
 or rather ought to be, spiritually transferred to the 
 Christian Pentecost; but what authority is there for 
 supposing that the festival in which we commemo- 
 rate the first advent of the Messiah, will correspond 
 with the solemnities of the third great feast of the 
 Jewish year, which, according to its final constitu- 
 tion in the word of prophecy, cannot be kept at all 
 till tlie literal restoration of the Jews, and the local 
 establishment of the kingdom of their Messiah? 
 Did the Christian church exhibit the pattern of a 
 city at unity with itself, and exemplify the charac- 
 ter of the true circumcision, there would be less 
 presumption in arrogating to herself the titles and 
 privileges of the ancient Israel of God in their con- 
 verted state — there might be some hope that her 
 tabernacle would never be taken down, and none of 
 her cords be loosed, but that the families of the 
 earth would worship before her, and walk in her 
 light. Alas! darkness still covers the nations, and 
 gross darkness the people. Peter asked leave to 
 build only three tabernacles, but three hundred 
 would not suffice for the present professing follow- 
 ers of Christ, that each might glorify him after his 
 own manner. There is one Lord, and his name i& 
 one; and one tabernacle will at length suffice for all 
 who worship in spirit and in truth, and this will be 
 that which God hath pitched and not man. 
 
 In the closing scene of the transfiguration, "Je- 
 sus was found alone" and "in the dispensation of 
 the fulness of times," all things will be gathered 
 together in one in Christ — the legal, prophetical, 
 and evangelical times and persons will all center- 
 
192 
 
 minate, centre, and end in him, at his second ad- 
 vent as the glory of his people Israel. *' Moses and 
 Elias appeared in glory,** and gave thereby a pledge 
 to all who suffer, that they shall be glorified together 
 with Christ. One had died, and the other was 
 translated without tasting of death ; and this may 
 surely be considered as figurative of the circum- 
 stances of the glorious Epiphany — when they that 
 sleep in Jesus shall be brought with him, and the 
 dead in Christ be raised— when they that are alive 
 and remain shall only be changed, and be from that 
 time for ever with the Lord. It is sometimes asked, 
 whether all the inhabitants of the earth will be in 
 this glorious state in body as well as in soul, and 
 if they are, how can glorious bodies live on such an 
 earth as this? The best answer will be taken from 
 this typical manifestation. All were not invested 
 with glorious bodies on the mount; the apostles ap- 
 pear to have witnessed the scene with their ordina- 
 ry bodily senses; and so the nations of the saved, 
 and the heathen who come up to Jerusalem to wor- 
 ship the King, the King of glory, may also ''walk 
 in the flesh" in the light of that state. The one took 
 place on earth, and so may the other. Our Lord 
 warned his disciples on that occasion, *' Whosoever 
 shall be ashamed of me and of my words, of him 
 shall the Son of man be ashamed when he shall 
 come in his own glory, and in his Father's, and of 
 the holy angels. But I tell you of a truth, there be 
 some standing here which shall not taste of deaths 
 till they shall see the kingdom of God,'' Luke ix. 26. 
 And when speaking afterwards o^the kingdom of God^ 
 and of the coming of the Son of man in a cloud with 
 power and great glory, he warns the disciples of the 
 last days, ''Watch ye therefore, and pray always, 
 
193 
 
 iliat ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these 
 things that shall come to pass, and to stand before 
 the Son of man/* Luke xxi. 
 
 Seeing, then, that the same expressions are made 
 use of, and that all the circumstances of the transfigu- 
 ration, the cloud that overshadowed, the saints who 
 attended, and appeared in glory, the disciples being 
 yet in their natural state — seeing that St. Peter ex- 
 pressly calls this, making known the power and 
 coming of the Lord, one event may surely be con- 
 sidered as typical and illustrative of the other. If 
 the appearance of three men at the tent door of Abra- 
 ham in the plains of Mamre be recognised, as it 
 generally is, as a type and pledge of the future in- 
 carnation of the Angel-Jehovah ; there is, at least, 
 no incongruity in contemplating the manifestation 
 on the mount of Tabor, as an evangelical type of 
 the glorious appearing of the Son of man with all 
 his saints. 
 
 Sect. 8. Practical View. 
 
 It is an old and ordinary device of Satan, in his 
 attempts to invalidate the doctrines of revelation, to 
 assaidt them in their tendencies. 
 
 The first artifice of the deceiver was an indirect 
 insinuation concerning the word of God, and a false 
 exhibition of its practical operation. A doul)t was 
 first implied, " Ye shall not surely die." But the sub- 
 tilty of the temptation was conveyed in the sugges- 
 tion, *' God doth know, that in the day ye eat there- 
 of, then shall your eyes be opened, and ye shall be 
 as Gods, knowing good and evil.'* An inference of 
 such practical advantage effectually prevailed, in 
 opposition to the plain letter of God's command 
 and warning. Allurement will suit his purposdin 
 R 
 
194 
 
 one case, and alarm in another ; he can entice or de- 
 ter as occasion may require, by the abused represen- 
 tation of practical results. Adam, even in inno- 
 cence, stood accepted before God as long as he be- 
 lieved his word, and after the fall he had no way of 
 acceptance open, but that of ''justification by faith 
 alone, without the works of the law." Abel also, 
 and all the Old Testament saints, are represented 
 by our Lord and his apostles, as "justified by faith,** 
 and by faith performing all those mighty works as- 
 cribed to the operation of its agency in Heb. xi. 
 Gospel believers, from the first advent of Christ un- 
 til the second, were to be justified in one and the 
 same way ; in all successive ages, justification by 
 faith has been the very line of demarcation between 
 the form and power of godliness. 
 
 Yet this original and fundamental doctrine has 
 continually been questioned by a collateral mode of 
 assault, by casting imputations upon hs pr act icalin" 
 Jiuence. The common and invariable objection 
 against the doctrine of free justification *' by grace 
 through faith," in defiance of revelation, in contra- 
 diction to the articles of protestant churches, and 
 the uniform tenor of Christian experience, has ever 
 been among those who know not what they speak nor 
 whereof they afiirm, to this eff'ect — Such a doctrine 
 tends to licentiousness, and neglect of duty, and there- 
 fore cannot be of God. 
 
 The remark might be extended to all the pecu- 
 liar doctrines of our holy faith ; and the partial or 
 defective exhibition of them in the ministry of the 
 word, may possibly have more connexion with an 
 unfounded fear of their practical inferences, than 
 many pious Christians would admit, while acting 
 under the restraint of such an apprehension i where- 
 
195 
 
 as tlie question ever should be, What saith the tes- 
 timony and the law : If a doctrine be not according 
 to their standard, let it be rejected ; but if it be in 
 conformity therewith, let it be brought forward in 
 its proper place, and accordsng to its measure of im- 
 portance, without fearful anlicipaiion of consequences. 
 We are not to refrain from good words or works, 
 however liable to misrepresentation ; we are not to 
 monopolize the bread of life, from the fear of waste, 
 or withhold a truth, from an apprehension that 
 others may wrest it to their own destruction. 
 
 It would be no matter of surprise to any one con- 
 versant with the history of the church, or experienc- 
 ed in the public ministration of the word ; should 
 the doctrine of '* the restitution of all things," and 
 the glorious reign of the Redeemer upon earth, be 
 treated, even by thinking men, as a merely specula- 
 iive question. Should strong doubts be entertained 
 by cautious and considerate persons concerning its 
 immediate practical effect, there would be nothing 
 ■whereat to wonder. Novel exhibitions of science 
 in all its departments, are uniformly regarded with 
 a jealous eye by established practitioners, and the 
 disposition to reject innovation^ under the guise of 
 improvement, is laudably cherished in proportion 
 to the importance of the subject to which it attach- 
 es, and thus the avenues to the sanctuary of divine 
 knowledge cannot be regarded with too scrupulous 
 attention. 
 
 While these concessions are made on the one 
 hand, it should be remembered on the other, that 
 afl science is progressive, and, above all, the know- 
 ledge of divine things was partially and progressive- 
 ly communicated to the church, and is for the most 
 part, independent of express inspiration, progres- 
 
196 
 
 sive as to its reception also. With reference to the 
 subject before us, " The dispensation of the fulness 
 of times," the rule of progressive development ap- 
 plies, with a peculiar propriety ; for the very pro- 
 phet to whom the ennunciation of these times was 
 committed, disavows the full understanding there- 
 of in his own days, and expressly declares that they 
 were sealed up to a distant period, when *' the wise 
 shall understand," and *'knowIcdge shall be increas- 
 ed," Daniel xii. 4. 10. 
 
 The intimations of a Redeemer, and the way of 
 salvation, were at first but few and general; they 
 were afterwards developed with greater nicety and 
 distinction ; the misapprehensions of men were gra- 
 dually cleared away, and finally rectified by the 
 event. 
 
 As the time drew near for the successive deliver- 
 ances of God's ancient church and people of Israel, 
 the circumstances of each case in particular, spoke 
 a plainer language to the age which they concerned, 
 and to the persons instrumentally employed. The 
 course of Providence observable in the first mani- 
 festation of the Messiah, the partial views and in- 
 distinct apprehensions of true believers at that time, 
 may possibly find a counterpart in the condition of 
 the church previous to the second introduction of 
 the First Begotten into the world, at the manifesta- 
 tion of the sons of God, and the great restiiutiou, 
 concerning which a pregnant question is put, 
 *' When the Son of Man cometh, shall he find faith 
 on the earth ?" When God shall send Jesus, who 
 before was preached '* unto the house of Israel," 
 when " he shall set his hand a second time to recov- 
 er the remnant of his people" from the four quar- 
 ters of the earth, it is expressly declared, that the 
 
197 
 
 latter shall be according to the former. In the first 
 instance, the positive promise or obligation was the 
 point to be attended to, and not i\\e probable result. 
 This is uniformly the rule of faith from the time of 
 Abraham to the present day. Had the father of 
 the faithful been guided by a. practical tendency^ ra- 
 ther than by ?i positive command^ he would certainly 
 never have bound his son, and lifted up his hand to 
 slay him. A practical inference, which involved not 
 only the imputation of an unnatural homicide, but 
 the subversion of all his hopes and covenant expec- 
 tations on the part of his posterity, must have stag- 
 gei*ed the patriarch, and unnerved his arm. 
 
 The disposition of Moses to consider /9?'«c/fc«/rf- 
 sw//s, was rectified before he could be fitted for the 
 exercise of his divine legation. Such was the pre- 
 cise character of the remonstrance by which he would 
 have excused himself from the performance of a ser- 
 vice to which he was called, *' He answered and said, 
 But behold, they will not believe me nor hearken 
 "unto my voice." We might suppose that ** the 
 first sign and the latter sign" which were vouchsaf- 
 ed, as sufficient evidence to confirm the people in 
 their deference to his commission and authority, 
 nnight have confirmed the mind of Moses himself; 
 but not so; he looked, notwithstanding, io practical 
 results : ** O, my Lord, I am not eloquent, neither 
 heretofore, nor since thou hast spoken unto thy ser- 
 vant, but I am slow of speech, and of a slow tongue. 
 And the Lord said unto him, who hath made man's 
 mouth ? or who maketh the dumb or deaf, or the 
 9eeing or the blind ? have not I the Lord ? Now 
 therefore, go, and I will be with thy mouth, and 
 teach thee what thou shalt say." 
 
 Thus was this man of God brought off from his 
 Il2 
 
198 
 
 calculalion of practical probabilities, to a smiptc 
 compliance with a command, 3.nd simple performance 
 of a work. Hear his words, " Send, I pray thee, 
 by the hand of him thou wilt send," Exodus iv. 
 
 In the dealings of God w^th man, the practical re- 
 suits of doctrine and duty are in general very differ- 
 ent, and often exactly opposite to those which igno- 
 rance and unbelief would anticipate. The means 
 of apparent destruction may be turned, in the walk 
 of faith and in the path of duty, into the means of 
 immediate deliverance, according to the saying of 
 our Lord, " He that findeth his life shall lose it, and 
 he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it." 
 
 Under what unpromising circumstances was this 
 lesson inculcated on God's ancient people ? Surroun- 
 ded by the mountains of Pihahiroth, " entangled in 
 the land, when the wilderness had shut them in;" 
 six hundred chosen chariots behind, and a raging 
 sea in front, the Lord said unto Moses, "Where- 
 fore criest thou unto me ? Speak to the children of 
 Israel, that they go forward." 
 
 The consideration of practical inference, must, in 
 this case, have been as urgent as possible ; with ap- 
 parent destruction in view, but the practical result 
 of a ready compliance was the very opposite to any 
 probable anticipation, " The children of Israel 
 walked on dry land in the midst of the sea, and Isra- 
 el saw the Egyptians dead upon the sea shore.^* 
 Exod. xiv. 
 
 Numerous instances might be adduced in corro- 
 boration of the above to show, both from the record 
 of revelation and the result of Christian experience, 
 that when doctrine is clear, and the path of duty plairk, 
 practical inference is not the most important subject 
 for human consideration. It is sufficient if faith be 
 
199 
 
 made the standard of opinion, and obedience the* 
 guide of practice. But if Moses, the man of God, 
 was thus compassed with infirmities, who can ex- 
 pect exemption ? How great are the allowances to 
 be made for all, who being children of Abraham, 
 as heirs of his faith, have not received it in all re- 
 spects in equal measure and proportion ? 
 
 Without contending, therefore, for an exclusive 
 ground which might be taken, viz. Practical inferen- 
 ces form no necessary part of the question^ under consid- 
 eration^ it shall be our endeavour, in the present sec- 
 tion, to show, that the view promulgated in these 
 papers, so far from bearing the aspect of a merely 
 spccidaiive question^ has a practical tendency of an 
 operative and influential nature upon many of the 
 most important and vital parts of Christian obliga- 
 tion and positive duty. 
 
 It may be expedient to distribute these consider- 
 ations, as they may severally affect, 
 
 I. The ministers of the Gospel in particular. 
 
 II. The members of the church in general. 
 
 III. The world at large. 
 
 If any apology be requisite for the introduction 
 ©f the first head of consideration, it may be found 
 in the apostolic injunctions of Paul to Timothy, and 
 through him to the successive ministers of the 
 Gospel to the end of time. A peculiar obligation to 
 the study of the question^ seems to be thereby laid 
 upon those individuals to whom ^'the ministry of 
 reconciliation," may be committed in ''the lat- 
 ter TIMES." 
 
 " Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the 
 latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving 
 heed to seducing spirits and doctrines of devils, 
 speaking lies in hypocrisy, having their consciences 
 
200 
 
 seared with a hot iron, forbidding to marry," 8cc. 
 and then follows, (I Timothy iv. 6.) " If thou put 
 the brethren in remembrance of these things^ thou 
 shalt be a good minister of jesus christ, nour- 
 ished up in the words offaith^ and of good doctrine,'* 
 By this admonition of the apostle, it appears, that 
 one characteristic at least oi a good minister^ in the 
 latter times especially, is to study most attentively 
 the progress of the great apostacy from the faith 
 once delivered to the saints, for how can he put the 
 brethren in remembrance of these things, if they are 
 not sufficiently impressed upon his own mind. Ad- 
 mitting, for the sake of argument, that the apostle 
 had chiefly, or even exclusively in view in this pas- 
 sage, that departure from the simplicity of Christ, 
 which was afierwards exemplified in the supersti- 
 tion and corruptions of the church of Rome : it may 
 be averred, without offence to individuals, the fact 
 being general, that the ministers of the Gospel in 
 later periods subsequent to the reformation, have 
 not been sufficiently impressed themselves, and 
 therefore have by no means sufficiently impressed on 
 their brethren or others, the diversified evils, and 
 unscriptural practices, pretensions, claims, and 
 expectations of the papal see; insomuch that in this 
 our day, congregations and communities are either 
 so ignorant, or so careless on the subject, that it is 
 become comparatively a matter of indifference ; nay 
 more, should a Christian now speak of that church, 
 its tenets, and pretensions, after a Scriptural man- 
 ner, or in the very language of our own primitive 
 reformers, who sealed their opposition to them with 
 their blood, he would be generally esteemed a bigot, 
 or at least, a person strangely deficient in that mod- 
 cm substitute for Christian charity, so falsely call- 
 
201 
 
 ed liberality, when the term is applied to the con- 
 cerns of an immortal soul. A minister of the Gos- 
 pel who should in these days, lift up his voice like 
 a trumpet, and ^'•piit the brethren in remembrance'' of 
 the enormities formerly committed under that apos- 
 tacy, against the real members of Christ's mystical 
 body, and the probability of a renewal of the same 
 on the removal of those restraints and disabilities 
 wisely imposed by protestants upon persons of that 
 opposite communion, insteadof being reputed a g'OOf? 
 minister of Jesus Christ, would be generally regard- 
 ed as raising unnecessary and groundless appre- 
 hension in the present advanced state of Christian 
 knowledge, illumination, and benevolence. Such 
 is the practical effect of a practical disregard to this 
 apostolic admonition for the latter times, as far afi 
 may regard the papacy; and the evil of such omis- 
 sion extends to the correspondent neglect of the 
 circumstances connected with the second advent of 
 the Messiah ; for it is evident from the ivord of pro- 
 phecy, and the uniform tenor of protestant inter- 
 pretation, that this apostacy will continue, however 
 enfeebled and broken, till its utter destruction at the 
 coming of the Son of Man in the clouds of heaven, 
 by the brightness of which epiphany and personal 
 presence, {no^Haux) it will be finally destroyed with 
 all other antichristian powers and principalities, 
 temporal and spiritual. 
 
 The bearings of this question with reference to 
 the papacy, did not escape the sagacity of Bishop 
 Newton, who sedulously obeyed the apostolic injunc- 
 tion to put the brethren in remembrance of these things. 
 The point cannot be more clearly stated than in his 
 own words; 'Wherever the influence and authority 
 of the church of Rome have extended, she hath en- 
 
202 
 
 deewoured by all means to discredit this doctrine, and 
 indeed, not without sufficient reason, this kingdom 
 ©F Christ being founded on the ruins of the king- 
 dom of antichrist. No wonder, therefore, this doc- 
 trine lay depressed for many ages; but it sprang up 
 again at the Reformation, and will flourish together 
 with the study of the Revelation." Bishop Newton 
 on the Millenium, chap. xxi. on Prophecy. 
 
 But the *' seducing spirits and doctrines of devils," 
 alluded to in the above passage, must, by no means, 
 be restrained to the corruptions of the see of Rome; 
 the apostle, in the concluding exhortation of his 
 pastoral charge to Timothy, extends the warning 
 to the various heresies and divisions of the church 
 in the latter days, and grounds his injunction to 
 preach the pure Gospel upon the consideration of an 
 appearance and kingdom evidently yet to come, 
 when the "crown of righteousness" laid up for him, 
 should be given, not to him only, but also to all who 
 love the appearing of Christ. "I charge thee there- 
 fore, before God and the Lord Jesus Christ, who 
 shall judge the quick and the dead at his appearing 
 and his kingdom; Preach the word, be instant in 
 season, out of season." 
 
 Thus dL judgment conjoined with an appearance, 
 and that appearance conjoined with a kingdom, form 
 the very ground, practical and influential, on which 
 ministers are exhorted to preach the word with ear- 
 nestness and importunity. 
 
 It may be replied, that ministers do enforce their 
 exhortations with occasional discourses on the eter- 
 nity of a judgment to come, and the hope which they 
 hold up to believers of going to heaven, and enjoying a 
 kingdom set up exclusively there, but this is the very 
 point in question, both practical and speculative. 
 
203 
 
 The Lord directs us to pray that his ^^ kingdom may 
 come on earth:" the saints expect to reign with him 
 on the earthy the apostle John says, by anticipation, 
 *' They lived (again) and reigned with Christ a 
 thousand years. " Can this expression of time be sup- 
 posed to relate to eternity, that state to which a cal- 
 culation deduced from solar years can scarcely be 
 supposed to apply? Christ promised his disciples, 
 that they should judge the world, appear with him 
 in glory, and sit on twelve thrones^ judging the 
 twelve tribes of Israel, which judhi,ment can by no 
 stretch of opposite interpretation, be made to relate 
 to heaven, because according to the opposite hypo- 
 thesis of a merely spiritual reign on earth, all judg- 
 ment will be past, and all distiriction of tribes con- 
 founded before the heavenly slate, as usually under- 
 stood, shall commence. Those who have suffered 
 *'for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, 
 and which have not worshipjjed the beast or his 
 image^'* viz. had not followed the Roman and pa- 
 pal abominations; they reigned, while "the rest of 
 the dead lived not," and this suffering and this reign- 
 ing are thus recognised and thus practically enforced 
 by the apostle Paul himself, on Christians and on 
 ministers, in the same epistle, (2 Timothy ii. 11,) 
 '*If we be dead with him, we shall also live with 
 him. If we suffer^ we shall also reign with him," Sec. 
 ^^of these things put them in remembrance." It ap- 
 pears that this reigning^ or kingdom, will not be in 
 heaven, as generally understood, but when they that 
 are Christ's are raised at his coming; for " then, 
 (or after that time) cometh the old, when he shall 
 have delivered up the kingdomio God even the Father, 
 when HE shall have put down all rule, and all au- 
 thority, and all power, for hk must r^ign till ht; 
 
204 
 
 hath put all enemies under his feet. And when all 
 things shall be subdued unto him, then shall the Son 
 also himself be subject unto him that put all things 
 under him, that God maybe all in all." (1 Cor. xv. 
 24 — 28.) TJierefore this kingdom, according to St. 
 Paul, commences at ih?it appearing, on the consider- 
 ation of which in another passage, the same apostle 
 grounds another practical and awful charge, when 
 having exhorted Timothy to flee from the love of 
 Tain and worldly lusts, to follow after righteousness, 
 godliness, faith, patience, meekness, and to fight the 
 good fight of faith, he concludes, '*I charge thee in 
 the sight of God, who quickeneth all things, that 
 thou keep this commandment without spot, unre- 
 bukable, until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ, 
 which in his times he shall show, who is the blessed 
 and only potentate, King of kings, and Lord of lords." 
 1 Timothy vi. 13 — 15. 
 
 The consideration of the glorious epiphany, con- 
 nected as it is by the apostles with the destruction 
 of antichrist, the downfal of Babylon, the resurrec- 
 tion of the just, and the triumphant reign of the 
 Redeemer, is generally enforced by the apostle Paul 
 with its practical tendency, and often, as above, with 
 an exhortation to ministers to enforce the same with 
 a peculiar and immediate reference to the yet future 
 kingdom. There is scarcely a more practical por- 
 tion of holy writ, than the epistle of Paul to the 
 first bishop of Crete, especially as to the duties of 
 ministers for life and doctrine ; and there is not a 
 more practical part of it, than the following pas- 
 sage, " The grace of God that bringeth salvation 
 hath appeared unto all men, teaching us, that deny- 
 ing ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live 
 soberly, righteously, and godly, in this presenT 
 
>05 
 
 ivorlJ,*' (ttiwn, age), " Looking for that blessed hope, 
 and the glorious appearance of the great God and our 
 Saviour Jesus Christ ; who gave himself for us, that 
 he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify 
 to himself a peculiar people zealous of good works. 
 These things speak and exhort," Titus ii. 11. 
 ad fin. To what consideration do we find these 
 practical injunctions referred, but to that very mani- 
 festation and kingdom on earthy the anticipation of 
 which, and not our going to heaven, is the constant, 
 and uniform scope of all the apostle's argument on 
 the subject, as St. Peter testifies in his behalf, using 
 the same practical inferences. Speaking on the very 
 question, he says, "Wherefore beloved, seeing ye 
 look for such thiiigs (a new heaven and a new earth) 
 be diligent, that ye may be found of him in peace, 
 without spot and blameless; and account that the 
 long-suffering of our Lord is salvation, even as our 
 heloved brother Paul, who ix all his epistles, ac- 
 cording to the wisdorri given unto him, hath written 
 unto you, speaking in them o^ these things. In which 
 (fv otj, in the things, not in the epistles, as generally 
 supposed ") are some things hard to be understood, 
 v.hich they that are unlearned and unstable wrest, 
 as they do also the other Scriptures, to their own de- 
 struction. Ye therefore, belo\'ied, seeing ye know 
 these things before, beware lest ye also being led 
 away with the error of the wicked, fall from your 
 own steadfastness, but grow in grace, and in the 
 knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ." 
 
 The general epistles of St. Peter will be more 
 properly considered in detail, under the second head, 
 with reference to the church at large, but there is 
 one passage, which, with great propriety, may be 
 introduced here, wherein the same connexion is ob- 
 
 s 
 
206 
 
 N'orved between the suffering and reigning states of 
 the church, the same period referred to for the com- 
 mencement of the latter, and a similar practical in- 
 ference deduced. The apostle, after discoursing 
 largely of the believers' participation in the suffer- 
 ings of Christ, and the joy which should succeed, 
 ^^when his glory should be revealed," makes this so- 
 lemn appeal to the elders of the church: " The elders 
 ■which are among you I exhort, who am also an el- 
 dei*,'and aivitness of the sufferings of Christ, and also 
 a partaker of the glory that shall be revealed. Feed the 
 fiock of God M hich is among you, taking the over- 
 sight thereof, not by constraint, but willingly, not 
 for filthy lucre, but of a ready mind, neither as be- 
 ing lords over God's heritage, but being ensamples 
 to the flock. And ivhen the chief Shepherd shall appear, 
 ye shall receive a crown of glory that fadeth not 
 away," 1 Pet. v. 1 — 4. 
 
 It may be generally remarked of ministers and 
 other members of the church, that the attention and 
 expectation of both, are exclusively directed, by the 
 received mode of interpretation, to what is generally 
 understood by the expression of going to heaven, by 
 an immediate ivansla-iion to the celestial glory ; where- 
 as the views of the apostle invariably point to a pre- 
 vious consideration, the coming of Christ from heave?i 
 with all his saints, who during their absence from 
 the body are now present with him; and thus, even 
 in the time of St. Paul, the church was led to expect 
 his speedy return to take his kingdom, and reign up- 
 on earth. To rectify all misconception of this event, 
 which appears to have been enforced at that time, as it 
 should still be, more with a practical than a propheti- 
 cal view, the apostle wrote his epistles to the Thessa- 
 lonians; but it is well deserving of notice, that whiJe^ 
 
207 
 
 he places the event, as it were, at lis prophetical dis^ 
 tance. he maintains throughout, the practical tende?!- 
 cy of the expectation itself. The coming and king- 
 dom of Christ and his saints, forms still the scope 
 of each epistle, every doctrinal position, and every 
 practical inference turns upon, and hinges in every 
 chapter upon this cardinal point, the personal de- 
 scEXT, when '* we which are alive and remain, shall 
 be caught up to meet the Lord in the air," and 
 when '' them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring 
 with him.'* 
 
 1 Thess. i. **^Ya7forhis son from heaven." 
 
 1 Thess. ii. '*The presence of our Lord Jesus at 
 his coming.'" 
 
 1 Thess. iii. ^' At the coming o{ our Lord Jcsn?. 
 Christ with all his saints." 
 
 1 Thess. iv. '' The Lord himself shall descend. '" 
 
 1 Thess. V. "I pray God, your whole spirit, and 
 boul, and body, be preserved blameless unto the corn- 
 ing of our Lord Jesus Christ." 
 
 2 Thess. i. "' When he shall come to he glorified in 
 his saints." 
 
 2 Thess. ii. '-We bcKPech you, brethren, by tlte 
 coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.'* 
 
 2 Thess. iii. *' The Lord direct your hearts into 
 the love of God, into the patient tvaiting ^or Christ." 
 
 If the apostle was taught to ground all his doc- 
 trines and precepts upon this one great expectation, 
 and to fix the attention of the church upon it, at a 
 time, when the event was comparati\ ely distant, the 
 practical inferences drawn by him from this sole con- 
 sideration, might be expected to operate with in- 
 creasing energy, according to its nearer approxima- 
 tion. The apostle has, in fact, drav/n this inference 
 himself in all the fulness of its accumulative force. 
 
208 
 
 and progressive, practical importance; *«Lel us 
 consider one another, to provoke unto love and to 
 good works, not forsaking the assembling of our- 
 selves together, as the manner of some is, but ex- 
 Iwrting one another, and so Tnuch the more, as ye sec, 
 the day approaching." (Heb. x. 25.) Have \vc not 
 witnessed, not only the taking away of him thatlet- 
 Leth, but the revelation of " that wicked one whom 
 the Lord shall consume with the breath of his mouth, 
 and destroy with the brightness o^ his coming?'* If 
 St. Paul, notwithstanding his specific cautions, still 
 founded his exhortation to "^patience," by fixing the 
 attention of the church upon the certainty of this 
 event, and upheld their confidence by the consider- 
 ation of its actual approach, ''For yet a little while^ 
 and he that shall come, will come, and will not tar- 
 ry,*' Heb. X. 35. If St. James adopted j^recisely the 
 Sdnic course of admonition, '' Bepalient unto the com'^ 
 ing of the Lord; stablish your hearts, for the com' 
 ing of the Lord draweth nigh. " If we know perfectly, 
 that *' the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the 
 night," ought it not to be our desire to be found 
 among those brethren ** who are not in darkness, 
 tlittt mat day should overtake them as a thief?" 
 Ought we not to ••'comfort ourselves together, and 
 edify one another, and pray always that our God 
 would count us worthy of this calling," and Estab- 
 lish us in evei-y good word and work ?" May it not 
 be alleged, that the very reasons assigned by St. 
 Paul in his own days for a protracted expectation 
 of the glorious epiphany, might now be advanced 
 with perfect consistency for a near anticipation of the 
 circumstances undei* which, according to the apos- 
 tolic testimony, we are to expect ^' the coming of 
 
209 
 
 our Lord Jesus Christ, and our gathering together 
 unto him?" 2 Thess. ii. 1. 
 
 Has not our Lord himself condescended to deline- 
 ate the very prognostics by v.hich his disciples are 
 to KNOW " that the kingdom of God isnigh at hand ?'* 
 *' When these things begiii to come to pass." Have 
 we not his own practical aduiGnition, written for our 
 encouragement and reproof? " Take heed to your- 
 selves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged 
 with' surfeiting, and drunkenness, and cares of this 
 life, and so that day come upon you unawares. For 
 as a snare shall it come on all them that dwell on 
 the face of the whole earth. Watch ye, therefore, 
 and pfay always, that ye may be accounted wor- 
 thy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, 
 and to stand before the Son of man." Luke xxi, 
 34—36. 
 
 The considerations adduced under the preceding 
 head, concerning ministers of the gospel, have an 
 especial reference to the personal advent of Christ, 
 and the duty laid upon them of directing their at- 
 tention to that primary event ; but in contemplating 
 the subject, as it affects *' the members of the church 
 in general^** a wider range may be taken, as many 
 additional encouragements of a practical nature are 
 to be deduced from the several concomitant circum- 
 stances, or immediate consequences of the glorious ^ 
 epiphany. 
 
 It is an observation suggested by a superficial 
 view of human life, and confirmed by common ex- 
 perience, that, objects indefinite and distant, do not 
 affect the mind, or influence the conduct of indivi- 
 duals ; whereas distinctness of apprehension, and 
 proximity of attainment, command immediate no- 
 tice, and excite practical exertion. The Christian 
 s 2 
 
210 
 
 church at large exemplifies the remark. The day 
 of judgment, the resurrection of the dead, the world 
 to come, even the recovery of Israel, and the latter 
 day glory of the church, are subjects so confounded 
 by indistinct conceptions of their nature and rela- 
 tive connexion, that hitherto they have rarely made 
 a suitable impression on. the mind, and some of them 
 are placed at such an immoderate distance, as to be 
 scarcely perceptible to the eye of rational inquiry. 
 Education, habit, and prejudice have concurred 
 with a common understanding among men to leave 
 these matters to their own generalities and suppos- 
 ed impenetrable obscurity. The general pleas of 
 presumption, enthusiasm, self-delusion, and the 
 like, are advanced, and admitted as sufficient to 
 stifle at once any pretensions to nicer investigation 
 and advanced discovery. Thus even believers re- 
 main in a state of nonage, babes for the most part 
 in divine attainments, and have need to be taught 
 again the rudiments of a science in which, consid- 
 ering the age in which they were born, and the times 
 in which their lot is cast, they ought to be instruct- 
 ors to their generation. 
 
 When some of these great truths are incidentally 
 brought before them in the course of public instruc- 
 tion, they, like Agrippa, are almost persuaded. When 
 yeasoningsupon righteousness and judgmenttocomc 
 are forced upon their ears, they, like Felix, tremble, 
 but the convenient season for laying these things 
 to heart seldom arrives. The consideration that 
 "'^'all things remain as they were," has acted as a 
 general opiate to lull the attention of mankind ; the 
 question, " where is the promise of his coming?" 
 would not be confined to scoffers, did not decency 
 silence a doubt, which faith has perhaps not altogc- 
 
211 
 
 ther dispelled. It is still time lor the professing 
 people of God, to live in ceiled houses, but the 
 time is not yet come, according to general estima- 
 tion, to build the house of the Lord. They eat, they 
 drink, they marry, and are as full of the cares of 
 this life as if they had no bread which the -world 
 knoweth not of, no mansion not made with hands, 
 no reserved inheritance, no bridegroom to go forth 
 and meet. 
 
 Many, we may suppose, assisted in the prepara- 
 tion of the ark, who secretly derided its builder, 
 though he were a preacher of righteousness; and 
 more than a century, would probably be consumed 
 in preaching a kingdom and an earth, wherein the 
 righteous shall dwell, and reign, before attention 
 would be conciliated to the consideration of times 
 and circumstances, marvellously analogous to the 
 days of Noah. The vision was for an appointed time, 
 when it should speak, but the time will probably 
 come, and the vision speak in vain, till the awful 
 proclamation issue, that " time shall he no more.** 
 
 Such, it must be admitted, with comparatively 
 few exceptions, is the practical effect of generally 
 received opinions concerning the second advent, 
 and "the age to come." As the religion of the 
 illiterate consists in being as good as their neigh- 
 bours, and in doing no harm, so they expect to es- 
 cape, as it were, with their neighbours, and have 
 no harm done to them in the day of account ; as the 
 religion of the learned turns on their knowledge of 
 doctritie, and habit of doing good, they for the most 
 part expect to be distinguished from the crowd by 
 the merit of their attainments and works; each pro- 
 crastinates the day, or at least postpones the prac- 
 
212 
 
 tical consideration of it, till bodily dissolution ap- 
 proaches. 
 
 Persons truly awakened and converted, are not 
 to be reckoned in either class, whatever their con- 
 dition may be, but early education has so much in- 
 fluence in forming even their opinions upon the 
 subjects in question, that when personal religion 
 seriously arrests their attention, it is generally so 
 engrossed thereby, that the glorious expectations 
 of the church here upon earth, seldom occupy that 
 place to which they are entitled, in the secret medi- 
 tations, or public exercises of its genuine and spiri- 
 tual members. The salvation of the soul is all in 
 all with them, " the redemption of the body," is 
 comparatively of little concern ; the fact of the re- 
 surrection is admitted, while the circumstances of 
 its order, priorities, and distinctions, so clearly re- 
 cognised in holy writ, are for the most part disre- 
 garded. The condition of the Jews is viewed only 
 as a standing miracle^ and is thus allowed to remain ; 
 that neglected part of the community, regarded by 
 the world with scorn and derision, supplies the 
 Christian with an argument for the truth of his own 
 religion, while the promises concerning their re- 
 storation are aditiitted into his creed so far only as 
 their accommodation ministers to his own spiritual 
 requirements, and furnishes manna for himself un- 
 der the privations of his figurative wilderness. Hr 
 takes up his station on Gerizim, and engrossing all 
 its blessings, consigns to its original occupants, 
 the possession and curse of Ebal. The Gentile en- 
 joying the figure, overlooks a literal fulfilment to 
 the Jew. Canaan is transferred to his own bosom, 
 or placed in the heavens above, amf where but in the 
 Land of Promise. 
 
213 
 
 The eanon of accommodation, "Valet ima sum- 
 mis mil tare et insignes attenuat," — the plainest ex- 
 pressions submitted to its ordeal change their im- 
 port — " KINGDO^f OF Israel," thus transmuted, 
 signifies Gentile dynasty — *' Coming down" is inter- 
 preted "a strong metaphor for an ascension upwards*^ 
 — '' Time" becomes the synchronism of Eternity^ 
 and " Earth" the synonyme q{ Heaven, 
 
 These remarkson the/?r«c/icrt/operation of receiv- 
 ed opinions, may be sufficient to excite a question, 
 whether a result of such discrepancy to the great 
 economy of man's probationary condition, may not 
 have arisen from erroneous or inadequate concep- 
 tions of its consummation and issue. If it shall 
 appear that the redemption of soul and body is, ac- 
 cording to the plain import of the scriptural view 
 of salvation, brought more within the scope of our 
 present capacity, than any condition purely spiritu- 
 al and celestial can be ; if the glory of the Redeem- 
 er shall seem to be concerned in the full manifesta- 
 tion of his power and godhead, by the final deliver- 
 ance and establishment of his church on the very 
 theatre of their sufferings ; if expressions generally 
 referred to heaven do relate to a state on earth ; if 
 •' the dominion under the whole heaven" is yet to be 
 given to the Son of man; if *' the saints of the most 
 high" are to take this kingdom and possess it, and 
 reign on the earth ; if the earth itself is to be renew- 
 ed and fitted for the habitation of the righteous; if 
 these things be so, and such things are recorded 
 for our instruction upon whom the ends of the worl^ 
 are come, the argument from analogy, from expe- 
 rience, and from the common operation of cause 
 and effect, must show, that the practical efficacy of 
 such views and expectations must operate, with a 
 
214 
 
 force and intensity proportional to such clearness oi 
 apprehension, and such proximity of attainment, 
 Noah would not have been so diligent in his prepa- 
 rations for the Ark, had he not been admonished 
 that the deluge was at hand. David prepared ma- 
 terials for the temple, because of the promise that 
 his son should build iu Jonah was quickened in 
 his mission to Nineyeh, by the pressing considera- 
 tion that " yet forty days and that great city should 
 be overthrown.** Daniel set his face unto the Lord 
 in prayer, having understood by books that the cap- 
 tivity in Babylon was near its accomplishment. The 
 Christian church escaped to Pella, when they un- 
 derstood by certain prognostics, that the destruc- 
 tion of Jerusalem was at hand. Doubtless the days 
 Sire JitlfiUed when Christians should be warned to 
 flee from the wrath to come ; when the materials of 
 the spiritual temple are to be gathered ; w^hen the 
 gospel should be preached to the mystical Nineveh ; 
 when earnest supplication should be made for the 
 restoration of Israel; and when the beginning of sor- 
 rows and judgments on the professing house of 
 God, call loudly upon his people to escape out of 
 Babylon, lest they be partaker of her plagues, and 
 sink in her fall. 
 
 It is an important concession from an author who 
 has written with the avowed purpose of refuting the 
 views already exhibited in these essays, that " there 
 is something m the hypothesis of the personal reign 
 of the Messiah, which as far as it is believed, is 
 
 EXCEEDINGLY AFFECTIXG TO THE MIND." The au- 
 thor States these sentiments '''•from his own experi- 
 ence,'* and thus affords the most satisfactory evi- 
 dence as to the practical view of the subject which . 
 any case can admit of. for it is the confession of a^ 
 
215 
 
 adversary, and therefore carries with it all the weight 
 of unquestionable testimony. 
 
 But the doctrine is of too much moment to be 
 believed hy halves. The expectation is either scrip- 
 tural^ or it is not ; if it is, it is entitled to full assent, 
 and thus admitted in toto would not only " affect the 
 mind exceedingly y* but materially affect the conduct. 
 The mind may be moved to excess, the affections 
 excited even to transport, the passions considerably 
 agitated by striking and animated exhibitions of the 
 theory of salvation, and cold indeed must be the 
 breast which is susceptible of ordinary impressions 
 only, from the fervid and glowing colours in which 
 the word of prophecy has delineated the circumstan- 
 ces of the second advent, and the triumphant state 
 of the church on earth ; but when these subjects are 
 handled in a doctrinal and didactic way, as they are 
 by the apostles, the purpose is not the excitement 
 of feeling, or the exercise of mental endowments, 
 but the regulation of human conduct under the ex- 
 isting circumstances, or successive changes of the 
 world. Tbe whole question assumes a practical 
 form, doctrines are declared, and duties are enjoin- 
 ed ; objects of faith are proposed as the ground and 
 encouragement of a corresponding practice ; obedi- 
 ence under the present economy is enforced by the 
 consideration of a just and adequate reward, reserv- 
 ed for distribution in a dispensation to come, and 
 Christian profession is thus brought to the rigid 
 test, and unerring standard of Christian obligation. 
 
 The whole subject, as it regards the members of' 
 the church in general^ is treated after this manner in 
 the two Catholic epistles of St. Peter, containing 
 together the. most systematic and comprehensive, 
 and at the same time the laofit practical view which 
 
216 
 
 is to be found in holy writ. The apostle delineates 
 the character and condition of the believer from his 
 birth of the incorruptible seed of the word, to his 
 admission into '^ the everlasting kingdom.,'' He 
 warns him of all his dangers, enforces all his duties, 
 and sets before him all his privileges, ever main- 
 taining the connexion of his suffering with his tri- 
 umphant state, ever directing his mind to the glori- 
 ous appearance, personal descent, and return of the 
 Redeemer, as the scope of all his endeavours, and 
 the substance of all his hopes. 
 
 The condemnation of the fallen angels, the uni- 
 versal flood, the overthrow of Sodom, the deliver- 
 ance of Noah, and of Lot ; are set before the church 
 and the world, not as types and figures only, but 
 as patterns for imitation and examples to deter, un- 
 der a dispensation yet to come, for the recompense 
 of the just, and the perdition of the ungodly. The 
 recapitulation of the whole is summed up in this 
 practical exhortation, " Seeing then that all these 
 things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons 
 ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness. 
 Looking for, and hasting unto the coming of the 
 day of God." (2 Peter iii. 11, 12.) 
 
 The limits of this section, already extended be- 
 yond its due proportion, by the copious matter 
 which a practical view of the subject affords, will 
 not admit of a general analysis of these epistles, 
 which, if accurately made, would mainly conduce 
 towards the settlement of a question, of which the 
 last chapter of the 2d epistle may be deemed the 
 scriptural key. 
 
 The question itself concerning either advent, 
 seems to be propounded in the 1st chapter of the 
 
217 
 
 first epistle, and the character of each is distinguish- 
 ed. 
 
 By an attentive perusal of the first 13 verses, it 
 will appear, that two kinds or degrees of salvation 
 are spoken of. In ver. 9, we read of a salvation re- 
 ceived, even the salvation of the soul. '' Of which 
 salvation, the prophets have inquired and searched 
 diligently, who prophesied of the grace that should 
 come unto you.'* In ver. 5, and 13, we read of 
 another salvation, and another grace; "A salva- 
 tion ready to be revealed in the last time," and " the 
 grace that is to be brought unto you, at the revela- 
 tion of Jesus Christ." The spirit of Christ "testi- 
 fied beforehand of the sufferings of Christ and the 
 glory that should follow." The apostle calls him- 
 self " a witness of the sufferings of Christ, and also 
 a partaker of the glory that shall be revealed." He 
 exhorts others to " rejoice, inasmuch as ye are par- 
 takers of Christ's sufferings, that when his glory 
 shall be revealed, ye may be glad also, with exceed- 
 ing great joy.'* He sets before them the pattern 
 and pledge of this glory in the power and coming 
 of Christ, as exhibited in the Holy Mount, where 
 Moses and Elias ''appeared in glory." He is to 
 come, according to another apostle, ''to be glorifi- 
 ed and admired in them that believe,'* to "change 
 our vile bodies, that they may be fashioned like un- 
 to his glorious body :" and again, " if we suffer 
 with him we shall also be glorified together,'* *'if 
 we suffer we shall also reign with him.** On this 
 glorious epiphany, and on this kingdom, both yet 
 to come, does St. Peter, in perfect harmony with 
 St. Paul, direct the church to fix its scriptural ex- 
 pectation. He speaks under one view of "The ap- 
 pearing of Jesus Christ,**—." The everlasting king- 
 T 
 
218 
 
 dom,"— '' The clay of judgment," — and " a thousand 
 years.*' Thus connecting the second advent, the 
 reign of the Messiah upon earth, and the judgment 
 of quick and dead, with the millennium ; a combina- 
 tion and coincidence already exhibited in these pa- 
 pers, and illustrated from scriptural evidence. On 
 these grounds, and in expectation of a state so dif- 
 ferent from the present, that it is denominated " new 
 heavens, and a new earth," the apostle exhorts the 
 church in general to pay a practical attention to the 
 following duties; patience under trials — constancy 
 in affliction— holiness in all manner of conversa- 
 tion — careful circumspection — laying aside malice 
 and hypocrisy — growth in grace — edification in 
 the faith — abstinence from fleshly lusts — good works 
 — honest conversation — submission to lawful au- 
 thority — loyalty and philanthropy — family subjec- 
 tion, and domestic authority — endurance of injuries 
 —meekness of temper— unanimity — compassion — 
 charity — courtesy — returning good for evil^re- 
 straint of the tongue — suffering for righteousness' 
 sake— 'bearing the reproach of Christ' — sobriety — 
 vigilance — hospitality — gratuitous superintendence 
 and support of Christ's flock — mutual subjection — 
 entire resignation to God — and steadfast reiistance 
 of the devil. 
 
 Such are the practical injunctions of the first epis- 
 tle, and they are all virtually included in that brief, 
 but comprehensive summary of Christian faith and 
 practice, contained in 2 Pet.i. ** Giving all diligence, 
 add to your faith, virtue, and to virtue, knowledge, 
 and to knowledge, temperance, and to temperance, 
 patience, and to patience godliness, and to godli- 
 ness, brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness^ 
 charity," S^c. ''for so an entrance shall be mini^ 
 
219 
 
 lered unto you abundantly into nu: eveklastini^ 
 KINGDOM of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.'* 
 
 The apostle informs the church, that in both his 
 epistles, it is his object to call to their remembrance 
 '*the Mords which were spoken before by the holy 
 prophets." The prophet Daniel speaks of a time 
 when **the saints of the Most High shall take the 
 kingdom, and possess the kingdom for ever," (Dan. 
 vii. 18.) ''The kingdom, and dominion, and the 
 greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven, 
 shall be given to the people of the saints of the most 
 high, whose kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, 
 and atl dominions shall serve and obey him" The 
 prophet and the apostle are both speaking of the 
 second advent, and therefore this everlasting 
 kingdom, so called, because it shall not be destroy- 
 ed by any other, appears to be that which is given 
 to the Son of man at his coming in the clouds of 
 heaven, into which "a« abundant entrance'^ is pro- 
 mised to the church by St. Peter, and which Da- 
 niel speaks of as taken and possessed by the saints. 
 This appears to be no other than the glorious reign 
 of the iNIessiah and his redeemed, on the destruction 
 of the prophetical and apocalyptic beast, or Roman 
 empire ; and that it is a kingdom on earth, and not 
 in heaven^ is manifest from the expression, ^' under 
 the whole heaven;'' and it is over the whole earth, 
 otherwise how are all people, nations, and langua- 
 ges, to serve therein ? If on a prophetical view of 
 the subject it should appear, that according to any 
 and every scriptural and possible calculation, this 
 kingdom cannot be very far distant, if it should ap- 
 pear highly probable, that it is nigh at hand, then 
 it must be admitted, that b. practical view must now 
 or never be ** exceedingly affecting to the mind," 
 
220 
 
 and powerfully influential on the conduct. If THJb. 
 DAY OF THE LoRD, wliich St. Peter tells us, " will 
 come as a thief in the night,*' be *«the coming of 
 the Son of man couched under that figure in Matt, 
 xxiv. 43, and Rev. iii. 3, and xvii. 15 ; if the ex- 
 haustion of the Turkish power be signified by the 
 drying up of the Euphrataean waters under the 6th 
 vial of the Apocalypse, all which appears not only 
 plausible, but in the highest degree probable : then, 
 indeed, though we know neither the day, nor the 
 Jiour, the time is come, when, as Noah preached 
 righteousness, and Jonah repentance ; as John came 
 baptizing with water, so ought those disciples, who 
 are not in darkness, that that day should overtake 
 them as a thief, to be even now, " like unto men 
 that wait for their Lord," for "blessed are those 
 servants whom the Lord when he cometh shall find 
 watching," Luke xii. 36. Not to discern " this time, " 
 under existing circumstances, can arise only from 
 that species of hypocrisy to which such blindness 
 is attributed in scripture. 
 
 Here then w^e might leave the subject, as far as 
 it concerns the church in general for if the epistles 
 of St. Peter do not, for the most part, justify the 
 expectations contended for, and his view thereof be 
 notpracticcdm the highest degree; all such opinions, 
 from whatever source derived, may be deemed 
 merely speculative^ and consequently of doubtful ob- 
 ligation; but the scriptural evidence as to faith and 
 practice is not confined to the testimony of this 
 apostle, satisfactory and conclusive as it must ap- 
 pear to every unprejudiced mind. In addition to the 
 many confirmations contained in the parables and 
 discourses of our Lord, and replete as they are with 
 practical admonitions with reference to his coming- 
 
kJ2l 
 
 as the Son of man to take his kingdom, there is a 
 great body of evidence to be collected, not only from 
 the whole book of the Apocalypse, but especially as 
 to the practical view, from the epistolary admonitions 
 addressed to the Asiatic churches. 
 
 Whatever may be the opinions of learned exposi- 
 tors as to the prophetical character of these remark- 
 able addresses to the church in general, there can 
 be no diversity of sentiment as to their practical im- 
 port, and their application to the various circum- 
 stances and condition of individual believers. '^ He 
 that hath an ear^ let him hear what the Spirit saith to 
 the churches," is the monitory voice addressed to 
 every one of the regenerate at the conclusion of each 
 address, and the commencement of each is as jorar- 
 fical as the conclusion is personal. •' I know thy 
 WORKS." In the characters of these primitive church- 
 es; the backslider — the false professoi* — the hypo- 
 crite — the covetous man — the idolater — the spirit- 
 ual adulterer — the formalist — and the lukewarm, 
 are personally admonished. In each " He that over- 
 cometh" is individually encouraged with a specific 
 promise, and therein all true believers are included, 
 for *' Who is he that overcometh, but he that believ- 
 eth?" Avery simple consideration of the nature 
 and quality of these promises will be sufiicient to 
 show that many of them were not fulfilled to the 
 churches originally addressed, and that having re- 
 ceived no adequate fulfilment since, their ultimate 
 and full accomplishment is yet in reserve to the col- 
 lective body of the faithful in '' the dispensation of 
 the fulness of the times," and at '' the restitution of 
 all things," in " the regeneration,'* when the Son of 
 man shall sit on the throne of his glory, and the 
 reign of the saints commence. 
 T 3 
 
222 
 
 The promises to *'him that overcometh," that 
 «* he shall eat of the tree of life," and ^ not be hurt 
 of the second death," might alone illustrate the po- 
 sition. Whatever may be the spiritual and inchoate 
 reference of the first to the daily sustenance of the 
 faithful, even now by the body and blood of Christ; 
 we read in Rev. xxii. 2, that in the New Jerusalem 
 state, '* in the midst of the street of it, and on either 
 side of the river, was the tree of life." This, and 
 the preceding chapter, are considered by the ge- 
 nerality of expositors, as figurative of the heavenly 
 state alone, but the view now taken from their in- 
 ternal evidence will go far towards the refutation of 
 that exclusive reference, and show that a time state 
 on earth is shadowed forth under this expressive 
 imagery. Of this "tree of life," it is said, "the 
 leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations^'' 
 and few, it is conceived, if any, who maintain that 
 the New Jerusalem is the celestial glory, will ex- 
 pect the healing of the nations after the translation of 
 the church to heaven itself. But the second promise, 
 *'He that overcometh shall not be hurt of the se- 
 cond death," is still more conclusive as to a prior 
 condition of the redeemed upon earth. By Rev. xx. 
 6, it appears that exemption from the second death, 
 is one of the high privileges of the first resurrec- 
 tion, " Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the 
 first resurrection, on such the second death hath no 
 power." 
 
 It is well known, that the doctrine of the first re- 
 surrection had such a />rac/zc«/ influence in the early 
 ages of the church, that many suffered patiently, 
 and even desired martyrdom, that they might en- 
 sure a part in it, and St. Paul clearly intimates the 
 same, when he says, " others were tortured, not ac- 
 
223 
 
 cepting deliverance, that they might obtain a bet- 
 ter resurrection," Heb. xi. 15. Its practical influ- 
 ence on his own conduct, is recorded by himself in. 
 his epistle to the Philippians, chap. 3. — See also 
 Bishop Newton's reference from Dodwell, ver. 3, 
 p. 379. 
 
 Another promise is equally conclusive, " He that 
 overcometh and keepeth my works unto the end, 
 unto him w^ill I ^i\e power over the nations.'* 
 
 It may be asked, when have believers, as such, 
 ever yet had power over the nations, or how can 
 they be expected to administer such power in hea- 
 ven ? Surely such an authority can only be exercised, 
 **when the meek shall inherit the earth," and the 
 earth shall be fitted as an habitation for the righte- 
 ous, when the kingdom and dominion shall be giv- 
 en to the saints, '' to execute the judgment written. 
 TTiis honour have all his saints^*' Psalm cxlix. 
 
 Another promise may with equal propriety, be re- 
 ferred to tht dispensation in question. "He that 
 dvercometh, the same shall be clothed in white rai- 
 ment, and I will not blot his name out of the Book 
 of Life, but I will confess his name before my Fa- 
 ther, and his angels." 
 
 The New Jerusalem is represented as ''a bride 
 adorned for her husband," and *' to her a^^s grat- 
 ed, that she should be arrayed in fine linen, white 
 and -clean, for the fine linen is the righteousness of 
 the saints," Rev. xix. 8. 
 
 *' Whosoever shall be ashamed of me, and of my 
 words, in this adulterous and sinful generation, of 
 him shall the Son of man be ashamed when he co- 
 'meth in the glory of his Father with his holy an- 
 gels." These two passages sufficiently prove the 
 
224 
 
 time and circumstances of the fulfilment of the pro* 
 mise. 
 
 There are still two promises, which, if language 
 has any meaning, and is to be taken according to its 
 obvious sense, do most abundantly show, that these 
 promises await their full and final accomplishment 
 on the restoration of the kingdom to Israel on the 
 establishment of Christ's Davidical throne and the 
 reign of the saints on earth. 
 
 ''I will write upon him the name of the city of 
 my God, which is New Jerusalem, which cometh 
 down out of heaven.'' — "To him that overcometh 
 will I give to sit with me on my throne, even as I 
 also overcame, and am set down with my Father in 
 his throne." 
 
 In the last promise the throne of the Son is clearly 
 distinguished from that of the Father, as it is in 
 other places of Scripture, and by the Saviour him- 
 self. — See Luke xxii. 29, 30, and Matt. xix. 28. 
 
 If these promises are not to be referred to the glo- 
 rious advent, and triumphant kingdom of the Mes- 
 siah, it will be difficult to find any suitable and con- 
 sistent application for them, collectively consider- 
 ed; and if such be their reference, then not only the 
 members of the church in general^ but the world at 
 LARGE, are concerned in their accomplishment. 
 " TTie kingdoms of this world, are to become the 
 kingdoms of our Lord. " " The ivhole creation groan- 
 eth and travaileth in pain together, and with car- 
 nest expectation waiteth for the manifestation of the 
 sons of God.^' 
 
 But, " the creature is yet subject to vanity," and 
 ** the world lieth in wickedness." The last days and 
 tke perilous times are come. The departure from 
 the faith, of which " the Spirit speaketh expressly,*' 
 
225 
 
 :he very characters so accurately delineated by Pe- 
 ter, Paul, Jude, and John, are hastening on the mys- 
 tery of iniquity; earthquakes in divers places, dis- 
 tress of nations with perplexity, the number of in- 
 dividuals, who are at this time engaged in the pecu- 
 liar investigation of the word of prophecy, these 
 and many more signs of the latter days'actually in 
 appearance, render this subject one of immediate 
 interest and importance, and of the most extensive 
 ])ractical application. 
 
 Considering the immense preparation made by 
 the economy of Redemption, for the salvation of 
 man, and the means possessed by nations professing 
 the faith, for the enlargement of the church of 
 Christ, it is astonishing to a reflecting mind, that 
 so little should hitherto have been effected thereby 
 for the world at large. The nations are still sitting in 
 darkness, and the earth is still the habitation of cru- 
 elty, and as much filled with violence as in the days 
 of Noah. The Christian churches first planted, are 
 either altogether extinguished, and swept from the 
 earth, or have grossly degenerated from their pri- 
 mitive state of simplicity. The prospect, lamenta- 
 ble as it is, is no other than that delineated by the 
 word of prophecy, but for want of attention to the 
 light afforded by it in such darkness, the expecta- 
 tion of the world, and the practical efforts of the 
 church, are, for the most part, erroneous and ill di- 
 rected. The potentates of the Roman apocalyptic 
 world, are looking only to tiie enlargement of their 
 dominions, and the continuance of their dynasties, 
 to the building up again those very establishments, 
 and the concentration of that very system, against 
 which, divine judgments have hitherto, as in the 
 days of Pharaoh, been executed in vain. The churclr- 
 
226 
 
 es are each looking to the propagation oT their o\\n 
 peculiar tenets and the protection of their private 
 interests. The powers in existence, secular and ec- 
 clesiastical, appear equally blind to the great scrip- 
 tural expectations of the church, and the judgments 
 which are to begin at the house of God, and prepare 
 for the restoration of his people. Hence the dispo- 
 sition to favour a falling interest, and a blind indiffer- 
 ence to that which is to rise again. Hence, '* Edoni 
 saith, we are impoverished, but v/e will return, and 
 build the desolate places. Thus saith the Lord 
 of hosts, They shall build but I will throw down, 
 and they shall call them, the border of wickedness, 
 and the people against whom the Lord hath indig- 
 nation for ever, and your eyes shall see, and ye 
 shall say. The Lord will be magnified from the 
 
 BORDER OF IsRAEL," Mai. i. 4. 
 
 It is just before the fall of Babylon, that the 
 apostle *' saw another angel fly in the midst of heav- 
 en, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them 
 that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and 
 kindred, and tongue, and people, saying with a 
 loud voice, '^ Fear God and give glory to him, for 
 the hour of kis judgment is come." It may have 
 been objected, that if the views suggested in these 
 papers were received, it would draw oif mankind 
 from attention to their ordinary duties, and repress 
 the present disposition to missionary exertions. So 
 far from it, these views, as far as they have been 
 promulgated and received, have been already bless- 
 ed to the conversion of some to the true faith of 
 Christ, and to the recovery of others who had de- 
 parted from it, and as to the general diff'usion of 
 the gospel, as it was preached throughout the Ro^ 
 man world before the destruction of Jerusalem, so 
 
'227 
 
 possibly it will prove at last that this gospel of tin: 
 kingdom, (the gospel of the age to come), will be 
 preached to all the world before the end : that is, 
 the end of the present dispensation, for as Christ 
 appeared " once in the end of the world," (the Jew- 
 ish economy), to put away sin, so "to them that 
 look for him shall he appear a second time (in the 
 end of this world, the present Christian era,) with- 
 out sin unto salvation," and then will ** his king- 
 dom come, and his will be done on earth." 
 
 To expect that '' the heathen will be given to the 
 Son for his inheritance, and the uttermost parts of 
 the earth for his possession," before he is set up, 
 as " KING upon his holy hill of Zion ;" to suppose 
 that the nations will walk in the light of the New 
 Jerusalem, before the restoration of Israel, is an ex- 
 pectation, which, however general it may become, 
 will not on that account be 7nore scnptural. When 
 Solomon was about to ascend the throne of his fa- 
 ther, according to promise, ''Adonijah exalted 
 himself, saying, I will be king," and thus at the 
 present time, it has been well remarked, the church, 
 and even the world, expect a millennium of their 
 own device and establishment. Hence, the vain 
 expectation of some, of converting apostate Gen- 
 tiles, and the hopelessness observable in others con- 
 cerning the restoration of the Jews. Hence " the peo- 
 ple imagine a vain thing, the kings of the earth 
 stand up, and the rulers take counsel together." 
 Nevertheless " he that shall come will come, and will 
 not tarry;" and as David said of the typical, so will 
 it come to pass in the millennial reign, "Assured- 
 ly Solomon my son shall reign, and sit upon my 
 throne," and as the son of Bathsheba. reigned of 
 old, according to the promise, so according to the 
 
228 
 
 prophecy, " the kingdom shall come to the daugh- 
 ter of Jerusalem.'* 
 
 There are two, and only two primary scriptural 
 expectations prior to the great consummation. One 
 is, the destruction of Babylon, and the other, the 
 restoration of Israel. The practical consideration of 
 these two would suffice if duly enforced, to regulate 
 not only the current of public opinion, but the 
 course of Christian duty. It would give a specific 
 and peculiar efficacy to those missionary labours, 
 by which the remnant according to the election of 
 grace, is to be gathered in ; it would accelerate the 
 last universal publication of the gospel, to be made 
 as " A witness" to all nations. This, it appears, 
 is intended rather for the conviction than the conver- 
 sion of the icorld at large, for he who saith to his 
 disciples " Occupy till J come, hath put also this 
 practical question concerning mankind in general, 
 When the Son of man cometh shall he find faith on 
 the earth • 
 
 THE END. 
 
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