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ABUIEL'S ESSAYS 
 
 ADVENT AND KINGDOM 
 OF CHRIST, 
 
 AND THE EVENTS CONNECTED THEREWITH. 
 
 ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE INVESTIGATOR, AND NOW REVISED 
 AND CONSIDERABLY ENLARGED, 
 
 J.Vr, 3y-.-rLf 
 
 LONDON: 
 
 SIMPKIN & MARSHALL ; NISBET ; 
 
 SEELEY & SONS; HATCHARD & SONS; BURNE. 
 
 LEEDS— W. E. SOMERSCALE. 
 
 RETFORD— T. TURVEY. 
 
 1834. 
 
Digitized by the Internet Archive 
 
 in 2011 with funding from 
 
 Princeton Theological Seminary Library 
 
 http://www.archive.org/details/abdielsessaysonaOObroo 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 Essay. Page, 
 
 i. Introduction 1 
 
 II. The Second Advent 15 
 
 III. The Kingdom of Christ 25 
 
 IV. The Place of Manifestation 41 
 
 V. The Participation of the Saints 57 
 
 VI. The First Resurrection 64 
 
 VII. The Judgement 77 
 
 VIII. The State of Separate Spirits 93 
 
 IX. The Resurrection State 102 
 
 X. Our Lord's Prophecy (Matt. xxiv. xxv.) 121 
 
 XI. Parable of the Ten Virgins 157 
 
 XII. Parable of the Talents 173 
 
 XIII. Parable of the Sheep and Goats 189 
 
 XIV. The Last Days (2 Tun. in. 1—5.) 201 
 
 XV. The Pre-miUennial Advent and New Dispensation. . . 245 
 
ON THE ADVENT AND KINGDOxM OF CHRIST, 
 AND THE EVENTS CONNECTED THEREWITH. 
 
 Essay I. 
 
 INTRODUCTORY. 
 
 I enter on the present discussion with somewhat mingled 
 feelings. Looking at my subject, I have a pleasing confi- 
 dence, that my heart is inditing a good matter ; since I am 
 about to write of the things that are made touching the 
 King : but when I consider, on the other hand, (what it were 
 disingenuous to conceal,) that there are excellent and learned 
 men, followers of the Lord Jesus, who are decidedly opposed 
 to the views which I have adopted, I cannot but be diffident 
 in myself ; and am led, with increased conviction of its need, 
 to seek the teaching of the Holy Spirit. Not however that I 
 would for a moment give place to the notion, entertained by 
 some, that because there are eminent ministers of the Gospel, 
 who have not cordially embraced these views, therefore they 
 cannot be important, nor even true : the case of Peter and 
 Barnabas in respect to the circumcision of the Gentiles, s- in 
 which was involved the vital doctrine of justification by faith, 
 plainly shews, that men of the highest attainments in piety, 
 who have been pillars in the Church, and ordinarily under the 
 influence of inspiration, have nevertheless been slow of heart 
 in regard to truths of infinite moment. 
 
 These circumstances however move me to commence this 
 series of essays, with the notice of two or three serious objec- 
 tions, directed against the subject in general. Other objec- 
 tions, which aflfect particular points only, I shall endeavour to 
 meet as those points come to be considered ; but these, I 
 repeat, affect the whole subject, and are of that character, 
 that, if the mind be under their influence, it will be predisposed 
 against the clearest and most scriptural statements, and thus 
 prevented from properly weighing any thing which may be 
 advanced. 
 
 a Gal. II. 10— IG. 
 No. I. B 
 
I. The questionable propriety of studying and of discussing 
 
 prophecy, especially unfulfilled prophecy, is one of those objec- 
 tions, which must be met in the outset. "*" It chiefly consists in 
 the alleged impossibility of understanding or judging of a pro- 
 phecy, until the event has proved its meaning. But how con- 
 trary is this to the experience of the Church ! Promise, the 
 greater portion of which is unfulfilled prophecy, is declared in 
 the New Testament to be a principal means whereby we are 
 made partakers of the Divine Nature ;b which could not be, 
 were it entirely vague and indefinable : and under the Old 
 Testament dispensation, the Church was chiefly sustained and 
 nourished by prophecy ; most of the burning and shining lights 
 raised up in it behig prophets. The very first promise, that 
 the seed of the woman should bruise the head of the serpent, 
 was an unfulfilled prophecy, to which the Church took heed 
 for 4000 years. Noah prepared his ark, moved by the fear of 
 an unfulfilled prophecy or promise ; and Abraham saw afar 
 off and rejoiced in the day of Christ by means of another. 
 Joseph would not have directed his bones to be removed, had 
 he not depended on prophecy for the going out of his people : 
 to which prophecy the Lord afterwards referred Moses and 
 Aaron, as the pledge, that he would redeem them. The Is- 
 raelites were encouraged to labour for their deliverance from 
 captivity, by the prophecy concerning it : for as Jeremiah had 
 prayed for and obtained an understanding of the restoration of 
 his people, when they were about to be led into captivity ;c 
 so Daniel understood the times from the study of the writings 
 of Jeremiah ;d just as the faithful were afterwards waiting for 
 the Consolation of Israel from the study (as is presumed) of 
 the book of Daniel. It was through attention to unfulfilled 
 prophecy, that the christians left Jerusalem and escaped to 
 the mountain, when the city was beseiged by the Romans : 
 and the Lord hath, equally for our admonition, foretold the 
 signs of that greater destruction, of which the overthrow of 
 Jerusalem was but a type. 
 
 I am aware that there are difficulties attending the inter- 
 pretation of the prophecies ; and that, although some are to 
 
 * The notice of this first objection was waived by me in the first 
 number of my papers which appeared in the Investigator, because 
 it was taken up in the Editorial article ; and it is now copied nearly 
 verbatim from that article. 
 
 b 2 Pet. I. 4. ^ Jer. xxxii. 16—25, 36—44. d Dan. ix. 2. 
 
be literally understood, many are figurative or allegorical, 
 whilst others are constructed of the literal and figurative in- 
 termixed : but of those which are not declared to be sealed up, 
 the difficulty has chiefly arisen from the extravagant practice 
 of spiritualizing or allegorizing all passages which relate to 
 the future. And great is the advantage which this system 
 has given to the enemies of Revelation. They tell us that 
 Scripture is not a proper guide, because every man hath his 
 own interpretation — his own way of explaining or accom- 
 modating it. The imaginations of commentators, or the sen- 
 timents of friends, have too frequently been made the key to 
 modern expositions ; whilst the plain text, which is the safest 
 guide, has been neglected. 
 
 The apostles are often brought forward, as an instance of 
 men who erred in regard to the proper understanding of those 
 prophecies, which related to the first advent ; and from their 
 mistakes the impossibility of any being able to understand 
 what is foretold of the second advent is confidently insisted on. 
 But I am of opinion that this circumstance is commonly mis- 
 stated and still more misapplied. I cannot think the apos- 
 tles and first disciples misunderstood the general scope of the 
 prophecies, which led them to expect at that time a manifes- 
 tation of the kingdom of Christ on earth ; though they might 
 have had much confusion and obscurity in regard to the tirney 
 and details, and nature of that kingdom. The fault of the 
 apostles was, that — though repeatedly warned, that there were 
 other prophecies, which shewed that Messiah must first suffer 
 — they overlooked these, and suflFered their attention to be ab- 
 sorbed with one class of predictions only. What was there 
 to have prevented them from comprehending such prophecies 
 as the following : viz. — that Jesus should be born of a virgin ; 
 — that he should ride upon an ass ; — that he should be be- 
 trayed by one of his followers ; — that they should pierce his 
 hands and his feet ; — that they should part his garments and 
 cast lots for his vesture ; — that he should be numbered with 
 transgressors ; and many other things, which being plainly 
 foretold were literally fulfilled } The sharp rebukes of Jesus, 
 because the disciples did not understand that he ought to have 
 suffered these things, and because they were " slow of heart 
 to believe all that the prophets had written," appear incon- 
 sistent, if they really could notliave been understood. Indeed 
 the whole Sanhedrim, ungodly and darkened as they were. 
 
did nevertheless answer Herod most correctly from the pro- 
 phets, that Christ should be born at Bethlehem : and it seems 
 difficult to give a satisfactory reason therefore, why lue may 
 not previously derive some knowledge of circumstances which 
 will attend the second advent ; seeing that they are spoken of 
 in Scripture, apparently as free from any figurative structure 
 as the passages already quoted. If the apostles erred, we 
 ha,ve at least the benefit of their example : which is un- 
 doubtedly recorded, — not to lead us to conclude, that we 
 must inevitably mistake likewise ; but that we may profit by 
 their errors and avoid them. There is another series of pro- 
 phecies, relating to God's dealings with the Jews, which are 
 applicable to the question before us ; and which would lead 
 to the conclusion, that one eminent use of fulfilled prophecy 
 is, to argue from it as certain and literal an accomplishment 
 of 2/«fulfilled : provided, as we are throughout assuming, that 
 the evident structure of it be not allegorical or emblematical. 
 How remarkably, for example, has icrath fallen upon the Jews, 
 without one jot or tittle having failed ! They are sifted 
 among the nations ; they are become a by- word, a hiss, a pro- 
 verb, a reproach ; they abide without a prince, an altar, a 
 sacrifice ; not to mention other peculiar sufterings which they 
 endured of old time. Now Joshua lays it do^Mi as a rule, 
 " that as not one thing had failed of all the good things which 
 ' the Lord had spoken concerning them ; but all had come to 
 
 • pass : so therefore would the Lord bring upon them all the 
 
 * evil things." Seeing then that the evil has now been 
 brought to pass, and not one thing has failed of that ; by what 
 rule, (it may be asked,) upon Avhat consistent principle, can 
 any man venture to sa3^ that the promises of that good, now 
 again to succeed, is only a figure ; and that we are not jus- 
 tified in expecting a literal fulfilment }^ 
 
 I do not deny that thei'e are difficulties attending the ex- 
 position of prophecy ; and that, if this be true in regard to 
 the events predicted, it is more extensively the case with re- 
 gard to times and dates. As respects the day, or even the 
 year of an event, I am quite persuaded, that God has pur- 
 posely obscured it. But our Lord would not therefore have 
 us indifterent and careless, either to the event or the period of 
 its fulfilment ; but, on the very ground that we know not the 
 
 e Compare Josh, xxiii. 14, 15, andJer. xxxii. 42 — 44. 
 
hour, He commands us to zf«/cZt.^ And though the ^/wy can- 
 not be known, something of the si(/ns of its approach may be 
 ascertained, with sufficient correctness for us to be assured 
 " that the time of our redemption draweth nigh." St. Paul 
 assumes of the Thessalonians, that they had so much of ac- 
 quaintance with " the times and the seasons," as to supersede 
 the necessity of writing to them on that subject ;g insomuch, 
 that, though the day of the Lord would come upon the iroi^Id 
 as a thief in the night, it would not overtake the7n in like man- 
 ner. The Scriptures teach us that there are prophec^ies, which 
 were not intended to be known by the christians of former 
 ages, which nevertheless will be known by that generation 
 for whom they are written ; of which Psalm cii. 18 ; Daniel 
 XII. 4 and 9 ; and 1 Peter i. 10 — 12 are remarkable instances. 
 Let us bear in remembrance therefore, that it is declared to 
 be one of the special offices of the Holy Spirit, " to guide us 
 into all truth, and to shoiu ns things to come "^ and that the 
 prophets, who prophesied of the sufferings and glory of Christ, 
 did themselves " inquire and search diligently" concerning it, 
 — searching," even when the words w^ere scarce uttered by 
 them, " what, or what maxner of time the Spirit of Christ 
 which was in them did signify. i On the other hand there 
 were men who neglected the prophets, and were rebuked by 
 our Saviour because they knew not the signs of the times ;J 
 and the burden of his lamentation over Jerusalem was, that 
 they knew not the time of their visitation. ^ 
 ^ II. The second objection I shall notice is, that the doctrines 
 of modern millennarians are a novelty ; — that they were not 
 entertained by the early christians, nor inserted by the ortho- 
 dox Church in any creed or confession of faith. 
 
 Now in regard to the christians of the two first centuries, 
 there is not a solitary instance of any one of them contradict- 
 ing the doctrine : all of those, whose works are extant, (un- 
 less they be some small fragments to be found in other au- 
 thors,) explicitly teach it.* And it should also be observed, 
 that the doctrine does not rest upon the judgment or discern- 
 ment of those men, but upon their veracity ; for some of them 
 
 * I refer for ample quotations on this subject to The Resurrection Re- 
 vealed, by Dr. Homes, first published in 1654, and now reprinted by the 
 Editor of the Investigator. 
 
 f Matt. XXIV. 36—42, g 1 Thess. v. 1—4. h John xvi. 13. 
 i 1 Peter i. 10, 11. J Matt. xvi. 3. k Luke xix. 44. 
 
profess to have received these things direct from the apostles. 
 Justyn Maityr lived before John the apostle died ; and Ire- 
 naeus was the hearer of Polycarp, the disciple of John. This 
 Irenceus, in his second book against heresies, clearly maintains 
 the doctrine ; and the reason of his noticing the subject in his 
 work on heresies was, that none denied the doctrine but here- 
 tics, who altogether denied the resurrection, and held that the 
 God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob was not the Father of our 
 Lord Jesus Christ. But I have less need to insist upon this 
 point, because the chief of the modern opponents of these 
 views has himself admitted, though indirectly, that all the 
 fathers of the two first centuries maintained them*. 
 
 In the third century Xepos wrote a book against the Alle- 
 gorical Expositors, or those who explained the promises re- 
 lating to the Millennium figuratively. 1 For Origen had now 
 introduced that vicious system of spiritualizing the Scriptures, 
 by which he drew over many to his views, who were perhaps 
 disgusted at the preposterous things which some carnal men 
 had added to this doctrine. t Dionysius, a disciple of Origen, 
 perceiving that the views of Xepos overthrew the principle 
 of his master's expositions, endeavoured to refute them ; in 
 doing which he was led openly to deny the canonical autho- 
 rity of the Apocalypse, because the testimony of that book 
 stood in his way ! Mosheim in his History of the Church 
 admits, " that long before this controversy, an opinion had 
 ' prevailed, that Christ was to come and reign a thousand 
 * years among men, before the entire and final dissolution 
 
 * See Dr. Hamilton's work against the Millennarians, page 308. 
 The Doctor says indeed, that the principles of ]Millennarianism were 
 opposed and rejected by almost every Father of the church rcith the 
 exception of Barnabas, Clement, Papias, Justyn Martyr, Irenseus, 
 Nepos, Apollinarius, Lactantius, and Tertullian 1 — That is, with the 
 exception of all the Fathers whom he knows of before Origen, and some 
 who were contemporary and subsequent to Origen \ He prefers the Fa- 
 thers of /fl/er date, because " their learning and talents far surpassed 
 any in the first centuries of the church." — That is to say, the further 
 from the fovmtain, the more pure he considers the waters ! 
 
 t For proof that eminent christian writers always held the system of 
 interpretation adopted by Origen to be most pernicious, see Luther, 
 Annotationes in Deuteronomium, cap. i. fo. 55 ; Mosheim, Ch. Hist, 
 cent. Ill, pt. II, sect, o, 6* ; Milner Ch. Hist. Vol. I. p. 469. Extracts 
 may be found at length in the Investigator, Vol. II. p. 202. 
 
 1 Eusebii Hist. lib. vii. cap. 21. 
 
' of this world ;" — that this opinion " had hitherto" (i. e. up 
 
 * to the middle of the third century) " met with no opposi- 
 *tion;" — and that now " its credit becan to decline princi- 
 
 * pally through the influence and authority of Origen, who 
 
 * opposed it with the greatest warmth, because it was incom- 
 
 * patible with some of his favourite sentiments." Vol. I. p. 284. 
 
 One might conclude, from the remainder of Mosheim's ac- 
 count, that Dionysius was completely successful in overthrow- 
 ing this doctrine ;* but we have unquestionable proof that the 
 Millennarians still formed the greater part of the Church till 
 the latter end of the fourth century. For in the year 325 sat 
 the Nicene council, attended by all the bishops in Christen- 
 dom, and drew up the form which is now used in the commu- 
 nion service of the established church, called the Nicene creed. 
 The last clause of this creed is as follows : "I look for the 
 resurrection of the dead and the life of the world to come ;" 
 which the council thus expounds. — " The world was made in- 
 ' ferior (fj.LKporepoc) because of foreknowledge : for God fore- 
 
 * knew that man would sin. Therefore we expect new heavens 
 
 * and a new earth according to the holy Scriptures ; the Epi- 
 ' phany and Kingdom of the great God and our Saviour Jesus 
 
 * Christ then appearing. And as Daniel says (chap. vii. 18) 
 
 * the saints of the Most High shall take the kingdom. And 
 ' there shall be a pure and holy land, the land of the living 
 
 * and not of the dead : which David foreseeing with the eye 
 ' of faith, exclaims, I believe to see the goodness of the Lord 
 
 * in the land of the living — the land of the meek and humble. 
 
 * Blessed, saith Christ, (Matt. v. 5,) are the meek, for they 
 
 * shall inherit the earth. And the prophet saith, (Isa. xxvi. 
 ' 6,) The feet of the meek and humble shall tread upon it."t 
 Later even than this period Jerome (who was no friend to the 
 doctrine, but the contrary) admits, " that many christians and 
 
 * martyrs had affirmed the things which he denied ; and that 
 
 * a great multitude of christians agreed in them in his own 
 
 * day : so that though he did not follow them, he could not 
 ' condemn them." 
 
 * The terms ** learned and judicious^^ applied to the publications of 
 Dionysius on this subject in the English translation of his History, are 
 not in the original Latin, but are foisted in, (as many other things are 
 most unwarrantably,) by the Translator. 
 
 t See the forms of the Ecclesiastical Doctrines in the Hist. Act. Con. 
 Nic. Gelasii Cyzioeni. 
 
8 
 
 The conversion of Constantine, and the protection which he 
 gave to Christianity, appears to have tended the most to ren- 
 der this doctrine unpopular. Home had been considered by 
 christians as the seat of antichrist and destined to destruction. 
 Lactantius, v.'ho lived in the time of Constantine, in his Book 
 on the Divine Institutes, says, — " The Roman authority, by 
 ' which now the world is governed, (my soul dreads to speak 
 ' it — ^but it will speak it, because it shall come to pass,) shall 
 
 * be taken from the earth, and the empire shall return into 
 ' Asia, and again the East shall rule and the West obey."i^ 
 This opinion was now therefore by timid and temporizing 
 persons suppressed, or explained away after Origen's manner. 
 Eusebius, (who also questions the Apocalypse,) proceeds so 
 far as to make Rome the Neic Jerusalem, because Constantine 
 turned the temples into christian churches. ii And the popes 
 in after ages discountenanced the doctrine, as militating 
 against their usurpation and dogma, that the Millennium com- 
 menced with Romish domination in the Church. 
 
 Thus the doctrine was thrown into the back- ground until 
 the time of the Reformation, when it was again revived ; but 
 owing to the fanatical turbulence of the Anabaptists on the 
 continent, and the fifth-monarchy men in this country, it again 
 fell so much into disrepute, that many timidly kept it out of 
 view, until succeeding generations lost sight of it. In the 
 meanwhile however the doctrine was by no means generally 
 denied : many eminent men were raised up from time to time 
 who advocated these truths in the established church ; and 
 the dissenters still continued to hold it so generally, that at 
 last to broach these opinions exposed a man to the imputation 
 of being a dissenter. 
 
 And to show that these opinions were entertained by chief 
 persons in the Church, and generally taught at the time of the 
 Reformation, I shall finally bring forward two extracts from 
 the Catechism drawn up by the prelates in the time of Edward 
 VI, and authorized by that king in the last year of his reign, o 
 
 " Q. How is that petition. Thy kingdom come, to be under- 
 stood ?" 
 
 " Ans. We ask that his kingdom may come, for that as 
 ' yet we see not all things subject to Christ : we see not yet 
 
 * how the stone is cut out of the mountain without human 
 
 m Book VII. c. 15. n Eocl. Hist. Vol. III. p. 24. o 20th May, 155.3. 
 
9 
 
 * help, Avhicli breaks into pieces and reduceth to nothing the 
 
 * image described by Daniel : or how the only rock, which is 
 ' Christ, dotli possess and obtain the empire of the whole 
 
 * w^orld given him of the Father. As yet Antichrist is not 
 
 * slain ; whence it is that we desire and pray, that at length 
 ' it may come to pass and be fulfilled ; and that Christ alone 
 
 * may reign with his saints according to the di\dne promises ; 
 ' and that he may live and have dominion in the world, ac- 
 
 * cording to the decrees of the holy Gospel, and not according 
 
 * to the traditions and laws of men and the wills of the tyrants 
 ' of the world." 
 
 " Q. God grant that his kingdom may come most speedily, 
 
 <X ^ :}; * ^ ^ ;K * 
 
 " Q. The sacred Scripture calls the end of the world the 
 
 * consummation and perfection of the mystery of Christ, and 
 ' the renovation of all things : for thus the Apostle Peter 
 ' speaks in his 2d Epistle chap, iii, — ' We expect new heavens 
 
 * and a new earth according to God's promise, wherein dwell- 
 ' eth righteousness.' And it seems agreeable to reason, that 
 ' the corruption, mutability, and sin, to which the whole 
 
 * world is subject, should at least cease. Now by what means 
 
 * or ways of circumstances, those things shall be brought to 
 ' pass, I desire to know of thee ? 
 
 " Afis. I will declare as w^ell as I can, the same Apostle 
 ' attesting. The heavens in the manner of a stormy tempest 
 ' shall pass away, and the elements estuating shall be dissolved,. 
 ' and the earth and the works therein shall be burnt. As if 
 
 * the Apostle should say, the world, like as we see in the re- 
 ' fining of gold, shall be wholly purged with fire, and shall be 
 ' brought to its utmost perfection ; which the little world, 
 ' man, imitating, it shall likewise be freed from corruption 
 ' and change. And so for man's sake, for whose use the great 
 ' world was created, being at length renovated or made new, 
 ' it shall put on a face that shall be far more pleasant and 
 
 * beautiful." 
 
 When I first advanced these things in the Investigator, my 
 assertion that the doctrine of the personal reign was revived 
 at the Reformation, and held by some of the principal di\dne3 
 of that period, was presently attacked in that work by a writer 
 under the signature of P. R. who particularly quoted against 
 me bishop Latimer's Sermons on the Lord's Prayer. This cir- 
 cumstance has rendered it needful, in order to prevent misap- 
 
 c 
 
10 
 
 prehension, that I should explain, — that so far as the mere cir- 
 cumstance of the tJwusand years is concerned, the orthodox 
 reformers disclaimed it, and were evidently alarmed at the term 
 Chiliast or Millennarian, owing to the disrepute hrought upon 
 the name by the conduct of the Anabaptists of Germany. 
 Following, therefore, Jerome and Eusebius, they supposed 
 that what we call the Millennium commenced with Constan- 
 tine. Thus the more avowed antagonists who afterwards 
 sprung up, taking it from Grotius, referred to this period the 
 binding of Satan and the reign of the saints : and this, not- 
 mthstanding the apostasy of Julian and the Arian and Popish 
 persecutions (so foreign to the notion of a Millennium) came 
 within those thousand years ! Prideaux and Whitby try with 
 all their might to reconcile these things witli the circumstance 
 of Satan being nevertheless bound in the bottomless pit ! In 
 this respect the doctrine has made a great and decided advance 
 of late years ; since modern opponents do now hold the thou- 
 sand years or Millennium to be future. But mark the effect 
 of this error upon the views of such men as Latimer, Bradford 
 and others ; for it is important as a clew to their real senti- 
 ments on this question. They held that the world would only 
 last six thousand years ; (taking no notice of the seventh thou- 
 sand ;) and that the final Restitution, the Advent of Christ, the 
 manifestation of the Kingdom, and the Judgment, were all to 
 take place at the end of that 6000 years. So that they were 
 in fact looking for the coming of the Lord Jesus at that very 
 period of time, at which the millennarians of the present day 
 expect him. Observe how remarkably this appears in the fol- 
 lowing extracts from Latimer's third sermon on the Lord's 
 prayer. Having spoken of a Parliament different from the 
 parliaments of this world, to come at the last day ; — " a par- 
 liament in which Christ will bear the rule and not men ;" — 
 " which the righteous pray for when they say ' Thy Kingdom 
 come,' because they know that therein reformations of all 
 things shall be had ;" — he presently after has these words : — 
 " Let us therefore have a desire that this day may come 
 ' quickly ; let us hasten God forward ; let us cry unto him 
 ' day and night, ' Most merciful Father, thy Kingdom come.* 
 ' St. Paul saith, * The Lord will not come till the swerving 
 ' from faith cometh ;' (2 Thess. ii. 3,) which thing is already 
 * done and past : Antichrist is known throughout all the world. 
 ' Wherefore the day is not far of. Let us beware, for it will 
 
11 
 
 ' one day fall upon our heads. St. Peter saitli, ' The end of 
 
 * all things draweth very near.' St. Peter said so at his time : 
 
 * how much more shall we say so ? For it is a long time 
 
 * since St Peter spake these words. The world was ordained 
 
 * to endure (as all learned men affirm and prove it with Scrip- 
 ' ture) six thousand years. Now of that number there be 
 
 * passed 5552 years, so that there is no more left but 448. 
 
 * And furthermore those days shall be shortened : it shall not 
 
 * be full six thousand years : * the days shall be shortened for 
 ' the elect's sake.' Tlierefore all those learned men, which 
 
 * without doubt God hath sent into this world in these latter 
 
 * days to give the world warning, all those men do gather out 
 
 * of Scripture, that the last day cannot be far off.""^ 
 
 I cannot forbear giving a few brief and scattered extracts 
 from his sermons for the second Sunday in Advent. Having 
 observ^ed again, that the days before the Advent will be short- 
 ened, " so that peradventure (saith he) it may come in my days, 
 
 * old as I am, or in our children's days ;" he goes on : " There 
 
 * will be great alterations at that day ; there will be hurly 
 ' burly, like as ye see when a man dieth, &c. There will be 
 ' such alterations of the earth and the elements, they will lose 
 
 * their former nature and be endued with another nature. And 
 ' then shall they see the Son of Man come in a cloud A\dth 
 ' power and great glory. Certain it is that he shall come to 
 
 * judge ; but we cannot tell the time when he will come." 
 Then quoting 1 Thess. iv. to show that the living saints 
 " shall be rapt up into the air and so meet Christ our Saviour," 
 he adds ; " all those, I say, who be content to strive and fight 
 
 * with sin ; these shall in such wise be taken up into the air 
 
 * and meet with Christ, and so shall come dotvn with him 
 ' again," — " I pray God, that we may be of the number of 
 
 * those, which shall hear this joyful and most comfortable 
 ' voice of Christ our Saviour when he will say, Come, ye 
 ' blessed of my Father, possess the kingdom which is pre- 
 ' pared for you before the foundation of the world was laid." — 
 *' That man or that woman that saith these words ' thy king- 
 ' dom come,' with a faithful heart, no doubt desireth in very 
 ' deed that God will co?7ie to judgement, and amend all things 
 
 * The Editor of a recent edition of Latimer's Sermons, Dr. Watkins, 
 says in a note on this opinion of the world's duration for six thousand 
 years only — *' At the time of the Reformation this notion tvas very pre- 
 valent J" 
 
12 
 
 ' in THIS WORLD, to pull down Satan that old serpent under 
 * our feet."* 
 
 III. The last objection to which I shall reply is, that al- 
 though it may be admitted, that the doctrine is scriptural, it 
 is not of a practical character, and therefore not profitable or 
 to edification. 
 
 The first point to be determined, in order to refute this ob- 
 jection, is — In what does a satisfactory proof of the practical 
 tendency of the doctrine consist. If I appeal to my own per- 
 sonal experience of its salutary influence, or to its stirring and 
 edifying eflPects upon others, (either of which I can most con- 
 scientiously declare,) there would not I fear be that confidence 
 in the mmds of many, as regards the integrity of the proof, 
 which is essential to conviction. The most proper and unex- 
 ceptionable mode is to turn to the Scriptures and to notice, 
 what practical use the writers of the Bible, and of the New 
 Testament especially, make of the subject. This it is my in- 
 tention to perform, if God will, as I proceed to bring forward 
 and support from Scripture the doctrine itself : until which 
 even this mode would not be satisfactory ; because some of 
 the testimonies, which I shall hereafter adduce, might not at 
 present be considered to the point. As regards therefore this 
 one particular mode of considering the objection, I shall only 
 premise, that I fearlessly challenge the production of a greater 
 number of independent passages, practically applying any 
 other Scripture doctrine or connected series of doctrines, than 
 I can bring forward in behalf of those in question ; and that 
 if we are to judge of them by the frequency with which they 
 are made the ground of exhortation, or by the variety of duties 
 or graces which they specially call into exercise, they must be 
 deemed among the most practical and highly important truths 
 in the Bible. But I must for the present entreat the patience 
 of the Reader. 
 
 In the mean while I do not think the objection, — that a 
 doctrine (admitted to be scriptural) is not profitable, — at all 
 consistent, nor fit to be advanced by persons professing to re- 
 ceive the Scriptures as divinely inspired : and I must here 
 therefore beg to submit four short obsers'ations, for the candid 
 consideration of the Reader. 
 
 * The Reader who desires to see Millennarian Doctrine traced from 
 the Reformation downward, may consult the whole of the article in reply 
 to P. R. Investigator, Vol, I. p. 163. 
 
13 
 
 1. First, it is plainly ^\Titten, that " all Scripture is given 
 by inspiration of God and is profitable &c."P It is affronting 
 to the Deity to suppose, that he would reveal anything to the 
 Church, which is not calculated to edify it ; or vrhich indivi- 
 dual members of it may wilfully neglect, without great damage 
 to their souls. Some points are indeed more prominent than 
 others ; and there are some also, which we may justly call 
 " fivit principles of the doctrine of Christ :"q but because I 
 acknowledge the foundation stone to be that on which a build- 
 ing rests, can I therefore safely wrench a principal stone or 
 timber from the breast work of that building ? The doctrines 
 of Scripture are so essential to each other, that, if one be re- 
 moved, some other loses its utility also. For example, John 
 the Baptist preaches the necessity of repentance, that we may 
 flee from the wrath to come J No one will deny repentance 
 to be a fundamental : but make men indifferent in regard to 
 the ^v^ath to come, (which is prophetic, and on which John 
 grounds his call to repentance,) and you remove from multi- 
 tudes the most powerful motive to it.* Another class of per- 
 sons is perhaps led to repentance by a view of the goodness 
 of God : s so that it is impossible for any man to say, what 
 may be profitable or not, or what most profitable, to others ; 
 nor indeed how far the cordial reception of a truth may con- 
 duce to the salvation of his own soul. 
 
 2. Secondly, I observe, that, presuming the millennarian 
 doctrines to be scriptural, that system which deprives them of 
 the degree of importance, (whatsoever it may be,) wliich the 
 Word of God hath assigned to them, must be so far wrong : 
 and whatsoever is wrong in doctrine must be to that extent 
 mischievous in practice, however plausible. It may be that 
 individuals are notwithstanding saved : but its pernicious ef- 
 
 * I call repentance here fundamental in reference to Heb. vi. 1, 2 
 where it is applied together with the resurrection and eternal judgment 
 as among the incipient essentials of Christianity ; but as far as its rela 
 tive importance when compared with the wrath to come is considered 
 if we keep strictly to figurative propriety, that on which the call to re 
 pentance is grounded is rather of the two the fundamental doctrine ; and 
 according therefore to metaphorical consistency, the revelation, that 
 there is wrath to come, supersedes in importance the call to repentance 
 and fruits meet for it, 
 
 P 2 Tim. III. 16. q Heb. vi. 1 ' L\;ke in. 7, 8. s Rom. ii. 4. 
 
14 
 
 fects upon the generality of hearers, and to a great degree 
 upon real believers, are nevertheless incalculable. 
 
 3. Tliirdly, I notice, that men cannot, from the veiy nature 
 of the thing, judge of the practical tendency of a doctrine, 
 until they have first embraced it and experienced its power. 
 Till then they either regard it with indifference, or they de- 
 cidedly oppose it as dangerous and liable to abuse. Many, 
 for example, conceive the doctrine of justification by faith 
 without the works of the law to be unfavourable to holiness ; 
 and that the preferable course is, to keep it in the back-ground 
 and insist on the moral duties. And many imagine again, 
 that to preach the need of the Spirit's aid for every good 
 thought and word and work, is calculated to paralyze the ex- 
 ertions of men, and to deaden the motives to personal dili- 
 gence. And how much greater a number of professors cannot 
 conceive of the doctrine of election, " that it is full of sweet 
 comfort to godly persons ;" — " that it doth greatly establish 
 and confirm the faith of eternal salvation;" — and " that it 
 doth fervently kindle their love towards God/' Yet many, I 
 am persuaded, of those, who object to the doctrines of the 
 Millennium, because they cannot see their practical use, would 
 deny to the last the reasonableness of objecting to those other 
 doctrines on the same ground. 
 
 4. Lastly, I would earnestly caution my christian brethren 
 to pause before they take up this objection : for I cannot but 
 consider it to be among the symptoms of that leaven of i?iji- 
 delity, which prevails among so many professors in these awful 
 days, that the practical use of a scripture doctrine is by many 
 demanded, before they will seriously entertain it. It is thus 
 that the authority of Scripture is first degraded and then un- 
 dermined. Men do not recognise that cliief and aU important 
 feature of the Bible, — :that it is not the word of men, but the 
 Word of God. I am sure that all who love the Lord Jesus 
 in sincerity would be horrified at the thought of turning away 
 from his personal instruction, and telling him to his face that 
 his sayings were hard or unprofitable : and yet, when men 
 deliberately make light of portions of his acknowledged Word, 
 or consider themselves entitled to neglect it, they do in effect 
 " turn away from him thr.t speaketh from heaven ;" and they 
 betray that their minds are not brought into that implicit sub- 
 jection to divine truth, which they profess. 
 
 Abdiel. 
 
15 
 
 Essay 11. 
 
 ON THE SECOND ADVENT. 
 
 It happens, in regard to some of the more important sub- 
 jects of prophecy, (at least it has been my own case,) that we 
 have not so much to learn as to w;?learn. The traditions of 
 men have, in some respects, rendered void the Word of God : 
 and it may be useful, if I previously endeavour to show, in 
 respect to one important doctrine, how much at variance the 
 opinions of many christians are with the mind of the Spirit. 
 I advert to the Second Advent of the Lord Jesus -^dth his 
 saints ; which, instead of occupying the place assigned to it 
 by the New Testament, has been superseded by an unscrip- 
 tural mode of calHng upon sinners to repent because death is 
 at hand ; and exhorting believers with a promise of entering 
 into their glory immediately after their decease. 
 
 If the Reader will suspend his judgment, until I have gone 
 through the whole series of essays which I am now bringing 
 before him, he w^ll find, that I do most unresen'edly entertain 
 the opinion, that the souls of behevers do, immediately after 
 death, enjoy a blessed and a conscious rest -, and that they do 
 visibly behold the Lord : but this is not the great promise of 
 the Scriptures ; — this is not the glory which the New Testa- 
 ment holds up to believers. That glory (whether it refer to 
 their throne, their crown, their inheritance, their degree, or 
 their incorruptible body) is invariahly deferred by the apostles 
 until the coming of the Lord. I know not of one Scripture, 
 which clearly and directly speaks of the believer, as entering 
 into his glory, or partaking of the promise, at death. 
 
 Neither do I mean to assert, that christians generally deny 
 the Advent, Pvesurrection, &c. Distinct admissions of it may 
 be found in most writers ; and a deferring also of what they 
 call the complete reward and glory, until the period of the 
 resurrection. "V^Tiat I mean to insist on is, that christians, 
 in their ordinary expositions and discourse, make these truths 
 subordinate, and the intermediate prospect of death pre-emi- 
 nent • whereas the Scriptures make the advent and resurrec- 
 tion principal features, and death is only mentioned incident- 
 ally. 
 
16 
 
 But to the proof : let us begin with St. Paul, In 1 Corin- 
 thians XV. he labours to show, that, if there be no resurrection 
 hereafter, our faith is vain. But what force would there be 
 in such an argument as this, if the believer entered into his 
 reward at death t What need should we have, in such case, 
 to trouble our heads about a future resurrection ? Alas ! it is 
 wonderful to think how little practical influence this doctrine 
 really has with the majority of professors ! The thoughts of 
 it does not give them one atom more of power, nor supply to 
 them one additional motive, to mortify their sinful lusts : a 
 plain proof to me that it cannot be believed ivith the heart. 
 
 Let us take another passage. I have preferred that in Co- 
 rinthians, just considered, because it is plain and explicit."^ 
 The object of the Apostle was to show them the mystery of 
 the resurrection ; and therefore I must suppose that he ex- 
 pounds it in as plain and literal a manner as possible. And 
 we may hope for equal distinctness in the fourth chapter of 
 the Epistle to the Thessalonians, for here he expressly in- 
 structs the disciples in regard to the state of those, who are 
 dead in Christ ; declaring, that he would not have them igno- 
 rant concerning them, and thus sorrow for their departure, as 
 those persons sorrow who never hope to see their dead again. 
 Does he then comfort them with the assurance, that they are 
 now in glory ? Does he even say any thing about the living 
 
 * A respectable writer has disparaged the importance of the second 
 advent, on the ground that St. Paul, when writing to the Corinthians, 
 determined to know nothing but Jesus Christ, and him crucified ; leav- 
 ing us to infer, that the mere circumstance of the crucifixion, and the 
 doctrine of the atonement, were all which he resolved to bring forward 
 among them. It is not a little remarkable, that in this very Epistle he 
 praises these same Corinthians, " because they came behind in no gift, 
 tcaiting for the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ ;" (chap. i. 7 ;) — he 
 upbraids them for not remembering, " that the saints shall judge the 
 world ;" (chap. vi. 1, 2 ;) — and one whole chapter of it) one of the 
 longest in the Testament, chapter xv.) is devoted to an exposition of the 
 order and nature of the resurrection ; concerning which he says, that if 
 the dead are not to rise, then are they j)erished ! {v. 18.) These pas- 
 sages prove beyond a reasonable question, that much more is involved 
 in the preaching of a crucified Saviour, than the one single fact of the 
 death of Jesus : were we to keep to this only, we must exclude rege- 
 neration, sanctification, election, the judgement, and many other topics, 
 which (like the advent, and resurrection, and reign of the saints) though 
 intimately connected with the atonement, may, nevertheless, be dis- 
 tinguished from it. 
 
17 
 
 being presently with their departed friends in heaven ? Not 
 a word of the kind ! though surely this were the very oppor- 
 tunit}' for such consolation, were it God's will, that the hearts 
 of his people should be fixed on this truth. He gives them 
 to understand, that they shall see their friends again here, in 
 this world ; he reminds them that the resurrection of Jesus is 
 the pledge of theirs ; and that, when the Lord comes, he will 
 bring them icith him. " I would not have you ignorant, 
 ' brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow 
 
 * not even as others, which have no hope. For if we believe 
 ' that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which 
 
 * sleep in Jesus will God bring with him." — Then he goes on 
 to assure them, that the promises are not for those only, who 
 shall be alive at the coming of the Lord, but for the departed 
 saints as well : — that, when the lord shall descend from hea- 
 ven, the dead in Christ shall rise Jirst. 
 
 The same thing is stated in the same way by the other 
 apostles. St. James encourages not those to whom he writes 
 with the hope of their rev>'ard at death ; but exhorts them to 
 he patient until the coming of the Lord. a St. Peter also tells 
 his people : " when the chief Shepherd shall appear, ye shall 
 receive a crown of glory, that fadeth not away."^ So St. 
 John ; — " we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be 
 like him.c"* 
 
 a Jas. V. 7. b 1 Pet. v. 4. c i John in. 2. 
 
 * The personal hope of two of the apostles, constituting, in some mea- 
 sure, their experience in the immediate prospect of death, has been handed 
 down for us by the Holy Ghost. St. Paul says : " I am now ready to 
 ' be offered, and the time of my departure is at hand. I have fought a 
 ' good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith : hence- 
 
 * forth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, 
 
 * the righteous judge, shall give me at that day." (2 Tim. iv. 6—8.) 
 St. Peter, when admonished by the Lord, '* that he must shortly put off 
 his fleshly tabernacle," thinks it proper to write an Epistle to the faith- 
 ful, the whole burden of which is, to confirm them in the expectation, 
 that these present heavens and earth shaU be dissolved, as those in the 
 days of Noah were, and again be succeeded by new heavens and a new 
 earth ; — that he had followed no cunningly devised fable, when he made 
 known to them the power and coming of the Lord ; but had had a vi- 
 sible specimen of it, when he beheld the transfiguration on the Mount ; 
 — 'and that apostate men would arise in the last days, treating the pro- 
 mise of his coming with scoff. (See the Second Epistle of Peter through- 
 out.) He finally confirms all by the testimony of St. Paul, who, (he says,) 
 in all his Epistles makes mention of these things. 
 
 D 
 
IS 
 
 These things are consistent, and what we should expect, it 
 the great recompense were generally deferred till the second 
 appearing of Jesus Christ ; and if it were the prize chiefl}^ held 
 up to view. We shall in that case not only find it laid down 
 in the New Testament as a doctrine of the apostles ; but w^e 
 shall perceive the primitive church in general to be aiFected 
 with this view of the subject ; and either speaking, or spoken 
 of, as looking eagerly forward to such an event. There will 
 be other marks of grace discernible ; but this mark, at a time 
 when I am presuming their hopes to have been bound up in 
 the doctrine of Christ's second appearance, and not in the rest 
 entered into immediately after death, — this mark, I say, would 
 then be an essential one : the want of it would imply the 
 grossest ignorance of the prevailing tenets of the Church ; or 
 the grossest unbelief of those which were perceived. This 
 feature, however, pre-eminently marks the character of the 
 scripture saints, as I shall evince bv a few passages from the 
 Epistles of St. Paul. 
 
 In Romans the earnest expectation of the new creature is 
 said to be " icaiting for the manifestation of the sons of God — 
 groaning within itself and waiting for the redemption of the 
 body."^ In Corinthians, as we have seen, he thanks God, 
 " that they came behind in no gift ; waiting for the coming of 
 our Lord Jesus Christ. "^ And of the Thessalonians he says, 
 " that they turned from idols, to serve the living and the true 
 God, and to ic a it for his Son from heaven."^ To the Philip- 
 pians he thus speaks of himself and them : — " For our con- 
 versation is in heaven, from ichence also we look for the Saviour, 
 the Lord Jesus Christ."? Yea, in one passage, already in 
 part quoted, the Apostle so decidedly makes loving the appear- 
 ing of Christ a mark of grace, that he seems in a measure to 
 lij?iit the reward of righteousness to those only, who partake 
 of this desire : "A crown (saith he) which the Lord shall give 
 me at that day ; and not to me only ; but unto all them also 
 that love his appearing .""^ A text in the Epistle to the Hebrews 
 appears to make the same distinction and limitation : " Christ 
 was once offered to bear the sins of many ; and unto them that 
 look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto 
 salvation."! 
 
 We have much more to the same purport in the Epistles, 
 
 d Rom. VIII. 19, 23. e i Cor. 1.7. U Thess. i. 9, 10. g Chap- 
 III. 20. ^ 2 Tim. iv, 8. i Heb, ix. 28. 
 
19 
 
 especially in those of St. Paul, without insisting on numerous 
 passages in the Gospels. Whether the Apostle speaks of 
 himself, of his followers, or of both together, he still keeps 
 holding forth to their view the end of this present dispen- 
 sation ; and he treats of it, as though, in regard to the Church, 
 a succeeding generation might not be recognised. Is it to 
 himself he refers ? — His words are : "I know whom I have 
 believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which 
 I have committed unto him against that day."^ Is it them he 
 speaks of ? — " He which hath begun a good work in you will 
 perform it until the day of Jesus Christ."! Does he include 
 himself with them ? then he says ; " the dead shall be raised 
 incorruptible, and we shall be changed ; — ive, which are alive 
 and remain, shall be caught up together with them in the 
 clouds to meet the Lord in the air."i^ 
 
 The greatest and most ordinary objects of religious interest 
 and expectation are also deferred for their completion unto 
 this time. Is it grace ? — though given now ; still, as to its 
 consummation, " it is to be brought unto us at the revelation 
 of Jesus Christ. "n Is it rest ? — it is " when the Lord Jesus 
 shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels. "o Is it 
 salvation ? — in numerous instances it is described, " as ready 
 to be revealed in the last time."V " Finally, the Spirit and 
 the Bride [the universal Church and the Holy Ghost in her,] 
 say, COME. And let him that heareth say. Come," " He 
 which testifieth these things saith, surely I come quickly .-" 
 and one who was in the Spirit responds — " Amen, even so 
 come. Lord Jesus." Rev. xxii. 17, 20. 
 
 I shall now, by way of shewing the practical tendency of 
 the second Advent, and the consequent importance of this truth 
 to every christian who desires edification, bring forward some 
 of those testimonies, to which I adverted in the former paper, 
 when I pledged myself to show the use which the writers of 
 the New Testament make of it. 
 
 We have already seen, that they apply it, as the legitimate 
 source of consolation, to those who mourn for the dead ; " that 
 they may not sorrow, as those who have no hope" of seeing 
 their friends return. q W^e have likewise seen an apparent 
 limitation of the reward to them that love his appearing ;^ — 
 
 ^ 2 Tim. I. 12. 1 Phil. i. 6. ml Cor. xv. 52 ; 1 Thess. iv. 17. 
 n 1 Pet. I. 13. o 2 Thess. i. 7. Pi Pet. i. 5. q 1 Thess. iv. 13—18. 
 r 2 Tim. IV. 8 ; Heb. ix. 28. 
 
20 
 
 an application of the subject, wliich, if it be not to be insisted 
 on to its full extent, is nevertheless calculated to awaken heart- 
 searchings. In regard to those passages M-liich remain, I shall, 
 to avoid circumlocution, only quote them at length ; so head- 
 ing them, as to point out the evangelical duties and graces to 
 which they call us, and consequently the practical use made 
 of them. 
 
 As a call to Repentance, — 
 " Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may 
 be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from 
 the presence of the Lord, and he shall send Jesus Christy &c." 
 Acts III. 19, 20. 
 
 to love Christ ; — 
 " If any man love not the Lord Jesus Christ, let him be 
 Anathema Maran-atha;" which, being interpreted, is, " Let 
 him be accursed — our Lord cometh." 1 Cor. xvi. 22. 
 to love one another ; — 
 " And the Lord make you to increase and abound in love 
 toward one another, and toward all men, even as we do toward 
 you : to the end He may stablish your hearts unblameable 
 in holiness before God, even our Father, at the coming of our 
 Lord Jesus Christ ivith all his saints." 1 Thess. iii. 13. 
 to the mortification of earthly lusts ; — 
 " When Christ, who is our Hie, shall appear, then shall ye 
 also appear with him in glory. Mortify therefore your mem- 
 bers which are upon the earth ; fornication, uncleanness, in- 
 ordinate aiFection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness which 
 is idolatry ;" &c. Col. iii. 4, 5. 
 
 "The grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared 
 to all men, teaching us — that denying ungodliness and un- 
 worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, 
 in this present evil world ; looking for that blessed hope, [even'] 
 the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour, Jesus 
 Christ." Titus ii. 11—13. 
 
 to general Obedience 8f Holiness ; — 
 " For the Son of Man shall come in the glory of his Father, 
 with his angels ; and then he shall reward every man accord- 
 ing to his works." Matt. xvi. 27. 
 
 " And now, little children, abide in him, that, ivhen he shall 
 appear, we may have confidence, and not be ashamed before 
 hjm at his coming." 1 John ii, 28. 
 
 " We know that when He shall appear we shall be like him ; 
 
21 
 
 for we shall see him as He is. And every man that hath this 
 
 hope in him purifieth himself even as He is pure." Ibid iii. 2, 3. 
 
 " Behold, / come quickly ; and my reward is with me, to 
 
 o-ive every man according as his work shall be." Rev. xxii. 12. 
 
 to Spirituality of mind ; — 
 
 *' For our conversation is in heaven ; from whence also we 
 
 look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ ; who shall change 
 
 our vile body, &c. Phil. in. 20, 21. 
 
 to Works of mercy ; — 
 " When the Son of Man shall come in his glory, and all the 
 holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his 
 fflory ; and before him shall be gathered all nations ; and he 
 shall divide them one from another as a shepherd divides his 
 sheep from the goats. And he shall set the sheep on his 
 right hand, but the goats on the left. Then shall the King 
 say unto them on his right hand. Come ye blessed of my 
 Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the 
 foundation of the world : for I was hungry, and ye gave me 
 meat ; I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink ; I was a stranger, 
 and ye took me in ; naked, and ye clothed me ; I was sick, 
 and ye visited me ; I was in prison, and ye came unto me." 
 Matt. XXV. 31—36. 
 
 to Watchfulness ; — 
 " Watch therefore ; for ye know not what hour your Lord 
 doth come. But know this, that if the good man of the house 
 had known in what watch the thief would come, he would 
 have watched, and would not have suffered his house to have 
 been broken up. Therefore, be ye also ready ; for in such an 
 hour as ye think not the Son of Man comethJ" Matt. xxiv. 42, 44. 
 " Watch therefore : for ye know neither the day nor the 
 hour wherein the Son of Man cometh." Matt. xxv. 13. 
 
 " Let your loins be girded about, and your lights burning, 
 and ye yourselves like unto men that wait for their lord, 
 when he will return from the wedding ; that when he cometh 
 and knocketh they may open to him immediately. Blessed 
 are those servants whom the Lord ichen he cometh shall find 
 watching." Luke xii. 35, 37. 
 
 •' Behold / come as a thief : blessed is he that watcheth, 
 and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see 
 his shame." Rev. xvi. 15. 
 
 " But ye brethren are not in darkness, that that day should 
 overtake you as a thief : ye are all the children of light and of 
 
22 
 
 the day : we are not of niglit, nor of darkness. Therefore 
 let us not sleep as do others : but let us watch and be sober." 
 
 1 Thess V. 4, 6. 
 
 "Behold, I come quickly : blessed is he that keepeth the 
 sayings of the prophecy of this Book." Rev. xxii. 7. 
 to Patience and Long-svffering ; — 
 
 " And shall not God avenge his own elect, which cry day 
 and night unto him, though he bear long with them }'^ I tell 
 you that he will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless, when 
 the Son of Man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth?" 
 Luke xviiT. 7, 8. 
 
 " We ourselves glory in you in the churches of God, for 
 your patience and faith in all your persecutions and tribula- 
 tions that ye endure ; which is a manifest token of the right- 
 eous judgement of God, that ye may be counted worthy of 
 the kingdom of God, for which ye also suffer : seeing it is a 
 righteous thing with God to recompense tribulation to them 
 that trouble you ; and to you who are troubled rest with 
 us, when the Lord Jesus shall he revealed from heaven, &c." 
 
 2 Thess. I. 4—7. 
 
 " For ye have need of patience, that, after ye have done 
 the will of God, ye might receive the promise : for yet a little 
 while and He that shall come will come and will not tarrv." 
 Heb. X. 36, 37. 
 
 " Be patient, therefore, brethren, unto the coming of the 
 Lord. Behold, the husbandman waiteth for the precious fiiiit 
 of the earth, and hath long patience for it, until he receive 
 the early and latter rain. Be ye also patient — stablish your 
 hearts — for the coming of the Lord draiceth nigh." James v. 
 7, 8. 
 
 " "Wherein (in the salvation ready to be revealed in the last 
 time) ye greatly rejoice, though now for a season, if need be, 
 ye are in heaviness through manifold temptations ; that the 
 trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold 
 that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found 
 unto praise and honour and glorv at the appearing of Jesus 
 Christ." 1 Pet. i. 6, 7. 
 
 * This text may be explained by 2 Pet. ii. 9, 15, " The Lord is not 
 slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness ; but is lo7iff- 
 suffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all 
 should come to repentance." — "Account the loug-euffcriug of the Lord 
 salvation." 
 
23 
 
 " Beloved, tliink it not strange concerning the fiery trial 
 which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened 
 unto vou ; but rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ's 
 sufferings ; that when his glory shall he revealed, ye may be 
 glad also ^vith exceeding joy." 1 Pet. iv. 12, 13. 
 to Moderation and Sohrietij ; — 
 
 " Let your moderation be kno^vn unto all men : the Lord 
 is at hand" Phil. iv. 5. 
 
 " Gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and hope to 
 the end for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the 
 revelation of Jesus Christ" 1 Pet. i. 13. 
 
 to ministerial Fidelity and Diligence. 
 
 " Who is a faithful and Avise ser^^ant, whom his lord hath 
 made ruler over his household, to give them meat in due sea- 
 son .'' Blessed is that servant whom his lord when he cometh 
 shall find so doing." Matt. xxiv. 46. 
 
 ** For what is our hope, or joy, or crown of rejoicing ? Are 
 not even ye, in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ, at his 
 coming?" 1 Thess, ii. 19. 
 
 " I give thee charge in the sight of God, who quickeneth 
 all things ; and before Jesus Christ, who before Pontius Pilate 
 witnessed a good confession ; that thou keep this command- 
 ment without spot, unrebukeable, until the appearing of our 
 Lo7'd Jesus Christ." 1 Tim. vi. 13, 14. 
 
 " I charge thee therefore before God, and the Lord Jesus 
 Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead at his appear- 
 ing and his kingdom ; preach the word ; be instant in season, 
 out of season ; reprove, rebuke, exhort, with all long suffering 
 and doctrine." 2 Tim. iv. 1, 2. 
 
 " The elders which are among you I exhort, who am also 
 an elder, and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, and also a 
 partaker of the glory that shall be revealed : feed the flock of 
 God which is among you ; taking the oversight thereof, not 
 by constraint, but willingly ; not for filthy lucre, but of a 
 ready mind ; neither as 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 Peter v. 1 — 4. 
 
 Against censorious Judgment. 
 " Therefore judge nothing before the time, until the Lord 
 come, &c." 1 Cor. iv. 5. 
 
24 
 
 I resei-ve those passages which practically improve the doc- 
 trine of the Resurrection of the saints, until I come to treat 
 more fully on that subject : in the mean while I earnestly 
 beseech the Reader, especially if he be a minister, dispassion- 
 ately to consider what has been already advanced. It may be 
 that in regard to some five or six texts, he may differ from 
 me, as to their interpretation and consequent pertinence : but 
 the great mass of evidence is such, as I am persuaded cannot 
 be successfully controverted. 
 
 I would therefore humbly but seriously ask, Is the general 
 tone or style of preaching consistent with these extracts ? 
 Has not the wisdom of man substituted its own invention for 
 the ^^dsdom of God ? I grant that to the natural man an 
 object of sense will always appear better suited to exercise a 
 practical influence, than an object of faith ; and therefore, to 
 press home upon the thoughtless the certainty of death, of the 
 truth of which event they have daily evidence, will seem a 
 more likely method of awakening them, than to plead an 
 Advent and a Resurrection. But to act thus is surely incon- 
 sistent in the spiritual man, who is the minister of a Gospel 
 that especially addresses itself to the eye of faith : and a 
 ministry thus conducted must be proportionably less fruitful, 
 than one which more implicitly relies on what is written. 
 
 I say not that death is altogether an unscriptural subject of 
 exhortation ; but that it is a truth not to be compared, in 
 regard to its prominency, with the Advent, Resurrection, &c. 
 I must admit, also, that so far as the mere determination of a 
 man's future condition is concerned, the day of his death is 
 virtually to him as the day of resurrection or judgment : but 
 without entering into the proof, that it is not so influential in 
 other respects, it ought to be enough for every christian mind 
 to know, that it is not the Scinpture mode of stating these 
 truths. It may be tolerable as a private opinion, or in the 
 way of additional argument ; but the reverse is acted upon : 
 this private opinion has ejected the testimony of the Spirit 
 from its place in the pulpit ; and the Advent and Resurrection 
 and Kingdom of Christ are degraded to the private station. 
 
 May the voice of the betrothed spouse of Christ again be 
 heard, crying, with the Spirit, COME ! May those who have 
 the first fruits of the Spirit be found in every instance 
 " groaning within themselves, and waiting for the adoption, 
 — to wit, the redemption of their body /" Abdiel. 
 
25 
 
 Essay III. 
 
 THE KINGDOM OF CHRIST. 
 
 In proceeding to the more immediate consideration of the 
 Millennium, the circumstance which I shall first notice is the 
 Kingdom, concerning ^Yhich so much is said in the Scrip- 
 tures ; and in regard to which I must beg the patient atten- 
 tion of the Reader, while I endeavour to lead him step by 
 step through what is written respecting it. If our views are 
 not clear upon this point, we shall never arrive at a proper 
 conclusion in regard to other matters. For the view to be 
 taken of the doctrines of the Advent and Kingdom of Christ, 
 and of the Resurrection of the saints, depends not (as some 
 would insist) upon doubtful passages in the Book of Revela- 
 tion ; nor shall I rest my interpretation upon any symbolical 
 or merely figurative texts : but if there are passages in the 
 Word of God, which must be understood in a plain and literal 
 sense, (abating of course that tropical use of words, which is 
 inseparable from ordinary conversation,) to such I shall appeal, 
 and by such I purpose to direct my course. 
 
 I. I need not occupy time by proving, that the Messiah or 
 Christ, according to the Old Testament Scriptures, was to 
 be a king, as well as prophet and priest ; and tliat in various 
 places, more especially in the Book of Daniel, the said Scrip- 
 tures speak of the dominion and power which should be given 
 him. A slight acquaintance only with the New Testament 
 will likewise satisfy us, that the Jewish mind was prepossess- 
 ed with the notion of a Mng and a kingdom, connected with 
 their Messiah. Thus Nathaniel, when brought to believe in 
 Jesus, confessed, — " Thou art the Son of God ; Thou art the 
 King of Israel. "a Thus, when the Lord exhibited his power 
 by feeding the five thousand, the whole multitude would have 
 taken him by force and made him king, had he not withdrawn 
 from them.b Thus again, when he rode into Jerusalem on the 
 ass, the people cried : " Blessed be the King that cometh in 
 the name of the Lord !" — " Blessed the kingdom of our fa- 
 ther David, that cometh in the name of the Lord."c And 
 what is more to the point, when Christ was accused before 
 
 a John I. 49. b John vi. 15 c Mark xi. 10 and Luke xix. 38. 
 
26 
 
 Pilate for claiming to be a king, he plainly declared that he 
 was a King, and that he expected a kingdom. <^ 
 
 It must be still more obvious to persons familiar with the 
 New Testament, that it does continually and almost exclu- 
 sively refer the blessings and the glory therein announced to 
 this kingdom. Jesus we are told went about preaching the 
 Gospel (or glad tidings) of the kingdom in all the cities and 
 villages of Judea ; e he sent his disciples to preach the same ; f 
 he spake of the things pertaining to it after his resurrection ; g 
 St. Paul resolves his preaching into the same subject;^ and, 
 in brief, the whole Word of God is called " The Word of the 
 kingdom."'^ 
 
 Against this part of the statement an objection must be 
 noticed : viz. that " the kingdom of God" and " the kingdom 
 of heaven' are constantly spoken of in Scripture ; but that 
 these cannot mean " the kingdom of the Son of Man," or of 
 " Christ." A comparison however of scripture testimonies will 
 shew, that these expressions all refer to one and the same 
 kingdom. — 
 
 For instance ; that the kingdom of heaven and the kingdom 
 of God are one and the same, mil be evident from a compari- 
 son of the following parallel passages. St. Matthew says, 
 " Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of 
 heaven ;"k St. Luke says, " Blessed be ye poor, for yours is 
 the kingdom of God.."^ Again St. Matthew says, " It is 
 given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of 
 heaven :"^ the parallel passage in St. Mark is, " Unto you 
 it is given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of GocL"^ 
 The phrase " kingdom of heaven" is indeed a form of speech 
 peculiar to St. Matthew, and only to be met with in his 
 Gospel : the same thing being invariably called by Mark and 
 Luke " kingdom of God." And even St. Matthew himself 
 uses the two phrases indiscriminately in the following passage : 
 " Verily I say unto you, that a rich man shall hardly enter 
 ' into the kingdom of heaven. And again I say unto you, it 
 
 * is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than 
 
 * for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God."^ 
 
 That the kingdom of God and the kingdom of Ch7'ist are 
 
 d John XVIII. 36, 37. e Matt. ix. 35. f Luke ix. 2 s Acts i. 3. 
 h Acts XX. 25 ; XXVIII. 23, 31. i Matt. xiii. 19. k Matt. v. 3. 
 1 Luke VI. 20. m Matt. xiii. 11. " Mark iv. 11. o Matt, xix, 
 23, 24. 
 
27 
 
 the same, will appear from a similar process. Speaking of 
 the Transfiguration, St. Matthew says, *' Verily I say unto 
 
 * you, there be some standing here which shall not taste of 
 ' death, till they see the So?i of Man coming in his king- 
 ' dom :"P which latter sentence St. Luke has — " till they see 
 the kingdom of God /'q and St. ^Mark — " till they have seen 
 the kingdom of God covie ivith poicer."^ Again, in the parable 
 of the tares, St. Matthew says, " that at the end of the world 
 ' the Son of Man shall send forth his angels, and they shall 
 
 * gather out of fiis kingdom all things that offend ;" and im- 
 mediately he adds, " then shall the righteous shine forth as 
 ' the sun in the kingdom of their Father /'^ thus making the 
 kingdom of the Father and of the Son of Man the same ; 
 even as St. Paul calls it, " the kingdom of Christ and of 
 God."t* 
 
 From these various passages I conclude, that only one king- 
 dom is spoken of ; and that if it be sometimes called the king- 
 dom of the Father, it is in regard to His having expressly 
 appointed it to the Son of Man ; even as Jesus says, " I ap- 
 ' point unto you a kingdom, as my Father hath appointed unto 
 wze."u And the object of Christ in that kingdom is to bring all 
 on earth to do his Father's will, even as it is done in heaven ; 
 and then, when he hath thus put all things under his feet, to 
 surrender up the kingdom to God, even the Father,^' 
 
 I must notice also, in regard to this subject, that divines 
 often speak of the kingdom of grace .- though it is not a scrip- 
 tural expression. Tliis is done by way of distinguishing those 
 passages which refer to the visible church, or present dispensa- 
 tion, during which souls are prepared, by the means of grace 
 and the Holy Spirit, to become meet partakers of the inherit- 
 
 P Matt. XVI. 28. q Luke ix. 27. r Mark ix. 1. s Matt. xiii. 41, 
 43. tEphes. v. 5. ^ Luke xxii. 29, 30. v i Cor. xv. 24, 28. 
 
 * I feel convinced, from a penisal of GranviUe Sharp's Treatise on 
 the use of the definite Article in the Greek New Testament, that the 
 original of this passage, ev ri) j3acn\eia rs Xpirn kcu Qss, should be 
 translated, " In the Kingdom of the Christ and God ;^^ the relative posi- 
 tions of the article and conjunction indicating, that one and the same 
 person is meant. But this, instead of making against my argument, 
 will confirm it : for as it proves that God and Christ are the same ; so, 
 by parity of reasoning, the Kingdom of God and Christ are one. Lac- 
 tantius in his Treatise De Institutionihus, in the seventh book of which 
 he enters at large upon the subject now before us, repeatedly speaks of 
 God and his kingdom, when he evidently intends Christ. 
 
28 
 
 ance to which God has called them. Our Lord seems to refer 
 to this dispensation of grace, when he likens the kingdom of 
 heaven to tares growing with the wheat, and to good and bad 
 fish caught in a net. In several other passages it is thus 
 spoken of ;""" and I deem it important to affirm constantl)^ 
 that the glorious kingdom of our God and Saviour can never 
 be enjoyed by any other, than those in whose hearts he now 
 reigns by the Spirit. But though this is an obvious and un- 
 deniable use of the terms " Kingdom of God" and " Kingdom 
 of heaven ;" yet can they only refer, in such case, to an im- 
 perfect or embryo state of it. The great purpose of God in 
 regard to this kingdom is the manifestation of the power, 
 glory, and sovereignty of Christ, in such manner as that all 
 flesh shall visibly behold it, whilst the righteous shall shine 
 forth in it like the sun.^ It is to this manifestation of the 
 kingdom, (which is called its " coming with ;jo2<7cr,"y) that 
 the great majority of those passages seem to refer which spealt 
 of the kingdom ; and to which all are subordinate : and, cer- 
 tainly, those Scriptures which advert to it as yet future, must 
 at least refer to a dispensation different from the present."^ 
 
 We may imperfectly illustrate these two conditions of the 
 Kingdom by tlie case of a prince in exile, who is nevertheless 
 making formidable preparations to assert and vindicate his 
 rights. The king, thougli not enthroned, is acknowledged by 
 many partisans ; over these he already rules, and these he re- 
 ceives under his protection : but he is not yet acknowledged 
 by the nations over which he claims sovereignty ; and he 
 waits for the time when they shall say, like Judah to David, 
 " Return thou and all thy servants. "^ 
 
 II. I next proceed to inquire concerning the time when this 
 Kingdom may be properly said to have been set up ; a right 
 apprehension of which will materially assist our determination 
 of other points. 
 
 1. Many consider the kingdom of God to be His now reign- 
 ing by his power and providence, — over-ruling so much of the 
 
 * Since I wrote this, the translation of a Treatise on the same sub- 
 ject by Koppe has appeared in the Investigator ; Vol. II, p. 207. It is 
 ably and impartially written, as regards the question of the personal 
 reign ; and fully bears out the statement I have advanced. 
 
 w See for example. Matt. xxi. 43 ; Mark xii. 34 ; Luke x. 9, 11 ; 
 XI. 20. X Matt. xm. 43. Y See Mark ix. 1, 2 ; and 2 Pet. i. 16. 
 I 2 Sam. XIX. 9—14. 
 
29 
 
 wrath of ungodly men, as he suffers to escape, and restraining 
 the remainder of it. Thus, say they, the Jews unconsciously 
 obeyed, even when crucifying Jesus ; whereof the Holy Ghost 
 cries in anticipation, " Why do the heathen rage and the peo- 
 ' pie imagine a vain thing ? yet have I set my King upon my 
 ' holy hill of Zion."^ Now it must be admitted, as beyond 
 dispute by those who believe the Scriptures, " that the Alost 
 High ruleth in the kingdom of men;" " and that God is the 
 governor among the nations :"^ but if this be the kingdom 
 intended, it was set up at the creation of the world ; for there 
 never was a period since the creation, in which God has not 
 thus ruled and over-ruled mankind. But the Kingdom of 
 which I am speaking Vv'as the subject of promise, certainly as 
 late as the time of Daniel ;c a circumstance 'quite incompati- 
 ble with its existence then and previously. 
 
 2. Neither could it have been set up at any period between 
 the time of Daniel and our Lord's incarnation : for it is the 
 Son of Man to whom, according to Daniel, ^^ the dominion is 
 given ; and it is imiDossible he can have reigned as man, be- 
 fore he was made man. 
 
 That the Kingdom and glory to be manifested are espe- 
 cially assigned over to him as max, is evident from other 
 scripture testimonies. In Corinthians, the Apostle says of 
 him, " that God hath put all things under his feet :"e which 
 saying is indeed a quotation (as also Hebrews ii. 5 — 8) of 
 Psalm viii ; wherein he is thus spoken of, — "" What is man 
 ' that thou art mindful of him ? or the Son of Man that thou 
 
 * visitest him ? Thou madest him a little lower [or for a little 
 ' iL'hile lower] than the angels ; Thou crownedst him v/ith 
 ' glory and honor, a.-d didst set him over the v/orks of thine 
 
 * hand : Thou hast put all things in subjection under his feet." 
 Thus Jesus declared, " that authority was given to him to 
 ' execute judgment also, because he was the Son of Man."^ 
 And St. Paul affirms, " that God hath given to him (on ac- 
 
 * count of his obedience and humiliation in the flesh) a Name, 
 ' which is above every name ; that at the name of JESUS 
 ' everv^ knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in 
 ' earth, and things under the earth."? He who thought it 
 not robbery to be equal with God, must have previously pos- 
 
 a Psalm II. \—C), b Psalm xxii. 28 ; Dan. iv. 17. <^ Dan. vii. 
 d Chap. VII. 13, 14. eiCor. XV. 27. fJohnv. 27. P Phil. ii. 9— 11. 
 
30 
 
 sessed that sovereignty of tlie universe, which has been men- 
 tioned : but this Kingdom is the reward of the righteous obe- 
 dience and humihation of the Christ ; in consequence of which 
 the Father hath determined for a while to make manifest his 
 own glory in him, and to put all things under him ; He 
 only being excepted, who thus puts all under him.l^'^ 
 
 3. A more common notion in regard to the kingdom is, 
 that it was set up at the birth of Jesus : for indeed it is writ- 
 ten, "Where is he that is horn king of the Jews." Some- 
 thing may be conceded to this opinion, in regard to that 
 Gospel and means of grace so soon afterwards pro'vided ; 
 which, as I have before observed, is called by divines the king- 
 dom of grace : but, surely, if the acknowledgement of au- 
 thority, and if obedience to authority, be essential to the 
 honor and reality of dominion, the kingdom was not set up 
 then. Who can name the nation, which acknowledged the 
 Lord as king at the time of his first appearing ? Even the 
 Jews did not acknowledge him : " He came to his own, but 
 his own received him not !" They declared that they would 
 not have this man to rule over them ; and insisting, that they 
 had no king but Caesar, they crucified the Lord of glory !" 
 
 t 1 Cor. XV. 27, 28. 
 
 * It is to be regretted, that, owing to an excessive jealousy, the Jiu- 
 manity of Christ is not so much meditated on by Christians as it ought 
 to be ; though the consideration thereof, as also of his godhead, is full 
 of comfort to the soul. The Unitarians, looking too exclusively on 
 those texts which speak of Christ's humanity, have invented a system 
 which shuts out his deity ; and thus they have " denied the Lord that 
 bought them." But Christians fi-equently go to an opposite extreme, 
 and by viewing Jesus exclusively as God, they are sometimes led practi- 
 cally to deny, that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh. It is a most 
 wonderful and edifying truth to ponder in the heart, that a max is now 
 exalted far above thrones, and principalities, and powers ! Yet there are 
 some who neglect and fear to speak of Jesus as man ; — as though they 
 considered it would degrade Him so to do. Numbers would set him 
 down as a Socinian, who, upon his first preaching to a people who had 
 never heard of Christ, should speak of Him as " that man, whom God 
 hath ordained to judge the world in righteousness :" yet this is no more 
 than what St. Paul did at Athens, (Acts xvii, 31.) I hope the Reader 
 will pardon this digression, from one heartily believing in his Lord as 
 God ; and as heartily denying the sinfulness of his humanity. But a 
 right apprehension of Jesus, as * very man,'' will lead us to a more cor- 
 rect understanding of those Scriptures which speak of His Kingdom ; 
 and especially one Scripture, (1 Cor. xv, 24.) which cannot be well ex- 
 plained without it. 
 
31 
 
 Louis XVI had the legitimate title to the kingdom of France 
 when he was guillotined ; and there were also individuals, who 
 adhered to him among the people : but it is extravagant to 
 sav, that he was in possession of the kingdom, when the nation 
 disowned and executed him. When Christ's kingdom shall 
 be set up, it shall be of such a character, as that none can 
 mistake, that the Lord is ruler in it — " His glory shall be 
 openly shewed in the sight of the heathen." But Isaiah tes- 
 tifies of the adversaries of the Lord, " Thou never barest rule 
 over them ; they were not called by thy name :" and of the 
 Lord he says, in respect to his first advent, that he is to be 
 " a servant of rulers. "i Indeed our Lord himself spake a 
 parable, because some then thought that the kingdom of God 
 was immediately to appear, in which he compares himself to 
 a man, who had first to go into a far country .J To which I 
 will only add, that the very prayer which he taught his dis- 
 ciples proves, that the kingdom was then future ; for he directs 
 them to pray, " Thy kingdom come." 
 
 4. The parable just adverted to might be sufficient to prove 
 further, that the kingdom did not commence immediately after 
 the ascension of Christ : which many do nevertheless suppose ; 
 and likewise that the saints do now enjoy the kingdom and 
 reign with him. — " Would to God (saith the Apostle) that ye 
 did reign, that we also might reign with you."^^ 
 
 It is necessary however to consider here the present con- 
 dition of our Lord Jesus. I cannot dispute, that He is now 
 glorified; that He is seated on the right hand of the Majesty 
 on high ; that the principaUties and powers in heavenly places 
 are subject to him ; and that he reigns as the Mediator, Ad- 
 vocate, and Saviour of his people. But I must repeat, that 
 this is not that glory nor that reign, which are the special 
 subjects of promise both to him and his saints. If those pas- 
 sages in Revelation (chap. v. 10, and vi. 9 — 11,) refer to the 
 state of the redeemed Church in heaven, it is manifest, that 
 theirs is a state of expectation, in which they look for the 
 time when they " shall reign ;" and, therefore, that they are not 
 now reigning with their Lord. In the same Book the Lord 
 clearly distinguishes between that throne on which he is now 
 seated, and the throne on which he shall hereafter be mani- 
 fested : "To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me 
 
 ^ Isaiah XLix. 7 \ lxiii. 19. J Luke xix. 11. k 1 Cor. iv. 8. 
 1 Rev. III. 21, 
 
32 
 
 ' in my throne ; even as I also overcame, and am set down 
 ' with my Father in his throne. "^ In the Gospel of St. John 
 also he seems to distinguish between his own divine glory 
 w^hich he had before the world was ; (xvii. 5,) and that glory, 
 which God has given to him as Messiah, and which he gives 
 unto his people, (v. 22.) Certainly his condition, as regards 
 the promised kingdom, is also one of expectation ;ki for he 
 waits for the time when his enemies shall become his foot- 
 stool, and it shall be said, " Rule Thou in the midst of them." 
 I must return again to the statement, that the reign of 
 Christ with his saints must be of an acknowledged and mani- 
 fest character : and in what part of the globe is that the case 
 even now ? By far the largest part of the world is still hea- 
 then in name : and over that part even, which surnames itself 
 w^ith the name of Christ, he cannot be said to bear rule. 
 Even in this country, where religion prevails perhaps as much 
 as in any other, our laws are rarely framed and administered 
 in the fear of Christ : to say nothing of the great majority of 
 individuals, who live in disobedience : — who openly deny his 
 divinity, his power, his authority, his laws, his people ! It is 
 degrading to the Lord Jesus to call this his dominion over the 
 nations ! There is no king among men but would deem it 
 quite incompatible with his honor, to allow any to despise his 
 laws, or to live in habitual rebellion. And shall the Man 
 who is made God's fellow, — shall the King of kings and Lord 
 of lords, — only rule over a few, who are despised and per- 
 secuted for their obedience ? No : when he takes up his iron 
 rod, he will dash his enemies to atoms as a potter's vessel ; — ■ 
 then he shall have the greatness of the kingdom under the 
 whole heaven ;"ii — then " all kings shall fall down before 
 him, and all nations shall serve him ;"o — " all the ends of 
 ' the world shall remember and turn unto the Lord, and all 
 ' the kindreds of the nations shall worship before him;"P — 
 " as I live saith the Lord every knee shall bow to me, and 
 ' EVERY tongue shall confess to God."P* 
 
 m Heb. X. 13. "Dan. vii. 27. « Psalm lxxii. 11. P Psalm xxii. 27. 
 q Isaiah xlv. 23 ; Rom. xiv. 11. 
 
 * I might here avail myself of an important argiiment from Daniel to 
 shew, that the setting up of this kingdom (by which I mean its visible 
 commencement) must be future ; but as it is based upon the interpreta- 
 tion of a symbolical passage of Scripture, which may, of course, be 
 questioned, I do not insist on it. Nevertheless, I mention it for the 
 
33 
 
 "We have further evidence, that the period of the manifesta- 
 tion of this kingdom is 3'et future, by a comparison of a pas- 
 sage in the first Epistle to the Corinthians with one in He- 
 brews. In the former it is declared of Christ, " that all 
 things shall be put under Him:"i' in the latter the Apostle 
 notices, " that we see not yet all things put under him :"3 
 whence we must conclude, that his kingdom is not yet come. 
 In another part of the same chapter in Corinthians he says, 
 •* W\?it fie sh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God ; but 
 that we must first have our immortal and incorruptible body."* 
 There are other Scriptures equally tending to show, that the 
 kingdom did not commence at the Ascension ; for in the very 
 hour of his ascension Christ was asked by his disciples, if he 
 would at that time restore the kingdom to Israel ; and his 
 reply plainly leads to the inference, that it was not to com- 
 mence at that period ; but that they were to be witnesses of 
 him to the uttermost parts of the earth :^ just as in another 
 place he declares, that the Gospel of the kingdom must first 
 
 r 1 Cor. XV. 27. s Heb. ii. 8. t ^v. 50, 53. u Acts i. 6—^. 
 
 consideration of those who agree in the general correctness of the expo- 
 sitions of commentators, in regard to the meaning of the image seen by 
 Nebuchadnezzar, Dan. ii, 31 — 45, The stone cut out without hands, 
 which smites the image and then becomes a great mountain and fills the 
 earth, is usually interpreted to signify Messiah's kingdom ; which, ac- 
 cording to the notions of some, smote the image at the establishment of 
 Christianity. But such a view does in no way accord with the descrip- 
 tion given. For, 1st, the smiting is destructive, even to annihilation"; 
 " no place is found for it:" (», 35 ;) whereas the Roman or fourth 
 monarchy, symbolised by the legs and feet of the image, has, in some 
 shape or other, continued ever since, 2dly. The stone smites the image 
 on the feet ; (v. 34,) the toes of which signify the ten kingdoms, into 
 which Rome was divided. These must therefore be in existence at the 
 period of attack : whereas they existed not until after the days of Con- 
 stantine. 3dly. The whole four monarchies, symbolised by the gold, 
 silver, brass, iron, &c. must, in some way or other, be upon the stage 
 together, each in an independent form ; both when the smiting takes 
 place, and when the God of heaven sets up his kingdom. (Compare 
 verses 25 and 44.) This was not the case at the first coming of Christ, 
 neither in the time of Constantine, nor at any period since. There ap- 
 pears indeed a probability of the thing occurring now : Persia has all 
 along been preserved ; the power which holds Euphrates has long since 
 become independent ; and the Greek monarchy is reviving. 4thly. No 
 sooner does the stone smite the image, than these kingdoms are suc- 
 ceeded by the fifth monarchy solely — a state of things never yet wi*-ness- 
 ed, and which can only come to pass after the destruction of Antichrist. 
 
34 
 
 be preached in all nations for a testimony unto them.v The 
 apostle Paul exhorted the Thessalonians " to walk worthy of 
 God, who had called them to his kingdom and glory;" and — 
 to walk, so as that they might be accounted worthy of the 
 kingdom of God for which they suffered ;"^' and James speaks 
 of believers, " as being heirs of the kingdom which he hath 
 promised to them that love him :"x all which passages imply, 
 that the kingdom was yet future, when they were ministering. 
 And, finally, the words of Jesus to Pilate (as I apprehend 
 them) completely set this point at rest : " My kingdom is not 
 of this world. "y^ Satan is " the prince of this world ;" and 
 has a kingdom in it at variance with our Lord's. z Which 
 kingdom is now set up must be judged of, not by inquiring 
 into the respective jmwer of the princes of each kingdom ; but 
 into the prevalence of the jji'inciples of each. No doubt will 
 then remain, that Satan still rules. We know that there is 
 one stronger than the strong man armed, who could at any 
 time put out his power to bruise his adversary under his feet ; 
 and even noiv he proves himself greater in the hearts of his 
 people, than he that is in the world. Yea, when he was on 
 
 V Matt. XXIV. 14. w 1 Thess, ii. 12 ; 2 Thess. i. 5. x James ii. 5. 
 y John XVIII. 36. z Luke xi. 18 ; John xiv. 30. 
 
 * In a question of this kind, which concerns tlie universal Church, the 
 doctrine held in any one individual church cannot be with propi-iety 
 advanced in the way of argument. As most however who are members 
 of the Church of England admire her, because, among other things, she 
 speaks on many controverted points in the generalized language of Scrip- 
 ture, it may be interesting to such to notice, how, in all her offices, she 
 speaks of the kingdom &% future : — 
 
 At Baptism the prayer for the neophyte is : " ihdit finally , with the 
 
 * residue of thy Church, he may be an inheritor of thine everlasting 
 
 * kingdom." 
 
 At Confirmation the bishop prays : ** Defend, O Lord, this thy 
 
 * child, &c. may he daily increase in thy Spirit more and more, until he 
 ' come unto thy everlasting kingdom." 
 
 At the Communion we pray for grace to follow the good example of 
 those departed this life, " that with them we may be partakers of thy 
 
 * heavenly kingdom." 
 
 At Matrimony the prayer for the newly married couple is : ** Grant 
 
 * them to inherit thine everlasting kingdom." 
 
 And in the Burial service the prayer is : " That it may please Thee 
 ' of thy gracious goodness shortly to accomplish the number of thine 
 
 * elect and to hasten thy kingdom:'''' — a testimony quite decided, as re- 
 spects the point I am aiming at. 
 
35 
 
 earth, he gave some strikmg and open indications of his 
 future kingly power ; as when he cleansed the temple, ruled 
 the elements, forbad the devils to speak, &c. Nevertheless, 
 the time is not yet arrived when this kingdom is to shine forth 
 in splendor ; we still have to wrestle, not only with flesh and 
 blood, " but against principalities, against powers, against the 
 rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual v\icked- 
 ness in high places : wherefore (Reader) " take unto you the 
 whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in 
 the evil day, and having done all to stand. "a 
 
 III. Let us now inquire, at what particular time this king- 
 dom shall appear ; which 1 infer to be at the second advent of 
 the Lord Jesus. 
 
 For, first, the Apostle informs us, when describing the order 
 of the resurrection, that those that are Christ's shall at his 
 coming be raised : and then follows the end, when he shall 
 deliver up the kingdom.^ Now there must be some period of 
 time in which the saints shall possess the kingdom and the 
 Lord shall reign. — We have seen, that this period cannot be 
 in the present dispensation ; and after the advent, which 
 closes this dispensation, is to follow ' the end,' when he shall 
 HAVE REiGXED. The interval therefore must be between the 
 advent and that resigning of the kingdom unto God, who shall 
 then be all in all. This period I shall call the millennial dis- 
 pensation ; and endeavour at least to prove, that at the Lord's 
 coming is the manifestation of his kingdom. 
 
 Jesus tells us, " When the Son of Man shall come in his 
 ' glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit 
 ' upon the throne of his glory." And further on he adds, 
 " Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, come 
 
 * ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for 
 
 * you from the beginning of the world. "c From these Scrip- 
 tures it is evident, that Jesus will then, (let the time be when 
 it may,) be j^^rsonalli/ on the throne of his glory ; and that 
 the saints will only then receive the kingdom. 
 
 Hebrews i. 6 is, in the original, " And when He bring eth 
 ' again the first begotten into the world. He saith, and let all 
 
 * the angels of God worship him :"* which refers to his com- 
 ing a second time into the world. 
 
 a Ephes, VI. 12, 13. b i Cor. xv. 23, 24. c Matt. xxv. 31, 34. 
 * Not TTciXiv de OTciv, but orav ce ttciXiv, &c. 
 
36 
 
 In St. Luke's gospel the Lord describes the signs which 
 shall terminate the times of the Gentiles, and usher in the 
 coming of the Son of Man with power and great glory ; upon 
 which, when they see them come to pass, they are to under- 
 stand, that their redemption and the kingdom of God are 
 nigh at hand."<i 
 
 The advent and the kingdom are connected together when 
 our Lord first declares to the disciples, that it is the good 
 pleasure of their heavenly Father to give them the kingdom ; 
 and then exhorts them to sit so loosely to the things of this 
 world, that they may be as men that icait for their Lord, 
 ivhen he icill return from the wedding.^ 
 
 That saying of the thief upon the cross is, literally, in the 
 original, " Lord remember me, when thou comest in (not into) 
 thy kingdom." f"^ 
 
 Again, the Apostle Paul gives a solemn charge to Timothy, 
 before God and the Lord Jesus Christ ; who (he says) shall 
 judge the quick and dead at his appearing and his kingdom ;"s 
 thus making the appearing of Christ, the kingdom, and the 
 judgement of quick and dead, to be events all commencing or 
 transpiring at the same period. 
 
 This view of the time of the kingdom will be further cleared 
 I trust, when I come to consider the place or scene of its 
 manifestation, &c. I shall now therefore bring this Essay to 
 a close ; first requesting the Reader, whilst I recapitulate the 
 sum of the argument, to keep his eye upon Corinthians xv. 
 24, 28 — " Then cometh the end, when he shall have delivered 
 ' up the kingdom to God, even the Father ; when he shall 
 
 * have put down all rule and all authority and power :" — 
 *' When the Son also himself shall be subject unto him that 
 
 * put all things under him, that God may be all in all." 
 
 1. The Kingdom of Christ has evidently a beginning sub- 
 sequent to the creation of the world, because it is the subject 
 oi promise at various periods since. Therefore the unacknow- 
 ledged sovereignty of God, who ruleth and over-ruleth, can- 
 not be what is intended by the Kingdom of Christ, because 
 that did exist from the beginning : and further, to this sove- 
 reignty there Mill never be an end. 
 
 rf Matt. XXI. 24— ;U, e Luke xii. 32—36. f Chap, xxiii. 12. 
 g 2 Tim. IV. 1. 
 
 * Mi't]fTOtiri f.iH, Kvpu, OTav ikOtc en tj; fiaaiXna an. 
 
37 
 
 2. Tlie reign and kingdom of Christ cannot be that spiritual 
 dominion, which he exercises in the hearts of his people ; 
 M'hether it relate to this present time, or to a larger measure 
 of it in the Millennium . For first, this spiritual power has 
 been exerted in the hearts of his people from their first 
 acquaintance with him by the Spirit : whereas the kingdom 
 whereof I inquire did not commence, as we have seen, either 
 at the birth or ascension of Christ, but is still future. And, 
 secondly, the rule of Christ is to end ; whereas this ruling by 
 the Spirit in his people is never to end. It will be " He in 
 ' them and the}' in Him" throughout eternity. 
 
 3. And if any would nevertheless insist, that the kingdom 
 is no more than a great revival of religion in the generation 
 which shall live at the Millennium ; I would again point to 
 those Scriptures which shew, that the kingdom is introduced 
 by the. personal advent of the Lord Jesus, and entreat of them 
 either to prove, that these several passages do not relate to 
 the personal coming of Christ, or to endeavour to reconcile 
 with them their notions of the Millennium. 
 
 I shall now notice two or three places of Scripture, which 
 may be objected to this view of the kingdom. 
 
 1 . The kingdom of heaven is sometimes spoken of as being 
 " at hand" — "nigh" — "even at the doors;" &c.^ from which 
 some infer, that it must have existed either in our Saviour's 
 time, or soon after. But this is no more than is stated of 
 other events, which we nevertheless believe are even ^^et to 
 come. For example ; " The Lord is at hand" — " the coming 
 of the Lord draweth near" — "the end of all things is at hand."i 
 The former places concerning the kingdom, may indeed have 
 some reference to the work of preparation — the introduction 
 of the gospel kingdom ; but they may also be explained in 
 that way, in which we are compelled to explain the latter 
 \\z. by concluding that the Holy Ghost would have us speak 
 of these events in such manner, as that w^e may stand pre- 
 pared for them and waiting their approach ; and not, because 
 we may presume, or even be assured, that the end is not by 
 and by, to divert men's attention from it, by telling them that 
 their only concern is with death. 
 
 2. Another objection is grounded upon that Scripture, — 
 
 h Matt. III. 2 ; iv. 17 ; x. 7 ; Mark i. 15, &c. 
 i Phil. IV. 5 ; Jas. v. 8 ; Pet. iv. 7. 
 
38 
 
 " There be some standing here who shall not taste of death, 
 ' until they see the kingdom of God come with power ;"j 
 from whence it is concluded that the kingdom must have been 
 set up, and even manifested, before all the persons died, who 
 were then standing in the presence of Jesus. I doubt not 
 but the passage has a direct reference to the glorious mani- 
 festation of the kingdom ; because St. Matthew calls it " see- 
 ing the Son of Man coming in his kingdom" — another proof 
 that the advent and kingdom take place together. k But 
 attention to the context, and a comparison with it of 
 another Scripture, will shew, that it is not the com- 
 mencement of the period of glorious manifestation that 
 is meant; but a visible earnest and specimen of it. This 
 saying, in all the three Gospels where it occurs, is im- 
 mediately followed by the relation, that Jesus, about eight 
 days after (that is, eight days after this saying, — as if to 
 mark its connection with the event narrated,) took Peter, 
 James and John up into a mountain apart, and appeared un- 
 to them in glory, together with Moses and Elijah. And this 
 very transaction, St. Peter, v/ho was one of the three, calls 
 the POWER and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ ; the majesty 
 of which (he says) he was an eye witness of, when he was 
 with him in the holy mount. 1 
 
 3. The next objection is grounded on the words of Jesus 
 to Pilate, — " My kingdom is not of this world." I copy here 
 the opinion of Koppe, whose able Excursus on this subject 
 has been published in the Investigator since I wrote the pre- 
 sent Essay. He says — " In fine, John xviii. 36, I cannot 
 ' see to signify any thing but this, (which we learn from the 
 
 * whole tenor of the life and doctrines of Jesus,) that the 
 ' kingdom of Christ would not be like the kingdom of men : 
 
 * that is, especially, it would not be established by human 
 ' power, nor by the might of human armies. This was the 
 ' only thing that was required to be stated to the Roman Pro- 
 ' curator to deliver him from the fear that Jesus might in any 
 ' degree assail the authority of the Roman empire. From this 
 
 * place at least no proof can be deduced on either side to deter- 
 
 * mine the nature of that kingdom whose king Jesus acknow- 
 ' ledged himself to be ; and whether Jesus meant and wished 
 
 * to be understood by the formula ' my kingdom,' only a new 
 
 J Mark IX. 1. ^ Chap. xvi. 28. i 2 Pet. 16— 18. 
 
39 
 
 * religion delivered to men, or a kingdom hereafter to be set 
 ' up HI the new heavens and earth, after the face of the whole 
 ' earth shall have been entirely changed. And certainly inter- 
 
 * preters have no reason to appeal to the words r. 37 ' For this 
 
 * cause was I born, that I might bear witness to the truth,' as 
 
 * a vindication of ' kingdom of God,' signifying the true re- 
 ' ligion ; for the whole of that verse contains just this asser- 
 ' tion ; that he spoke the truth, in declaring himself a king. 
 
 * ' My character and my whole office is to be true in all that I 
 ' speak : wherefore, thou mayest rely upon it, I am a king.' " 
 
 4. The last Scripture, which I shall now notice as an ob- 
 jection, is the answer given by our Lord, when demanded of 
 the Pharisees, When the kingdom of God should come. 
 " The kingdom of God cometh not with observation ; neither 
 shall they say, lo here ! or, lo there ! for behold the kingdom 
 of God is within you."Ea 
 
 There is an acknowledged difficulty with this passage, 
 whatever interpretation may be given to it ; and did it seem 
 to speak more clearly for the other side of the question than 
 it does, yet, considering the mass of testimony brought for- 
 ward in support of the view I have taken, sound principles 
 of exposition require of us, that we should seek a meaning in 
 this text reconcileable with, and not destructive of, the nume- 
 rous places I have adduced. The ordinar}'- explanation given 
 by commentators is, that the kingdom of God ivithin them, 
 must signify the dominion of grace in the heart ; against 
 which interpretation the following exceptions may be taken. 
 First it would imply, that Joseph of Arimathea, who was still 
 ivaiting for the kingdom, ^^ was without this inw^ard grace, 
 whilst the Pharisees possessed it. Therefore some would in- 
 terpret it, the kingdom of God is among you : but it does not 
 appear that the word rendered ivithin is ever used by the 
 Greek ^^Titers of the Old or New Testaments in the sense 
 contended for ; and it is extremely doubtful if profane writers 
 so use it.* Certainly Joseph could not have been waiting for 
 the kingdom in that spirit of faith, which the mention of him 
 seems to imply, unless the kingdom of God had been also 
 within him in a spiritual sense : nor could he with propriety 
 
 m Luke XVII. 20, 21. n Mark xv. 43. 
 
 * See Parkliurst on the word svtoq ; and see likewise this objection 
 ably treated in the Investigator, Vol. I. p. 99. 
 
40 
 
 have been said to be waiting for it, had it been among 
 them. And this plainly indicates, that the promises con- 
 cerning the kingdom are not to be limited to the means 
 of grace, or to the work of grace, though they may in- 
 clude it ; but that they have a reference to its glorious 
 manifestation and prevalence. In the spiritual sense, the 
 kingdom cometh not with observation ; for the Spirit is 
 like the wind : " we cannot see from whence it cometh nor 
 whither it goeth." But in regard to the manifestation of the 
 kingdom, our Lord has described the signs, by which we may 
 observe its approach, and knoic that the kingdom of God 
 draweth nigh. And he clearly shows that it was not mani- 
 fested in his days, since he spake a imrahle for the express 
 purpose of correcting the notions of those who thought " that 
 the kingdom of God should immediately appear." (Luke xix.) 
 Let the Reader examine himself, whether he have this spi- 
 ritual " earnest of the inheritance;" — whether it may be said 
 of him, " that the kingdom of God is not in word only but in 
 power ;" — and '* that God hath thus translated him into the 
 kingdom of his dear Son."o Abdiel. 
 
 o 1 Cor. IV 20 ; Col. i. 13. 
 
41 
 
 Essay IV. 
 
 THE PLACE OF MANIFESTATION. 
 
 Having proved, as I trust, in my last essay, that the mani- 
 festation of the kingdom of God is yet future, I proceed now 
 to inquire into the place or scene of that manifestation. This, 
 I do not hesitate to say, will be on earth ; and that Palestine, 
 or the Holy Land, (particularly the region of Mount Zlon,) 
 will be the spot where Christ and his risen saints will more 
 especially be revealed. 
 
 1. In regard to the Land in general, let us consider the 
 terms of the covenant made with Abraham and the patriarchs 
 — that very covenant of grace, under which the christian 
 church is now walking. God repeatedly promised to Abra- 
 ham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, personally and respectively, as 
 also to their seed, that he would give them the land in which 
 they were strangers.^ It is to the repetition of these pro- 
 mises and their amplification St. Paul seems to refer, when he 
 speaks of ' the covenants of promise' in the plural :^ and 
 certainly he refers to these in the Epistle to the Galatians.c 
 when he insists that the promise to Abraham and his seed 
 continues in full force under the Gospel ; not allowing that 
 the covenant afterwards made with Aloses had any power to 
 do away or alter these. 
 
 The question then arises, — Has this promise been fulfilled 
 to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob ? Some will reply, " Yes ; 
 their posterity possessed it, and thus the patriarchs themselves 
 may be said to have enjoyed the land :" but this reply will 
 neither suit the terms of the covenant, nor the faithfulness of 
 God, who declares, that not one jot or tittle shall fail of all 
 that he hath spoken. I must repeat and beg particular atten- 
 tion to the circumstance, that the promise to each of the three 
 patriarchs is — " to thee will I give it and to thy seed ;" 
 which, if words can plainly express a thing, does clearly im- 
 ply, that there must be a special fulfilment of the promise to 
 them, as well as to their posterity. They all indeed dwelt in 
 the land, but not as proprietors ; for, excepting a burial place, 
 
 a Genesis xiir, 15 ; xvii. 8 ; xxvi. 3 ; xxvni. 13 ; Exod. vi. 3, 4. 
 b Ephes. II. 12. c Gal. in. 16—19. 
 
42 
 
 they had no possession of it at all, " but confessed that they 
 were strangers and pilgrims." This very fact St. Paul in- 
 stances in order to prove, that they sought a country, yet died 
 tuithout receiving the promises. <i And St. Stephen notices 
 also, " that though God promised to give the land to Abra- 
 ' ham for a possession, and to his seed after him, yet, that he 
 ' gave him none inheritance in it — no not so much as to set 
 ' his foot on."e It is unwarrantable therefore to say of them, 
 that the promise was fulfilled ; when these two places of Scrip- 
 ture so clearly contend that it was not. 
 
 2. Secondly, in regard to the seed ; though I grant that 
 Abraham's posterity was led up into the land, and possessed it ; 
 yet I contend, that even these never held it according to the 
 full terms of the promise, and that their possession of it was 
 but the type and pledge, which the Lord usually grants, when 
 the great promise is deferred to a distant period. Thus the 
 Apostle, in his Epistle to the Hebrews, argues, — that if the 
 rest in the land, into which they were led under Joshua, were 
 the real rest covenanted, then would not God afterwards have 
 spoken of a future rest, as he does in David.f And in the 
 Epistle to the Ephesians he reminds children of the promise 
 attached to the fifth commandment; (viz. that their days may 
 be long in the land ;) which would be unmeaning, as regards 
 gentile children, were it applicable only to the Jews ; and the 
 more so, as the Jews themselves were then just about to be 
 again rejected from the land. As to that interpretation which 
 refers it to the comparative longevity in those times of obe- 
 dient children, it is contradicted by the fact, that persecutions 
 shortened the lives of christians below the ordinary term, in- 
 stead of their " living Io?ig upon the earth." 
 
 In regard to the terms of the grant also — the land was 
 given to Abraham from the River of Egypt to the Euphrates : S 
 but his seed did not possess it to this extent, unless it were 
 for a short period during the reign of Solomon. And if we 
 understand that grant to Abraham as St. Paul explains it — 
 viz. ** that he should be heir of the world"^ — it has plainly 
 never been fulfilled. It was likewise given to them for an 
 everlasting possession ; and Amos therefore speaks of a time 
 when Israel " shall no more be pulled up out of their land ;"i 
 which of necessity points to some future occupation, since they 
 
 d Heb. XI. 13—16, 39. e Acts vii. 4, 5. f Heb. iv. 7—9. g Gen. 
 XV. 18—21. b Rom. IV. 13. i Amos ix, 15. 
 
43 
 
 have possessed it only to be twice * pulled up,' and now for 
 nearly two thousand years peeled and scattered among the 
 nations. 
 
 The early christian Fathers fully concur in this view. 
 Treating of the blessing pronounced by Isaac on Jacob, — 
 *' God give thee of the dew of heaven and the fatness of the 
 earth, &c. Let people serve thee and nations bow down to 
 thee, &c." — Irenseus says, " that it was not made good to him 
 ' in this life, and therefore without doubt those words had a 
 ' further aim and prospect on the times of the kingdom, when 
 
 * the just rising from the dead shall reign, and when nature 
 ' renewed and set at liberty shall yield plenty and abundance 
 
 * of all things, being blessed with the dew of heaven and great 
 
 * fertility of the earth." Likewise in his fifth book against 
 heresies, he takes Ezekiel xxxvii. 11 — 14, to signify a literal 
 resurrection. The descendants of Abraham are described in 
 this place as captive at Babylon ; and the promise to them 
 appears so hopeless, that they cry, ** Our hope is lost, we are 
 cut off for our parts," Then the answer of God comes to 
 them, " Behold, O my people, I will open your graves, and 
 
 * cause you to come up out of your graves, and bring you 
 
 * into the land of Israel ; and ye shall know that I am the 
 
 * Lord, when I have opened your graves, O my people, and 
 ' brought you up out of your graves, and shall put my Spirit 
 
 * in you, and ye shall live, and I shall place you in your own 
 
 * land ; then shall ye know that I the Lord have spoken and 
 
 * performed, saith the Lord." 
 
 The words of St. Paul (Acts xxvi. 6 — 8) plainly evince, 
 that the expectation of the Apostle in regard to the promised 
 land was, that it should be fulfilled to the patriarchs by a re- 
 surrection. — " And now (he says) I stand and am judged for 
 ' the hope of the promise made of God unto our fathers ; unto 
 
 * which promise our twelve tribes, instantly ser^^ing God day 
 
 * and night, hope to come. For which hope's sake, King 
 
 * Agrippa, I am accused of the Jews. Why should it be 
 
 * thought a thing incredible with you, that God should raise 
 
 * the dead?" Here the promise to the Fathers is coupled with 
 the resurrection of the dead, which are both e\ddently in the 
 mind of the Apostle. But what was the promise to the Fa- 
 thers ? There is no exjDress mention to them of a resurrec- 
 tion ; and though several things are included in the promise 
 to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, yet there is not one of them 
 
44 
 
 which requires a resurrection to fulfil it, except the promise 
 of the land. It was this which must have led Paul to couple 
 the promise of the Fathers with the resurrection from the 
 dead. Agreeably with which expectation Daniel, when fa- 
 vored with divers revelations concerning Christ's kingdom and 
 the reign of the saints, is assured, that his intermediate de- 
 cease shall not prevent him from participating ; but that many 
 that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, — and that he 
 shall rest, yet stand in his lot at the end of those days, which 
 were then specially numbered to himJ 
 
 3. In regard to the seed it must further be observed, that, 
 in the interpretation of the promises given in Genesis, St. 
 Paul insists, that they specially refer to Christ. — " Now to 
 * Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith 
 ' not 'And to seeds' as of many; but as of one — 'And to 
 ' thy seed,' which is Christ." Therefore the remaining 
 posterity are only the seed, in as much as they are in Christ, 
 being of the faith of Abraham :^ they are members of Christ's 
 body and blessed in him. Indeed I may say, that Abraham 
 himself, to whom the promise is addressed, is only partaker 
 of it in Christ ; who, as he is the root as well as the branch 
 of David, was before Abraham.! Xo Christ the world espe- 
 cially belongs, being created " by him and for him :"^ that 
 is to say, when it shall be redeemed from the curse and reno- 
 vated; " for it is the world to come whereof we speak." 
 
 4. Before I pass on to the next head I must notice an ob- 
 jection, which may still operate on the minds of some readers ; 
 viz. that the New Testament Scriptures declare of the king- 
 dom that it is to be in heaven, whilst the exposition I have 
 given makes it to be on earth. In reply, there is no such 
 phrase in Scripture as " kingdom in heaven :" it is always 
 " kingdom q/" heaven;" which I have shown in my last Essay 
 to be peculiar to St. Matthew's Gospel. * And I would here 
 further observe, in regard to those instances which I have ad- 
 mitted may refer to the Gospel dispensation, that this very 
 circumstance disproves the necessity of interpreting the phrase 
 *' kingdom of heaven" as of a kingdom i?i heaven : for if these 
 
 J Dan. XII. 2 and 13. k Rom. iv. 11—18. 1 Rev. xxii. 16 ; John 
 VIII. 58. m Compare Rom. xi. 36 ; Col. i. 16 ; Heb. ii. 5 — 10. 
 
 * Nearly thirty times repeated, and always in the plural, — ?/ flaaiXsia 
 Tiov upaviov, " the kingdom of the heavens.^^ 
 
45 
 
 refer to the Gospel dispensation, they clearly speak of transac- 
 tions which are to take place on earth. 
 
 The kingdom, however, which is assigned in Daniel to the 
 Son of man and to the saints, is " the kingdom, dominion, 
 and the greatness of the kingdom, uxder the whole heaven. "J^ 
 St. Paul speaks of the Lord's heavenly kingdom, o and of a 
 heavenly country, i. e. the heavenly Jerusalem ;P which leads 
 us to the proper meaning of the phrase kingdom of heaven ; 
 viz. that it is a kingdom of a heavenly nature. It is heavenly 
 because it is " set up by the God of heaven ;" — it is heavenly 
 because the God-man fro77i heaven will rule in it ; — it is 
 heavenly because all things, both in heaven and earth, will be 
 at his command, being put under him ;q — and, finally, it is 
 heavenly because its principles, its laws, it^ spirit is heavenly, 
 being " the will of God done on earth as it is in heaven." 
 
 It is declared that the saints in that kingdom shall have 
 heavenly bodies : a heavenly body however does not neces- 
 sarily signify a body in heaven, but a body of a heavenly 
 nature. 2 Corinthians v. 1, 2, will further prove this, and 
 make evident likewise, that the glorious body of believers 
 (though now, as it were, reserved in heaven) is first to be 
 enjoyed on earth. Speaking of the present body, which the 
 Apostle calls " o\ir earthly house of tabernacle," (vv. 6, 8,) he 
 says ; that if it were dissolved, " we have a building of God, 
 a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens .•" and 
 then immediately adds, that in this tabernacle we groan, 
 " earnestly desiring to be clothed upon with our house which 
 is FROM heaven." This shews, that the very house prepared 
 in heaven, is ultimately to be revealed fro?n heaven. Not 
 that I suppose, there are as many bodies prepared in heaven, 
 as there are saints who have existed and who shall be born 
 on earth ; but that in heaven is the great exemplar of them 
 all — the Lord Jesus. For thus also in 1 Cor. xv. the Apostle 
 tells us, " The first man (by which, from the context, he 
 ' means our first body, made in the likeness of the first Adam) 
 
 * is of the earth, earthy : the second man is the Lord from 
 
 * heaven ; — and as we have borne the image of the earthy 
 
 * [man], we shall also bear the image of the heavenly [man]." 
 And this will be eifected by his descending from heaven, and 
 
 n Dan. VII. 27. o o Tim. iv. 18. P Heb. xi. 16 ; xii. 22. 
 q Heb. II. 8 ; Phil. ii. 9, 10. 
 
46 
 
 " changing our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto 
 ' his glorious body, according to the working whereby he is 
 ' able to subdue all things to himself." Phil. iii. 20, 21. 
 There are many other things which are said to be 'prepared,' 
 
 * laid up' and ' reserved in heaven / which are nevertheless 
 to be enjoyed on earth, and which will be made manifest in 
 the day when the Lord shall appear. Thus St. Paul, speak- 
 ing of temporal goods, says of the saints, " that they joyfully 
 
 * suffered the loss of them, knowing that they had in heaven 
 
 * a better and an enduring substance." i^ And this Peter 
 explains to be " an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, 
 ' and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you, who 
 
 * are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation 
 
 * ready to be revealed in the last timeJ"^ 
 
 I have necessarily anticipated in these remarks some things, 
 which belong more immediately to the doctrine of the Resur- 
 rection ; but I trust the Reader will perceive, that what is 
 proved in regard to the heavenly body or house of the believer, 
 is equally applicable to the heavenly kingdom. 
 
 II. I proceed now to the second point ; viz. that Zion is 
 to be a special place of manifestation. 
 
 Every reader of the Scriptures must be familiar with the 
 numerous promises and glorious things spoken of Mount Zion 
 and Jerusalem ; but owing to the unhappy mode of sj)iritual- 
 izing (or, rather, of explaining away) these passages, their 
 force and significance are lost. But I must first, in order to 
 prevent confusion from the use of different terms, shew that 
 Zion, Jerusalem, the Mount of God, and House of the Lord, 
 all mean one and the same thing ; — that is to say, they all 
 refer to the region of Mount Zion, or to some particular 
 place within that region. This I shall prove by three differ- 
 ent texts. 
 
 The first is in Isaiah ii, 1, 2, " And it shall come to pass 
 
 * in the last days, that the mountain of the Lord's house shall 
 
 * be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be ex- 
 
 * alted above the hills ; and all nations shall flow unto it, 
 
 * And many j^eople shall go and say, come )^e, and let us go 
 
 * up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of 
 
 * Jacob ; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk 
 
 * in his paths : for out of Zion ^hall go forth the law, and 
 
 * the word of the Lord from Jerusalem." 
 
 r Heb. X. 34. s 1 Peter i. 4, 5. 
 
47 
 
 In Micah iv. 1, 2, there is a similar passage ; " the moun- 
 tain of the Lord' and ' the house of the God of Jacob' being 
 made the same ; and Zion and Jerusalem also the same. 
 
 The third place is Isaiah xxvii. 13, where, speaking of the 
 return of Israel, it is said : — " They shall worship the Lord in 
 the holy mount at Jerusalem." 
 
 Now the first mention which we have of this place is in 
 Genesis, in the account of Abraham returning from the over- 
 throw of the kings. t It is here called Salem, (which signifies 
 peace, i.e, the place of peace,) and Melchizedec w^as king of 
 it. This jMelchizedec is held up as an eminent type of Christ 
 on various accounts ; but among the reasons is, that he was a 
 priest and king, and specially as being king of Salem :^ for 
 "in Salem also is [Alessiah's] tabernacle, and his dwelling- 
 place in Zion."^"* 
 
 The next mention which we have of this region is also in 
 Genesis, when the Lord commands Abraham, who had seen 
 the type of Christ reigning at Salem, to take his son Isaac, 
 another type of Christ, and offer him up for a burnt- offering 
 on a mount, which he should point out in the land of Moriah i^ 
 
 t Gen. XIV. ^ Heb. vii. 1 — 3. v Psalm lxxvi. 2. ^v Gen. xxn. 
 * The Rev. H. Blunt, in his Lectures on the History of Abraham, 
 page 98, takes occasion to deny that Salem, of which Melchizedec was 
 king and priest, could be the same as Jerusalem ; on the ground, that 
 the supposition is irreconcileable with the geographical situation of 
 Jerusalem, in regard to the route of Abraham, when Melchizedec came 
 out to meet him. He therefore concludes with Jerome, that well known 
 opponent in after times of millennarian doctrines, that Salim (which 
 was the ancient Scythopolis) must be intended. The assertion, how- 
 ever, instead of being borne out by the facts of the case, is decidedly 
 contradicted by them. The route of Abraham Tiompvard (for he was 
 returning to Mamre, and not to Sodom as Mr. Blunt states) from 
 Damascus, would necessarily lead him either right through Jerusalem, 
 or close by it. So that, whether Melchizedec came up in company with 
 the king of Sodom to Shaveh, the kings' dale, (as it was afterwards 
 called,) and which was in the west of Heshbon ; or whether he came 
 out from Salem only upon the approach of Abraham to that place ; the 
 situation of Jerusalem corroborates the opinion, that it was the Salem 
 here mentioned. If he were in company with the king of Sodom, it is 
 still more unlikely that it should have been Salim. The Fathers lefore 
 Jerome always considered Salem to be Jerusalem ; (which opinion the 
 learned Heideggar supports in his Hist. Patriarch^ and there ought to 
 be much stronger grounds, than those brought forward either by Jerome 
 or ]\Ir. Blunt, to lead us to conclude, that in all the four places of Scrip- 
 ture in which Salem is mentioned the text is incorrect. 
 
48 
 
 for Abraham must also be instructed, that the Son of Man 
 must suffer. And this land or region of Moriah is no other 
 than Sion and Jerusalem ; for in 2 Chron. iii. 1, we are told, 
 that Solomon began to build the house of the Lord at Jeru- 
 salem, in Mount Moriah ; where the Lord appeared unto 
 David his father.* And Abraham after this transaction on 
 Mount Moriah calls the name of the place Jehovah-Jireh ; 
 which is thus explained in our translation, " In the Mount of 
 the Lord it shall be seen." 
 
 Of the circumstances which caused this region to fall into 
 the hands of the Jebusites we are not informed ; only it ap- 
 pears to have been possessed sometimes by the Israelites, 
 sometimes by the Jebusites, or by both together, until David 
 besieged and took it and made it the royal city.f He now 
 gave, or restored to it, the name of Jerusalem ; which Cruden 
 says is made up of the two former names Jireh-Salem, the 
 first of which may refer to the two appearances, (the one to 
 Abraham, the other to David,) both pledges of future manifes- 
 tation. The Jebusites called it Jehus, which signifies " des- 
 pised or trodden under foot ;" which it now is again, and will 
 remain so, till the times of the Gentiles shall be fulfilled; and 
 then " the Lord shall inherit Judah his portion in the holy 
 
 * land, and shall choose Jerusalem again." (Zech. ii. 17.) 
 
 Observe then now a remarkable prophecy concerning this 
 mountain in Isaiah. — " In this mountain shall the Lord of 
 ' Hosts make unto all people a feast of fat things, a feast of 
 
 * wines on the lees, of fat things full of marrow, of wines on 
 
 * the lees well refined. And he will destroy in this mountain 
 ' the face of the covering cast over all people, and the vail 
 
 * that is spread over all nations. He will swallow up death in 
 ' victory, and the Lord God will wipe away tears from off all 
 'faces, and the rebuke of his people shall he take away from 
 ' off all the earth : for the Lord hath spoken it. And it shall 
 ' be said in that day, — Lo, this is our God ; we have waited 
 
 * for him, and he will save us : this is the Lord ; we have 
 
 * waited for him ; we will be glad and rejoice in his salvation. 
 
 * The floor of Araunah, or Oman, the Jebusite was the spot ; and 
 the appearance of the angel to David when the pestilence was stayed, 
 and his being openly answered on this spot by fire from heaven, are, I 
 presume, the circumstances intended. 1 Chron. xxi. 18 — 28. 
 
 t Compare Joshua x. 1, 42 ; xv. 63 ; Judges i. 23 ; 2 Sam. v. 6 — 9 ; 
 1 Chron. xi. 
 
49 
 
 ' For in this mountain shall the hand of the Lord rest." (xxv. 
 6 — 10.) Passing by the ordinary explanation of the feast of 
 fat things, I shall notice only the usual interpretation of 
 death being swallowed up in victory in this mount ; viz. that 
 it M'as fulfilled by the resurrection of Jesus. And, in as much 
 as he was the first fruits of the victory, I agree, that his re- 
 surrection was an earnest of a more complete fulfilment of 
 the promise. But 1 Cor. xv. forbids me to say more. — 
 " Behold (saith the Apostle) I shew 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 trumpet 
 
 * shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and 
 
 * we (i.e. the saints who shall then be living,) shall be changed. 
 ' For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mor- 
 ' tal must put on immortality. So whex this corruptible shall 
 
 * have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall put on im- 
 
 * mortality, then — thex shall be brought to pass the saying 
 ' that is written, ' Death is swallowed up in victory.' " In 
 this very mountain, therefore, if Christ rose, the saints shall 
 be manifested in immortal and incorruptible bodies ; as it is 
 written — " The redeemed of the Lord shall return and come 
 ' with singing unto Zion ; and everlasting joy shall be upon 
 
 * their head ; they shall obtain gladness and joy ; and sorroiv 
 
 * and mourning shall flee aivay .-" — ^just as before written, 
 " He shall wipe away tears from off all faces." 
 
 As the historical part of this subject shews, that this place 
 has been designed and pointed out to the Church at various 
 periods as a place of manifestation ; so the prophetical pas- 
 sages just quoted prove, that all these different circumstances 
 were but as the earnest of a future glorious manifestation and 
 possession of it by Christ and his saints, — who are the real 
 house of God, the heavenly Jerusalem, who shall come down 
 from God out of heaven. 
 
 There are many other circumstances, which evince a pecu- 
 liar appropriation of this place to the Lord Jesus. As he, b)^ 
 anticipation, was said to have been slain before the foundation 
 of the world ; ^ so, by a similar anticipation, he is said to have 
 rejoiced in this earth (oi/coujuevt/) before it was made."^ It is 
 
 X Rev. XIII. 8. 
 * A comparison of Proverbs viii, 23, 31, in the Septuagint version 
 wiU shew, that it is }'/ oiKsfiivt] y?] here spoken of — the habitable land 
 or earth ; oiKSfiEvr] being also the word, which, in Hebrews ii. 5, is 
 translated " world^^ to come. 
 
so 
 
 called, by the same anticipation, the holy land,y the Lord's 
 landjZ and ImmanueVs land. a Zion is declared also to be ' the 
 city of God/b ' God's hill,'c ' the mount which he loveth,'d 
 
 * the perfection of beauty/e ' his rest for ever, where he will 
 dwell, because he hath desired it.'^ Here indeed he is said 
 to have dwelt already, before he became flesh ;g giving to his 
 people the cloud, as the symbol of his presence — the very- 
 symbol also of his return> Here we know, likewise, he did 
 sojourn, when in the flesh, loving more especially to retire to 
 that part of it called ' the Mount of Olives,' — where was ' the 
 garden ; ' from whence also he took his departure on a cloud ; 
 and where he will again descend ; as it is written, " His feet 
 ' shall stand in that day upon the Mount of Olives, which is 
 ' before Jerusalem on the east, and the Mount of Olives shall 
 ' cleave in the midst thereof towards the east and towards the 
 
 * west ; and half of the mountain shall remove toward the 
 ' north, and half of it toward the south. And ye shall flee to 
 ' the valley of the mountains ; for the valley of the moun- 
 
 * tains shall reach unto Azal ; yea, ye shall flee, like as ye 
 
 * fled before the earthquake, in the days of Uzziah king of 
 / Judah : and the Lord my God shall come, and all the 
 
 * SAixTS WITH THEE."i What cau be more explicit than this 
 prophecy ? Mr. Faber, who does not concur with me in the 
 view of the personal reign, admits, nevertheless, of this pro- 
 phecy, that it must be literal, " and designed, by its circum- 
 stantial clearness, to cut oflF the possibility of figurative inter- 
 pretation."!^ And immediately after this prophecy it is added 
 — " And the Lord shall be King over all the ecwth"^ — proving 
 most decidedly, when the kingdom v/ill be manifest; (viz. at 
 his coming with the saints, before named;) and where, viz. on 
 earth. 
 
 Many other Scriptures prove that the Lord's kingdom is to 
 be manifested on earth : for example, Jer. xxiii. 5, — " A king 
 shall reign and prosper, and shall execute judgement and jus- 
 tice in the earth." Again, Ezek. xliii. 7, when the Lord, on 
 granting to him a vision of Jerusalem, says, — " Son of man, 
 the 2}lace of my throne, and the j^lace of the soles of my feet." 
 Wherefore our Lord forbids his disciples to swear by Jerusa- 
 
 y Zecli. II. 12. =" Hosea ix. 3. a Isaiah viii. 8. ^ Ps, lxxxvii. 3. 
 
 C Ps. LXVIII. 1.1. d Ps. LXXVIII. 68. t^ Ps. L. f Ps. cxxxii. 14. 
 
 g Ps. Lxxiv. 2, 3. h Acts I. 9—11 ; Rev. i. 7. » Zech. xiv. 4, 5. 
 k Vol. vii. p. 267. > Zech. xiv. 1). 
 
51 
 
 lem, because it is the city of the great king.i^i Nor must I 
 omit to notice, when speaking of the throne, that Isaiah says : 
 " Of the increase of his government there shall be no end, 
 ' upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom. "ii Thus 
 the angel Gabriel announces to Alary ; — " He shall be great, 
 
 * and shall be called the Son of the Highest ; and the Lord 
 ' God shall give unto him the throne of his father David. "o 
 And where was the throne of David ? surely not in heaven ; 
 for St. Peter tells us plainly, " that David is not ascended into 
 ' the heavens /' but that, " being a prophet, he knew that God 
 ' had sworn with an oath to him, that of the fruit of his loins, 
 ' according to the flesh, he would raise up Christ to sit on his 
 ' throne."? The Lord, however, certainly did not sit on Da- 
 vid's throne at his first coming ; for Herod was then in it : and 
 this promise therefore remedns to be fulfilled at his second 
 coming, 
 
 2. It is now time that I should notice an objection, which 
 it will be useful to consider, not merely in reference to this 
 particular argument, but likewise as affecting in some measure 
 general principles of interpretation. 
 
 There are passages of Scripture, relating to this matter, 
 Avhich are luidoubtedly to be understood only in a spiritual 
 sense, and must be so interpreted. Such, for example, as 
 when St. Paul sa5's of gentile believers, " that they are fel- 
 ' low citizens with the saints, and of the household of God, 
 ' and are built upon the foundation of the Apostles and Pro- 
 
 * phets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone ; in 
 ' whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto a 
 
 * holt/ temple in the Lord ; in whom ye also are builded toge- 
 ' ther for a habitation of God through the Spirit. "q And St. 
 Peter also, speaking of Christ as of * a living stone,' adds, 
 '• Ye also are built up a spiritual house." 
 
 Persons who do not consider, that such a spiritual view is 
 reconcileable wdtli other texts, which must, for reasons equally 
 manifest, be literal, at once conclude, that every reference to 
 the house, or city, or mount of God must be figurative : just 
 as some others, collecting a few passages, the nature of which 
 is unquestionably literal, thence conclude that none are figura- 
 tive. There are passages, which speak of a spiritual resurrec- 
 
 m Matt. V. 35. n Isa. ix. 7. o Luke i. 32. P Acts ii. 30, 34. &c. 
 q Ephes. II. 19—22. 
 
52 
 
 tioUi relating to the raising of the soul from the death of sin, 
 unto the life of righteousness ; whence believers are said to be 
 already risen with Christ : ^ but we must not thence conclude 
 that there is not a bodilj/ resurrection revealed also. The spi- 
 ritual resurrection is the pledge and earnest of the bodily one, 
 rendering it more sure ; just as things which are first literally 
 fulfilled, are pledges of the like spiritual things. It was the 
 exclusive consideration of such Scriptures that caused many 
 among the Corinthians to err, supposing the spiritual resur- 
 rection to be the JiJ^st resurrection promised, and therefore 
 that it had taken place : which opinion is apparently the very 
 one St. Paul denies and combats, in the fifteenth chapter of 
 his first Epistle to them ; wherein he insists, that their faith 
 was vain were this the case. 
 
 Prophetic Scripture, and all Scripture, must be judged of 
 by its context and general scope. For example, when it speaks 
 of a man, we understand a being who possesses a spiritual 
 soul, dwelling in a mortal body. The chief commands and 
 promises of Scripture are addressed to his spiritual part ; but 
 that does not prove, that the soul will not hereafter be mani- 
 fested in a body, any more than it proves, that it is not now 
 in the body. When therefore we use the word soul for man, 
 we include his body as a matter of course. For who would 
 suppose, because it is written, '' that Abram took Sarai, and 
 ' Lot his brother's son, and all their substance that they had 
 ' gathered, and the souls that they had gotten in Haran, and 
 * they went forth to go into the land of Canaan ;"s — who, I 
 say, would conclude, that they took only the spirits of these 
 persons, and left their bodies behind ? And who again, be- 
 ' cause St. Paul exhorts the brethren to present their bodies a 
 living sacrifice unto God, t would suppose that he does not 
 include the soul ; without which they would be a dead, and 
 not a living, sacrifice r 
 
 Now apply this principle to the house of God, — which we 
 have seen is the city, the New Jerusalem, the holy mountain. 
 A city is, strictly speaking, a number of persons dwelling to- 
 gether under certain laws and immunities. Whether they 
 dwell in tents, in ceiled houses, or have the sky only as their 
 canop}" is indifferent : houses come to be called the city, only 
 because they are the place of abode of the citizens ; just as 
 
 r Rom. VI. 1, 5 ; Col. in. 1. s Gen. xii. 5. t Rom. xii. 1. 
 
53 
 
 we call a pile of stones a church, because the real Church of 
 God are presumed to assemble in it. The houses are nomore 
 a city when without inhabitants, than a body is a man when 
 the spirit is fled : both are their ruins only. Thus it is writ- 
 ten — " Then went out to him Jerusalem, &.c. and were bap- 
 tized of him in Jordan" — which evidently means the in- 
 habitants of Jerusalem ; and when therefore a city is said 
 to be preparing in heaven, the saints must be intended, 
 who are destined to form it, and are now called " Jeru- 
 salem which is above /' and which is the same Jerusalem 
 which it is said shall " come dotvn — from God — out of 
 heaven."^ But because they are the real city — the lively 
 stones — it does not follow therefore that they are to have no 
 place of manifestation : on the contrary, there must be some 
 place of visible dwelling if they come in the body, whatever 
 the nature of that place may be. Those who can see nothing 
 but figure in Scripture are compelled to explain, that the great 
 city, the holy Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven, signifies 
 the ascent of the saints into heaven. But this is not only a 
 perversion of language, but a perversion of figure. The scrip- 
 ture figures are remarkable for their appropriate significancy ; 
 whereas in this case they would be remarkable, as meaning 
 the very reverse of what they seemed to describe. 
 
 It may clear this point to observe further, that there are 
 texts which beyond question refer to a material city, so far as 
 literal language can express it ; and yet they primarily aim at 
 the persons who compose such cities, without which they 
 would have no meaning. For instance, — " Then began he 
 ' to upbraid the cities wherein most of his mighty works 
 ' were done, because they repented not. Woe unto thee, Cho- 
 ' razin," &c.v '• And when he was come near he beheld the 
 ' city and wept over it saying, if thou hadst known," &c.^ 
 It is here evident that it was the material city — the pile of 
 stones with its towers and domes, which first caught the eye 
 of Jesus ; and he appears only to address this mass of mate- 
 rials. But any man of understanding must be aware, that it 
 was the inhabitants of Chorazin, &c. against whom he pro- 
 nounced the woe ; and the inhabitants of Jerusalem over whom 
 he wept. It was her " children" whom he would have ga- 
 thered : but the one part is included in the other. 
 
 u Rev. XXI. 2. V Matt. xi. 20—24. w Luke xix. 41. 
 
54 
 
 Thus am I led to conclude, when Daniel, on ** presenting 
 his supplications for the holy mountain of his God," couples 
 together the following phrases — '* thy city Jerusalem, thy 
 holy mountain ;" — " Jerusalem, even thy people " — " thy city, 
 even thy people,* are called by Thy Name,"^ — that these 
 terms are in the first place explanatory of each other ; and, 
 secondly, that there is a reference in them, both to the house- 
 hold of God, and to the jjlace of their congregating and future 
 manifestation. So in the following passage, " Remember thy 
 * congregation, which thou hast purchased of old ; the rod of 
 ' thine inheritance, which thou hast redeemed- this mount 
 ' Zion, wherein thou hast dwelt ;"y mount Zion and the con- 
 gregation are made as one by implication ; whilst yet the con- 
 text shews, that Zion literally, as well as the congregation, 
 are both distinctly referred to. 
 
 I add here some texts, shewing the practical use, which 
 the Apostles made of the doctrine of the Kingdom and Inhe- 
 ritance to be manifested on the earth. I could greatly increase 
 the list were I to turn to the Old Testament; (particularly 
 in reference to the land, the promise of which, in one Psalm 
 only,z is practically applied six dilFerent times ;) but, for 
 obvious reasons, I prefer keeping at present to the New Tes- 
 tament. Grounded then on these truths are Exhortations 
 to Repentance. 
 
 " And saying. Repent ye : for the kingdom of heaven is at 
 hand." Matt. in. 1. 
 
 " Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the 
 kingdom of God ? Be not deceived : neither fornicators, nor 
 idolaters, nor adulterers, nor abusers of themselves with man- 
 kind, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, 
 nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God." 1 Cor. 
 VI. 9, 10. 
 
 " Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are 
 these ; adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, idol- 
 atry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulation, wrath, strife, 
 sedition, heresies, envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, 
 and such like : of the which I tell you before, as I have also 
 
 X Dan. IX. 16—20. y Ps. lxxiv. 2. z Ps. xxxvii. 
 
 * In both these instances, I take the vau of the Hebrew, and the Kai 
 of the Septuagint necessarily to mean even, (as they often do,) not and. 
 
55 
 
 told you in time past, that they which do such things shall 
 not inherit the kingdom of God," Gal. v. 19 — 21. 
 
 " For this ye knovr, that no whoremonger, nor unclean 
 person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, hath any inhe- 
 ritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God." Ephes. v. 5. 
 to Holiness and to seek Grace. 
 
 " Verily, verily, I say unto thee. Except a man be born 
 again, he cannot see the kingdom of God." John iii. 3. 
 
 Verily, verily, I say unto thee. Except a man be born of 
 water, and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of 
 God." John iii. 5. 
 
 " Wherefore we, receiving a kingdom which cannot be 
 moved, let us have grace, whereby we may serve God accept- 
 ably, with reverence and godly fear." Heb. xii. 28. 
 
 Particular Graces excited. 
 Obedience to God, 
 " Not every one that saith unto me. Lord, Lord, shall enter 
 into the kingdom of heaven ; but he that doeth the will of my 
 Father which is in heaven." Matt. vii. 21. 
 Obedience to Parents, 
 " Children, obey your parents in the Lord : for this is 
 right. Honour thy father and thy mother ; (for this is the 
 first commandment with promise ;) that it may be well with 
 thee, and thou may est live long on the earth." Ephes. vi. 
 1—3. 
 
 Humiliti/, 
 " Blessed are the poor in Spirit; for theirs is the kingdom 
 of heaven." Matt. v. 3. 
 
 " Hearken, my beloved brethren ; Hath not God chosen the 
 poor of this world, rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom 
 which he hath jjromised to them that love him } But ye have 
 despised the poor." James ii. 5, 6. 
 Meekness, 
 " Blessed are the meek : for they shall inherit the earth." 
 Matt. V. 5. 
 
 Patience, 
 " Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' 
 sake : for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." Matt. v. 10. 
 
 " These all died in faith, not having received the promises, 
 but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, 
 and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers 
 
56 
 
 and pilgrims on the earth. For they that say such things 
 declare plainly, that they seek a country." (iraTpiha.) Heb. 
 XI. 13, 14. 
 
 " Let us go forth therefore unto him without the camp, 
 bearing his reproach. For here we have no continuing citj/t 
 but we seek one to come." Heb. xiii. 12, 14. 
 
 " Fear not, little flock ; for it is your Father's good plea- 
 sure to give you the kingdom." Luke xii. 32. 
 Perseverance, 
 
 " He that overcometh shall inherit all things ; and I will 
 be his God, and he shall be my son." Rev. xxi. 7. 
 Diligence, 
 
 " Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for new 
 heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness. 
 Wherefore, beloved, seeing that ye look for such things, be 
 diligent that ye may be found of him in peace, without spot, 
 and blameless." 2 Pet. in. 13, 14. 
 
 General Holy Walking, 
 
 " Ye were sealed with that Holy Spirit of promise, which is 
 the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the pur- 
 chased possession, unto the praise of his glory." — " Grieve 
 not [therefore] the Holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed 
 unto the day of redemption." Ephes. i. 13, 14 ; and iv. 30. 
 
 " Walk worthy of God, who hath called you unto His 
 kingdom and glory ." 1 Thess. ii. 12. 
 Thankfulness, 
 
 " Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us 
 
 meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light : 
 
 who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath 
 
 translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son." Col. i. 12, 13. 
 
 Prayer. 
 
 " And he said unto them, when ye pray, say, Our Father 
 which art in heaven. Hallowed be thy Name. Thy kingdom 
 come. Thy will be done, as in heaven, so in earth." Luke 
 XI. 2. 
 
 NOTE, that almost the whole of these texts, by making 
 the kingdom and inheritance the subjects of promise, do 
 likewise expressly make them /?/^Mr^. 
 
 Abdiel. 
 
57 
 
 Essay V. 
 
 THE PARTICIPATION OF THE SAINTS. 
 
 Tliough much of the evidence brought to bear on the points 
 which have now been considered, must already have led to 
 the conclusion, that the saints in general will participate in 
 the glorious state of things to be revealed in the Millennium ; 
 yet I consider it to be a matter of so much importance and 
 interest to the Church, that I have reserv^ed many Scripture 
 testimonies for the purpose of pro\Tbig it more distinctly ; 
 which testimonies will likemse further corroborate the view 
 I have taken of the Kingdom of the Son of Man. I proceed 
 therefore to shew, that the promises of this glory belong 
 equally to the saints of the Old and New Testaments, and of 
 every age of the Church. 
 
 I. This point is the more necessary to be insisted on, be- 
 cause there are many, who, whilst they admit a Millennium 
 of glory on earth, confine it nevertheless to a portion only of 
 the Church of God. Some, for instance, limit it to the Jews; 
 some to those only who have suffered martyrdom for Clu-ist ; 
 and some to that generation only, who shall be living at the 
 commencement of the Millennium, excluding all the departed 
 saints, and the Lord Jesus himself, from any visible participa- 
 tion. I conclude, however, that the whole of the saints, from 
 the da^/s of the first Adam up to the period of the glorious 
 advent of the second Adam, will together enjoy their resur- 
 rection glory at the beginning of the Millennium ; and that 
 their glory is altogether distinct from the condition of that 
 portion of Israel, who will then be redeemed in the flesh ; and 
 also from the spiritual state of those gentile nations, who shall 
 then lilie^dse still be in the flesh. I have only to request of 
 the Reader, if cUfficulties and objections present themselves to 
 his mind on the perusal of this statement, that he will at least 
 suspend them, until I have gone through the whole series of 
 Essays in which I am now engaged ; in the course of which 
 it is probable, that some of those difficulties may be removed. 
 
 I trust it is not necessary to dwell long upon the antediluvian 
 saints : these may be all included in one verse of Jude's 
 Epistle ; — " Enoch also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied 
 
58 
 
 * to these, saying. Behold the Lord cometh with myriads of 
 
 * his saints, to execute judgement, &c."a This was therefore 
 the expectation of the Church in Enoch's time. And as re- 
 spects the saints from the time of Noah to Abraham, we may 
 clearly infer their expectation from the eleventh chapter of 
 Hebrews : Noah being instanced, at the seventh verse, as one 
 of those of whom, in the thirty-ninth and following verses, it 
 is said, that they obtained a good report through faith, but 
 received not the promise ; God having designed, that they 
 without us should not be perfected. 
 
 In regard to the promises to Abraham and to his seed, I 
 have already proved that Christ is "the seed" principally in- 
 tended, and, by a necessary consequence, all those who are 
 his members. This is further evident from the Epistle to the 
 Romans. The Millennarian will not I think deny, that the 
 glory to which the Apostle frequently alludes in this Epistle, 
 is that which is to be revealed at the manifestation of the sons 
 of God, treated of in chapter viii ; and of course the promise 
 spoken of has reference to that glory. Yet in chap. iv. the 
 apostle contends, " that the promise that he should be the heir 
 of the world, was not to Abraham or to his seed through the 
 law, (which has especial respect to the Gentile dispensation,) 
 but through the righteousness of faith. — That it is of faith, 
 that it might be by grace ; to the end the promise might be 
 sure to all the seed : not to that only which is of the law, but 
 to that also which is of the faith of Abraham ; who is the 
 father of us all." And again in the ninth chapter he argues, 
 even as respects the seed of Abraham according to the flesh ; 
 " that they are not all Israel who are of Israel ; neither be- 
 
 * cause they are the seed of Abraham are they all children ; 
 
 * but in Isaac shall thy seed be called : that is, they which 
 
 * are the children of the flesh, these are not the children of 
 ' God ; but the children of the promise are counted for the 
 
 * seed." And afterwards he goes on in the same chapter to 
 argue, that the purpose of God was " to make known the 
 
 * riches of his glory on the vessels of mercy, which he had 
 
 * afore prepared unto glory, — even us, whom he hath called, 
 
 * not of the Jews only, but also of the Gentiles." So also in 
 Galatians : " Know ye therefore, that they which are of 
 
 * faith, the same are the children of Abraham."'^ And again, 
 
 a V. 14. TrpoecprjTevffe raroif. b Gal. iii. 7, 
 
59 
 
 "• Ye are all the children of God hj faith in Christ Jesus, &c. 
 
 * there is neither Jew nor Greek, bond nor free, male nor fe- 
 
 * male ; for ye are all one in Christ Jesus : and if ye be Christ's, 
 ' then are ye Abrahams seed and heirs according to the pro- 
 ' mise."^ 
 
 When the Church afterwards assumed a still more distinct 
 and separate form in the Israelitish nation, to whom all the 
 promises then appear to be more immediately addressed, I 
 grant that a greater degree of obscurity is throwTi over this 
 circumstance. Nor do I mean to deny, (though we are now 
 enabled clearly to infer the facts above stated,) that in the 
 previous periods the mystery of the fulness of the Gentiles 
 was in great measure hidden : for the Apostle plainly tells us, 
 " that in other ages was 7iot made known unto the sons of 
 ' men, as it is noiv revealed unto the holy apostles and pro- 
 
 * phets by the Spirit, that the Gentiles should be fellow-heirs, 
 
 * and of the same body, and partakers of his promise in Christ 
 
 * by the Gospel. "^ And thus St. Peter, alluding to the pe- 
 riod when the Jews only were the recognised people of God, 
 says to the " strangers" to whom he writes, — "Ye are a chosen 
 ' generation, a royal priesthood ; &c. which in time past were 
 
 * not a people, but are now the people of God."^ And though 
 some have concluded from certain passages, that strangers 
 and foreigners were not to partake of the same promises with 
 Israel ; yet I apprehend, as far as the resurrection Church is 
 concerned, that these passages do always apply to aliens from 
 the commonwealth of Israel in their unnaturalized and un- 
 proselyted state. This is indeed evident from what is said 
 about the institution of the Passover, one of the most sacred 
 of their ordinances. — " And the Lord said unto Moses and 
 
 * Aaron, this is the ordinance of the Passover : there shall no 
 
 * stranger eat thereof, &c." Exod. xii. 43. After which, at 
 verses 48, 49, it is written : " And when a stranger shall so- 
 ' journ with thee, and will keep the passover to the Lord, let 
 
 * all his males be circumcised, and then let him come near and 
 
 * keep it ; and he shall be as one horn in the land : but no 
 
 * uncircumcised person shall eat thereof." 
 
 In due time, however, the Lord sent forth his Apostles to 
 call those other sheep, which were not] of the Israelitish 
 fold ; but who were to be made one fold under one Shepherd.^ 
 
 ^ Gal. III. 26—29. d Ephes. m. 5, 6. el Peter ii. 9, 10. 
 
 f Jolmx. 16. 
 
60 
 
 Then ^ve find it openly declared, " that in Christ Jesus neither 
 circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision, but the 
 new creature, and faith which worketh by love ; and that those 
 who thus walk are the Israel of Gocl."S And the Apostle 
 bids us " Remember, that though we are Gentiles in the flesh, 
 who are called rxciRcuMcisiox by the Jews ; being, when 
 without Christ, aliens from the commonwealth of Israel and 
 strangers from the covenant of promise ; we are now by the 
 blood of Christ made ?iicih, he having broken dovra the middle 
 wall of partition, and made of ticain o?ie neiv man, thus making 
 us no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with 
 the saints and of the household of God."h Thus, as Abraham 
 is called " the father of us all," so ''Jerusalem which is above" 
 — that Jerusalem '* which shall descend from God out of hea- 
 ven" — is also called " the mother of us all."i 
 
 The next point for consideration is, whether that generation 
 only, which shall be living at the commencement of the Mil- 
 lenriium, shall partake of it ; or whether the departed saints 
 will equally share in it. The latter view I shall prove to be 
 the correct one, by an argument which will equally disprove 
 the notion of a Millennium separate from a resurrection. It is 
 by a comparison of two passages (the one in Hebrews, the 
 other in Thessalonians) which mutually reflect on each other. 
 
 Let us suppose (as some do) that the Lord and his saints 
 are now in the enjoyment of the kingdom promised, and that 
 every believer enters into it at death : in this case it is plain, 
 that the saints on earth are for the present excluded from it. 
 But the Apostle, to prevent such an imagination, tells us, 
 *' These all," (including Noah, Abraham, Moses, David, &c. 
 who are instanced,) " having obtained a good report [or, 
 ' rather, having borne witness"^] through faith, received not 
 ' the promise ; God having provided some better thing for us, 
 * that they ivithout us should not be made perfect. "k This 
 proves, that, whether the enjoyment of the promise is to be 
 on earth or in heaven, the whole Church will be glorified 
 together ; the saints of one generation not receiving the 
 promise without the saints of other generations. 
 
 On the other hand, let us suppose that the generations 
 
 * naprvprjOiVTSc, agreeing with vt(pog i^iap-vpojv, the " cloud of 
 witnesses," in the first verse of the next chapter. 
 
 g Gal. V. 6 ; VI. 15, 16. h Ephes. ii. 11—22. i Rora. iv. 16 
 and Gal. iv. 26. k Heb. xi. 39, 44. 
 
61 
 
 alive at the commencement of the Millennium are to enjoy 
 the promise of the kingdom : — that then only, and to them 
 only, is to be fulfilled what is "UTitten, " that the kingdom 
 
 * and dominion and the greatness of the kingdom under the 
 ' whole heaven, shall be given to the saints of the Most 
 *■ High/'l It is plain, that the departed saints, though most 
 of them have lived in expectation of the promise, must be shut 
 out from it. But this also the Apostle says to us " hy the 
 ' word of the Lord. — that we which are alive and remain unto 
 ' the coming of the Lord, shall not prevent them which are 
 ' asleep. "21 Thus again both are to rejoice together; — and 
 this at the coming of the Lord : for the Lord will descend and 
 bring the Church above with him, w^hilst the Church below 
 will undergo a change : even as it is written, " When Christ 
 who is our life shall appear, then shall ye also appear v^ith 
 him in glory. "^^ 
 
 The opinion which limits the reigning in this kingdom to 
 the mart}-rs only, is the last which I shall consider, and a brief 
 notice of it will be sufficient. For it entirely rests upon Rev- 
 elation XX, 4, which is supposed to confine the first resurrec- 
 tion to those " beheaded for the witness of Jesus." But here 
 are also included, when we come to examine the subject more 
 accurately, those " which had not worshiped the beast, neither 
 received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands. ""^ 
 This may be clearly inferred from chap. xi. 18, which extends 
 the reward then to be given to " all that fear the name of 
 God, both great and small." 
 
 II. Having shown that the saints in general are to partake 
 of the kingdom, it will greatly confirm the view which I have 
 taken of its being on earth, to glance at some of the promises 
 which are made to the saints ; keeping in mind, that they 
 belong to the whole of them. 
 
 Isaiah says to the righteous, in one place, — " Thine eyes 
 ' shall see the king in his beauty ; they shall behold the land 
 
 * that is very far oiF:"o and in another, " that God should 
 ' cause him to ride upon the high places of the earth, and feed 
 ' him with the heritage of Jacoh his father.''^ David declares, 
 
 1 Daniel VII. 27. ^ 1 Thess. iv. 15. " Col. iii. 4. « Isa. xxxiii. 17. 
 P Isa. Lviii. 14. 
 
 * See Whitby in loco ; who, though a decided anli-miUennarian, 
 makes here two distinct classes ; — viz. the souls of those beheaded, and 
 the souls of those who had not worshiped the beast. 
 
62 
 
 ' that " the righteous shall be exalted and inherit the earth 
 for ever;"q and says of himself, " that he had fainted, unless 
 
 * he had believed to see the goodness of the Lord in the land 
 
 * of the living."^ The Lord Jesus repeats the assurance under 
 the Gospel, " that the meek shall inherit the earth."^ St. 
 Paul, as we have seen, reminds children of the promise annexed 
 to the fifth commandment, (viz. " that thy days may be long 
 
 * in the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee,") " that it 
 ' may be well with thee (he adds) and that thou may est live 
 
 * long on the earth. "t This latter testimony is the more 
 satisfactor}'-, if we apply to it a rule of interpretation laid 
 down by St. Paul in Hebrews. He contends, that because it 
 is written in David — " If they shall enter into my rest," 
 there must remain a rest for the people of God. For he ar- 
 gues, that the Lord could not mean the Sabbath rest at crea- 
 tion, neither the rest in the land given them under Joshua ; 
 seeing that after these had taken place he still speaks of a 
 rest to come ; saying, " If they shall enter into my rest."^ 
 This is the Apostle's principle of interpreting prophecy ; and 
 it would violate this principle not to conclude, that as he 
 promises length of days in the land to Gentiles, at the time 
 when the Jews were just about to be cast out of it, there 
 must remain an inheriting of the land to the people of God. 
 
 Those who presume these promises to be figurative thus 
 explain how the meek shall inherit the earth : viz. that they 
 are contented with their present lot ; and that, if they needed 
 more, God would give it to them, even unto the possession of 
 the whole world. But such an interpretation appears ob- 
 jectionable on various grounds. First, it offends against the 
 plain grammatical sense of the promise ; which is, that the 
 meek shall inherit the earth : whereas, if they now possess 
 it through contentment, it should rather be written, " Blessed 
 are the meek for they do inherit the earth." The whole argu- 
 ment indeed of St. Paul, just noticed, loses its cogency, if, 
 when our Saviour, after so long a time, promises that the 
 meek shall inherit the earth, we are to understand it of the 
 past. " For (to paraphrase the reasoning of the Apostle,) if 
 they had always thus inherited the earth, then would he not 
 afterwards have spoken of a future inheriting : there remaineth, 
 therefore, an inheritance of the earth to the meek." Secondly, 
 
 q Psalm XXXVII. 9, 11, 29, 34. r pg. xxvii. 13. s Matt. v. 5. 
 
 t Ephes. VI. 2, 3. ^ Heb, chap. iv. 
 
63 
 
 it contradicts the whole scope of unfulfilled promise ; which, 
 as I have demonstrated, regards a future kingdom to be mani- 
 fested on earth. Thirdly, it lowers and degrades the promises 
 of God ; as if we were afraid to trust him, when marvellous 
 power must be exerted to fulfil the word ; and therefore placed 
 a meaning upon it which is accomplished in the ordinary 
 course and moral nature of things, without any promise at all. 
 We shall next find the saints included in the promises under 
 every particular, in which we have been led to consider them 
 in regard to Christ. 
 
 1 . The Father has appointed unto him a kingdom ; and he 
 tells his disciples, " I appoint unto you a kingdom, as the 
 ' Father hath appointed unto me ; that ye may eat and drink 
 
 * at my table in my kingdom and sit on thrones judging the 
 
 * twelve tribes of Israel. "v He tells them also, " that when 
 
 * the Son of Man shall come in his glory, the King shall say 
 
 * to them on his right hand, Come ye blessed of my Father, 
 ' inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of 
 ' the world. "w And " then shall the righteous shine forth as 
 
 * the sun in the kingdom of their Father. "x 
 
 2. Again, Christ is declared to be a king : so in Psalm xlv. 
 16, the promise to the Church is, " Instead of thy fathers 
 
 * shall be thy children, whom thou mayest make princes in all 
 
 * the earth." Agreeing with which is that passage in Reve- 
 lation, (put into the mouths of the departed saints) "' Thou 
 
 * hast made us unto our God kings and priests, and we shall 
 
 * reign on the earth."Y 
 
 3. Once more, a throne is prepared for the Lord, which I 
 will call a throne of glory ; because it is said, that when he 
 shall come with his angels, then shall he sit on the throne of 
 his glory. Now Hannah is made to prophesy, that the Lord 
 ** raiseth up the poor out of the dust and lifteth up the beggar 
 ' from the dunghill, to set them among princes, and to make 
 
 * them inherit the throne of glory :"z which agrees with that 
 in Revelation; — " To him that overcometh will I grant to sit 
 
 * with me in my throne ; even as I also overcame and am set 
 
 * down with my Father in his throne. "a And if any inquire. 
 How so many can sit on the throne of Jesus, I answer with 
 Jeremiah : " At that time they shall call Jerusalem the throne 
 
 * of the Lord ;"t> «' for there also (saith David) are set thrones 
 
 * of judgement. "e Abdiel. 
 
 V Luke XXII. 29,30. ^^Matt. xxv. 34. ^Ib. xiii.43. Y Rev. v. 10. 
 « 1 Sam. 11. 8. a Rev, m. 21. b Jer. in. 17. c Pg. cxxii. 5. 
 
64 
 
 Essay VI. 
 
 THE FIRST RESURRECTIOX. 
 
 Having shewn, that all who are " called to be saints" are 
 to participate in the millennial kingdom and glory, the ques- 
 tion will immediately arise in the minds of some, — How is 
 this to be accomphshed in regard to those who are asleep in 
 Jesus ? A satisfactory answer may be dra^ii from 1 Cor. xv. 
 St. Paul there argues that our faith is altogether vain, unless 
 there be a Resurrection ; and having largely treated on this 
 subject he concludes by assuring them, " that therefore their 
 labor is 7iot in vain in the Lord." I reply, therefore, that the 
 departed saints are to be brought into the enjoyment of this 
 blessed and glorious state by means of a resurrection, prior in 
 order of time to the resurrection of the vricked, and distin- 
 guished in Scripture as the first resurrection ; — not first (as 
 some would imagine) by a priority of a few hours only, but by 
 a period of at least a thousand years. The former circum- 
 stance would in itself confer but little pre-eminence ; since it 
 would not matter, whether the saints were raised a few hours 
 before, or even after, the wicked, provided they did but rise 
 to the enjoyment of glory, honor, and immortality. Nor in- 
 deed would a precedence, which merely regarded the order of 
 time, even to the extent of a thousand years, avail much : it 
 is the circumstance, that all the promises of God for good (so 
 far as they are at present revealed) are connected with this 
 period, that gives to it such peculiar importance. To be pri- 
 vileged to enjoy this Millennium declares us to be " blessed 
 and holy ;"^ whUst to be excluded from it, will mark us " as 
 unjust and filthy still." ^ Within this period is concentrated 
 that special glory which results to Christ as man-mediator : 
 and he, therefore, who is not included in that heavenly com- 
 pany which shall descend at the archangel's shout, w^ill not 
 " be with him, where he is, to behold that glory which God 
 has given him."^ 
 
 It is true, that there are one or two passages in Scripture 
 which might lead us to suppose, that the resurrection 
 of the righteous and mcked take place together. I refer 
 to that description in Matt. xxv. of the Son of Man on 
 
 a Rev. XX, 6. b Rev. xxii. 11. ''- John xvii. 24. 
 
65 
 
 the throne of his glory, and all the nations gathered before 
 him, which he separates into two classes ; one of which goes 
 away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into life 
 eternal. And secondly, to a passage in John v : " The hour 
 ' is coming in the which all that are in the graves shall hear 
 ' his voice, and shall come forth ; they that have done good 
 
 * unto the resurrection of life, and they that have done evil 
 ' unto the resurrection of damnation." These are the only 
 places I deem it needful to dwell upon : for though the notions 
 of some are so unaccountably mystified on this subject, that 
 I have met with many who interpret Christ's coming to judge 
 the " quick and the dead," as if quick and dead meant right- 
 eous and li'icked ; yet it is so evident to all who only reflect 
 for a moment, that it means those living when our Lord shall 
 come, and those who have died in the mean while, that I need 
 not consume time in refuting the mistake. 
 
 I mean not now to enter into a particular exposition of the 
 above two passages : I shall content myself with examining 
 the principal point connected with the difficulty ; viz. 
 the apparent fixing of the two events, or the two act- 
 ings connected with one great event, to the same point of 
 time. In order to this I must bring before the notice of the 
 Reader a principle of interpretation, which we may gather from 
 Heb, II. and 1 Cor. xv. 
 
 In Heb. ii. St. Paul quotes Psalm viii. applying it to the 
 reign of Christ ; ('* Thou hast put all things in subjection 
 imder his feet;") and he then argues ; " For in that he put 
 ' all in subjection under him, he left nothing that is not put 
 
 * under him." This appears very absolute ; as if all, not even 
 excepting God himself, were to be put under his authority. 
 But in 1 Cor. xv. 27, where the same Psalm is applied, we 
 have this qualification ; "When he saith «// things are put 
 ' under him, it is manifest that HE is excepted v/hich did put 
 ' all things under him." From the Scriptures therefore we 
 infer, that if at any time we meet with a text, which seems to 
 contradict some other plainly revealed fact, " it is manifest" 
 that we must qualify that text, according to the nature and 
 necessity of the case ; taking care that w^e reconcile one Scrip- 
 ture wdth another, and do not destroy one by another. 
 
 To illustrate this I must draw your attention to some i3ro- 
 phecies of Scripture, about which there is little or no dispute, 
 and which seem to refer to one event only, or to two events 
 
66 
 
 taking place at one period of time ; but which we are com- 
 pelled to admit, from other passages and from facts, refer to 
 tivo distinct events, betw^een which a considerable interval of 
 time must necessarily elapse. 
 
 I will begin with the captivities of the Jews, which some- 
 times are so blended, that careless readers of God's word 
 often suppose the prophecies which speak of them to refer 
 only to the Babj'lonish captivity ; and need to have pointed 
 out to them those circumstances w^hich prove, that the pre- 
 sent dispersion of the Jews must be included or primarily 
 intended. 
 
 The same may be said of the restoration from Babylon, 
 ■when their city and temple were rebuilt under Zerubbabel ; 
 and of their final glory, when Jerusalem shall put on her 
 beautiful garments ; — distinct events, which are nevertheless 
 so blended together, that it requires careful observation in 
 order to point out the distinguishing marks. 
 
 Next I may instance the Advent of our Lord Jesus. Many 
 texts might be brought forward, which seem to include his 
 first and second coming as one event ; and we know that the 
 Jews, because they did not distinguish these, were led into 
 error, and rejected our Lord when he came to suffer. I will 
 instance one passage, (Job, xix. 25,) connected with the re- 
 surrection; in which Job says — "I know that my Redeemer liv- 
 
 * eth and he shall stand in the latter day upon the earth ; and 
 
 * though after my skin worms shall destroy my body, yet in my 
 ' flesh shall I see God, — whom I shall see for myself and mine 
 
 * eyes shall behold and not another." Many might suppose 
 from this text, that thepoint of time when the Redeemer should 
 stand on the earth — ' the latter day — was the period of the 
 general resurrection, in which Job should have his lot : and it 
 is only from other texts, and from the fact, we find, that two 
 comings were to take place, with a long interval between, 
 reconcileable with the phrase latter day. Were not indeed 
 the principle for which I am contending to be received, a Jew 
 might deny from this text the reality of any standing of the 
 Redeemer upon earth prior to the time, when Job should be 
 raised to behold him in the flesh. 
 
 The next important event which I shall notice is that pro- 
 phecy of Joel, quoted by Peter on the day of Pentecost, and 
 beginning — " It shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, 
 
 * I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh." Let any man. 
 
67 
 
 unacquainted with the history of the apostohc times, look at 
 this prophecy, and hit the joint if he can, which shall sepa- 
 rate between the first and second outpouring of the Spirit : 
 though we all seem to expect a further fulfilment of it, and 
 allow that an interval must be interposed. 
 
 I shall only instance further the prophecies concerning An- 
 tichrist. The second advent of Jesus was thought by the 
 Thessalonians, from Paul's occasional language, to be imme- 
 diately at hand. And no wonder : for he speaks of himself 
 and them, as if they were to survive till that event should 
 happen — " w^e which are alive and remain." But he reminds 
 them in another Epistle, that he had taught them, how that 
 event should not take place, except there should come a falling 
 away first, and the man of sin should be revealed : so that 
 the time for Antichrist to grow up, seize the dominion, and 
 reign, must of necessity come in before the glorious appearing 
 of the Lord : which the Thessalonians certainly might have 
 inferred, had they carefully considered other Scriptures, or re- 
 membered all that the Apostle had taught them. 
 
 Now I claim for the general doctrine of the Resurrection 
 the exercise of this same principle of interpretation ; and if 
 I can show, that in many places the doctrine of a resurrec- 
 tion of the saints is revealed, altogether distinct from that of 
 the wicked, w^e are bound to receive that doctrine in such 
 manner as shall fall in with the general scope of Scripture.* 
 
 1, I begin with 1 Cor. xv. 22 — 26, which explicitly gives 
 the order in which all shall rise. " For as in Adam all die, so in 
 ' Christ shall all be made alive ; but every man in his oivn 
 ' order : Christ the first fruits ; — afterwards, they that are 
 ' Christ's, at his coming ; — then cometh the end, when he 
 ' shall have delivered up the kingdom, &c. and shall finally 
 ' destroy the last enemy, death." Here are three degrees in 
 
 * It is worthy of remark, that most of those expositors, who, from 
 the two places of Scripture now under consideration, insist on the re- 
 surrection of the righteous and the wicked as one in point of time, do 
 nevertheless, in their interpretation of our Lord's prophecy in Matthew 
 XXIV, generally contend for two judgements j (the one on Jerusalem, 
 the other at the second advent ;) though they confess them to be so in- 
 volved the one in the other, that it is difficult to distinguish them. I 
 differ entirely from such an interpretation of that chapter, as makes it 
 an involved prophecy ; but I mention it now merely to show the incon- 
 sistency of their objection, when urged against the millennarian doctrine 
 of the Resurrection. 
 
68 
 
 the order of the resurrection. (1) First we have " Christ the 
 first-fruits." St. Paul tells Festus and Agrippa, that Moses 
 and the Prophets had testified, " that Christ should suffer, 
 ' and that he should be the Jirst that should rise from the 
 ' dead :"e which was typified by the offering of the first-fruits 
 of the harvest. And in tliis first-fruits may perhaps be in- 
 cluded those saints, who came out of their graves after the re- 
 surrection of Christ, and went into the holi/ city, and appear- 
 ed unto many,* — a blessed earnest of their own future mani- 
 festation in the same place. (2) Secondly we have it — 
 " afterwards they that are Christ's, at his coming :" or as I 
 would paraphrase it, — " Afterwards, at the coming of Christ, 
 those that belong to him." For some read this (or at least so 
 interpret it) as if it were — " Afterwards those who, at the 
 coming of Christ, shall be his ; as if those only are intended, 
 who shall at that time be walking in the faith of Christ. But 
 forasmuch as these will be then already living in the flesh, the 
 promise of a resurrection cannot have reference to them. 
 They will undergo a change ; and they will be privileged, like 
 Enoch and Elijah, never to see death. All those must there- 
 fore be intended, who shall be asleep in Jesus, and whom, at 
 his coming he will raise and bring with him. Let it be ob- 
 served however, that there is no mention of the ivicked dead ; 
 — " those that are Christ's" (3) Next it follows, — " Then 
 (after that) cometh the end, when he shall have delivered up 
 the kingdom ;" — a plain proof that the kingdom is to be be- 
 tween his coming and this end. 
 
 2. I shall take a second testimony from 1 Thessalonians iv. 
 13 — 18; because there can be no doubt that this passage, 
 like the former, is to be understood in a plain and literal sense. 
 For as in the former instance, the Apostle expressly instructs 
 them in the nature of the resurrection, to guard them against 
 the error of those who denied it ; so here he teaches them 
 plainly concerning those who sleep in Jesus, that they may 
 
 * Another instance of negligent exposition, which I have more than 
 once heard from the pulpit, is the making these saints come out of 
 their graves at the crucifijcion of our Lord : in which case Jesus would 
 not be the first that rose from the dead to die no more. The Evan- 
 gelist, though he mentions it in connexion with his narrative of the cru- 
 cifixion, does nevertheless distinctly state, that they came out of their 
 graves after his resurrection. Matt, xxvii. 52, 53. 
 
 <" Acts XXVI. 23. 
 
69 
 
 not sorrow as men without hope of seeing them again. To 
 suppose that in either instance the language is symbolical, 
 allegorical, or figurative, beyond what belongs to our ordinary 
 use of figure, is to offend against the context and common 
 sense of these passages. 
 
 The Apostle, then, assures those, who were disposed to 
 sorrow without hope of seeing their believing friends again, 
 that " the Lord Jesus will bring them with him when he comes ; 
 ' — For that the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with 
 ' a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the ti-ump 
 ' of God ; and the dead in Christ shall rise first. Then we, 
 
 * which are alive and remain, shall be caught up together with 
 ' them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air ; and so 
 ' shall Ave ever be with the Lord," Note how exactly this 
 agrees with the former testimony in Corinthians : — the dead 
 in Christ onli/ are raised — those living in Christ are changed — 
 and at the last trump, announcing the coming of the Lord."^ 
 (See 1 Cor. xv. 22.) 
 
 * As the learned Dr. Wardlaw, in his recently published volume of 
 sermons, attacks the mLUennarian dew of this text, a few observations 
 on his argument may not be unacceptable. I will first give his exposi- 
 tion verbatim. " The following expression, in 1 Thess. iv. 16, has been 
 sometimes adduced in evidence of the resurrection of the righteous pre- 
 ceding that of the wicked : — and by many, indeed, who do not hold the 
 tenets of millennarianism, it is often inconsiderately quoted as if it con- 
 veyed this meaning : — ' For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven 
 with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and the trump of God, and 
 the DEAD IX Christ shall rise first.' — But it requires only the 
 reading of the passage to satisfy any candid mind, that there is in it no 
 reference to the resurrection of the wicked at all. The preceding verse 
 — the loth, stands thus : ' For this we say unto yon by the word of the 
 
 * Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord, 
 ' shall not prevent them which are asleep.' — In this verse, the word 
 
 * prevent^ means to anticipate, to get the start, or taJce the precedence, 
 of another. Of the statement thus given, the 16th and 17th verses are 
 an explanatory amplification. * We who are alive and remain,' says the 
 Apostle, * shall not prevent,' that is, shall not anticipate, or take pre- 
 cedence, or get the start of ' them that are asleep : for the Lord himself 
 
 * shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel 
 ' and the trump of God, and the dead in Christ shall first rise ; then' — 
 what ? a thousand years after the wicked shall rise ? Not at all : — ' then, 
 
 * we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them,' 
 (this is the explanation of their not preventing or anticipating them,) ' to 
 ' meet the Lord in the air : — and so shall we ever be with the Lord.' — 
 The living saints, at the Lord's coming, shall await the rising of those 
 
70 
 
 3, The next circumstance I shall notice is, that the Scrip- 
 tures particularize some one resurrection by certain phrases, 
 added for the sake of eminence. For example : " the resur- 
 rection of life "^ — " Tlie poor cannot recompense thee, but 
 thou shalt be recompensed at the resurrection of the just /'S — 
 
 f John V. 29. S Luke xiv. 14. 
 
 that are dead, and all shall then ascend together. Such is the Apostle's 
 own explanation of his own language." P. 513. 
 
 The chief circumstance which I complain of in this exposition is, 
 that Dr. Wardlaw, after stating " that it requires only the reading of 
 the entire passage," &c, Ihnits the entire of the passage to the previous 
 verse, instead of beginning at the 1.3th verse ; and thus he wrests the 
 passage from its real context. The Apostle's object is evidently to pre- 
 vent the Thessalonians from sorrowing for the dead, as though they had 
 no hope of seeing them again : not, as the Doctor would have us 
 infer, to correct erroneous notions of their getting the start or j^^^c^- 
 deacy of the dead. (See a further exposition of this text at page 61 of 
 my last Essay.) Secondly, I would ask, How it is consistent with show- 
 ing, that there is to be no precedency in the resurrection, to expound 
 this passage, as if, after all, the dead are to get the start of those remain- 
 ing in the flesh ? Thirdly, if " the living saints, at the Lord's coming, 
 
 * shall await the rising of those that are dead, and all shall then ascend 
 ' together ;" how are we to understand the Apostle, when he says, " them 
 
 * also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him ?" This is their de- 
 scent, not their G*-cent. The same is expressed in Zechariah ; — " The 
 
 * Lord my God shall come and all the saints ic it h thee :^' and also in 
 Jude ; — " Behold the Lord cometh with myriads of his saints." Fourth- 
 ly, I have an observation to make upon the words — " to meet the Lord 
 
 * in the air." The word used in the original is a7ravT}](ng — not the 
 verb, but a noun ; and literally is " caught up into the air to the meet- 
 
 * ing of the Lord." The word aTrav-jjmc occurs in three other places 
 in the New Testament, and invariably signifies a meeting for the purpose 
 of receiving and welcoming the individual and to escort him back. Thus 
 it is in Matthew xxv. where the ten virgins are first said to go forth 
 and meet the bridegroom, {v. 1,) and then are surprised in their slumber 
 by the cry, " Go ye out to meet him." (v. 6.) It occurs the third time 
 in Acts XXVIII. 15 : — ** And from thence, when the brethren heard of 
 
 * us, they came to meet us, {eig a-avTi^aii' vfni') as far as Appii Forum . 
 ' and the three taverns : whom when Paul saw, he thanked God and took 
 
 * courage. And when we came to Rome," &c. It is evident here, that 
 they met Paul, not to stay with him at the three taverns, but to continue 
 ■with him by going back with him. And the whole context in Thessa- 
 lonians seems to require, that we explain it of the saints going out to 
 welcome the Lord in the air : not to continue in the air with him ; but 
 to accompany him on his visit here, and therefore to return with him. 
 For unless the saints return with Christ, the wicked must also be caught 
 up for fhdX judgement, which the anti-miUennarians always suppose hap- 
 pens at the same time with this event. I may add here, in defence of 
 
71 
 
 ^' They accepted not deliverance that they might obtain a bet- 
 ter resurrection."^ Now what can this better resurrection, 
 this resurrection of life, this resurrection of the just mean, 
 but something eminently distinguished from the resurrection 
 of the wicked ? Yea, such an emphasis is generally laid upon 
 this one, that we might with more reason conclude against 
 any resurrection of the wicked at all, than against a resurrec- 
 tion of believers separate and distinct from it. Thus our Lord 
 says of the risen saints, " that they are the children of God, 
 being the children of the resurrection." i In John's Gospel 
 he three times declares it to be the special privilege of a be- 
 liever, " that he will raise him up at the last day .-"J but the 
 single circumstance, that he should be raised at the last day, 
 would cease to be a distinction, were the wicked to be raised 
 at the same time. A similar argument may be raised on a 
 passage in St. Paul's Epistle to the Philippians,^ where he 
 says, that he sought to know the fellowship of Christ's suffer- 
 ings, &c. " if by any means he might attain unto the resur- 
 rection of the dead -.""^ for St. Paul knew well, and had de- 
 clared, that there should be a resurrection both of the just and 
 
 this view of a7ravr7](ng, that, on referring to Schleusner, I find he in- 
 terprets it — '' cum quis alteri obviam procedit (vel rapitur) ad eum ex- 
 ■cipiendum.^^ 
 
 * Phil. III. 11. It is not unimportant to notice, that the Greek word 
 used in this instance by St. Paul, for the resurrection unto which he 
 was so desirous to attain, is not ava-aaic, the usual phrase employed ; 
 but e^ava^aaig — ttjv tiava^aaiv rojv vsKpiov — implying, as some ar- 
 gue, the resurrection of a part out of many dead ones. So far as em- 
 phasis is laid upon the peculiar use of the word in this one place, I must 
 confess I attach no peculiar importance to it ; not seeing why the pre- 
 position f/c should imply a partial resurrection when attached to ava- 
 -^aaig, more than when used separately. We meet with it in connexion 
 with the resurrection in every possible position, that is consistent with 
 grammar : e. g. in composition, sEava^aaic, as in the text ; — detached from 
 avaracrig yet before and governing it, as in Acts xxvi. 23, where it is 
 spoken of Christ, who was rrporog s^ avw^acrtojg vsKpuv ; and in Luke 
 XX. 25, and in other places, t) ava^aaig r) eK vzKpojv. In all which 
 places there does appear to me a special signification intended ; viz. that 
 in them mention is made, not of the abstract doctrine of a resurrection 
 of dead ones, {ava^aaig vsKpcov,) nor merely of a resurrection from 
 death; but ek vsicp<i)v,from or out q/dead ones, leaving therefore dead 
 ones behind. 
 
 ^Heb. XI. 35. i Luke xx. 36. J John vi. 39, 40. 44. i< Phil. in. 11. 
 
72 
 
 unjust : 1 it could not therefore be merel)' a resurrection that 
 he was so earnest about ; but the resurrection — the resurrec- 
 tion of the just. 
 
 The Old Testament also affords us evidence of this doctrine. 
 The angel Gabriel informs Daniel, " Many of them that sleep 
 in the dust of the earth shall awake /"^ This is to be at that 
 time when the archangel Michael is to stand up for the deliv- 
 erance of the people of Israel — the same archangel, I appre- 
 hend, at whose voice the Lord descends : and it is important 
 to observ-e, that all those commentators who oppose the mil- 
 lennarian view do nevertheless place the restoration or con- 
 version of the Jews at the beginning of the Millennium. And 
 to Daniel himself was promised, that he should rest and stand 
 in his lot at the end of the days •,^ viz. at the end of a period 
 of 1335 years, the beginning of which had just been specified 
 to him ; and as all confess, that at the end of that time the 
 Millennium begins, therefore again the resurrection must be 
 at the beginning of the Millennium. Ezekiel also assured the 
 pious Jews who were at Babylon in his day, that the Lord 
 would fulfil his promise to them, by opening their graves and 
 bringing them into the land of Israel. f Isaiah seems to refer 
 to tliis period, and to have had the same personal assurance, 
 when he says of the wicked, " They are dead, they shall not 
 live; they are deceased, they shall not rise:" and then of 
 the just, " Thy dead men shall live — together with my dead 
 ' body shall they arise : Awake and sing, ye that dwell in the 
 
 * Dan. XII. 2. Since wi-itiug tliis an able va-iter in the Investigator, 
 under the signature of Edinensis, has thrown great light on the latter 
 part of this text, as it stands in our English version, viz. " some to ever- 
 lasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt." He says — 
 *' These many (adverting to the former part of the verse) are the saints ; 
 ' and the next clause ought, wethink, to bethus understood and rendered : 
 
 * — These (raised ones) are destined to everlasting life : and the others 
 ' (the 01 Xoi-oL of John) to shame and everlasting contempt." After- 
 wards he adds in a note, that the Jewish Rabbi Saadias Gaon takes 
 the same view in his commentai*y, interpreting the passage thus: " This 
 
 * is the resurrection of the dead of Israel, whose lot is to eternal life ; 
 
 * but those who do not awake, they are the destroyed of the Lord, who 
 
 * go down to the habitation beneath, that is Gehenna, and shall be an ab- 
 
 * horrence to all flesh." — Investigator, Vol. iii. p. 8. 
 
 t Ezek. xxxvii. 12 — 14. Such is the general interpretation of this 
 passage by the Rabbins. 
 
 1 Acts XXIV. 15. "1 V. 13. 
 
73 
 
 ' dust ; for thy dew is as the dew of herbs, and the earth shall 
 
 * cast out the dead."'^ For we have seen that the wicked are 
 to rise and live again : when Isaiah therefore says they shall 
 not, it must be understood as signifying, not at the morning of 
 that great and glorious day, which is with the Lord as a thou- 
 sand years : but at the end of it : even as David says in the 
 XLTxtti Psalm; — "Like sheep they are laid in the grave; 
 
 * death shall feed on them, and the upright shall have domin- 
 
 * ion over them in the morning ; and their beauty shall con- 
 
 * sume in the grave from their dwelling. But God will redeem 
 
 * my soul from the power of the grave ; &c."o 
 
 It wi.l be perceived, that I have not in this essaj'- made use 
 of a great testimony to the doctrine in question in Revelation 
 XX, 4 — 6. My reason for omitting it is, that the opponents 
 of the views which I advocate commonly direct their chief 
 attacks against this text, and indeed sometimes entirely con- 
 fine themselves to the consideration of this one passage, as if 
 the whole of the controversy hinged upon it ; whereas I am 
 persuaded, that the doctrine of the first resurrection may be 
 decidedly proved, were this text entirely taken from us. At 
 the same time I am sensible, that the Scriptures which I have 
 brought forward derive increased light from this passage in the 
 Revelation ; as also that this passage derives a light from them, 
 and is in great measure inexplicable without them : for it is 
 the nature of the Oracles of God mutually to reflect on each 
 other. jNIuch undue advantage has also been yielded to the 
 assailants of this truth, from the circumstance of Millenna- 
 rians themselves resorting to it, as if it were their principal 
 strong hold : a mode of proceeding, in reference to the doc- 
 trine they maintain, which has always to me appeared injudi- 
 cious. I hope, if spared, to enter at some future opportunity 
 into a full discussion of this passage : at present however I 
 will only touch upon one single point ; which is important, as 
 connected with the general structure of the Apocalypse ; and 
 which has not received that attention from the generality of 
 expositors which it deserves. " And I saw an angel come down 
 ' from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit, and a great 
 
 * chain in his hand. And he laid hold on the dragon, that old 
 
 * serpent, which is the devil, and Satan, and bound him a thou- 
 
 n Isa, XXVI. 14. 'cv. 14, 15. 
 G 2 
 
74 
 
 ' sand years, and cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut 
 ' him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the 
 ' nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled : 
 
 * and after that he must be loosed a little season. And I saw 
 ' thrones, and they that sat upon them, and judgement was 
 
 * given unto them : and I saw the souls of them that were be- 
 
 * headed for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, 
 ' and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, 
 ' neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in 
 ' their hands ; and they hved and reigned with Christ a thou- 
 ' sand years. But the rest of the dead lived not again until 
 
 * the thousand years were finished. This is the First Resur- 
 ' rection. Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the 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." 
 
 Now it is much disputed, whether this description is to be 
 understood figurativel)- or literally. This however does not 
 appear to me to be the proper question ; and I again lament, 
 that some of the advocates of millennarian doctrine, by thus 
 taking up the subject, have given their opponents another 
 advantage. I am persuaded, that it is a passage which is both 
 figurative and symbohcal, and that it cannot be successfully 
 defended on the ground of a strictly literal interpretation. But 
 admitting it to be figurative, the question which then presents 
 itself for discussion is, — What is intended to be signified by 
 this figure ? To which I answer, that the thing signified is, 
 in the plainest and most literal sense, — the first resurrec- 
 tion. I maintain that the words, '* This is the first Resurrec- 
 tion," are expository, and intended to be literally understood ; 
 which, I think, may be clearly demonstrated. 
 
 In order to prove this I observe, that the Apocalypse is 
 figurative throughout ; with the exception, that there are in- 
 cidental passages of a literal character, such as are necessa- 
 rily interwoven with all prophecies, and without which they 
 could have no definite meaning or application : and with the 
 further exception also — that there is disposed throughout the 
 Book a complete series of explanatory indices, which, like 
 buoys and lighthouses at sea, are intended to afiford us special 
 intimation of our bearings. I will instance some, and termi- 
 nate with the passage in question, marking what I consider to 
 he literal expository matter in italic letters. 
 
75 
 
 ** The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches,'* 
 —Chap. I. 20. 
 
 " There were seven lamps of fire burning before the throne, 
 ' ivhich are the seven Spirits of God." — iv. 5. 
 
 " In the midst of the elders stood a Lamb, as it had been 
 ' slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the 
 
 * seven Spirits of God." — v. 8. See also Zechariah iii. 9 and 
 IV. 16. 
 
 " The four and twenty elders fell down before the Lamb, 
 ' having every one of them harps, and golden -sdals fuU of 
 
 * odors, ivhich are the prayers of saints." — v. 8. 
 
 " What are these which are arrayed in white robes ? and 
 ' whence came they ?" — " These are they which came out of 
 ' THE great tribulation, <^c."* — vii. 13 — 16. 
 
 *' And I ^\ill give power unto my two witnesses, &c." 
 " These are the tiuo olive trees and the two candlesticks, stand- 
 ' ing before the God of the earth." — xi. 3, 4. See also Zecha- 
 riah TV. 2, 3, & 11—14. 
 
 " Their dead bodies shall lie in the street of the great city, 
 ' ivhich spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, 8^c." — xi. 8. 
 
 " I saw three unclean spirits like frogs come out of the 
 ' dragon, beast, and false prophet. — For they are the spirits 
 ' of devils, working iniracles, &;c." — ^xvi. 13, 14. 
 
 " The ten horns which thou sawest — are ten kings." — xvii. 
 12. 
 
 " The waters which thou sawest, w^here the whore sitteth, 
 ' are peoples, multitudes, and nations, and tongues." — xvii. 15. 
 
 " The woman which thou sawest is that great city, which 
 ' reigneth over the kings of the earth." — xvii. 18. 
 
 " The fine linen is the righteousness of saints." — xix. 8. 
 
 " The testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy." — xix. 10. 
 
 " The dragon, that old serpent, which is the devil and Sa- 
 ' tan." — XX. 2. 
 
 " And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, &c. — This 
 ' is the first resurrection." — xx. 4, 5. 
 
 Now, without going further, it is clear to me, that this last 
 example is of the same nature with the former ; and the ex- 
 pository clauses must necessarily have a reference to something 
 plain and obvious to all, or to subjects which were, or ought 
 
 * The article exists in the original, and is important to be noticed, 
 seeing that some refer it to the great tribulation spoken of by Daniel and 
 the other prophets. 
 
76 
 
 to have been, familiar to believers, or they would not serve 
 the purpose of explanatory marks. I conclude therefore by 
 asking, what could the index " This is the first Resurrection" 
 point to ? What notion could those to whom these things 
 were revealed have had upon the subject, unless it was de- 
 rived from those very texts of Scripture, to which I have ap- 
 pealed in defence of the doctrine of the first resurrection ? 
 
 Abdiel. 
 
77 
 
 Essay VII. 
 
 THE JUDGEMENT. 
 
 An objection of some weight appears, at first view, to lie 
 ■against the doctrine of the f)'st resurrection, arising from the 
 numerous Scriptures which set forth Christ, as coming to judge 
 the world at his second advent ; which circumstance is thought 
 to be incompatible with the wicked not being raised and judged 
 at the same time. The difficulty however consists in the cir- 
 cumstance of our having departed from the scriptural vieiv of 
 Judgement ; which commentators have been gradually com- 
 pelled to do, from the necessity of evading the obvious testi- 
 mony of a host of texts to the personal reign of the Lord on 
 earth : for there is perhaps no doctrine of Scripture which 
 more directly supports this view, than the doctrine of the Judge- 
 ment, if only 4t be rightly understood. 
 
 I. The single idea entertained by most persons on this point, 
 is that of a great assizes, at which the Lord Jesus will preside, 
 and at which all mankind will be put upon their trial. But 
 'God has revealed to us far more than this. The characteris- 
 tics of a JUDGE, as given to us in Scripture, are as follow : to 
 rule and govern as a king — to deliver and protect his people — 
 atid to avenge them on their enemies : whence it follows, that 
 judgement must consist, not only in vengeance or punishment, 
 but also in deliverance and government. 
 
 In proof of this I observe, that the Judges who were over 
 Israel before the time of Saul, the first king, were all of them 
 men raised up as deliverers and avengers •,^ as Gideon, Samp- 
 son, Jephtha, and others ; in which character they were also 
 types of the Lord Jesus. And when the Israelites demanded a 
 king, it was not so much a change in the nature of the office 
 which they desired, as a more complete and fixed state of it : 
 for they would not be any longer dependent upon the Lord, 
 either to fight their battles, or to raise them t/p Saviours ; but 
 they cried, "We will have a king over us, that we also may 
 * be like all the nations ; and that our king m-dv judge us, and 
 ' and go out before us, and fight our battles." b Thus the king 
 was still to be the judge : just as St. Paul, speaking of our 
 
 a Judges II. 16—18. b i Sam. vni. 19, 20. 
 
78 
 
 all standing before ^e judgement seat of Christ, says — " that 
 to this end Christ both died and rose and revived, that he 
 might be LORD both of the dead and living" c — the same 
 thing as " Judge both of quick and dead." 
 
 The chief prophecies concerning the Christ as Judge Avill fur- 
 ther shew, that princely rule and government are connected 
 with his judgement ; and that it will be a continued office 
 among or over the nations. Take the follov^^ing passages in 
 the Psalms ; and let it be observed in them, that the judge- 
 ment or righteous government spoken of therein is evidently 
 to be upon the earth. " Give the King thy judgements, O God, 
 ' and thy righteousness unto the King's son. He shall judge 
 ' thy people with righteousess, and thy poor icith judgements. 
 ' — For he shall judge the poor of the people, he shall save the 
 ' children of the needy, aud shall break in pieces the oppres- 
 ' sor."^ " Arise, O Godi, judge the earth; for thou shalt in- 
 herit all nations,"^ " For He (the Lord) cometh, for he cometh 
 ' to judge the earth: he shall judge the world with righteous- 
 ' ness, and the people with his truth. "^ " For the Lord cometh 
 ' to judge the earth: with righteousness shall he judge the 
 ' world, and the people with equity."? — " He shall judge the 
 world in righteousness, he shall minister judgement to the peo- 
 ple in uprightness. "li " let the nations be glad and sing for joy ! 
 ' for thou shalt judge the people righteously, and govern the 
 ' nations t/pon earth. "'^ Other prophets afford a similar testi- 
 mony. Thus Isaiah and Micah declare of him : " He shall 
 judge among many people and rebuke strong nations afar off :"j 
 and Jeremiah says " Behold — a king shall reign and prosper; 
 2Lnd shall execute judgement and justice ^?^ the earth." ^ The 
 same truth may be gathered also from that text in Corinthians, 
 which speaks of the termination of his judgment: for the 
 Apostle says, that he shall then lay down all rule, authority 
 and power ; 1 which shews, that rule, authority and the like are 
 connected with his previous judgement : even as Christ him- 
 self says, — that the " Father hath given him authority to exe- 
 cute judgement." in This testimony may be summed up in one 
 passage of Scripture : "The Lord is our Judge — the Lord is 
 our Lawgiver — the Lord is our Ki?ig — he will save us."» 
 
 And as we have seen, that though he declared he was a king, 
 
 c Rom. xiv. 9. ^ Ps. Lxxii. 1 and 4. e lxxxii. 8. f xcvi. 13. 
 g xcviii. 9, Ji IX. 8, i Lxvii. 4. J Mic. iv. 3 ; Isa. ii. 4. k Jer. 
 xxiii. 5. i Cor. XV. 24. ra John v. 27. " Isa. xxxiii. 22. 
 
79 
 
 being bom to that end ; o yet that he refused to let the people 
 come and make him a king, and would not at that time ex- 
 ercise his royal prerogative : P so also, though he declared 
 that 2l\ judgement was committed to the Son,q yet did he not 
 then assume the character of judge. He tells Nicodemus, that 
 God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world, r 
 He refused to judge in the case of the woman taken in adul- 
 tery ;s and he rebuked another, who would have anticipated 
 his rule, with the words — "Man, who made me b. judge or a 
 divider over you ?" * 
 
 It will be further evident, that what is most frequently call- 
 ed in Scripture " the judgement," is no other than the king- 
 dom and rule of Christ, when it is considered that the saints 
 are to have part in it. For first Enoch prophesied, " Behold 
 ' the Lord cometh with myriads of his saints, to execute judge- 
 
 * ment upon all."^ David says, " that to execute the judge- 
 ' ment written is an honor, which all the saints are to have.''^^ 
 Isaiah says, " Behold, a king shall reign in righteousness, and 
 
 * princes shall rule in judgement."'^ In the vision which Daniel 
 had, "judgement was given to the saints of the Most High, 
 ' when the ancient of days came."y And, finally, St. Paul 
 declares most positively, " that the saints shall judge the 
 world. "z And it should be observed in these passages, that 
 the participation of the saints in the judgement is not con- 
 fined merely to their receiving " power over the nations" to 
 rule ; but they are apparently to be made instrumental in in- 
 flicting the vengeance also. Such is the burden of the testi- 
 mony in the 149th Psalm, which declares that they have *' a 
 
 * two-edged sword in their hand, to execute vengeance upon 
 
 * the heathen and punishments upon the people ; to bind their 
 ' kings with chains, and their nobles with fetters of iron." 
 Such is implied in Rev. ii. 26, just referred to, where in ad- 
 dition to " power over the nations" it is said, " they shall 
 ' rule them with a rod of iron ; as the vessels of a potter shall 
 
 * they be broken to shivers." Again it is written, '' Ye shall 
 
 * tread down the wicked ; for they shall be ashes under the 
 
 * soles of your feet ;"a and " the righteous shall wash his feet 
 
 * in the blood of the wicked :"^ all which passages, though 
 studded with metaphor, and in the Revelation veiled in sym- 
 
 o John XVIII. 37. P vi. 15. q John v. 22. r m. 17. s viii. 3. 
 t Luke XII. 14, u Jude 14, 15. w Psalm cxlix. 5—9. ^ Isa. xxxii. 1. 
 y Dan. VII. 22. s 1 Cor. vi. 2, 3. a Mai. iv. 3. b Psalm lviii. 10. 
 
80 
 
 bob, do signify a coercive jiower and restraint, which shall be 
 exercised at that time by the righteous. 
 
 Those who deny the future kingdom of our Lord and his 
 saints are nevertheless compelled to admit, that the saints wi.l 
 in some way or other be joined with him in the judgement. 
 But how ? — If the judgement is only to be a kind of trial, in 
 which rewards and punishments are to be determined by the 
 Lord, the saints will themselves stand before the judgement 
 seat of Christ, and give account of the deeds done in the 
 body : and then, the secrets of all hearts shall be revealed, and 
 every one shall be rewarded according to his works. c Besides 
 which, it is evident that there is to be a difference in degree 
 of rank and authority among the saints in this judgement ; as 
 when our Lord says of liis apostles, that " tliey shall sit on 
 twelve thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel \'^ — which 
 tribes I apprehend to be the redeemed Israel, and therefore 
 themselves to partake in the judgement. 
 
 But if we understand by the judgement rule and autliority, 
 then these things are perfectly reconcileable. And an eminent 
 pattern is afforded u?, how one star may differ from r.nother 
 star in glory, in that great monarchy of Darius ; wherein, 
 besides ordinary governors and captains and sheriffs and the 
 like, there were appointed over the whole kingdom one hun- 
 dred and twent)' princes, and over these three presidents, and 
 over these the king. I can only reconcile with this view of it 
 the Lord's declaring, that one shall be ruler over five cities, 
 and another shall have authority over ten cities, &c c 
 
 Having thus far, as I trust, cleared this matter, I would 
 next notice, that the period of judgement must necessarily 
 include the whole period of the saints' rule on earth ; and 
 likewise that tribulation or wrath upon the nations .which 
 ushers it in ; together with that final visitation which closes 
 it. Tiiis, whatever may be the events to be enacted of a ju- 
 dicial character — whether the wrath by j)lague, pestilence, 
 famine, sword, revolution, or fire upon the wicked; or the 
 authority,- power and government given to the saints; — all 
 this, I repeat, is in my api)rehension of it intended by the 
 juDGEMhXT. Before however I enter m.ore particularly upon 
 the consideration of the events included in the judgement, I 
 
 •^ Rom. xiv. 10—12 : 2 Cor. v. 10, d :\Iatt. xix. 28 ; Luke xxii. 30. 
 e Luke XIX. 1/"— 19. 
 
81 
 
 will first meet the objections which are made to this extension 
 of its period. 
 
 First then it is argued, that the whole time of judgement 
 is called *' the day of the Lord," " that great day ;" which 
 expressions are considered incompatible with its continuance 
 through upwards of a thousand years. But this objection 
 proceeds from the want of acquaintance with the scriptural 
 import uf the word day. Though often, in historical narrative, 
 it includes no more than a space of four and twenty hours ; 
 yet, in prophetical language, it has a very different meaning, 
 and frequently even in narrative. Any period of time, during 
 wliich events or actings of a uniform character take place, are 
 called the day thereof. There are innumerable passages which 
 speak of such a duration of time as a day ; but, as many of 
 them may be said rather to mark the commencement of such a 
 period than its continuation, (which perhaps is not unfre- 
 quently the case,) I will instance some which are the least 
 ambiguous. 
 
 First, as to narrative. The work of Creation is divided into 
 periods called days, and said to be finished in six of them : but 
 in Genesis ii. 4 the ichole period mwh'xch. the heavens, the earth, 
 the plants and herbs were created is called a day. This aug- 
 mentation of the term, however inconsiderable it may be, at 
 least proves, that a day is not necessarily to be limited to a 
 period of twenty-four hours ; but that its duration mus*t be de- 
 termined by the context. So in Psalm xcv. mention is made 
 of the " day of temjjtation (or trial) in the wilderness ;" which 
 is stated in the context to have continued /b?-^?/ ye^r^.-f and this 
 period is likened by the Apostle to the whole period of trial to 
 the christian Church, — " while it is said, to day if ye will hear 
 his voice."s This is still clearer in the following chapter of 
 Hebrews ; for he there argues, that because David had limited 
 a certain day, (saying in David, to day, after so long a time,) 
 there must remain a rest — a sabbatism — to the people of God.^ 
 I will not dispute, whether this sabbatism refers to rest in the 
 Gospel promises or ordinances, under the christian dispensa- 
 tion ; to the rest of disembodied or of glorified saints in hea- 
 ven ; or to the great septennary of a thousand years ; all of 
 which have been variously contended for : but, let a man select 
 which he will, this must be evident, that a period of at least a 
 
 (vv. 8—11. g Heb. III. 7—15. ^ ibid. iv. 1—11 
 
82 
 
 thousand years must in this instance be intended by the term 
 day. 
 
 In the latter testimony I have already stepped beyond the 
 bounds of strict narrative ; but I have one or two other in- 
 stances under the next class which I must still urge. In Ec- 
 clesiastes xii. l,we read, — "Remember thy Creator in the 
 days of thy youth, while the evil days come not ;" and these 
 e\al days are immediately after explained to be " the day when 
 the keepers of the house tremble, &c." — alluding in highly 
 figurative language to the whole period of declining life and 
 its infirmities. Another Scripture saith, " I have heard thee in 
 
 * a time accepted, and in the day of salvation have I succoured 
 
 * thee : behold, now is the accepted time ; behold now is the 
 ' day of salvation."! This is generally interpreted to refer to 
 the whole period of divine forbearance under the Gospel dis- 
 pensation ; which is therefore called — " the day of salvation." 
 In another j^lace the Apostle says, " The night is far spent, 
 the day is at hand"k ^vhich words night and day have a double 
 meaning ; for first they evidently refer to the character of two 
 dilFerent dispensations, the one being a time of darkness and 
 trial, the other of light and glory ; and they as clearly refer to 
 duration of time, the night being spent, and the day ap- 
 proaching. This night is the whole period of trial to the 
 Church, and the day is the everlasting kingdom of our Lord 
 and Saviour. 
 
 Some further object, (and among them the Rev. Dr. Ward- 
 law,) that in John v. 28, 29, the resurrection and judgement 
 are limited to an hour ; — " the hour is coming in the which all 
 ' that are in the graves shall hear his voice, and shall come 
 ' forth ; they that have done good unto the resurrection of life, 
 
 * and they that have done evil unto the resurrection of damna- 
 ' tion ;" — and therefore (they argue) that the day of judge- 
 ment must necessarily be limited to a small portion of time. 
 It hai)pens however that the term hour has precisely the same 
 indefinite sense attached to it, in a great variety of instances, 
 as the word day. It is obvious that in the text containing the 
 objection, it is not to be limited to the twenty-fourth part of 
 a day ; but corresponds with the day of the resurrection and 
 judgement, whatever period of time that may prove to be. 
 Owing however to the word hora (wpa) not being always 
 translated hour, but sometimes rendered by the words season 
 
 > 2 Cor. VI. 2. ^ Rom, xiii. 12. 
 
83 
 
 and time, the English reader is not aware of those numerous 
 passages, in which it is placed for an independent period. I 
 Inust therefore instance a few. It is translated season in the 
 following passages ; John v. 35 ; 2 Cor. vii. 8 ; Philemon v, 
 15. In the first instance it signifies the whole period of John 
 Baptist's ministry ; in the second, the time which elapsed be- 
 tween the reception by the Corinthians of the two Epistles of 
 St. Paul ^^Titten to them ; and in the third instance, the whole 
 term of the desertion of Onesimus from his master Philemon. 
 In John XVI. 2. and 25, 26 ; also 1 John ii. 18 ; it is trans- 
 lated tinie. In the first instance it applies at the least to the 
 whole period in which the Christians were persecuted by the 
 Jews, who blindly thought they were doing God service. In 
 the second instance it relates to the whole period (according 
 to Beza's interpretation) from the ascension of Christ to the 
 end of time ; in which the Lord teaches men by his Spirit, 
 and they pray to the Father in his name.* And here it is to 
 be remarked, that the phrase " the time (woa) cometh" in 
 verse 25, is from the context exactly equivalent to the words 
 " at that day" in verse 26, and applied to the very same period. 
 The third instance, " Little children it is the last time," (ojpa) 
 is interpreted by Scott and other commentators to signify " the 
 last dispensation ,-" and therefore must be taken to extend 
 through the whole space of years from the time of John to the 
 second Advent of our Lord.f 
 
 The conclusion therefore at which I arrive is this : that as 
 the whole period of depression and vengeance on the Jews is 
 the day of their visitation ; so the day of judgement is the pe- 
 riod of their restoration and triumph. And again, that as the 
 whole Church of Christ has been conflicting through a long 
 night of trial in various ways : so, ' that great day is to con- 
 
 * Beza on this place says " Spiritus sanctus ah ascensione Christi in 
 Apostolos effusus, summa quseque mysteria et solutis nostrse arcana, turn 
 ipsos, turn etiam Ecclesiam per ipsos, erudiit, et adfinem usque seculorum 
 erudiet.^* 
 
 •f" In further corroboration of this sense of the word ujpa I would 
 observe, that the Seventy most commonly translate the Hebrew ny by 
 it ; which is the more remarkable because Legh, in his Critica Sacra, 
 says it answers to the Greek Kaipog. Parkhurst states concerning this 
 same word riy " That it particularly denotes the time of vengeance or 
 punishment." He instances Jer. xxvii. 7 ; Ezek. vii. 7, and xxx. 3 ; 
 and directs us to compare Luke xxi. 24, which relates to the whole 
 period of " the times of the Gentiles." 
 
84 
 
 sist in bringing all her enemies under her feet ; — she shall be 
 no more oppressed, but triumphant and glorious to the end. 
 
 II. Having shewn that the Judgement of Christ will con- 
 sist in the deliverance of his people, and in a rule or reign of 
 righteousness, I have now to show that it is also a period of 
 VENGEANCE on his cnemics. 
 
 The passages are so numerous in the prophets, which speak 
 of a time of signal wrath upon the ungodly, and of awful 
 slaughter and bloodshed, that the most cursory reader must be 
 acquainted with them. Aly present object therefore will be, 
 not to bring before the Reader the mere fact of this period of 
 tribulation ; but, in order that he may form some notion of the 
 uniform testimony of the prophets to this event, to select a 
 few of the more remarkable jDassages, which are linked and 
 tied together, like the curtains in the tabernacle, by certain 
 obvious and peculiar expressions. And I will further beg 
 him to observe, that this vengeance or indignation is in many 
 instances so connected with the period of the glory which the 
 Church shall enjoy, as to justify me in saying, that it will im- 
 mediately precede or usher in that dispensation. 
 
 First we will take Isaiah xxiv, of which I shall give the 
 principal features. It opens by solemnly inviting the attention 
 of all flesh. " Come near, ye nations, to hear ; and hearken, 
 
 * ye people ; — let the earth hear, and all that is therein; — the 
 ' ivorld, and all things that come forth of it. For the indigna- 
 ' lion of the Lord is upon all nations, and his fury upon all 
 ' their armies : he hath utterly destroyed them : he hath de- 
 ' livered tliem to tJie slaughter. Their slain also shall be cast 
 
 * out, and their stink shall come up out of their carcases, and 
 
 * the mountains shall be melted trith their blood." Then at 
 verse 5 : " Behold it shall come down upon Idumea ; (i. e. 
 ' Edam ;) and upon the people of mg curse, to juugemext." — 
 " The sword of the Lord is filled with blood — for the Lord 
 ' hath a great sacrifice in Bozrah, and a great slaughter in the 
 ' land of Idumea — the land shall be soaked with blood, and 
 
 * their dust made fat with fatness — for it is the day of the 
 
 * Lord's vengeance, and the year of recompenses for the con- 
 ' troversy of Zion." Then (after dwelling upon the manner 
 in which the land shall be desolated) it bursts out, in the 
 next chapter, with a rapturous description of the way in 
 which the earth shall afterwards be renewed for the righteous. 
 
 In tliis passage I will chiefly call attention to the circum- 
 
85 
 
 stance, that the judgement therein spoken of falls on Idumea, 
 (or Edom,'^) of which Bozrah was the cnpital. This will 
 clearl}'' connect the prophecy with another in Isaiah lxiii. 
 1 — 5 ; which informs us also icho is to be the great actor in 
 the tribulation. 
 
 " Who is this that cometh from Edom, with dyed garments 
 ' from Bozrah ? this that is glorious in his apparel, travelling 
 
 * in the greatness of his strength?" Answei". — " I that speak 
 in righteousness, mighty to save." — " Wherefore art thou red 
 ' in thine apparel, and thy garments like him that treadeth the 
 ' wine/at ?" Answer. — " I have trodden the v:inepress alone ; 
 ' and of the people there was none with me. For I will tread 
 
 * them in mine anger, and trample them in my fury ; and their 
 ' blood shall be sprinkled vpon my garments, and I will stain all 
 ' my raiment. For the day of vengeance is in mine heart, and 
 
 * — the year of my redeemed is come." Here, in addition to 
 Idumea and Bozrah, is introduced the treadiny of the vrine- 
 press, and that evidently by Messiah, and the staining of his 
 garments thereby with blood : now mark how this identities 
 the words of Isaiah with those of St. John. 
 
 In Rev. XIV. we have a description of ** the vine of the 
 ' earth, which is cast into the great wine-press of the wrath of 
 
 * God ; and the wine-press is trodden without the city, and 
 
 * blood comes out of the wine-press even unto the horse bridles, 
 ' by the space of a thousand and six hundred furlongs :" — a 
 symbolical and figurative description ; but calculated to afford 
 us a most awful notion of the great slaughter and destruction 
 alluded to ! In Rev. xix. we may recognise further circum- 
 stances : Messiah is introduced ** clothed with a vesture dip- 
 ' ped in blood, and his name is called The Word of God, &c. 
 ' and he treadeth the wine-press of the fierceness of the wrath 
 ' of Almighty God. And he hath on his vesture and on his 
 ' thigh a name written, KING of kings and LORD of lords. 
 
 * And I saw an angel standing in the sun ; and he cried with 
 ' a loud voice, saying to all the fowls that fly in the midst cf 
 ' heaven, Come and gather yourselves together unto the svpper 
 ' of the great God ; that ye may eat the flesh of kings, cap- 
 ' tains, mighty men, horses, &c." 
 
 * The ancient, as also the modern, Jews, and after them various ex- 
 positors, interpret Edom to be Rome ; but as my object is not now so 
 much to apply the prophecy, as to mark its character, I enter not into 
 this question. 
 
86 
 
 I add the latter part of the above passage, in which the 
 fowls of heaven are called to a great supper, for the purpose 
 of shewins:, that this a2:ain connects St. John with a well 
 known prophecy in Ezek. xxxix. concerning the destruction 
 of Gog and Magog, the slaughter of whose armies will be so 
 great as to require seven months to bury the dead. At verse 
 17 are these words : " And thou son of man, thus saith the 
 ' Lord God ; speak unto every feathered fowl, and to every 
 ' beast of the field, Assemble yourselves and come-, gather your- 
 ' selves on every side to my sacrifice that I do sacrifice for you, 
 ' even a great sacrifice upon the mountains of Israel, that ye 
 
 * may eat flesh, and drink blood. Ye shall eat the fiesh of the 
 ' mighty, and drink the blood of princes of the earth — ye shall 
 ' be filled at my table with horses and chariots, with mighty 
 ' men, and with all men of war saith the Lord God. And — I 
 ' will set my glory among the heathen, and all the heathen 
 ' shall see my judgemeiit that I have executed, and my hand 
 
 * that I have laid upon them." 
 
 In this manner we might glance at many other prophecies, 
 and shew their evident relation to the same period of destruc- 
 tion, by similar internal and conspicuous marks : particularly 
 a variety of passages, which shew the destruction to be sudden 
 as well as extensive, coming upon the nations with the fierce- 
 ness and rapidity of ^ichirlwind ; which is the figure frequently 
 used to describe it. " He shall take them away as with a 
 ' ichirhvind, both living, and in his wrath. — The righteous 
 ' shall rejoice when he seetli the vengeance : he shall icash his 
 'feet in the blood of the wicked: so that a man shall sa)'-, verily 
 ' there is a reward for the righteous ; verily he is a God that 
 ' judgeth in the earth."* 
 
 III. There is another important feature connected with the 
 judgement, which must also be noticed ; viz, the eflfect to be 
 produced by the supposed agency of fire at this period. 
 
 Most christians admit, that there is to be a conflagration of 
 of the world ; and it was the opinion of the early Millennarian 
 Fathers, as also of many of the Reformers, that it would be 
 the great agent employed to regenerate the material globe, to 
 purify and restore it to its pristine state (yea more than its 
 
 * Psalm Lxvm. 9— U. See also Prov. i. 23—33 ; Isa. xvii. 12—14 ; 
 XL. 18—24 ; xn. 14—16 ; lxvi. 15, 16; Jer. xxv. 15—38, but es- 
 pecially verses 31 — 33. Compare also Jer. xxm, 19, 20, with xxx. 
 23, 24 ; Hab. in, throughout, but especially verses 12 — 15. 
 
87 
 
 pristine state) of beauty and salubriousness, and thus to fit it 
 for the abode of the righteous. But it has been and is dis- 
 puted, whether this conflagration is to take place before or af- 
 ter the Millennium ; and secondly, among those who believe 
 it to be /)re-millennial, it is further disputed, whether it is to 
 burn up the wJiole luorld, or only the jjrophetical earth, or only 
 the region of Palestine in its utmost limits. 
 
 As to the extent of the conflagration, I have no clear light 
 vouchsafed to me. And though I incline from various consi- 
 derations to conclude, that there will be a judgement by fire 
 before the Millennium ; (whatever may take place after it ;) 
 yet I confess, that great difficulties present themselves, and 
 much may be said on the other side of the question. So that 
 on this point I submit certain particulars more in the way of 
 inquiry, and of communicating what may be gleaned from 
 Scripture, than as a demonstration of the truth. 
 
 First then let me observe, that a judgement hj fire is not 
 always in the Scriptures to be understood literally ■ but it is a 
 figure used by the prophets to denote tribulation and wrath. 
 Thus Isaiah says, " The Lord shall purge the blood of Jeru- 
 ' salem from the midst thereof, by the Spirit of judgement, 
 
 • and by the spirit of hurning .-"1 upon which bishop Lowth ob- 
 serves, that these are bold figures to set forth the Lord's wrath. 
 Of this we have a convincing proof in the promise which Moses 
 makes to the children of Israel, just previous to their taking 
 possession of the land under Joshua. " Understand therefore 
 
 • (he says) this day, that the Lord thy God is he which goeth 
 ' over before thee : as a consuming fire he shall destroy them, 
 
 • (thine enemies,) and he shall bring them down before thy 
 ' face."i^ It is not unlikely therefore, that some places, which 
 speak of fire, only respect that time of bloodshed and trouble 
 we have considered : as where it is said in Zephainah, " All 
 the earth shall be devoured with the fire of my jealousy. "ii 
 
 It is also worthy of remark, as proving fire to be frequently 
 a symbol, that whereas in St. Luke's Gospel Jesus says, " I 
 am come to send^?T on the earth ;"o the parallel place in St. 
 Matthew is — " I came not to send peace, but a sword. "v And 
 indeed Luke himself aftei-wards explains it of the divisions and 
 persecutions which would accompany the Gospel. I cannot 
 however understand St. Paul as speaking otherwise than liter- 
 
 1 Isa. IV. 4. m Deut. ix, 3. « Zepli. in. 8. » Chap. xii. 49. 
 P Chap. X. 34. 
 
88 
 
 ally, when he says, " that the Lord Jesus shall be revealed 
 'from heaven, with his mighty angels, m fiaminy fire taking 
 ' vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the 
 ' Gos])el of our Lord Jesus Christ/'q Nor can it be figure 
 when St. Peter says," that the heavens and the earth, which 
 'are now, are reserved unto /re against the dayofjudge- 
 ' ment and perdition of ungodly men."'^ And Isaiah appears 
 plainly to distinguish between the judgements of fire and the 
 sword when he says, that " the Lord will come with fire, and 
 ' with his chariots like a whirlwind, — to render his anger with 
 'fury and his rebuke with fiames of fire: for by fire and by 
 ' his sicord v;ill the Lord plead with all flesh. "s 
 
 IV. Another point remains for inquiry which is of intense 
 interest to the Church of Christ ; viz. What becomes of the 
 Lord's people during this time of tribulation } 
 
 1. Previous to shewing their safety, it may be well to notice 
 of the nations generally, that, however some Scriptures may 
 apparently speak of their absolute and entire destruction, liv- 
 ing creatures will nevertheless be left, both men and animals, 
 from out of that dreadful time of desolation. This is indeed 
 for the most part to be proved rather in the way of inference, 
 from certain expressions in those passages themselves, which, 
 in their first aspect, would lend us to conclude the contrary : 
 for I a])prehend, that the Spirit would have men's minds to no- 
 tice chiefly the tribulation which is coming, that they may 
 stand in awe and sin not. 
 
 First, let us take the prophet Isaiah. In chapter xxiv. 5, 
 6, we read : " The earth also is defiled under the inhabitants 
 ' thereof; because they have transgressed the laws, changed 
 ' the ordinance, broken the everlasting covenant. Therefore 
 
 * \y:.\\\ the curse devoured the eartli, and they that dwell there- 
 
 * in are de:-:olate : therefore the inhabitants of the earth are 
 
 * burned, and — few men left." This at first view speaks as if 
 all were burned ; but afterwards it lets fall an intimation, that 
 ?ifeiu will be left. 
 
 In chap. Lxvi. 16, when the same Prophet says; " By fire 
 and by his sword the Lord will plead with all flesh," he adds 
 — " and the slain of the Lord shall be many .•" but that this 
 does not mean all, though the prophecy relates to the great 
 catastrophe under consideration, is evident from verse 19 — 
 " And I will send those that escape of them unto the nations, 
 q 2 Thess. I. 7, 8. r 2 Pet. iii. 7. » Isa, lxvi. 15, 16. 
 
89 
 
 * to Tarshish, Pul, Lud, Tubal, Javan ; &c." which is iraport- 
 ant as giving color to the opinion, that the nations on "whom 
 the desolation falls are those of Christendom, or of the pro- 
 phetic earth, and does not include the tribes and families of 
 the earth still called heathen, as Tarshish, Pul, &c, 
 
 Jeremiah xliv. is worthy also of notice ; not as containing 
 matter immediately bearing upon the Judgement, but as evinc- 
 ing how expressions must be qualitied and determined by the 
 general context. In verse 14 we are told, " that none of the 
 remnant of Judah, which are gone into the land of Egypt to 
 sojourn there, shall escape or remain, &c. :" yet at the end of 
 the verse is added " none shall return but such as shall escape," 
 Verse 27 is still more sweeping in its sentence of destruction ; 
 *' Behold I will watch over them for evil, and not for good : 
 ' and ALL the men of Judah that are in the land of Egypt shall 
 ' be consumed by the sword and by the famine until there be 
 
 * an end of them." But in the next verse it is added, " Yet 
 a small number that escape the sword shall return, &c." 
 
 A similar instance occurs in Zechariah, chap. xiv. in which 
 all nations are first descrihed as gathered against Jerusalem to 
 battle, [v. 2) then as smitten with a plague which consumes 
 them ; {vv. 12 — 15) but afterwards there is mention of " every 
 ' one that is left of all the nations that came against Jeru- 
 ' salem." 
 
 Our Lord's intimation likewise concerning the tribulation, 
 is to the point in hand ; " that exce])t those days should be 
 ' shortened there should no flesh be saved :" for they clearly 
 intimate that some in the flesh will be saved. 
 
 I apprehend that what is spoken of Gog and I^Iagog in 
 Ezekiel xxxix. 2, before the whole prophecy concerning this 
 war is set out, is the real key to this difliculty : " I will leave 
 but the sixth part of thee :" and that the numerous passages 
 which speak of " them that escape of the nations," " the na- 
 tions of them that are saved," " the remnant of them," " all 
 that are left," must be considered as referring to this circum- 
 stance. 
 
 Further, in regard to brute animals, the promise to Noah 
 appears to justify the conclusion, that there will not be an utter 
 destruction, any more than when the earth was destroyed by 
 water: " neither will I again smite any more every thing liv- 
 ing, as I have done." — Which is another instance also, that 
 the words " every thing living" must be qualified, and the con- 
 tents of the ark deducted. 
 
90 
 
 Psalm VIII. is likewise applied to the reign of Christ, both 
 in Corinthians and Hebrews ; and this states, — " Thou hast put 
 ' all things under his feet, all sheep and oxen, yea and the beasts 
 ' of the field, the foicl of the air, and the fish of the sea :" so 
 that if the conflagration be pre-millennial, there are animals 
 preserved from it. By what means I presume not to state. 
 Until God by his special power brought them to Noah into the 
 ark, no man could have conceived how they should have been 
 saved from the waters of a flood ; neither have I a satisfac- 
 tory perception of the mode in which all these things will 
 be so brought to pass as to harmonize with the entire Scrip- 
 tures. 
 
 2. But of the safety of God! s people at this period of judge- 
 ment, we have abundant and clear testimony. The world and 
 the merely ;j?'o/e55m(/ Church, will, alas ! be taken by surprise. 
 In the first instance all will appear going on as usual, in peace 
 and security. As when the flood came in the days of Noah, 
 and the burning in the time of Lot, they ^\ill be giving their 
 chief concern to buying and selling, building and planting, 
 marrying and giving in marriage. t The three angels, in the 
 vision to Zechariah, report of a period ajDparently preceding 
 this time : " We have walked to and fro through the earth, 
 and behold — all the earth sitteth still and is at rest."^ " But 
 
 * when they shall say. Peace and safety, then sudden destruc- 
 
 • tion Cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child ; 
 ' and they shall not escape. "^ The most striking figures are 
 made use of to show, how sudden and unexpected the Advent 
 and Judgement will be to such : e. g. " the pangs of labor" 
 — " as the lightning cometh out of the east and shineth unto 
 the west" — " as a snare or trap upon the nations ;" — and " as 
 a thief in the night .-" just as in Pharaoh's time, the destroying 
 angel went out at midnight, and a cry of distress was heard 
 from the king on the throne to the captive in the dungeon.^ 
 Up to the moment of his coming, men will be refusing to 
 look at prophecy, and saying, " Where is the promise of his 
 coming ?"x 
 
 Of the righteous, however, we are expressly told, that the day 
 of the Lord shall not overtake them as a thief in the night :y 
 they will be looking out for the Saviour's approach, satisfied, 
 from the signs of the times, that their redemption draweth nigh.z 
 
 t Matt. XXIV. 38. " Zech. i. Compare v. 11 and vv. 18 — 21. 
 V 1 Thess. V. 3. ^ Ex. xii. 29. ^ 2 Pet. in. 4. y 1 Thess. v. 4. 
 » Luke XXI. 28. 
 
91 
 
 They will apparently witness the tribulation, and it will be 
 cut short for their sakes ; but they will be spared in it. 
 Consider first what David says of the righteous — " that in the 
 floods of great waters they shall not come nigh unto him."^ 
 So in another place — " In the time of trouble he shall hide me 
 
 * in his pavilion — in the secret of liis tabernacle shall he hide 
 ' me — he shall set me upon a rock."b Psalm xxxvii. is 
 throughout to this point, but especially verses 34, 38 — 40 : 
 '• Wait on the Lord, and he shall exalt thee to inlierit the 
 ' land : when the wicked are cut off thou shalt see it — The 
 ' transgressors shall be destroyed together : the end of the 
 
 * wicked shall be cut off: but the salvation of the righteous 
 
 * is of the Lord, he is their strength in the time of trouble; 
 ' and the Lord shall help them and deliver them ; he shall de- 
 ' liver them from the wicked and save them, because they 
 
 * trust in him." Again in Psalm xlv. " God is our refuge 
 
 * and strength ; a very present help in trouble : therefore will 
 ' we not fear, though the earth be removed, and though the 
 ' mountains be carried into the midst of the sea ; though the 
 
 * waters thereof roar and be troubled ; though the mountains 
 ' shake with the swelling thereof." Isaiah says of the Lord's 
 people — " They shall dwell in a peaceable habitation, and in 
 ' sure dwellings, and in quiet resting places ; when it shall 
 ' hail, coming down on the forest, and the city shall be low 
 
 * in a low place. "^ And again, " Come, my people, enter 
 
 * thou into thy chambers, and shut thy doors about thee," (an 
 exhortation to prayer, Matt, vi.) " hide thyself as it were for 
 ' a little moment, until the indignation be overpast. For be- 
 ' hold the Lord cometh out of his place to punish the inhabit- 
 
 * ants of the earth for their iniquity — the earth also shall 
 ' disclose her blood, and shall no more cover her slain. "d 
 
 There is also a remarkable prophecy in Jeremiah xxx. 4 — 9, 
 concerning Israel and Judah at this time. " These (he says) 
 ' are the words that the Lord spake concerning Israel and 
 ' concerning Judah. For thus saith the Lord : we have heard 
 ' a voice of trembling, of fear, and not of peace. Ask ye now 
 ' and see, whether a man doth travail v/ith child } Wherefore 
 ' do I see every man with his hands on his loins, as a woman 
 ' in travail, and all faces are turned into paleness ? Alas ! for 
 ' that day is great, so that none is like it. It is even the 
 
 * Ps. XXXII. 6. b Ps. XXVII. 5. c isa. xxxii. 18, 19. 
 disa. XXVI. 20, 21. 
 
92 
 
 ' time of Jacob's trouble ; but — he shall he saved out of it. 
 ' For it shall come to pass in that day, saith the Lord of hosts, 
 
 * that I will break his j^oke from off thy neck, and will burst 
 ' thy bonds, and strangers shall no more serve themselves of 
 
 * him : but they shall serve the Lord their God and David 
 ' their King-, Avhom I will raise up unto them." 
 
 The next promise I shall notice is Joel in. 16. After de- 
 scribing the time of trouble, he adds : "The Lord shall roar 
 ' out of Zion, and utter his voice from Jerusalem, and the earth 
 
 * shall shake : but the Lord will be the hope of His people and 
 ' the strength of the children of Israel." I shall only quote 
 one more from Zephaniah, because it shows again the suit- 
 ableness of prayer at this time : " Seek ye the Lord, all ye 
 
 * mec-k of the earth, which have wrought his judgement : seek 
 ' righteousness, seek meekness : — it may be ye shall be hid 
 ' in the day of the Lord's anger." 
 
 I do not consider arguments derived from tyj:es as suited 
 to lay at the foundation of a doctrine : but when we have direct 
 testimony, similar to that which I have brought forward, they 
 are very important collateral evidence. The analogy then of 
 the types clearly confirms the testimoTiy adduced. The de- 
 liverance, for example of Noah at the flood ; from which some 
 argue, that (as the ark rose above the waters of the deluge, so 
 in the fiery deluge,) the Church will rise to meet the Lord in 
 the air, whilst the conflagration is going on below. The deli- 
 verance also of Lot at the destruction of the cities of the plain, 
 set fo!th as a special example of the vengeance of eternal fire.e 
 The Exodus from Egypt again typifies a way of salvation for 
 the people, at the very time when their enemies shall be over- 
 thrown. The proceeding of Jehu,^ in the destruction of the 
 whole of the worshipers of Baal, just at the moment when 
 they thought their cause was most prosperous ; and the pre- 
 vious careful exclusion from among them of the worshipers of 
 Jehovah, I take to be another type. The well known escape 
 of the christians to Pella at the destruction of Jerusalem may 
 also be instanced ; and may other events. 
 
 To believers therefore I w^ould say — yet, not I, but the 
 Lord — " 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 Son of Man." Luke xxi. 36. 
 
 e Jude V. 7. f 2 Kings x. 18—25. 
 
93 
 
 Essay VIII 
 
 THE STATE OF SEPARATE SPIRITS. 
 
 No circumstance connected with modem theology has more 
 affected me with surprise, than the vague and unsatisfactory 
 notions entertained by most respecting the present and future 
 conditions of the dead. In its first aspect, so far as our own 
 individual happiness is concerned, it appears to be the object 
 of all others in di\dne revelation of most intense interest, and 
 most calculated to engage the inquiry of intelligent mortals : 
 and indeed there are few persons that are not led by the ordi- 
 nary afflictions or sympathies of life to entertain the subject 
 at some period of their existence, however transiently ; and 
 there are few ministers, in the habit of encouraging religious 
 conversation, who are not repeatedly assailed by inquiries on 
 this head. Yet how many preachers and -svriters treat the 
 topic with hesitation, or mere conjecture ; not seeming to 
 have any decided scripture testimony on which to base their 
 hopes ; as if they rather wished their sentiments to be true, 
 than that they have a decided assurance that they are so. The 
 conclusion to which this has led me is, that Christians in gen- 
 eral, owing to erroneous views concerning the resurrection 
 state and the kingdom of glory, have likewise fallen into error 
 in regard to some important circumstances respecting the pre- 
 sent and future conditions of the dead. And it is remarkable, 
 that they commonly speak with the greater degree of confi- 
 dence concerning the state of separate spirits, which is really 
 an obscure point, and respecting which but little is revealed ; 
 whilst in regard to that other state, which is declared to be 
 *' life and immortality brought to light," and concerning which 
 we have abundant revelation, they are inclined to discourage 
 inquiry, as though it were altogether hopeless. 
 
 I trust I write not these things in a spirit of arrogancy ; 
 for I am deeply sensible that I have myself been precisely in 
 this state, at a time when I was nevertheless desirous to as- 
 certain and to communicate the truth : but I think it due to 
 those holy doctrines which I advocate to avow, that it was 
 only in proportion as their glorious light broke in upon my 
 understanding that I was enabled to apprehend these other 
 truths with any clearness. 
 
94 
 
 As these Essays are chiefly intended to set forth the future 
 condition of believers, I might have been justified in passing 
 over the mention of the intermediate state : but as I consider 
 it important, when advancing opinions opposed to the notions 
 of many pious christians, not to let it be supposed that I en- 
 tertain sentiments which I entirely reject ; I shall preface my 
 inquiry into the resurrection state, by a notice of the state of 
 separate spirits — i.e. of the state of souls after death. 
 
 Some students of prophecy, dazzled perhaps by the first 
 reception of light, were induced, when they embraced millen- 
 narian views, to consider the state of the disembodied spirit as 
 one of unconscious sleep ; and though most of them have 
 now retracted this opinion, yet some hold it ; whilst many 
 have only modified it, and, as it appears to me, do still degrade 
 the separate state below what the Scriptures have revealed 
 concerning it. I shall therefore endeavour to prove, 1st, that 
 the dead in Christ are in a state of consciousness, in the fullest 
 sense of the term ; and 2dly, that they are in a state of holy 
 enjoyment, superior to any experienced upon earth.* 
 
 I. That the spirit is in a state of unconsciousness is argued 
 from the circumstance, that death is described in Scripture as 
 a sleep, and that the dead are said to awake and arise from it. 
 I doubt whether more be meant by such expressions than a 
 figure, seeing that the very same phrases are applied by the 
 Psalmist to God : — " Awake, why sleepest thou, O Lord } 
 arise ; &c."a The same writers scout, as " idle," the notion 
 of such Scriptures having respect only to the body :^ never- 
 theless all these Scriptures are ambiguous in regard to their 
 applicability to the spirit; whilst Psalm xvi. 9 (" My flesh 
 shall rest in hope,") appears quite unequivocal as respects the 
 body : and therefore I feel justified, when the context does 
 
 * I do not think it needful to dwell formally upon another opinion, 
 held by Socinians, that at death the soul is annihilated. We may refute 
 them with this text (if they will receive it) — " Fear not them which kill 
 the body, but are not able to kill the soul : but rather fear Him, which 
 is able to destroy both body and soul in hell." For were the soul anni- 
 hilated at death, its destruction would be placed within the power of 
 man ; so that he who killed the body would as certainly annihilate the 
 soul : when therefore it is stated, that men are not able to kill the soul, 
 even though they kill the body, it is clear that bodily death does not 
 annihilate the soul. 
 
 * Ps. XLiv. 23 ; and see also lxxiii. 20 ; lxxviii. 65. b See Morning 
 Watch, Vol. II. p. 382. 
 
95 
 
 not determine the point, in limiting all doubtful instances to 
 the body likewise. 
 
 I apprehend Romans viii. 10, 11 to be referable to this 
 subject : " And if Christ be in j^ou, the body is dead because 
 ' of sin, but the spirit is life because of righteousness ; but 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 body by his Spirit that dwelleth in you." 
 Here observe that the body is condemned to death, whilst the 
 spirit is redeemed from it ; and yet it is said, that the body 
 shall hereafter be likewise quickened ; but where in the mean- 
 while is the eminent distinction between the body being dead 
 and the spirit life, unless it be that in the intermediate state 
 the body sleeps, whilst the spirit enjoys a living conscious- 
 ness } * 
 
 * The Writers of the Morning Watch just referred to, when discussing 
 the locality of Hades and Paradise, contend from Matt. xii. 38, and 
 Rom. X. 7, that they are in the heart of the earth : nor am I disposed 
 to question this part of the statement, which is generally supported by 
 Scripture. But the application of the term steep to the bodi/ appears to 
 them idle on this very account ; because the body soon becomes dissi- 
 pated into dust and cannot therefore have a locality. To me however 
 the return of the body to the dust confirms the view which I have taken : 
 for we are expressly told, " that many of them that sleep in the dust of 
 the earth shall awake;" (Dan. xii. 2 ;) and Isaiah exclaims, "Awake 
 and sing ye that dwell in dusty (Isa. xxvi. 19.) 
 
 There are difficulties however in the way of mjfull conviction, in re- 
 gard to Paradise or Hades being in the heart of the earth. These 
 writers lay great stress, and justifiably, upon the numerous passages of 
 Scripture which speak of the dead as descending, or going down into 
 Hades. But that which creates the greatest difficulty in my mind is, 
 that there are other passages, referring to separate spirits, which de- 
 scribe them as ascending or having ascended. Thus : " All are of the 
 dust and all turn to dust again. — Who knoweth the sjnrit of man that 
 goeth upward, and the spirit of the beast that goeth downward to the 
 earth." (Eccles. iii. 21.) *' Then shall the dust return to the earth 
 as it was, and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it." (Ibid. 
 XII. 7.) ** Jerusalem which is above is free, which is the mother of us 
 all." — What is this, but the Church, the spirits of the just made perfect, 
 the New Jerusalem which is to come down from God out of heaven ? 
 (Gal. IV. 26 ; Rev. xxi.) 
 
 For the information of some Readers (and others I trust will excuse 
 it) I may here explain, that the ancient doctrine concerning Hell or 
 Hades does not limit it to a place of torment, as is generally intended by 
 the word Hell in common use ; but includes the places of disembodied 
 spirits, both of the righteous and the wicked ; between whom there is a 
 
96 
 
 It is objected by some, that in the parable of the rich man 
 and Lazarus the latter is represented as lying in Abraham's 
 bosom ; and that as he is not made to speak, he must be in 
 a state of repose, and consequently of unconsciousness. This 
 objection, however, arises from not understanding what is 
 meant, in the Eastern style, by lying in the bosom of any ; 
 which was with them the place of favor and distinction. Thus 
 the apostle John is described as lying in the Saviour's bosom ; 
 and thus the Jews, before the time of Christ, said of the 
 righteous dead that they were gone to the hosom of Adam, and 
 the bosom of Abraham ; and, after Christ, believers were said 
 to lie in the bosom of Christ. Besides, the rich man is evi- 
 dently conscious and does converse ; it must therefore be his 
 body only that slept ; and shall we say that the damned enjoy 
 a consciousness which the righteous do not ? 
 
 II. This point, the consciousness of the spirit in the inter- 
 mediate state, will be more fully established when we consider 
 secondly, that the dead are in a state of holy enjoyment, supe- 
 rior to what they experienced when on earth : for that which 
 proves the latter point, does more eminently confirm the former. 
 
 St. Paul declares, " that for him to live is Christ, and to die 
 is gain."c I have carefully attended to the arguments which 
 would explain this text otherwise ; — viz. that the Apostle here 
 overleaps the intermediate state, as of no account, and refers 
 his gain by death to the resurrection ; but I cannot at all con- 
 cur mth this view. Surely death would, in the mean while, be 
 a loss to the man, who could say, when living, '* To me to live 
 is Christ /' unless that conscious union -with Christ were still 
 continued to him : for in regard to any merely natural circum- 
 stances we may say, " a living dog is better than a dead lion."d 
 And this continued enjoyment of Christ — yea, and this in- 
 creased enjoyment of him — is fully borne out by the 33rd 
 verse, where the Apostle says, " that he has a desire to depart 
 and be with Christ, which is far better" than remaining in the 
 flesh. 
 
 separation, likened in the parable of the rich man and Lazanis to " a 
 great gulf.^* The receptacle of the righteous is called Paradise; to 
 which place the spirit of our Saviour went when he gave up the ghost, 
 as is evident from his assuring the thief — " This day shalt thou be with 
 me in Paradise." The receptacle of the wicked is called Tartarus. — 
 The phrase in 2 Pet. ii. 4, *' Cast into Hell'^ is in the original, '^ Cast 
 into Tartarus. ^^ 
 
 ePhil. I. 21. d Eccles, IX. 4. 
 
There is a text even still more explicit ; for it proves, that 
 what the Apostle means by being with Christ is, the enjoy- 
 ment of his visible presence. — " Therefore we are always con- 
 ' fident, knowing that whilst we are at home in the body we 
 
 * are absent from the Lord ; (for we walk by faith, not by 
 
 * sight :) we are confident, I say, and willing rather to be ab- 
 ' sent from the body and present with the Lord."e 
 
 These two Scriptures are very embarrassing to Dr. Burnet 
 and those writers who follow him in this particular ; and they 
 struggle greatly to get rid of their force. I cannot pretend to 
 follow them through all their arguments : I shall select one or 
 two which appear to me to be the strongest. Another Writer 
 in the Morning Watch has translated and given in that work 
 the fourth chapter of Burnet " De statu Mortuorum, &c." 
 adding copious notes ; and as he does full justice to the ori- 
 ginal, and handles the subject ably, I shall quote from his 
 translation. — 
 
 " Again, in such expressions as we are considering, theob- 
 ' ject is evidently an antithesis : as indeed may easily be re- 
 
 * marked, both in Corinthians and Philippians ; the words 
 ' " tobe with Christ" being contrasted with our continuance 
 ' in this world. For, indeed, when we quit this life, we are 
 
 * not extinct, we are not annihilated ; and where are we ? 
 
 * With God, with Christ : we live mito God. (Luke xx, 38.) 
 
 * We are present to Christ ; and he will bring us back, flour- 
 
 * ishing and full of life, with himself also, to the theatre of 
 
 * this world. We therefore shall not wonder to find St. Paul 
 
 * exclaiming, " For to me to die is gain." (Phil, i, 21.) We 
 ' are rather surprised that he says so little than that he says 
 
 * so much in favor of death, w^hen so many evils, so many 
 
 * troubles, so many perils, so many labors, encompassed him ; 
 
 * who had endured both hunger and thirst, with cold, and 
 
 * nakedness, and wounds and stripes, and prisons, and rocks, 
 
 * and shipwrecks, and every sort of affliction, both by sea and 
 
 * land. That death should be esteemed more desirable than 
 
 * such a life, who can wonder ? If it be only rest, and a re- 
 
 * mission of trials, still it is so far " gain." — Let us, then, learn 
 
 * to think somewhat more moderately concerning our %VTetch- 
 
 * ed selves and our reward ; and no longer promise to ourselves 
 
 * and others the beatific vision of God upon the instant of our 
 
 * eyes being closed ; when we see the Apostle of the Gentiles 
 
 • 2 Cor. V. 6—8. 
 
98 
 
 * (who of all men best merited any reward which the christian 
 
 * religion holds forth) presenting no such hope, either to him- 
 ' self or to others." Vol. I, p. 676. 
 
 His Translator and Commentator begins the subject at vers^ 
 5 of the above place in Corinthians, and WTites thus : — 
 " *• Now he that hath wrought us for the self- same thing" 
 
 * — Who is he ? Is it not the Holy Ghost ; the whole God- 
 
 * head Triune ? — as the Apostle writes : " Now he that hath 
 ' wrought us for the self-same thing is God ! who hath also 
 ' given unto us [already] the earnest of the Spirit ;" therefore 
 
 * we are always confident, knowing that while w^e are are at 
 
 * home in this unredeemed body, (which, like the microscope, 
 
 * is at once tne means of boasted investigation, and at the same 
 
 * time the preventive of almost all sight ; ) whilst we are en- 
 
 * veloped with this shroud, the flesh ; while all things are dis- 
 
 * torted by its impurity and nothing seen aright by reason of 
 
 * its refraction ; while sin is mingled in our every thought, 
 
 * and the better they are the more literally that is crucified ; — 
 
 * *' ivhile we are at home in the body, we are absent from the 
 ' Lord." " P. 672. 
 
 The first thing I notice in these extracts is, that the Doctor, 
 by coupling the two texts together, adroitly diverts our atten- 
 tion from the antithesis in 2 Cor. v, and treats only of that in 
 Phil. I. The second thing I notice is, that his Translator, when 
 giving his own opinion on the former passage, entirely passes 
 over the important parenthesis, — " For we walk by faith not 
 by sight;" which is nevertheless the key to the right under- 
 standing of the whole. For what may the Apostle mean by 
 these words } To me he appears to anticipate the objection 
 which would immediately present itself to a spiritual man, 
 when *:he Apostle speaks of being absent from the Lord : — How 
 can we be absent from him, when to live is Christ, and every 
 believer walks with him, and enjoys the sense of his presence .' 
 Yes, (answers the Apostle,) we certainly live and walk with 
 him now ; but whilst in the body it is hy faith, and not by 
 sight : but when we are absent from the body, then we shall 
 walk in the enjoyment of his visible presence — by sight and 
 not hy^ faith. This I consider the real antithesis of the 
 passage. 
 
 If I understand the \4ew which Dr. B.'s Translator takes, it 
 is, that the presence to be enjoyed when apart from the body 
 is a spiritual one ; — the Holy Ghost having given to us an ear- 
 
99 
 
 nest now, will then give us a greater fulness. I grant that we 
 have here many drawbacks and hindrances, "which prove a clog 
 upon our spiritual enjoyment ; but in the heart of every be- 
 liever Christ does nevertheless dwell by the Spirit ;f and his 
 body, though vile, is nevertheless the temple of the Holy 
 Ghost. g It therefore destroys the essential distinction between 
 the righteous and the ungodly, to say, that Christ is not with 
 the believer now, in this present life. And it destroys the an- 
 tithesis of this passage ; which is, not the ha\'ing less of the 
 Spirit wlulst in the body, and out of it the fulness ; but the 
 walking in the body with Christ hj faith, and when out of it 
 being with Christ by sight. 
 
 I must here however observe, that though I feel assured, 
 ■that the enjoyment of Christ with the saints is a visible one ; 
 yet am I equally persuaded, that they have not yet ascended 
 up on high to be present with him in the heavens. Nor is 
 ^uch an opinion at all inconsistent with the ancient notion of 
 Paradise being in the heart of the earth, whether it is really 
 there or not. The material sun is said to be present with us, 
 and is unquestionably seen and felt by us when it shines in our 
 heavens, though it is separated from us by millions of miles : 
 why may not " the Sun of righteousness" equally gladden the 
 saints in Paradise, by some similar manifestation of himself, 
 and communication of his beams from the highest heavens ? 
 Certainly Stephen had such a manifestation, when he cried, — 
 "Behold, I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man stand- 
 ing on the right hand of God." 
 
 I shall finally notice, in regard to the separate state. Rev. 
 XIV. 13 ; " Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from 
 ' henceforth : yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from 
 ' their labors and their works do follow them." The latter 
 part of this text — " their works do follow them" — I may pro- 
 bably enter upon at some future period : for the present I must 
 confine myself to the other words — " They rest from their la- 
 bors ;" words which, though apparently of a negative signi- 
 fication, do nevertheless, when duly considered, prove that the 
 righteous dead enjoy a decided increase of j905?7zVe blessedness. 
 
 They will evidently be delivered from all bodily pain and 
 disease, and from all the various corporal evils attendant on 
 
 f John XIV. 18, 21, 23 ; Rom. viii. 10 ; 2 Cor. xiii. 5. 
 s 1 Cor. VI. 19. 
 
100 
 
 poverty, — viz. hunger, thirst, heat, cold and the like. The 
 peasant, the mechanic, the bondman, will likewise have done 
 with all their toil and fatigue : not indeed that the spirit will 
 be without active employment ; for I consider a state of in- 
 ertness to be incompatible with its happiness. 
 
 And in respect to weariness of the flesh — aye and weariness 
 of the spirit — even christian labors of love are not without 
 their drawback : the very phrase " labor oi love" implies an 
 imperfection. They may be cheerfully entered upon, and they 
 are not unfrequently attended by real gratification ; but yet, 
 alas I through the present infirmity of man, they are a tueari- 
 ness. To visit the abodes of wretchedness, filth, and conta- 
 gion, — to endeavour to bring the spiritually dead to a sense 
 of their danger ; — to instruct the dull, the prejudiced, the un- 
 believing ; — and frequently from all these classes to meet wdth 
 ingratitude in return for our exertions : these things are for 
 the present not joyous but grievous. But the dead rest from 
 all this. 
 
 In the next place it is a rest from sin — which rest must be 
 one of the most blessed sources of enjoyment to a renewed 
 spirit. He rests from sin outwardly, since he no longer is 
 doomed to dwell with those w^ho vex his righteous soul from 
 day to day by their ungodliness : " there the wicked cease 
 from troubling :"^ there " the Lord hides him in His taberna- 
 cle from the strife of tongues. "i And he rests from the con- 
 flict with sin inwardly. For though whilst in the flesh he is 
 able through grace, to enjoy a dominion over sin, so that he 
 does not obey it in the lusts thereof ; yet he is continually 
 galled and annoyed by its inward emotions. Sometimes when 
 he would enjoy spiritual things, his soul cleaveth to the dust ; 
 — when he would do good, he finds e\dl present with him, (in 
 his motives and tempers perhaps,) and he groans in this body 
 of death being burdened. But, when he dies, he rests from all 
 his warfare, and from his fears, and doubts, and prejudices, and 
 jealousies, and is borne by the angels to the general assembly 
 of the spirits of the just. 
 
 ^ Job. HI. 17. » Ps. XXXI. 26. 
 
 Abdiel. 
 
101 
 Essay IX. 
 
 THE RESURKECTION STATE. 
 
 In my last Essay I adverted to the circumstance, that some 
 Christians discourage inquiry concerning the glorified condition 
 of the saints, as if nothing were specifically revealed concern- 
 ing it : and I may add, that there are two passages of Scrip- 
 ture frequently brought forward, as proof that we cannot ar- 
 rive at any satisfactory knowledge on these points. These 
 passages I shaU first notice. 
 
 The one is 1st Cor. ii. 9 — " Eye hath not seen, nor ear 
 ' heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things 
 
 * which God hath prepared for them that love him.'* This 
 text is quoted by the Apostle from Isaiah lxiv. 4, to shew 
 how it had come to pass, that the wise and mighty of this 
 world had crucified the Lord of glory, because they did not 
 understand the mysteries of redemption. I need not stay to 
 inquire, whether the things, here said to have been withheld 
 from the perception of man, were the gracious truths and 
 mysteries connected with the present state of salvation, or if 
 they related only to a glorified condition in heaven or on earth : 
 it is sufiicient to observe, that the next verse clearly proves 
 these things, whatsoever they may be, to be revealed under 
 the Gospel to the spiritual man, and only veiled from the eye 
 and the ear and the heart of the natural man. — " But God 
 
 * hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit : for the Spirit 
 
 * searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God." {v. 10.) 
 
 The other place is 1 John iii. 2 — " It doth not yet appear 
 what we shall be." There is in the context of this passage 
 sufficient to lead one to the conclusion, that we do not appre- 
 hend it rightly, if we would so interpret it as to say, we know 
 nothing about our future state. For is it not therein declared, 
 that we are sons of God, and that we shall be like Christ at 
 his appearing ? A careful consideration of the Greek text 
 win I think satisfy the Reader, that the Apostle means not to 
 say, that it has never been declared what we shall be ; seeing 
 that he himself also does declare it in this very place : but that 
 what we shall be hath not yet appeared ^ (that is, the glorified 
 God-man, our great exemplar hath not yet appeared;) but that 
 
102 
 
 when HE shall appear we shall be like him.* Thus in Col. iii. 
 4 we read — " Wlien Christ who is our life shall appear, then 
 * shall ye also appear with him in glory." Whatsoever there- 
 fore is declared of the glorified manhood of the Lord Jesus at 
 the time of his appearing, of that we may conclude the saints 
 will be partakers ; and thus the text, instead of being opposed 
 to the inquiry, would really form an ample foundation on 
 which to raise it. 
 
 I proceed now to the more immediate consideration of the 
 resurrection state itself. 
 
 I. It is pretty generally acknowledged among Christians, 
 that the grand purpose of God in redemption is to make such 
 an exhibition of certain of his attributes, as could not other- 
 wise be properly conceived of. It is not sufficient, either for 
 men or angels, that Jehovah should be proclaimed as " the 
 ' Lord, the Lord God, merciful and gracious, long-suffering, 
 ' abundant in goodness, &c. ;" he will be known as such by 
 his actings, so that the universe may have experimental evi- 
 dence of this blessed and glorious truth. I pass however from 
 the general consideration of this point, to its particular bear- 
 ing on redeemed man, which is not, I think, so commonly 
 dwelt upon. 
 
 For aught we know to the contrary, angels had never wit- 
 nessed an example of the justice and severity of God, until 
 the angels that rebelled were hurled down to Tartarus. But 
 in regard to the rebellion of man, the principalities and powers 
 in heavenly places are to behold a display of the mercy and 
 goodness and love of God : not such a mere ordinary instance 
 of these qualities, as shall only prove that they are divine ; 
 but such an exhibition of them as shall be worthy of Jehovah, 
 affording the most wonderful and exalted specimen of these 
 attributes. To this end man is permitted to fall, and so to 
 fall, that he becomes lower, if possible, than the angels that 
 rebelled ; being " earthly and sensual" as well as " devilish," 
 and thus as it were two-fold more the child of hell than liis 
 deceiver. But God wiU not only pardon him, and reinstate 
 him in his former condition of happiness ; but he hath deter- 
 
 * OvTTO) e(}>av£pii)9r} ti effofieOa' oiSafisv ds on tav (fntvtpujQri o/jloiol 
 avTif) t(T0fiE6a. There is an evident connexion and identity here between 
 that which is the nominative to tcpavtpioOt) (whatever it may be) and the 
 nominative to ^avepwQt] and the antecedent of avr^y. 
 
103 
 
 mined to lavish on him the riches of grace and glor}'.a j^g 
 we read of the eastern monarchs sometimes raising men, ac- 
 cording to the pleasure of their will, from very lowly circum- 
 stances, treating them as special favorites, exalting them 
 among all other princes, presidents and rulers, and sending 
 them forth as those " whom the king delighteth to honour ;" 
 so the Lord Jehovah hath purposed to raise up man as a beg- 
 gar from the dunghill,^ to receive him to his owti bosom, to 
 dwell and walk with him as his friend and familiar, to exalt 
 him in dignity above the angels, giving him to inherit all 
 things as his portion, and in fact only in the throne being 
 greater than him. 
 
 It will, I trust, be readily admitted, that these things are 
 true concerning the max Christ Jesus : would that they were 
 as fully believed in regard to the elect of God in general ! I 
 am persuaded that we should find this blessed expectation 
 most influential in stirring us up to walk worthy of our high 
 vocation. But so w^onderfuUy is the love of God above aE 
 that we can ask or think, that the saints in every age have 
 need to pray, " that, the eyes of their understanding being 
 ' enlightened, they may know what is the hope of His calling, 
 
 * and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the 
 ' saints." 
 
 It may be well, however, before I proceed to prove these 
 things of the redeemed in general, to instance two or three 
 testimonies concerning Christ. As Jesus declares that the 
 Father hath committed all judgement to the Son, because he is 
 the Son of Man f- so St. Paul asserts, that all things are put 
 under him. He only excepted which did put all things under 
 him.d In Ephesians we are told, that God hath raised him 
 ** far above elU principalitj", and power, and might, and domin- 
 ' ion, and ever}^ name that is named, not only in this world, 
 
 * but also in that which is to come, and hath put all under his 
 
 * feet."e In Philippians again we read, " that God hath 
 ' highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above 
 
 * every name : that at the name of Jesus every knee should 
 
 * bow% &c."f And once more it is written, " that God hath ap- 
 ' pointed him heir of all things ; — that he is made so much 
 
 * better than the angels, as he hath by inheritance obtained a 
 
 a Rom. IX. 23; Ephes. i. 7,18; ii. 7; in. 16; Phil. iv. 19. 
 b 1 Sam. II. 8. c Compare John v. vv. 22 and 27. ^ i Cor. xv. 
 27, 28. e Ephes. i. 20—22. f Phil. ii. 9—11. 
 
104 
 
 ' more excellent name than they ; for unto the angels hath he 
 
 * not put in subjection the world to come whereof we speak ; 
 ' but one in a certain place testified, saying, What is man that 
 
 * thou art mindful of him ? Thou madest him a little [while] 
 ' lower than the angels ; thou crownedst him with glory and 
 
 • honor, and didst set him over the works of thy hands ; thou 
 
 • hast put all things in subjection under his feet/'g Every one 
 acquainted with Scripture must be aware, how readily these 
 passages might be multiplied : and I trust none will be disposed 
 to contend that they relate to the divine nature of our Lord ; 
 since it were absurd to make the circumstances, that he should 
 be above the angels, and inherit all things, the subject of pro- 
 phecy or promise in regard to his deity. 
 
 Now it is clear to my mind, from the ob\dous tenor of the 
 Scriptures, that, in this exaltation and glory of the manhood 
 of Christ, the saints are to have a direct participation. This may 
 be made evident, first, from a due consideration of one or two 
 of the figures under which they are frequently spoken of in 
 their relationship to Jesus. For example, they are " the body 
 of Christ i"^ and it is difiicult to imagine how honor can be 
 put upon the head, unless the members also are made partakers 
 of it. Again, they are " the bride" or spouse of Christ, whom 
 he nourisheth and cherisheth as his own flesh, and of whose 
 honor he is jealous. i And it is manifest, that when a man is 
 raised to regal dignity, his wife is likewise elevated to the 
 throne ; and her lord would resent an indignity or slight of- 
 fered to his consort, the same as if offered to himself. This 
 latter figure will further sen^e to point out one important dis- 
 tinction as to the relative degree of glory to be respectively 
 enjoyed by Christ and the saints ; for a queen, though she 
 share immediately in all the pre-eminence and splendor and 
 greatness enjoyed by her husband, does nevertheless possess 
 it subordinate to him. It becomes his by inheritance, perhaps, 
 or by conquest : it is hers rather as it is reflected on her by 
 him. She can lay no claim to it in her own right, separate 
 from her lord ; and she enjoys it only because he has set his 
 love upon her, and called her to come and share in his glory. 
 
 But these things are not merely to be inferred from types 
 and figures, but are declared in more plain and absolute terms. 
 
 s See the whole of chapters i. and ii. h Ephes i. 23. ' Ephes. 
 
 V. 23—33. 
 
105 
 
 I have shewn in Essays No. V. and VII. that the saints are to 
 sit down in the throne with Christ, and to participate in the 
 judgement ; but some of the things also which are alleged in 
 Scripture to prove this great pre-eminence of Christ, are in 
 other places spoken in respect to the saints. Is the exaltation 
 of Jesus above the angels argued from the circumstance, that 
 God hath never said to one of them. Thou art my Son ?j — 
 " Behold what manner of love the Father hath bestowed on 
 ' us, that we should be called the the sons of God ! Beloved 
 
 * now are we the sons of God."'*^ Again, is Jesus, being the 
 Son, " appointed heir of all things ?"^ — So the Apostle argues 
 of the saints, " that if children, then heirs — heirs of God, 
 ' and JOINT-HEIRS with Christ ! if so be that we sufer with 
 ' him that we may be also glorified together l""^ — " He that 
 
 * overcometh shall inherit all things ; and I will be his God, 
 
 * and he shall be my son,"'^ I cannot take these things as 
 mere rhetorical flourishes, spoken without any definite mean- 
 ing : I view them as blessed and glorious realities, not one jot 
 or tittle of which shall fail : and therefore I cannot conceive, 
 how the saints can be " predestinated to the adoption of chil- 
 dren," and made " joint -heirs with Christ," unless they stand 
 in the next immediate gradation to him in rank and privilege 
 and glory in the kingdom of their Father. For this purpose 
 they are made *' to sit together in heavenly places in Christ 
 
 * Jesus : that in the ages to come he might shew the exceed- 
 
 * iNG RICHES of his gracc in his kindness toward us, through 
 
 * Christ Jesus. "o I know not how others who can receive 
 and realize these truths are affected by them : as for me, 
 though they excite my joy and wonder, yet they fill me with 
 self-loathing and abasement. 
 
 Before I quit this part of my subject I may here anticipate 
 one particular concerning the enjoyments of the saints ; which 
 is, that their experience does in many respects increase their 
 capacity for spiritual bliss, above that of the Angels. According 
 to our present apprehensions, the measure of our spiritual hap- 
 piness is proportionable to the measure of love shed abroad in 
 the heart by the Holy Ghost. Love is indeed the very essence 
 of the divine nature ;P conformity to which, beyond a question, 
 constitutes our ability to taste of divine bliss. But then our 
 love towards God depends on our sense of the extent of God's 
 
 J Heb. I. 5, k 1 John in. 1,2. ^ Heb. i. 2. m Rom. viii. 17. 
 n Rev. XXI. 7, o Ephes. n. 6,7. Pi John iv. 16, 
 
106 
 
 love and condescension towards us ; especially in the instance 
 of redeeming mercy. He who is conscious of many sins for- 
 given, the same lovethmuch ; " but to whom little is forgiven, 
 the same loveth little. "q In this respect then the probationary 
 experience of the saints, painful and degrading as it is in the 
 first instance, is by divine grace ultimately overruled to en- 
 hance their sense of God's condescension and goodness. The 
 elect angels, so far as we know, have never sinned ; and there- 
 fore have not been placed in jeopardy by hell-deservdng guilt. 
 They have not been plucked as brands from the burning ; — they 
 have no inward corruptions nor evil world to contend against ; 
 — they have not " come out of great tribulation." Nothing so 
 much enhances our sense of present blessings, as the retrospect 
 of opposite dangers and evils. The comforts of a fire-side are 
 never more appreciated, than when we have been subjected to 
 the pelting and severity of a storm : the refreshment of cooUng 
 shade is best understood by him, who has wandered through 
 desert wastes, exposed to the fury of a vertical sun. The 
 angels' conception of the condescension of God must likewise 
 be inferior to ours ; for we are the immediate objects on whom 
 it is bestowed ; they rather the spectators, who " desire to look 
 into" these things. God hath never identified himself with 
 the nature of angels by assuming it, as he has done ours 'J 
 and in one word, — Christ did not die for them ; and therefore 
 they can only view his mercy as it is exhibited to others. 
 
 IT. Having, as I trust, established the general position, that 
 in the resurrection the condition of the saints will transcend 
 in glory that of the angels, I pass on to the next consider- 
 ation. 
 
 In my last Essay I contended, (from 1 Cor. v, 6 — 8 and 
 Phil. I, 21—23,) that the souls of believers are, in the inter- 
 mediate state, in the enjojTnent of the presence of Christ. In 
 what manner they see him and are with him, is not, that I am 
 aware of, revealed ; it is for us to receive the fact itself ; and 
 for the rest, it appears to me the safest to leave it in that 
 obscurity, in which it has pleased God to envelope it. But in 
 regard to the person of the Father, I think it is clearly inti- 
 mated to us, that our formal introduction and presentation 
 to Him does not take place until the period of the resurrection. 
 Though we are now said to be sons, (or rather " sons and daugh- 
 ters, saith the Lord Almighty,"^) yet it is only the Spirit of 
 q Luke VII. 47. r Hebrews ii. 16. s 2 Cor. vi. 18. 
 
107 
 
 adoption we have as yet received, which is the pledge and ear- 
 nest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased 
 possession : the adoption itself being identified with the re- 
 demption of the body, which is also the time of " the manifes- 
 tation of the sons of God."* But as this is an important point 
 in regard to the millennarian view of the Advent and Resur- 
 rection, I shall endeavour to illustrate it further. 
 
 When the Lord Jesus was risen from the dead he said to 
 Mary, " that he was not yet ascended to his Father ;"^ plainly ' 
 intimating, as I conceive, that Hades or Paradise, from which 
 he was just come, was not the abode of the Father. The 
 same may be inferred from the words of the Apostle concern- 
 ing David ; viz — " David is not ascended into the heavens :"v 
 and the Psalmist himself defers the period of the beholding 
 the face of God in righteousness, until he shall " awake up 
 with God's likeness. "'«■ It would appear also, that the saints 
 are not publicly declared to be the sons of God, until their 
 glorious manifestation : for it is to this period Jesus refers, 
 when he promises, concerning him that overcometh, — " I will 
 ' not blot out his name out of the book of life, but I will con- 
 
 * fesshis name before my Father, and before his angels. "^ And 
 there are various other scriptures referring the time of the 
 saints' introduction to the royal presence, (if I may so say,) to 
 the period of the resurrection. Thus St. Paul expresses his 
 confidence, "^that He which raised up the Lord Jesus shall 
 raise up us also (meaning himself) by Jesus, and ^)ib]1 present 
 us with you"l In the epistle to the Thessalonians he con- 
 nects it ^vith the advent ; praying for their increase in love, 
 " to the end He may stablish your hearts unblameable in holi- 
 ' ness before God, even our Father, at the coming of the Lord 
 
 * Jesus Christ with all his saints.''^ Similar is the doctrine of 
 St. Jude : "Now unto him that is able to keep you from 
 ' falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his 
 ' glory with exceeding joy, to the only wise God our Saviour, 
 ' be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and 
 
 * ever, Amen." Thus am I compelled to conclude, that man, 
 whilst in the separate state,* hath no access to that light in 
 
 * There is a curious passage on this head by the ancient author of 
 " Questions and Answers to the Orthodox," bound up in the editions of 
 
 t Compare Rom. viii. 15, 19, and 23 ; 2 Cor. v. 5, 6 ; Gal. iv. 5, 
 6 ; Ephes. i. 13, 14. u John xx. 17. v Acts ii. 34. ""^ Psalm 
 XVII. 15. X Rev. III. 5. 7 2 Cor. iv. 14. ^ 1 Thess. in. 13. 
 
108 
 
 which God dwells.^ and that he does not visibly behold the 
 glory of God until that time when it shall be announced, — 
 " Behold the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell 
 with them."b* 
 
 But there is a yet greater depth in this part of our subject, 
 which remains to be considered. Many expressions in Scrip- 
 ture lead to the conclusion, that the saints are not presented 
 even to Christ until the period of the advent ; and therefore, 
 that in whatever way the saints, when absent from the body, 
 are to be considered present with him, and to behold him by 
 sight and not by faith, it is not in that glorified nature which 
 he will possess, when he comes as " the great God and our 
 Saviour." Thus it is %mtten, that Christ sanctifies and 
 cleanses the Church, " that he may present it to himself a 
 glorious Church, &c.c He bids his disciples pray, that they 
 may be accounted worthy to escape the last tabulation and to 
 stand before the Son of Man ;<i as if they had not been 
 brought into his presence previously. Similar is the promise 
 in John's Gospel,^ that He will come again and receive them to 
 
 Justyn Martyr's works, and incorrectly attributed to him. Being asked, 
 what became of those who came out of their graves after the resurrection 
 of Jesus and went into the holy city and appeared unto many ; and hav- 
 ing stated, among other things in reply, that they went again to Hades 
 with their bodies, in order to afford assurance to the souls there, that 
 the resurrection of Christ was a pledge of the resurrection of all; he 
 concludes by sajring, They died not again, but continue in immortality, 
 just as Enoch and Elijah, and are iviih them in Paradise, still waiting a 
 change after the manner of the resurrection of Jesus Christ ; according 
 to the words of the Apostle, — *' We shall allhe changed." Ai' r/v aiTiav 
 ads eTsXevTrjcrav rraXiv, aWa fXiVHCiv tv a^avaaig. Ka^a-TVip 6 Evoj^ 
 Kai 6 HXiag, Kai skti <tvv avToig ev ry Trapaduaif) avajxivovTiq ttjv rjdr] 
 aiioviav T7]Q rs XpiT8 avaTacrecjg yivofievrjv Kara evaWayifV Ka9' rjVf 
 (i)Q (pTjrriv 6 ^eiog aTroroXog, travTeg aXXayTfcro/xeOa. Eig yap aQavarov 
 Tt Kai a(hQapTov ^loijv sttu) yeyovs rivog tj ava^aaig, TrXrjv ts 'ZujTtjpog 
 XptT«, do Kai TrpojTOTOKQC Tojv vsKpojv, Kai aTrapxT] tujv KtKoifiiJiJLevuJV 
 avTjyopiVTai, Question lxxxv. I give this without expressing any 
 opinion on it, merely for the information of others. 
 
 * Not only can no man now approach to the presence of Go^ ; but 
 there appears to be a distinction among the angels even. For Gabriel 
 states it to be his privilege, that he stood in the presence of God : 
 (Luke I. 11 :) and of the angels who minister to the saints it is said, 
 apparently by way of distinction, '* In heaven their angels do ahvays 
 behold the face of my Father which is in heaven." Matt, xviii. 10. 
 
 a 1 Tim. VI. 16. b Rev. xxi. 3. c Ephes. v. 27. ^ Luke xxi. 36. 
 e XIV. 3, 
 
109 
 
 HIMSELF ; which it is difficult to reconcile with the notion of 
 each believer being at death received to Christ. Agreeably 
 with this view the Apostle says, that he had espoused the 
 Corinthians to one husband, that he (Paul) m\^\t present them 
 as a chaste virgin to Christ S He declares also of the Thes- 
 salonians, that they will be ''' his hope and crown of rejoicing 
 in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ at his cotni?ig."E 
 And St. John exhorts the saints to abide in Christ, " that 
 when he shall appear, we may have confidence, and not be 
 ashamed before him at his coming.^" I pretend not to re- 
 concile these two things, though I doubt not they may be so : 
 they are both revealed, and I heartily believe them both. It 
 may please God to give to another greater light on this sub- 
 ject than to myself.* 
 
 III. Let us now inquire, concerning the resurrection saints, 
 " with what bod]/ do they come .''" 
 
 Our body is at present a great hindrance to our spiritual 
 enjoyment. Even though the spirit be willing, the flesh is 
 weak ; and it has to be denied and carefully watched in order 
 to subject it to the spirit; and to the last "we groan in it 
 being burdened." But the power of God will be so exerted 
 
 * It is farther worthy of observation, that the body in which Jesus 
 was seen by his disciples after his resurrection, and in which he ascended, 
 (as likewise the bodies in which we presume the saints, raised after his 
 resurrection, appeared unto many,) was not such as he appeared in, 
 when, together with Moses and Elijah, he was transfigured in the mount. 
 And therefore these passages of Scripture may allude to the greatly dif- 
 ferent circumstances and character in which the saints will behold the 
 Lord at his advent, compared with that appearance in which he con- 
 descends to be seen by them in their separate state. This notion is the 
 more reconcileable with Scripture, if we consider, that when the Lord 
 bid the disciples pray, (Luke xxi. 36,) that they might be counted 
 worthy to stand before the Son of Man, they were at that very time en- 
 joying the privilege of standing, or possibly sitting, in his presence : yet 
 he evidently makes no account of his presence under the circumstances 
 in which he then was, compared with the period to which he adverts. 
 So Justyn Martyr, in his Dialogue with Trypho, having noticed the 
 power manifested by Christ, whereby devils were cast out in his name, 
 considers it as nothing, compared with the glory and majesty and power 
 to be assumed by him, when Daniel vii . 2 and following verses are ful- 
 filled. So the passage beginning Ei Ss ry -s Tra^ng avra oiKOVojxiq, 
 roaaVTT] dvvafiig Seiicvvrai TrapaKo\s^i]<yaaa KanrapciKoXH^saa, ttocjj 
 rj iv rr) evdo^ip yivojiivr] avTs Trapstyiq.', &c. 
 
 f 2 Cor. XI. 2. g 1 Thess. ii. 19. h i John n. 28. 
 K 
 
no 
 
 in the resurrection, that we shall possess a spiritual body, 
 which will assist, instead of retarding, the motions of the 
 spirit ; so that our very fiesh may then be said to be athirst 
 for the living God. But I cannot do better, in regard to this 
 point, than request the Reader's attention to St. Paul's plain 
 and clear argumentation on this subject, contained in 1 Cor. 
 XV. Having shewn, by an appeal to the analogies in nature, 
 that the corruption and dissolution of the body in the earth, 
 must not be considered any impediment to the power of God 
 to raise it up in a different form, since the same may be ob- 
 served in regard to every grain of corn cast into the earth ; 
 {vv. 35 — 38) he continues to illustrate the subject by notic- 
 ing the different kinds of flesh which already exist ; (as the 
 flesh of men, of fishes, of birds, &c. v. 39 ;) and also the fact 
 that we already see both heavenli/ and earthly hodies, and these 
 with various degrees of glory ; {vv. 40, 41 ;) and he then pro- 
 ceeds to apply the subject to the human body. It is placed in 
 the grave under circumstances of corruption, dishonor, and 
 "weakness, a merely natural or animal body (-d/vxi-f^oi';) but it 
 is raised up a spiritual body, incapable of corruption or death, 
 and possessing power and glory, (vv. 42 — 46 and 53.) Our 
 Lord himself declares the immortality of the resurrection saints, 
 when he says, " neither can they die any more :"i* so that 
 whatsoever we are to understand of "the second death," J 
 we have this blessed assurance, — " He that overcometh shall 
 not be hurt of the second death."k Thus, though the body is 
 to rise, it ^\'ill undergo such a change, as shall render it 
 flesh of a very different kind from that which we now 
 possess. 
 
 We must notice likewise the resplendent glory of the body 
 at this time. We have a description of it in the account of 
 the transfiguration, when the Lord appeared in glory together 
 with Moses and Elijah. " The fashion of his countenance was 
 altered,"! — «' and his face did shine as the sun/'^^^ — ^ and his 
 
 * It is ■worthy of remark, in regard to the power and immortality of 
 the body, that Jesus during his ministry gave a power to his disciples for 
 a season, which, if held in perpetuity, would confer immortality on the 
 possessor : viz. power over all manner of sickness and disease, and over 
 all the poiver of the enemy, — the greatest and last enemy being death. 
 See Matt. x. 1—8 ; Luke x. 18, 19. 
 
 i Luke XX. 'i^. J Rev. xx. 12—14. k ibid. ii. 11. l Luke ix. 29, 
 m Matt. XVII. 2. 
 
hi 
 
 raiment was white as the light," " shining exceeding white, so 
 as no fuller on earth can white them."" This particular de- 
 scription is not indeed expressly concerning the glory in which 
 Moses and Elijah appeared, but of the body of Jesus : never- 
 theless, we have decided assurance, that the glorified saints 
 will be exactly conformed to their Lord. Did the face of Je- 
 sus shine as the sun t — so also " shall the righteouc shine 
 forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. o Was his 
 raiment white as the light ? — so " they that be wise shall 
 
 * shine as the brightness of the firmament, and as the stars 
 
 * for ever and ever."P Thus the Apostle argues, in the chap- 
 ter of Corinthians before quoted, that as we have borne the 
 image of the earthly [man,] we shall also bear the image of 
 the heavenly : which heavenly man is " the Lord from hea- 
 ven. "Q And in another place he declares, that the Lord will 
 ** change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his 
 
 * glorious body, according to the working whereby he is able 
 
 * even to subdue all things unto himself."i"^' 
 
 Tliough I fear to enter into an inquiry on any subject, when 
 we have no word from the Lord ; yet I consider it equally re- 
 reprehensible to be afraid of inquiry, when we have any light 
 to guide us ; therefore I would notice two or three other par- 
 ticulars revealed, concerning our future bodily state. 
 
 The first is, that there will be no marriage among the risen 
 saints ; which our Lord plainly declares in Luke xx. 35. And 
 St. Paul seems to teach, that the distinction of sex will be done 
 away ; declaring " that there is neither Jew nor Greek, bond 
 ' nor free, male nor female ; but that all are one in Christ Je- 
 
 * sus ; and if Christ's, then Abraham's seed, and heirs accord- 
 
 * ing to the promise. "s It may be questioned, however, whe- 
 ther the latter passage does strictly refer to the resurrection 
 state. 
 
 * It would seem to be owing to the sun-like splendor of the Lord and 
 his saints, that it is said of the New Jerusalem, " there was no need of 
 the sun there, because the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is 
 the light thereof," (Rev. xxi. 23.) When Jesus appeared to Paul on 
 the road to Damascus, it was with a glory " above (or exceeding) the 
 brightness of the sun." (Acts xxvi. 13.) Isaiah iv. 5 may also relate 
 to the shining of the saints in their new tabernacles or " dwelling- 
 places," their heavenly tabernacle being evidently their heavenly body. 
 See 2 Cor. v. 1, 2. 
 
 n Ibid, and Mark ix. 3. o Matt. xiu. 43. P Dan. xii. 3. 
 q 1 Cor. XV. 47—49. ^ Phil. in. 21. s Gal. iir. 28, 20. 
 
112 
 
 Another particular is, that the saints will have the power of 
 conve3'ing themselves, in the manner of angels, through the 
 heavenly regions. This is evident, first, from the circumstance, 
 that the}' will rise to meet the Lord in the air.* And secondly, 
 it may be clearly gathered from the assurance, that they are 
 to be LaayyeKoi, " equal to the angels ;"^^ whose bodies, liow- 
 ever fashioned, unquestionably possess this locomotive power. 
 
 The last particular I shall notice is, that they will possess 
 the sense or faculty of taste, — at least, that they will eat and 
 drink. To some this will appear a gross and carnal view of 
 our angelic state ; but this, I am persuaded, arises from the 
 carnal state of our own minds, which cannot distinguish be- 
 tween the holy use and the abuse of a good thing. Wide is 
 the difference between painting heaven like a Mahometan's 
 paradise, (as if it consisted only in meats and drinks and sen- 
 sual enjoyments,) and denying to the saints and angels those 
 faculties, by which they are better enabled to appreciate the 
 goodness of God. The man who can see the beauty of crea- 
 tion in fruits and flowers may be enabled to praise God ac- 
 cordingly ; but he cannot understand so much of his power and 
 goodness, as the man who likewise discovers a fragrance and 
 2iflavor in those fruits. '• To the pure all things are pure." 
 
 But let us come to the Scripture testimony on this head : 
 for on this we may safely rely, however human prejudice may 
 be opposed to it. Did not our Lord eat and drink with his 
 disciples, after his resurrection from the dead }"" and did he not 
 promise his apostles, as the recompense for their continuing 
 with him in his temptations, " that they should eat and drink 
 ' at his table in his kingdom, and sit on thrones judging the 
 ' twelve tribes of Israel. "'^'^' The heavenly messengers who 
 visited Abraham, before the destruction of Sodom, ^ ate with 
 him ; and are we to suppose that it was not a reality .'' or that 
 they were destitute of any faculty whereby to appreciate the 
 food they apparently consumed ? The Lord Jesus on one oc- 
 casion purposely demanded food, that he might convince his 
 disciples of the reality of his resurrection .-y but it were absurd 
 to view it as a proof at all, if we must suppose the act of eating 
 to have been itself only an illusion. Once more, the manna 
 which fell in the wilderness, and which was different from any 
 
 t 1 Thess. IV. 1/. u Luke XX. 36. ^' Acts x. 41. ^^ L^itg xxii. 
 28—30. u Gen. xviii. 8. y Luke xxiv. 41 — 43. 
 
113 
 
 thing ever witnessed before or since, is called in Scripture 
 "the bread of heaven;" and it is declared by the Psalmist, 
 " that man did eat angel's food."^ We may really just as 
 well deny to the angels the sense of sight or of hearing, as of 
 taste, and suppose that when they sang together, at the creation 
 and at the birth of our Saviour, they understood not their own 
 melody. 
 
 IV. I shall next briefly notice a few particulars concerning 
 the intellectual faculties of the saints. 
 
 The memory will necessarily be wonderfully improved ; de- 
 cided indications of which are already afforded to spiritual 
 persons. For example, the apostles of our Lord, whilst under 
 training for the ministry, betrayed repeated instances of for- 
 getfulness, in regard to the things which they had both seen 
 and heard from their divine Master ; but he promised, " that 
 the Holy Ghost should bring all things to their remembrance, 
 whatsoever he had said to them."a And we have now fre- 
 quent instances of persons, who, when led to repentance, have 
 sins brought by the Spirit to their recollection, which pre- 
 viously seemed to have been clean forgotten. 
 
 In the same manner I might dwell upon the want of under- 
 standing which men betray in their natural state ; and shew 
 how the Lord opened the understandings of his disciples, that 
 they might understand the Scriptures. ^ For I apprehend, that 
 every instance, in which we may perceive that our human fa- 
 culties have been improved by the power of the Lord Jesus 
 and the Spirit of our God, is a pledge and earnest of the ful- 
 ness of that which shall be wrought in us, when we are alto- 
 gether conformed in body and spirit to his glorious image. 
 
 Concerning the increase of our knowledge wonderful and 
 glorious things are spoken ! The knowledge of the most spi- 
 ritually minded and intellectual and learned is now, com- 
 paratively speaking, as nothing. St. Paul compares the pre- 
 sent knowledge, even of the Church, to the understanding 
 and thoughts and prattling of children ; and says, that what 
 we see of divine things are presented to the mind as through 
 a glass, shrouded in comparative obscurity, {ev aLViyiian,) 
 being only partially known. But hereafter we are to see 
 ' face to face,' without any veil, either on those things now 
 hidden from us, or on our own powers of perception. Then 
 
 ^ Psalm Lxxviii. 24, 25. a John xiv. 26. ^ Luke xxiv. 45. 
 
114 
 
 we shall know even as we are known ! c How we are known 
 is plainly declared : " The Word of God is quick and power- 
 ' ful, and sharper than any two-edged sword ; — piercing, even 
 
 * to the di\iding asunder of soul and spirit and of the joints 
 ' and marrow ; — and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents 
 ' of the heart ; — neither is there any creature that is not mani- 
 
 * fest in His sight, but all things are naked and opened unto 
 ' the eyes of Him with whom we have to do."<i Hereafter 
 then shall we be admitted to as intimate a knowledge of the 
 Deity ! Nothing will be withheld from us of his purposes, 
 his counsels, his mysteries, his attributes. This would be in- 
 consistent with our privilege, as the friends and brethren of 
 Jesus, and as the sons and daughters of the Lord God Al- 
 mighty. For Abraham is called " the friend of God ;" ^ and 
 mark how the Lord accordingly treats him : — " Shall I hide 
 from Abraham that thing which I do ?"f And Jesus decidedly 
 encourages the same inference from the term friend .- — 
 " Henceforth I call you not servants, for the servant hioiveth 
 ' not what his lord doeth ; but I have called you friends : for 
 ' all things that I have heard of my Father / have made known 
 ' unto you."S 
 
 I conceive, however, that this wonderful increase of know- 
 ledge will be gradually acquired. All that can be known will 
 not burst upon us at once, and be immediately understood in 
 its height and depth and length and breadth. Concerning the 
 sufferings and future glory of Christ it is written, — " which 
 things the angels desire to look into /'^ which expression im- 
 plies, that their knowledge of them is progressive ; since they 
 could not, were it otherwise, experience for one moment the 
 unfulfilled desire. Nor is such a gradual and continual in- 
 crease of the knowledge of God at all incompatible with the 
 promises, that we shall see face to face, and know even as we 
 are known. Suppose we were privileged to have access at all 
 times to some rare beauty, reputed to be exceedingly talented, 
 Avise, and amiable, — to behold her unveiled, and to converse 
 with her on the most intimate footing ; how soon we should 
 tire, could all that was lovely and admirable be known at one 
 interview. The attraction in such characters is, when fresh 
 graces of the mind and disposition and affections are continu- 
 
 c 1 Cor. XIII. 9, 12. (1 Heb. iv. 12, 13. c James u. 23. ^ Gen, 
 XVIII. 17. S John XV. 15. h 1 Pet. i. 11, 12. 
 
115 
 
 ally to be discovered. Not that their chosen friends are in 
 the mean while prohibited from seeing and conversing with 
 them ; but circumstances and occasions elicit their character 
 and talent, and cause it to be displayed. And thus it is with 
 God ; of whom we have previously observed, that the work 
 of redemption is one of those occasions which afford a more 
 glorious display of his attributes. And throughout the ages 
 to come, I doubt not but men and angels will be continually 
 discovering fresh excellencies ; even as St. Paul, when he 
 prays that the Ephesian christians might be enabled to com- 
 prehend with all saints the breadth and length and depth and 
 height of God's love, declares nevertheless, that it " passeth 
 knowledge."! 
 
 Connected with this consideration is a point, which has ever 
 greatly interested Christians ; viz. — the mutual recognition 
 of the saints. " Shall we knoiv each other in the heavenly 
 state?" — is a question frequently asked; though the Scripture 
 testimony is so clear on this head, that a question on the sub- 
 ject from an intelligent believer is somewhat surprising. For 
 St. Paul, in his first Epistle to the Thessalonians, gives us ex- 
 press instruction concerning them that sleep in Jesus, " that 
 we sorrow not, even as others which have no hope.'' — No hope 
 of what ? evidently, from the context, no hope of seeing them 
 again. The heathen around them were indeed without hope 
 in this respect ; and therefore, when they lost their relatives 
 and friends, sorrowed immeasureably and without consolation. 
 But to the saints the Apostle says, " that if we believe that 
 ' Jesus died and rose again, (thus returning again to be seen 
 * and known by his friends,) even so them also ivhich believe 
 ' in Jesus, will God bring with him." And then, explaining 
 under wdiat circumstances Christ will bring them with him, 
 he adds, " Wherefore, comfort one another icith these 2cords."^ 
 But there would be no peculiar and suitable comfort in them 
 to a person sorrowing under a bereavement, unless they teach, 
 that there is to be a recognition of the person.* 
 
 * How very few, either of pious ministers or laymen, do really comfort 
 the afflicted " with these words. ^^ Though the instruction is so plain 
 and express, and the time of the saints' reappearance so much nearer, 
 the generality do nevertheless view 1 Thess. iv. 13 — 18 as a dead letter, 
 and prefer to offer consolation of human suggestion. 
 
 i Ephes. III. 18, 19, ^ 1 Thess. iv. 13—18. 
 
116 
 
 But besides this, we have evidence in Scripture of a faculty, 
 occasionally communicated to man, something like the gift of 
 discerning spirits ; which enabled its possessors not only to 
 recognise those whom they had previously known in the flesh, 
 however changed the fashion of the countenance, but also to 
 identify individuals whom they never could have seen before. 
 Of this there are many instances. Such a power was ap- 
 parently communicated to Peter, James and John, v/hen they 
 saw Moses and Elijah in glory on the mount. They had never 
 seen them previously, and therefore could not have known 
 them personally ; yet Peter evidently discerns them, and men- 
 tions them by name.l The saints likewise, who rose again 
 after the resurrection of Christ, and went into the holy city 
 and appeared unto many,°i must have been identified by those 
 to whom they appeared, or their resurrection would not have 
 been a satisfactory evidence. The same power, together with 
 an opposite and restrictive influence, appears to have been 
 exercised on the two disciples traveling to Emmaus after our 
 Lord's resurrection : for though Jesus was personally known 
 to them, yet were their eyes holden, in the first instance, 
 " that they should not know him ;" and afterwards " their 
 eyes were opened and they knew him."ii We have various 
 instances of these opposite influences being exercised on dif- 
 ferent parties at the same time. For instance, the ass of 
 Balaam saw the angel of the Lord, for some time before " the 
 Lord opened the eyes of Balaam. "o Elisha appears as if he 
 himself had a perception of the angelic host, when he prayed 
 the Lord to open the eyes of his servant, that he might see 
 them.P The glorious personage who appeared to Daniel by 
 the river Hiddekel was seen by him only ; "for the men that 
 ' were with him saw not the vision ; but a great quaking fell 
 ' upon them, so that they fled to hide themselves. "q In these, 
 and similar instances which might be adduced, it is plain, that 
 the individuals, who were supernaturally wrought upon, did 
 previously exercise the ordinary use of their eyes, without any 
 sensible diminution of the pov/ers of vision ; and therefore, 
 when it is said that their eyes were opened, it refers to an en- 
 larged faculty or capacity of perception granted to them. It 
 is to the point to notice also, that the devils discerned Jesus, 
 
 1 Matt. XVII. 4. m Matt, xxvii. 53. " Luke xxiv. 16 and 31, 
 o Numb. XXII. 23, 25, 27, 3L P 2 Kings vi. 16, 17. Q Dan. 
 
 X. 4—7. 
 
117 
 
 notwithstanding the veil of the flesh, and were repeatedly for- 
 bidden to say that they knew him.^ This I apprehend is, 
 because these fallen spirits do still retain the superior faculties 
 of angels : and be it remembered, that the resurrection saints 
 shall be as the angels in regard to their nature and mode of 
 subsistence ; only, as before stated, superior in rank : for 
 " know ye not (saith the Apostle) that tve shall judge 
 angels P"^ 
 
 These things are enough, I trust, to assure us, that we shall 
 recognise those dear friends who have fallen asleep in Jesus ; 
 and that we shall enjoy a conscious communion and fellow- 
 ship, and be of one mind and spirit, with Abraham, Isaae, 
 Jacob, Moses, Da\id, Jonathan, Daniel, Peter, Paul, John, 
 and the general assembly of the saints, who will " compass 
 each other about with songs of deliverance." 
 
 V. There remains one point for consideration, comprehend- 
 ing many particulars; viz. the nature of the intercourse be- 
 tween the resurrection Church and those men in the flesh, 
 who will dwell under the new dispensation. But though 
 there are numerous scattered rays of light on this part of the 
 subject, which if gathered into a focus would doubtless form 
 a bright mass of evidence ; yet I must confess that my eyes 
 are not yet opened to discern this matter Tvith clearness, and 
 I conceive it unjustifiable to advance mere guesses and specu- 
 lations. Some things, relative to those in the flesh, are so 
 obvious that we cannot well mistake them. For example, 
 there is abundant testimony that Israel after the flesh will be 
 pre-eminent among the nations : it is plain also, that the earth 
 will be renewed, and give forth its increase during the period 
 in question ;t so that the wilderness shall become as Eden, 
 and the garden of the Lord. Righteousness will also then 
 prevail among the nations, just as iniquity abounds now : for 
 Satan will no longer go forth to deceive the nations, but will 
 be restrained ;^ and there will be an admirable administration 
 of godly justice and government ;'^ the consequence of which 
 will be universal peace, ^ and a prevalence of true religion and 
 worship. X And whatever may be the result to men in the 
 
 ' Mark i. 24, 25 ; (see margin ;J in. 12 ; Luke iv. 41. s 1 Cor. 
 VI. 3. t Ps. Lxvii. 6 ; CIV. 30 ; Isa. xxxv. 1 ; Ezek. xxxiv. 
 24—27 ; Joel in. 18 ; Amos ix. 13. u Rev. xx. 3. "^ Isa. i. 26 ; 
 J.X. 17, 18. w Ps. xLVi. 9 ; Isa. ii. 4 ; Mic. iv. 4. ^ Ps. xxii. 27. 
 Isa. XI. 9 ; Hab. n. 14 : Zech. xiv. 20, 21 ; Mai. i. 11. 
 
118 
 
 flesh at the termination of the Millennium, we are quite sure 
 that the resurrection Church will not be affected again by any- 
 pricking briar or thorn, in the way of sin, temptation, or 
 trial. They have put on incorruption ;! — they are delivered 
 into the glorious liberty of the sons of God ;z — nothing shall 
 enter into the holy city (whatever there may be without) which 
 defileth, or which loveth or maketh a lie. a 
 
 I have mentioned the latter circumstance, because there 
 certainly wdll be a great apostasy after the Millennium, when 
 Satan is again loosed for a little while ; and it would ap- 
 pear that even during the Millennium, there will be a coer- 
 cive power exercised over the nations. That it will commence 
 in this way is evident from its being WTitten, that the Lord 
 " will send forth his angels and they shall gather out of his 
 ' kingdom all things that offend and do iniquity ;"b that the 
 sinners shall be consumed out of Zion ;c that the saints shall 
 tread down the wicked, who shall be as ashes under their 
 feet ;"d and that the world shall be so brought into subjection 
 under Israel, that the nation and kingdom that will not serve 
 them shall perish. e But it would seem also, that during the 
 whole period of the judgement the Lord will rebuke strong 
 nations afar off ;^ that he will rule in the midst of his ene- 
 mies ;g and specially it is promised to him that overcometh, 
 that he shall have power over the nations and rule them with 
 a rod of iron ;t — the rod of iron being, as I apprehend, al- 
 ways emblematic of coercive authority. "*" 
 
 I will only in conclusion offer a remark or two on the a- 
 mazing apathy, not to say opposition, manifested by some 
 
 * There are one or two eminent types of the same thing. For exam- 
 ple, the Lord Jesus cleansing the temple with a scourge, shows how it 
 shall be when he comes to set up universal worship, and make the house 
 of God really '* the house of prayer for all nations." And the reign of 
 Solomon, which is generally considered a type of Christ and the Church 
 triumphant, evinces the same thing of the millennial rule itself. For of 
 the prosperous and glorious rule of Solomon it was nevertheless com- 
 plained, that his yoke was heavy which he put upon the nation : (1st 
 Kings XII. y :) and possibly that generation, which shall immediately 
 succeed the Millennium, may make the same complaint of the rule of 
 Christ and the saints. 
 
 y 1 Cor. XV. 50—52. z Rom, viii. 21. a Ezek. xltv. y ; Rev. 
 XXI. 27. b Matt. XIII. 41. ^ Ps. civ. 35. d Mai. iv. 3. 
 c Ps. XLVii. 3 ; Isa. lx. 12. f Mic. iv. 3 ; Isa. ii. 4. g Ps. ex. 2. 
 h Rev. II. 27. 
 
119 
 
 professors of religion in regard to the resurrection state, be- 
 cause the theatre, in which the glory of Christ will be more 
 immediately exhibited, is to be this globe, in its renewed 
 state ; and because there may still be men in the flesh on the 
 earth. I pray God they may none of them come under the 
 rebuke of those of whom it is written, — ** Yea, they despised 
 ' the PLEASANT LAND, they believed not his w^ord ; but mur- 
 ' mured in their tents, and hearkened not unto the voice of 
 ' the Lord."i But I would also affectionately, yet solemnly, 
 admonish such, that if the things I have written are sup- 
 ported by God's w^ord, their minds are not in unison with the 
 mind of the Spirit. Angels desired to look into the proceed- 
 ings of Christ when he came to suffer upon earth : and shall 
 we not desire to behold him and be with him, when he comes 
 to reign on earth ? Many prophets and righteous men de- 
 sired to see the days of the Gospel dispensation ;k and shall 
 we have no longing for that most glorious of all dispensations 
 on earth ? Shall *' the whole creation groan for it ?" — shall 
 " the earnest expectation of the creature wait for it ?" — shall 
 " the Spirit and the bride say Come ?" and shall there ne- 
 vertheless be christians in whom there is no earnest expec- 
 tation, no groan or emotion of desire ? — Ah I it must be be- 
 cause their expectation is not the expectation of the crea- 
 ture ; — and their hope does not accord with that of the Spirit 
 and the bride. 
 
 But some may still object, that they cannot reconcile their 
 minds to the notion of being on earth again, and of being- 
 placed within the possibility of again beholding sin, and 
 probably of witnessing the last apostasy. Dear brethren, 
 suffer the word of exhortation. Our happiness must always 
 be proportioned to our conformity to the will of God. It is 
 the want of subjection and conformity in our minds to his 
 revealed will, that prevents any from finding pleasure from 
 those scripture testimonies I have adduced. Only consider 
 what has already happened. When Jesus rose from the 
 dead and sojourned on earth during forty days, occasionally 
 communing with his disciples ; did this take from his hap- 
 piness ? was it a second cup of suffering ? or did it render his 
 mind carnal } Or those saints, who came out of their graves 
 after his resurrection, and went into the holy city ; were 
 
 i Psalm cvi. 24. 25. k Matt. xiii. 17. 
 
120 
 
 they rendered miserable, by being thus brought again upon 
 earth, and among men, who, to say the least, were still 
 imperfect — stiU in sinful flesh — still liable to sin ? The 
 Church has ever thought it an eminent distinction and honor 
 conferred upon those saints : just as the Scripture declares 
 him " blessed and holy," who hath part in the first resurrec- 
 tion. But if their blessedness in Paradise was interrupted 
 by this resurrection, instead of an eminent honor, it was an 
 additional curse. We may just as well argue, that it shall 
 be a misery to be again in the body, (considering that our 
 temptation has been in the flesh,) as to suppose it a woe to 
 be brought again on earth, because it has been the scene 
 of iniquity. And if any should reply, " But our body 
 will be changed " — I answer. So likewise the earth will be 
 renewed. 
 
 Once more, let me ask, are those angels who attend the 
 steps of God's children whilst warring in the flesh ; — of whom 
 it is written, that '* they are all ministering spirits, sent forth 
 to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation ;"l — are 
 these, I ask, rendered less happy owing to the office assigned 
 them ? Alas I they must v/itness much that is perverse and 
 sinful in their charge ; and often, when they go into the pre- 
 sence of our heavenly Father,°^ must have a sorry account to 
 render. But though their joy is increased over every sinner 
 that repenteth, I cannot think their happiness is ever inter- 
 rupted : and for this reason (which equally a])plies to the re- 
 surrection saints,) that they are doing their Lord's wiE, assured 
 that all will tend ultimately to his glory ; and in this conform- 
 ity to his will, and confidence as to the result, they must be 
 continually blessed. I repeat, therefore, we want an angel's 
 mind to enter into these things aright ; and then we shall be 
 ready to cry with the Psalmist — " Remember me, O Lord, 
 * with the favor that thou bearest unto thy people ! O, visit 
 ' ME with thy salvation ! — that / may see the glory of thy 
 ' chosen ! — that / may rejoice in the gladness of thy nation ! 
 ' — that / may glory with thine inheritance !" (Ps. cvi. 4, 5.) 
 
 1 Heb. I, 14. m Matt, xviii, 10, 
 
 Abdiel. 
 
121 
 
 Essay X. 
 Our Lord's Prophecy. — Matt. xxiv. xxv. 
 
 When the attention is at length arrested by the voice of 
 prophecy, and the mind becomes engaged in the contempla- 
 tion of future events, that question put by the disciples to our 
 Lord will continually obtrude itself: "when- shall these 
 THINGS BE ?" I cannot at all subscribe to the opinion, appa- 
 rently entertained by some, that such a question is unlawful. 
 The indulgence shewn by Jesus, in his reply to these inquiries, 
 — the things moreover which have been spontaneously revealed 
 to other servants of God, — above all, the reproof cast by our 
 Lord upon the great bulk of professing Israelites, because they 
 knew not " the signs of the times," — all these things, I say, 
 would lead to the conclusion, not only that it is lawful to 
 to take heed to them ; but that we are obnoxious to the impu 
 tation of hypocrisy if we do not.^ Having therefore dwelt 
 upon the principal events connected with the glorious advent 
 and Kingdom of Christ, I now proceed, with an equal assu- 
 rance of its scriptural propriety and practical utility, to submit 
 a few observations on the period when they may he expected. 
 
 There are tv/o principal modes in which it has pleased the 
 Holy Spirit to communicate light to the Church in regard to 
 the times and seasons. The one is by assigning an event, as 
 the epoch from which a certain period of time is to be reck- 
 oned ; which time must elapse before that which is more es- 
 pecially the subject of promise shall come to pass. The other 
 is by a delineation of those great characteristics which shall 
 signalize the time, when the thing foretold is about to be ac- 
 complished. In regard to the first advent of Christ, the 
 *' seventy weeks" of Daniel ix. 24, will aiFord an example of 
 the former mode of foretelling the time ; and the prediction 
 of Jacob, that the sceptre should not depart from Judah until 
 Shiloh should come,^ may serve as an instance of the latter 
 mode. In respect to the second advent of Christ, Daniel will 
 again supply us with dates, and also the Apocalypse ; whilst 
 the characteristics of the last days are abundantly scattered 
 through the Old and New Testaments. 
 
 a Matt. XVI. 3. ^ Gen. xlix. 10. 
 
 M 
 
122 
 
 I do not however intend to enter at present into the ques- 
 tion of dates ; but purpose to consider one or two remarkable 
 prophecies relative to the character of the last times, which 
 (if it please the Father of light to guide us by his Spirit into 
 a right apprehension of them,) will enable us to form a judge- 
 ment, when those things, which I have previously treated of, 
 shall come to pass. 
 
 I. First I enter upon that elaborate prophecy of our Lord 
 contained in Matthew xxiv and xxv ; in regard to which 
 there are certain points of difficulty which it may be better 
 previously to discuss. Great obscurity has been thrown upon 
 this prophecy by its being divided into two chapters : whereby 
 many are wont to limit the subject to the 24th chapter. But 
 it will be manifest, I trust, as we proceed that it is continued 
 throughout the 25th chapter. 
 
 Another source of obscurity is the circumstance, that it is 
 commonly treated as an involved prophecy : that is to say, the 
 Lord is presumed to speak primarily of the destruction of Jeru- 
 salem ■ and is supposed to predict his second adveiit and the end 
 of the icorld only under the type or figure of this his providen- 
 tial visitation on Jerusalem. From the difficulty indeed of 
 explaining all the details as referring to the destruction of Je- 
 rusalem, a most arbitrary and unwarrantable system of inter- 
 pretation has obtained. The expositor has taken upon himself, 
 without any internal evidence or notice in the prophecy, to say 
 of one event, " This refers to Jerusalem" — of another, " This 
 belongs to the end of the world"' — of a third, " This applies to 
 both events." I feel persuaded that the prophecy is as chron- 
 ologically regular as any in the Scriptures ; and that to view 
 it in this light is absolutely necessary, in order to arrive at a 
 correct interpretation of it. 
 
 A third source of obscurity is, I believe, more immediately 
 designed of God, not only in this, but in many other Scrip- 
 tures ; to the intent, that whilst the humble but diligent 
 inquirer is led to penetrate within the veil, the proud the su- 
 perficial the indifferent and the worldl}'^ may not be able to 
 understand. The source of it is, the indistinctness of the 
 subject revealed if only one Gospel be looked at. 
 
 And here I would throw out an observation, which I consi- 
 der important in order to a right understanding of the Scrip- 
 tures in general, and of the Gospels more especially. From 
 the third verse of the chapter which begins this prophecy, as 
 
123 
 
 nlso from other parts of the Gospels, we may infer, that the 
 disciples of our Lord were wont to come to him privately, for 
 a fuller exposition of those things which they had previously 
 heard touched upon in public/^' In Mark iv. 34, we are fur- 
 ther informed, that all things whatsoever which were preached 
 to the multitude were afterwards expounded to the disciples 
 by Jesus, when he was alone with them. I am therefore of 
 opinion, in regard to the prophecy now under consideration, 
 that Jesus, in condescension to renewed inquiries, has further 
 expounded at some subsequent period certain portions of this 
 subject. In no other way can I reconcile the important varia- 
 tions in the accounts given of it by St. Matthew and St. Luke, 
 than by sujDposing, that when two or more disciples came to 
 write or converse on the subject, their naiTatives would vary, 
 according as their minds were prepossessed with the prophecy 
 as at first delivered, or with the subsequent expository matter. 
 In this instance I take it, that St. Matthew generally (though 
 not always) relates the simple prophecy, as he had heard it in 
 the first instance from our Lord : whereas St. Luke frequently 
 gives us exposition or paraphrase instead. At all events we 
 shall find, that St. Luke's Gospel is an important commentary 
 on St. Matthew's ; in proof of v/hich I shall instance an exam- 
 ple tending to our better apprehension of the subject. 
 
 St. Matthew says ; " When ye therefore shall see the aho- 
 ' mination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, 
 ' stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth let him understand :) 
 
 * then let them which be in Judea flee into the mountains, &c/' 
 {vv. 15, 16.) The special exhortation of the Lord, to take 
 heed and understand this point, renders it more probable that 
 further information would be elicited concerning it; and accord- 
 ingly we find St. Luke gives us the exactly parallel passage in 
 these words: "And when ye shall see Jerusalem cojnpassed 
 ' icith armies, then know that the desolation thereof is nigh. 
 ' Then let them which be in Judea flee, &c." Now to me it 
 is manifest from this, that " the abomination of desolation" is 
 the Roman power, whose armies soon after compassed Jerusa- 
 lem ; which power, in one shape or other, has proved the great 
 DEsoLATORf both of the Jewish and Gentile Churches. 
 
 2. Another difiiculty is the tribulation mentioned by St. 
 Matthew ; but as this point is of considerable importance in 
 
 * See Matt. xiii. 36 ; xv. 15 ; Mark ix. 28. f See the marginal 
 
 readings of Dan. ix. 27. 
 
1-24 
 
 my view of the subject, I must heg the Reader's attention 
 whilst I enlarge upon it. St. Matthew says, " For then shall 
 ' be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of 
 ' the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be, &c." (v. 21.) 
 Now this tribulation, though some are disposed to think it 
 typical of the wrath to be poured out at the ultimate day of 
 judgement, is generally limited to the destruction of Jerusalem ; 
 but turn to the parallel place in St. Luke and w^e read, that 
 " these be the days of vengeance, that all things which are 
 ' written may be fulfilled. But woe unto them that are with 
 ' child and to them that give suck in those days, for 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 
 ' cajjtive into all nations ; and Jerusalem shall he trodden down 
 
 * of the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles he fulfilled." In 
 these latter words the tribulation is extended throughout the 
 whole period of Jewish depression and Gentile domination, 
 even down to the entire accomplishment of what is called " the 
 times of the Gentiles /' a phrase the meaning of which I shall 
 examine presently. 
 
 But this is not all. In Daniel xii . 1, 2, we read thus : " And 
 ' at that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince, which 
 
 * standeth for the children of thy people : and there shall be a 
 ' time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation, 
 ' even to that same time : and at that time thy people shall be 
 ' delivered, every one that shall be found wTitten in the book. 
 ' And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall 
 ' awake, &c." The words " at that time" are in the first in- 
 stance immediately connected with the latter exploits of the 
 wilful king, described at verses 40 — 45 of the previous chapter ; 
 and with this time of trouble are likewise connected the resur- 
 rection and glorification of many who sleep in the dust.* As 
 
 * I take the opportunity of noticing here, that the explanation of this 
 latter paragraph which most commends itself to my own mind, is to be 
 found in an article signed Edinensis, in the Investigator, Vol. III. p. 8. 
 The text may be thus paraphrased : — '* And many of them that sleep in 
 
 * the dust of the earth shall awake. These [the many raised ones] are 
 
 * destined to everlasting life ; those [who remain in the graves] to shame 
 
 * and everlasting contempt." This sense is sustained by the original 
 Hebrew ; and Rabbi Saadias Gaon, an ancient Jewish Commentator, 
 says of the passage : '* This is the resurrection of the dead of Israel, 
 whose lot is to eternal life ; but those ^vho do not awake, they are the 
 destroyed of the Lord, &c." 
 
125 
 
 the majority of commentators have concurred in fixing the tri- 
 bulation named in Matthew to the overthrow of Jerusalem, so 
 have they equally agreed in considering the time of trouble in 
 Daniel to be yet future. But there is a remarkable notification 
 attached to each of these passages, by means of which both 
 periods of trouble may be clearly demonstrated to be connected 
 together. Daniel says, " There shall be a time of trouble such 
 as never ivas since there was a nation to that same time." Mat- 
 thew also declares of the tribulation instanced by him, that it is 
 " such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time;" 
 — and then adds — " xo, nor ever shall be." Thus in both 
 places the tribulation is described as unprecedented ; but in 
 Matthew it is stated besides, that the one referred to by him 
 shall never subsequeyitly have a parallel. How then, I ask, can 
 the tribulation in Daniel follow that in Matthew ? It might 
 have preceded it, and that perfectly in consistence with truth ; 
 but I see not how it can come after it. Had the notifications 
 been reversed, — so that of the Jerusalem tribulation it had been 
 said, it was such as never was since it had been a nation ; and 
 of that at the standing up of Michael, that it was to be such 
 as was not, neither shall be, — I should experience no difl5.cuity 
 in reconciling the language with modern expositions : but, as 
 it now stands in Scripture, I am compelled either to reject the 
 interpretation which would limit the tribulation of Matthew to 
 the destruction of Jerusalem, or I must charge the word of 
 God with exaggeration and falsehood. 
 
 Another consideration here presents itself. The unprece- 
 dented character of the tribulation, spoken of by Matthew, is 
 explained, by those who limit it to Jerusalem, to consist in the 
 sufi'erings and horrors experienced at the siege ; especially in 
 regard to the circumstance, that women were led by hunger 
 to devour their own children. I readily grant, that the history 
 of that event is sufficiently appalling ; but I greatly question 
 if it be w^ithout a parallel. The tribulation at t\\Q foryner siege 
 of Jerusalem was very similar in this respect, and therefore 
 forbids us to say of the second siege, so far as this characteristic 
 goes, that it was affliction " such as was not from the beginning 
 of the creation which God created unto this time."'^ Jeremiah 
 says of the besiegement by the Chaldeans : " I will make this 
 
 < city desolate and a hissing ; every one that passeth by shall 
 
 < be astonished and hiss because of all the plagues thereof. 
 
 c Mark xiii. lO. 
 
126 
 
 And I will cause them to eat the flesh. of their sons and the 
 'flesh of their daughters, and they shall eat every one the flesh 
 ' of his friend in the siege and straitness, wherewith their 
 
 * enemies and they that seek their lives shall straiten them."d 
 And afterwards, in his Lamentations over the destruction of the 
 city, he shews that these things were actually fulfilled : — " Be- 
 
 * hold, O Lord, and consider to whom thou hast done this. 
 ' Shall the \vomen eat their fruit and children of a span long ?" 
 — " The hands of the pitiful women have sodden their own 
 
 * children ; they were their meat in the destruction of the 
 
 * daughter of my people. "« Josephus informs us, that in the 
 second siege of Babjdon the inhabitants strangled all their wo- 
 men and children to make their provisions last. And homble 
 indeed have been the sufferings endured on various similar 
 occasions ; as I might easily shew from history. 
 
 Lest I should be misapprehended, I would again observe, 
 that I consider the vengeance which the Lord poured upon Je- 
 rusalem to have been very marked and signal : but if we limit it 
 to the mere siege and its attendant circumstances, there is no- 
 thing so remarkably transcendent in its character, as at once 
 to give it pre-eminence over other events. A careful perusal 
 of Deut. xxviii, 47 — 68 and Daniel ix, have led me to con- 
 clude, that the unparalleled character of the tribulation, whilst 
 it includes the dreadful suiFerings endured in the siege and 
 straitness, does more immediately respect their being led away 
 captive into all nations, and their hecoming a by-word and re- 
 proach, and suffering thus the wrath and vengeance of God /or 
 so long a period ; — so long, that the Spirit saith of its conclu- 
 sion, " Jerusalem hath received of the Lord's hand double for 
 all her sins."f I mean not that Moses and Daniel, in the pas- 
 sages referred to, directly speak of this second and great cap- 
 tivity : for Moses (as is plain from Daniel's reference to him 
 V. 13) prima?' ily regards the Babylonish captivity, and the dis- 
 j)ersion of the ten tribes which then commenced ; and Daniel 
 perhaps exclusively regards it. Yet Daniel, having dwelt at 
 verse 7 on the circumstance of the men of Judah and Israel 
 being scattered through all countries on account of their tres- 
 pass against God, — and then having inverse 11 viewed it as 
 a fulfilment of the curse denounced by Moses, — adds, concern- 
 ing the Lord, " He hath confirmed his words which he spake 
 ' against us, and against our judges that judged us, by bring- 
 
 d Jer. XIX. 8, \). <? Lain. ii. 20 ; iv. ]0. f Isa. XL. 2. 
 
127 
 
 ' ing upon us a great evil ; for under the whole heaven 
 * HATH NOT BEEN DONE as hath been done upon Jerusalem." 
 This it was which constituted its unprecedented character : — 
 not the signal vengeance inflicted in the siege only, but the 
 accumulation of plagues and sufferings to be endured through 
 a tedious and miserable dispersion. 
 
 I have still to harmonize Daniel and Matthew. This I think 
 may be done, in perfect accordance with the context of the 
 Scriptures, by considering the tribulation to commence with 
 the signal vengeance on Jerusalem and the Jews then living ; 
 to continue, according to St. Luke, " until the times of the 
 Gentiles be fulfilled ;" and to terminate with that marked pe- 
 riod of distress, called by Daniel " the last end of the indig- 
 nation," & and by Jeremiah " the time of Jacob's trouble, but 
 he shall be saved out of it !"^ This termination of the period 
 (which shall be more especially disastrous to the Gentiles, as 
 marking their overthrow, but out of which the Jews shall be 
 delivered,) is I believe symbolized by the signs described in 
 verse 29 of Matthew xxiv, and verses 25, 26 of Luke xxi ; 
 for which I shall give my reasons in their proper place. St. 
 Matthew indeed says, — " Immediately after the tribulation of 
 those days shall the sun be darkened ;" but this I apprehend 
 is not intended to denote a distinct tribulation, but only the 
 climax of it ; being the termination of those days of venge- 
 ance and captivity to the Jews, " the end whereof is with a 
 flood." '^ This will be further evident from the parallel place 
 in Mark's Gospel, which says — " But in those days, after that 
 tribulation" — thus intimating, that the days of the tribulation, 
 though drawn to their close, are not absolutely passed away. 
 It is the last act, yea the last scene, of the drama, in w^hich 
 occurs the grand catastrophe of the whole. Probably Rev. 
 XVI. 18, which describes a symbolical " earthquake, such as 
 ivas not since men were upon the earth, so mighty an earth- 
 quake and so great," has that notification of its unparalleled 
 character inserted, in order to enable the studious inquirer to 
 connect it with other passages in wdiich similar notices occur.* 
 
 g Dan, VIII. 19. h Jer. xxx. 7. i Dan. ix. 26. 
 
 * There are passages which seem to mark an incipient fulfilment of 
 the time of trouble ; and which consequently corroborate the view I 
 have taken, that the tribulation commences with the Jews' captivity, 
 continues throughout their dispersion, and is completed only at their 
 
128 
 
 3. 1 would next offer a few observations on the phrase 
 " times of the Gentiles" in Luke xxi. 24, which may throw 
 further light on the succeeding exposition. 
 
 Various significations are attached to the word time or times, 
 when spoken of a kingdom, which must be determined by 
 the words connected with either expression ; and even the 
 same word may have opposite meanings, according to the con- 
 text ; as in the phrase " time oi visitation," which signifies in one 
 place a visitation of tvrath,2 in another a visitation of mercy .^ 
 But when the fulfilment of a time is spoken of, the immediate 
 reference is commonly, not to the character of the time or 
 period which has been fulfilling, but to that immediately suc- 
 ceeding ; in which case it answers rather to our phrase, " the 
 time is come." Thus in Mark i. 15 — " the tim.e is fulfilled 
 and the kingdom of God is at hand," — the attention is directed 
 to the Gospel dispensation about to be introduced ; whilst the 
 legal dispensation, which was the period just fulfilled, is only 
 obliquely referred to. So in Luke i. 57, in the words " Eliza- 
 beth's /w// time came that she should be delivered," the time 
 of deliverance is principall}?" regarded, though the time com- 
 pleted must be that of gravidation. And thus, reasoning by 
 analogy, I take the fulfilment of the times of the Gentiles to 
 be the time of deliverance to the Jews ; which is plainly im- 
 plied by the expression, " Jerusalem shall be trodden under 
 foot till the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled." And this time 
 of deliverance itself, forasmuch as it also (as we have seen) is 
 to be in a time of trouble, is compared in Jeremiah xxx. 6, 7, 
 already quoted, to the time of travail. The times fulfilled 
 must necessarily be the ages of affliction and oppression they 
 will have passed through ; and by an obvious contrast, as re- 
 gards the Gentiles, whose times they are called, they are the 
 period of their domination. 
 
 We may perhaps get a further clew to the meaning of this 
 expression by an example or two of the use made of it in re- 
 spect to others. Of the king of Babylon the Lord says, ** All 
 
 delivei-ance. Sucli is the 8tli verse of this chapter of Matthew ; — 
 " These are the beginning of sorrows." Such also is Luke xxiii. 30 ; — 
 " Then shall they begin to say to the mountains, Fall on us, and to the 
 hills, Cover us ;" an imprecation which (according to Rev. vi. Ifi) will 
 be repeated at the consummation of the period. 
 
 J Jer. XI, 23. ^ Compare Luke vii. 16 and xix. 44, 
 
129 
 
 ' nations shall serA'e him, and his son, and his son's son, until 
 
 * the very time of his land come : and then — many nations and 
 
 * orreat kine:s shall serve themselves of him/'l The words 
 " time of his land come" are here equivalent to the fulfilment 
 of his time, during which he was to have the empire over the 
 nations ; and then the scene was to he reversed, and they 
 were to " serve themselves of hijji." In Ezekiel xxx, Egypt 
 is specially threatened with this period of Babylonish tyranny, 
 and it is called " the time of the heathen" or Gentiles.^^ That 
 this signifies the time, in which heathen Babylon Vvith her 
 vassal nations should domineer over others, appears from the 
 parallel place in chap, xxix, 12 : for there Egypt is threat- 
 ened with a desolation for forty years, during Mhich she is to 
 be " scattered among the Gentiles ,•" (Cl^l) which exactly an- 
 swers to the dispersion of the Jews during the Gentile times. 
 I will conclude this point by once more quoting that passage, 
 already twice partially appealed to, viz. Jeremiah xxx. 6 — 9 : 
 • ' Ask ye now and see, whether a 7nan doth travail with child ? 
 ' Wherefore do I see every man with his hands on his loins, 
 
 * as a woman in travail, and all faces turned into paleness } — 
 
 * Alas ! for that day is gi-eat, so that there is none like it .- it 
 ' is even the time of Jacob's trouble ; but he shall be saved out 
 ' of it. For it shall come to pass in that day, saith the Lord 
 ' of hosts, that I will break his yoke from oit thy neck, and 
 
 * will burst thy bonds, and strangers shall no more serve ihem- 
 ' selves of him ; but they shall serve the Lord their God, and 
 ' David their king, whom I will raise up unto them." 
 
 4, There is one other point which I shall here anticipate, 
 inasmuch as it proves a stumbling-block to many ; viz. verse 
 34. — " Verily I say unto you, this generation shall not pass, 
 till all these things be fulfilled." This is by many supposed 
 to be equivalent to Matt. xvi. 28 — " There be some standing 
 ' here which shall not taste of death, until they see the Son 
 ' of Man coming in his kingdom." But the words are en- 
 tirely different ; and, though the latter passage has an un- 
 doubted reference to the term of man's life, the former has not 
 necessarily such a signification. So far as I have noticed, our 
 Lord Jesus never uses the word generation to signif}^ the term of 
 man's life ; but commonly to express the peculiar character of 
 the nation or people to whom he applies it. Thus we find men- 
 tion in the Scriptures of a " sinful generation" — " an evil and 
 1 Jer. XXVII. 7. J^ Compare verses 3 and 26. 
 
130 
 
 ' 3. faithless and perverse generation" 
 — '•' a generation that set not their heart aright ;"" and on the 
 other hand we have " a righteous generation" — " the genera- 
 tion of them that seek him" — " the generation of thy (God's) 
 children," &c.o And as frequently is the word, (ytvea) trans- 
 lated in this place of Matthew generation, used to express a na- 
 tion, or the posterity of some individual."^ 
 
 I will just add, that most commonly, when the word gene- 
 ration means a period of time, it is in the New Testament 
 used in the plural number : and this in some instances when 
 it is translated into the singular number : — e. g. Luke i. 50 ; 
 Acts XV. 21. 
 
 It is likewise very important, as respects the use of the 
 word in this prophecy, to observe, that the previous chapter 
 
 * Thus in the Septuagint we have such phrases as yevtai Evay and 
 ■ytveav Evax, Numb, xiii, 23, 33, both meaning the children or de- 
 scendants of Anak ; also Genesis xliii. 7 — " The man asked us straitly 
 of our kindred;'''' Numb. x. 30 — " I will depart to mine own kindred -^^^ 
 and Lev. xx. 18 — " Both shall be cut off from their people,'''' in all 
 which the word in italics is yjvta in the original. There are likewise 
 testimonies which I have noticed of a more direct character ; as in Jer. 
 X. 25 — " Pour out thy fury upon the families that call not upon thy 
 name :" wherein jEViaq is exegetical of the word heathen in the same 
 verse. Again, " Death shall be chosen rather than life by all that remain 
 of this evil famili/ ;" which is evidently, from the context, spoken of the 
 nation. (Jer. viii. 3.) Both in Matthew and Luke's Gospels " the men 
 of Nineveh," or Ninevites, is the antithetical phrase for " men of this 
 generat'ion,''^ or Jews. So of Sodom, &c. (See Matt. xii. 41, 42, 45 ; 
 Luke XI. 31, 32, &c.) And the identical phrase translated " a perverse 
 generation''^ in Matt. xvii. 17, is in Phil. ii. 15, rendered " a perverse 
 nation.'''' 
 
 It is noticed by Mr. Begg, in a Treatise recently published on this 
 subject, that in Beza's Latin translation of the New Testament, he ge- 
 nerally renders the word ytvta by gens or 7iatio. I can confirm this 
 observation from a careful reference to Beza, and also to the version of 
 Tremellius. It is remarkable, that the principal exception to this rule 
 is the passage now under dispute, where Beza has (Ptas and Tremellius 
 generatio. This shows that anti-raiUennarian prejudice weighed with 
 them, and thus renders their translation of the word by gens in other 
 places the more free from suspicion. I learn also from Mr. Begg, that 
 the earlier English translations rendered yevta nation in this place ; and 
 it may therefore be questioned, how far the later translators of the Bible 
 were warped in their view of the passage by miUennarian antipathy, 
 since Mede's view of the subject was then known. 
 
 n Matt. XII. 39 ; XVII. 17 ; Mark viii. 38. o pg. xiv. 5 ; xxiv. 
 6 ; Lxxiii. 15. 
 
131 
 
 thus concludes : " Behold your house is left unto you desolate : 
 ' for I say unto you, ye shall not see me henceforth till ye 
 ' shall say, Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the 
 ' Lord." This is evidently addressed to them nationally, since 
 the generation then living rejected the Lord to the last ; but 
 the words imply that there should be a time when they (" ye," 
 that same people or nation, though not the same individuals) 
 should say, " Blessed is he that cometh, &c." I consider this 
 passage, therefore, as affording a sort of paraphrastic exposition 
 of the words now under consideration : for it declares of the 
 Jews, that they should be preserved nationally, (and pro- 
 bably it implies that they should remain in their unconverted 
 state,) during the time of the desolation, even until the advent 
 of the Lord.* 
 
 IL I purpose now to commence the prophecy, and pass re- 
 gularly through it ; chiefly following St. Matthew's Gospel 
 for my text. 
 
 1. First we must notice the occasion of it, which was — the 
 questions of our Lord's disciples. These questions are differ- 
 ently stated by the Evangelists, and form in the Gospels of 
 Mark and Luke only tiro distinct particulars ; but in Mat- 
 thew's they form three. In all of them however the first 
 question is the same — When shall these thixgs be ? — 
 which question arose from the disciples having drawn our 
 Lord's attention to the magnificence of the temple, and his 
 taking occasion thereupon to admonish them, that the days 
 were approaching: v/hen the whole should be destroyed. 
 
 Now it is worthy of remark, (bearing as it does upon the 
 general principles of Scripture interpretation,) that the remain- 
 ing questions, and the reply of our Lord, are in each Evange- 
 list made consistent with the context of the narrative of each. 
 There is nothing in the previous chapter of Mark and Luke 
 that has any obvious connexion with the advent of Christ ; 
 and therefore the only other question in their Gospels is for 
 A siGx, by which they might know when these things were 
 to be accomplished. But in Matthew the context concerns 
 also the desolation of the Jeivish church and nation, together 
 
 * Mr. Cuninghame, whose opinions on these subjects are entitled to 
 great respect, takes a different view of this particular ; which I have en- 
 deavoured to combat, as it refers to the passage under discussion, in the 
 Investigator, Vol. I. page 378, and note at page 404. To that work 1 
 refer the Reader for further information on this point. 
 
132 
 
 with the advent of Christ : — " Behold your House is left unto 
 ' vou desolate : for I say unto you, Ye shall not see me hence - 
 ' forth, until ye shall say, Blessed is he that cometh in the 
 * name of the Lord:"P — and then immediately follows the 
 circumstance of the disciples pointing to the buildings of the 
 temple : to which they seem to have been moved b}' the very 
 circumstance of our Lord declaring, that their House was to 
 be left desolate. Accordingly, the questions as related by St. 
 Matthew have an immediate reference to the other matter in- 
 troduced bv him into his narrative. — 1st. " When shall these 
 things he .•-'" (including, as I apprehend, the persecutions of 
 the disciples in verses 34 and 38 of the preceding chapter :) 
 2ndly. " What shall be the sign of thy coming •?" (rrjQ arjQ 
 Trapaaiac spoken of in verse 39 of the previous chapter :) 
 3rdly. " And of the end of the tvorld ;" — or rather, of the 
 consummation of the dispensation or age, — (rrjg avyreXetaQ r» 
 atwj'oc,) which they would justly consider the desolation of 
 their House to be, in regard to the Jewish dispensation.* The 
 questions of the disciples were probably shaped according to 
 their previous expectations of the manifestation of Messiah's 
 kingdom and glory ; for we can hardly suppose them to have 
 had, at this particular moment only, a connect view of the 
 order in which the three events inquired of were to take place. 
 2. Verses 4 to 14 of St. Matthew's Gospel comprehend the 
 next portion of our subject. These are considered by Mr. 
 Beggt to form an outline of the whole substance of the pro- 
 phecy, down to the ver}^ end ; and that then our Lord reverts 
 back to the commencement, and dwells more minutely on im- 
 
 * In our Lord's reply the word reXog is invariably used, instead of 
 GvvreXtia ; but I do not, as some, consider any distinction is intended, 
 and that nXoc refers to the end of the Jewish polity only, whilst >/ crvv- 
 reXtia m anovog regards the termination of the Christian dispensation. 
 In Heb. ix. 26 tiri rrvvreXeia ru)i> anovojv (in the plural, which one 
 would conceive must more decidedly mark the end of the latest dispensa- 
 tion) must from the context be necessarily connected with the end of 
 the Jeicish dispensation : and I apprehend that the context must always 
 determine its meaning. 
 
 t I would once for all refer to the whole of his able work on these 
 chapters, — viz. " Letters to a Minister of the Gospel in hi^ and other 
 Interpretations of Our Saviour'' s predicted Return, recorded Matt, xxiii. 
 XXIV. XXV. &c." Nisbet, London. 
 
 P Matt, xxiii. 38, 31). 
 
133 
 
 portant particulars. But there are reasons which induce me 
 to think, that the whole of these verses had their fulfilment 
 prior to the desolation of Jerusalem ; and that the prophecy- 
 is with little deviation chronologically regular down to the end 
 of verse 31 : though my view is nevertheless substantially the 
 same with Mr. Begg's, in w^hich ever way these verses are 
 taken. I shall state my reasons however for differing from 
 him on the point in question. 
 
 First, there appears to be a repetition of some of the circum- 
 stances herein mentioned, as occurring at the end of the great 
 tribulation ; which we have seen, from Luke xxi. 24, extends 
 itself throughout the Gentile times. — I refer to the coming of 
 false prophets : (compare verses 11 and 24.) Now the re- 
 petition of this particular plainly implies, that the first mention 
 of it refers to a distinct period. Secondly, in the parallel 
 verses of Luke there is inserted at verse 11, in connexion with 
 the earthquakes, &c. " fearful sights and great signs from 
 heaven." These would also be repeated, according to Mr. 
 Begg's view, at verses 24 and 25 of Luke : but I think it will be 
 found that these occurrences also are entirely distinct. Third- 
 ly, the w^hole is susceptible of an easy interpretation, applicable 
 to events transpiring whilst the Jewish polity existed ; as may 
 be readily proved from Scripture and profane history. — e. g. 
 
 With regard to the false christs and other deceivers, men- 
 tioned both in verses 5 and 11, Josephus names some (as 
 Theudas and the Egyptian ; see Acts xxi. 38,) and says, that 
 they became so numerous during the procuratorship of Felix, 
 that he daily put some to death, q Whitby also mentions 
 Simon Magus and Doritheus among the number of false 
 christs. The rumors of wars, the actual insurrections and 
 contests, the famines, pestilences and earthquakes (or commo- 
 tions'^J which follow in verses 6,7, are equally remarkable, as 
 described by Josephus, Tacitus, and others ;r as likewise the 
 supernatural prodigies mentioned by St. Luke. Scott says 
 
 * So Dr. Adam Clarke is most inclined to interpret (tekj/xoi, from its 
 original (jsloj, to agitate. The history of those times shows, that in 
 either sense it was fulfilled. The learned jVIr. Allwood also, in his 
 Literary Antiquities of Greece, observes that this word was commonly used 
 to represent " the vehemence of popular discord and commotion." P. 93. 
 
 1 Joseph. Ant. B. xx, c. v and viii . and Je^\ash War, B. xx, c. 13. 
 r Joseph. Ant. B. xviii, c. 9 ; xx, 2 ; War, ii, 10 ; iv, 4 ; Tacitus, 
 Annal. xii, xiv ; Hist. v. See also Acts xi. 28. 
 
134 
 
 of all these particulars — " It suffices to obsen-e, that by the 
 ' concurrent testimony of ancient historians, and the judge - 
 ' ment of modern and learned men, the period alluded to wag 
 * distinguished from all others, which went before and which 
 ' have followed, by such events as are here predicted." s Yet 
 they are warned, that the end (which I take to refer to the 
 great overthrow of the Jewish polity) was not yet ; and that 
 these are only the beginning of sorrows ; (v. 8.) which words 
 appear manifestly intended as a contrast to that great tribula- 
 tion v.iiich followed, and which period is called " the days 
 of vengeance." t — 
 
 That the followers of Jesus were persecuted and delivered 
 up to svnagogues and councils to be beaten, (as they were 
 first warned in chapter xxiii. 34, and here in verses 9 — 11,) 
 must be known to all who are acquainted with the Acts of the 
 Apostles.^ I only observe, that the particular mention of 
 their suffering these things in the synagogues, seems to limit 
 the fulfilment to the period during which the Jews still pos- 
 sessed some ecclesiastical authority, and could summon ofi:en- 
 ders before them in their synagogues. — 
 
 I pass on to the 14th verse; — "And the Gospel of the 
 ' kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness un- 
 ' to all nations ; and then shall the end come." I have no 
 doubt that this is one of the special signs of the latter days ; 
 but I ground it on Rev. xiv. 6, 7, and not on this text; for 
 this I consider to have been fulfilled prior to the destruction 
 of Jerusalem. St. Paul says to the Colossians, that " the 
 Gospel was come unto them, as in all the ivurld ;"">' and again, 
 " that it was preached to everi/ creature which is under hea- 
 ven .•"'^' which passages are decisive as respects a fulfilment 
 adequate to the meaning of the text. It is also remarkable, 
 that this preaching of the Gospel (which is only instanced by 
 Matthew and Mark) is the only circumstance which in Mark's 
 narrative of this prophecy is not placed in a regular parallel 
 with the same events noticed by iVIatthew. He inserts it at 
 verse 10, as a parenthesis between the warning that they 
 should be delivered up to the synagogues, and the direction 
 not to premeditate when delivered up : as if to point out, that 
 
 s See in loco. t gee the parallel places Mark xiii. 9 — 12 and Luke 
 XXI. 12 — 16. u Acts III. V. vii. VIII. XII. xvi. xvii. xviii. xxi to 
 the end. v Col. i. 9. «' Ibid. i. 23. 
 
135 
 
 this persecution should be connected with the preacliing the 
 Gospel to all nations, and aiFord additional opportunity of 
 bringing their testimony before kings and rulers.* (See v. 9.) 
 
 3. Verses 15 — 28 will form the next portion for our con- 
 sideration. The tribulation which is the subject of them I have 
 already so fully discussed, that 1 need not repeat it here. I 
 shall only remind the Reader, (as an important circumstance 
 to be kept in view in the interpretation of this chapter,) that 
 I have proved this time of affliction to be connected with that 
 mentioned in Daniel xii ; who there speaks of the termination 
 of that period of wrath, which in St. Luke's account of this 
 prophecy begins with Jerusalem being compassed about with 
 armies, (when the people fall by the edge of the sword and 
 are led away captive into all nations,) and ends only with the 
 fulfilment of the times of the Gentiles. This is the more im- 
 portant, in as much as it determines the period when those 
 signs are to be exhibited, mentioned in verse 29. 
 
 Matthew says, " immediately after." Mark makes it so im- 
 mediately, that he says, " in those days, after that tribula- 
 tion." Whilst St. Luke makes no discrimination at all, but 
 connects it at once with the tribulation by the words, " and 
 there shall be signs in the sun, &c." (verse 25. )t In his nar- 
 rative all this is contained in verse 26 and the six folio win 2" 
 verses of Matthew's account is omitted ; so that verse 25 joins 
 on immediately to the words — " initil the times of the Gen- 
 tiles be fulfilled :" as much as to intimate, that then there 
 shall be this " distress of the Gentiles with perplexity:" viz. 
 simultaneous with the passing aw^ay of the Jewish tribulation. % 
 
 * I would here notice that the word then, as used in this prophecy, 
 must not be always understood in an ordinative sense, as if the event it 
 introduces must necessarily follow next in order of succession. As a 
 proof of this St, Matthew says, {v. 9,) " tlieii shall they deliver you up, 
 &c." St. Luke however has it ; " but before all these, they shall lay 
 hands, &c." adverting to those same commotions, wars and pestilences, 
 that are connected by Matthew with the word then. 
 
 t The word translated after, (jiera) both in Matthew and Luke, often 
 signifies, when it governs the accusative (which it does in both these in- 
 stances) within the period mentioned, but at the latter end of it. 
 Schleusner contends for this sense of the word in the very place in 
 question, Matt. xxiv. 29,) where he says " Latine reddi debet per intra." 
 Parkhurst also shews this to be its undoubted sense in several instances ; 
 and I feel quite assured that it is its meaning here. 
 
 X There is no article before the word Gentiles in the original in either 
 instance. The passage stands Uterally thus: — "Jerusalem shall be 
 
136 
 
 To return therefore to the passage in Matthew more imme- 
 diately under consideration : I see no reason to deviate from 
 the ordinary interpretation of verses 1 6 — 20 ; which seem to 
 me clearly to contain a direction, how the disciples were to 
 act, as soon as they should see the abomination of desolation 
 standing in the holy place, (i. e. Jerusalem compassed with 
 armies,) and by which they were to understand, that the de- 
 solation " thereof" (i. e. oi Jerusalem) was nigh. See Luke 
 XX. 21. To these directions warnings are added to stir up 
 the disciples to prayer, watchfulness, and decision ; — showing 
 what promptitude they must use {v. 17) when they were me- 
 naced with the danger ; how questionable the possibility of 
 escape would be rendered to those labouring with child ; and 
 how necessary it was for all to pray, that this compassing of 
 Jerusalem should not take place in the winter or on the sab- 
 bath day. In the first instance the roads, I presume, would 
 be broken up, so as to render flight more diflicult ; and in the 
 second, they would be exposed to molestation from the pha- 
 risaical zealots, should they be observed apparently about to 
 exceed the limits of a sabbath day's journey. 
 
 In verse 22 it is declared, that except those days should be 
 shortened, there should no flesh be saved; " but for the elect's 
 sake those days shall be shortened." These words appear 
 to me lo respect, not the siege of Jerusalem, but the entire 
 period called " the days of vengeance." The shortening of 
 the days at the overthrow of Jerusalem could have had no 
 connexion with the saving of the elect, if the christian Jews 
 be " the elect" intended; for these we know escaped to Pella 
 and Mount Libanus before the vengeance w^as actually poured 
 out. And if the words " all flesh" are to be referred to the 
 nations generally, and not limited to the Jews, it does not 
 appear, by the history of those times, that all flesh was at all 
 endangered; or indeed any other nation besides the Jews. 
 There is however abundant evidence in Scripture, that all the 
 inhabitants of the world will be in jeopardy at the close of the 
 tribulation, when the Lord's controversy with the nations ar- 
 
 trodden down by Gentiles, until times of Gentiles be fulfilled ; and there 
 shall be signs in sun and moon and stars, and on the earth distress of 
 Gentiles with (or in) perplexity, sea and waves roaring." The context 
 shows that the style of this passage requires the article to be uniformly 
 supplied, and that the Gentiles of verse 25 are identical with those of 
 verse 24. 
 
137 
 
 rives at its crisis. I will quote only one place : viz. Isaiah 
 XXIV. — " The earth also is defiled under the inhabitants there- 
 
 * of ; because they have transgressed the laws, changed the 
 
 * ordinance, broken the everlasting covenant. Therefore hath 
 ' the curse devoured the earth, and they that dwell therein 
 ' are desolate : therefore the inhabitants of the earth are burn' 
 ad AXD FEW MEX LEFT." {vv. 6, 7.) This is the time, as ap- 
 pears from, the same chapter, when " the Lord shall punish 
 the kings of the earth," and " then the moon shall be con- 
 ' founded and the sun ashamed, w^hen the Lord of hosts shall 
 
 * reign in mount Zion and in Jerusalem and before his an- 
 ' cients gloriously." (vv. 21 — 23.) This connects the signs 
 in the luminaries, and the " distress" of the Gentiles, with a 
 period directly the reverse of the destruction of Jerusalem 
 and the triumph over it of the Gentiles. 
 
 I consequently consider, that the rising up of false christs 
 and false prophets, (verses 23 — 26) is not a repetition of verses 
 5 and 1 1 , but that it has a distinct reference to the last times ; 
 and that the eii^ect of their signs and wonders will be such as 
 to stagger and entangle the elect ; seducing and deceiving 
 them perhaps for a time, but not so as to draw them away 
 unto perdition. May we not already see pretensions of this 
 character clearly developed in regard to aMeged j^rophets P* 
 and is there not some appearance also of false christs Pf 
 Though I expect that these signs (the latter especially) will 
 be manifested ere long in a more conspicuous manner ; yet 
 has there enough already appeared to justify the most jealous 
 
 * We are no longer left in suspense in regard to that alleged spirit of 
 prophecy, accompanied by unknown sounds, which has challenged such 
 general attention in this country : the confession of some of the accred- 
 ited gifted persons, that they were under the influence of delimon, 
 leaves it beyond question, that in their case at least " a lying spirit has 
 gone forth." 
 
 t In regard to false christs, a man has recently distinguished himself 
 at Nottingham and Derby, who caUs himself Zion, and professes to be 
 the Christ, and to give the only true interpretation of the Sjriptures yet 
 offered. His system is sufficiently imposing to the natural man to have 
 drawn after him many zealous followers. Mr. Begg informs us, that a 
 certain London Infidel Society sent recently two of their members to 
 Ashton-under-Line, one of whom personated the Messiah ; and that 
 they were greatly caressed by the Southcotians until the cheat was de- 
 tected. A German Treatise is also in my possession, published recently 
 at Leipsic, in which is related various instances of impostors of this de- 
 scription on the continent. 
 
138 
 
 circumspection ; more particularly when we consider those 
 words of our Lord — " Behold I have told you before." 
 
 The Lord warns us, (v. 27) in order that we may not be 
 deluded by those who assume his name or character, that his 
 coming will be "as lightning cometh out of the east and 
 shineth unto the west :" that is to say, with suddenness and 
 splendor. He will not come as an obscure individual, first 
 heard of in a corner ; whether it be in the desert or in secret 
 chambers. 
 
 I only add here, that there is sufficient evidence in this verse 
 alone, that the coming of the Lord, which is in part the bur- 
 den of this prophecy, is a personal coming ; and not providen- 
 tial or spiritual, as is so frequently contended. For first the 
 phrase "the coming" is in the original ?/ Trapsaia, in evident 
 conformity with the question put by the disciples, as related in 
 this Gospel ; as also with verses 38 and 39 where the same 
 word is used : and it has justly been observed, that in the 
 Scriptures this w^ord invariably signifies a personal advent. ^ 
 Secondly, is it consistent with our notions of a providential or 
 spiritual coming to illustrate either of them by a comparison 
 with lightning, darting and shining through the heavens ? 
 These are modes of coming which would at least fail of being 
 discerned by the natural man : for the judgements of God 
 " are far above out of his sight," so far as they are connected 
 with God ; and spiritual things " he cannot know, because 
 they are spiritually discerned. "y 
 
 Yet will the Lord's personal advent be in the midst of judge- 
 ments : "for wheresoever the carcase is, there will the eagles 
 be gathered together." These words appear to be used pro- 
 verbially, and therefore are applicable at all times : for as eagles 
 and other birds of prey are to be found where there is a dead 
 carcase ; so, when the Church of God shall become dead, and 
 exhibit symptoms of corruption and dissolution, then God 
 will bring her enemies upon her.* But I believe this to have 
 a more special reference to Christendom, and to intimate, that 
 when she shall have filled up the measure of her iniquity, and 
 have given unequivocal evidence that she will not repent of 
 
 * The attack of an enemy is frequently in the Scriptures compared to 
 that of an eaffle. See Deut. xxviii. 49 ; Jer. xlviii. 40 ; Lam. iv. 
 19 ; Hab. i. 8. 
 
 X See Investigator, Vol. II, p, 279. y Psalm x, 5 ; 1 Cor. ii. 14. 
 
139 
 
 her apostacy and comiptions, (an evidence already too plainly 
 afforded,) then those " unclean and hateful birds" nourished in 
 her own wilderness, " shall eat her flesh. ""^ 
 
 III. I now proceed to a deeply interesting portion of the 
 subject, which I must treat separately ; viz. the signs which 
 are immediately to precede the coming of the Lord. 
 
 I shall first turn to St. Luke's account. — " And there shall 
 ' be signs in the sun and in the moon and in the stars." 
 Matthew and Mark inform us what those signs are — " the sun 
 ' shall be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, 
 ' and the stars shall fall from heaven." To this St. Luke adds, 
 that there shall be " upon the earth distress of nations with 
 ' perplexity ; the sea and the weaves roaring ; men's hearts 
 ' failing them for fear, and for looking after those things 
 ' which are coming on the earth." Then all three conclude, 
 " that the powers of heaven shall be shaken." 
 
 The question which first presents itself is, are these signs 
 to be understood figuratively or literally ? Some w^ho inter- 
 pret them literally conceive, that they took place previous to 
 the destruction of Jerusalem : the sun having been darkened 
 at the crucifixion of our Lord ; and various other prodigies 
 having followed, as related by Josephus. But I have already 
 shown, that those prodigies are distinctly spoken of in verse 11 
 of St. Luke's Gospel; and further, if they \.ook^\dLCQ previous 
 to the commencement of the tribulation, they cannot be the 
 same with those which are to happen at its termination. 
 
 Others make them still future, yet understand them literally ; 
 among whom is Mr. Begg. He grounds his view principally 
 on the circumstance, that Luke distinguishes signs on the earth 
 from those in the heavens ; (viz. " on earth distress of nations, 
 
 * I expect the speedy downfal, not only of the Papal church, but I 
 confess I tremble also for the Protestant church ; more especially for 
 the established portion of it. Not but the approximation to apostacy is 
 perhaps more rapid and visible in other quarters, and of course the de- 
 cline of vital piety : but the circumstances in which establishments are 
 placed are such as are calculated to provoke first the rapacity of the 
 birds of prey ; and the pertinacious adherence to obvious abuses is 
 evidently precipitating the crisis. It cannot be denied that there has 
 been a great awakening in the Protestant church, and that much piety 
 still prevails ; but so it was before the overthrow of ths Jewish pohty : 
 " the word of God increased ; and the number of the disciples mul- 
 tiplied in Jerusalem greatly ; and a great company of the priests were 
 obedient to the faith." (Acts vi. 7.) 
 
140 
 
 &c.") and argues, that this compels us to understand the for- 
 mer signs of the literal heaven, and not as the symbols of 
 powers on earth here repeated. But both expressions may 
 consistently be figurative ; the celestial phenomena having re- 
 ference to rulers and governors ; the earth and waters to nations 
 and peoples distinct from their rulers ; as I hope to prove.* 
 I shall assign the reasons therefore which lead me to conclude 
 the passage to he figurative. 
 
 The first is, that any other than a figurative sense seems to 
 involve a contradiction. I conceive the whole phenomena 
 described, were they literally to occur before the day of ad- 
 vent, Avould cause a destruction of this mundane system, and 
 leave no earth for Jesus to visit, nor any disciples to lift up 
 the head and rejoice in their approaching redemption. Mr. 
 Begg indeed admits, that the stars falling from heaven " can- 
 not possibly mean their falling to our earth :" (p. 209) and 
 argues that these things will after all only seem to be literally 
 fulfiUed. 
 
 Secondly, some of the things mentioned are of such ordi- 
 nary occurrence, in their literal sense, as to render them doubt- 
 ful tokens as the signs of any particular period. For how 
 frequently is the sun or the moon darkened by an eclipse ; 
 (though these bodies cannot both be darkened at the same 
 time, by means of any known agency : which is further against 
 a literal acceptation of the signs ;) and when is there a tempest 
 of any magnitude, during which the literal sea and waves are 
 not agitated and roaring } 
 
 But my chief reason for adopting the figurative interpreta- 
 tion is, that these signs occur so frequently in prophecies re- 
 lating to other kingdoms, and the fulfilment has so decidedly 
 proved them to have been figurative, that the figurative sense 
 becomes as it were the literal one, from its familiarity. I 
 would not say, that there are no passages in the prophets 
 which literally foretel signs in the celestial bodies : I merely 
 contend, that, generally, a figurative sense is intended. 
 
 I wiU instance first Isaiah xiii. 9 — 13 ; " Behold, the day 
 
 * I take this opportunity of observing, that since the first publication 
 of vvj figurative view of these signs, it has been attacked in " The In- 
 vestigator of Prophecy" by an able writer under the signature of Trini- 
 TARius. I refer the Reader to my discussion with him in Vols. II. 
 and III, leaving him to judge whether my view is in the smallest de- 
 gree subverted, or if it be not rather more firmly established. 
 
141 
 
 ' of the Lord cometh, cruel both with ^vrath and fierce anger, 
 
 * to lay the land desolate : and he shall destroy the sinners 
 
 * thereof out of it. For the stars of heaven and the constel- 
 ' lations thereof shall not give their light : the sun shall be 
 ' darkened in his going forth, and the moon shall not cause her 
 ' light to shine. And I will punish the world for their evil, 
 
 * &c. — Therefore I will shake the heavens, and the earth shall 
 
 * remove out of her place, in the wrath of the Lord of hosts, 
 ' and in the day of his fierce anger." This passage is quoted 
 by Mr. Begg to support his literal interpretation ; yet the first 
 verse introduces it to us as " the burden (or oracle) concern- 
 ing Babylon /' and the latter verses declare, that it relates to 
 the conquest of that empire by " the Medes." (v. 17.) 
 
 Another Scripture which Mr. Begg instances to support his 
 view is Ezekiel xxxii. 7, 8, concerning Egypt, and referred 
 by him to the latter day. " And when I shall put thee out, I 
 ' will cover the heaven and make the stars thereof dark ; I 
 ' will cover the sun with a cloud, and the moon shall not give 
 ' her light : all the bright lights of heaven will I make dark 
 ' over thee, and set darkness upon thy land, saith the Lord 
 ' God," But at verse li it is declared, that this should be 
 accomplished by '*' the sword of the king of Babylon, &c. who 
 should spoil the pomp of Egypt." And in chap. xxx. it is 
 also said, " that the multitude of Egypt should cease by the 
 hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon" — " and at Tehaph- 
 nehes also the day should be darkened." This specification of 
 person and place fixes the fulfilment to the period when Ne- 
 buchadnezzar and Tehaphnehes existed. 
 
 Isaiah xxxiv seems to refer to the last days ; the Idngdoms, 
 upon whom the vengeance declared therein is to fall, being 
 called Idumea ; though " the indignation of the Lord is upon 
 ' all nations and his fury upon all their armies." {vv. 2, 5.) 
 " And all the host of heaven shall be dissolved, and the hea- 
 ' vens shall be rolled together as a scroll : and all their host 
 ' (the stars) shall fall down, as the leaf falleth from off the 
 
 * vine, and as a falling fig from the fig tree. — For my sword 
 ' shall be bathed in heaven, &c." Here the latter clause is so 
 evidently a figure, that it at once with me determines the 
 whole passage not to be literal. Several clauses are indeed 
 identical in their phraseology with Rev. xi. 13, 14, where, at 
 the opening of the sixth seal; " there was a great earthquake, 
 ' and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon 
 
142 
 
 ' became as blood ; and the stars of heaven fell unto tiih earth, 
 
 * even as a jig tree castetli her untimely figs, when she is shaken 
 ' of a mighty wind," and " the heaven departed as a scroll, 
 
 * &.C." This agreement with a prophecy confessedly symboli- 
 cal appears further to estabHsh the meaning of Isaiah xxxiv. 
 
 The antichristian power described in Daniel viii. is also 
 seen by him " to wax great even to the host of heaven ; and 
 
 * it cast down some of the host and of the stars to the ground, 
 ' and stamped upon them :" expressions which again are 
 manifestly absurd if literally understood. 
 
 Some have considered the ready application by Jacob to 
 himself and family of the sun, moon and stars in Joseph's 
 dream, (see Gen. xxxvii. 9, 10,) to be the foundation of this 
 figure ; and it is certainly a sufficient ground for it : but then 
 the question arises, How came Jacob acquainted with it .'' I 
 am inclined to go still farther back, and to believe it was con- 
 tained in Genesis i. 14, 15 : — " And God said, let there be 
 
 * lights in the firmament of the heavens to divide the day from 
 
 * the night ; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and 
 
 * for days, and for years : and let them be for lights, &c." 
 In this passage all the natural purposes (if I may so speak) 
 for which the sun, moon and stars are created are specified, 
 independent of their being for signs. They are to be for 
 lights, they are to produce the seasons, and to mark periods of 
 time : what other sense remains, connected with the economy 
 of nature, in w^hich they can be as signs ? I conclude there- 
 fore, that in patriarchal times they were looked upon as signi- 
 ficant demonstrations of the " eternal power and godhead" 
 of Jehovah, of which they continually testify in all the earth ; 
 and that they were also symbols of the gradations, orders and 
 courses, appointed of God in his moral government of the 
 world ; — " the sun ruling by day, the moon and stars ruling 
 by night," and " one star differing from another star in glory," 
 as in the world to come. Thus it was, I apprehend, that not 
 only Jacob, but intelligent Jews in subsequent ages, would be 
 equally familiar with the signification of such language in 
 their prophets. Probably Judges v. 20 was thus understood. 
 
 2. I proceed to the signification of the signs. As the sun 
 signified in Jacob's case the patriarch himself, or head of the 
 family, so in the political state it is the king, or supreme ruler, 
 I am not aware of any Scripture that clearly proves the moon 
 to symbolize the Churchy though it is generally so interpreted : 
 
143 
 
 unless it be that, as the wife of Jacob was intended by the 
 moon in Joseph's dream, so the Church is also frequently 
 compared to a woman betrothed or united in marriage. z It 
 may be presumed in the case of Rachel to signify reflected 
 authority ; and as all these symbols must be referred to Christ 
 and his kingdom, as containing their great antitype, so is he 
 the great King or " Sun of righteousness," by whom all kings 
 reign ; and the Church shines only by an authority and light 
 borrowed from him. The stars, or heavenly host, exclusive of 
 the sun and moon, symbolize princes, magistrates and rulers in 
 church or state, or both, according to the context. Thus when 
 in Isaiah xxiv it is said, " that the Lord shall punish the host of 
 
 * the high ones that are on high, and the kings of the earth 
 
 * upon the earth, and they shall be gathered together (the host 
 
 * and the kings) and shut up in prison, &c." it is evident that 
 princes and mighty ones are intended."^ 
 
 The heavens in this symbolical sense will of course mean 
 the whole host of the celestial luminaries — sun, moon, and 
 stars ; comprehending political authorities in general, and in- 
 stitutions supported by them. The darkening any of these 
 lights signifies the diminution or extinction of the power of 
 those symbolized ; just as " a cloudy and dark day" is a figure 
 for a time of wrath or judgement. The following Scriptures 
 will sufficiently prove the correctness of the above interpreta- 
 tion ; — Isaiah xlvu, 5; Ezek. xxxii, 7, 8 and xxxiv, 12; 
 Rev. VIII. and xvi. 10. The shaking of the heavens is only 
 another figure for similar judgements on rulers and kingdoms, 
 even to their extinction. Thus in Haggai the Lord says : " I 
 
 * will shake the heavens and the earth ; and I will overthrow 
 ' the throne of kingdoms ; and I will destroy the strength of 
 ' the kingdoms of the heathen ; and I will overthrow the 
 
 * chariots and those that ride in them, and the horses and their 
 ' riders shall come down, every one by the sword of his bro- 
 
 * ther."a — In which passage the whole of what follows after 
 the words, " I will shake the heavens," appears to be explan- 
 atory of them. 
 
 * I question if the words " and the kings of the earth" be not exege- 
 tical of the previous sentence ; the word and having the sense of even. 
 Such explanatory sentences are common in Isaiah and the Psalms, (some 
 instances of which I shall presently offer ;) and they are particularly 
 usefvd in helping to fix the meaning of symbolical and tigurative language, 
 
 2 Compare Ephes. v. 31, 32 with Rev. xxi. 2 and 9. a Haggai ii. 21, 22- 
 
144 
 
 It needs no argument to prove, that the prophecy thus ex- 
 plained is fulfilling at the present time. Since the French 
 Revolution M'e have seen the thrones of the continental king- 
 doms shaken to their foundations ; and a republican spirit is 
 now ready to burst forth, like an eruption of volcanic matter, 
 and overwhelm them all. We have already seen France, and 
 Belgium, Italy, Poland, and other places, aiFected by the revolu- 
 tionary spirit ; Ireland and our own country are evidently ripe 
 for explosion ; Switzerland has been the theatre of popular 
 tumults and struggles ; Spain and Portugal are likely imme- 
 diately to be involved in a war, which will provoke a collision 
 of similar revolutionary principles with those of despotism and 
 intolerance. Nor is royalty the only object of present attack ; 
 the nobles of every rank are also aimed at. They have been 
 temporarily extinguished in France, and are now seriously 
 menaced again ; whilst the indications of hostility against them 
 in our own formerly happy land are too fierce and loud to be 
 mistaken. Still more clearly indicated is the hoarse croak of 
 war against prelates, and against all established churches : and 
 I am fully persuaded that it will ere long be as distinctly heard 
 assailing the real ministers of Christ of every denomination. 
 I deem it utterl}'- impossible for any pious minister to he faith- 
 ful, and to declare the whole counsel of God, and not be- 
 come odious to a generation which clearly hates every thing in 
 the shape of authorit}^ whether political or ecclesiastical, but 
 especially to be reminded of the word and the authority of 
 Jehovah. Woe, to my country, to Europe, to the world ! 
 
 3. This leads me to the terrestrial signs : " upon the earth 
 ' distress of nations, with perplexity, the sea and the waves 
 
 * roaring ; men's hearts failing them for fear, and for looking 
 
 * after those things which are coming on the earth." I must 
 first explain the figurative part of the passage ; — in proceeding 
 to which I am aware, that I expose myself to the objection of 
 mixing literal and figurative clauses in the same sentence. 
 But though I plead for the literal sense of Scripture in the 
 main ; yet, like all other principles, it may be carried to an 
 extreme : which it certainly is, if we are not kept within 
 those rules and limits discoverable in the Scriptures themselves. 
 It is no uncommon thing to meet with such mixed passages in 
 the Scriptures : though there is usually some internal mark by 
 which a careful reader, well acquainted Avith Scripture phrase- 
 ology, may distinguish the several sentences or clauses. Some 
 
145 
 
 such places interi)ret themselves; — others become evident 
 from the necessity of taking certain portions spiritually or 
 figuratively ; — and others arise from the ordinary use of cer- 
 tain words and phrases, which become as it were tropical ex- 
 pressions, from their frequent occurrence in that figurative 
 sense. Thus in Isaiah xliv. 3, 4 — " I wall pour M'ater on him 
 ' that is thirsty, and floods upon the di-y ground : I will pour 
 
 * out my Spirit upon thy seed and my blessing upon thy ofF- 
 ' spring : and they shall spring up among the grass, as icillows 
 ' by the icater courses .-" who doubts the figurative meaning of 
 those portions marked by italics, notwithstanding the literal 
 passages with which they are intermixed ? 
 
 To pass hovv'ever to the passage before us, " the sea and 
 the waves roaring," it happens, that there are few expressions 
 of more frequent occurrence in a figurative use of them ; nor 
 any more fully explained by the context. It must first be ob- 
 served, that " waters" and " leaves" of the sea are inter- 
 changeable terms in Scripture ; otherwise some of the pas- 
 sages to which I shall advert will not be satisfactory. Thus 
 in Psalm xciii. " The floods have lifted up, O Lord, the floods 
 ' have lifted up their voice : the floods lift up their waves : the 
 ' Lord on high is mightier than the noise of many waters — the 
 
 * mighty waves of the sea." (See also Isa. xi. 9 ; lvii. 20.) 
 
 Now in Rev. xvii. 15, an infallible interpreter assures us, 
 that icaters are " peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and 
 tongues .•" but as the Apocalypse is so avowedly^ symbolical, 
 I will prefer adducing a few instances of a difterent character. 
 In Jeremiah li. 13, Babylon is thus addressed : — " O thou 
 
 * that dweilest upon many waters, abundant in treasures, thine 
 ' end is come :" in which sentence, though the two last clauses 
 are literal, the first appears from the context to be figurative : 
 for verses 43, 44, and 55 show that these waters are the na- 
 tions which she had subdued, but which instead of flowing to 
 her any longer as tributary streams, would all at once overflow 
 and destroy her : — " The sea is come up upon Babylon ; she 
 
 * is covered with the multitude of the waves thereof. Her 
 
 * cities are a desolation, &c." — " The waters shall not flow 
 ' together any more unto him. (Bel.)" — " The Lord hath 
 ' spoiled Babylon, and destroyed out of her the great voice ; 
 
 * when her waves do roar like great waters, a noise of their 
 
 * voice is uttered." Again in Isa. lx. 5, of Zion it is said ; 
 " the abundance of the sea shall be converted unto thee, the 
 
146 
 
 forces of the Gentiles shall come unto thee :"* in which pas- 
 sage the latter phrase is evidently explanatory of the first. 
 
 From the few instances brought forward it may already 
 have been perceived, tliat " the sea and the waves roaring" 
 must signify nations and multitudes in an unsettled and revo- 
 lutionary or hostile state, threatening destruction. This will 
 appear more evident as we proceed. " God is our refuge and 
 ' strength, a very present help in trouble : therefore will we 
 ' not fear though the earth be removed, and though the moun- 
 ' tains (the symbol of kingdoms, having established and settled 
 
 * governments) be carried into the midst of the sea ; though 
 ' the waters thereof roar and be troubled ; though the moun- 
 ' tains shake with the swelling thereof." (Ps. xlvi. 1 — 3.) 
 In the sixth verse the whole is thus explained ; " The hea- 
 ' THEN raged, the kingdoms were moved, HE uttered his voice, 
 ' the earth melted." Verses 8 — 10 further prove, that the 
 melting of the earth must also be a figure ; because it evi- 
 dently remains afterwards, with the spoils and desolations of 
 war upon it. Again in Psalm lxv. 7 it is said of God, that 
 he " stilleth the 7ioise of the seas, the noise of their waves, 
 and the tumult of the people .-" in which sentence the latter 
 clause, thougli the word " and" is prefixed, is not an addi- 
 tional circumstance, but is explanatory of the former. A 
 similar explanatory intermixture may be perceived in Psalm 
 cxxiv. 2 — 5. " If it had not been the Lord who was on our 
 ' side, now may Israel say ; if it had not been the Lord who 
 ' w-as on our side when 7nen rose uj) against us ; then they 
 ' had swallowed us up quick, when their wrath was kindled 
 ' against us : then the icaters had overwhelmed us, the stream 
 ' had gone over our soul : then the proud ivaters had gone 
 ' over our soul." So again in Isaiah v. 29 — " The Lord wdll 
 lift up an ensign to the nations from far, &c." and at verse 30 
 it is said of them ; — " And in that day they shall roar against 
 
 * them like the roaming of the sea ; and if one look unto the 
 ' land, behold darkness and sorrow, and the light is darkened 
 'in the heavens thereof:" — altogether very similar language 
 to that in the prophecy before us. I will only beg the Rea- 
 der's attention to two passages more, which I will merely 
 place in juxta position, Avithout any comment. " Woe to the 
 
 * Further instances are Jar. l. 30 ; Ezek. xxvi. 3 ; xxvii. 2o ; and 
 Dan. VII. 3. 
 
147 
 
 ' niidfifnde of many pooplc, which make a noise like the noise 
 ' of the seas ; and to the rushing of nations, that make a rush- 
 ' ing like the rushing of mighty icaters ! The nations shall 
 ' rush like the rushing of many icaters : but Go,d shall rebuke 
 ' them, and they shall flee afar off, and shall be chased as the 
 ' chaff of the mountains before the wind, and like a rolhng 
 
 • thing before the whirlwind. And behold at evening time 
 
 • trouble ; and before the morning he is not. This is the por- 
 ' tion of them that spoil us and the lot of them that rob us."^J 
 — " We give thee thanks, O Lord God Almighty, Avhich art, 
 ' and w'ast, and art to come ; because thou hast taken to thee 
 ' thy great power and hast reigned. And the nations icere 
 ' angry, and thy icrath 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, smaU and great; and shouldest destroy 
 ' them ichich destroy the earth. And the temple of God was 
 ' opened in heaven, and there w^as seen in his temple the ark 
 ' of his testament, and there were lightnings, and voices, and 
 ' thunderings, and an earthquake, and great hail !"c 
 
 I have enlarged on this point, for the purpose of convincing 
 the Reader of the frequency of this figure in the prophetical 
 Scriptures : I now return to the exposition. 
 
 Surely we have had " distress of nations !" The landed, 
 the funded, the mercantile, the agricultural, the manufacturing, 
 the shipping, the trading interests, all in turn have experienced 
 depression and distress ; and so extensive has it been, that the 
 members and adherents of difterent administrations have re- 
 peatedly pointed to its prevailing throughout every nation of 
 the continent, as a proof that it did not originate from their 
 own political measures. And the " perplexity' concerning its 
 cause and cure have been equally remarkable. Numerous 
 reasons have been assigned for it, all differing from each other ! 
 the war, the peace ; — paper currency, and return to cash pay- 
 ments ; — superabundant harvests,"^ deficiency of crops ; — free 
 trade, restrictions upon it ; — machinery, taxes, borough 
 mongers, &c. &c. The remedies proposed have been if pos- 
 
 * This was first blasphemously declared by a minister of state, (Lord 
 Castlereagh,) and it was immediately followed by crops below the aver- 
 age, with partial droughts and famine. 
 
 ^ Isa. XVII. 12—14. c Rev. xi. 17—19. 
 
148 
 
 sible still more numerous, and some of them have been 
 adopted : but perplexity and distress have nevertheless in- 
 creased rather than diminished ; and throughout it all the 
 hand of God is not acknowledged : — )^ea to hint, that it is a 
 judgement, is in high places scouted with derision ! — ''There- 
 fore for all this, the Lord's anger is not turned away, but 
 his arm is stretched out still." 
 
 Then we have " the sea and the waves roaring." What I 
 have said concerning the signs in the sun, moon and stars, 
 has led me in great measure to anticipate this point : for the 
 perilous condition of all rulers, governments, and nobles arises 
 from the seditious spirit existing among the people. All the 
 governments of Europe are obliged to maintain enormous 
 standing armies, notoriously for the purpose of keeping down 
 the revolutionary spirit that prevails. Various demonstrations 
 have already occurred, in different countries. In our own 
 country we have awful symptoms : in some places we have 
 had dreadful riots and outrages ; (e. g. Bristol, Derby and 
 Nottingham ;) in others incendiary fires, destruction of ma- 
 chinery, with tumultuous and violent assemblages of the pea- 
 santry ; and in all populous places political unions are formed 
 to overawe and control the government by physical force. Too 
 generally the voice of infidelity, blasphemy, and speaking evil 
 of dignities is heard ; and thousands have shown that " their 
 throat is an open sepulchre, the poison of asps under their 
 lips, and their feet swift to shed blood." The social bond 
 also appears dissolved : all parties in the state are dissevered 
 from each other ; personal animosity embitters political move- 
 ments ; and every man's hand seems to be against his brother. 
 It should be remembered that a similar state of things broke 
 out with the French revolution, when infidelity, anarchy and 
 sedition, ran like wildfire among the nations. More atrocious 
 acts were then perpetrated even than now : but the fire, which 
 seemed got under for a while, is now beginning to rage forth 
 again with the same relentless iury ; and it may be feared 
 (judging from God's word) will burn up all before it, until 
 the Lord interpose. 
 
 Is it to be wondered at, that we see " men's hearts failing 
 them for fear, and for looking after those things which are 
 coming upon the earth ?" Tlie rapidity with which events 
 are rushing upon us, appear to arrest the attention of all who 
 are considerate, and to inspire them with apprehension. There 
 
149 
 
 are, indeed, multitudes who are yet, alas I hugging themselves 
 in a fond delusion ; as if every thing around us, both religious 
 and political, were improving. But I fear even these will 
 soon have cause to tremble : for if I mistake not, those who 
 are not utterly given up to hardness and blindness will speedily 
 awake to the real character and tendency of prevailing prin- 
 ciples, and all at once discover, that they have been themselves 
 hallooing on the dogs of war, and promoting their own de- 
 struction by a spurious and infidel liberalism. 
 
 IV. There are one or two other events which I conceive 
 are to transpire at the time when the signs just considered shall 
 be fulfilled, and which I would therefore briefly notice in this 
 place. 
 
 1 . The first is the completion of God's elect remnant, who 
 are gathered out from among men, during the time when the 
 principles of infidelity and superstition are rapidly hurrying 
 the world onwards toward that crisis which will terminate in 
 the battle of Armageddon. I have already observed, that some 
 interpreters conceive this event predicted in verse 14 ; and my 
 own opinion, that that verse rather belongs to the preaching 
 of the Gospel prior to the destruction of Jerusalem. I have 
 no doubt however, that a great evangelical movement is pre- 
 dicted to occur contemporaneously with the appearing of the 
 signs in the sun and moon ; which may be clearly gathered 
 from Rev. xiv. 6, 7, where an angel is seen to "fly in the 
 
 * midst of heaven, having the everlasting Gospel to preach to 
 
 * them that dwell on the earth and to every nation, &c :" and 
 this at the very crisis when " the hour of God's judgement is 
 come !" This circumstance is important, as accounting for 
 that phenomenon which seems to puzzle so many — viz. the in- 
 crease of infidelity and ungodliness, together with the diffusion 
 of true religion. But was not this the case prior to the de- 
 struction of Jerusalem ? Thousands were converted at a sin- 
 gle preaching ; " the number of the disciples multiplied greatly, 
 and a great company of the priests were obedient to the faith ;"d 
 and yet the people at large were nevertheles given up to judi- 
 cial blindness, " to fill up their sins alway, because the wrath 
 was come upon them to the uttermost. "^ 
 
 The religious movement, which has so signalized the period 
 just passing away, may be said to have had its commencement 
 
 d Acts VI. 7. el Thess. ii. 16. 
 
150 
 
 coeval with the first decided break out of revolutionary and 
 infidel principles in France. Since that period the Bible has 
 been translated into upwards of 150 languages and dialects, 
 and more than seven million copies have been scattered through 
 the world. Since then Missionary Societies have arisen, and 
 sent forth their heralds with the glad tidings of the Gospel to 
 nations, kindreds, tongues, and peoples ; so that we have mis- 
 sions to Pagans, to the Jews, to Pvoman Catholic and Maho- 
 medan countries, and to the dark places of our own land. 
 Since then the education of all classes has been attempted, 
 from the adult of " threescore years and ten," doT\^l to " the in- 
 fant of days :" Sabbath schools have found their way into every 
 town and village of this empire ; and the national systems of 
 Bell, Lancaster, or Pestalozzi have been adopted here and on 
 the continent, so that Papists themselves are borne along with 
 the stream, and compelled by the current of public opinion 
 to aflfect the instruction of their members. Since then various 
 societies for the dissemination of religious tracts and other pub- 
 lications have likewise poured their millions of little treatises 
 into the world ; and the age is so fertile in various schemes 
 for the spiritual and moral amelioration of mankind, that every 
 year witnesses some new institution formed, having these ob- 
 jects avowedty in view. It may be truly said, that such com- 
 bined and gigantic exertions have never yet been witnessed in 
 the world ; and they form a most remarkable precursor of that 
 crisis, which the increase and prevalence of anti-social princi- 
 ples is so evidently hastening. 
 
 2. A second event, which I believe is now beginning to 
 transpire, is the passing away of the Jewish tribulation, which 
 one may expect to discern some symptoms of at this time. 
 I have already shewn, that the signs take place so immediately 
 on the ending of the tribulation, as to be comprised in the 
 period of its termination. This view is strengthened by the 
 34th verse : — " Verily I say unto you, this generation shall 
 not pass, till all these things be fulfilled : " for it would seem 
 that the Jews, whatsoever different political aspect they may 
 assume, will continue as a nation unconverted to Christ, until 
 all that is previously foretold, and included in the phrase ' ' all 
 these things " shall be fulfilled. 
 
 The indications of this passing away of their affliction are 
 to be found, first, in the circumstance that Christians do now 
 " speak comfortably" to them. Four or five difl:erent institu- 
 
151 
 
 tions are in existence, the object of -\viiich is to promote theii' 
 spiritual welfare, or to ameliorate the temporal condition of 
 inquirers. And, secondly, in the political measures in their 
 behalf, which have either been proposed or adopted in France, 
 England, and Russia and even Turkey ; dictated either by the 
 liberalism or the expediency of the age. 
 
 I must repeat, to avoid being misunderstood, that I expect, 
 after they have come upon the stage, that their great crisis of 
 tribulation will take place, previous to their final emancipa- 
 tion ; but this is no way inconsistent with the period of their 
 deliverance having arrived. We have a parallel case, if not 
 a ty^Q of the same, in the deliverance of Israel from Egypt. 
 The Lord first declares, " I have surely seen the afHiction of 
 ' my people, &c. and I am come down to deliver them." 
 Yet an aggravation of their trials for a time followed this decla- 
 ration ; and the period when they were in the greatest strait 
 (being pursued by Pharaoh and his host, and shut up between 
 mountains and the sea,) was immediately preceded by a kindly 
 disposition towards them of the Egyptian people, in whose 
 sight the Lord gave them favor. ^ 
 
 V. I shall now review the remaining portion of Matt, xxiv 
 — " And then shall appear the sign of the Son of Man in 
 ' heaven ; — and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn ; — 
 ' and they shall see the Son of Man coming in the clouds of 
 ' heaven with power and great glory." {v. 30.) The two 
 first clauses of this verse are not in Mark or Luke ; and they 
 seem to me to be clearly distinct from the advent itself. It 
 becomes us to speak with diffidence of things unfulfilled ; but 
 I incline to the opinion that this sign is an appearance of the 
 Son of Man himself in the heavens, pre\'ious to his actual 
 descent ; to prove wliich I cannot do better than quote the 
 words of an intelligent writer : — 
 
 " It seems impossible to affix any definite meaning whatever 
 ' to these words, ' the sign of the Son of Man in heaven,' 
 ' unless we understand his visible jjresence there to be what is 
 ' referred to by the expression ' the sign' For as in Matt. 
 ' XII. 39, not Jonah's sign, but Jonah the sign, is signified by 
 ' the words ' the sign of the prophet Jonah ;' and as in Acts 
 ' IV, 22 we understand the healing itself as the thing called to 
 ' (Tr)fxziovy the miracle, or sign; and as in Rom. iv. 11, by 
 
 f See Exod. in. 7, 8 : xii. 33—36. 
 
152 
 
 ' the words trrji-ieior :Tepiroi.i7]c, we understand, not properly a 
 ' sign of circumcision, but circumcision the sign, received by 
 ' Abraham ; so in the text before us we must likewise under- 
 ' stand, not properly ' the sign of the Son of Man in heaven,' 
 ' but the Son of Man in the heaven the sign of his advent. "g 
 This seems the more probable when taken in connexion with 
 the question recorded only in this Gospel, — " What shall be 
 sign OF THY coMixG ?" for there does not appear to be any 
 specific answer to it, unless it be contained in this verse : and 
 this is a direct reply to it, which may be thus paraphrased : — 
 " Then shall appear the sign of my coming, viz. the Son of 
 Man in heaven ; after which they shall see the Son of Man 
 actually coming." 
 
 I have reserved for this place a more particular consideration 
 of the Advent or Coming of the Son jNIan, so frequently men- 
 tioned in the course of this prophecy. 
 
 Modern commentators have been wont to consider it a figu- 
 rative coming, and to have been fulfilled by the Lord's visitation 
 of wrath upon Jerusalem. This interpretation is wholly gra- 
 tuitous, as there is no ground in the prophecy itself for such a 
 conclusion ; and even if the tribulation, therein named, were 
 to be limited to the overthrow of Jerusalem, (which I have 
 shown it is not,) still it is throughout kept entirely distinct 
 from the Advent, which occurs not until after the tribulation. 
 But there are, on the other hand, one or two considerations 
 directly subversive of such a view. We have seen (p. 404) 
 the circumstance which probably led to the question, '^ What 
 shall be the sign of thy coming V — viz. " Behold your house 
 ' is left unto you desolate. For I say unto you, ye shall not 
 ' see me henceforth, till ye shall say. Blessed is he that cometh 
 ' in the name of the Lord." Now if this very desolation of 
 Jerusalem were the Coming of the Lord, the parties on whom 
 the wrath is denounced were those who more immediately 
 witnessed it. Surely the Jews, who were besieged in Jeru- 
 salem and afterwards led captive, saw the Lord's coming if any 
 did ; and as certainly they did not then say, either of him or 
 of that event, " Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the 
 Lord :" which they ought to have done, had our Lord's words 
 been then fullfilled. Further, the very expression, " Ye shall 
 not see me henceforth, till ye shall say, &c." shows thataper- 
 
 g Morning Watch, Vol. II. p. 587. 
 
153 
 
 sonai advent is intended, in which they snould see him as 
 visibly, as they beheld him then. For if he was " henceforth" 
 to be personally invisible to them, (which none deny) the na- 
 tural antithesis of this place requires us to understand, that 
 when they should see him again, it would also be personally. 
 
 There are one or two further considerations which render 
 this point still clearer. This coming of the Son of Alan is in 
 Luke immediately connected with the 7'edemption of the Lord's 
 people : for when the signs which precede it begin to come to 
 pass, they are to lift up their heads and take courage, from 
 the confidence that their redemption draweth nigh. This is 
 in all three Gospels illustrated by the parable of the fig tree 
 putting forth its leaves, as the indication that summer is nigh 
 at hand ; explained in St. Luke of the approach of the king- 
 dom of God : but neither did the redemption of the Lord's 
 people, nor an}^ striking manifestation of the kingdom of God, 
 immediately follow the destruction of Jerusalem. It is, I am 
 persuaded, at this very time in which we live, that the fig tree 
 is putting forth her leaves ; and that, notwithstanding the 
 storm}" elements gathering around, the Christian may rejoice 
 at the thought of his speedy and glorious deliverance. The 
 summer of the Church is nigh at hand. Already she may say : 
 — " The voice of my beloved ! behold, he conieth, leaping up- 
 on the mountains, skipping upon the hills." And presently 
 she will hear him say, — " Rise up, my love, my fair one, and 
 ' come away. For, lo, the winter is past, the rain is over and 
 ' gone ; the flowers appear on the earth ; the time of the sing- 
 ' ing is come and the voice of the turtle is heard in our land ; 
 * the jig tree puttetU forth her green figs, and the vines with 
 ' the tender grape give a good smell. Arise, my love, my fair 
 ' one, and come away." (Canticles ii. S — 13.) 
 
 Another decided argument for the personal advent being 
 meant is the parables, which follow in the next chapter, 
 and which are a continuation of the prophecy. These are 
 commonly explained (the two last of them more particularly) 
 of the personal advent of Jesus ; and indeed the remaining 
 portion of the chapter now under review is, by the generality 
 of commentators, supposed to refer to the same event. "^ 
 
 * I have forborne to press another argument on this head ; though it 
 is conclusive to my own mind : I mean, fhe coming being described as 
 " in the clouds of heaven," or ** in a cloud." I believe this descrip- 
 tion of the Advent always sets forth the personal coming in other parts 
 
154 
 
 Verse 31, — *' And he shall send his angels with a great 
 ' sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect 
 
 • from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other." 
 This is a verse on which I cannot speak with any assurance. 
 There are three views w^hich may be and have been taken of 
 it. The first is figurative, making it the preaching of the 
 Gospel, by which the elect of God are called out from the 
 vv'orld : and some have referred this preaching to the time 
 previous to the destruction of Jerusalem ; and others make it 
 identical with Rev. vii. 1 — 3, when the four angels restrain 
 the four ivinds until the servants of God are sealed in their 
 foreheads. The second makes it the gathering of the Jews, 
 the elect nation of God, who are spread abroad as the four 
 \vinds of heaven ;1 and of whom the Lord says — " If any of 
 
 • thine be driven out unto the outmost parts of heaven, from 
 ' thence will the Lord thy God gather thee, and from thence 
 
 • will he fetch thee."in The third opinion is, that it describes 
 the gathering of the living saints, who shall then be changed 
 and caught up to meet the Lord. I w'ill only observe, as an 
 important clew to a right interpretation, that whatsoever be 
 the event here described, it takes place after the coming of the 
 Son of Man ; and it therefore appears to me to be performed 
 at the same time that the angels gather out of Christ's king- 
 dom all things that offend and do iniquity.^ 
 
 The remaining portion of this chapter, with the parallel 
 places in Mark and Luke, are highly practical. We are in- 
 formed that the precise day and hour in which the coming of 
 the Son of Man shall take place, is not revealed to any created 
 intelligence, — neither to man, to angel, nor to Messiah him- 
 self.o The object of this concealment appears to be to make 
 men watchful ; but, alas ! such is the perverseness of human 
 nature, that because the day and hour are not known, men 
 make it an argument to discourage believers from entertaining 
 the hope of Christ's appearance altogether, and thus to throw 
 them off their guard. How many professing christians are at 
 this very hour as ignorant and indifferent with regard to the 
 Lord^s approach, as the generation in the time of Noah were 
 
 of Scripture, and therefore must be so understood in this place. See 
 especially Daniel vu. 13 ; Acts i. 9 and 11 ; Rev- i. 7. 
 
 1 Zech. II. 6. KiDeutxxx. 4. " Matt. xiii. 41 and 49 ; xxv. 31, 32. 
 « Mark xiii. 32. 
 
155 
 
 in respect to the flood ! Too many indeed are making secular 
 and carnal concerns the chief business of life ; and '* eating 
 and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage," absorb their 
 attention and affections. Would that ^Yarning in St. Mark's 
 Gospel be added, — " Take heed to yourselves, lest at anytime 
 your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting, and drunkenness, 
 and cares of this life, and so that day come upon you un- 
 awares;" — I say would this warning be added, if the Lord had 
 not forseen that his Church would stand in need of it ? Some 
 are offended at any thing like an intimation, that the religious 
 body can be defective, either in spirit, in practice, or in doc- 
 trine ; and seem to imagine, that what the multitude of pro- 
 fessors think and do is a sufficient standard of doctrine and 
 duty. But I must believe God's word, which rather intimates, 
 that at this time his disciples even will have need to be caution- 
 ed against the absorbing and engrossing cares of life ; — yea 
 even against so pampering the cqjpetite, that the heart do not 
 become habitually overcharged and indisposed to spiritual 
 things. For according to verse 49 of this chapter, it is not so 
 much drunkenness in the professors themselves that is to be 
 feared, as that they will readily " eat and drink ivith the 
 drunken ;" and thus be drawn into infidel carelessness and se- 
 curity with the ungodly world. I apprehend that verses 40, 
 41 apply entirely toprofessors-, and if so, that there will be 
 among them men of high pretensions in religious matters, who 
 will one day " sit with vain persons and eat of their dainties,"? 
 and the next mix w^ith the people of God and endeavour to speak 
 as they speak. It will be from amongst professors therefore, 
 that, when the angels come forth to gather the elect, ** one 
 shall be taken, the other left :" one will be caught up to meet 
 the Lord in the air ; the other will then be declared to be a 
 hypocrite, and left to the pelting of that storm, which will come 
 with the overflowings of ungodliness. 
 
 Awful indeed will be the state of the world in general !— 
 " For as a snare shall it come on all them that dwell on the 
 face of the whole earth." They not only will not expect it, 
 but will not believe it, though a man declare it unto them. 
 They will ask, " Where is the promise of his coming } for since 
 ' the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from 
 ' the beginning of the creation."q They will be dreaming of 
 a new era of liberty and happiness by means of political move- 
 P Psalm XXVI. 4 ; cxli. 4. Q 2 Pet, in, 4. 
 
156 
 
 ments and " the march of intellect ;" but '' when they shall 
 ' say Peace and safety, then sudden destruction cometh upon 
 ' them, as travail upon a woman w^ith child ; and they shall 
 ' not escape."^" 
 
 Again, therefore, the Lord urges on his disciples to " watch'," 
 and that because they know not w^hat hour their Lord doth 
 come. {v. 42.) He would have them in the same readiness as a 
 man who has received intelligence of the intended visit of a 
 midnight robber ,• and always be in readiness for his approach 
 whose coming shall be " as a thief in the night." 
 
 Verses 45 — 51. Ministers are more especially called upon 
 to watch for this coming, and, in expectation of it, faithfully 
 to give the household of God " their meat (doubtless their 
 spiritual food) in due season. There is here a special refer- 
 reference, as I apprehend it, to the need of setting the doc- 
 trine of the Lord's advent before their hearers, and exhorting 
 them to look for it wdien the signs of the times bespeak its 
 near approach. — " Blessed is that serv^ant whom his Lord when 
 he cometh shall find so doing. Verily, he shall make him 
 ruler over all his goods." Then comes the dreadful responsi- 
 bility of those who keep this subject out of sight, " saying in 
 their heart, my Lord delay eth his coming," and so postpone 
 the advent to some remote or indefinite period ; smiting their 
 fellow servants, and behaving themselves unseemly. These 
 persons shall be led away with the error of the wicked and 
 deceived in this respect,s so that the Lord will come upon them 
 after all "in the day when they look not for him, and in an 
 ' hour that they are not aware of, and shall cut them asunder, 
 
 * and appoint their portion with the hypocrites : there shall be 
 
 * weeping and gnashing of teeth!" O ! how much better to 
 be even mistaken in regard to time, and to bear the reproach 
 of enthusiasm in this matter, than to sit down with the repu- 
 tation of sobriety, and to be indifferent in regard to the event. 
 In the one case we are at least stirred up to that readiness for 
 the Lord's coming w^hich is pronounced blessed ; in the other 
 we run the risk of being confounded vath. the hypocrite and 
 unbeliever ! May the spirit of watchfulness — of watchfulness 
 in regard to this subject in particular — and the spirit of prayer, 
 be poured out upon the saints and the serv^ants of God ; " that 
 ' they may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that 
 
 * shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of Man !" 
 
 Abdiel. 
 >■ 1 Thess. V. 3. s 2 Pet. iii. 17. 
 
157 
 
 Essay XI. 
 
 PARABLE OF THE TEN VIRGIXS. 
 
 This parable, which begins the twenty-fifth chapter of St. 
 Matthew's Gospel, possesses a peculiar interest, arising from 
 the circumstance that the events which it illustrates are so evi- 
 dently fulfilling in the present day. 
 
 And here, lest I should be misapprehended, I would request 
 the Reader to distinguish between the fulfilling and the fulfil- 
 ment of a prophecy. I find that unless this obvious distinction 
 be kept in view, what I have written in regard to the signs in 
 the sun, moon, stars, &c. mentioned at verse 29 of the pre- 
 vious chapter, is liable to misconception. I am verj' far from 
 thinking these things fulfilled : 1 have a daily increasing con- 
 viction, that they have " begun to come to pass," the indica- 
 tions of which are to my mind very decided ; but it is still only 
 the budding of the fig tree, and neither the time of full leaf 
 nor fruit. 
 
 Now the first thing, with which we have to do in the parable 
 before us, is the very first word — " then." This at once fixes 
 the time of the parable, and consequently the principal action 
 of it, to the period of the coming of the Lord, with which 
 this word so evidently connects it. Let the reader only dis- 
 miss the artificial division into chapters and verses, and look 
 at the context, and he will perceive it to be as follows : that 
 in those days which shall be as the days of Noah, (chap. xxiv. 
 37 — 39 ;) — that in the hour which thoughtless professors think 
 not of, {vv. 42 — 45 ;) — that when the e\dl servant shall say in 
 his heart. My Lord delayeth his coming, (48 — 51 ;) — Then, 
 shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins, &c. 
 
 I have already discussed the meaning of the phrase " King- 
 dom of Heaven," Sic."^ I shall only here obsen^e, that though 
 it most commonly refers to the period of millennial glory, it 
 frequently in the parables respects only some circumstances in 
 the character or condition of the visible Church. This is ob- 
 viously the scope of the phrase in the parable now under con- 
 sideration ; so that I would thus paraphrase the first verse. — 
 " At the period immediately connected with the advent of the 
 
 * See Essay II. 
 P 
 
158 
 
 * Lord, the aspect or appearance, which the Church will then 
 
 * assume in regard to that event, may he compared to ten 
 
 * virgins, which took their lamps and went forth, &c." 
 
 Our next step must be to inquire into the meaning of the 
 symbols or imagery of the parable ; which will enable us after- 
 wards to trace its purport with greater clearness and less 
 interruption. It is not material to the practical bearing of the 
 subject, whether w^e understand the virgins to represent 
 churches, or individual professors in the Church at large ; for 
 it is the conduct of individuals collectively, which must con- 
 stitute the character, either of national churches, or of separate 
 congregations of Christians. Virgins, in Psalm xlv. 14, appear 
 to signify nations or churches ; whilst in Rev. xiv. 4 they 
 seem to mean individual followers of the Lamb. The number 
 ten denotes in many instances a considerable but indefinite 
 number,* which I take to be its meaning in the present in- 
 stance ; and therefore that the ten virgins set forth the great 
 body, or indeed the entire, of the visible Church. f 
 
 In regard to the lamps, the word of God is compared in 
 Scripture to a lamp,^ and churches are also symbolized by 
 lamp-stands or candlesticks ;^ but neither of these interpreta- 
 tions appear to me consistently to apply to the parable of the 
 ten virgins. The hope, or expectation, of individual professors 
 is also likened to a lamp ; and this seems to be its meaning in 
 the parable before us. One instance may suffice of its being 
 used in this sense ; " The light of the righteous rejoiceth : 
 but the lamp of the wicked shall be put out."c The word 
 lamp is here the same as the word light in the antithetical 
 member of the sentence ; and the whole answers exactly to 
 
 * For proof of this the Reader may consult Gen. xxxi. 41 ; Num. 
 XIV. 22 ; Job xix. 3 ; Zech. viii. 23. 
 
 f Mr. Maitland has a valuable remark in his Discourses on this 
 Parable, showing why the Church is here represented, not by the hride, 
 but by " the virgins her companions that follow her." It is to the pur- 
 port, that a difference of character cannot be set forth by one single in- 
 dividual ; and therefore it must be represented by the conduct of different 
 individuals, as in the instance of the guests at the Marriage Supper, The 
 bride however appears to be in the Old Testament Scriptures the Jewish 
 Church, as distinguished from the Gentile Churches, who are either " the 
 Virgins her companions that be her fellows," (Psalm xlv.) or " the 
 ornaments with which as a bride she decorates herself," (Isa. XLix. 18,) 
 or placed in some other siibordinate relationship. 
 
 a Ps. cxix. 105. 1^ Rev. 1.20. <- Prov. xni. y. 
 
159 
 
 what in another proverlj is expressed without figure ; — " The 
 ' hope of the righteous shall be gladness ; but the expectation of 
 
 * of the wicked shall perish.'"^ For there is an intimate con- 
 nection between the divine illumination of a man's soul, and 
 the hope begotten in him thereby : which is indeed the light 
 shining in him. 
 
 The oil I take to be the love of God in the heart ; which is 
 the Scripture test whereby we may know, that our hope shall 
 not be put out or confounded : for it is written " hope maketh 
 ' not ashamed, because the love of God is shed abroad in our 
 ' hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us."'^ Thus, 
 whilst the righteous are "looking for that blessed hope, [even] 
 ' the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour 
 
 • Jesus Christ,"e they are exhorted to go " rejoicing in hope,"^ 
 and " holding fast the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope 
 firm to the end."g For " the light of the righteous rejoiceth," 
 (as we have seen,) and "the hope of the righteous shall be 
 gladness ;" just as the oil shed abroad in them is called " the 
 oil of gladness," and " the oil of joi/."^ 
 
 It requires no argument to prove, that the Bridegroom is the 
 Lord Jesus Christ. — John in. 29 and Rev. xxi. 9 are sufficient 
 evidence. 
 
 Proceeding therefore now to the main subject of the parable, 
 I observe, that it sets forth the conduct of the Church gener- 
 ally under a particular hope or expectation which it professes. 
 Tliis is the coining of the Lord Jesus Christ ; evidently indi- 
 cated by its being likened to ten virgins "who take their 
 lamps and go forth to meet the Bridegroom.'* It was and is a 
 custom in the eastern nations for the bridegroom to be thus 
 waited for by a group of attendants, who met him in the even- 
 ing with lamps and ornamented lanthoms, and, falHng into his 
 train, conducted or accompanied him to the marriage supper. 
 The being furnished with these lamps did, I apprehend, more 
 than any other circumstance, point them out as the attendant 
 virgins, chosen for the occasion ; and it thus marks the persons 
 in the parable to be symbols, or similitudes, of professors. 
 
 * Prov. X. 28. Compare also Job viii. 13, 14 ; xi. 17 — 20 ; xxvii. 
 8 ; Prov. xi. 7 intJi Job xviit. .'), f> ; xxi. 17 ; Psalm xviii. 28 ; Prov. 
 XX. 20. 
 
 J Rom. v. ";. ■= Tit. n. 13. f Rom. xii. 12. i. Heb. iii. 6". 
 i» Ps. XLv. 7 : Isa» lxi. 3. 
 
IGO 
 
 And this has long been the attitude (if I may so say) of all the 
 professing follovrers of Jesus. In regard to the Church of 
 England in particular, the services appointed for the season of 
 Advent sufficiently testify, that she professes to look for the 
 coming of her Lord : and I believe I may say, without fear of 
 being successfully contradicted, that there are no orthodox. 
 Christians who do not avow the same expectation. It is true, 
 some are now only looking for a spiritual coming ; and some 
 talk only of a providential coming ; forgetting that in these 
 two senses the Lord continually visits his Church. The ma- 
 jority however look also for a personal coming in glory : only 
 they postpone the time of it to some remote or indefinite period. 
 I may indeed here observe, that the majority of professors of 
 serious religion entertain an opinion, that some great crisis is 
 even now at hand. They have differed greatly in regard to the 
 character of that crisis ; but that we live in no ordinary times, 
 and that a period pregnant with good or evil is rapidly hasten- 
 ing onward, has become a very general, I may say a universal, 
 persuasion. 
 
 An essential distinction is described as existing among these 
 virgins, — viz. that five of them were wise and five weie fool- 
 ish ; and the proof given of the folly of the latter is, that they 
 omit to take oil in their vessels with their lamps. Before how- 
 ever I dwell on tliis, I must notice another circumstance in the 
 attitude of the whole group ; viz. that " while the Bridegroom 
 tarried, they all slumbered and slept." How exactly this de- 
 scribes the state of the Church till within the last few years ! 
 The Bridegroom has /«rWe(/; — his promised coming has not 
 appeared to be immediately at hand; — and the Church, there- 
 fore, unable to reconcile how he should " tarry," and yet " not 
 tarrj',"i has been universally sleeping and slumbering in regard 
 to this expectation. It has been well nigh taken by surprise. 
 It has been upon the watch tower with its lamps ; but the 
 lamps have in general burnt dimly, or not at all, and therefore 
 afforded little or no light. Thus Christians have given little or 
 no warning to the world in regard to this subject, and they 
 have shimbered in respect to it themselves. All has been, 
 comparatively speaking, in darkness : for if the wayfaring man, 
 observing them, might be led to suppose from their lamps, that 
 they were waiting the coming of a bridegroom ; their sleeping 
 
 i Compare Hab. ii. 3 and Heb. x. 37. 
 
161 
 
 posture would lead him, on the other hand, to conclude, that 
 they said in their hearts — " My Lord delayeth his coming. "J 
 And so, if a simple inquirer (a member of the Church of 
 England for examaple) should judge from the light of its liturgy, 
 that the coming of Christ was expected ; let him only put the 
 question to the generality of ministers and members of that 
 Church, and he will find that they consider the man to be un- 
 der some delusion, who does really expect that coming earlier 
 than a thousand years hence ! 
 
 To return however to the essential distinction existing 
 among these virgins ; it is important to observe, that through- 
 out the whole parable the foolish virgins are not charged with 
 any gross immorality. It is not therefore the openly wicked 
 and profane who are here intended : they are persons who are 
 apparently interested in religion, who are companions of the 
 wise in heart, and who professedly expect the coming of their 
 Lord ; but they have no oil in their vessels with their lamps ; 
 — that is, as we have seen, the Holy Ghost has not really been 
 shed abroad in their hearts ; — they have no inward principle 
 of love and joy and holy obedience. 
 
 The wise virgins therefore, though slumbering in regard to 
 the great object of expectation, were nevertheless ready to 
 trim the lamp and join their Lord, as soon as they should re- 
 cognise the shout of his approach : whereas the foolish \'irgins, 
 having neglected this readiness, their lamps were really of no 
 use. Thus it is with believers in the Church. Though they 
 have lost sight of this blessed event, and have been dreaming 
 about the conversion of the world first, and a previous millen- 
 nium of glory, and rambling in their sleep about other matters, 
 have nevertheless a readiness of heart, — a sanctified spirit. 
 They have secured the one thing needful, and whether the 
 Bridegroom delay his coming till they die first, or whether he 
 come suddenly, they have a hope, grounded upon faith in 
 Jesus, and witnessed by their inward delight in his command- 
 ments, k 
 
 This is just what the foolish are destitute of. They are in 
 company with the wise, — they equally have lamps, — and they 
 perceive that the wise can slumber as well as themselves. 
 This draws them into a fatal security. They point perhaps to 
 tliis or that pious person who does not believe that the Lord is 
 
 i Matt. XXIV. 48. >^' Compare Rom. vii. 22—20 ; viii. 1, with 
 
 I John V. 1— 3. 
 
lS-2 
 
 at hand, and they are satisfied with their own resemblance to 
 them in this and certain outward circumstances, without con- 
 sidering the great difference as to inward and spiritual grace. 
 They never seriously examine into the state of their own 
 hearts ; — their faith has no purifying influence on the soul ; — 
 they are not aiming to be conformed to God's holy nature ; — 
 they have not a readiness to do his will : yea, I will say, that 
 though they profess to be icaiting his coming, they do not 
 really desire it ! I am disposed to believe that one reason why 
 the Lord suffers some pious christians in the present day to 
 remain for a time prejudiced against this hope, is, that their 
 conduct may prove a snare and a trap to those who have the 
 form of godliness, but whose hearts the god of this world hath 
 blinded. 
 
 I pass on to the next point. — " And at midnight there was 
 ' a cry made. Behold, the Bridegroom cometh ; go ye out to 
 * meet him." The Lord is considerate towards his people ! 
 In the first instance he warns them to be watchful, lest, com- 
 ing suddenly, he find them sleeping ; and now that the time 
 is arrived, he sends forward messengers to announce himself 
 near at hand, lest, after all, he take them by surprise. He does 
 not come actually upon them ; but, when at a little distance, 
 desires them to go forth and meet him. From this we may 
 gather, that just before the Lord's actual coming there is to be 
 some note of preparation to the Church — some cry raised — 
 some stirring up by his ministers, to warn and rouse men from 
 the slumber they are in with regard to this very event. 
 
 I feel awfully persuaded, that the Church is, at this moment, 
 in the precise condition here represented ! The serv^ants of 
 God are now sounding an alarm in all His holy mountain. A 
 cry has been raised, within these few years only, exactly 
 answering to this, " Behold he cometh :" — it is now echoed 
 through the land, and penetrating among all classes of re- 
 ligious professors. And many who, only a short time since, 
 did not suspect such an event to be coming upon them, are 
 now persuaded, that the Lord is at hand. 
 
 Mark the time also of this cry — midnight ! Just when the 
 world is all stillness and darkness ; — ^just when men, who 
 know not God, imagine themselves most secure ; — when mul- 
 titudes are dreaming that the march of knowledge, perhaps, 
 and the spread of liberal principles, and the new philosophy, 
 is all at once to effect what Christianity cannot ; — when they 
 
iri3 
 
 are saying "' peace, peace ." — then, suddenly, the cry is heard, 
 and the Church is roused ! 
 
 I do not mean to assert, that all professors have at once 
 beUeved this cry to proceed from God, and that they have im- 
 mediately risen to prepare. I do not expect it; for some 
 people, aye and pious people too, are exceedingly dull and 
 heavy when they once get fast asleep. They require to be 
 shouted to again and again, and perhaps to be well shaken, 
 before they are properly aroused. But it is nevertheless 
 wonderful, how rapidly this cry is making its way ! — what 
 general attention it begins to excite ; what numbers are daily 
 added to those who are convinced, and who re-echo the warn- 
 ing ; and how greatly opposition and doubt are diminished ! 
 I have not a question in my own mind, that as the indications 
 of the Lord's advent increase in intensity, the whole of those 
 who are really wise in heart will arise, and shake themselves 
 from the dust, and trim their lamps/^ Yea — d\\ professors, 
 (even those who are like the foolish virgins,) will presently be 
 convinced, so far as conviction goes : for the parable states, 
 ** that all those virgins arose and trimmed their lamps;" which 
 indeed is the next point for consideration. 
 
 What I have expounded thus far I consider either fulfille-d, 
 or fulfilling : that which remains to be expounded is unfulfilled ; 
 and therefore I can only give what appears to me, assisted as 
 we are by that which is accomplishing, to be the most probable 
 interpretation. 
 
 It is easy to imagine, that an increased light is given by this 
 trimming of the lamps ; and that the wise begin to look out with 
 eager expectation for the Bridegroom. The Church therefore 
 — the believing part of it — instead of appearing like slumber- 
 ing virgins in this respect, will presently resemble those who 
 " stand with their loins girt and their lights burning, even as 
 those who wait for their Lord." There will be a universal testi- 
 mony presently from the pious, whether men mil hear it, or 
 whether they will forbear. Faith and hope — and I pray God 
 charity also — Avill be called into more lively exercise. The 
 truths of prophecy will likewise shine with increased clearness, 
 
 * Since this Essay first appeared in the Investigator of Prophecy, I 
 Lave had the satisfaction to know that several eminent christians have 
 been awakened to the suhject ; and are now "looking for that blessed 
 ' hope [even] the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour 
 * Jesus Christ.'' 
 
164 
 
 confirming and strengthening the expectation. Indeed this is 
 in a measure daily fulfilling noiL- .- for as the cry is reverherated 
 from place to place, so prophecy itself is more diligently inves- 
 tigated ; " many run to and fro, and knowledge is increased ;" 
 according as Daniel foretels of this time.l And I may add, 
 that many are now experiencing the practical and holy influ- 
 ence of this expectation in their souls. They enjoy more of 
 the poiver of godliness, — they love the thought of Christ's ap- 
 pearing, — and they look forward to it with desire and with 
 holy awe. 
 
 At the same time the foolish trim their lamps ; and now, 
 alas ! they discover their omission — viz. that they have brought 
 no oil : — their lamps go out ! They are then described as ap- 
 plying to the wise-hearted in this dilemma, saying, " Give us 
 * of your oil, for our lamps are gone out. But the wise 
 ' answered saying, Not so, lest there be not enough for us and 
 ' you ; but go ye rather to them that sell, and buy for your- 
 ' selves," I can only explain this from that light M'hich is 
 thrown on the subject by the conduct of professors now, when 
 they seem to have some con\iction of the realit)' of the Lord's 
 speedy approach. We have seen, that the lamp represents 
 more especially the professed hope or expectation of any. Now, 
 when the righteous realize this event, their hope is animated 
 and revived, and it shines with a blessed assurance ; for theirs 
 is a hope that shall not be confounded. But when the hollow 
 professor has this subject pressed upon him, his heart dies 
 within him; — his expectation perishes; — his candle goes out 
 in darkness. He discovers that his is not a hope that can 
 delight in the Lord's coming, and love his appearing ; he be- 
 comes sensible, that he is not ready to meet his Lord ; and he 
 wonders at the righteous, whose spirit can say, " Come Lord 
 Jesus, come quickly !" He begins now to inquire more into 
 the reason of his hope : the foolish has been with the right- 
 eous ever ; he has partaken of the same means of grace, and 
 agreed together, seemingly, in the same doctrines and expec- 
 tations ; but now the righteous appears to have a something, 
 after all, which he has not, and he turns to him, — demanding 
 his prayers perhaps, or his advice, — expecting that he shall 
 share with him also of that inward preparation and joy of 
 heart. 
 
 There are persons who seem to think, that the doctrine of 
 
 1 Dan. XII. 4. 
 
165 
 
 Christ's personal coming is not a jimctical or profitable sub- 
 ject ; and that some ministers in the present day give too much 
 attention to it. Nothing however can more decidedly prove, 
 that there is power, and [ireat power, in this doctrine, than 
 the parable before us. That which can stir up the wise to 
 greater watchfulness, and cause all their graces to shine forth ; 
 — that which can discover to the formal professor, that he has 
 not the root of the matter in him, and set him on a diligent 
 search ; — can be no dead letter. It is possible, that some may 
 over-rdite it, or talk and preach of it to the exclusion of all 
 other things ; but surely the appearing — the hope of the speedy 
 appearing — of the Lord Christ, ought to be an object of intense 
 interest ! and sure I am that person cannot with the heart be- 
 lieve it, who thinks it a matter of but little importance. 
 
 The wise however tell the foolish, that there will not be 
 enough oil for both, but to go rather to them that sell and buy 
 for themselves.* These I apprehend are the ministers of re- 
 ligion, who set before their people that blessed hope, " the 
 glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus 
 Christ ;" and who in regard to the things of the Spirit invite 
 them to " come and hvij, without money and without price. "i" 
 
 * This teaches us, by the way, the folly and danger of the popish 
 doctrine of works of sujjererogation ; viz. that a man may perform more 
 good works than are required of him. The overplus of the saints' 
 works the Papists consider the property of the Church ; and that the 
 Pope may grant them, on payment of money or by favor, to those who 
 have them not. Christ, however, expressly tells us, that when we have 
 done aU that is commanded us, we are only urqrrojitable servants ; and 
 here the wise answer, that they have no grace to spare. This doctrine 
 is built upon the erroneoiis notion, that works either justify or sanc- 
 tify a man. I apprehend they can do neither ; we are not ;i)ardoned on 
 account of our works, nor are works our fitness for heaven. We are 
 accounted righteous solely on account of the righteousness of Christ ; 
 and our fitness consists of the inward state of the heart, which also is 
 wrought in us by his Spirit, — the love of God, I repeat, shed abroad in 
 it by the Holy Ghost. But many I fear are infected with this leaven 
 who suspect it not. For instance, to speak of repentance and our fu- 
 ture good life as if they could in any way atone for the guilt of our past 
 life, is equally built upon the supposition, that a man can do more than 
 is required of him daily : else how can his future good life atone for his 
 past, seeing it is always his duty to walk with God ? And if a man can 
 do so much more than is daily required of him, what is to hinder him 
 when he supposes his past sins blotted out by that overplus, from still 
 laying up a store of good works to give away ? 
 
 iTi Isa. Lv. 1 ; Rev xxii. 17. 
 
166 
 
 But, alas ! " wherefore is there a price in the hand of a fool 
 to get wisdom, seeing that he hath no heart to it/'^^ The 
 foolish will be foolish still, and the means of grace are now 
 unavailing ! 
 
 We come now to the final circumstance. " While they 
 went to buy, the bridegroom came ; and they that were ready 
 went into the marriage and the door was shut." The Lord is 
 now evidently come ! Those believers who are alive and re- 
 main till his coming are now " changed, in a moment, in the 
 twinkling of an eye," " and caught up to meet the Lord in the 
 air, (just as these are called to go forth and meet him ;) and 
 so shall they ever be with the Lord/'o But the door is shut, 
 at the same time, on all those who are without I O, what fear- 
 ful words ! The day of grace, to all who are of the visible 
 church — to all who have the lamp of profession — will then be 
 past I Now the Lord says, " Behold I have set before thee an 
 ' open door, and none can shut it :"P then " the Master of the 
 house will have risen up and shut to the door," and none will 
 be able to open it. A time will come (as I apprehend, just 
 before the great tribulation falls on the nations who have pro- 
 fessed Christianity, and the kingdom and glory of Christ are 
 openly showed in the sight of the heathen,) when those who 
 are now the salt of the earth and the light of the world will be 
 gathered out safely, and laid up like wheat in the barn ; and 
 then the tares will be set on fire and consumed ! At this 
 awful period professors will not only be inquiring, and for 
 once seeking earnestly : they will likewise be praying earn- 
 estly ! Terror, confusion, and dismay will seize upon them ! 
 They will knock then at the door of mercy ; — they will seek 
 then to enter in at the strait gate ;q — they will cry Lord, 
 Lord, open unto us ; have we not eaten and drank in thy pre- 
 sence, and thou hast preached in our streets ? — But the door 
 of mercy will not open : " He will answer from within and say, 
 Verily, I know you not." 
 
 This does not, as I conceive, signify absolutely, that the 
 Lord did not know them ; for he knows all things, and all 
 men : he had even searched the thoughts and intents of the 
 hearts of these, and knew them to be false and hollow ; — they 
 were, after all, ' workers of iniquity/i' But he knew them not 
 by spiritual intercourse with them. They had never sought 
 
 " Prov. xxvn. (). " 1 Cor. xv, 51, 52 ; 1 Thess. iv. 1/ . pRev. ni.8. 
 q Luke xm. 24—30. r Ibid. 
 
167 
 
 communion with him ; — they had never given him their hearts 
 and affections ; — their jninds had not been upon him ; — their 
 confidence had not been placed in him • — the world — the 
 world — had continued to keep possession of their souls. Note 
 again, they are not charged with murder, fornication, drunk- 
 enness, theft, lying, and the like — these things we know will 
 shut a man out of the kingdom of heaven : — Folly is that 
 which has ruined these persons ; — the being content with the 
 form of godliness, whilst ignorant of the power ; — the being 
 satisfied with a profession, which appeared outwardly the same 
 as that of others, whilst the heart was really averse to Christ, 
 and his ways were inwardly disliked, and his cross, his re- 
 proach, self-denial, heavenly-mindedness, were all shrunk from 
 and despised. 
 
 O, Reader! ponder our gracious Sa\dour's application : — 
 " Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour 
 wherein the Son of Man cometh." Look out for him ; — wait 
 his appearing ; — be ready for it. The day is at hand, and it 
 will take the world by surprise ; but if ye be walking as the 
 children of light, you have the promise nevertheless, that it 
 shall not overtake you as a thief.s 
 
 Should this meet the eye of any, who, though they be pious, 
 have not seriously considered this expectation of the Church ; 
 or the eye of any, who, though associated vv^ith the pious, 
 have not been seeking conformity to God ; — I would give two 
 brief w'ords of warning in conclusion. First, be warned by the 
 prophecies, and be taught of God in this matter. The Church, 
 you perceive, has been slumbering on this subject ; — pious 
 men, as well as the ungodly, have been thrown off their guard : 
 learn therefore not to ground your views and expectations on 
 the opinions of mew, howsoever religious they may seem. Look 
 to the li'ord of God ; build upon the Scrij^turesi .- and you will 
 not be shut out for want of light. Many, I fear, have betray- 
 ed in this matter, that their spirit is not properly in subjection 
 to God's word. For when convicted by it, they have hard- 
 ened themselves against its voice, and have set up human 
 opinions against the testimony of the Lord. 
 
 Secondly, I repeat, be ready ; and the more so, because you 
 see the day approaching. You know not indeed the day itself ; 
 and well it is for us we do not : for many would slumber on 
 
 ^ 1 Thcssalonians v. 1, 5, 
 
168 
 
 until the very evening before it. But though we know not 
 the day, we are persuaded that it must be at hand : the cry is 
 already gone forth — " The bridegroom cometh ; Go ye forth 
 to meet him" Examine yourselves therefore, if you can meet 
 him with joy and confidence. See that you have oil. O, it is 
 a sad thing to have to seek oil wdien you have need to use it ! 
 Those who have to struggle with sickness and the pains of 
 death can tell you this : but how much more will it Ije the 
 case, when the master of the house rises up and shuts to the 
 door ! A lamp vnthout oil will not avail : you may have pro- 
 fessed evangelical doctrine, and have determined to hear no 
 other ; — you may have separated yourselves from the openly 
 profane and self-righteous ; — you may have mixed with the 
 wise, and prayed with the wise, and talked with the \vise, and 
 acted, in a certain measure, with the wise ; — and yet you may 
 be destitute of that inw£rd spirit, which draws your heart and 
 mind up to Christ, and leads you above all things to delight in 
 his commandments. O then, I say, seek oil — seek this one 
 thing needful — this " hope which maketh not ashamed." Noiv 
 you have scarcely need to knock at the gate of heaven ; for 
 " behold, the Lord standeth at the door and knocketh at your 
 heart :"^ open the door and let him in, and he will come in and 
 sup with you and you with him : you shall enjoy all the blessed 
 consolations of the Spirit here — a hope full of immortality ; 
 and, presently, a " crown of glory that fadeth not away." 
 
 Abdiel, 
 
 P.S. Since I published the above, I have met with an in- 
 teresting Millennarian Treatise called " Generation Work," 
 by John TilUnghast, published in 1653. The Author argues 
 ably in it from this Parable, as well as from other Scriptures, 
 for the 7;re-w2///eww/flZ advent of Christ. He does not take 
 exactly the same view that I do of the particulms of the 
 parable ; though he does of its general scope : conceiving 
 it with me to set forth the aspect of the professing Church 
 just before the personal coming of the Lord. He considers, 
 however, that the sleeping of the virgins — of the foolish ones 
 more particularly — is intended to forewarn us of the stvpor 
 which will come on many through erroneous anticipations of 
 this event ; by which they will cease to work M'hilst it is 
 
169 
 
 called to day ; and that much practical nuholiness, and o-reat 
 spiritual sluggishness and inactivity will thereby be generated. 
 He did not consider the days in which he lived fully to answer 
 to this state ; but from symptoms, which he then saw. he 
 judges what will be the circumstances leading on to this state : 
 and whether he be right or wrong as to the view itself, the 
 following extracts will I apprehend be found very seasonable 
 in the present day. 
 
 " Two things here are ver}- observable, which seem to in- 
 timate the way or manner how this sleep shall steal upon the 
 Virgins at this day. 
 
 "1. From a false Principle commonly received araong the 
 VirginSy as touching the coming of Christ • namely, that the same 
 shall be spiritual only, and not personal. This to me appears 
 from the attempt they make, and that before his coming, to go 
 forth and meet him. For taking this for granted, (which is in- 
 deed a certain truth,) that the present administration is to be 
 in force but till His coming ; — and conceiving this coming 
 of Christ to be no other, than a more glorious manifestation of 
 himself in a spiritual icay to the souls of his people ; — judg- 
 ing withal some beginnings of this to be already both in them- 
 selves and others ; — they hence conclude the time now to be 
 come in which these things are to cease, the Day star (which 
 will suddenly enlighten the whole world) beginning already to 
 glimmer in their hearts. Hereupon they pluck up stakes, quit 
 their old station, sound a march, with a mighty cry, " The 
 Bridegroom' s coming, the Bridegroom's coming, let's speedily go 
 forth to meet him :" whereas, had they in their judgement not 
 only believed the coming to be near, but retained in the love of 
 it, that good old Principle, that it is only Christ's Personal 
 coming which puts an end to these things ; they would have 
 had certain ground to have stood upon, and have known the 
 time when these things were to cease ,- and not before the time 
 headly run forth, but rather patiently waited for that day, sub- 
 mitting themselves in the mean time to the Law and commands 
 of their Lord and Master Christ. 
 
 " 2. From a looseness in practice, in comparison of what they 
 were formerly. For observe. They slumber, i. e. give a lit- 
 tle way to pride, remissness hi duty, examining, and watching 
 over their hearts, &c. allow themselves to be a little more 
 worldly ; stretch conscience a little for gain, and reach after 
 places, honors, preferments, the love of great men (though 
 
170 
 
 gained by unfaithfulness to God and to them also) more than, 
 a time was, they durst do. And thus having first by a slumber 
 benumbed their consciences, — which now are not so tender, 
 and apt to be pricked with the least thorn, as in times past 
 they were, — the next degree is, a fast sleep, ("they all slum- 
 bered and slept," verse 5.) i. e. what before they neglected 
 through carelessness, now they throw oiF from a principle, that 
 they ?ieed not do any such things ; whereupon they lay them- 
 selves down, as a man asleep, stir not, act not in any duty, or 
 ordinance, or work, of their Lord and Master Christ. I wish 
 from my heart (were it the Lord's will) that all those, who at 
 this day amongst us are asleep, might from this word have such 
 ?ijog, as might cause them to rub up a little, and to bethink 
 themselves how they fell asleep. 
 
 "Further than this, there will be an extraordinary deluge 
 and over-spreading of errors • Christ's second coming herein 
 agreeing to his first : for never was the church and common- 
 wealth of the Jews so infested with errors, as about the time 
 of his first coming. And this we have plainly, chap. 24, where 
 Christ tells us ; First, that there shall be many seducers, 
 " Many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ, 
 and shall deceive many." — " And many false prophets shall 
 arise, and shall deceive many." — " There shall arise false 
 Christs, and false prophets. "a " Second, these seducers 
 shall pretend commission from Christ ; and therefore are said 
 (ver. 5,) to '* come in his name," i. e. pleading his commission. 
 "Third, they shall profess themselves to be extraordinarily 
 gifted ; — persons inspired by Christ, endued with the gift of 
 prophecy, called therefore prophets. Fourth they shall do strange 
 and wonderful things, — things not common, or of ordinary ob- 
 servation : " There shall arise false prophets, aud shall she^c 
 great signs and loonders."^ Fifth, they shall have many fol- 
 lowers and disciples. They " shall deceive many ;" yea, so 
 cunning shall these be in deceiving, " that if it were possible 
 they shall deceive the very elect." (?;. 24.) 
 
 Also there will be a sad and fearful apostasy of divers who 
 were formerly eminent and glorious lights in the church. 
 " The love of many shall wax cold,"^ which words are to be un- 
 derstood of a final apostasy ; because in the next verse perse- 
 verance to the end is set in opposition to their apostasy ; — 
 
 a Veraes '), 11, 2-4. ^ c. 24. ^ c. 12. 
 
171 
 
 " but he that shall endure to the end the same shall be saved." 
 The stars shall fall from heaven."^ By heaven we are to un- 
 derstand the visible diurch, so called in the Scripture : " I 
 heard a great voice of much people in heaven, saying. Halle- 
 lujah ;"^ that is, in the visible church. By stars, eminent men 
 in the church are meant. — " The seven stars are the angels 
 (or officers) of the seven churches. "^ The meaning is, emi- 
 nent men, — men that were formerly of no small note in the 
 church, for their seeming zeal and piety, — shall now show 
 themselves what they are, and become apostates. 
 
 " Again, there will be an aptness to be offended at the things 
 that shall be done in the ivorld in these times ; as in verse 10, 
 " then shall many be offended." They shall not be able to 
 brook what God in an active way will do, and in a permissive 
 way will suffer ; but every thing they shall at this day cast 
 their eyes upon will stumble them, and oifend them, make 
 them kick and fling ; so that the very world will be a torment 
 to them, and they to themselves. 
 
 " Finally, there will be a hating of fellow -brethren, with a 
 notable persecuting spirit lying at the bottom ; as verse 10, — 
 " they shall betray one another, and shall hate one another." 
 And again, " if that evil servant shall say in his heart, my 
 Lord delayeth his coming, and shall begin to smite his fellow- 
 servants, and to eat and drink with the drunken. "g What is 
 the meaning hereof ? why, eating and drinking denote friend- 
 ship, and civil society ; therefore many men in these times, 
 who shall yet go under the name of Christ's servants, shall so 
 far degenerate, as that they shall not only disown those that 
 were formerly their fellow- servants, but shall smite them with 
 reproaches, (yea wdth the civil sword, if the Lord prevent not ;) 
 and instead of making their fellow- servants their companions 
 and associates any longer, they shall chuse such as their very 
 walking doth declare them to all men to be persons void of 
 grace, and strangers to Jesus Christ ; and yet these now shall 
 be their famihars and intimates, rather than the other. 
 
 " These things our Lord Jesus Christ hath foretold to be in 
 the world a little before his coming : to escape which, as he 
 there calls upon his disciples to watch, watch, watch ; so do I 
 conceive (for the very same reasons in the words I am upon) 
 are we exhorted to this duty. Because, as by all these things 
 
 »i V. 2y. «■ Rev. XIX. 1. f Rev. i. 20. K vv. 4S, 49. 
 
172 
 
 I liave mentioned sanctification grows into decay, and they are 
 made naked in the eyes of others to their shame ; (as Aaron 
 made Israel by that sin of the calf, and that amongst their 
 enemies ;)^ so the ver}'' motive to this duty of watching, in these 
 words, is the '*" keeping their garments," that is, of sanctifi- 
 cation, — (the garment of j list ijicat ion being but one garment, 
 resembled by the robe Christ wore in the days of his flesh, 
 which was one entire piece, without seam throughout ; — and 
 that rather is Christ's put upon us, than ours ; and not at all 
 trusted in our hands to keep, but kept in Christ for us, and 
 therefore not that here spoken of,) lest by losing of them they 
 become naked, and are in the eyes of others, yea their enemies, 
 (who can see these garments, though a sainVs justification is a 
 thing hidden from them) exposed to shame ; which in a few 
 words comprehends all those reasons Christ had laid down and 
 pressed. Matt. xxiv. and xxv. why believers living in times 
 immediately preceding his coming shoald be watchful. 
 
 " And let not any, in case what I have said sit too close, be 
 for that oifended at the Author, (who is a friend to all that 
 love the Lord Jesus) nor slight the things themselves ; but 
 rather considering what Christ hath plainly foretold shall be a 
 little before his coming, let them learn this, — to consider their 
 own ways, and lay seriously their practices to heart ; lest other- 
 wise he come upon them as a thief, before they shall have 
 time to get oil into their lamps, or to put on again their gar- 
 ments which now they have put off." 
 
 J' Exodus xxxri. 35, 
 
173 
 Essay XII. 
 
 THE PARABLE OF THE TALENTS MATT. XXV. 
 
 I have stated, in a former Essay, that there is a close con- 
 nection between the parables contained in Matthew xxv. and 
 the prophecy of our Lord delivered in the previous chapter. 
 They are in fact a portion of that prophecy ; being, as it 
 were, the practical application of it. The scope and drift of 
 them appears to be as follows : — 
 
 By the parable of the Ten Virgins is set forth, what would 
 be the slumbering aspect of the Church, at the time of her 
 Lord's Advent, in regard to her professed expectation of that 
 glorious event ; and it is shown, that the hope of all professors 
 will be confounded, and they made ashamed, unless the love 
 of God he shed abroad in the heart hy the Holy Ghost.^ In 
 other words, all wall be shut out from the Marriage Feast, 
 unless they be truly converted in heart and sanctified by the 
 Spirit. 
 
 The parable of the Talents teaches, that if there be grace 
 in the heart, it will manifest itself by zeal and dihgence in 
 the cause and service of Christ ; since the object of Jesus 
 is " to purify to himself a peculiar people zealous of good 
 works. "b Some, who take up this subject in the prophetical 
 view, see in the serv^ants, to whom the talents are intrusted, 
 only the ministers of the Gospel. Doubtless ministers are 
 affected in the first degree : not only as being interested per- 
 sonally in the great concern of salvation, together with every 
 other christian ; but because the obligation to be diligent and 
 profitable is, on account of the charge they voluntarily under- 
 take, peculiarly incumbent on them. Yet I can see nothing 
 in the parable which appears to aim specially at ministers ; 
 and I therefore purpose to interpret it as it seems to aiFect 
 believers in general. 
 
 The parable (if parable it be) of the Sheep and Goats, points 
 out the kind of works, which the Lord more especially looks 
 for from believers ; and the want of which (or rather of the 
 spirit to perform which) further evinces, that there is "no oil 
 in the vessel with the lamp." 
 
 * Rom, V. 5. ^ Tit. n. 14. 
 
174 
 
 I. To proceed then to the second of these subjects, the 
 parable of the Talents : as the delay of the Bridegroom, in 
 the parable of the Virgins, indicated the long jjcriod which 
 would elapse before the second advent of the Lord ; so here, 
 the same circumstance is set forth by the similitude of a man 
 travelling into a far country.* He is now, as it were, abroad 
 upon important business ; but he will nevertheless certainly 
 return, and will then deal with every one " according to his 
 ivoi'ks." Neither the great promise to his faithful people, nor 
 the vengeance denounced upon the ungodly, are forgotten : 
 he has foretold, that he will seemingly " tarry," as well as 
 that he " will certainly come and not tarry ;"c and has assured 
 us, in the mean while, " that he is not slack concerning his 
 ' promise, as some men count slackness ; but is long- suffering 
 ' to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all 
 
 * should come to repentance. "^ Nevertheless, this long-suf- 
 fering of the Lord, which ought to be accounted salvation, e is 
 abused in various ways. Wicked men " despise the riches of 
 ' his goodness and forbearance and long-suffering, not knoio- 
 ' ing that the goodness of God leadeth to repentance. "f As 
 regards t)\e. promise, they cry, — " Where is the promise of his 
 
 * coming ? for since the fathers fell asleep all things continue 
 
 * as they were from the beginning of the creation."? And as 
 regards the threat. — " because sentence against an evil work 
 ' is not executed speedily, therefore the heart of the sons of 
 ' men is fully set in them to do evil.''^^ And those who 'i-Mcenj. 
 to be religious," but have only " the form of godliness without 
 the power,"i — yea, it is to be feared, some of those even who 
 experience the j)oiL'er, — say in their heart, concerning the pro- 
 mise, " My Lord delayeth his coming -J'^ thus putting off the 
 fulfilment of the event to some remote period ; whilst they 
 fearfully overlook or explain away the Judgement according to 
 works, which affects believers. 
 
 * The ^ords " the kingdom of heaven is,^* with whicli this subject 
 commences, are not in the original ; as may be seen by consulting any 
 copy of the Scriptures in whicli the vvords su})plied are marked by italics. 
 The context evinces, that a more suitable phrase might be supplied ; such 
 as " For the Bridegroom is^' — or *' For the Son of Man w" — his advent 
 ha^^ng been throughout the immediate subject of discourse. 
 
 c Hab. II. 3 ; Heb, x. 3/ ; 2 Pet. ii. 3. d 2 Pet. iii. <). e 2 Pet. 
 III. 15. f Rom. II. 4. g 2 Pet. in. 4. li Eccles. viii. 11. ' James 
 1. 2G ; 2 Tim. in. 5. k Matt. xxiv. 48. 
 
175 
 
 As I consider the parable of the Talents, and that also of 
 the Sheep and Goats, to have direct reference to the Judge- 
 ment according to works, I may perhaps be excused if I take 
 the opportunity^ of somewhat enlarging upon the doctrine in 
 this place. Those indeed, who expound this parable as refer- 
 ring to 77iiniste?'s of the Gospel, are ready to admit that it 
 speaks of recompense or punishment awarded to thejn, accord- 
 ing to their faithfulness ; which is, indeed, to admit the pi^in- 
 ciple for which I contend : for if it be not considered repug- 
 nant to the Gospel, in respect to one class of human beings, 
 there is nothing to prevent us from extending it to any other 
 class, so far as the great principles of salvation are concerned. 
 ' Now it is as clearly revealed in Scripture, " that God will 
 render to every man according to his deeds," as it is insisted, 
 " that by the deeds of the law shall no flesh be justified." 
 Both these doctrines are stated by the same Apostle, and in 
 the same Epistle ; 1 and are no more contrary to each other 
 than are St. Paul and St. James, when the one insists that 
 Abraham was justified by faith,"^^ and the other that he was 
 justified by works. ^^ Both are reconcileable, if the context is 
 duly considered ; for St. James is evidently speaking of the 
 fruitfid character of tlmt faith which was imputed to Abraham 
 for righteousness, o So also the parable of the Laborers in the 
 Vineyard does not oppose the doctrine for which I plead ; 
 though by some it is considered so to do : for it refers not im- 
 mediately to the degree of glorj or reward which any will at- 
 tain, but to the fundamental and important question, whether 
 they will attam to eternal life at all.'*' It matters not indeed 
 at v/hat hour a man is called by the grace of the Gospel 
 whether he have served the Lord from his infancy, 
 like the thief upon the cross, he have turned 
 the last hour : both are accepted, both are justified, 
 freely, fuUy, and equally, through the precious blood of Christ, 
 and will condemn every tongue that riseth up in judgement 
 against them. But does the spirit, and temper, and self-de- 
 nial, and devotedness of a man, when he is called, signify 
 
 * This parable appears to me to allude principally to the calling of the 
 Gentiles to the privileges of the Gospel, and the placing them in this 
 respect upon the same footing with the Jews, who had borne the " heat 
 and burden" of the ceremonial law. 
 
 1 Rom. 11. 5, 1} ; III. 20. ^ Rom. iv. 1 — o. ■ James ii. 21. 
 <^ James ii. 22, 28. 
 
 ters not indeed 
 
 of the Gospel ; ' ~N 
 
 icy, or whether, | 
 
 to him only at / 
 
 stified, and that / 
 
176 
 
 nothing ? Shall there be no difference between him who has 
 " fought a good fight,"P and him who is " scarcely saved, "q 
 " so as byfire?"r — between the one, who builds upon the 
 only foundation gold, silver, precious stones ; and him who 
 builds wood, hay, stubble ?s Yes — we are told, that though 
 the latter be saved, " he shall suffer loss • whereas the former 
 will obtain a reward :^ which I know not how to explain, if I 
 reject the Scriptures which tell me, that there are some who 
 shall be called great and some least in the kingdom of God,ii 
 " and that one star differeth from another star in glory. "^ 
 
 Again, our Lord tells us, " that when the Son of Man shall 
 come in the glory of his Father, with his angels, he then shall 
 REWARD every man according to his icorks :"^' which saying 
 becomes a key, whereby we may in a measure understand the 
 chapter now under consideration ; since the period referred to 
 therein is, " when the Son of Man shall come in his glor}'' and 
 all the holy angels with him, and shall sit upon the throne of 
 his glory." (v. 31.) The parable of the " Pounds" is a further 
 aid to the understanding of this ; for therein those servants 
 who had gained by trading have authority given to them over 
 ten cities, or over five cities, in propo7'tion to their gains.^ 
 The Lord also clearly distinguishes between a prophet's reward 
 and a righteous man's reward ; and declares, that any thing 
 done for Him, even to the giving a cup of cold water only, 
 shall in no wise lose its reward. y Further, it appears to me to 
 be in reference to this doctrine, that St. Paul assures us, " that 
 God is not unrighteous to forget our work and Jabor of love 
 which we have shown towards his name ;"z and that St. John 
 exhorts us to " look to ourselves, that we lose not those things 
 which ice have lurought, but that we receive a full reicard."^ 
 
 In regard however to this reicard the enlightened believer 
 will deeply feel, that he hath nothing whereof to glory before 
 God : that it is entirely owing to the condescension and good- 
 ness of God, who hath wrought all our works in us,^ that we 
 are to obtain any reward at all. Thus the Psalmist ascribes 
 the glory of the works to the poicer of God, and the recom- 
 pense itself to his mercy : — " God hath spoken once ; twice 
 * have I heard this ; that power belongeth unto God : also 
 
 P 2 Tim. IV. 7. q 1 Pet, iv. 18. r 1 Cor. in. 15. s ibid. vv. 
 12—14. ^ Ibid. vv. 14, 15. " Matt. v. 19. v \ Cor, xv. 41. 
 ^ Matt. XVI. 27. ^ Luke xix, 16—19. >' Matt, x. 41, 42. » Heb. 
 Ti. 10. a 2 John 1^.8. b Isa. XXVI. 12. 
 
177 
 
 * unto thee, O Lord, helongeth mercy ■ for thou reiiderest ie 
 ' every man according to his icork."^ 
 
 Intimately connected ^vith the Judgement according to works 
 is the revealing the secrets of men's hearts : "for then He will 
 both bring to light the hidden things of dai'kness," — those ac- 
 tions which, though perpetrated in secret, have not escaped 
 his all-seeing eye : and then wdll He " make manifest the 
 counsels of the hearts,"*^ — those inward motives and principles 
 which have led men to perform various actions ; yea those in- 
 ward workings of sin, probably, which have been habitually 
 entertained, when the actual commission of sin has been pre- 
 vented. Observe how plainly the Apostle Paul declares this 
 truth in various parts of Scripture ; and how he includes him- 
 self as one, who expected to have the secrets of his own heart 
 made manifest. To the Romans he states — " We shall all 
 stand before the judgement seat of Christ;" and in the two 
 followmg verses he takes occasion from the Scripture which, 
 saith, " Every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall 
 confess to God," to conclude — " So then, every one of us shall 
 give account of himself unto God !"c To the Corinthians 
 also he declares, that he labours continually to be accepted of 
 God, from a conviction, that " loe must all appear before the 
 
 • judgement seat of Christ ; that every one may receive the 
 ' things done in his body, according to that he hath done, 
 ' whether good or bad."^ And thus in Jeremiah it is declared ; 
 " I the Lord search the heart, I try the reins, even to give to 
 ' EVERY MAX according to his ivays and according to the fruit 
 ' of his doings. "& — " For God (saith Solomon) shall bring 
 ' every work into judgement, with every secret thing, whether 
 ' it be good, or whether it be eviW"^ 
 
 It is also urged against this view of the subject, that it is 
 incompatible with the future happiness of God's people to have 
 the secrets of their hearts exposed ; and that it is written, 
 -r'.Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God's elect .'' — It 
 ' is God that justifieth."i Yes — it is God that^Vs^i^^eM ; and I 
 readily grant, that nothing will interfere with their free pardon 
 and justification ; no, nor with their ultimate happiness : for I 
 am persuaded, that the saints themselves will (when delivered 
 from their present infirmities and prejudice) have so clear a 
 
 <^ Ps. LXii, 11, 12. d 1 Cor. IV. 5. e Rom. xiv. 10—12. ^ 2 Con 
 V. 9, 10. g Jer. xvii. 10. h Eccles. xij. 14. i Rom. viii. 33, 
 
178 
 
 view of the manifestation of the glory of God in all he does, 
 that they will with humility and cheerfulness acquiesce in the 
 award. And I M'ould ask, icho and what is the very best 
 christian of the present day, that he should hope to enjoy an 
 immunity, which neither kings, prophets nor apostles have en- 
 joyed before him ? Have not the failings of Abraham, Moses, 
 Job and others been published through the world ? Has not 
 the sin of David, the man after God's own heart, though com- 
 mitted seci-etly, been made as notorious as the noon-day sun ? 
 Has not Peter's denial of his master become as well known, 
 as the Gospel which contains it ? Indeed, w^ere there no di- 
 rect exposure of the secret deeds and thoughts of men in that 
 day ; — were the Lord only silently to distinguish among us 
 and divide us ; yet that very distinction itself would, in effect, 
 amount to the same thing. We could not help concluding of 
 him, who might be made to take a lower place than man's 
 judgement would assign to him, that there was some sufficient 
 reason for it, though secret to us : only we should be left to 
 the darkness of surmise ; whereas the Lord will chuse " to be 
 justified when he speaks, and clear when he judges. "^ Thus 
 then " some men's sins are open beforehand, going before to 
 judgement : and some they follow after. — Likewise the good 
 works of some are manifest before-hand ; and they that are 
 otherwise cannot be hid."l 
 
 H. I shall now proceed with the parable of the Talents. 
 
 First it will be necessary to ascertain, what is the meaning 
 of the " talents" or " goods" here mentioned. Most commen- 
 tators explain it, of the natural and acquired abilities of men, 
 which (they say) are to be used to the glory of God. This 
 however, though true in itself, and comprehended in the para- 
 ble, does not appear to be the primary meaning of this figure. 
 For the talents are given to the servants *' according to their 
 several ability /' and this '* ability" of theirs must refer to 
 their natural and worldly circumstances ; — as their understand- 
 ing, and powers of mind, their wealth, &c. Not indeed that 
 this sort of ability can strictly be said to belong to any ; for a 
 man has nothing, but what he has received. The Lord not only 
 appoints to each of his servants his particular station ; but ac- 
 tually gives him the power and ability to qualify him for it. 
 
 The talent was a sum of money either of gold or silver, 
 
 k Psalm LI. 4. 1 1 Tim. v. 24, 25. 
 
179 
 
 usually mesured out by weight. In this respect the parable is 
 similar to another, in which the Nobleman, who goes into a 
 far country, is said to deliver to his servants ten pounds ;^ by 
 which we are also to understand a certain weight of gold or 
 silver ; and thus the one parable may greatly serve to explain 
 the other. For the pounds and the talents, being both pre- 
 cious commodities, represent, as I presume, the Gospel — i. e. 
 the Gospel, as comprehending the hope, the precepts, the pro- 
 mises and doctrine it contains. Thus are the commandments 
 of God compared in one Scripture to fine gold ;'^ whilst in 
 another divine grace is likened to gold tried in the fire, which 
 we are counseled to buy of Christ. o In the one parable there- 
 fore this commodity appears to be given equally among all the 
 servants, and nothing is said of their respective ability ; though 
 the ditterent returns made evince, that t\iej were differently 
 gifted. But in this parable the object is apparently to show, 
 that more is required of men by the Gospel, " according to 
 their several ability :" and thus it is said, that ten talents are 
 given to one, and^re to another, and only one to a third ; be- 
 cause more will be required from the rich than from the poor ; 
 — more from the learned than from the ignorant ; — more from 
 the healthy, than from the sick and infirm ; — more from those 
 w^ho have or might have leisure, than from those who, of ne- 
 cessity, are much employed. The Gospel therefore, and the 
 means of grace, are a trust. Every man who is within reach 
 of that Gospel, — every man who may enjoy the means of 
 grace, — is bound to consider, what is required of him. on that 
 account, and to endeavour to apprehend that for which he is 
 apprehended of Christ Jesus. P 
 
 The three servants then, here mentioned, represent three 
 
 dififerent classes of mankind : the first who receives five talents 
 
 sets forth a believer highly gifted and blessed ; the second is a 
 
 I specimen of a believer of more moderate talents and advan- 
 
 itages ; the third sets forth a person of meaner abilities, — or 
 rather (as we shall have occasion to see) one of that numer- 
 ous class, who, in religious matters, imagine that it is out of 
 their power to do much. 
 
 The man with the five talents and the man with the two are 
 so alike in their conduct, that they may be considered both 
 together. These went and traded with their talents. By this 
 
 ^ Luke XIX. 12—17. » Ps. xix. 10. o Rev. in. 18. P Phil. iii. 12. 
 
180 
 
 I understand the practical walk of faith and usefulness exhi-^ 
 bited by true believers. " Their merchandise and their hire is 
 Jiolitiess to the Lord'\ We see in them, not a dead, and con- 
 sequently unfruitful, faith ; but we behold "the things wdiich 
 accompany salvation" — " the work and labor of love which 
 they show towards his name."r They imitate their heavenly 
 master, w-ho worked the works of him that sent him wdiilst it 
 was day. 3 They are " not slothful, but followers of them who 
 through faith and patience inherit the promises :"t so that 
 " giving all diligence they add to their faith virtue, and to vir- 
 tue knowledge, and to knowledge temperance, and to temper- 
 ance patience, and to patience godliness, and to godliness 
 brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness charity ;" which 
 things, being in them and abounding, make them, "that they 
 are neither barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord 
 Jesus Christ."^ 
 
 But there are other circumstances to be considered in regard 
 to this increase of the talents. It is a maxim of divine grace, 
 " that w^hosever hath to him shall be given, and he shall have 
 more abundance."^' Grace, when it is really in the heart, is a 
 property which will expand and increase. When professors of 
 religion only seem to go to a certain length, and then stand 
 still ; — or if it alters not their character and spirit, improving 
 them in all the various relationships of life ; — we may rely 
 upon it there is no grace. I speak not of the occasional falls 
 and transgressions of believers, as exhibited in such men as 
 David, Peter, and others ; but of the effectual work of grace 
 in them throughout their life in general. Sometimes it will so 
 call forth the energies of a man, that he will appear to possess 
 abilities, which the world did not previously give him credit 
 for : but, commonly, the more a man exercises himself unto 
 godliness, the more fruitful will he become in proportion : for 
 the faculties of the soul, like those of the body, acquire strength 
 by use.'"' Thus, the last W'orks of such a man wdll prove 
 *• more than the first ;"x whilst, as regards his own personal 
 enjoyment, he finds that " exercising himself unto godliness 
 is profitable unto all things, having promise of the life that now^ 
 is, and of that which is to come."y Such will bring forth 
 fruit in different degrees, according to the talent committed to 
 
 P Isaiah XXIII. 18. r Heb. vi. 9, 10. s John ix. 4. tHeb. vi. 12. 
 u 2 Pet. I. 5—8. V Matt. xiii. 12- w Heb. v. 14. ^ Rev. ii. 19. 
 y 1 Tim. IV. 7, 8; vi. 6. 
 
181 
 
 them ; — ill some thirty, in some sixty, in some a hundred- 
 fold ; — but each will prove a fruitful branch of the True Vine, 
 and glorif}' God by his life and conversation. 
 
 We must now consider the character of the servant who 
 had only one talent, in regard to whom two or three circum- 
 stances must be noticed. 
 
 First, it must not be supposed, because the ser\-ants who 
 have five and two talents are represented as doubling them, 
 that all persons who are blessed with superior advantages are 
 faithful servants. Neither because the man with one talent 
 hides it, are we to conclude, that persons with fewer gifts are 
 always unfaithful. The character represented by this man is 
 to be found in high life and low life, — among rich and poor, — • 
 among persons with great, and persons with slender abilities. 
 Men who have received five talents often hwcj them ; whilst 
 those, who have received only one, frequently trade M'ith that 
 one and double it. We must consequently consider the cir- 
 cumstance of his having only one talent in a two-fold point of 
 view. For he represents those, who are really poor in their 
 worldly circumstances, in education, and in natural abilities 
 and advantages ; and he likewise represents those who, when 
 religion is concerned, imagine, that they are able to do but 
 little ; although, in reality, they are not so deficient. 
 
 Secondly, the parable teaches, that every man has one X.21,- -^^p^ 
 lent ; that whatsoever may be his station in life, the Gospel \ 
 requires of him to glorify the Lord to the utmost of his abil- 
 ity ; — that the poorest, the most simple, the most wretched 
 man in existence is called upon to do the wdll of God, if he 
 would inherit the promise ; z and that there is grace promised 
 to enable him both to will and to do of God's good pleasure. a 
 
 Thirdly we must notice, what it is which constitutes the 
 offence of this man — viz. unprofitableness . He is not after- 
 wards charged by his Lord with murder, theft, adultery, 
 drunkenness or the like : the head and front of his offending 
 is the being unfruitful, — the omitting to perform that, which 
 in his station was required of liim. 
 
 Lastly, we must notice the mode which he takes to be un- 
 fruitful. In one parable he is said to lay up his talent in a 
 napkin. This is often Z^YerftZ/y fulfilled by ^;oor people : they 
 have the Gospel, (that is to say, the Bible,) and they keep it 
 
 * Heb. X, 36. » PhU. II. 13. 
 
182 
 
 wrapt up in a pocket liandkercliief and buried at the bottom 
 of a box or drawer. And because they possess this treasure, 
 and have some regard for it, they take for granted, that they 
 are in no great danger of being condemned. But what is 
 principally set forth here, is that class of persons Avho neglect 
 the Gospel in other respects. It matters not whether the 
 Book be hid in a closet, or exposed to view upon a shelf; — it 
 signifies not even that it be daily read, and that every week 
 men hear it preached : if they are content v/ith this, — if it stir 
 them not up to zeal, to self-denial, and holiness, — they are still 
 burying their talent and will be condemned. They may not 
 be guilty of any gross sin ; — they may be decent and respect- 
 able in the sight of the world : yet, if they strive not to be 
 rich towards God, they are as barren soil, of which the Apos- 
 tle says — '* it is nigh unto cursing and its end is to be 
 burned." b 
 
 It is worthy of notice likewise, that in the parable before 
 us, the unprofitable servant is said to dig, in order to hide his 
 talent ; which seems to imply, that he is at some pains and 
 labor to do it. And truly there are persons, who labour far 
 more to stifle their convictions, — to resist the truth, and to 
 justify their neglect of God, — than ever they do to advance 
 his cause, or to benefit their ov\"n soids. 
 
 III. The next point for consideration is the reckoning of the 
 Lord with his servants. After a long time he came ; and so 
 he that had received five talents came and brought other five 
 talents, saying. Lord, thou deliveredst unto me five talents : 
 behold, I have gained beside them five talents more. The 
 man who had received the two talents came also and gave a 
 similar account ; he having likewise doubled the sum com- 
 mitted to his trust. To each of these their Lord replies : 
 " Well done, good and faithful servant ; thou hast been faith - 
 ' ful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many 
 ' things : enter thou into the joy of thy Lord." 
 
 I have already suificiently dwelt on the reward according to 
 works : it is enough here briefly to observe, that these now 
 experience the truth of that saying, in its most glorious 
 sense, — " Happy is the man that findeth wisdom, and the man 
 ' that getteth understanding : for the merchandise of it is 
 * better than the merchandise of silver, and the gain thereof 
 
 ^ Heb. VI. 9. 
 
183 
 
 ' than fine golcl/'^ — They are rewarded by being made rulers, 
 instead of servants ; and, according to the parable of the 
 pounds, by receiving a dominioti apportioned to their increase.* 
 
 " Then he which had received the one talent came and 
 ' said. Lord, I knew thee, that thou art a hard man, reaping 
 ' where thou hast not sown, and gathering where thou hast 
 ' not strawed : and I was afraid, and went and hid thy talent 
 ' in the earth : lo, there thou hast that is thine." 
 
 An important principle of interpretation must here be borne 
 in mind ; viz. — that the parables frequently speak of things, 
 not as they really are in the sight of God ; but according to 
 the corrupt opinions of men. Keeping this circumstance in 
 view, we may perhaps arrive at an easy explanation of this 
 portion of the parable. 
 
 How shocking it is to think that any who hear the Gospel 
 should view the Lord as a hard master, and speak of him as 
 unmerciful if he does not forgive sin I — Yet this is only what 
 thousands and tens of thousands are guilty of ! They do not 
 in direct terms call him thus ; but they insist that he is so, if 
 certain doctrines which he has revealed be true. It is not 
 sufficient, that his mercy and love are so vast, that He has 
 given his Son to die for sinners ; they must be saved in their 
 own way, and on their own terms, or they still speak of the 
 Gospel as a hateful message. Take an instance or two. One 
 will object, " that it seems hard for the Lord to damn any for 
 not being holy and abounding in good works, since He him- 
 self tells us plainly, we can do nothing ivithout Him, and that 
 no man can come unto Him except the Father draw him." — 
 Another says, *' It is of no use my trying, if I am not elect. 
 I am told I cannot do these things without grace : surely, to 
 require a holy life of me, when the Lord has not given me 
 
 * A distinction however must be noticed. The servants in the parable 
 of " the pounds" receive equal sums, yet produce different results, and 
 are proportionately rewarded ; which more decidedly illustrates the 
 point for which I have contended in the beginning of this Essay. The 
 servants in this parable receive different sums, and the result (in the in- 
 stance of the faithful ones) corresponds with the proportion between the 
 sums received. From this we learn, for the great comfort of sincere per- 
 sons, that it may not be in the power of some to equal others in their 
 exertions and sacrifices ; since the abundance of fruit must in certain 
 circumstances depend on the " ability''^ previously possessed. 
 
 c Prov. III. 13, 14. 
 
184 
 
 grace, is to desii-e to reap Avhere lie does not sow, and to ga- 
 ther, where he does not straw." A third will say — " I do 
 not profess ; I harm no one ; I pay every body their due ; I 
 go to church : what more can be required of me ? — There, 
 thou hast that is thine." Whilst a fourth will exclaim — 
 " There are many worse than me ; if I am wrong there will 
 plenty be damned : surely the Lord will not be so mimerciful 
 as to condemn all those who do not act as the preachers of the 
 Gospel insist they should I" 
 
 The above is not only the language of the hearts of many, 
 but the very words of their lips. But the answer of his Lord 
 reveals to us the true character of all those, who would thus 
 justify their lukewarmness and neglect of spiritual things. — 
 " Thou ivicked and slothful servant ! Thou hiewest that I reap 
 
 * where I sowed not, and gather where I have not strawed t — 
 ' thou oughtest therefore to have put my money to the ex- 
 
 * changers, and then, at my coming, I should have received 
 ' mine own with usury." Perhaps we may better understand 
 this answer, if we paraphrase it ; and then we shall perceive 
 that his Lord condemns him out of his own mouth, and by his 
 own principles. " You knew me to be a hard master ? — You 
 ' were indeed persuaded of this t — How can you tell me such 
 ' a lie ! Had you really thought me so severe, would you have 
 
 * run the certain risk of punishment ? Had you truh'' feared 
 ' me, would you not at least have put out my money to inter- 
 
 * est ? If you despaired of doubling it, you would have tried to 
 ' have let me have something. The very fact, that I did lend 
 
 * you a talent to trade Avith shews, that I do not wish to reap 
 ' where I have not sown. But you have no heart for my 
 ' work ; — you are a wicked and slothful fellow : you have 
 ' neglected that which was your duty to perform, and now you 
 ' would justify it by slandering my character." 
 
 Thus it is that all the objections which are made by men in 
 order to justify their worldly mindedness, their coldness, their 
 want of spiritual life, will return upon their own hands with 
 shame and confusion of face. They profess to be stumbled by 
 this thing, and not to be able to understand that thing ; one 
 command is too hard for them, obedience to another is not to 
 be expected : but all they can say to excuse themselves only 
 shews, that they are deceitful and wicked ; — that they really 
 know better than they pretend ; — and that the true ground of 
 their deficiency is slothfulness, added to a carnal enmity of 
 
185 
 
 heart. For if men really thought God so unmerciful, would it 
 not render them still more careful to flee from his wrath ? If 
 thev were stumbled at the doctrines of Scripture, yet really 
 desirous to glorify God, would they not go to the exchangers 
 — to those that sell oil — to the ministers of the Gospel ? Yes, 
 they would carry their doubts and difficulties to them ; and 
 with an honest heart they would use the means of grace, whilst 
 they humbly waited upon God for that j^ower which is pro- 
 mised to them that believe. 
 
 Finally, we have the sentence pronounced upon this m.an. — 
 " Take therefore the talent from him, and give it unto him 
 ' that hath ten talents. For unto every one that hath shall be 
 ' given, and he shall have abundance ; but from him that hath 
 ' not shall be taken away even that which he hath ;" or (as it 
 is stated in the parable of the pounds) " that which he seemeth 
 to have :" for grace the}^ have none, in reality, who are not pro- 
 fitable towards God. They have the means of grace, and a 
 blind world often mistakes their attention to the means for the 
 spirit of religion itself. There may be some good also which 
 they may have done under pretence of religion, and some vain 
 glorious works on which they pride themselves ; but this their 
 righteousness, which they only seem to have, will be stripped 
 from off^ them, in the day when the secrets of the heart shall 
 be revealed ; and their form of godliness will be proved to be 
 hollow and unavailing. And that authority and glory, which 
 they might have had in Christ's kingdom, (it would appear 
 from this) shall be added to the righteous ; whilst they them- 
 selves shall be cast into outer darkness — into that darkness 
 without the palace, into which the foolish virgins were banish- 
 ed — who were refused the joy and honor of the marriage feast, 
 and left to bemoan their folly in weeping and wailing and 
 gnashing of teeth. 
 
 Such is what I apprehend to be the meaning of this aw^ful 
 parable ! I would once more press upon the Reader this con- 
 sideration : that (like the parable of the foolish virgins) its ob- 
 ject is not so much to shew, that the thief, the fornicator, the 
 drunkard and liar have no part in the kingdom of God and of 
 Christ -A but that the unprofitahle have a heart equally fallen 
 from God, and averse to his ways ; though they may possess a 
 
 <^ 1 Cor. VI. f), 10. 
 
186 
 
 more specious cind plausible character. Tliis is a circumstance 
 of the more imjDortance to be kept in view in these days, when 
 evangelical profession is becoming so general and so cheap ; 
 and when vre see so many associated with the people of God, 
 and presummg that they themselves belong to him, whilst yet 
 they are careless of their tempers and affections. And even, 
 in regard to their works, they are not " a peculiar people zea- 
 lous of good works," whose readiness and forwardness of mind 
 are known to all ; but those whose desire rather is to knovr 
 how little they need do ; and who are constantly opposing 
 difficulties and objections in the way of those things which 
 call for self-denial and renouncement of the world. 
 
 I would also notice those persons who imagine, tha.t they 
 could serve God better, were they placed in different circum- 
 stances, and had more money, more time, &c. Many deceive 
 themselves in this respect, and are after all but slothful ser- , ' 
 vants ; since they are not endeavouring to glorify God with i 
 such ability as they do possess : and if they are not faithful in \ 
 that which is least, they certainly would be unfaithful in much, \ 
 and their condemnation v\-ould be so much the greater : for it 
 must be remembered, that, in proportion to this sort of ability, 
 the duties which God requires of us are enlarged. But^manj 
 serious and sincere jDcrsons miscalculate in tliis respect. For \ 
 how rarely do we find those who have superior advantages ^ 
 living the nearest to God ! and what presumption it is that 
 leads us to suppose, that we should do better ! Yea, so en- 
 tangling are some of those things, which men suppose will 
 enable them to glorify God the better, that instances are not 
 unfrequent of persons, who do shew some little zeal for God, 
 when they have only one or two talents ; but no sooner does 
 the Lord send them another, than they act as if they thought, 
 that less were then required of them. A man, for example, is 
 industrious and self-denying for the cause of God, whilst his 
 circumstances are straitened : the Lord then sends him icealth, 
 perhaps, and now he acts and speaks, as if God had no longer 
 a right to look to him for the exercise of that ability which he 
 previously possessed ; but that wealth was intended to exempt 
 him from all personal exertion which would interfere with his 
 comfort or jDleasures. Let us therefore strive to be faithful in 
 that which is now committed to us : let us not mind what our 
 disadvantages are ; " if there be first a willimj mind, it is ac- 
 
187 
 
 cepted according to that wliicli a man hath, and not accordin; 
 to that which he hath not."e 
 
 Since writing the foregoing I have met with an interesting 
 discussion of the Judgement of Believers, contained in an 
 Essay on the Millennium, &c. by Dr. Sayer Rudd, an eminent 
 Dissenter, who wrote on this subject in 1734. He presses all 
 the texts on this subject v.diich I have noticed, largely ex- 
 pounding i Cor. III. 10 — 15 ; and further shews that many 
 of the saints will even be rebuked, and be ashamed for the mo- 
 ment in the presence of the Lord ; which he argues from the 
 warnings given them to walk so as that they may not be 
 ashamed, but presented idthont spot and unrebukeable, &c. 
 Ke treats the subject however with great modesty, and con- 
 cludes it with the following quaiilication of his sentiments ; 
 which I append to this Essay, because it excellently illustrates 
 what I have said at page 178, that the very calling one man 
 to come up higher, and bidding another to go down lower, 
 would have the effect of a judgement of works, saving that it 
 would leave it to surmise. 
 
 " I have here expressed myself in the manner commonly 
 used on this subjeet. Though, that I may not conceal from 
 the Reader what has sometimes turned upon my thoughts, in 
 considering this doctrine I would observe, that as I am obliged 
 to suppose every thing respecting the judgement of the saints' 
 persons is issued in their resurrection, their being with the 
 saints, &c. ; and consequently that they are aU fixed in their 
 respective places, and share such degrees of honor as were 
 eternally designed them, as soon as they enter upon their 
 reign with Christ, in the new heavens and new earth : so I am 
 inclined to think, that the judgement of the saints' works in 
 this state is not so much that particular rewards may be dis- 
 tributed to them after this judgement, as that the justice of Christ 
 may appear in having, upon entering on his mediatorial kingdom, 
 assigned them respectively such and such stations, rewards, or 
 honors, call them by which name you please. I imagine it is 
 by no means feasible to suppose that the saints are kept in 
 suspense, or prevented sharing those honors which belong 
 to them, as members of Christ, till the works of ever}' one are 
 called over : this would certainly break in upon their reign. 
 
 « 2 Cor, VIII. i2. 
 
188 
 
 I am therefore rather of opinion (though I submit it only to 
 the judgement of others) that they are each of them ranged in 
 those places, near the person of the Redeemer, which God be- 
 fore all time had allotted them ; and then, that Christ, in order 
 to vindicate his procedure herein, and give public testimony 
 that he had acted according to the strict rule of righteousness, 
 will condescend to call over the works of each person, and lay 
 them open to the public view of the saints, that all may be 
 convinced he has, in assigning them their several places or de- 
 grees of honor, rewarded every man according to his works. 
 
 " This indeed, at the tim.e it is done, may be called, in a 
 large sense, a distributing rewards to them ; forasmuch as the 
 claim which each particular person has to the reward before 
 assigned him wHl then visibly appear : and, farther, because 
 the whole body of Christ's followers will confirm (if I may so 
 speak) what he has done, by acknowledging, that each person's 
 rewards are answerable to his works as they appear upon 
 trial." Page 325. 
 
 Abdiel. 
 
 Erratum, 
 
 The Reader is requested to alter the word act, at page 1657 
 line 10 of the last Number, and to read creep instead of it. 
 
189- 
 
 Essay XIII. 
 
 PARABLE OF THE SHEEP AND GOATS. MATT. XXV. 
 
 Circumstances have rendered that portion of Scripture at 
 which we are now arrived one of peculiar difficulty. I do not 
 apprehend there is really any greater obscurity thrown over 
 this subject, than over any other part of the prophecy we are 
 considering ; the embarrasment of the expositor arises entirely 
 from the preconceived and erroneous notions which the gener- 
 ality of Christians have imbibed concerning it, against which 
 he has consequently to contend. Commentators having lost 
 sight of and rejected the doctrine of a pre -millennial Advent 
 of Christ, an interpretation has been sought for and persisted in 
 necessarily at variance with that \dew of the kingdom of our 
 Lord taken by me in former Essays ; and accordingly it is at 
 once concluded, that the subject now to be treated of refers to 
 the general Resurrection and the ultimate Judgement, 
 
 In proceeding however to demonstrate, that this portion of 
 Scripture relates to events which will occur immediately before, 
 or at the beginning of, the Millennium, I desire to submit my 
 sentiments upon the subject with unfeigned deference to the 
 criticism of others. I am not, I trust, so wedded to a system 
 of interpretation as to determine to make all things bend to it : 
 yet there do appear to me insuperable objections to the recep- 
 tion of the ordinary interpretation. I shall begin first by 
 pointing out some of these difficulties. 
 
 1 . My first reason for concluding against it is derived from 
 the whole scope of the Prophecy. I have already observed, that 
 the discourse of our Lord, commenced in chap, xxiv, is con- 
 tinued throughout chap. xxv. The word " then," with which 
 the parable of the Virgins commences, plainly evinces, that the 
 time of the action of the events there spoken of must be the 
 same as the time when those events are to be transacted, inti- 
 mated in the latter part of chapter xxiv. The Reader will 
 perceive that the word "for," with which the parable of the 
 Talents commences, {v, 14,) equally connects that subject 
 
190 
 
 with the parable of the Virgins ; and the Sheep and Goats 
 must likewise be admitted to be a continuation of the same 
 subject, unless we suppose that there is here an abrupt tran- 
 sition in the discourse of our Lord, for which I think it would 
 be very difficult to assign a satisfactory reason. I conceive, 
 that this chapter sets forth one and the same judgement, but 
 under three different aspects ; and of course exhibiting various 
 circumstances of it. Commentators however interpret the 
 Advent of our Lord described in chap, xxiv, as referring to 
 his providential visitation on Jerusalem : and though there is 
 not the slightest intimation that any other Advent is spoken 
 of in chapter xxv. they nevertheless refer that, without an^^ 
 ceremony, to the period of ultimate judgement after the Mil- 
 lennium ! I think the considerate Reader will find this an 
 insuperable objection to the prevailing hypothesis. 
 
 2. Another difficulty which presents itself, if these two 
 chapters are to be received as reaching down to the last judge- 
 ment, is, that they do not contain the slightest intimation of 
 the Millennium ! It is a remarkable feature in the present 
 state of prophetical investigation, that the thousand years 
 period of felicity and triumph to the Church is not now ques- 
 tioned. A century back numerous christians were sceptical 
 on the subject ; and, previous to that, eminent divines had 
 laboured to prove that the Millennium had already passed. 
 Indeed, within these last ten years only, ministers were not 
 unfrequently interrogated for information on the subject by 
 individuals who were acquainted with it by nothing but the 
 name. Now, however, though men entertain very different 
 views in regard to the character of the IMillennium, and all are 
 not agreed even in respect to the term of its duration, (some 
 supposing that it may last for 365,000 years, '^) yet, I repeat, 
 the fact itself of a Millennium to come is not now disputed. 
 But where (I ask) is it described in Matthew xxiv. and xxv, 
 if the anti-millennarian hypothesis be correct ? Is it credible, 
 that a period of rest and glory to the Church, such as it is 
 generally expected to prove, should be passed over in silence, 
 in a prophecy which is assumed to describe the great tribula- 
 tion of the Jews, the times of the Gentiles, and the connexion 
 of both with the Advent, Resurrection and Judgement I 
 There is apparently no interval in the prophecy between the 
 
 * See the Treatises of Jones and Gauntlett on the Apocalypse. 
 
191 
 
 great tribulation and the final consummation of all things. 
 Take the millennarian view, — that the Lord's second coming 
 is to introduce the Millennium — and then the prophecy ^Yill 
 appear consistent : take the other view, and I cannot at all 
 reconcile it with the predictions of the prophets in general, 
 
 3. A third and ver}" surprising circumstance is, that anti-mil- 
 lennarians commonly appeal to the parable of the Sheep and 
 Goats, and the last five verses of Rev. xx, as containing the 
 most decisive and explicit descriptions of the general Resur- 
 rection and Judgement. I call it surprising, first, because both 
 these passages are more or less involved in figure or symbol ; 
 and therefore they are not the Scriptures which one would 
 expect to be appealed to as the basis or foundation of a sys- 
 tem : and secondly, I shall proceed to shew, that there is no 
 proper analogy between the two, and that they consequently 
 do not describe the same events. — 
 
 (I.) Matt. XXV. describes m\ advent : " w'hen the Son of 
 
 * Man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, 
 
 * then shall he sit on the throne of his glory :" the whole im- 
 plying that he comes to the earth, and that his throne will be 
 there placed. Rev. xx. describes not an advent, but an appa- 
 2'ition : "I saw a great white throne and Him that sat on it, 
 ' from whose face the eai^th and the heaven Jled away •" so 
 that there is apparently no earth in this instance for the throne 
 to be placed upon, or for Him that sits on it to come to. 
 (2.) St. John sees " the dead, small and great, stand before 
 God; — and the dead were judged, &c." There is no mention 
 of the living, or ' quick,' nor of the nations ; it is " the dead," 
 without any discrimination of nation, on whom the judgement 
 takes place. In Matthew, on the contrary, there is no men 
 tion of the dead : those gathered before the Son of Man are 
 " the nations" otherwise " the Gentiles," — {ra eQvri) those 
 Gentiles to whom the Gospel was first to be preached as a 
 witness ;a — those Gentiles whose times should be fulfilled, 
 when the Jewish tribulation should be fulfilled.^ (3.) It 
 should further be noticed, that no mention is made in Rev. 
 XX. 12 — 15 oi rewards : it is the judgement and jmnishjnefit 
 of all whose names are not found written in the book of life. 
 (v. 15.) The reason is obvious : the rewards have been dis- 
 tributed to the saints previously, being set forth in the begin- 
 
 a Matt, XXIV. 11. ^ Luke xxi. 24. 
 
192 
 
 ning of the chapter by their sitting on thrones, and judgement 
 being given to them. Agreeing with this is the invitation in 
 Matthew, — ' Come ye blessed of my Father, inherit the 
 kingdom,' &c. 
 
 Having pointed out th^se difficulties attending the interpre- 
 tation of Matthew xxv. — if supposed to refer to the last act 
 of judgement, and to be parallel with the judgement in Rev. 
 XX. — I shall notice two or three other circumstances, which, to 
 my mind, evince the parable of the Sheep and Goats to refer to 
 events prior to the Millennium. 
 
 First, the " everlasting fire" into which the Goats are or- 
 dered to depart {v. 41) is said to be " prepared for the devil 
 and his angels." This is evidently the same as " the lake of 
 fire" into which the de\dl is described as cast, the torment of 
 which is " day and night /or ever and ever." Now the phrase 
 " prepared for the devil" implies, that he was not yet cast into 
 it : for otherwise, I apprehend, it would have been said of it, 
 " where the devil is ;" — the same as in Rev. xxiv. 10, it is 
 said, " where the beast and false prophet are." Now the 
 beast and false prophet (or the powers thus symbolized) are 
 cast alive into the lake of fire, pre\dous to the Millennium ; 
 (see chap. xix. 20 :) but Satan is not cast in till after the 
 thousand years are ended; (Rev. xx. 7, 10 ;) and the dead 
 who are adjudged and condemned are not cast into the lake of 
 fire until after Satan is there, (verses 14, 15,) that is — sup- 
 posing the events of this chapter to follow in chronological 
 order. It appears to me, therefore, that the nations cast into 
 everlasting fire " prepared for" the devil and his angels, and 
 the dead cast into the lake of fire where the devil already is, 
 cannot be the same parties. The "nations" of Matthew are 
 probably the same as " the kings of the earth and their ar- 
 mies"c confederated under the beast ; — and the same as those 
 of whom the Psalmist says, " He shall take them away as with 
 a whirlwind, both living and in his wrath. "^ It is evident 
 from jMatthew, that the nations who are there accursed have, 
 nevertheless, been evangelized ; — not only from their being the 
 same as the Gentiles previously mentioned, but in that they 
 deny ever having neglected to minister unto the Lord. {v. 
 44.) So in the Psalm just quoted, they are addressed as the 
 " congregation" — which intimates that they are nominally the 
 
 c Rev. XIX, ly. d Psalm lviii. 9. 
 
193 
 
 people of God ; though the context shows that they are apos- 
 tates in spirit and action from his truth. Again, are they not 
 probably the same as "the goats" mentioned in Zechariah x. 
 3, whom the Lord punishes at the time when he again 
 visits the house of Judah and makes Israel " as liis goodly 
 horse in the battle }"^ — and the same again with " the goats" 
 of Ezekiel xxxv. w^hom the Lord, when " he judges between 
 cattle and cattle," (v. 17,) condemns for " treading down his 
 pastures and fouling the waters wdth their feet? (v. 18.) 
 The indentity of the symbol is at least worthy of serious con- 
 sideration. 
 
 Secondly, the throne and kingdom, mentioned in this pas- 
 sage, will prove a further guide to a right apprehension of it. 
 When the Son of Alan shall -come in his glory, thex shall he 
 sit upon the throne of his glory. Christ is noiv seated on the 
 throne of God ; not on that throne in which the glory of the 
 God-man shall be manifested ; which is clear from its being 
 stated that he shall then sit on it, when he comes in glory .-f 
 There is an evident distinction of these two thrones in Rev. 
 III. 21. — " To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with 
 ' me in 7ny throne ; even as I also overcame, and am set down 
 ' with my Father in his throne." It is clear, I think, from 
 this, that the throne mentioned in Matt. xxv. is some- 
 thing peculiar to the kingdom of Christ: but we know 
 from 1 Cor. xv. that a period shall arrive, when the king- 
 dom shall be delivered up to God, even the Father. 
 (v. 24.) So that it is not only capable of being proved, 
 that '* the throne of his glory," here mentioned, is not that 
 throne on which he is at present seated ; but that the pe- 
 riod when he shall be made manifest in glory upon it must be 
 prior to the time of his " delivering up" the kingdom : and I 
 am utterly at a loss what period to refer it to, if it be not the 
 time of the prosperity and glory and triumph of the Church 
 on earth, acknowledged by all to be foretold. The same is 
 further confirmed from verse 34 — " Then shall the King say 
 
 * Even Mr. Scott concludes, *' that the recovery of the Jews and the 
 whole House of Israel from their present dispersion, and future events 
 for which that nation is reserved," are predicted in this chapter ; and 
 " that it can only be accommodated to any of the past affairs of Israel or 
 of the Church." (See his Com. in loco.) 
 
 t See this argument ably handled by Mr. Cuninghame, in his " Crit- 
 ical Examination of Faber," p. 107. 
 
11)4 
 
 • unto them on his right hand. Come ye blessed of my Father 
 ' inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of 
 ' the world." This, from verse 31, is evidently the kingdom 
 of the Son of Man ; yet it is a kingdom which shall not be 
 inherited by his saints till ''He shall come in his glory ;" and 
 a kingdom which, we have just seen, is nevertheless to be 
 given up. When is this kingdom then to appear ? It is not now 
 — it cannot be in the ultimate supernal state — it can be only 
 in the intermediate period.* 
 
 Once more, there are two passages of Scripture with which 
 the place now under consideration remarkably harmonizes, if 
 the view I am taking be correct ; but which, again, I am at a 
 loss to reconcile with the ordinary interpretation. The first 
 is Psalm cii. 13 — 16. "Thou shalt arise and have mercy 
 ' upon Zion : for the time to favour her, yea, the set time is 
 ' come : for thy servants take pleasure in her stones, and 
 ' favour the dust thereof. So the heathen shall fear the name 
 
 * of the Lord, and all the kings of the earth thy glory. When 
 ' the Lord shall build up Zion he shall appear in his glory." 
 Now if this alludes to the restoration of the Jews, and the 
 literal rebuilding of Zion, it will be admitted, by all those 
 who believe in the national restoration of that people, that it 
 must be at the commencement of the Millennium. The mil- 
 lennial state cannot be accompanied by a universal recognition 
 of Christ, whilst the Jews remain in unbelief : it were absurd 
 to think of a millennium, in which they shall not bear a con- 
 spicuous part. But suppose we deny a literal restoration of 
 the Jews, as Jews, and believe that the building of Zion^, 
 spoken of in the Psalm, refers to a future glorious triumph of 
 the Church ; we must equally date it from the beginning of 
 the Millennium : for what sort of a millennium, I ask again, 
 would that be, in which the spiritual Zion, the Church of the 
 living God, should still remain trampled in the dust } Such 
 a notion cannot, I apprehend, comport wdth any view of the 
 Millennium at present entertained by Christians. It clearly 
 follows then, whichsoever view we take, that the Lord appears 
 in his glory at the beginning of the Millennium, And as the 
 
 * The expression, that it is a kingdom *^ pi'epared" for the saints, 
 (v. 34,) coupled with the obvious fact, that they have not yet possessed 
 it (or Altered on the inheritance) will further serve to prove, that the 
 " fire ])repared for the devil, &c." is a punishment not yet inflicted 
 cu him, when the accursed are cast into it. 
 
195 
 
 comhuj in glory, mentioned by Matthew, is equivalent to the 
 appearincj in glory of the Psalmist, so must this parable be 
 connected with the beginning of the Millennium. 
 
 The other passage is in Matt. xix. 28 — " Verily I say un- 
 
 * to you, that ye, which have followed me, in the regexera- 
 ' TiON, luhen the Son of Man. shall sit upon the throne of his 
 ' glory, ye also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the 
 ' twelve tribes of the children of Israel." It is too evident to 
 require proof, that the sitting upon the throne of glory, de- 
 cribed here and in Matthew xxv, must be the same ; w^ere 
 any further testimony wanted, we have it in a similar passage 
 of Luke XXII. 28 — 30 : " Ye are they which have continued 
 ' with me in my temptations ; and I appoint unto you a kixg- 
 
 * DOM, as my Father hath appointed unto me ; that ye may eat 
 ' and drink at my table in my kixguom, and sit on thrones 
 ' judging the twelve tribes of Israel." That which, in the 
 former passage, is referred to Christ's manifestation on the 
 throne, is here referred to his kingdom, as also to the kingdom 
 appointed to the saints ; which can be no other than the king- 
 dom which at verse 34 of the parable before us they are invited 
 to come and inherit. This then is to be at the regeneration, 
 the same as "the restitution of all things," — generally admitted 
 to be at the commencement of the ^Millennium ; dLn^. proved to 
 be so, by its being the period when the apostles shall sit on 
 thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel. 
 
 Having endeavoured to fix the period of the judgement here 
 described, I shall conclude with a few words respecting the 
 character of the judgement itself. I fully agree with Mr. 
 Cuninghame that the account of this judgement is parabolical, 
 rather than literal.^ It partakes more of the mixed character 
 than the generality of parables : yet the whole scope of Scrip- 
 ture forbids us to suppose, that the separation between the 
 righteous and the wicked will be effected by their being ac- 
 tually divided into two bands, on the right and left of Christ ; 
 nor can we suppose that either party will be addressed in the 
 precise words here related, or that they will simultaneously 
 reply as here described. It appears to me that the object is to 
 shew the great criterion of the judgement, — viz. whether we 
 have been influenced by love towards God and man. We 
 have seen that the lamp of the virgins represented their hope ; 
 
 e Critical Exam, of Faber, p. 114. 
 
196 
 
 and that their hope who had no oil was made ashamed, because 
 the love of God was not shed abroad in their hearts by the 
 Holy Ghost. f We have seen also, that the man who was con- 
 demned for hiding his talent, was influenced by carnal enmit)^ 
 towards God, whom he viewed as a hard master. And here, 
 I repeat, the sentence is pronounced, because the parties lacked 
 charity — that master grace, without which all idea of sancti- 
 fication and holiness is but delusion. 
 
 The parable is further useful in order to determine, how 
 true charity will act : for the deceitfulness of men's hearts 
 often leads them to rest in a false security in this respect. 
 The world talks of the cant of religion : but nothing is more 
 prevalent than cant and profession and hypocrisy and bigot- 
 ry among worldly and profane men. "Whatever is supposed 
 to be lovely and of good report the world is sure to lay 
 claim to ; arrogating all to themselves which they think worth 
 taking credit for ; and insinuating that the godly are the only 
 persons deficient of it. It is remarkable, that love, which is 
 the sum and perfection of Christianity, — the very highest of 
 all divine attainments, and that which the righteous are 
 generally diffident in concluding they possess, — is that, 
 nevertheless, which the worldly man rarely questions the ex- 
 istence of in his heart ! Thus here, when the Lord commends 
 the righteous for their works, performed for his sake, they can 
 hardly credit it — "When saw we thee, &c..^" whilst the 
 wicked seem just as confident and secure, that they have never 
 neglected Christ ! (r. 44.) 
 
 Now the judgement proceeds upon this principle ; that 
 whatsoever is done to the members of Christ, — out of regard 
 to his cause, or out of regard to them because they belong 
 to Christ, — is accepted of the Lord as done unto himself: 
 just as he assures us in another place, " He that re- 
 
 * ceiveth a prophet in the name of (or because he is) a 
 
 * prophet, shall receive a prophet's reward ; and he that 
 ' receiveth a righteous man in the name of a righteous man, 
 ' shall receive a righteous man's reward : and whosoever 
 
 * shall give to drink unto one of these little ones a cup of cold 
 ' water only in the name of a disciple, (that is, again, because 
 ' he belongs to Christ, g) verily I say unto you, he shall in no 
 ' wise lose his reward."^ The converse holds good also — " He 
 
 f Investigator, Vol. U. p. G2. g See Mark ix. 41. h Matt. x. 41, 42. 
 
197 
 
 ' that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he 
 
 * love God whom he hath not seen ?"i There is a close and 
 intimate connexion between the one and the other. " The first 
 
 * and great commandment is — Thou shalt love the Lord thy 
 
 * God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all 
 
 * thy mind. And the second is like unto it, — Thou shalt love 
 
 * thy neighbour as thyself. "^ " And this commandment have 
 
 * we from Him, — That he who loveth God love his brother 
 
 * also." 
 
 For the furtlier illustration of this point two particulars de- 
 mand especial notice. The one is, that the works commended 
 appear not only to proceed from an evangelical principle, but 
 to be of an evangelical character. Taking the whole literally, 
 even that which concerns the body, the feeding and clothing, 
 is done to the objects of this charity because they are of the 
 household of faith ; whilst other particulars necessarily imply, 
 that the concerns of the soul were kept in ^'iew. For the 
 main object of the righteous in visiting the " sick and impri- 
 soned," {V. 36.) is to impart spiritual consolation, and lead the 
 mind to rest on Him, who promises to be a father to the 
 afflicted.* 
 
 But, secondly, we must obser^'e that the persons, for whom 
 these various services are performed, include those whom the 
 the King calls "the least of these my brethren." Jesus tells 
 US, that his brethren are they that hear the word of God and 
 keep it ;! and doubtless this is the meaning of the phrase as it 
 respects Christ's brethren generally. But the least of these 
 must be those who are weak in faith, and very limited in their 
 spiritual knowledge and attainments ; yet, if they are on the 
 whole sanctified in spirit, " He is not ashamed to call them 
 brethren/'Ja This is plainly the case of the weak brother dis- 
 
 * I say, if we take the subject literally, because some might contend 
 for a figurative sense ; in which case spiritual things would be exclusirely 
 meant. For the imprisoned are those in bondage to Satan ; — the 
 strangers are such as are aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, with- 
 out hope and without God in the world ; — the sick are those whose souls 
 are diseased by sin, and need to be healed by divine grace ; — the naked 
 are the persons who are not yet clothed in the garments of Christ's 
 righteousness, and are therefore exposed to the wrath of God ; the 
 hungry and thirsty are those whose souls are so far awakened, as to 
 have vehement desires for spiritual food, 
 
 i 1 John III, 20. t Matt. xxii. 35—40, 1 Luke viii. 21. 
 
 ni Heb. ii. 11. 
 
 S 
 
198 
 
 coursed of in Rom. xiv ; which chapter, taken in connexion 
 with this subject, reminds us that our charity to the brethren 
 will, in order to be approved as genuine, call into exercise our 
 forbearance of spirit and lowliness of mind. We are not to 
 judge our brother; nor set him at nought, remembering that we 
 shall all stand before the judgement seat of Christ. ^^ Oh ! how 
 greatly we need to be put in remembrance of these tilings in 
 these days, when Christians do proceed to judge, and to un- 
 christianize, and to cast off as brethren, many of those who 
 hold fundamentals with them ; but whose prejudices or other 
 spiritual hindrances prevent them from seeing aUke in all 
 things. We must bear in mind, that many of these are per- 
 sons for whom Christ died,o and of whom the Apostle declares, 
 " they shall be holden up."P 
 
 But there is also a further demand to be made upon our evan- 
 gelical labors. For we must remember, that Christ's brethren 
 are the elect ; and that they are declared to be the people of 
 God, even before they have been led to receive the Gospel. 
 Thus, when St. Paul was labouring as a missionary at Corinth, 
 the Lord encouraged him to stay there a 5^ear and a half in the 
 midst of persecution, by assuring him, " that he had much peo- 
 ple in that city;"^ and in like manner is the believer now 
 encouraged to seek the lost sheep of the house of Israel, and 
 labour patiently for souls among the heathen. Though he 
 sees the world around him living in apparent enmity to God 
 and ignorance of Christ, still he hopes that there may be some 
 secret ones among them ; and he will continue labouring, in 
 the hope that in due time the Lord will make them manifest. 
 In the same spirit he visits the sick, and the poor, and the im- 
 prisoned, hoping to speak a word in season and lead them to 
 the knowledge of Him who can heal their souls, and enable 
 them to rejoice : and in the same spirit, those who do not feel 
 immediately called to teach others, or who consider themselves 
 not qualified for so doing, will make sacrifices and exertions in 
 other ways. These are the works in which those who have any 
 real concern for their own souls, will always feel a special inter- 
 est ; these are the works whereby we honour Christ ; and where- 
 by, when they are done with this view, we testify our love to his 
 person, liis name, and his cause. It is very evident, that the 
 
 n Heb. II. 10. Rom. xiv. 15. P Ibid. i\ 4. 
 
 q Acts xvm. 9 — 11. 
 
199 
 
 Lord appreciates a work done, or a sacrifice made, in propor- 
 tion as it has an immediate respect to his name and glory. 
 When the woman poured the precious ointment over him, 
 and was rebuked by Judas Iscariot, and then by the other dis- 
 ciples, because it was not sold and the money given to the 
 poor ; the Lord justified the woman, and concluded, — " for 
 the poor ye have always with you, but me ye have not al- 
 way."r There are thousands who are now like Judas in this 
 respect ; and when the cause of Christ is mentioned, excuse 
 themselves by talking of the poor, insisting that the money 
 raised for evangelical purposes ought rather to be expended 
 upon them. '• Not that they care for the poor ;" but are too 
 generally careless and indifferent in regard to the cause of 
 Christ. But it is still our duty to seize every opportunity of 
 testifying our love more directly to Christ, for the unspeakable 
 benefits we have received through him. The poor we have 
 always with us, and whensoever we will we may do them 
 good : but Christ's cause does not every day demand our sac- 
 rifices ; — we have not so constantly an opportunity of testify- 
 ing our zeal for him : — and blessed is he whose heart is ready, 
 when the occasion does present itself ! They shall inherit the 
 kingdom prepared for them from the beginning of the world ; 
 and having laboured to turn many to righteousness, they shall 
 shine as the stars for ever and ever.s 
 
 I notice, then, finally, that this judgement takes place on 
 those who have been evangelized — on those who have at least 
 had their love towards Christ put to the test, either by his 
 cause or through his members ;"*" but who have slighted, des- 
 pised, or neglected it. Alas ! I grieve when I consider, how 
 often we hear, among j^t'ofessors of evangehcal religion even, 
 cold hearted selfishness making excuse for not showing liber- 
 ality towards the cause of Christ ; who nevertheless can lavish 
 money upon their houses, their persons, or their pleasures ! 
 My heart is pained when I hear of this and that person, as is 
 so frequently the case, whose love has waxed cold ; who, hav- 
 ing perhaps once evinced some little attention to these mat- 
 ters, have gradually diminished and pared down their charities, 
 
 * This is again another reason why the Judgement cannot be that 
 which affects the heathen who have never heard of Christ. It is a judge- 
 ment on Christendom. 
 
 r Matt. XXVI. 11. s Dan, xii. 
 
200 
 
 tintil at last they have altogether given them up ! I fear again 
 for those, who, though they can sometimes give a little from 
 their superfluity, can never be urged to make the slightest 
 personal exertion, or exercise any self-denial, to promote the 
 glory of Christ ; but all is dead and apathetic ! If men did 
 but realize the truths of the Gospel, and consider seriously, 
 how the Lord will judge them according to the state of their 
 affections towards him, as evinced in this life, surely their 
 conduct would be different ! But where there is no love, there 
 is no faith ; and therefore we are brought to the obvious con- 
 clusion, that it is after all the unbeliever only, who is cast in- 
 to the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels ! 
 
 Abdiel. 
 
201 
 
 Essay XIV. 
 
 THE LAST DAYS. 
 
 2 Tim. III. 1 — 5. " This know also, that in the last days 
 
 * perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their oicn 
 
 * selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers , disobedient to 
 
 * parents, unthankful, unholy, icithout natural affection, truce- 
 ' breakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those 
 ' that are good, traitors, heady, high-minded, lovers of pleasures 
 
 * more than lovers of God ■ having a form of godliness, but de- 
 ' nyijig the power thereof; — from such turn away." 
 
 I now enter on the examination of a second prophecy, con- 
 taining in it certain characteristics of the last days ; pur- 
 posing, as I proceed, to institute the inquiry', if they are clearly 
 applicable to the present times. I must first, however, make 
 a few prefatory observations. 
 
 An important question has been raised ; ^^z. — What are we 
 to understand by the last days, mentioned in the passage be- 
 fore us ? It has been shown (and I think successfully) that 
 this phrase is applied in Heb. i. 2, to the period in which the 
 Apostle wrote ; but it has likewise been proved, with equal 
 clearness, I think, that it more especially and extensively be- 
 longs to the winding up of the Christian dispensation. Now 
 I conceive the dispute, in one respect, to be of little moment ; 
 for it appears to me that the last days of every dispensation or 
 period of trial are characterized in a somewhat similar man- 
 ner ; since the Lord generally gives a people up to hardness, 
 to make manifest the utter apostasy and depravit}' of the hu- 
 man heart, before he signally inflicts vengeance : the aspect 
 of that depravity always deriving a certain expression and tinge 
 of color from the peculiarities of the several dispensations un- 
 der which men have been placed. Thus the earth became 
 filled with violence, and all flesh had corrupted his way upon 
 the earth, during the hundred and twenty years that the long 
 suiFering of God waited in the days of Noah. a So the nations 
 of the Amorites, whom the Israelites were commissioned to 
 punish, were first left to fill up the measure of their iniquity .^^ 
 Many characteristics, similar to those in Timothy, may like- 
 
 a Gen. VI. t) Gen. xv. 16. 
 
 T 
 
202 
 
 wise be found in the Prophets, as applicable to the state of 
 Israel immediately previous to the captivity. And doubtless 
 the same character was manifested in those Jev;s v/ho perished 
 or were scattered at the final overthrow of their polity. They 
 were judicially left " to fill up the measure of their fathers ;"c 
 which the Apostle testifies they did in his time *' alway, be- 
 cause the wrath was come upon them to the uttermost. "t^ So 
 that, I observe, if it should be found, on pursuing our inquiry, 
 that the characteristics mentioned in this passage of Timothy 
 are clearly discernible in our days, (which I venture to declare 
 they are,) it will signify but little, in one sense, whether the 
 prophecy were specially intended for these days : it will be 
 manifest, that perilous times are impending ; that the nations 
 of Christendom are given up to hardness ; and that wrath is, 
 consequently, about to fall upon them to the uttermost. 
 
 But, secondly, an examination of the context (which em- 
 braces the whole remainder of the chapter, and part of the 
 next,) will perhaps lead to the conclusion, that it certainly 
 must refer to the last days of this present dispensation. For 
 immediately after the enumeration of the special characteristics 
 contained in these five first verses, Paul points out to Timothy, 
 for his avoidance, some who were " of this sort .-" (verses 
 6 — 8,) not of this sort as exhibiting the evil fruits previously 
 mentioned, (for surely Timothy would have discernment to 
 know men who were proud, boasters, blasphemers, &c.) but 
 men who were then of a more specious character ; yet betra}^- 
 ing a spirit, which, under certain circumstances, would speedily 
 be matured to this fulness of iniquity. For at verse 13 he says, 
 that evil men, and these more specious seducers, should wax 
 2uorse and icorse, decei-vdng others and being themselves de- 
 ceived ; and in verses 3 and 4 of the next chapter he foretels, 
 " that the time will come when they will not endure sound 
 doctrine, but after their own lusts should heap to themselves 
 teachers, having itching ears, and turn away their ears from 
 the truth, and be turned to fables." Therefore, having dwelt 
 (chap. III. 14 — 17) on the sufficiency and importance of the 
 holy Scriptures, he solemnly charges Timothy, (chap. iv. 1, 2,) 
 " before God and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the 
 quick and the dead at his cqjpearing and his Mngdom, (which 
 may to some sufiiciently indicate what period of time was in 
 the Apostle's mind,) to preach this word :" leaving it on record 
 c Matt. XXIII. 32. d 1 Thess. ii. K'^. 
 
203 
 
 for us, as an admonition, if we imagine we perceive the au- 
 thority of Scripture to be loosened in our da^^s, that we are 
 so much the more bound to continue to hold it up " in sea- 
 son and out of season." 
 
 This additional description of the apostates may be further 
 useful to us present!}', in determining the characteristics them- 
 selves : my object however in noticing it at present is, to draw 
 attention to the fact, that the characteristics were only in an 
 incipient state in the time of Paul and Timothy, and that 
 whatever related to their further developement was future : 
 just as the latent principles of the Mystery of Iniquity did al- 
 ready work, but were not yet fully developed ; something at 
 that time " letting" or preventing them. " Perilous times (he 
 says) shall come ;" therefore those special times of which he 
 speaks were not then arrived. " Men shall be lovers of their 
 own selves, covetous," &c. " The time icill (or shall) come, 
 when they will not endure sound doctrine." Now the Gospels 
 make it very evident, that the Jews were already in that state 
 when they would not endure sound doctrine ; and when their 
 covetousness, blasphemy, &c. together with the form of god- 
 liness, were plainly manifest -.^ besides which, it is evident from 
 the context, that the allusion is to evil men and seducers within 
 the christian church, and therefore cannot at all relate to those 
 who altogether reject chiistianity. Therefore this must ail re- 
 fer to a state which was yet to occur to the gentile Christians ; 
 which is the more probable when we consider, that the warn- 
 ing proceeds from the apostle of the Gentiles to a gentile bishop 
 over a gentile region ; who therefore could have no very direct 
 interest in being warned of perilous times, which were to hap- 
 pen and to be limited to the Jews of Palestine. 
 
 I would yet make two or three very brief observations by 
 way of preface. 
 
 First, in seeking for these marks of apostasy in our own day, 
 we must observe, that the distinguishing circumstance is, their 
 being found coupled with a form of godliness. This is the 
 distinguishing symptom (the proper diagnostic, as physicians 
 would call it) of the complaint : otherwise there is scarcely a 
 mark here enumerated, which might not be found among men 
 unacquainted with the Gospel ; as would appear from Rom. r. 
 29 — 31. It is enough likewise if we look for these marks in 
 
 « John viTi. 47 ; Acts vii. 51, 57 ; Lk. xvi. 14 ; xxii. f)5 ; Matt. xxm. 
 
204 
 
 our own nation generally.^ For we still must be called a chris- 
 tian nation, as to the name and form, however we may have 
 departed in the spirit : the great bulk are still dedicated to God 
 in baptism ; and there are but few who do not at least wish 
 to be thought christians, yea and better christians (they would 
 insinuate) than those whom they despise. Secondly, it would 
 not be satisfactor}' to point out these characteristics in trifling 
 matters only, nor as they merely distinguish a few individuals ; 
 for in that degree they have ever existed in the Church. I 
 must show them as becoming manifest in great masses of so- 
 ciety, and in striking features ; though we must still bear in 
 mind " that evil men and seducers are to wax worse and 
 worse," and consequently that the characteristics M'ill become 
 more strongly marked and prevalent, and the times therefore 
 more perilous, every successive year.f 
 
 1 . To proceed then with the first characteristic — " Men shall 
 be LOVERS OF THEIR owx SELVES :" in other words, they shall 
 be selfish. We shall in several particulars be enabled to illus- 
 trate this passage by a reference to St. Paul's description of 
 
 * I had long ago taken the view here advanced, and had unfolded it in 
 the course of my public ministry. I could not however consign it to the 
 press, without feehng a desire to peruse Mr. Irving's work, called " The 
 Last Days,^'' founded on the same passage of Scripture. In many respects 
 we remarkably coincide ; but it is in those instances in which I think he 
 deviates from his own plan. His object is to aflSjs: all these marks upon the 
 evangelical religion of the present day ; in doing which both his exposi- 
 tion and application of the subject are often forced ; and he is continu- 
 ally obliged to change his point of attack. At the same time, I acknow- 
 ledge that he says many just things against professors of evangelical 
 religion, whether they be relevant to the point in hand or not. I hope 
 to derive from them individual benefit to myself, and wish that others 
 could he induced to read them without partiality and without prejudice : 
 for though there are several matters in which doctrinally I cannot agree 
 with Mr. Ir%-ing ; yet I am persuaded there is a great deal of practical 
 home truth in his work, which every candid christian, especially if he he 
 a minister, woidd find it to his edification seriously to weigh. 
 
 t I could not have supposed, that in the short space of six months, 
 which is the time that has elapsed since my last paper on this prophecy 
 appeared in the Investigator, events woidd so rapidly have justified 
 the view I have taken, and given an aspect of decision to many of the 
 characteristics, such as none scarcely can mistake. I am compelled like- 
 wise, in justice to Mr. Irvine, to qualify what I have written in the pre- 
 ceding note, and to own with grief, that in numerous bodies of evangehcal 
 professors the spirit recently manifested has been such, as to justify 
 many of iiis statements. 
 
205 
 
 charity, or love, in 1 Cor. xiii. For indeed the marks enume- 
 rated in Timothy are the very reverse of those blessed fruits 
 produced, when the love of God is shed abroad in the heart 
 by the Holy Ghost ; and they bespeak, that the persons in 
 whom they are found, whatever may be their profession, are 
 altogether destitude of real sanctification, and will constitute 
 a race of whom our Lord may testify, (as he did to the Jews,) 
 " I know you, that ye have not the love of God in you."f 
 " Charity (then) sceketh not her oivn ;" these, on the contrary, 
 who are lovers of their own seh'es, look every man on their 
 own things and not also on the things of others. ? But, alas ! 
 to what period of the Church shall we look, and not find lam- 
 entable proofs, that those who have the form of godliness are 
 seeking their own ? St. Paul testifies, even of his own primi- 
 tive age of Christianity, that he had only found one decided ex- 
 ception to it; declaring of Timothy, "For I have no man 
 likeminded, who will naturally (or genuinely yr^/o-twe) care for 
 your state : for all seek their own, not the things which are 
 Jesus Christ's ! ^ This selfishness is indeed so deeply im- 
 bedded in our very nature, and so insensibly and subtilely 
 communicates a bias, that the experience of the most godly has 
 testified, that in proportion as they acquire self knowledge, so 
 do they detect self love, artfully insinuating or endeavouring 
 to conceal itself, where they had least suspected it. It is in- 
 deed well placed in the front of this evil catalogue ; for out of 
 it, as if it were only another name for the very core or heart 
 of man, proceed all those evils which follow in this passage, 
 together with those corrupt fruits which our Lord (Matt. xv. 
 19) declares come forth from the heart. It appears to me 
 therefore, that it is no ordinary manifestation of selfishness 
 which is intended in the text ; but that reference is made therein 
 to a period when those guards and restraints imposed upon it 
 by public opinion, and by human laws and institutions, shall 
 be despised, and when circumstances shall reveal it in its real 
 and native character, which is — axti-social. 
 
 It needs then only to refer to notorious facts, and to the 
 general opinion of reflecting men, w^ithout citing particulars, 
 to prove that the bonds of society are every where loosening, 
 and are ready to fall asunder. The declaration of Sir C. 
 Wetherell.i " that aU Europe at present is in a state of abso- 
 
 f Luke XI, 42 ; Jolin v. 42. S Phil. ii. 4. ^^ Phil. ii. 20, 21. 
 J Debate on the Reform Bill, March 2, 1831, 
 
206 
 
 lute dissolution," has been echoed by many eminent public 
 men since, and is daily being illustrated by facts. Whence 
 arise our perplexities, our factions, our animosities ; whence 
 the burnings and outrages and breakings of machinery ; 
 whence the combinations of various classes against their 
 rulers or employers for sinister ends ; but from an anti- social 
 spirit ? But whence, again, has it come to manifest itself in 
 this manner ? — It is because men in their various situations in 
 life have lost sight altogether of the interests of others, being 
 lovers only of themselves. That common patriotism and be- 
 nevolence, which, in the absence of higher principles and mo- 
 tives, have led men in some degree to think of each other, 
 has been pretty near extinguished by the increasing lust of 
 gold, or pleasure, or power, or some other object. Self-love 
 will itself sometimes appear enlightened, and aim at more 
 firmly securing its own gratification by attending to the wants 
 and interests of others ; but in our age it seems to have been 
 given up effectually to its native blindness, and by a short- 
 sighted policy to have first grasped at its own. I speak not 
 of individuals, (there are yet, thank God ! many splendid ex- 
 ceptions,) but of society in the aggregate, when I say, that 
 eveiy class seems to have been bent, and still to be bent, upon 
 advancing itself, by oppressing the grade immediately below 
 it. In commerce, the large consumer or purchaser of various 
 articles grinds down the manufacturer in his price. The 
 manufacturer submits to this, because he calculates upon hav- 
 ing the opei'ative at his mercy, and hopes to reimburse himself 
 by reducing his wages. The landholder grasps at the highest 
 price he can obtain for rent, affecting to be unusually liberal 
 by returning a per-centage, without caring whether his tenant 
 be prospering or losing by his land. The tenant in his turn 
 reduces the wages of the labourer, until he is reduced to a 
 pittance insufficient to support him ; and then both the la- 
 bourer and the artisan, who are similarly circumstanced, com- 
 bine against their masters, or destroy their factories, or burn 
 their stores, or (which is the more common procedure) are 
 openly aiming at political revolution, as the supposed cure for 
 all their miseries. In the management of the parochial poor 
 also, I can speak from a knowledge of what passes in many 
 parishes ; that the object on the one side is generally to dis- 
 own the poor, or to dole out to them as little as possible, and 
 to make that little irksome for them to receive : whilst, on the 
 
207 
 
 other side, the boisterous poor do what tliey can to impose 1)y 
 craftiness ; the great mass having become so insensible to the 
 feehng formally prevalent, of wishing to keep off the parish, 
 that it is rare to find an individual in whom it still remains. 
 Thus it has come to pass, that those in subordinate stations 
 look up to their superiors as enemies ; and those in the higher 
 ranks look down upon their inferiors in like manner. The 
 bond which united noble and peasant, landlord and tenant, 
 master and servant, appears to be broken ; and those who must 
 be governed view their rulers with sullenness and mistrust. 
 The same might be shown in regard to relationships and par- 
 ties in the body politic, considered more immediately ; and it 
 may be equally traced to conflicting interests and abuses which 
 have grown up and been persisted in through the selfishness 
 of man, until it has thus manifested itself in dissocial feeling, 
 threatening ^;eri7 to the established order of things."^ 
 
 I shall not further enlarge here on this head, because, as it 
 is the root of the other evils, every remaining characteristic 
 will serve further to develope it : and, indeed, most of these 
 particulars will reflect light on subsequent ones, and receive 
 further illustration from them. 
 
 2. Covetous — or, literally, lovers of money, (^iXarjyvpoi, 
 
 * Since I fii'st published tlie above, the following has been printed in 
 the preface to " A Letter" by the Rev. W. Anderson to the Author of 
 *' Millennarianism Indefensible." It is extracted from " a late No. of 
 the London Courier :" the preface being published in Feb. 1834. " The 
 manner in which the different classes of society are now assailing each 
 other on the score of wealth — they considering no longer, that their in- 
 terest is one and identical — and the common name of country having 
 lost for almost all classes its binding power ; the farmers appealing 
 against the manufacturers, and the manufacturer and artisan attacking 
 the agriculturist ; the masters combining against the workmen, and the 
 men entering into combination against them ; the present conflict of al- 
 most aU classes one with another, as to which shall have the largest share 
 of the joint produce ; is for us a subject of rather painful reflection ; 
 while the gradual wearing out oi j^atriotism — the disuse even of the term, 
 except in mockery — and the individualization which is going on in every 
 part of society, make us ready to forebode much coming evil. The com- 
 munity is scarcely now the object of any man's care, except indeed those 
 demagogues who seek to make a profit by talking of it ; and every num- 
 erous class in the state, forgetful of the common interest, is only anxir 
 ous to obtain wealth by invading the rights and privileges of some other. 
 We are no longer in fact a community. We are only individuals and 
 classes liying in the same island, each pursuing his own good in his own 
 manner." 
 
^08 
 
 This the apostle declares also to be a root of all evil ,-J for it 
 moves men to many sinful acts in order to obtain it, and, 
 when possessed, brings with it many hurtful and foolish lusts, 
 which drown men in destruction and perdition. k But though 
 the love of money is thus a root of evil, it is itself nourished 
 and excited by a still deeper motive, and that is selfishness. 
 Men are rarely lovers of money for the mere sake of the metal 
 itself; that is a species of disease or insanity which ever}' 
 worldling reprobates, and with too many their notions of co- 
 vetous men are thus limited to the miser and the churl. Men 
 seek gold and other valuables for the sake of ministering to 
 their lusts, conceiving the possession of it essential to the in- 
 dulgence of the flesh, and to the enjoyment of that power 
 which self love inclines them to covet ; and covetousness, like 
 selfishness, is, in this view of it, so prevalent, that again we 
 are at a loss for a period in which religious profession has been 
 altogether free from it. There is, however, this remarkable 
 difference in the present times, compared with others ; that, 
 however covetousness was latent in the heart, it formerly did 
 not manifest itself as now ; being pent up within such bounds 
 as to pass for sober industry and prudence, and the proper de- 
 sire to provide things honest in the sight of all men. But in 
 these days men are not content with a livelihood ; all are 
 " making haste to get rich" and to be independent, as it is 
 erroneously called ; and hence the rage for speculation, on the 
 one hand, and the discontent with ordinary prosperity only on 
 the other. Men often call themselves ruined when reduced to 
 limited means ; though they still are able to do much more 
 than to provide that food and raiment with which Christians 
 ought to be content.! This is a sufficiently general and marked 
 feature of the present age, as contrasted with former times, 
 without going into the detail of the particular fruits it has 
 produced. Suffice it to say, that the money-getting spirit is 
 now so active, that it converts all things into a medium of ob- 
 taining it, whether profane or sacred ; so that indeed a minis- 
 ter of the Gospel of any talent cannot preach in the present 
 day, but he has reason to expect some hireling of the press 
 may be before him, desecrating the sabbath, the temple, the 
 worship, the Gospel of Christ, by pirating his sermon for gain : 
 thus combining covetousness with the form of godliness. Men 
 are found ready to sell any thing for gain ; no matter what 
 J 1 Tim. VI. 10. 1^ Ibid. v. 9. 1 1 Tim. vi. 8. 
 
209 
 
 base passion it panders to, or what righteous principle it as- 
 sails : thev "will disperse through the country the filthy ob- 
 scenities of the print shop, or the atrocious blasphemies of 
 Carlisle, or any thing else that they dare — and professors of 
 godliness even will justifj'- it by the infidel excuse, that it is 
 only " in the way of trade .-" as if trade were some deity whose 
 laws were paramount, and must be obej'ed rather than the 
 Lord Jehovah. 
 
 A new indication of this covetousness has also recently 
 manifested itself in the increasing resistance to tithes, church 
 rates, and taxes. Demagogues could not succeed in drawing 
 into their schemes the numbers they have done, were it not 
 that they appeal to a covetous or avaricious principle within 
 the natural heart, which too readily responds to the call. 
 Agitation of this kind has extended into districts apparently 
 the least likely to be put into commotion ; and instances could 
 by the WTiter be named of men, who have passed for quiet in- 
 offensive churchmen, who know and acknowledge the justice 
 and propriety of what they pay, but who, nevertheless, in the 
 hope of getting rid of a rate or a tithe payment, will join the 
 ranks of the most ungodly radicals. I would not be supposed 
 an advocate for the continuance of tithes and church rates ; 
 on the contrary, I most cordially desire the abolition of both. 
 But I cannot shut my eyes to the fact, that professors of reli- 
 gion among the dissenters are endeavouring to accomplish 
 that object by unchristian measures ; and that they readily 
 combine with the most ungodly scum of parishes for this pur- 
 pose — the link of union, in the case of the latter, being purely 
 and manifestly covetousness. 
 
 It is the same " \Tjlgar economic mania," "^ which not only 
 would reform abuses, but aims also to destroy many truly 
 liberal and generous institutions in the land ; and where it 
 cannot destroy, would so pare down the resources, as to render 
 them inefiicient. But we shall see more of this spirit also, 
 as we proceed with other particulars. 
 
 3. Boasters. — But " charity vaunteth not itself." Selfish- 
 ness manifests itself in two ways. The first is by conceitedness, 
 which leads men to assume greatly to themselves in the way 
 of opinion, and vain gloriously to seek admiration of others ; 
 
 * See the speech of Dr. Chalmers, delivered in January last in the 
 Edinburgh Presbytery, against the abolition of the collegiate churches. 
 
210 
 
 the other is by coveiousness, \vhich leads them unduh^ to aim 
 at appropriating to themselves the means of " fulfilling the 
 desires of the flesh and of the mind." And here I may ob- 
 serve, that, in cultivated and talented minds, temporal advan- 
 tages are often despised for the sake of obtaining a greater 
 measure of popularity or reputation ; and that in vulgar minds 
 human opinion is often despised, for the sake of grasping at 
 some apparent ^vorldly advantage. So that one only of these 
 fruits may visibl}- predominate, and yet the individual be clearly 
 under the influence of self.shncss. We have considered covet- 
 ousness : the other branch, M-hich here falls under the denom- 
 ination of hoastiny, remains. 
 
 I might first take up the latent principle, and shew that the 
 present age is notorious for the way in which it courts public 
 opinion, openly professing to be guided by it, and to be seeking 
 it as its chief reward. It is not now the ordinary demagogue 
 who affects to be thus influenced ; men, who are in actual en- 
 joyment of that power which the demagogue secretly covets, 
 profess to recognise no other law ; under the influence of which 
 they often put aside the law of Christ, the principles of the 
 constitution under which they live, and recognised maxims of 
 justice, and surrender all to the humor of the people. In all 
 which the jDeople first assume and arrogate to themselves the 
 power of majesty, yea of deity, {hoasting themselves to be the 
 sovereign people !J and secondly those who truckle to this au- 
 thority are participators in and chief promoters of their guilt. 
 
 But I rather pass on to more obvious indications that we are 
 boasters ; and, trul}^ as a nation, we are become remarkable 
 in this respect, having entirely lost the simplicity and modesty 
 of our ancestors. There is always a something in which we 
 are nationally vaunting ourselves over others, and in which we 
 impiously seem to rest our confidence, to the dishonor of Al- 
 mighty God. To day it is our wooden walls, to morrow it is 
 British bayonets, the next day it is public credit, then we 
 •* boast ourselves in the multitude of our riches," then of our 
 industr}^ inventions, manufactures. Other nations are equally 
 disposed to vaunt, in proportion as they imbibe the infidel or 
 revolutionary spirit ; and Europe is in various parts pufted uj) 
 with the notion of the march of intellect, looking back upon all 
 that has preceded us with contempt, and viewing the men of 
 antiquity as pigmies in comparison. This is especially the case 
 now in regard to those who lived at the time of the Reforma- 
 
211 
 
 tion. The Reformers were till lately looked back upon with 
 reverence : now they are viewed as narrow-minded bigots ; and 
 all which they laboured to build up the present generation 
 would pull down. The religious public does not escape the 
 contagion, but vaunts itself with equal self-complacency 
 on the superior j^i^ty of this age, and on the multitude of our 
 religious and benevolent institutions and charities. 
 
 There is one especial feature of the present day, which affects 
 literary men in particular ; and, included among them, a great 
 number of religious persons ; at which circumstance I have 
 often greatly v/ondered : I mean the modern practice of ex- 
 tracting commendations of their works from reviews, and then 
 publishing these encomiums throughout the country. For- 
 merly an official testimonial of the censor was occasionally 
 published, as a justification of the imprimatur ; but now we see 
 •\ffixed to an advertisement half a score extracts from various 
 reviews, which often become stitched up with the work itself 
 in a second edition. These things I know are most commonly 
 done by the booksellers who purchase the copj^right of such 
 works ; nor need we wonder greatly at mere worldly men do- 
 ing it themselves ; but surely it is unbecoming in the christian ! 
 We should at once set that man down as vain-glorious, who, 
 when he met his friend in the street, should begin to tell him 
 what this person or that writer had said favourable of his book 
 or of himself; and I cannot see that it makes any difference, as 
 to the principle of the thing, that such encomiums are printed 
 instead of spoken :* it is only bowing, again, to " the ivay of 
 
 * If pious men were acquainted with all the secrets of reviewing, it 
 would inspire them with disgust at the system altogether. Some book- 
 sellers are proprietors of reviews or periodicals for the express purpose 
 of puffing and commending their own publications. An author may have 
 a friendly review also inserted in some publications by dint of interest or 
 2}a7/ ; and these are not imfrequently penned by the author himself, or by 
 the bookseller who is chiefly interested in the work. Some will likewise 
 make garbled extracts from an independent and unfavourable review, 
 just taking so much of a passage as suits the purpose, and leaving out 
 the context which makes the whole condemnatory. For example : — a 
 review commences by declaring, that such a work has long been a desi- 
 deratum ; but proceeds to show that the publication in question does not 
 supply it. The puffer however merely extracts the words — " Such a 
 work has long been a desideratum." It is mere accident which has en- 
 abled the writer to detect some flagrant instances of this kind : for it is 
 presumed that people in general will never take the trouble to compare 
 the extract with the review — were it to be generally done, it would often, 
 I fear, be not only boasting, but a lying boast. 
 
212 
 
 trade' — to that Mammon that exalts itself against God. But I 
 -write this with great deference, — more especially when I con- 
 sider that some excellent men have fallen into the practice. 
 
 The great evil of boasting is, that it is an expression of 
 self dependance and complacency ; whereas the trust of those, 
 who profess to be w^orshipers of God, should unquestionably 
 be in the Lord Jehovah, in whom also thej^ are called on to 
 delight themselves. The word, which is in the original trans- 
 lated boasters, is but of rare occurrence, in any form of it, in 
 the Scriptures ; but in the Ej)istle of St. James it is specially 
 applied to this habitual forgetfulness of our entire dependance 
 upon God ; and the passage will therefore serve to confirm 
 my general argument. — " Go to, now, ye that say. To-day or 
 
 * to morrow we will go into such a city, and continue there a 
 
 * year, and buy and sell and get gain ; whereas ye know not 
 
 * what shall be on the morrow, &c. For that ye ought to say, 
 
 * If the Lord will we shall live and do this or that. But now 
 ' ye rejoice in your boastings : {uXa'Coveiaiq) all such rejoic- 
 ing is evil.">^ And thus it is that we have proceeded from 
 boasting of the exploits of our fleets and armies, &c. until the 
 very form of recognising the providence of God in our national 
 afl:airs has been systematically omitted, and has formed a pe- 
 culiar national feature of these last da3^s. 
 
 I shall have occasion to return to this subject again, in the 
 course of this exposition ; since (as I have before observed) 
 there is a remarkable connexion in the characteristics. I pass 
 on now therefore to the next head. 
 
 4. Proud. — Various expressions are translated to signify 
 pride, another of which wdll presently occur in this description 
 of the last day apostates. The one before us is met with but 
 rarely in the New Testament, and not at all under circum- 
 stances which fix its meaning. But in the Septuagint trans- 
 lation of the Old Testament it is of frequent occurrence ; and 
 in several instances the context leads to the conclusion, that it 
 is used in reference to those who arrogantly oppose their own 
 will to the commandments and precepts of God, and scornfully 
 deride such as would obey the Lord's will. Thus in Nehe- 
 miah ix. 16, it is said of the Israelites, that " they and our 
 ' fathers dealt proudly, and hardened their necks, and heark- 
 ' ened not to thy commandments, and refused to obey, &c." 
 Again in Psalm cxix. — " Thou hast rebuked the cursed proud 
 '" James iv. K3 — 16". 
 
213 
 
 * which do err from thy commandments." (v. 21.) " The 
 ' proud have had me greatly in derision : yet have I not de- 
 ' clined from thy law." (v. 51.) " The proud have forged a 
 ' lie against me : but I v»-ill keep thy precepts with my whole 
 ' heart." And in Jeremiah xliii. 2 it is written — " Then 
 ' spake Azariah and Johanan, and all the proud men, saying 
 ' unto Jeremiah, Thou speakest falsely, &c." In this place 
 therefore the term does not so much point to any definite evil, 
 as to that general principle of rebeUion or contempt of the 
 authority of God, wliich is indeed at the root and foundation 
 of all habitual sin. And I am inclined to think, that, in this 
 passage of the Epistle to Timothy, the expression is not so 
 much intended to describe any one specific or distinct feature ; 
 but to shew, that in their whole character (every particular of 
 which m-ight be shewn to be the fruit of pride,) they manifest 
 themselves to be " the proud" so often mentioned in Scrip- 
 ture, and whose doom is so frequently declared.* 
 
 It would be no difficult matter to point to instances, in which 
 multitudes in the present day have manifested their contempt 
 of the Most High. How has the Sabbath (for example) come 
 to be despised and trampled on, first on the continent, and 
 now here ! So much indeed has it been neglected, that a 
 legislative enactment is rendered necessary, in order to bring 
 back the nation to decorous conduct on the Lord's da3\ And 
 the discussion on the subject, though the measure has not yet 
 been fully canvassed, has already elicited much that is awfully 
 significant in reference to our subject. Very decided rancour 
 and hostility have been expressed by two of our legislators, 
 both of whom have nevertheless avowed a zeal of Christianity 
 on other occasions ; thus shewing, how the form and profes- 
 sion of godliness may exist notwithstanding. But the more 
 remarkable circumstance is that numbers of individuals, who 
 make a profession of evangelical religion, do quite deprecate 
 the thought of promoting such a measure out of deference to 
 the command of God : they advocate it solely on the grounds 
 of expediency, that men may not be compelled to work ; and 
 it is greatly to be apprehended, that it will be altogether re- 
 jected, or that some half measure will be adopted, which will 
 virtually yield ground to Satan, and legalize, as it w^ere, many 
 
 * See among othei- places 1 Sam. ii,3 ; Psalm xxxi. 18 — 23 ; Isaiah 
 II. 10—12 ; Mai. IV. 1 ; Luke i. 51. 
 
214 
 
 things, ^vliich arc now felt to be wrong in principle even b}- 
 those who are guilty of them.* 
 
 So far indeed has man proceeded in lifting up the pride of 
 his heart against God, and saying * ' Who is the Lord that I 
 should obey him," that in our own country a reference to the 
 name of God and to the principles of Christianity in legislative 
 discussions has been repeatedly deprecated by statesmen of 
 influence ; whilst in a neighbouring nation it is too evident, 
 that a principle of infidelity prevails^ which has practically set 
 aside the Deity altogether from public matters, and constituted 
 man the sovereign ruler and judge over himself.t It has in- 
 deed become a matter of ordinary occurrence for men at their 
 public dinners to toast the soybr-eigs jjeople ! for truly " the 
 ' harp and the viol, the tabret and pipe, and wine are in their 
 ' feasts : but they regard not the work of the Lord, neither 
 ' consider the operation of his hands. "i^ Yea, our political 
 writers go so far in exsdting themselves against God as to say, 
 vox popidi vox Dei — the voice of the people is the voice of God 
 — whereby this sovereign people is as God showing himself 
 that he is God. But various particulars, which evince the 
 
 * At this time, May lOtli, 1833, the bill for the better observance of 
 the Sabbath has only been read a first time. [Since the preceding note 
 was published, that bill has been rejected, and its christian advocate lam- 
 pooned and caricatured throughout the country. Another bill has been 
 introduced by different hands, founded on principles, which would in 
 reahty legalize much desecration and neglect of the Sabbath. The un- 
 daunted advocate of the former bill is attempting to pass a similar law 
 this session; but, though I pretend not to be a prophet, I cannot hope 
 that the men of this generation wiU give heed to any thing really ef- 
 ficient. The Lord grant it may be otherwise 1 At the same time, it is 
 not impossible that many may be influenced by respect to " iht form of 
 godliness," who deny '\\.& poicer, that being the character of these last-day 
 apostates ; and never indeed was there a people more rigid and scru- 
 pulous concerning the external observance of the Sabbath, than that very 
 generation which crucified the Lord of Glory. Feb. 1834.] 
 
 -j- In considering the present subject, I am one of those who feel 
 tTiorov.rjMy persuaded, notwithstanding the scepticism of some of the 
 more recent students of prophecy, that the French Revolution, is the era 
 to which we must look back for the beginning of the manifestation of the 
 last day signs. In the earlier ages of this mighty revolution (which is 
 only now in progress) the tokens of ungodly pride and rebellion have 
 been more rife and conspicuous than they may be just at present : but I 
 doubt not the latent principle pervades as much as ever, and wiU pre- 
 sently be still more broadly marked. 
 
 " Isa. V. 12. 
 
215 
 
 rebellion or contempt entertained by men or Jehovah, v/ill 
 fall under consideration present!}'-. — The next head indeed will 
 further illustrate the subject : viz. that men are in the last 
 days to be — 
 
 5. Blasphemers. Various kinds of blasphemy are men- 
 tioned in the Scriptures ; I greatly fear the present age must 
 be admitted to excel in all of them. In regard to religious 
 blasphemy, it consists, first, in a direct and open speaking 
 against the revelation or ordinances of God ; and, secondly, 
 in the avowal of heretical doctrines, indirectly calculated to 
 degrade the glory of the triune Jehovah, and the Gospel of 
 his grace. But " to speak evil of dignities" is likewise blas- 
 phemy ; more especialh' against kings, who, spite of the in- 
 lidel jargon of modern times, are the Lord's anointed ; and 
 their persons therefore, as the types and representatives of the 
 Christ, are to be had in reverence.* What period then, in 
 the history of Christendom, can compare in this respect with 
 the last forty years } We have seen one entire nation openly 
 revelling and glorying in atheism, sedulously destroying the 
 Scriptures of God, and proceeding to worship a prostitute 
 who personified the goddess of reason ! A free course has 
 latterly been given in this country also to infidel and se- 
 ditious writings ; (for vain man, in the pride of his heart, will 
 seek to be wiser than God ;) and the publication of blasphe- 
 mies of all descriptions is now therefore tolerated upon 
 principle. t And whilst apathy thus leads some to give in- 
 
 * See 1 Sam. xxiv. 6, 10 ; xxvi. 9, 16 ; 2 Sam. i. 14—16 ; &c. 
 especially in regard to speaking against them, see 2 Sam. xix. 21. Isa. 
 XLV. 1 shews that Gentile kings are viewed as the Lord's anointed, as 
 well as Israelitish. 
 
 t The distinction between toleratiag men's private opinions, and allow- 
 ing the publication of them, is well put by Dean Swift in an admirable 
 satire on our modern politics, conveyed through the king of Brobdinag 
 to Gulliver. — " He laughed at my odd kind of arithmetic (as he was 
 pleased to call it) in reckoning the numbers of our people by a computa- 
 tion drawn from the several sects among us in religion and politics. He 
 said he knew no reason, why those who entertain opinions prejudicial to 
 the public should he obliged to change, or should not le obliged to 
 CONCEAL them. And as it was tyranny in any government to require 
 the first, so it was weakness not to enforce the second : for a man may 
 be allowed to keep poisons in his closet, but not to vend them about for 
 cordials y 
 
216 
 
 direct countenance to this offence,* the sympathy of others 
 shews itself by petitions and subscriptions for offenders, when 
 the zeal of private individuals has in a few instances success- 
 fully prosecuted them. 
 
 TheSocinian heresy is likewise awfully increased and tolerated 
 in the present day, — a heresy which is not only blasphemy a- 
 gainst the Son of Man, but against the Holy Ghost, whose per- 
 sonahty and distinct influences are denied and derided; and many 
 other evils, not suspected by the Christian public in general, 
 (such as denying the obligation to keep holy the Sabbath day, 
 and the spurious Uberaliiy which abounds,) are fruits which 
 have grown upon the Unitarian tree. Previous to the French 
 Revolution, Socinians were held to be criminals, and w^ere liable 
 to punishment for openly teaching their doctrines, o Since that 
 period it has come to pass, that we " can bear them that are 
 evil :"P yea, Cliristians can be openly leagued with them, and 
 defend the union ! They have long since been associated with 
 dissenters for political purposes ; they have been admitted into 
 the senate ; they are leagued wdth professing Christians in the 
 London University for the purposes of education ; in the Bri- 
 tish and Foreign Bible Society for the translation and distri- 
 bution of the Scrij)tures ; and professedly orthodox dissen- 
 ters do now, it seems, take their regular turn with Soci- 
 nian ministers in the supply of service at the chapel of the 
 City Road Orphan Working School, their names being pro- 
 miscuously mingled also in the published lists If And daily 
 may the attentive observer notice, how that leaven (which I 
 repeat had its origin with them) is spreading, w'hich would 
 level ail distinctions of a religious nature ; whereby men, who 
 
 * It must not be forgotten, that the tolerator of blasphemy is guilty 
 as well as the blasphemer himself; as may be proved, by parity of reason- 
 ing, in the case of cursing. " If a soul sin and hear the voice of swearing, 
 ' and is a witness whether he hath seen or known of it, and do not utter 
 * it, (that it may be rebuked) then he shall bear his iniquity." Lev. v, 1. 
 And Solomon also condemns him who " heareth cursing and bewrayeth 
 it not." Prov. xxix. 24. 
 
 t The case appears the stronger, from the effort of one of those min- 
 isters (of the Independent denomination) to excuse it, in the Record of 
 December, 1833. While he attempts to palliate the evil, he fully ad- 
 mits the extent of it : yea, further, that the children of the school are 
 occasionally marched to the Socinian Meeting-house ; and he calls it 
 '* an embarrassing and afflicting circumstance." 
 
 o See the 9th and 13th of William III, chap. 32, P Rev. ii. 2. 
 
217 
 
 are the most notoriously indifferent as to matters of \'ital god- 
 liness, arrogate to themselves the graces of charity and liber- 
 ality ; whilst those Avho evince any remaining zeal for the 
 honor of God and the truth of the Gospel are held up to 
 scorn, as narrow-minded, illiberal, and uncharitable bigots. 
 
 The Owenite and St. Simonian blasphemies are of more 
 modern growth, and are fostered by the same spirit of legis- 
 lative apathy before complained of. The Rotunda in London 
 has long been known as being the arena of enacted blasphe- 
 mies, where every thing sacred is turned into solemn mockery, 
 and this again — for gain ! But, besides the Rotunda, the es- 
 tablishment is to be noticed of Mr. Robt. Owen of Lanark, at 
 the Exchange Bazaar, Charlotte-street, London, where on 
 every Sabbath Day from 1500 to 2000 persons are usually 
 assembled, (who all again i}ay for their admission,) and are 
 regaled with profane and voluptuous music and blasphemy. 
 The lecturers at this synagogue of Satan enlarge upon the 
 useless/less of public worship to an educated commmiity, the 
 inconsistencies of Christianity, (which is denominated the re- 
 ligion of tithes, taxes, corruptions and oppression,) and the 
 auditory is even incited to rise up and " demand" or " take" 
 (not supplicate) their rights as 7nenA The St. Simonians, 
 with whom the Owenites claim a sort of kindred, are equally 
 eloquent in exhorting the female part of society to throw off 
 the modesty and restraints and natural subjection of the sex, 
 and to demand or take their privileges ; their professed object 
 being to destroy the obligation of the marriage bond, and to 
 lead all mankind to live in a state of temporary concubinage. 
 Surely these are " scoffers, walking after their own lusts !"* 
 
 The charge of blasphemy may likewise be proved against 
 the present generation in regard to " speaking evil of digni- 
 ties," — a circumstance which is elsewhere spoken of as char- 
 acteristic of the last day apostates. ^ Pride and rebellion of 
 heart have been bawling for equality since the same epoch : 
 kings have been so extensively assailed, that there are few 
 
 * However these men may have been discountenanced by the authorities 
 in France, and laughed at by some in England, the number of their ad- 
 herents is steadily increasing, especially on the continent, where (as the 
 writer is assured on good authority) they now have eleven different news- 
 papers in their pay ; whilst, with the exception of a journal at Berlin, 
 none think it worth their while to controvert their tenets. 
 
 q See Courier, Oct. 15, 1833. r 2 Pet. ii. 10 ; Jude in. 
 
 u 
 
218 
 
 countries in which they have not been dethroned, assassinated, 
 or had their life and crown attempted : and at this very period 
 the thrones of Christendom exhibit a melancholy spectacle of 
 instability, arising from the revolutionary or republican spirit. 
 Lesser dignities are in a similar plight — they are threatened 
 with the destruction of their order, whenever they thwart the 
 humor of the day ; and the most ferocious sarcasms are level- 
 led at them by the favorite demagogues, and received with 
 plaudits by their besotted followers. 
 
 6. Disobedient to parents. — I shall have some further 
 remarks to make on this subject, when I come to shew that 
 men are " without natural affection." For the present I will 
 obser^^e, that at the time of the Reformation, when the church 
 catechism was framed, the ^'iew then entertained of the re- 
 quirements of the fifth commandment was as follows : viz. — 
 " to love, honour, and succour our father and mother ; to hon- 
 ' our and obey the king, and all that are put in authority un- 
 ' der him : to submit ourselves to all our governors, teachers, 
 * spiritual pastors, and masters : to order ourselves lowly and 
 ' reverently to all our betters." This exposition appears to 
 be based upon the following ^'iew : — viz. that God is our spi- 
 ritual father, the king our political father, and our parents our 
 natural father and mother ; and, consequently, that as obe- 
 dience is due to them in the first instance, so also to such as 
 are delegated with authority by them for the purpose of gov- 
 ernment : to ministers, as spiritual pastors and fathers in the 
 stead of Christ ; to magistrates, as in the stead of the king ; 
 to governors and masters, as persons to whom the natural pa- 
 rents consign their children for instruction or otherwise. 
 
 Those who subscribe to this view of the subject will per- 
 ceive under the last head sufficient to convince them, that the 
 principle of subordination to rulers is destroyed from among 
 us ; the immense standing armies which exist show the im- 
 possibility of keeping men in check otherwise than by the 
 bayonet.* 
 
 * Some may be disposed to justify those who require suck coercion 
 by pointing to the abuses and corruptions which prevail under the va- 
 rious governments of the world. I trust I am no defender of abuses and 
 corruptions ; but it must nevertheless be remembered, that the charac- 
 teristics now under discussion are applied to Christians ; — to those who 
 have at least the ybrm of godliness retained among them. It equally 
 shews, therefore, that the power of godliness is wanting ; for nothing is 
 more plain than that it is the duty of Christians to obey them that have 
 
219 
 
 In regard to spiritual rulers, the spirit of insubordination is 
 still more conspicuous ; insomuch that it is a rare thing, on 
 the one hand, to v/itness subjection to the ministers of the 
 Gospel ; whilst, on the other hand, the very mention of them 
 among the public is generally made an occasion to sneer at or 
 speak evil of them. And it is not a little remarkable, that 
 this has come to pass at a time when it is admitted, even by 
 dissenters from the church of England, that the establishment 
 never perhaps contained so many pious and respectable minis- 
 ters as at the present day. Nor is this spirit of insubordina- 
 tion evinced only by members of established churches. Se- 
 rious dissenters complain of the same evil in their own com- 
 munities ; the members of their congregations becoming so 
 captious, and having such itching ears, that they are continu- 
 ally removing their ministers ; and various ministers (accord- 
 ing to a witness of their own s) are now without congregations, 
 and congregations without ministers, from this very cause. 
 
 In regard to disobedience to natural parents, it is a circum- 
 stance so commonly noticed by persons at all observant of the 
 moral character of the age, as specially belonging to the pre- 
 sent times, that it requires no further comment. Even our 
 justice rooms do not unfrequently witness instances of parents 
 coming to complain of, and to ask protection against, their 
 own children ; whilst those who have any thing to do with 
 the education of the poor must well know how defective it is, 
 from the want of a spirit of obedience and subordination to 
 the wishes of their parents. A great declension has been no- 
 ticed in this respect in the course of the last half century, as 
 compared with the times immediately preceding : but if we 
 compare the present with patriarchal times, and consider the 
 deference shewn in those days to parents, the contrast will be 
 more remarkable. Indeed I fear it would now provoke 
 the laughter of many, were they to be seriously reminded, 
 that the sons and daughters of those days rose up before their 
 parents, and did them homage.* And though the Gentiles 
 are described in Rom. i. 30 as being disobedient to parents ; 
 
 the rule over them, — yea, to be obedient to the froward also, — and to be 
 subject even for wrath's sake. See Rom. xiii. 1 — 7 ; Titus iii. 
 
 * Gen. XXXI, 31 ; 1 Kings ii. 19 ; and see also Lev. xix. 32, as re- 
 gards the deference to elders generally. 
 
 s See Thorpe's Destinies of the British Empire, page 127. 
 
220 
 
 yet have we instances mentioned in heathen authors of filial 
 piety and reverence, and of deference to age, which might 
 put to the blush multitudes of the present generation of pro- 
 fessing Christians.* 
 
 * It is not for me so mucli to trace the causes -which, have led to these 
 evils, as to point out the evils themselves. There can be little doubt how- 
 ever, that it may be attributed in a great measure to the relaxation of pa- 
 rental discipline and authority ; so that men have come now to treat 
 their children with the familiarity of brothers rather than of sons ; and 
 to make it a moral question, whether it be right to coerce or to chastise 
 them. I am persuaded that no observations which I can make wiU avail 
 in regard to any who are not serious christians ; but there are two cir- 
 cumstances which have been much upon my mind, that I will take the 
 liberty of submitting to the consideration of those, whom I desire to see 
 proving themselves to be as salt of the earth which has not lost its savour. 
 
 First, then, it is daily becoming more a maxim among professors of 
 religion to leave their children to run after pleasures or amusements 
 "which they themselves condemn, and to suffer them also to go into any 
 company ; excusing themselves under the notion, that it is wrong to 
 thwart them in such matters, and that restraint may disgust them with 
 religion. But surely this is being wiser than God. He approved Abra- 
 ham because " he conunanded his children and his household after him ;" 
 (Gen. XVIII. 17 — 19 ;) and when authority is not exercised, it is to be 
 feared, either that the welfare of the children's souls is not constantly 
 kept in view ; or that the mind is not really persuaded (though it affects 
 to be so) of the evil of the company or pleasures deprecated. Parental 
 authority is a talent for which all are responsible, both as regards its use 
 and its abuse ; and surely a father or a mother never more legitimately 
 exercises it, than in keeping their children from that which they esteem 
 an evil. 
 
 The next consideration I would affectionately submit to those who are 
 mothers in Israel. They will admit, that the head of every family is un- 
 doubtedly the man : in which view, even the wife, though endowed 
 with authority from him, is required to be subject to him. And women 
 are not only reminded, under the Gospel, of the example of Sarah, " who 
 obeyed Abraham, calling him /orrZ .-" (1 Pet. iii. 1 — 6;) but they are 
 required " to submit themselves unto their own husbands, as loifo the 
 Lord." (Ephes. v. 22.) It has come to pass, however, that the pro- 
 priety of such submission is, among carnal and worldly women, greatly 
 questioned ; and I have been pained to hear even female professors of 
 rehgion make a jest of tliat portion of the marriage service in which 
 obedience is vowed, and treating the notion of the thing itself with any 
 thing but seriousness and reverence. Yea, I have known mothers openly 
 inculcate on their daughters, that it would be the mark of a mean spirit in 
 them, should they ever be married, not to contend for the mastery ; and 
 an excellent christian woman once assured me, that she had been coun- 
 seled by different females to resist marital authority ; but never in any 
 instance, was counseled to sul/nit to it. Now the genius of Christianity 
 is such, that it has neccssarilv endowed women with a decree of libertv 
 
221 
 
 7. Unthankful. — When men are fast declining on the one 
 hand from a devout recognition of God, and verging on the 
 other hand towards scepticism and infidelity, how can it be 
 expected, that they should entertain a spirit of praise and 
 thankfulness towards the alone Giver of all good ? So far 
 from acknowledging the providence of God, the very spirit of 
 boasting, already noticed, betrays that they say in their heart, 
 " My power, and the might of mine hand, hath gotten me these 
 things .t" 
 
 First we may notice (what is most obvious) the general 
 spirit of unthankfulness in regard to those national blessings 
 and advantages which we have possessed. When we consider 
 the wealth, the liberty, the freedom from foreign invasion, and, 
 above all, the abundance of Gospel privileges, that have been 
 enjoyed in this country, they form an aggregate of mercies 
 which call forth the surprise of strangers; whilst yet our 
 streets are full of " murmurers and coraplainers," and our 
 most popular orators have been continually insisting, that we 
 are a people ground down by tyranny and oppression ! The 
 very abundance of our fields was only a few years since com- 
 plained of in the senate house by Lord Castlereagh, as the 
 cause of our own national perplexities then existing ; which 
 sentiment was afterwards echoed by multitudes. Oh, how 
 must we have fallen from God, and how unnatural must be our 
 social condition, w^hen that plenty, which has been hitherto 
 esteemed a blessing, comes to be looked upon as a curse ! It 
 has been often observed also in the present day, that though 
 many persons can request a minister to offer public prayer for 
 rain, or for fair weather, (as the case may seem to require,) 
 
 they did not enjoy before : but the two passages which. I have quoted 
 evince, that it never intended them to go to an opposite extreme ; nor is 
 it possible that any deviation from the precepts and spirit of the Gospel 
 can take place, without a series of evil consequences following. In this 
 instance, I fear much of that spirit of disobedience which exists may be 
 traced to it : for when children and servants perceive that individual in 
 a house, whose duty it is first to shew subjection, treat the notion of it 
 in their own case with hghtness, (to go no further ;) must it not in- 
 sensibly encourage a spirit of insubordination through all the downward 
 gradations in which submission is required ? This is the more important 
 in the wife, seeing that it is her province to train up the children of the 
 family to shew proper reverence and resjiect to th.e. father, — and to im- 
 press upon them, that he is the individual to whom all must be subject. 
 
 t Deut. VIII. 17. 
 
222 
 
 they rarely request him to return thanks to God, when the 
 mercy has been vouchsafed. The same may be remarked also 
 of persons under affliction or in sickness, who can readily re- 
 quest the prayers of the congregation ; but though ten may 
 be cleansed, there is scarcely found one to return to give thanks 
 unto God. 
 
 In this particular \he forvi of godliness is still retained : wit- 
 ness the practice at public dinners of a grace before meat, and 
 the iSon nobis Domine after the repast ; whilst yet a reverejitial 
 thanksgiving on such occasions is treated with derision ; and 
 still more so the proposal to acknowledge God at any other 
 meal than dinner. And though a public fast and thanksgiving 
 have recently been ordered, yet it has been coupled with the 
 remarkable circumstance, of being reluctantly yielded to the 
 petitions and remonstrances of individuals ; thus betraying, 
 that there wanted the spirit and power of godliness notwith- 
 standing.'*' 
 
 ]\Ir. Irving would have the word " unthankful,'' in the text, 
 to signify " uneucharistical ■" in order that he may fix it on 
 religious professors. I question the correctness of his intro- 
 ductory remarks, though I can agree in most things which he 
 afterwards deduces from them : but I can have no doubt that 
 christians ought " to rejoice in the Lord always ;" and as little 
 doubt, that the majority of professors do not cultivate a cheer- 
 ful, grateful frame of mind. We too frequently hear, even 
 from them, complaining and murmuring in regard to worldly 
 matters, and very little of habitual praise and thankfulness for 
 undeserv^ed daily mercies. 
 
 8. UxHOLY. — It requires but little observation to be per- 
 suaded, that the great majority of those vvho have the form 
 of godliness are not holy ones, (or saints, as the word implies,) 
 since the very name " sainf is made a subject of derision ; 
 and that entire surrender of the heart to God, that universal 
 obedience, (which is what the Scriptures mean by holiness, 
 and what genuine christians aim at,) is by the multitude de- 
 cried as puritanical, methodistical, enthusiastic ; or more openly 
 denounced as " cant, hypocrisy and humbug." 
 
 * A more appalling spectacle of pride, hardness, and determined con- 
 tempt of all government, could not have been exhibited, than on the oc- 
 casion of the last national fast ; when a set of miscreants literally " joined 
 hand-in-hand" to turn it into ridicule, parading the streets and baying 
 the police, in open defiance of all human constituted authority, and 
 making scoff of the providence and majesty of Jehovah ! 
 
223 
 
 But how lamentably deficient are religious professors in this 
 respect I How little do multitudes of evangelical worshipers 
 make it their habitual aim to be conformed to the will of God, 
 or even to inquire what his will may be ! They take up with 
 a low and human standard of religion. They inquire not, in 
 various circumstances, what the Lord saith ; or what would 
 most conduce to his glory, and be most beneficial to their own 
 souls ; but, what this minister or that professor may think or 
 do, and who of repute will tolerate or countenance them in 
 their proceedings. How little do such seek to be " transform- 
 ed by the renewing of their mind !" They are influenced by 
 the same principles, the same motives, the same prejudices, 
 the same objects, as worldly persons ; — their aim appears in- 
 deed to be to enjoy the world as decidedly as possible, whilst 
 they nevertheless affect to renounce it. 
 
 But passing downward from these, O, how awfully are holy 
 ordinances desecrated and trampled under foot ! Look how 
 the rite of Baptism is profaned by persons who have no thought 
 beyond the propriety of the form, — to have a godfather who 
 may probably make a present to the child, and to indulge in a 
 good feast on the day of the ceremonial ! Look at the num- 
 bers again who rush to Confirmation : the more decorous for 
 the mere sake of the form, never once intending really to keep 
 the vows they make, and not caring to understand them ; 
 whilst in country places multitudes of the less educated classes 
 go like a flock of sheep to follow the leader, and to enjoy — 
 not a /io/y-day, but what is vulgarly termed a holiday. And 
 ■what are our Ao/y-days generally, (such as Christmas, Easter 
 and Whitsuntide,) but days devoted by those who make holi- 
 day to gluttony, riot, debauchery or folly ? Look again at the 
 ecclesiastical ordinance, the Churching of Women : in most 
 towns it is performed in private houses, though intended to be 
 a public thanksgiving ; (the parties thereby betraying them- 
 selves to be '"unthankful-") whilst in the generality of in- 
 stances it is conformed to from a superstitious notion, that the 
 woman will be unlucky if she goes out publicly before she is 
 churched. The sacrament of the Lord's Supper is not per- 
 haps so generally profaned as other ordinances ; though until 
 lately it was grossly desecrated by men who were qualified 
 thereby for secular offices. But the small number of commu- 
 nicants is, in this instance, a proof of the unholiness of the 
 age : for most abstain from it because they imagine that it 
 
224 
 
 does more solemnly engage them to that holmess which they 
 are resolved not to follow after : whilst yet they can come, 
 with a lie in their right hand, to make similar engagements in 
 prayer ; for there is nothing which a man pledges himself to 
 at the Lord's table, to which he does not equally pledge him- 
 self in the course of ordinary public worship, if he repeats 
 the liturgy. Finally look at Ordination, so commonly pro- 
 faned by those who offer themselves as candidates for the min- 
 istry ; who enter the church as teachers merely for the sake 
 of following a gentlemanly profession, and often for " filthy 
 lucre ;" whilst those who possess church patronage too com- 
 monly prostitute it to political objects. All these abuses are 
 notoriously worse in Catholic countries, so that we may truly 
 say the age is unholy. 
 
 9. Without xatural affectiox. — From the word ■^opyrj, 
 here translated ' natural affection,' is said to be derived our 
 English word stork ; which bird shews a remarkable affection 
 towards its parents when it is young, and towards its offspring 
 when it is more advanced in age. It is that pri:.ciple or law 
 of nature which first leads men into the social compact, and 
 forms the secret bond of attachment in the various relation- 
 ships existing among them. 
 
 Two facts, then, stand out conspicuously, connected with 
 the legislative proceedings of the present day. The one is, 
 that it clearly appears necessary to frame laws, in order to 
 prevent parents from sacrificing the health of their children in 
 mills and factories, whither the love of gain induces them to 
 send them ; (which is another proof of the " covetousness" 
 and " selfishness" of the times, both as regards parents and 
 masters :) The other is, the recent parliamentary returns of 
 the commissioners appointed to examine into the state of the 
 poor laws, w'hich abound with melancholy evidence of the 
 present antisocial and depraved character of the age. Children 
 now no longer consider it a duty " to shew piety at home and 
 to requite their parents ;""^ but apply to the overseers of the 
 poor for remuneration, because they maintain them ; and, when 
 refused, say — Then you must take my father, or mother, into 
 the workhouse, for we cannot afford to keep them ! 
 
 In the next place children are generally spoken of, not as 
 " a gift and heritage which cometh of the Lord, — happy is the 
 man that hath his quiver full of them ;"^' but as an incumbrance 
 u 1 Tim. V. 4, V Psalm cxxvii. 
 
225 
 
 and misfortune.* It is true, that fevv* are so indecorous as to 
 speak thus of their oicn children ; but it is the way, neverthe- 
 less, in which they make mention of the children of others. 
 
 The population returns of France exhibit an enormous pro- 
 portion ot illegitimate children, who are, for the most part, 
 abandoned by their parents ; and the instances are innumera- 
 ble in this country of children forsaken by the parents under 
 similar circumstances, and left to the tender mercies of the 
 overseers of the poor. I may also notice the destitution of 
 natural aiFection betrayed by the drunkards of this generation, 
 the number of whom, both male and female, is awfully in- 
 creased ; for in most instances they consum^e their earnings at 
 the public house or dram shop, and leave their families to get 
 aid how they can. I am accquainted with numerous cases, in 
 which the pittance sent to the pining family from the hand of 
 charity has been seized and devoured, (or, if it has been in 
 mxoney, spent on more liquor,) by the stony-hearted drunkard. 
 The Burking s^'stem which was recently brought to light, be- 
 trays how extensively the commonest affections of humanity 
 have become stifled in various instances ; so that men can be 
 dail}^ engaged in hunting for blood, for the paltry price of the 
 victim's corpse I There are numerous other circumstances 
 which betray our downward progression in this respect ; but 
 I shall close with an able passage from Mr. Irving, which more 
 immediately concerns the higher classes. — 
 
 " Now I consider home to be to man's natural affections, 
 what the nest of its young is to the affections of the fowls of 
 heaven : but if we should see the birds of heaven forsaking 
 their young and callow brood, in order to contend in song, in 
 beauty of plumage, or in rapidity of flight, — to enjoy them- 
 selves in flocks, when they ought to be providing for their 
 
 * I have met with some remarkable individual instances of this na- 
 ture. The wife of a respectable cottage farmer, who had an only daughter 
 about fourteen years of age lost a cow. A neighbour came in to condole 
 with her, at the same time concluding, from her being a great professor 
 of religion, that she would cheerfully submit to the will of God. She 
 found her, however, inconsoleable for the loss, and in the midst of her 
 lamentations she exclaimed — " Ah, if it had but pleased God to take the 
 girl instead of the cow, — that would have been a saving to me !" An- 
 other woman was one day speaking to me of her misfortunes ; declaring, 
 she thought there was nobody like herself. I began to mention a neigh- 
 bour who had recently lost two children ; but she, misapprehending my 
 intention, said — " Aye, I never had a bit of luck in that way like other 
 people : I have had seven, and they have all lived !" 
 
226 
 
 young, and teaching their young how to provide for them- 
 selves, — what would we say, but that natural affection had 
 intermitted its course, and a wonderful thing had come to pass 
 in the animal creation ? But, ah ! how truly doth it so fare 
 with families in these times ; when all the day is spent in 
 business or in vanity, and all the night in feasting or in greater 
 vanity. Between the oppression of business and the oppres- 
 sion of fashion, the tender, and delicate, and blessed abode of 
 our natural affections, which our fathers called home, hath 
 been almost crushed to pieces, and the very word hath changed 
 its meaning; so that * at home' now signifies being surrounded 
 with a multitude, and ' not at home' almost signifies being 
 alone with your children." 
 
 After mentioning the hollow, superficial, and per^^erted 
 character of that which now commonly passes for hospitality, 
 Mr. Irving proceeds : — " But what need of entering into par- 
 ticulars, when by a general fact we can include all particulars, 
 and shew the very disposition of the time to be against natural 
 affection. The fact I refer to is the promulgation of the French 
 philosophy by many able men in these parts some thirty years 
 ago ; of which the root is this : That we should love all men 
 alike ; and that the preferences which we shew to the more 
 intimate relationships is a prejudice, and an offence to this 
 uniformity and equality of love. And though the strength of 
 our religious and civil establishments hath beat back this hide- 
 ous philosophy, (falsely so called,) and forced it to work in 
 secret ; yet, that it hath been working in secret, and that it 
 is the very same with that liberality which is now catching all 
 places like wildfire, I have no doubt. And that the tendency 
 of this liberality is to destroy the foundations of faith, is mani- 
 fest from the character of those who are its high priests and 
 apostles ; of whom the general character is, that they have 
 made shipwreck of their faith, and are, as much as public 
 opinion will allow, loosened from the obligations of duty and 
 the bonds of aflPection. It is an abortive attempt to reach 
 liberty and well-being without observing the conditions upon 
 which God hath made liberty and well-being to be dependant. 
 And in an age when liberality is the object of universal wor- 
 ship ; and public opinion of men, not the word of God, is 
 the common law ; nothing else is to be expected but a dis- 
 solution of the bonds of natural affection, and the increase of 
 crime in every direction."^' 
 
 w See " The Last Days," page 167. 
 
227 
 
 10. Truce-Breakers. — This word, in the first chapter of 
 Romans, (where atrvrOE-nQ is translated core^zowf -breakers) is 
 rendered implacable ; one meaning of v/hich is, not to be ap- 
 peased or brought under covenant or agreement. So that it 
 refers to that lawless and unbridled state of mind, which, if it 
 enters into covenant, does so without intending to be bound 
 by it, but to break it whenever the passions or expediency in- 
 vite ; as also to that spirit, which having somewhat more per- 
 haps of conscientiousness, refuses to be bound, because it will 
 not be restrained by any conventional act or agreement. 
 
 Bearing in mind, that these characteristics are to be found 
 in a people having the form of godliness, (making a profession, 
 that is to say, of Christianity, or being nominally christians,) 
 there are some circumstances affecting the multitude M'hich 
 immediately invite attention. First are the solemn vows made 
 with God in baptism — Oh I how lightly is the covenant entered 
 into in the first instance, and how awfully despised and 
 trampled under foot afterwards I We are truly a nation of 
 truce-breakers in this respect, — a nation which " kept not the 
 
 • the covenant of God and refused to walk in his law" — " for 
 ' their heart was not right with him, neither were they stedfast 
 
 * in his covenant. "x Nor can it be pleaded that the parties 
 who transgress in this respect are comparatively guiltless, in- 
 asmuch as it is rather the act of their parents than their own 
 act, seeing they are brought under the bond of the covenant 
 when infants, and are not directly parties to it themselves. 
 For I have shewn under the eighth head, that the multitude 
 equally rushes to Confirmation ; which rite is purposely postpon- 
 ed, until they are of an age to confirm and ratify the solemn 
 vows and promises in their own persons : and we find this 
 same-multitude, again in their turn, when they become pa- 
 rents, as heedlessly bringing their children under the like 
 obligation : so that if it was their parents' guilt in the first 
 instance, it is now b}' a two-fold act their own. 
 
 There are also persons who neglect the covenant of God in 
 the opposite respect : for they will seek baptism of the 
 Church, but do all they can to evade that part of it, (vulgarly 
 called the christening) in which the vows and promises are 
 made. Under pretence that the child is weEikly, or some other 
 plea, they endeavour to procure baptism in private, secretly 
 resolving not to appear at church to complete the rite. And 
 
 ^ Psalm LXXA^iii. 10, 37. 
 
228 
 
 lierein also they betray, how completely they despise the rites 
 and ordinances of the church into which they are received as 
 members ; thus becoming truce breakers in another respect, if 
 not in the former : for, undoubtedly, when we are received into 
 any particular church by baptism, we virtually bring ourselves 
 under an obligation to believe the articles of faith, and to ob- 
 serve the ordinances and rites, and to obey the discipline, of 
 that community, whatsoever it may be. 
 
 The same spirit is manifested by those who refuse (though 
 baptized, and constantly attending on public worship) to re- 
 ceive the sacrament of the Lord's Supper : for their real ob- 
 jection is, that they conceive the ordinance obliges them to a 
 life of godliness, to an extent to which they do not suppose 
 themselves to be committed by any former act. 
 
 I am unwilling to enter largely into political matter, because 
 I know in nothing is the mind more likely to be prejudiced by 
 the party spirit of the day : so that the Reader may not agree 
 with me in my view of some questions, which nevertheless is 
 obvious to others ; and I may indeed myself be unconsciously 
 warped and twisted on certain points. I hope however he 
 will bear with me when 1 state it as my own deliberate opinion, 
 that all those of our senators (being the majority) who sup- 
 ported catholic emancipation, disregarded the oath they took 
 on becoming members of the legislature. I see a glaring 
 instance also of public men treating the solemn obligation of 
 an oath with lightness, in the case of those Roman catholic and 
 dissenting members of the British parliament, who are sworn 
 to uphold and maintain the church of England. Nor must 
 this be viewed as the delinquency of a few individuals only, 
 when it is considered, that they are justified in so doing by 
 the majority of the legistature ; who, by a modern discovery, 
 that oaths and treaties are not intended to bind men in their 
 legislative capacities, have reduced every conventional safe- 
 guard to a mere dead letter. It is manifest, if this doctrine 
 is to obtain, that neither the act of union, (now about to be 
 infringed upon,*) nor any other act, can prove a real security 
 to any part)^ ; and that in fact it is utterly impossible to offer 
 
 * Written ia 1833, when a Bill was brought into Parliament, and 
 passed both houses, for reducing the number of Bishops in Ireland and 
 the revenues of the Irish Church ; which church was by the Act of 
 Union covenated to be upheld in all its rights and privileges. 
 
229 
 
 legislative or conventional security, unless it be accompanied 
 by penalties in case of infraction ; and unless the party insured 
 possess power also to enforce those penalties. 
 
 Public pledges and the avowal of public jjrinciphs come 
 next in solemnity to oaths and treaties ; in w^hich matter the 
 profligacy of men in modern times is a subject of general 
 complaint. Many pledge themselves at elections, and on other 
 occasions, only to betray those pledges when the temptation 
 offers. And on some occasions, when public men have veered 
 round with the minister of the day, or with their party, their 
 inconstancy has, in the senate, been made a matter of laughter 
 and jocularity ; instead of exciting a feeling of indignation, 
 as it ought to do in every honest mind. 
 
 Among the instances of departure from professed principles, 
 to which appeal may be made in the way of illustration, I cannot 
 forbear mentioning one of a singular character as regards two 
 of the principle nations of Europe — Great Britain and France. 
 They have both been loud and energetic in regard to the prin- 
 ciple of non-intervention with nations, who are struggling 
 among themselves ; yet France has decidedly violated it, in 
 regard to the Italian states, by the occupation of Ancona ; and 
 both France and England have done so in regard to Belgium and 
 Portugal, in their respective struggles with Holland and Spain. 
 
 Passing on from political men, I would just notice, that the 
 same recklessness of oaths and engagements are notorious 
 among commercial men. Every debt has in it the nature of a 
 contract or covenant ; but unprincipled speculations, or still 
 more miprincipled assignments, have become so common, 
 that commercial men say proverbially — a man is more extolled 
 now for paying ten or fifteen shillings in the pound, than if he 
 had never failed at all. A similar dereliction of principle is 
 obser\'able in regard to excise and custom house oaths — which 
 multitudes take as a matter of course, without at all caring to 
 have a conscience void of offence towards God in the matter ; 
 alleging that it is a concern of mere public business, and not 
 of private character. 
 
 11. False Accusers. — The original word is diaboloi, — 
 literally * devils ;' and wdth deference to our Translators I 
 would suggest, that it should rather be rendered malignant 
 accusers. For though the devil is " a liar from the beginning," 
 yet are his accusations not always without truth ; but they arc , 
 invariably, the fruit of envy and malice, being the very oppo- 
 
230 
 
 site of that charity which " envieth not" and " thinketh no 
 evil." 
 
 This evil is so notorious among us, as to require but little in 
 the way of proof : any one who observes with only ordinary 
 attention what is passing in the world, must be aware of the 
 censorious and scandalous spirit which prevails among us. Our 
 parliamentary debates are now little else than a medium for 
 accusation and recrimination ; and much of the time which 
 ought to be devoted to business is employed in listening to 
 charges, retorts, and explanations. It is the same with public 
 meetings generally : they rarely pass off, when the object of 
 them is political, without some odious attack upon the charac- 
 ters of public men> and sweeping charges of corruption and 
 atrocity against ministers, the peerage, the aristocracy, the 
 tories, the whigs, or the church. And what is the press, but 
 a vehicle for the most licentious and scandalous attacks upon 
 individuals both public and private } Some of our Sunday 
 newspapers are recommended to the public by large placards, 
 specifying the principle articles of their contents ; among 
 which it is no uncommon thing to see printed in conspicuous 
 type such sentences as " Crim. Con. in high life" — " Remark- 
 able exposure" — " Tory corruption," &c. And charges which 
 are made through the medium of the press, and also of Parlia- 
 ment, are often proved to be false, as well as wanton and ma- 
 lignant ; yet, though openly refuted, the same system of attack 
 on character is nevertheless continued. " Love covereth sins ;" 
 but this Satanic spirit delights in baring and exposing them. 
 
 Now it were absurd to object, in regard to the press, that 
 such accusations are but the acts of individuals : the fact is 
 individuals are but panders and caterers to the public appetite ; 
 and those publications, w^hich are the highest seasoned with 
 scandal and malignant abuse, are purchased with the greatest 
 avidity : which betrays that there must be multitudes of read- 
 ers of a congenial spirit. 
 
 12, Incontinent — that is to say, men who will not exercise 
 self-denial, nor bridle their lusts and desires. I do not feel 
 justified in going at large into the proofs of direct sensual in- 
 continency. I will satisfy myself with appealing to the testi- 
 mony of all moralists who have had an opportunity of observing 
 the state of society abroad and at home. There never was a 
 period when the habits of men were so generally profligate. 
 The Continent has long been known as abounding in sensual 
 
231 
 
 depravity ; and we are fast rivaling them in this country. I 
 mi2:ht appeal to public documents published in Paris, to the 
 baptismal registers in manufacturing and agricultural districts 
 at home, to the state of our public streets at night in large 
 towns, and to other facts of a notorious character ; but I would 
 draw a veil over this part of my painful subject. 
 
 I next may appeal to the notorious luxury of the present 
 age, evidenced in the excess of apparel, in sumptuous furni- 
 ture, and in voluptuous diet. The increased addiction to these 
 things is not perhaps so ob\'ious in the higher classes of society, 
 inasmuch as they have been commonly more or less the cha- 
 racteristics of wealth and rank ; but in the downward grada- 
 tions it is sufficiently manifest. It has been repeatedly noticed, 
 for instance, in regard to the yeomanry of the country, that 
 they have of late years launched out into a style of living en- 
 tirely different from their former habits ; vrhilst the dress of 
 servants and of the lower orders of the community is such, 
 that little, if any, difference can in this respect be discerned 
 between them and their superiors. 
 
 The spirit of self-denial appears also to be greatly, if not 
 entirely, lost sight of, among the generality of religious pro- 
 fessors. If persons set their minds on any vanity, luxury or 
 pleasure, they will not be said nay to, if they can enjoy it, 
 and preserve a decent reputation at the same time; and those who 
 would remind them, — that all things, though lawful, are not 
 expedient, — are set down as a self-righteous class of professors, 
 whose views are legal and contracted. Hence it has come to 
 pass that the ordinance oi fasting is with the multitude of pro- 
 fessors a dead letter ; and they view it as the remains of mon- 
 astic superstition ; though the Lord hath expressly warned us 
 that some kind of devils go not out but through prayer and 
 fasting. y 
 
 Another proof of the incontinent spirit of the age is the en- 
 tire prostration of ecclesiastical discipline. The members of 
 the established church are under no spiritual control whatso- 
 ever ; neither would they endure it : the very suggestion to 
 restore church discipline would be spurned as a fruit of intol- 
 erable bigotry, suited only to the days of puritans or priest- 
 craft. The same spirit is equally manifest among dissenters. 
 Men will not be surbordinate the one to the other; the governed 
 seek to control their rulers : to enforce discipline would often 
 y Matt. xvn. 21. 
 
232 
 
 be to break up a community ; and many either retire, or go 
 over to some other sect, or form a new schism, rather than 
 submit themselves the one to the other. 
 
 The same spirit runs through other classes. Parents will 
 not suffer their children to be thwarted or controlled by their 
 teachers ; and as the children advance in years, so neither 
 will they submit to be restrained by their parents. Servants 
 will not endure contradiction from their masters, but on the 
 slightest rebulte seek another place. 
 
 13. Fierce — the opposite of wzeeA- and gentle. "Charity 
 suffereth long and is kind," and " is not easily provoked;" 
 but the spirit of the day (as has just been observed in regard 
 to servants) is, not to brook a contradiction ; and consequently 
 challenges are given and received, and the life of a fellow 
 creature is demanded in the way of satisfaction, rather than 
 men will for a moment have it supposed, that they can be 
 meek under an affront. So tenacious indeed are men, and so 
 easily provoked, that the speaker of our house of commons has 
 frequently to interpose, in order to procure such apologies or 
 explanations as may prevent a hostile meeting. 
 
 It will I think be admitted, that these things generally 
 arise from fierce and hasty words : men being incontinent in 
 regard to curbing the tongue and restraining the passions. 
 When the attack is indirect, — not being levelled perhaps at 
 any one individual in particular, — fierce and vituperative lan- 
 guage is still more freely used ; not unfrequently accompanied 
 by a hope that their political opponents may speedily be brought 
 to the block.* The public prints, not being checked or re- 
 strained by the forms of parliament, carry their fierceness to a 
 still greater extent ; and have frequently of late endangered 
 the lives of public men, by holding them up to the detestation 
 of the people, and insinuating that their conduct has been 
 such as to provoke a just retribution. The language indeed 
 of the press, ev^er since the time of Junius's Letters, (whose 
 rude attacks upon one of the best of monarchs, produced so 
 many inquirers and so many imitators,) has gradually in- 
 creased in fierceness and licentiousness. 
 
 * A remarkable instance of ferocious attack occurred not long since 
 at a popular meeting in "Westminster respecting the Irish Coercion Bill, 
 and was made bv an Irish member of Parliament on the prime minister. 
 1833. 
 
 z Matt. XIX. 17. 
 
233 
 
 14. Despisers of them that are good. — It may be asked. 
 Who are the " good" in the scripture sense of the term .'' If 
 the Lord Christ would not be called good independently of 
 God jz but M-ould have us know that all that is good proceeds 
 only from God ; then those in whom the Spirit of God dwells, 
 whose "fruit is in all goodness ''^ are the alone good. We 
 might contrast this sentence with the Psalmist's praise of the 
 saints, concerning one of whom he says, — "In whose eyes a 
 vile man is despised ; but he maketh much of them that fear 
 the Lord :"t» whereas these " will caU the vile liberal,"^ and 
 despise them that fear the Lord. 
 
 Tlie saints therefore are the good ; but the very mention of 
 the word is sufficient to remind the Reader, that it is a term 
 notoriously used in scorn and contempt of those who desire to 
 walk godly in Christ Jesus. And this is the case from the 
 senate house, downward to the pot house ; — " they that sit in 
 the gate speak against them, and they are the song of the 
 drunkard. "d Nor is it only to be lamented that avowed infi- 
 delity may now rise up, and in high places denounce the sen- 
 timents and measures of the pious, as the result of " cant, 
 hypocrisy and humbug;" but some professors of religion even 
 begin to think scorn of them ; those being set down as bigots, 
 or fanatics, or weak-brained, who have the courage to confess 
 Christ boldly, and to stand up for God in the midst of a crooked 
 and perverse generation."^ 
 
 15. Traitors — Under the head of covenant-breakers I have 
 already anticipated much of what might be said here ; for 
 such are necessarily, in regard to public engagements and 
 pledges, betrayers of the interests they are bound to uphold. 
 I would here however take occasion to make one important 
 remark concerning the character of the last times. 
 
 It is the opinion of some, (in which opinion also I concur,) 
 that the last Antichrist, or the last form of Antichrist, will be 
 avowed and open infidelity ; but I conceive, that this will not 
 be the aspect which the last Antichrist will assume on his first 
 rising up. He will creep in by flatteries, like the traitor Ju- 
 das, whose words were smoother than oil, while yet they were 
 
 * One man, a dissenting minister, has recently written and main- 
 tained, that pious men are the most unfit to become members of parlia- 
 ment, or to transact public affairs ! 
 
 a Gal. V. 22 ; Ephes. v. 9. b pg. xv. 4. c Isaiah xxxii. 5. 
 d Psalm LXix. 12. 
 
234 
 
 drawn swords. ^ And tlrns, during the latter days, we shall 
 find men still retaining the/or?« of godliness ; but, being des- 
 titute of the power, they will yield and betray the interests 
 of religion ; giving up all those bulwarks, by which Chris- 
 tianity has been nationally maintained in any purity or con- 
 sistency. Witness the fact, that we no longer have aprotestant 
 legislature, and consequently are no longer a protestant nation. 
 Witness the fact, that by the admission of the Socinians 
 already to legislate, (and presently, as I fear, by the admission 
 of the Jews,) we cease to have a christian legislature. Wit- 
 ness the betrayal of the protestant principle, to please the 
 Romanists of Ireland, in the matter of education. Witness 
 the betrayal of the interests of the established church, and 
 by the very men who are pledged and sworn to defend them ; 
 and some of those who have been most influential, and have 
 acted as leaders in bringing these things about (I particularly 
 refer to Catholic emancipation, and to the Jewish question,) 
 have been men professing religion, but tainted and misled by 
 the modern liberalism of the day. It is in this manner there- 
 fore that I apprehend the last day apostasy will be first mani- 
 fested ; and then, at the winding uj) of the drama, when men 
 are duly prepared by infidel principles on the one hand, or by 
 apathy and indifference on the other, the man of sin will be 
 revealed in the nakedness of unbelief ; and the real character 
 of this modem and spurious liberalism shall be found to be 
 infidelity and idolatry : for these apostates, who have boasted 
 so much of their superior wisdom and strength of mind, will 
 at the same time cast off the Lord and worship a man ! Yes, 
 — Deists, Unitarians, Socinians, who have refused to worship 
 the holy Child Jesus, because he is man as well as God, will 
 worship "the man of sin!" — and those who have refused the 
 Son of God incarnate will bow down to the devil incarnate !* 
 16, 17. Heady, High-mixded. — I take these two charac- 
 teristics together, the one being so intimately connected with 
 
 * I am persuaded that the word " traitors''' is here to be understood 
 in reference to the cause of Christianity. Some however would limit its 
 meaning to those who are traitors to their earthly sovereign. If the 
 Reader be of this opinion, he may be reminded that this is the era also 
 for deposing Jcingg. We have seen, both in France and England, won- 
 derful inconstancy in this respect. Louis Philip and WilUam IV. are 
 one day extolled to the skies as patriot kings; but, let them only inde- 
 pendently exercise their prerogative, and a whole nation rings with fierce, 
 blood-thirsty, and seditious railing at them. 
 e Ps. LV. 21. 
 
235 
 
 the other : for it is a proud and overweening conceit of them- 
 selves, which leads men to be self-willed, head-strong, and 
 unmannerly ; just as that " charity [which] behaveth not itself 
 unseemly," is intimately united with humility. 
 
 I have anticipated much in regard to these particulars ; for 
 boasting, pride, disobedience, fierceness, &c. are fruits proceed- 
 ing from high-minded headiness. But there are still some im- 
 portant circumstances to be noticed. 
 
 The first is, the disposition of men to arrogate to themselves 
 all authority, as if power proceeded from themselves. Hence 
 they " despise government; — they are self-willed : they are 
 not afraid to speak evil of dignities. "^ Hence they contend, 
 that the people are the legitimate source of all power ; losing 
 sight of the providence and mightiness of God : for which 
 reason it is declared of Nebuchadnezzar, (who considered him- 
 self as the author of his own grandeur,) " that his heart was 
 lifted up and his mind hardened in prideJ'n Hence again men 
 endeavour by means of political and trades' unions, or other 
 factious combinations, to govern or overawe their rulers. A 
 law is no sooner promulgated, than they set their wits to 
 work to resist or evade it : and in order to coerce the govern- 
 ment, when they can no longer evade, they threaten to refuse 
 the payment of taxes.* The excuse formerly urged by some, 
 that until the Parliament was reformed the people were not 
 constitutionally represented, will not now avail. The Reform 
 Bill has passed ; but the same heady and rebellious spirit is 
 clearly discernible. And to agitate, as it is called — that is, to 
 do all men can by word and deed to obstruct and trammel the 
 wheels of government — is come to be considered a legitimate 
 proceeding. They now literally cry, — " With our tongue 
 will we prevail : our lips are our own ; who is lord over us ?"^ 
 
 * Since this was first published, it has not only become a threat, but 
 associations have been actually formed for the specific object of resisting 
 taxes ; and those persons (as brokers and others) who have ofiicially in- 
 terfered on the part of Government have been held up to infamy, and 
 their lives endangered. The same principle of taking tlie law into their 
 own hands has been exhibited in Ireland in the instance of tithes. I am 
 not called to enter into the Scriptural propriety of the tithe system ; but 
 putting it on the lowest footing — that it is merely an ordinance of man, 
 — surely Christians are bound " to submit themselves to every ordinance 
 of man for the Lord's sake," whilst it continues law ; and to seek redress 
 in a legal and christian manner, not in a heady and seditious one. 
 
 f 2 Pet. II. 10. g Dan, v. 20. h Psalm xii. 4. 
 
236 
 
 Another mark of the heady high-mindedness of the age is 
 the intolerable conceit, self-sufficiency and arrogance of young 
 people. They no longer defer to the aged, and wait to hear 
 their voice, or to notice their movements, before they act ; 
 but the most desperate efforts at revolution in all parts of the 
 Continent are almost invariably originated and conducted by 
 the students in the public schools and universities, or by clubs 
 of beardless boys. The words of the Prophet are seemingly 
 about to be fulfilled on this generation : — " I will give children 
 
 * to be their princes, and babes shall rule over them ; and the 
 ' people shall be oppressed, every one by another, and every 
 ' one by his neighbour ; the child shall behave himself proudly 
 
 * against the ancient, and the base against the honourable. "i 
 
 It is marvellous also how young men, as well as others, con- 
 ceive themselves competent to speak dogmatically upon sub- 
 jects, concerning which they have actually read nothing, nor 
 ever seriously reflected. Men, for instance, — who scarcely 
 look into the Bible, whose occupations prevent them from 
 studying the subject, will nevertheless speak with overbearing 
 positiveness on religion — that most high and most serious of 
 subjects ; they will condemn w^ithout mercy, and with the 
 greatest flippancy, the books and the ministers which speak 
 not according to their mind ; and they will treat with sovereign 
 contempt whatsoever they are not able clearly to discern with 
 a glance. It is the same in regard to the science of govern- 
 ment or politics : the lowest, the most uneducated, and the 
 most inexperienced, in regard to the history of man and actual 
 observation of the human heart, nevertheless take upon them 
 to discuss and decide ; and all are denounced as intolerant, or 
 bigots, or illiberal, or corrupt, who dare to difl'er from them ! 
 
 It will be confessed tliat, between man and man, nothing 
 could betray a greater want of deference and respect, than if 
 the one were to talk loudly during the time the other was speak- 
 ing, and were to receive his observations with laughter. And 
 by the same rule, nothing could more clearly indicate the 
 self-sufficiency and high-mindedness of a person so acting, if the 
 occasion were such as to demand his patient attention. Pass 
 then into our national senate-house, and observe how all this 
 is acting on a larger scale. Not to dwell on the scenes of 
 heady turbulence which have of late years been acted in the 
 
 i Isaiah iii. 4, 5. 
 
•237 
 
 parliaments of Great Britain, France and Belgium ; members 
 have become generally so noisy and inattentive to others, that 
 it is difficult for an ordinary speaker to be heard. Inex- 
 perienced members, in the present session, have two or three 
 times sat down hopeless of a hearing, and evidently discon- 
 certed and disgusted, and have, nevertheless, been assured by 
 the minister, that they have really been listened to with more 
 than ordinary courtesy ! At the same time, many of our mem- 
 bers seem to go to the House expecting to be entertained; and 
 are continually on the watch for something to laugh at. It is 
 almost impossible now to read through a debate, without 
 meeting with such interruptions to it as these — (laughter) — 
 (great laughter) (long continued laughter) — (roars of laughter) 
 — Alas ! what has become of the gramty and sobriety for which 
 this nation was once so eminent!"^ 
 
 I w^ill only notice finally, the spirit of insubordination that 
 prevails in regard to religious matters ; than which there is no 
 
 * Since writing the above, the following extracts from two of our 
 periodicals have met ray eye. — "No assembly of decent mechanics in the 
 country would be guilty of the indecorums which are constantly commit- 
 ted in the House of Commons. The decencies of civilized society ap- 
 pear to be totally disregarded there. A few nights ago one of our grave 
 legislators amused his brother Members by " crowing like a cock ;" and 
 there was a regular chorus of scraping, hissing and shouting, when Mr. 
 Poulet Scrope rose so speak upon a financial subject, which he imder- 
 stood, though his audience did not. Colonel Davies might well say, that 
 he was ashamed of the behaviour of the House, Sir Robert Peel himself 
 acknowledged, that there was " a great deal of talking, incessant buzz, 
 coughing, and very ungracefiil attitudes," among the " master spirits of 
 the age," as he sneeringly denominated the ^Members of the Reformed 
 Parliament." — Spectator, 1833. " However much the Reformed House 
 of Commons may have deteriorated, when compared with its more cor- 
 rupt predecessors, in respect of correct and gentlemanly deportment, the 
 upper branch seems to have experienced a still more mortifving declen- 
 sion in this particular. vVhat, till lately, could be more dignified and 
 improving than the aspect of the House of Lords ? How worthy to con- 
 stitute an example and pattern for the entire community ! But now 
 personalities, biting sarcasms, and personal abuse, abound to a degree 
 that would be discreditable in any assembly. This is an evil omen." 
 — Recfjrd, July 11, 1833, Mr. Buckingham also, one of the Members 
 for Sheffield, gave the following description of the first session of this 
 ParHament to Lis constituents assembled on a public occasion : — " That 
 session has been marked by scenes more disgraceful than ever charac- 
 terized a Palaver held by ignorant savages under the central trees of 
 Africa. Such scenes of disorder, and such a mockery of legislation, as 
 those who have not seen, can form no conception of" — " such scenes of 
 
238 
 
 greater proof of headiness and high-mindedness. It is upon 
 the express point of being subordinate one to another, that the 
 Apostle says : ** If any man teach otherivise, and consent not 
 ' to Avholesome words, even the words of our Lord Jesus Christ, 
 ' and to the doctrine which is according to godliness, he is 
 ' proud, &c."k It is the want of this spirit of subordination, 
 as I have already intimated, which has produced the endless 
 sects and schisms, which now prevail ; until men, (no longer 
 content with being members of congregations which are inde- 
 pendent of all others, and Avhich thence take their name,) now 
 stand singly and individually (of which I know various in- 
 stances,) unconnected with all denominations, and preferring 
 to form a sect within themselves, because they cannot meet 
 with the exact shade of opinion which may suit their captious 
 and morbid state of mind ; nor find every cog and wheel reg- 
 ulated according to their notions. It seems to be altogether 
 forgotten, that men cannot be " perfectly joined together in 
 the same mind and in the same judgement," to which we have 
 so many exhortations,! unless some give way to others, and 
 suppress their opinions, when those opinions do not involve 
 vital doctrine. Surely men who profess to be spiritual ought to 
 startle, lest, after all, (considering how prone the natural man is 
 to ** despise government") they be proved carnal in the day of 
 the Lord's appearing. Jesus did not separate from the Jewish 
 church, notwistanding its evils : — He protested against them, 
 but continued in communion. And those who stand aloof 
 from communion with all denominations are at least chargeable 
 with being under no ecclesiastical government. 
 
 As to the sin of schistn, one would suppose it an offence 
 impossible to be committed in these days ; no man seems con- 
 scious that he causes divisions or separates himself ;* and when 
 reminded of the evil in the sight of God, men either sneer at 
 the bigotry of the monitor, or more conveniently call that 
 antichrist from which they separate. 
 
 nightly IjraivUng, intemperance, and disorder have been exhibited, as 
 would be considered disgraceful in any Mechanics' Institution in the 
 kingdom, and such as are certainly without a parallel in any country, or 
 in any assembly I ever witnessed." 
 
 * The Reader is requested on this important point to consult the fol- 
 lowing texts and their context. — Romans xvi. 17, 18 ; 1 Cor. i. 10 — 12, 
 &c. with III. 3, 4 ; xi. 17, 18 ; 1 John ii. 18, 19 ; Jude 17—19. 
 
 k 1 Tim. VI. 1—5. 1 Rom. xii. 16 ; 1 Cor. i. 10 ; 2 Cor. xiii. 11 ; 
 Phib I. 27 ; II. 2 : iv. 2 ; 1 Pet. in. 8. 
 
239 
 
 ' I shall only finally observe, that the multitude of self anointed 
 teachers is another manifest proof of high-mindedness. Truly 
 men " desire to be teachers, who understand neither vrhat they 
 say nor whereof they affirm ;"°i whilst others make it part of 
 their system to send forth novices, clean contrar}^ to St. Paul's 
 instructions.il In some denominations, the candidates for the 
 ministry, (who are pupils at their seminaries, and who of ne- 
 cessity must be novices,) are regularly sent forth into the 
 villages and smaller towns to preach. And in others, a man 
 no sooner appears to be seriously impressed, than, if he seem 
 possessed of ability to speak, he is urged to put himself for- 
 ward, (even though unwilling ;) without being " first proved" 
 in regard to his doctrine and spirit. Thus being too frequent- 
 ly " lifted up with pride, he falls into the condemnation of 
 the devil." 
 
 18. Lovers of pleasures, more thax lovers of God. — T 
 feel a difficulty in treating this point, because I must in some 
 measure assume a motive for much of that which appears re- 
 ligious and benevolent : which 1 conceive is what the text 
 would lead us to infer ; viz. that much is done for pleasure, 
 which would appear to be for God. And as by one class of 
 religious professors those churches or chapels are frequented 
 where there is the best music, and the best decorations, or 
 where there is a preacher sufficiently gifted to entertain ; so 
 there are evangelical professors, who seek to be excited rather 
 than edified ; who cannot patiently sit under a minister, how- 
 ever pious, possessed only of ordinary talent ; whilst the Pauls 
 and Apollos of the day are run after, just in the same way as 
 others would run after an actor.* And indeed it is considered 
 
 as indispensable, in some circles, to have heard Mr. 
 
 preach, and to have read Mr. 's new work, as in other 
 
 * Since writing this I have met with a small Tract, the contents of 
 which form a remarkable illustration of many things I have written on 
 this prophecy, both as regards the facts stated, and the remarks of the 
 writer. It is entitled " The System and Practice of Congregational 
 Dissent unfavourable to Religion," and was originally published in the 
 " Christian Remembrancer," Vol. xiv. No. 6. The Writer was himself 
 cradled in Dissent, and is evidently well acquainted with its system, and 
 an intelligent man. At page 17, speaking of the injurious tendency of 
 the system personally, he says — " It converts congregations into an 
 audience, who unconsciously perhaps, seek gratification rather than in- 
 
 ra 1 Tim. I. 7. n Ibid. III. 6— 10. 
 
240 
 
 circles it is to have seen the last new play, and have perused 
 the most recent novel. In rural districts the same feeling in- 
 fluences numbers, though unconscious of it ; and what they call 
 being edified, or yetting good, is often nothing more than being 
 excited and amused. Any thing for novelty : it signifies not 
 who or what the preacher is, man woman or child ; so there 
 be a stranger advertised, he is sure to be run after for the sake 
 of change. The worship of God is with such, of little or no 
 account ; the prayers are often complained of as tedious and 
 wearisome ; and they are imi:)atient until the pulpit is occupied 
 and their entertainment commences.* Thus the preacher is 
 unto them " as a very lovely song of one that hath a pleasant 
 voice, and can play well on an instrument ; for they hear his 
 words, but they do them not."o 
 
 On the other hand, never did the country so abound with 
 schemes of pleasure, and with multitudes of votaries pursuing 
 them ; and this, notwithstanding alleged general distress. 
 Many of our charities must now be promoted by the stimulus 
 of a public dinner, a ball, a play, a concert, or a fancy fair ; 
 the devil thus amusing men with the /orm of godliness, whilst 
 he dissipates their minds, and leads them in reality away from 
 God ! Yea, even our churches — temples dedicated to the 
 living God — are profaned by festivals blasphemously called 
 sacred, in which the holy truths of religion, the tears and suf- 
 ferings and death of Messiah, the judgements and glories of 
 the Lord God Omnipotent, are degraded to an entertainment,, 
 and by profane lips made playthings of ioY jjleasure-lovers /f 
 
 This spirit is greatly betrayed also by religious professors in 
 their eagerness to rush to those pleasures which are not posi- 
 
 struction. There are meetings, indeed, which, like theatres, are built 
 and supported for the profit of the shareholders ; who secure full houses 
 by providing a succession of popular pulpit-actors. It were mockery to 
 apply the name of religion to such services ; yet the principle, whose 
 destructive character is so apparent when thus carried to its full extent, 
 is vindicated and acted upon by all Dissenters." 
 
 * Abroad it is well known that a more awful evidence is seen of the 
 love of pleasure rather than of God : for there, on the .Sabbath, the 
 churches are but thinly attended ; whilst the taverns, the theatres, and 
 places of pubhc entertainment are unusually thronged. And indeed the 
 crowded state of the public houses and tea-gardens in large towns in our 
 own country betray a similar spirit among the majority here. 
 
 •f In the neighbourhood where the writer resides a new mode of raising 
 money is coming into vogue among the dissenters. To announce a 
 
 Ezekiel xxxiii. 32. 
 
241 
 
 lively reprobated by the pious ; as if they were anxious to 
 make up for their abstinence from forbidden things by excess 
 in these. No opportunity is suffered to pass by, if the thing 
 be considered lawful ; not considering, that the pleasure -loving 
 spirit is made manifest by the want of self denial and mode- 
 ration in lawful amusements, just the same as gluttony is ex- 
 hibited by feeding immoderately on lawful meats. That chari- 
 ty which considered the w^ak brother, which would eat no meat 
 lest he should be stumbled, and which would " avoid the appear- 
 ance of evil," is too frequently viewed as the ivant of charity, 
 only because these professors feel themselves reflected on by 
 its exercise.* 
 
 19. Having a form of godliness, but denying the 
 POWER THEREOF. — The most remarkable feature combined wdth 
 the characteristics of these last times, is, that notwithstanding 
 the unsanctified and irreligious spirit that prevails, men desire 
 it to be thought that they are Christians ! Even those who are 
 evidently of a sceptical, not to say infidel, character, do yet 
 contend that they are christians ; and frequently indeed insin- 
 uate that their own Christianity is far more unostentatious and 
 genuine, than that of persons disposed earnestly to contend 
 for the faith given to the saints. 
 
 It is becoming now a prevailing maxim among such, that 
 man is not accountable for his faith ; — which is the essence of 
 practical infidelity and atheism, whilst yet it professes to have 
 a faith. Among the men who are most deeply imbued with 
 the radical liberalism of the age, we have some striking illus- 
 trations that they cling to the form of godliness. One of them, 
 an eminent Irish agitator, on meeting during a political pro- 
 cession with a Romish bishop, alighted from his horse, ran to- 
 wards the prelate uncovered, and kneehng down in the road 
 
 preaching only at their chapels is not sufficiently attractive : it must be 
 preceeded by a tea-drinking, at so much per head ; the females being 
 dressed, as soon as disencumbered of the bonnet, just the same as for a 
 party 1 
 
 * At the Norwich Musical Festival, held in September, 1833, there 
 was introduced and rapturously encored a hymn of idolatrous invocation 
 to the Virgin Mary. Now, as some professors of religion say, they go on 
 these occasions (whatsoever others may do) to W'or*^^jy ; they must ne- 
 cessarily worship the Virgin in such case. But viewing the subject iu 
 the most moderate way, what an awful progression towards apostasy, 
 when professed protestants — among whom were numerous clergymen — 
 can have become so apathetic to the odious character of idolatry, as t'j 
 tolerate such a hymn with complacent ears ! 
 
 Y 
 
242 
 
 implored his blessing. Another, an Englishman, notorious 
 among other most notable acts as being the importer of the 
 bones of the infidel Thomas Paine, stands up in the House of 
 Commons, and declares with zealous warmth, that he is deter- 
 mined to oppose any measure that would tend to unchristianize 
 this country.* A third, formerly the representative of a 
 Scotch borough, but now of an English metropolitan county, 
 and who has recently been proved to have commended and 
 distributed the writings of Thomas Paine, was highly in- 
 dignant on one occasion, because a member, in the course of 
 his remarks, spoke of him as entertaining infidel sentiments. 
 
 If we pass to bodies of men, we may observe the neologists 
 of Germany making the form of Christianity the medium 
 through which they broach their pernicious sentiments. The 
 Unitarians or Socinians of our own country are like minded, 
 and contend strenuously, that they ought to be considered 
 Christians. The Radical assailants of the established church, 
 who have banded together from the various religious denomi- 
 nations, under the name of the Ecclesiastical Knowledge 
 Society, afford a specimen of the animus which prevails among 
 the heady and high-minded of the dissenters ; and these plume 
 themselves in their speeches, as if they only were the people of 
 God, and wisdom must die with them. 
 
 Turning to other bodies of men, the Apostle Paul (in the 
 chapter following the words I am discussing) declares that the 
 ungodliness of the men he is describing will be further mani- 
 fested as follows : — " For the time will come, when they will 
 
 * not endure sound doctrine ; but after their own lusts shall 
 
 * they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears."P 
 Herein the form of godliness is evidently sustained by their 
 seeking a teacher at all ; but each, in his own headiness and 
 wilfulness, seeks the preacher who shall conform to his own 
 views of doctrine and of practice ; making himself, after all, 
 judge and umpire in the question of his own salvation, and 
 plainly evincing that he considers himself " to have need of 
 nothing. "q Surely it will not be denied that this is an age in 
 which men " heap to themselves teachers." The numerous 
 dissenting sects and denominations prove it on the one hand ; 
 and the captiousness with which men, who continue of the 
 
 * The measure more immediately attacked by him was Mr. Grant's 
 bill to permit Jews to have seats ia Parliament, &c. 
 
 P 2 Tim. IV. 3. q Rev. m. 17, and context. 
 
243 
 
 Establishment, do nevertheless move about from one place of 
 worship to another, until the itching ear is gratified, prove it 
 on the other. Many again will not, either in the Establish- 
 ment or out of it, endure those ministers who give them sound 
 doctrine ; — some seek mere moralists, who are decent orators ; 
 others go to the opposite extreme and denounce every thing 
 iu the shape of precept, as being legal and self-righteous ; 
 others are dissatisfied with whatsoever is not boisterous and 
 exciting, and call it tame. 
 
 I shall only observe finally, that there is in the present age 
 no want of high patronage, when solicited, for our various 
 evangelical institutions ; — no deficiency of persons to take the 
 chair, and preside on religious occasions ; — no want of the 
 form of church-going, baptism, &c. And yet the very men 
 who can thus far a})prove religion, and " do many things 
 gladly," betray either a smile of contempt or a feeling of re- 
 pugnance, the moment any person begins to speak of religion 
 as if he conceived there was spiritual power communicated to 
 believers. Such a notion is by multitudes looked upon as 
 the ravings of enthusiasm or fanaticism ; and all indeed that is 
 urged in regard to the in-dwelling of the Spirit, the power of 
 divine grace, the power of faith, &c. is referred to the same 
 source. Thus men, having the form of godliness, doctrinally 
 deny that there is a power in it : and thus, as we have seen, 
 they do by unsanctified lives and evil works practically also 
 deny and contradict the power thereof. 
 
 Having now briefly considered this passage, I would offer one 
 or two concluding observations. 
 
 In illustrating the subject, I have frequently adverted to 
 the character and proceedings of members of the British Le- 
 gislature : not from any invidious feeling towards them ; but 
 because I am justified in assuming them to be the fairest spe- 
 cimen of the general character of the British nation ; more 
 especially when it is considered, that they are now, by a recent 
 act, more fully and extensively the representatives of the peo- 
 ple. The constituency of England are, since the Reform Bill, 
 more than ever responsible in regard to the characters of the 
 men whom they elect; and " the lump" or mass of the nation 
 must be consequently judged of by these " the first fruits."'* 
 
 r Rom. XI. l'>. 
 
244 
 
 If they are content with (yea even prefer) men who are in- 
 fidel, profane, indifferent, ungodly, they nationally stand in the 
 same predicament before God as did the Jews, when they 
 cried — " Not this man but Barabbas." 
 
 I w^ould also again beg the Reader to observe, that I by no 
 means consider the signs described in the passage before us so 
 fully and strikingly manifested in this generation as they pre- 
 sently will be. We may, I think, very distinctly perceive a 
 correspondence between the men of these days, and the char- 
 acteristics we have considered ; but the picture is by no means 
 complete : they are but as the first lineaments which the 
 painter traces on his canvass, and which have to be filled up 
 and receive their due proportions of light and shade, before it 
 can be called a portrait. Or, rather, I would liken what we 
 now see, when compared with the men described by Paul, to 
 the resemblance which we often notice between an infant and 
 a man .■ there is quite sufiicient to enable us to recognise the 
 babe, as being that progeny of Satan of which we are admon- 
 ished ; and as its age advances towards maturity, I feel assured 
 that its features and characteristics will daily be more clearly 
 developed. Those who have not an experimental acquaintance 
 with the state of Society, can form but little notion, how ex- 
 tensively it is dem.oralized in its principles ; and how men, who 
 still seem to be decent characters, are read}?- as soon as occasion 
 offers to cast off restraint. The principles of mischief, at work 
 among us, are fast leavening the whole lump, and will ere long 
 burst like a hurricane, — overthrowing, tearing up by the roots, 
 and sweeping away all before it. Men have already "sown 
 the wind," and when the harvest arrives " they shall reap the 
 whirlwind. "s 
 
 But let not the righteous be dismayed : " They shall not be 
 confounded in the perilous time."^ With the same whirlwind 
 God " shall take away (the wicked) both living and in his 
 * wrath ? — The righteous shall rejoice when he seeth the ven- 
 ' geance ; he shall wash his feet in the blood of the wicked, 
 ' So that a man shall say, Verily, there is a reward for the 
 ' righteous : Verily, He is a God that judgeth in the earth. "'i 
 
 Abdiel. 
 
 s Hosea viii, 7. t Ps. xxxvii. 19. " Ps. lviii. 
 
245 
 
 Essay XV. 
 
 THE PRE-MILLENNIAL ADVEXT AND NEW DI?PEX5ATI0S'. 
 
 I have now gone through those subjects which I consider 
 are capable of demonstration, leaving the obscurer, and conse- 
 quently more disputable, prophecies of Daniel and St. John ; 
 though I consider the expositions supplied by Mr. Cuning- 
 hame to be in the main correct. Tlie great point to be now 
 ascertained in prophetical inquiry is, whether the second ad- 
 vent or appearing of the Lord Jesus is to take place at the 
 commencement of that period which we call the MiLLEXNirM, 
 or after it. For it must not be supposed that 'the difference 
 between those who are called Millennarians and those opposed 
 to them consists in the manner or details of the kingdom of God. 
 We may be mistaken in some of the subordinate particulars, 
 and there are points on which it would be presumptuous to 
 pronounce with confidence, until events enable us to judge 
 more clearly ; but that which forms the great criterion whereby 
 the general truth and accuracy of either system may be tested 
 is the time of the advent. If the appearing of Christ, or even 
 the resurrection of the saints, is previous to the Millennium, 
 then they are wrong who suppose the Millennium to consist 
 only in an improved state of spiritual things, similar to what 
 we now witness when religion prevails, in any place. But if 
 there be no resurrection, neither any appearing of Christ at 
 the commencement of it, then the millennarian hope, which I 
 have decidedly embraced, falls to the ground ; and the adjust- 
 ment of historical facts and dates will be the only remaining 
 points of any moment between writers on prophecy* 
 
 The discerning Reader will have noticed, in the course of 
 these Essays, many arguments which go to prove that the ap- 
 pearing of Christ is pre -millennial ; and I will here admonish 
 him of one consideration, vvhich to my own mind is quite con- 
 clusive, and which alone renders the notion of Christ's coming 
 after the Millennium irreconcileable with the general tenor of 
 Scripture. — I have shown, that the apostles alwa^^s speak of the 
 coming and kingdom of Christ as an event nigh at hand, and 
 drawing rapidly onward ; so that we should ever be on the look 
 out and w^atchful for it. But those who deny that he comes 
 before the Millennium do deliberately contradict the Scriptures 
 
246 
 
 in this respect, and say — " You have no need to watch for or 
 expect him ; for Christ to a certainty comes not for a thousand 
 years ; and it will be time enough, when the Millennium is past 
 and Satan is again let loose, to think of preparing for the day 
 of God." Such is the real tendency of these opinions ; and 
 being clearly opposed to the tenor of divine revelation, they 
 must be so far wrong. 
 
 I would now, by way of summary, briefly show that what- 
 ever event we look forward to, connected with the ushering in 
 of the Millennium, the coming of Christ is connected with it. 
 I will next urge an argument drawn from the consideration of 
 the dififerent character of the millennial dispensation, as com- 
 pared with that under which we live ; and then pass on to a 
 final argument drawn from analogy. 
 
 I. 1 have already shown at page 194, that if we look to the 
 restoration of the Jews, whatever view we take of that event, 
 W'C are assured that then shall the Lord appear in his glory. 
 For indeed their house is only left unto them desolate till they 
 shall say — Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord. 
 And Daniel xii. 1 — 3 shows further, that a resurrection from 
 the dead takes place at the time of the deliverance of his 
 (Daniel's) people. 
 
 If "v^e look to the destruction of Antichrist, (a point on which 
 I have not dwelt,) it is to be by the brightness of the Lord's 
 comi?ig ; (2 Thess. ii. 8) in regard to which, be it observed, 
 the expression made use of in the original for brightness 
 {eTTKbaveia,) always has a reference, when applied to Christ, to 
 his glorious appearing; and the word translated coming 
 (jrapovcjui) means always a persojial advent. This being the 
 case, either the Lord appears at the beginning of the Millen- 
 nium, or Antichrist continues to reign throughout the Millen- 
 nium. The same thing is shown in Daniel vii. 20 — 22 ; the 
 Little Horn (which is admitted by all to be Antichrist) pre- 
 * vails against the saints " until the Ancient of days comes 
 ' and judgment is given to the saints of the Most High, and 
 ' the time comes that the saints possess the kingdom." 
 
 If again we regard the mystical dates of Daniel, which ter- 
 minate (as all agree, with only one exception that I know of* ) 
 
 * This exception, it is true, is Mr. Faber, who in order to avoid the 
 admission of the pre -millennial advent, (to which his own reasonings 
 would otherwise lead him) makes the 1290 days of Dan. xii. 11 and the 
 
247 
 
 at the beginning of the Millennium ; it is expressly declared 
 to Daniel — " Go thou thy way till the end be, for thou shalt 
 rest, and stand in thy lot at the end of the days." So that at 
 the end of those days which are to elapse before the ]\Iillen- 
 nium Daniel is to rise from the dead, in order to have his part 
 or lot in the glory then to be revealed. And if a resurrection 
 is to take place, then of course Christ is to appear ; for when 
 the saints come, it is in company with Christ their head. 
 
 We will next consider that glorious and peaceful rest sha- 
 dowed forth by the Feast of Tabernacles , the antitype of which 
 is to be enjoyed at the final restoration of the Jews, when 
 every man shall sit under his own vine and fig tree. Now in 
 Zechariah xiv. is described a great warfare among the nations 
 against Jerusalem ; and every one of the nations that contin- 
 ues after that vrarfare is required to go up from year to year to 
 worship the King, the Lord of Hosts, and to keep the feast of 
 Tabernacles. (y.lQ.) This description of their ^o?'??^ ?//;, and 
 annually, and to keep this festival, shows that it takes place on 
 earth. There is afterwards described a punishment which 
 shall fall upon those nations who neglect to go up, — \\z. that 
 they shall have no rain. And because in the land of Egypt 
 there is no rain, a peculiar and distinct plague is threatened 
 if that nation go not up ; which again proves it to be a state 
 on earth, {vv. 17 — 19.) Now previous to this, during that 
 very warfare from the dire effects of which these nations 
 escape, the Lord appears : and " his feet stand upon the 
 Mount of Olives." {v. 14.) And not only is the Lord de- 
 clared to " come," but " all the saints with Thee." {v. 15.) 
 Mr. Faber himself admits that the description in this passage, 
 taken altogether, is designed by its preciseness to exclude the 
 possibility of a figurative interpretation. 
 
 The parable of the Tares, if properly considered, proves 
 that the Harvest, at the end of the world, (or age, atwr) when 
 all things are gathered out that offend and do iniquity, and the 
 tares are burnt, and the righteous shine forth like the sun in 
 the kingdom of their Father, — I say it proves that this takes 
 place previous to the Millennium. For the Lord declares of 
 the tares and wheat " Let both grow together till the har- 
 vest." So that if the harvest, when the earth is reaped and the 
 
 1335 days of verse 12 each separate periods of years, and thus interposes 
 a space of 1335 years yet to elapse before the Advent ! 
 
248 
 
 tares burnt up, is after the Millennium, then tares and wheat 
 are mixed together throughout the Millennium ; which is 
 directly contrary to the admitted character of its holiness. 
 And if, on the other hand, the tares are first separated, and all 
 which offends gathered out, then the burning is previous to 
 the Millennium. 
 
 Again, tlie marriage of the Lamb is the time when the Lord 
 is finally united to his glorified Church. The resurrection of 
 the saints must necessarily have taken place at that time, and 
 the glorious appearing of the Lord: for it is the same as the 
 coming of the Bridegroom mentioned in the parable of the 
 virgins. But the marriage of the Lamb's wife is in Rev, xix. 
 intimately connected with the period of the final judgment 
 upon Babylon, or the papacy ; (See verses 1 — 8 and their 
 connection with the previous chapter) and as it apparently 
 takes place immediateh^ after the judgment on the great whore ; 
 so it apparently precedes the judgement on the infidel con- 
 federacy which burns the whore ; (see verses 11 — 21) and the 
 armies on white horses, and in fine linen white and clean, are 
 probably, if we compare verse 8, these same risen saints, who 
 receive " the two edged sword" — " to execute vengeance upon 
 ' the heathen, and punishments upon the people, to bind their 
 ' kings with chains, and their nobles with fetters of iron ; to 
 ' execute upon them the judgement ; [as it is] written — This 
 ' honor have all his saints. Praise ye the Lord." * 
 
 II. I proceed, secondly, to the argument derived from the 
 character of the millennial dispensation. 
 
 Those \\\\o oppose the views I have taken object to our con- 
 sidering the period of the iMillennium as a New Dispensation. 
 It is not that they call in question the doctrine of a Millen- 
 nium itself, abstractedly considered ; but they conceive that it 
 is to be brought about by the world's becoming generally con- 
 verted, and the Church therefore progressively gliding into a 
 state of increased spirituality and honor by the instrumentality 
 of those means already in operation. It is supposed therefore, 
 that the millennial state will not differ from the present dis- 
 pensation in any thing but the universal prevalence of true 
 religion. 
 
 But if those who think thus would only candidly weigh the 
 statements made by writers on prophecy, whose expositions 
 
 * Compare Psalm cxlix. from which this is quoted, specially the sen- 
 tences in italics, with verses 5, 15, 18, of Rev. xix. 
 
249 
 
 in the general they adopt ; — and consider to what their own 
 views would necessarily lead them, were they but realized, and 
 carried out to their full extent ; — they would perceive, that the 
 millennial state cannot at all comport with various features of 
 the present dispensation, and that it must consequently, in 
 several very important particulars, constitute a new dispen- 
 sation. 
 
 Startling as it may appear to some, yet I apprehend it will 
 be found, that the Holy Scriptures ivould, for the most part, be 
 rendered inapplicable to the then existing circumstances of men 
 in the flesh : and that there would need some further revela- 
 tion from God."^ And I think it must be allowed, that a state 
 of things which supersedes a portion of divine revelation 
 hitherto enjoyed, and introduces men into a state of things 
 which is the consummation of that revealed, has one grand 
 characteristic of a new dispensation : if not, the introduction 
 of the christian sera was not a new dispensation, but merely a 
 continuation of the Mosaical. 
 
 To come however to the point. — It is admitted, that Satan 
 will be bound during the Millennium ; which, according to 
 those even w^ho spiritualize it, signifies, that his influence will 
 be so restrained, that he shall not be permitted to deceive nor 
 tempt either nations or individuals. What become then of 
 those numerous passages of Scripture, which inform us of his 
 character and power ; which warn us against his subtlety and 
 temptations ; and direct us to the armour we must use in or- 
 der to contend with him ? 
 
 Moreover, with the binding of Satan there will necessarily 
 cease all the persecution and annoyance which the saints suffer 
 from those who are under his influence, and which more im- 
 mediately constitutes them a Church militant. All that is 
 written for the comfort of the believer under such circum- 
 stances, — the promises set before him to sustain him during 
 the conflict, and the experience of the " cloud of witnesses" re- 
 corded for his encouragement, — will become, comparatively, a 
 dead letter, — a matter inapplicable to the circumstances in 
 which the Church can, for a thousand years, by any proba- 
 bility be placed. 
 
 * To avoid being misunderstood I would observe, that when I say the 
 Scriptures would he for the most jyart inapplicable, I am aware that there 
 are many glorious declarations concerning the divine attributes and con- 
 duct, which could never lose their power and influence on a regener- 
 ate soul. 
 
250 
 
 This will be still further evident if it be considered, that the 
 Millennium is the period of the triumph and rejoicing of the 
 Church ; whereas the present dispensation is that of mourning. 
 The Church is the Bride, who, while the Bridegroom is ab- 
 sent, fasts and mourns. (Matt. ix. 15.) A time therefore in 
 which it is supposed the Bride rejoices without the Bridegroom 
 is utterly irreconcileable. 
 
 Again, the people of God are now described as '* a little 
 fiock, and the ivhole ivorld is said to be " lying in wickedness." 
 But it is admitted, that during the Millennium the earth shall 
 be filled with the knowledge of the Lord ! all shall know God 
 from the highest to the least ; and holiness and righteousness 
 shall every where prevail. The flock of Christ will therefore 
 be the multitude, and not the remnant ; and all those admoni- 
 tions and doctrines (so useful in guarding us against ungodly 
 men, and leading us to live separate and unspotted from the 
 world, and to shine as lights in the midst of a crooked and per- 
 verse generation,) will be equally neutralized. 
 
 The same may be said in regard to the commandments, and 
 all the preceptive parts of Scripture coming under the deno- 
 mination of the Law : " knowing this, that the law is not made 
 ' for the righteous man, but for the lawless and disobedient, 
 ' for the ungodly and for sinners, for unholy and profane, for 
 ' murderers of fathers, &c."a None can be excited to murder, 
 when he who is the murderer fi-om the beginning, the great 
 destroyer, is restrained. — None can be unholy and profane 
 where all is holiness to the Lord. — None will be practically 
 lawless and disobedient, or have need for any to say to them, 
 " Kjiow the Lord." 
 
 By the same rule, all those statements will be unsuitable, 
 which set forth the Church as consisting of a mixture of good 
 and evil, — like tares growing with wheat, good and bad fishes, 
 wise and foolish virgins, &c. All things which off'end and do 
 iniquity will be gathered out ; every tree not planted by our 
 heavenly Father will be rooted up ; and the entire aspect of 
 the dispensation will be changed. 
 
 The prophetic parts of Scripture are, alas ! too much thrown 
 out of the account in the present day ; and thousands, if one 
 may judge from the neglect with which they are treated, would 
 think it no loss to be altogether deprived of them. Then 
 
 a 1 Tim. I. 9. 
 
•251 
 
 however, their great use will necessarily be superseded ; they 
 will truly then have become only " matter of history ;" and 
 " they shall /«z7," (being accomplished,) as to any immediate 
 need which the Church may have of them. So will it be 
 also in regard to proinises concerning the kingdom of our 
 Lord. Surely the kingdom will be already come, when all 
 the kingdoms of this w^orld shall have become the kingdoms 
 of our Lord and of his Christ. With what propriety then 
 could men any longer be exhorted " to seek," and to " lay 
 up treasure,*' and " to hope," for that, which they will already 
 be in possession of ? 
 
 I forbear to bring forward many other particulars, which 
 would be rendered nugatory by our Lord's personal advent, be- 
 cause it would be assuming that for granted, which is not 
 yielded by those with whom I nov/ more directly argue. What 
 I have advanced is sufficient to evince, that the whole character 
 of the Church and of the state of mankind would be so al- 
 tered, together with their spiritual and religious circumstances, 
 that we should no longer find them pourtrayed generally in 
 the length and breadth of Scripture ; and it would not perhaps 
 be too much to say, that the great bulk of what are called 
 practical discourses, as at present delivered or published, would 
 be entirely unsuited to the condition of mankind. 
 
 in. This view of the subject is further strikingly confirmed 
 by referring to the past history of the Church, and reasoning 
 from analogy. Whensoever any great change has been made 
 in its circumstances and condition, it has always been accom- 
 panied by a further revelation from God, concerning the dis- 
 pensation then about to be introduced, and containing also 
 some intimations of the dispensation beyond that. We know 
 but little of the state of worship and knowledge of God ex- 
 isting in the antediluvian world; but, so far as we can judge 
 from what is written, there was a gradual increase of blessed 
 promises, containing in them much light for the Church, made 
 to Noah, Abraham, and the patriarchs. Moreover, the wor- 
 ship of God assumed under them more ostensibly the character 
 of an ordinance. There were also intimations given of the 
 aflliction which the house of Israel should endure in Egypt, 
 and of the deliverance they should experience therefrom. Then 
 came the Mosaic dispensation, attended by a further revelation 
 from mount Sinai ; and which was progressivly added to up to 
 the period of the return from Babylon and the building of the 
 
second Temple. We know from our Saviour's doctrine, and 
 from the application of prophecies and types of the Old Tes- 
 tament, that much was intimated concerning the christian dis- 
 pensation, and much also concerning the millennial ; yet were 
 they, " whilst under the law, kept shut up unto the faith ichich 
 should aftericards be revealed."^ Next came the revelation to 
 the christian Church ; the character of which on the one hand 
 is, that life and immortality are brought to hght ; whilst on 
 the other hand we are assured, " that we know but in part, 
 and see through a glass (or rather, in an enigma^) darkly." 
 
 Again, each decidedly marked £era in the history of the 
 Church has not only been accompanied by an increase of re- 
 velation, but by a disannulling or superseding something going 
 before. How few of the traditions which were in the early 
 Church, and by which it was mainly guided until the giving of 
 the Law, are preserved in the Pentateuch. And how fallen 
 into disuse are the ceremonial and civil law, which formed 
 nevertheless so large a portion of the Mosaical dispensation. 
 These things are indeed by no means unprofitable : many, if 
 not most of them, are still shadows of good things to come ; 
 and all serve to reflect light upon the things now possessed. 
 But it is nevertheless evident, that their use is exceedingly 
 different now, to what it was when they existed as ordi- 
 nances of worship in the Church ; and this essential change 
 in the use and application of them it is, that bespeaks us to be 
 now under a dispensation differing from the Mosaical. When 
 therefore a similar difference shall exist in the use of the New 
 Testament revelation, it will be equally manifest that a new dis- 
 pensation has arrived. Nor will the Scriptures, superseded in 
 the Milleunium, be devoid of interest or use; but they will serve 
 in the way of retrospect and memorial -."^ excepting some very 
 few passages, respecting the little season when Satan shall be 
 loosed and the events which are to follow. At the Millennium 
 then, will be fulfilled more completelj', as I apprehend, the pro- 
 phecy of Joel ; " And it shall come to pass afterwards, that I 
 ' will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh ; and your sons and 
 
 * Thus the manna given in the wilderness ceased on the entering of 
 the Church into the promised land ; but a pot of it was laid up in the 
 ark as a memorial. Thus also the Lamb of the Passover shadowed forth 
 the sacrifice of the Lord Jesus which ivas to be ; and the bread and the 
 wine are the meinorial of the same. 
 
 b Gal. III. 23, c 1 Cor. xiii, 1*2. 
 
253 
 
 * your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream 
 
 * dreams, your young men shall see visions : and also' upon the 
 
 * servants and handmaids in those days will I pour out my 
 ' Spirit." (Joel ii. 28, 29.) 
 
 There are one or two other circumstances characteristic of a 
 new dispensation, which may still further serve to illustrate 
 the case in point by analog3^ In every successive state of the 
 Church man has always been put afresh upon his trial, but 
 under different circumstances ; it being apparently one of the 
 objects of God to teach his redeemed, experimentally, the im- 
 possibility of continuing upright, however varied their circum- 
 stances and advantages. Thus, " in the dispensation of the 
 fulness of times," they will have a most unequivocal convic- 
 tion, that they would fall, were they not sustained by the 
 special grace of God. It is a lesson not only to be learned by 
 men, but to be exhibited also to the thrones and principalities 
 in heavenly places ; that the elect angels may likewise com- 
 prehend the footing on whicli the}'' stand. 
 
 How awfully instructive is the history of the Churcli in this 
 respect I We see man placed first in a state of innocence, en- 
 joying occasional intercourse with his Creator ; he is tempted, 
 and he falls. Being now in some measure taught by fatal ex- 
 perience, — having acquired also the knowledge of good and evil, 
 — he nevertheless presently apostatizes again, and the whole 
 human race, excepting eight persons, is swept away ! After 
 the flood we know, from the attempt to build Babel, and from 
 the state of Sodom ?aid Gomorrah and the Canaanitish nations, 
 how little the n'orld had gained by the further experience 
 granted to it ; but (to keep more immediately to the history 
 of the Church) the Law is now given, and man is to be re- 
 strained or stimulated by various threats and promises, given 
 under circumstances awfully impressive ; he is to enjoy a great 
 increase of divine revelation ; and is to witness numerous re- 
 markable evidences of the divine power, providence and glory. 
 Wonderfully increased are his advantages nov/ : nevertheless 
 — he falls ! Next he passes into the spiritual dispensation the 
 superior advantages of which cannot be better described than 
 in the words of our Lord and those of his apostles after him. — 
 " Verily I say unto you, that many prophets and righteous 
 
 * men have desired to see those things M'hich you see, and have 
 ' not seen them ; and to hear those things which ye hear, and 
 ' have not heard them." — " For if the ministration of con- 
 
254 
 
 ' demnation be glory, much more cloth the ministmtion of 
 
 * righteousness exceed in glory, "^ We know however, from 
 the prophecies already considered, that in the latter days of this 
 dispensation men will again fall away from God. We have 
 indeed already witnessed instances of kingdoms and states, 
 which have either corrupted the truth of God, or forsaken it ; 
 and we have seen, alas ! that sad indications are prevalent, 
 throughout the Christian Church, of a spirit of increasing apos- 
 tasy from God. The millennial state will succeed ; and this 
 "\\dll apparently combine all the various advantages hitherto 
 enjoyed. There will be the open vision of Christ, angelic in- 
 tercourse, the concentration (as it were) of spiritual light and 
 power, the absence of temptation, and the experience of six 
 thousand years ; yet. we know from Rev. xx. that man will 
 again apostatize !* 
 
 It would appear likewise, that men, as well as angels, must 
 have continually before them some striking memorial or speci- 
 men of God's vengeance against sin, — and this the vengeance 
 of eternal fire. The angels have the example of those angels 
 that rebelled and are cast down to hell. The antediluvians 
 had the cherubim with the flaming sword, to remind them of 
 the Eden from which Adam was ejected. ^ The post-diluvians 
 soon had " Sodom and Gomorrah, and the cities about them, 
 set forth for an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal 
 flre."^ In the Millennium there is apparently to be a similar 
 example : some portion of the earth shall be so visited, " that 
 ' the streams thereof shall be turned into pitch, an-d the dust 
 ' thereof into brimstone, and the land thereof shall become 
 
 * burning pitch .- it shall not be quenched night nor day ; the 
 
 * smoke thereof shall go up for ever, &c."^ And when " upon 
 ' the wicked the Lord shall rain snares, flre and hinmstone, — a 
 ' horrible tempest !"i " the redeemed shall go forth (from one 
 ' sabbath to another, according to the context) and look upon 
 
 * the carcases of the men that have transgressed against Ale : for 
 
 * their worm shall not die, neither shall their fire be quench- 
 
 * ed."k So also after the Millennium, there shall be the devil 
 
 * Of covirse these observations do not affect the risen saints : these 
 can neither die any more, nor sin any more. 
 
 d Matt. XIII. 17 ; 2 Cor. iii. 9. ^2 Pet. ii. iv. f Gen. iii. 24. 
 S Jude V. 7. h Isaiah xxxiv. l Psalm xi. ^ Isaiah lxvi. 23, 24. 
 
255 
 
 and the men deceived by him, " cast into the lake of fire, and 
 shall be tormented day and night for ever. "1 
 
 It may be objected, that in some of these latter circum- 
 stances I have assumed for granted that certain passages be- 
 long to the millennial period, which others refer to the last 
 judgement : this I undoubtedly have done ; and it would be 
 well if those inclined to advance the objection would carefully 
 examine the grounds on which they so refer them. In the 
 mean while, what I have previously stated concerning the 
 Scriptures, is unencumbered by such an objection, and humbly 
 submitted to their serious consideration. 
 
 Abdiel 
 
 1 Rev. XX. 10. 
 
 iTFORD VRIXTED BT T. TUIITEV