tibrary of Che Cheoiogical Seminary PRINCETON • NEW JERSEY PRESENTED BY Miss Sarah Stockton k. V tation^# ^all< LONDON: Printed and fold by I. Garner, No. 57, Wych-ftrsr, Alfo fold by T. Scollick, City-Road, Moornclds j and J. Parsons, Paternofter -Row, •*I.DCt.J.XX>U, I COURSE of LECTURES, ON THE PROPHECIES THAT REMAIN TO BE FULFILLED. LECTURE IX. A preliminary Letlure upon the Millenium, &c. containing fome Obfervations upon fever al Syfiems that have been broached, pointing out fome of their defecls, and giving fome reafons zvhy thefe matters have been fo much bewildered, and fo little underjlood. EING about to enter particularly upon the con- sideration of thofe numerous and glorious pro- phecies, which relate to the kingdom of Chrift on earth before the conflagration, and to give you the hiftory of a thoufand years, as foretold by the voice of infpiration ; a period big with the mod important events ; and upon which I Jfhall ,dwell with pleafure, as I expect you will liften with attention ; I think it proper to make a few preliminary obfervations, in order to prepare your minds for the amazing fubject. And although I very felcjom take notice of the par- ticular fyftems of others where they differ from me, yet in this cafe neceility as it were obliges me to men- tion, and make fome remarks upon feveral fchemes A 2 that £ Lectures on the Prophecies. that have been advanced refpe&ing the Millenium, and the new heavens and earth. Some hold the thoufand years to be only a time of great increafe of the church and interclt of Chrift in the world ; of great fpiritual bleffing to mankind ; but that we are not to look for any glorious temporal kingdom of Chrift in the world, any further than that his gofpel fhall fpread through the earth, he. But none of thefe carry the idea of fpiritual blemngs higher than you will find them in the following Le&ures, and generally not fp high : So that we have all the advan- tages in this icheme of thofe who hold the Millenium only as a fpiritual reign of Chrift in the hearts of men, and many betides, which are wanting in all their fyf- tems. There are others, who in addition to the former, allow that there fhaJl be a thoufand years of outward peace, health, and plenty, during which time the fyftems of governments in all nations (hall be juft and equal, and that oppreffion, fraud, and other like crimes, £hall be banifhed from the earth ; that many more fhall be born, during that period, than ever have yet been fince time began : But they deny what we think the" Scripture affirms, that Chrift with his faints will pcrfonally appear to reign on the earth during that time, and to accompliih thefe great purpoles. There a:e others who hold with the perfonal ap- pearance of Chrift and his faints to reign on the earth a thoufand years ; but then they hold that the earth ihall be firft burnt up, and the new earth fhall be created, to which Chrift and his faints fhall defcend and reign ; during which time Satan ihall be bound, and LECTURE IX, nrhs ; feven years fhall their weapons ferve for fuel : a glorious time of peace and profperity on earth (hall immediately f ucceed to their dcfbru&ion : — But as LECTURE IX. M as the latter Gog and Magog fhall be devoired by fire, nothing of all this burying them, &c. can happen ; their deftruction will be immediately followed by the refurrection of all the dead, who fhall riot be raifed at the coming of Chrift, the great day of judgment, and the conflagration of the world. Now thefe are fuch differences as are fufUcient to convince any perfons, that the Gog and Mag;g of Ezekiel and John are not the fam?, notwithftanding thofe things in which they agree. The Millenium and the new heaven and earth have been confounded together, owing to their being, both periods of peace and profperity, in which Chrift and his faints mail have the kingdom and icigii — But then they plainly differ in the following things :— i. The Millenium, or the reign of Chrift and his faints on the earth before its diffolution, is exprefly limited toathoufand years, Rev. xx. But on the new earth the fervants of God fhall reign for ever and ever, or to the ages of the ages, Rev. xxii. 5. — Nowfurely, no thinking perfon can fuppofe that the Spirit of God would exprefly limit the reign of Chrift and' his faints to a thoufand years five times in one chapter , and in another chapter exprefly declare it to be foi the ages of the ares, if he intended the fame time in both. 2. In the Millenium, the ihips of Taifhifh fhall wait upon God, and the abundance of the lea (ball be converted, and the iflands of the fea fhall hear his fame,, and the inhabitants of them (hall praife and glo- rify him : — but in the new earth there fhall be no more fea. B 2 3- ^ i % Lefturcs on the Prophecies. 3. In the Millenium the earth fhall have need of rain, which fhall not be granted to thofe who refnfe to come up to Jerufalem yearly, to vvorfhip the King, Jehovah of Hofts : — fifhers fhall fland upon the fea - (hores to fiili : and the whole earth fhall be highly cultivated : — but as there will be no fea in the new earth, there will of confequence be no rain, no fifh, no fiihermen, no cultivation, planting and low- ing, &c. But the river of the water of life, clear as cryftal, proceeding out of the throne of God and the Lamb, fhall water the new earth, and give drink to all the inhabitants ; and the tree of life fhall for ever afford them both food and medicine. 4. As at the clofe of the Millenium the fea is to give up its dead, as well as the earth — and as in the new earth the fea is to exift no more — it is evident that the Millenium, and the new heaven and earth, cannot poffibiy be cotemporary, unlefs a thing can be and not be at the fame time. The city that fhall be called Jehovah Shammah, or The Milknial Jerufalem, and the new and heavenly Jerufalem, both are four-fquare — have each twelve gates, three of a fidej with the names of the twelve tribes of the children of lfrael written thereon — both cities are retorted to by the nations of the earth — both are capital or chief cities of their refpeclive earths. — Now thefe ft.rik.ing likeneffes between them, have made many perions take them for one and the fame city. But now for the differences : ■ 1, The Millenial Jerufalem; tho' the larger! city in the world, being about t^n miles fquare, or four times as large as London,, is yet nothing compared to the hea- venly LECTURE IX. venly Jerufalem, which is twelve thoufand furlongs, or one thoufand and five hundred miles fquare ; con- taining two millions two hundred and fifty thoufand fquare miles, or an hundred and forty-four millions of fquare 'furlongs. 2. The Millenial Jerufalem flin.ll be built on earth, by the hands cf men, of common ma'erials : — but the New Jerufalem hath God alone for its builder and maker, and (hall defcend from God out of heaven ; as not a thoufand fuch globes as that whereon we dwell could furnifh materials luliicient to erect fuch a city ; fifteen hundred miles fquare; walls of an hundred and forty-four cubits thicknefs, and fifteen hundred miles high, compofed of jafper, clear as cryftal ; pearls, iingle pearls, form the gates, in a wall fo thick and high ; the pavement is tranfparent gold ; the foundations garnifhed with all manner of precious (tones. It is well that the fame book that informs ais of this city, defcribes its glory, greatnefs, riches and magnificence, tells us, at the fame time, that it is to defcend from God out of heaven, and that it owes its exiftence immediately to the creating power of him that made all things ; or faith itfelf could not have be- lieved the wonderful account, which infinitely exceeds all that fiction hath invented ! 3. Chrift in the Millenium will not dwell perfonally in Jerufalem, (tho' poflibly he may make an entrance into it every year) ; but the place of his throne, and the place of the foles of his feet, fhall be in the temple, or holy houfe, which fhall (land more than thirty miles to the north of the city : — L but in the New Jerufalem, there fhall be the throne cf Gcd and the Lamb, and there fhall 14 Le {lures en the Fropbeeies. mall be no temple therein ; for the Lord God Al- mighty and the Lamb are the temple thereof. Thefe, and many other circnmftances that might be mentioned, mark the difference between the Millenium and the new heaven and earth, and the city Jehovah- Sl\ir>:mah and the New Jerufalem ; and clearly (hew them not to be the fame, nor cotemporary, but different and fucceflive dates. And the confounding of thefe together, has been the firft fource of the amazing diffi- nulties and abfurdities in which different fchemes of the Millenium have been involved. Secondly. Another way in which this weighty caufe has been puzzled, is, by dividing and fundering what God hath connected or joined together. Some, with Dr. Gill, believe that there mail be two periods; onq before the thoufand years, which they call the fpiritual reign of Chrift, and in which the gofpel fhall be fpread thro* the world, the knowledge of the Lord fhall cover the earth as the waters cover the fea ; the Jews fhall be converted, and the nations brought to ferve the Lord : and this ("hall continue for a little time, perhaps two hundred years ; and then all the wonderful things fpoken of in the Scriptures, refpecting the increafe of Chrift's kingdom and his fubjecls, fhall be over for ever. Then the Lord fhall come — raife his faints — burn the globe — -then renew the earth — -then come and reign upon it a thoufand years with his faints ; without any other fu'ojefts, or for any purpofe, except juft to be able to fay that they have inherited the earth. — But to this hypothefis, befides what I have cbferved before,, may be cbje&ed, i. That LECTURE IX. 15 1 . That this great and wonderful work of the uni- rerfal fpread of the gofpel, &c. before the coming of Chrift, does not well agree with our Saviour's defctip- tion of the (late of the world, and its inhabitants, at the time of his coming, when faith (hall hardly be found on earth : when iniquity and violence fhall abound, as in the days of Noah before the flood, and as in the days of Lot, before the deftruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. 2. It does not give time for the com pleat fulfilling of all the great things fpoken of by the prophets: as, for inftance, the compleat fettlement of the earth, and its being filled with people, notwithstanding the great deftructions that fhall happen at the beginning of the period. Not much lefs ,than a thoufand years arc fufficient to acccmplilh this ; efpecially when we con- fider that man's life will be fo long, that he that dietli an hundred years old fhall die a boy ; and that as the days of a tree, fliall the days of God's people be in that ftate ; and that his elect fhall long enjoy the work of their hands ; which could not be true, unlefs this happy time was to laft more than two or three hundred years. Nearly a thoufand years feem neceffary for ac- complishing perfectly all thefe great things, and fulfil- ling all the promifes refpecting the latter days, in their full glory and extent ; and more than a thoufand years feem not to be required ; as in that time, even by a moderate increafe, the earth would, by a few begin- ners, be as full of people as it could hold. 3. This fcheme brings forth a great and aftonirhing effect, without an efficient and proportionable caufe : As for inftance, the Jews are fuppofed to be converted by 3 5 JLeHurts on the Prophecies. by thofe means which for ages they have refilled ; yea, by means far lefs than they refitted at fii ft. But can any rational man fuppofe, that a people who refilled Chrift himfelf, and the preaching of the gofpel by the mouths of the infpired apoftles, confirmed by evi- dent miracles, and who have hardened themfelves more and more for many ages, fliall all at once, with- out any thing uncommon, but by the preaching of the gofpel, be thoroughly converted to God ? And the fame, in part, may be faid of the heathen world, the Mahometans, &c. And what can bring the Chriftians to be one, as the Father and the Son are one, and caufe the minifters of Chrift, now divided in judgment aim oft upon every point, to fee eye to eye ? Thefe things feem too great to be accomplifhed on earth 'till the perfonal appearance of Chrift, which ap- pears to be a caufe fuflicientto bring to pafs great events. Therefore we have no occalion to divide the con- verfion of the Jews from the perfonal appearance of Chrift, fince God has joined them together; and has declared that tfyey fliall look upon him whom they have pierced, and mourn. And can any thing bring even honeft Chriftians to think alike, but the appear- ance of an infallible judge to take his ftation on the earth, and fend his melTengers through the world to fettle all difputes ? Such an event is devoutly to be . wifhed ; and we believe that it muft take place before the prophecies can be fulfilled. There is therefore no necefiky for dividing Chrift's fp'uitual and perfonal reign into two periods, fince both fpiritual and temporal bleflings are promifed, and may be given at the fame time. And Chrift's. 1 ° •■ . 7 reigning LECTURE IX. 17 reigning perfonally on earth, will be fo far from pre- venting his reigning fpiritually in the hearts of men, that it will be the moft effectual method fo to do. Thirdly. Another reafon why many perfons do not wnderftand thefe matters at all, is, becaufe their ideas are confufed about the coming of Chrift, and the con- fequences that will follow in their order : they have an idea that Chrift will come, raife and judge all the dead at once, burn the globe, and put an end to the whole fcene. One principal defign of thefe Lectures is to fet the coming of Chrift, and the great defigns he has in view, in their own natural, fciiptural, and beautiful light : which I have already done in part, and hope to do more in fome following Lectures. Chrift had many defigns in fuffering death, though ^%£ few think he had above one, and all denominations differ about what that one was : fome fay this, fome that, and fome the other; but in fa<5t he had all in view that they all fay put together, for they all take their ideas from the Sciptures ; and if the Scripture in different paffages mentions an hundred defigns Chrift had in fuffering death, he certainly had them all, as truly as though all had been mentioned in one text. I have reckoned up twelve different defigns of Chrift's death, which the Scriptures have mentioned : [which fee below*.] And if there were as many more, he *destgn:s OF the death of chrtst. I. That the prophecies of his death an.l fuiFerings might be fulfilled: See, St. Matth. xxvi. 56. St. Mark, xiv. 49. xv. 28. St. John, xix. 24. 28. 36, 37. Vol.11. C 2 , Chrift, iS Leftures on the Prophecies. he will make them all good. And this is the cafe with refpedt to his fecond coming : he comes to deli- ver lfrael, to deftroy the enemies of Jacob, to con- vert 2. Chrifl, in fufFering, hare our fins in his own body, or* the tree ; that we might die to fin, and live to God : See- Heb. ix. 28. 1 Pet. ii. 24. Ifai. liii. 4, 5, 6. 11, 12. 2 Cor. v. 21. 3. To fulfil and abolifh the law of commandments, con- tained in ordinances ; or the ceremonial difpenfation ; and thus break down the middle wall of partition between Jews ami Gentiles, and reconcile both to God, in one body, by the crofs, &c. and to redeem us from that law : See, Ephef. ii. 14, 15, 16. Gal. iv. 4, 5. iii. 13, 14. 4. To give his flefh to be meat, and his blood to be drink : or, to give life to mankind : Sec, St. John vi. 33. 50, 51. 53 58. , 5. To confirm and ratify, feal and eftablifh, his tefra- ment, doctrine, miffion, Sec. See, Dan. ix. 27. St. Matth. - xxvi. 26, 27, 28. St. Mark xiv. 22, 23, 24. St. Lukexxii. 19, 20. Heb. ix. 15 — -21. 6. As the children were partakers of flefh and blood, he alio himfelf, likewife, took part of the fame; that through death, he might deftroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil ; and deliver them, who, through fear of death, were all their life-time fubjeft to bondage : Heb. ii. J 4> T 5- 7. That, by paffing thtough every ftate, he might gain univerfal power and dominion : See, Rom. xiv. 9. 8. That lie might wafh and cleanfe us from the guilt and pollution of our fins, in his own blood : Heb. ix. 13, 14, 22, 23. 1 fohn i. 7. 9 That he might deliver us from the power of our fins, from this preient evil world, and give us the victory over all oui enemies : Gal. i. 4. Tit. ii. 14. Rev. xii. 1 1. 10. 1 hat he might He advanced to the higheft poffible glory, honour, and dignity; and lay the foundation of an einn re that (hall never be overthrown : Heb. i. 3,4. ii. 9. Phil. ii. 7 11. Rev. v. 9. 1 ii That, by the power of his blood, he might not only open ihc gates of death and hell, b ft enter into the holy c tv, and appear in the prefence or God tor us : Rev. i. 18. '/ .ch. ix, II. 1 Pet. i'i. Jo, 19, 20. iv. 6. Heb. ix. 12. 24. "' " . ■. ; . 74. Heb. vii. 25, 26, 27. ,';- ' -■ he migl t let us ail example: 1 Pet. ii. 21, iii. 17, io. iv. 13—16. LECTURE II. I^ vert the Jews, to raife and glorify his faints ; to be known through the world, to blefs the nations, after having fubdued and deftro)ed his enemies; to be honoured by all people, to reign over all the earth, and to fulfil his pfomifes J finally, to raife the dead, iudge al! men, and cc ifume the globe ; to condemn the wicKed to tb = ir deferved punifhment ai d n ount with all his faints to heaven. All thefe, and perhaps more, are the defigris of our Saviour in* coming to card ; and though he cannot ao them all at once, yet he can fulfil them all, in the greatefl order, and in the moft exteiifive manner, during the period of a thou- fand years; which is the exact time that he hath fet for his kingdom on earth to continue before the judgment. Fourthly. Many err concerning thefe matters, be- caufe they are unacquainted with the Scriptures, and do not know and confider the power of God, do not fee the harmony, beauty, order, confiflency, and connection of that glorious plan of prophecy which God hath revealed ; and are not fully fenfible of the importance of thefe fubjects ; and alfo do not enough bear in mind that God's power is fufficient, and his will is determined abfoJutely to perform all his promifes, how difficult foever they may appear to us. Fifthly. Another reafon why the prophecies re- flecting the Millenium, and the new heaven and earth are not underftood, and why the whole fcheme ap- pears fo dark, confufed and unintelligible, is, becaufe inflead of undetftanding the prophecies in their plain and obvious fenfe, many or moft explain them in C 2 a fpi- 20 Leclures on the Propbeclet, a fpiritual or myfterlous fenfe, about which they can never agree ; there being as many fpiritual fenfes as there are fpiritual interpreters. And this mews the infinite fuperiority of understanding the Scriptures in thei'- plain obvious fcnfe ; for let a thoufand perfons undertake to explain the prophecies according to their fpi;itual fenfe, and there will befuch confufion among them, that none will be able with certainty to learn the meaning from any of them; for fcarcely two will agree. ?, it Ice them all determine to take the pro- pi v.. rs in their mod obvious fenfe, and they will rarely, if ever, diner in the interpretation. Sixthly. Many mud be ignorant of the beauty of the prophecies, becaufe they limit the execution of them to a fmall point of time ; and they clofe the whole fcene at the day of judgment ; pretending that after that time all revolutions end, and all God's intentions of mercy and goodnefs are over for ever : whereas the Scripture declares that God hath com^ manded his covenant to a thoufand, and even thou- sands of generations ; and fince not near two hundred generations have paft from Adam until now, and the creation of the new heavens and new earth, on which fuch glorious fcenes are to take place, will not be until long after the day of judgment, and the conflagration, and yet prophecy fpeaks exprefly of thofe wonderful works which will be done on the new earth ; therefore we may eafily fee that the grand fyftem of Grehenfive, extending far beyond the narro.v com^afs of limited and narrow minds : from the beginning of creation to the grand conv LECTURE :X. 11 consummation of all things, when God fhall be all in all ! In the following Lectures upon the Millenium, I go upon this ground — That all the books in the Bible are genuine and authentic, and that the Scriptures, and efpecially the prophecies, were given by infpiration, . 3 have all ' .tn, or muit be hereafter, fulfilled: that wl e J y I: g is prophefied of, if it can be ija* e been accomplished, it as cer- lins lj be fulfilled. That as the words oi : prophecy are called faithful and true, and as far as they have been fulfilled, have abundantly juftified thofe defcriptions, having been literally and exactly accompl'med ; I therefore (hall iuppofe, that fuch as are yet behind ihall in due time be as clearly and plainly brought to pafs before the eyes of men. If this ground be good, then my Lectures will contain a true and faithful hiflory of the great events that are yet to take place, between this time, and that grand period when Chrift (hall refign the king- dom to the Father. If thefe principles upon which I go, are true, I am not in the leaft concerned about the fate of thefe Lectures ; but if this ground on which I (land fails, I .am entirely willing to fall in fuch good company ; and wifh for no other fate but that my Lectures may fink into oblivion, when the Jiteral fenfe of prophecy is proved not to be true. Thus far the Lectures have been preparatory to thofe which are to follow ; and I have endeavoured to trace thofe great and awful events which are to take place before the Millenium, through the feveral prophecies where they are foretold. I have endea- 2Z Lctlures on the Prophecies. endeavoured to feek after the exact truth, according to the rule which 1 laid down at firft ; and if the pro- phecies are to be underftood in their mod plain, obvious and literal fenfe, I am perfuaded you will conclude, from a careful perufal of the foregoino- Lectures, that the way in which I have explained diem is not far from the manner in which they will be fulfilled. In the following Lectures upon the Millenium, (upon which molt grand and beautiful fubject I pro- pofe to dwell for fome confiderable time) I jfhall firft take a general view of it from the facred writings, and briefly hint both the temporal and fpiritual bleffings which (hall then be enjoyed, and afterwards fhall take up fome of the moft important and interefting Subjects, and difcourfe upon them more at large ; in order io af- ford you the more pleafure and fubiime entertainment, and I hope the greater profit. The amazing pleafure that we (hall doubtlefs re- ceive in this part of the Subject, will far more than compenfate for the pain that we have felt in fome of the former Lectures, where the dreadful destruction of mankind was treated of; which though in itfelf painful and gloomy, was yet a neceffary made in this grand picture, and defigned to prepare the way for the kingdom of Chrift on earth. Which glorious an3 LctJurss on tht Prophecies. be rulers, in their proper fphere, over the houfe of Ifrael, according to the covenant that God made with David. — ' For thus faith Jehovah, David (hall never * want a man to fit upon the throne of the houfe of If- * rael. Thus faith Jehovah, If you can break my c covenant of the day, and my covenant of die night, *' and that there fliould not be day and night in their * feafon; then may alfo my covenant be broken with 4 David my fervant, that he mould not have a f n to ■* reign upon his throne. As the hoft of heaven cannot c be numbered, neither the fand of the fea meafured ; 6 fo will I multiply the feed of David my fervant. c Thus faith Jehovah, If my covenant be not wirh •* day and night, and if I have not appointed the ordi- c nances of heaven and earth ; then will I call away 6 the feed of Jacob, and David my fervant, (a that I e will not take any of his feed to be rulers over the feed * of Abraham, Ifaac, and Jacob : for I will caufe their * captivity to return, and have mercy on them :' Jer. xxxiiL 17. 20, 21, 22. 25, 26. Thefe children of David (hall increafe and multi- ply greatly, and fhall have a portion in the land of Ifrael : which circumstances abundantly prove, that they are not thofe who are raifed from the dead, that have no fuch concerns ; but fuch as have never died. — God fays ; ' In the land fhall be his (the prince's) pof- * feffion in Ifrael, and my princes (hall no more opprefs c my people ; and the reft of the land (hall they give c to the houfe of Ifrael, according to their tribes :' Ezek. xlv. 8. — ' Moreover, the prince (hall not take of ' the people's inheritance by oppreflion, to thruft them c out of their pofTedion ; but he (hall give his Ion's inhe- ' ritance LECTURE X, 1 ritance out of his own poflemon ; that my people be * not (battered every man from his poffeffion :' Ezek. zlvi. 1 8. Thus we feem to have traced this difficult part of the fab] eel to demonftration ; and the refult is, that we find that Chrift, who is alfo called Jehovah, (hall be the univerfal monarch of the world ; his faints, who have done and fuffered his will in this life, mall reign with him ; fome having dominion over a whole kingdom, as David over the kingdom of Ifrael; others over ten cities, or five cities, according to their ability and former improvement. Neyerthelefs, there r/ill be rulers of the temporal concerns in all nations ; fince we read of kings, princes, rulers, &c. who mail govern according to the laws of order, fhall be. juft, ruling in the fear of God. This kind of government will not in the lead inter- fere with the kingdom of Chrift and his faints, but be fubfervient thereto. — Thus, by confidering attentively the government that will be eftablifhed in the land of Ifrael, we have a complete picture of what will take place through the globe. All injuftice, iniquity, tyran- ny and oppremon, fhall be banifhed from the earth ; the laws of order fhall be univerfally reftored — juftice rightly adminiftered ; truth, mercy, and benevolence fhall univerfally prevail : — But of this more hereafter ; for I am only now to confider and enumerate the tem- poral or outward bleifings of the glorious kingdom of Chrift. Having fmifhed what 1 have to fay upon the firft, even righteous government ; I proceed to the next ; which almoft feems to follow as a confequence — Um- verfal 40 Leftures on the Prophecies. verfal and uninterrupted peace JhaU prevail through the zvhole period of the Millenium. The Scripture is fo very exprefs in thisrefped, that it puts the matter out of all dcubt : and as we know that fuch an event hath never taken place, it is not worth while to wafte any of our time at prefent in con- futing thofe ridiculous interpretations of the Scripture that reafon thefe prophecies wholly away; or, which is much the fame, accommodate them to fome fmall circumftances of paft events. I (hall therefore proceed to inform you -what Jeho- vah hath fpoken of this mod defireable and glorious fcene : — * And it fhall come to pafs in the lafl days, *■ that the mountain of Jehovah's houfe fhall be 1 eftablifhed in the top of the mountains, and mail ' be exalted above the hills ; and all nations fhall ' flow unto it. And many people shall go and fay, * Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of Jeho- * vah, to the houfe of the God of Jacob, and he will ' teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths ; * for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word ' of Jehovah from Jerufalem. And he shall judge ' among the nations, and shall rebuke many people : * and they shall beat their fvvords into plowshares, and * their fpears into pruning hooks : nation shall not ' lift up a fword againft nation, neither shall they learn ' war any more :' Ifai. ii. 2, 3, 4. And the prophet Micah, after mentioning nearly the fame words, adds — ' But they shall fit every man * under his vine, and under his fig-tree, and none shall * make them afraid : for the mouth of Jehovah of ' Bofts hath fpoken it :' Micah iv. 4. Then shall T U R E " shall Jehovah caufe wars to ceafe unto the end of the ea rh ; he shall break the bow, and cut the in fonder, and burn the chariot in the fire: Pfal. xlvi. 9, ' In his days shall the righteous flc . , . m-, * dance of peace (o long as the moon endureth :' FfaL* lxxii. 7. — c And he mail fpeak peace unto the hea- 'then; and his dominion (hall be from fea to (ea, ' and from the river even to the ends of the earth ;' Zech. ix. 10. — c In that day, fiith Jehovah of Hods, * (hall ye call every man his neighbour under the vine, 1 and under theiis;-tree :' Zech. iii. 10, O what a glorious day will that be, when the cruel fwords (hall no more devour; when felfilhnefs, envy, pride, and wrath, (thole four elements of hell) (hall rule no more ! but peace, univerfal good- will, and har- mony, mall every-where prevail. When jealoufy and mean fufpicion, the very bane of love and friendship, mail have no more place on earth ! when tattling, whifpering, backbiting, flandering and lying, (hall no more be encouraged or praclifed ! when covetoufnefs, that rank idolatry of the prefent age, the love of money, which is the root of all evil, (hall biafs the minds of men no more : When jarring interefts (hall not exift ; and all the ambition and pride of kings (hall be de- ftroyed, and utterly ceafe ! when families, neighbour- hoods, towns, cities, countries, kingdoms and nations, throughout the habitable globe, (hall be at peace within themfelves, and with each other; and univerfal har- mony (hall every-where prevail. — Such a feafon hath never been fince fin entered the world. It is pro- miled, and therefore muft come : and when thefe won- derful things are fulfilled, there will be no poflibility of Vol. II. F difputing 42 Le"ufes on the Prophccus. difputing the matter, as the fact will be as evident z$ the fun at noon. — But I mint not enlarge here ; but pafs to prove that All enmity jhall be dcjlroyed front among the animals. There can be no doubt that before the fall, all the animal tribes were at peace among themfelves, and with man their lord, whom they obeyed, with more readinefs than any domeftic animals do now : — But when man rebelled againft his Creator, the animals re- belled againft him, and began to hate each other : So that, in a great degree, the fall of man affected this lower creation. But under the reign of the Meflkh, ' The wolf alfo 6 (hall dwell with the Iamb, and the leopard fhall lie e down with the kid ; and the calf, and the young lion, c and the fatling together, and a little child fhall lead * them. And the cow and the bear fhall feed, their 4 young ones mall lie down together : and the lion * fhall eat ftraw like the ox. And the fucking child c (hall play on the hole of the afp, and the weaned 6 child fhall put his hand on the cockatrice-den. They * fhall not hurt nor deftroy, in all my holy mountain': ' for the earth fhall be full of the knowledge of Jeho<- c vAir, as the waters cover the fea :' Ifai. xi. 6 — 9.— - ' The wolf and the lamb fhall feed together, and the ' lion fhall eat ftraw like the bullock : and dull fhall c be the ferpent's meat. They mall not hurt nor de- < ftroy in all my holy mountain, faith Jehovah :' Ifai. lxv. 25. How beautiful the fcene will appear, when all the beads fhall loie their ferocity ! when the wolf and the iamb mail feed together, and lions mall eat fcraw like oxen- ! LECTURE X, 43 •©-xen ? But as the ferpent was made the inftrument to £empt man, he was doomed to go upon his belly, — (whereas probably he went upright before) — and to eat dull: all the days of his life ; and there was enmity then put between ferpents and the human kind, which has continued ever fince : but this will be wholly re- moved in the Millenium ; neverthelefs they ihall con- tinue probably to move in the fame manner as now, and certainly (hall feed upon duft, as a mark of the curfe which God pronounced upon the ferpent, at firft, faying, e Becaufe thou haft done this, thou art curfed 6 above all cattle, and above every beaft of the field: * upon thy belly (halt thou go, and duft (halt thou eat c all the days of thy life. And I will put enmity, &c* Gen. in. 14, 15. How beautiful it will be to fee the .charming fight, fo elegantly defcribed by the prophets, and attempted with fuccefs by Mr. Cowper, in the following lines : 1 " The lion, and the leopard, and the bear, *' Graze with the fearlefs flocks. All bafk at noon *' Together, or all gambol in the made Cl Of the fame grove, and drink one common dream. '* Antipathies are none. No foe to man ** Lurks in the ferpent now. The mother fees *' And fmiles, to fee her infant's playful hand " Stretch'd forth to dally with the crefted worm, " To ftroak his azure neck, or to receive n the name. I was 54 Leclures on the Prophecies. I was afked once — Whether a woman was ever laid in the Bible to have afoul ? I happened to be able to remember that Mary faid — ' My foul doth magnify * the Lord, &c.' I was then afked — Whether it was not her particular privilege to have a foul ? I hap- pened to remind him of the Shunamite, that came to Elisha, and held him by the feet, and his man fought to thruft her away ; but the prophet faid — c Let her c alone ; for her foul is vexed within her, &c.' 2 Kings iv. 27. I might have mentioned Rachel, who when her foul was in departing, (for she died) called her fon Ben-oni, or the fon of her forrozv ; but his father called him Ben- jamin, or the fon of the right-hand* As I am unawares got into this fubjecl;, I will juft note, that in the thirtieth of Numbers a woman's yW is mentioned eleven times in ten verfes, from the 4th to the 13th inclufive ; where she is all along confidered as a free agent, as a rational creature, capable of vow- ing and performing ; and except her father, (if (he was in her youth) or (if married) her hufband, made void her vows, by forbidding the performance of them, they were to ftand, to all intents and purpofes, as though they had been made by men. If woman had the fault and misfortune of bringing fin into the world, she had the honour and happinefs of bringing our Saviour into the world ; which, according to the univerfal plan, will fully repair the damage and lofs occafioned by fin, but not indeed upon any other view : But if, as Mr. Wesley fays 3 in his Poems on Divine Love 'That LECTURE XI. .5£ * That vaft unfathomable fea * Shall fwallow up all of Adam's line, ' And ev'ry foul of man fhall be ' For ever loft in love divine ;' Or, as St. Paul fays — Where fin abounded, grace did much more abound : — Then shall the cure be as great as the wound, and the remedy as powerful as the difeafe ; and poor woman may be faid to have brought as much good as evil into the world, if not more : but upon any other principle, woman has brought more evil than good into the world, and will always have reafon to be forry that she ever exifted. If it be faid, that ' Adam was not deceived, but * the woman, being deceived, was in the tranfgreffion ;' and therefore we ought to defpife women : I deny the confequence. Man finned wilfully, with his eyes open, in complaifance to his wife ; he is therefore the greateft rebel. Men are only cautioned not to be ruled, led, or governed by women ; but are not fuffered either to tyrannize over or to defpife them. And for the encouragement of poor woman, who might be ready to think herfelf cad off from God, and not an heir of falvation, becaufe (he led man into fin, in confequence of which God hath forbidden her to teach or to ufurp authority over the man, but to be in filence ; it is faid — £ Notwithstanding, fhe fhall be < laved in child-bearing, (or by the birth of the man- i child Chrift Jefus) if they continue in faith and cha- * rity, and holinefs with fobriety :' i Tim. ii. 15. Thus we fee they are equally the fubjects of the grace of God, and heirs of falvation, us the men; and, by the lame parity of reasoning, fhall be delivered from the j6 Lefturts on the Prophecies, the curfe in the Millenium, as well as the men : And though the Scripture doth not expreily fay, that the pain i clanger, and difficulty of child-bearing (hall be then re- moved ; yet the nature of things implies it ; and the following obfervations feem to confirm the matter beyond difpute. i. Women are included in the general defcription men, or 'mankind % unlefs they are particularly diftin- guifhed. As when we fay God made all men, we in- clude women — or, Chrift tailed death for every man, we mean alfo for every woman— or, It is appointed for men once to die, cannot exclude women, who die as well as men. So all the glorious promifes made to men in the gofpel, and efpecially in that blefled period which is to come, equally refpect women, as well as men. 2. As pain and forrow in conception and bringing forth children, came in confequence of lin and tranf- greffion ; it is natural to fuppofe, that in proportion as the caufe (hall be removed, the effect (hall certainly ceafe. It is fuppofed that the Virgin Mary brought forth our Saviour without pain, as he was conceived without (in. 3. In warm and temperate climates, a'nd efpecially where people live temperately, and are acquainted with the fimple remedies which nature hath provided ; thd danger, difficulty, diftrefs and pain, attendant on child- bearing, are much lefs than in thefe kingdoms where things are quite different. Therefore, in the Mille- nium, when all climates (hall probably be temperate and regular — when all idlenefs, drunkennefs, irregular paffions and defires, intemperance of every kind, anxiety, LECTURE XI, anxiety, care, great fatigue, hard labour, Sec. (hail be no more — when good health (hall abound — when the knowledge of fimple remedies (hall be general — and more efpecially, when we confider that the leaves of thofe trees that will grow upon the banks of the river mentioned in the forty-feventh chapter of Ezekiel, will be for medicine ; and many circumftances {hall take place, all tending to promote human felicity — there can be no room to doubt but that the curfe will be removed from woman, fo far as that (he may bear children without forrow, danger, or pain. 4. 1 think this is fufficiently plain, from that pafTage in Ifai» lxv. 23. ' They mail not labour in vain, nor c bring forth for trouble ;' as well as from the confix deration that no children (hall die in their infant ftate : for if women were to conceive and bring forth children then, with the fame danger, difficulty and pain, as now ; both mother and child would fometimes una- voidably periih, as now is frequently the cafe ; and there would alfo be the voice of crying and weeping, which we are aflured (hall not be. Having demonftrated this point, I proceed to the next ; viz. That No children fhall die in their infancy, nor any perfons, except thofe zvho rebel again/} the Lord, during the whole period. — I mention thefe two articles together, becaufe the proofs of both (on which I de- pend) are fo connected that I cannot feparate them ; and as I reft this part wholly on Scripture-proofs, I (hall directly proceed to produce thofe which I think fully fufficient. — f There fhall be no more thence an ' infant of days, nor an old man that hath not filled his [ days : for the child (hall die an hundred years old ; but Vol. II. H e extent of this glori nis bleffing. The waters cover the fea in every place. It cannot be called fea, where it is not covered : fo (hall the whole earrh be overfpread, and filled with the knowledge of the glory of our great Creator. Then fhall darknefs, ignorance, ftiperftition, and idolatry of eveiy kind, be Vol. J I. L banUhecl #<3 Leflures m the Prophecies, banifhed from the globe. This hath never yet beerl the cafe, fince idolatry ftril obtaine 1 credit among men, to the prefent time : And thofe who woald have us believe that the fpread of Chriftianity has been fufficient to fulfil this noble prophecy, do not confider that more than two-thirds of the inhabitants of the earth are (till Heathens, and near one half of the remainder Maho- metans : and of thofe who profefs to know God, how many in works deny him — toeing abominable, difobe- dient, and to every good work reprobate ! If the waters covered the fea, no more than the true knowledge of the glory of God fills the earth at prefent, we fhould have but a very fcanty ocean, unworthy of the name : There would be a few lakes and fprings, but nothing like an open fea. Thofe who would accommodate fuch grand predic- tions to pad events, have not thofe ideas of prophecy that appear worthy of the fubjeft. I cannot bear the thought, that God's promifes fhould (like fome men's) feem larger in word than in deed : but, on the con- trary, I think God is able to do more than we are able to afk or to think ; and that he may, in fome inftances, perform more than he promifes— but never lefs. But though the time has never been, it certainly will come, when God (hall be known, loved, feared, reverenced and obeyed, through all the world; when the understandings of all fliall be enlightened, their wills become fubjed to the law of Jehovah, and their affections fliall delight in his ways. His name fliall be univerfally known — his power declared — h»s goodnefs manifested — through all the earth. — The knowledge of God that fhall thus extend ovei LECTURE XII. $1 ■ever the earth, (hall not be that dry, barren know- ledge, which produces no fruit; but fuch a know- ledge as (hall make men the willing and obedient fubjects of their Lord : — For from the rifing of the fun unto the going down of the fame, my name Jlmll be great among the Gentiles : and in every place incenfe foall be of- fered unto my name, and a pure offering ; for my namefhal be great among the heathen^ faith Jehovah of hojls : Mai. i. 1 1 . — This is a glorious promife, rich with blef* fings, and hath never been fulfilled ; for k reaches from one end of the earth to the other, round the whole globe, in every degree of latitude and longitude, in every zone, in every climate : through every empire, kingdom, country, (late, city, town, village, dwelling, or habitation. God's name (hall be great in all places, highly honoured among all nations ; and he iliall not only be ferved by all, but (hall be adored and wor- ihipped, in the pure3: manner. God faid to Mofes, when Ifrael rebelled againft him — But as truly as Hive, all the earth Jlmll be filled with the glory of J ehov ah .: Numb. xiv. 21. Though God faw how ungrateful and rebellious the people were, for whom he had done fuch great things ; yet he faw that there mould come a time when all the earth mould be filled with obedient fubje&s ; and when not only the defendants of thofe very people, but the nations at that time mod blind and ignorant, mould come to fee his glory ; which (hall fill the whole earth, fo that not the obfeureft part fhall remain in darknefs. We muft be both furprized and pleafed to find thefe glorious promifes breaking out in the very midft of God's complaints againft his covenant-people; L 2 as %Z Le3vres on tfie TropH&Hts. as though he would comfort himfeif \vber> grieved with the amazing iniquity and ingrji'fc.n.'e of t . (e whom he had done fo much for, with the though and Certain fore-knowledge of that glorious time, when all die in- habitants of the ea th lha!l love, ferve, and adore him. - — This grand promife in the prophecy of Malachi, burfts forth in the midft of the jufl complaints of God agr.inft the Jewo, for the cinhonour, contempt, re- preach and profana,Ln ; which they cad upon his name, and the:; wearinefs of his fervice ; and their felfimnefs and mfmcerity in all that they did refpecting it. — The other promife in Habakkuk, is found in the midft of reproofs for various fins, and threatenings of divers judgments for the fame. This is a fubjecl: that God al- ways keeps in mind ; and his intention, in all his judg- mc as, is fo ulake way for the duplays of his goodnefs : and therefore, in the midft of wrat&h, he lili remembers me ! i'y ; and among the molt dreadful threatenings. we frequently find the moil gracious p'-omiies. This is done to prevent our conceiving of judgment, or wrath, as a final end, for which ;tis never intended ; but only as a mean to int oduce ti'is raerey. This is an infillible rule for the undertbaiding of prophecy : judgment is a mean, but never an end. Thefe th ee promifes are particularly precious to us Gentiles; fmce they certainly refer to us, and to ail the nations of the world, in that glorious period of which I am fpeaking. As for the children of lfrael and Judah, the promifes that they (hall know the Lord in that day, are very numerous : and though you have already heard them read in the new covenant, which fhall be made in the laft days ; yet, as this is a matter of very great -LECTURE XII. 83 great importance, it may not be amifs to repeat fome of them in this Le&ure. ' Behold the days come, faith Jehovah, that I will ' make a new covenant with the houfe of Ifrael, and ' with the houfe of Judah ; not according to thecove- f nant that I made with their fathers, in the day that I * rook them by the hand to bring them out of the 1 and ' of Egypt ; which mv covenant they brake, although * I was an hufband unto them, faith Jehovah. But * this fhall be the covenant that I will make with the * houfe of Ifrael : After tho r . j days, faith Jehovah, I ' will put mv law in thci v inwad parts, and write it in ' their hearts : and I will be their God, and they fhafi * be my people. And they mall teach no more every ( man his neighbour, and every man his brother, fay- ( ing, Know Jehovah ; for all fhall know me, from * the lead of them u'">to the greateft of them, faith ' Jehovah : for 1 will forgive their iniquity, and I * will remember their fin no more:' Jer. xxxi. 31, p £ i ij» O'r' In this one paflage, what an amaz'ng treafure of grace and mercy is contained ! and which is referved for the houfe of Ifrael and Judah in thelattpr days ; and then is to be poured out upon 'hem ! As this glorious text contains much information re- fpecting the fuhject of which I am treating, and has moft of the fpiritual bleflino-s which fliall be p-iven to the children of Ifrael in the latter days, briefly compre- hended therein ; it cannot be difpleafing to you if I make a few remarks upon it. 1. In thefe words it is abfolutely promifed, that by virtue of the new covenant which God will make with the $4 Lectures en the Prophecies. the houfe of Ifrael, and with the houfe of Judah, in the latter days, his law fhall be put in their inward parts, and written in their hearts. This implies a hearty unfeigned obedience to the will of God, which the children of Ifrael (hall render freely, willingly, and chearfully, in that glorious time : moved thereto by the ftrongeft internal motives; viz. love to God, and de- light in his commandments. Then their higheft plea- fure will conftantly be to walk in thofe ways that for- merly were grievous unto them. 2. God will abfolutely then be their God, and they fhall be his people. This implies all bleffings in one; both temporal and fpiritual — for foul and for body — for this world, and that which is to come : For as God is the chief, yea, the only good, thofe who have him for their portion, need no other inheritance to make them happy ; and they who JJjall be his people, are in a jafe and mod defirable fituation. 3. They fhall know Jehovah fo univerfally, as to Itave no exceptions among them — all fhall know him, from the lead unto the greateft — (hall have no need of any to teach them : — For having the law of God svritten upon their hearts, they (hall know him truly, love him heartily, and obey him fincerely. O what a lovely thing it will be, to fee a nation that, fias formerly been remarkable for ftubbornnefs, ingrati- tude, inconftancy, difobedience, and rebellion, fo changed in their principles, difpofuions, manners and conduct, as to bear no refemblance to what they were before ! All of them (hall know the Lord ; infomuch, that no one fhall have any occafion to inftru£t his neighbour or teach his brother.; 4» I* 1 £ e e t t) r e xn. S^ 4. In addition to all thefe great bleffings, the par- don of all their iniquities is promifed, and that their fin fhall no more be remembered : The fame bleffing h elfevvhere exprefled, by their being eleanfed from all their filthinefs. ' Then will I fprinkle clean water upon yon, and ye ' (hall be clean ; fom all your filthinefs, and from all f your idols, will I cleanfe you. A new heart alfo will ' I give you ; and a new fpirit will I put within you : ' and I will take away the ftony heart out of yourflefh, * and I will give you an heart of flefh. And I will ' put my fpiric within you, and caufe you to walk in my ' ftatutes, and ye mail keep my judgments and do * them. And ye fhall dwell in the land that I gave ' to your fathers ; and ye (hall be my people, and I ' will be your God. I will alfo fave you from all ' your uncleanneffes ; and I will call for the corn and * increafe it, and lay no famine upon you :' Ezek. xxxvi. 25 29. In this pafTage the fame fpi- ritual bleffings are promifed as in the pafTage out of Jeremiah xxxi. only in different words : and thefe are connected with thofe great temporal bleffing-s, viz. that they fhall dwell in the land that God gave to their fathers, and that they fhall have the good things of life in great abundance, fo as never to experience any want or famine. I cannot in this Lefture fet before you a tenth part of the glorious bleffings that are promifed to the houfe of Ifrael in thofe happy days which are yet to come ; nor need I, as they have been fo fully laid before you in a former Lecture : all I propofed in this was only to give a little fpecimen, and of fuch only as are ^6 Lcfiures on the Prophecies. are of a fpiritual nature : the two parages I have cited contain all needful fpiritual blefiings, abfolutely pro- ■mifed, except continuance in them, which is abun- dantly found in other paflages, fome of which I (hall bring for that purpofe. ' And the Redeemer mail come to Zion, and ' unto them that turn from tranfgrefiion in Jacob, faith ' Jehovah [' or, as St. Paul cites it, ' And fo all ' Ifrael fhall be faved ; as it is written, There (hall ' come out of Sion the deliverer, and (hall turn away ' ungodlincfs from Jacob. For this is my covenant ' with them, when I (hall take away their fins :' Rom. xi. 26, 27. * As for me, this is mv covenant with them, faith * Jehovah : My fpirit that is upon thee, and my ' words which I have put .in thy mouth, fhall not * depart out of thy mouth, nor out of the mouth of ' thy feed, nor out of the mouth of thy feed's feed, 'faith Jehovah, from henceforth and for ever:' ]fai. lix. 20, 2 r. In thefe words the continuance of thofe great fpi- ritual bleffings, the Spirit of God in their hearts, and his words in their mouths, is promifed in the mod abfolute manner, from age to age, during that glo- rious period called for ever ; they and their children, and their children's children, fhall continue to know,- love, fear, and obey their Lord, and (hall never more turn away from him. God by the mouth of Jeremiah fays, — - c Behold I ' will gather them out of all countries whither I have 4 driven them in mine anger and in my fury, and in 4 great wrath ; and I will bring them again unto this i place 7 LECTURE XII. $7 * place, and I will caufe them to dwell fafely : And * they (hall be my people, and I will be their God. c And I will give them one heart and one way, that * they may fear me for ever, for the good of them* * and of their children after them. And I will make * an everlafting covenant with them, that I will not * turn away from them to do them good ; {that is, I will never ceafe doing them good) ' but I will put ' my fear in their hearts, that they (hall not depart from ' me. Yea, I will rejoice over them to do them * good, and I will plant them in this land aflbredly, ' with my whole heart and with my whole foul :' chap, xxxii. 37 : — 41. In this excellent paffage, God promifes that he will never turn away from them, nor ceafe to do them good, and that they (hall never turn away from him. We may obferve that God is conftantly pleafed to connect the promifes of thefe fpiritual blefiings in the prophecies, with their being gathered out of all countries, made to dwell fafely in their own land, which God gave to their fathers, no more to be cad out for ever, and with their enjoyment of conftant peace, health and felicity there, never to decay, &c. on purpofe to prevent thefe wonderful prophecies from being miftaken, or mifapplied, either with refpect to the people or to the time. Thev can apply to no people, but the defendants of Abraham* Ifaac and Jacob, to whom the land of Canaan was given, and cannot be fulfilled to them until that period when they fhall dwell fafely and quietly in that land, no more to be diiturbed, caft out, or diftrefTed, whether by war, famine, peftilence, or evil beafts ; Vol. II, M fihtfe $$ Leflures on the Prophecies, thofe four great judgments with which they have' been formerly fo feverely vifited, but fhall never be afflicted with any more when the time comes for thefe prophecies to be fulfilled. But notwithstand- ing God has taken fuch amazing care to prevent thefe promifes from being mifunderftood, yet many have applied them to other people ; and fome would have us believe that they may be accommodated to the flourifliing (late of the Jews after their return from the BabyloniGi captivity : but I need not take time to confute thefe unworthy ideas, fo contrary to the plain letter of the prophecies. I have therefore proved, that in the Millenium the knowledge of God mall be univerfal, and that his law (hall be written in the hearts of men, fo as to caufe univerfal obedience to his will, by the fame pofitive proofs and arguments that St. Paul proved both Jews and Gentiles all under fin. He firrc proved the Gentiles all under fin, and gave a catalogue of their abominable crimes-, and then proved the Jews to be equally guilty with them, or more fo ; and then concludes all under fin in general, as he had proved by evincing the particulars, that both Jews and Gen- tiles were fo. In the fame manner I have brought a number of exprefs pofitive paflages to prove that all the Gentiles fhall know, love, and ferve the Lord ; and a few fpecimens of thofe many prophecies that declare that the whole houfe of Ifrael (hall have the fame bleffings, more abundantly : and therefore I fhall be able nearly to reverfe St. Paul's defcription o£ men in former ages. We LECTURE Xll. Tfy Wc have proved that both Jews and Gentiles (hall be all under rightcoufnefs ; as it is written, ' Thy * people (hall be ali righteous, they fhall inherit the * land for ever/ ' They (hall all know rne, from the leaft of them * unto the greater!: of them, faith the Lord; for I will * forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their 6 fin no more/ * And they (hall be my people, and I wiil be their God/ * And I will give them one heart, and one way, that * they may fear me for ever/ ' I will put my fear in their hearts, that they mall ' not ' depart from me/ ' And I will cleanfe them from all their miquity s 4 whereby they have finned againft me/ * I will turn to the people a pure language, that 4 they may all call upon the name of the Lord, to 4 ferve him with one confent/ ' All the ends of the world fhall remember and 4 turn unto the Lord, and all the kindreds of the * nations fhall worfliip before thee.' ' All the kings of the earth (hall praife thee, * O Lord ! when they (hall hear the words of thy 1 mouth. — ■ Yea, they (hall (ing in the ways of the * Lord ; for great is the glory of the Lord/ c As truly as I live, all the earth (hall be filled with * the glory of the Lord/ * For the earth (hall be filled with the knowledge * of the glory of the Lord, as the waterscover the fea/ From thefe and many other paflages of plain Scripture, I am authorifed to fay, that, in the time of the Millenium M 2 There Q3 Leftuir.es en the Prophecies. There (hall be none wicked, no not one. There is none that is ignorant, there is none that- forfaketh God. They are all returned into the way, they a> e toge- ther become ufeful ; there is none that doeth evil, no not one. Their throat is an open fandtuary ; with their tongues they have ufed fincerity ; the butter and honey of Canaan is under their lips. Whofe mouth is full of bleiTing, and fweetnefs of wifdom. Their feet are fwift to ferve God, and do good. Salvation and happinefs are in their ways. And the way of peace have they not forgotten. And the way of ftrife have they not known. And they are quiet from the fear of evil, having the fear of God always before their eyes. This fhall be the true character of mankind in the Millenium, according to the infallible word of prophecy. If any fay there (hall be fome exceptions in the Millenium, and fome finners (hall be found accurfed, and (hall die for their awn fins ; I anfwer, that I freely grant it : and has there not, in all ages, been fome exceptions to St. Paul's defcriptions of mankind ? Certainly there has ; and I hope many more, in pro- poition, than there will be wicked perfons in the Mil- lenium. Wicked nefs (hall then hide its baleful head, and (hall be banifoed from the earth ; < For evil doers ' (hall be cut off: but thofe that wait upon the Lord, « they (hall inherit the earth. For yet a little while, * and the wicked (hall not be : yea, thou (halt dili- ' gently LECTURE Xlt. 9* 9 gently confider his place, and it fhall not be. But f the meek (hall inherit the earth ; and fhall, delight * themfelves in the abundance of peace :? Pfal. xxxvii. 9, 10, 11. I apprehend that it fhall be far more difficult to find wickednefs and vice then on earth, than it is now to find virtue and goodnefs. As mud be evi- dent to all who confider : 1. That even now while Satan and his evil angels are at liberty to rove through the earth, and tempt mankind, and though he rules in the hearts of the greater part by far, yet ftill Chrift has much influence on earth, and rules in the hearts of many ; and there- fore a confiderable number are now true and faith- ful fervants of the Lord : but in the Millenium, Satan (hall be bound and clofely confined to the bottomlefs pit, and all fallen fpirits with him ; and during that time he fhall have no more influence over the inhabi- tants of the earth than though he was not in exiftence : and confequently, as Chrift fhall then have influence over all the earth univerfally and freely, and Satan .(hall have none at all, the number of the wicked mufl of courfe be far lefs then, than the number of the good now is. 2. That little goodnefs there is now in the world greatly reftrains vice, keeps it under in many places, and puts it out of countenance : for vice is very cow- ardly at befl, and loves the darknefs ; what then fhall be the cafe when goodnefs becomes predominant, and fpreads. through the whole earth ? Surely, vice will be hard to be found. 3. Though £t Lectures en the Prophecies, 3. Though many vices are fafhionable, and highly encouraged at prefent, yet they cannot univerfally prevail, on the account of the oppofite influence of God and goodnefs : but when goodnefs and truth (hall be univerfaHy prevalent, where (hall iniquity be found ?" ' 4. There are many great and mining examples of all kinds of virtue and goodnefs now on earth ; thefe are the light of the world, and the fait of the earth ; they preferve it from darknefs and corruption ; or clfe vice, which has an hundred examples for one, would foon overfpread the globe : but in the Mille- nium, evil examples (hall prevail no more; and con- fequently vice (hall hardly be found. 5. Solomon allures us, that ' Becaufe fentence * againfl an evil work is not executed fpeedily, there- * fore the heart of the fons of men is fully fet in ' them to do evil :' Ecclef. viii. 1 1. Sinners do evil an hundred times, and yet their days are prolonged ; and therefore vice grows bold and rampant. The wicked frequently profper, and therefore harden themCelves in rebellion againfl God ; and the long permiffion many of them have to con- tinue in (in, and yet to have abundance of outward profperity, contributes more than any one thing both to di(hearten and difcourage the good, and to cauie vice to prevail, and the wicked to triumph. See on this fubjecl, Job xxi. and Pfal. lxxiii. If it were the cafe that all (hould be immediately ftruck dead as foon as they finned, it would be ten thoufand times more restraint to fin than the greatefl future punilhment that could be threatened. For inllance ; L E C T U 31 1 XII. 95 inftance ; if all fwearers, blafphemers, liars, and other profane and wilful finners, were immediately to drop dead upon the fpot, men would foon be more afraid of fin, than David was of the ark of God, when he faw Uzzah ftruck dead for touching it : 2 Sam. viv 6 10. 1 Chron. xiii. 9 13, In the Millenium, every one (hall die for his own fins, and be accurfed and cut off for his own tranf- greffions ; for i In thofe days they fhali fay no more, ' The fathers have eaten a four grape, and the chil- * dren's teeth are fet on edge. But every one mall * die for his own iniquity ; every man that eateth the ' four grape, his teeth fhall be fet on edge :' Jer. xxxi. 29, 3°- And I doubt not at all, but that finners fhall be immediately cut off as foon^ as they tranfgrefs, and thus an increafe of evil will be prevented, both by tfeftroying the evil example which might corrupt, if fuffered to continue, and by the fudden and exem- plary punifhment inflicted upon the rebellious ; which fhall caufe others to hear and fear, and deter them from doing the like. But when iniquity is general in any age or country, God cannot punifh it in this manner, unlefs he deftroys the whole body politic ; which he doth not comonly do, 'till he hath tried all other means. See the reafon God gives, why he would not punifh even the mofl attrocious crimes, Hofea iv. 13, 14, but would let them go on together, 'till the people, ripe for deftruction, mould fall at once. Dreadful cafe ! Happy fhall thofe times be, when vice fhall be almoft entirely prevented, by being punifhed immediately with death, 6. Man j 54 Lectures on the Prophecies, 6c Many vices feem to proceed from the ncceffafy cares and labours of life in thefe hard times ! For one inftance in a thoufand ; how few captains of (hips would be employed, unlefs they were to take many falfe oaths ? But in that glorious time, commerce (hall no longer be connected with fin, nor trade and merchandize, buying and felling, with iniquity. It fhall be very eafy to procure fubfiftence. The earth (hall yield her increafe, and all temptations to> fraud, violence, robbery, theft, cheating, lying, perjury, &c. &c. (hall be greatly diminifhed, or entirely ceafe. Coveteoufnefs, pride, luxury, extra- vagance, oppreflion, and cruelty, (hall alfo come to an end. When all thefe things, and many others' are consi- dered, it will appear not only probable but certain, that vice will be much more rare in the Millenium than virtue now is. And there can be no reafonable doubt, but mankind will be even more naturally inclined to goodnefs than they now are, or ever have been to wickednefs. O glorious change ! O what a happy world will ©ur's be in that period, if it is only on account of the ceffation of (in, and the univerfal fpread of righteouf- nefs and goodnefs ! But many other circumftances will then confpire to make mankind happy, all of which 1 (hall endeavour to confider in their order. Two#very happy and defirable circumftances I fhall join together, which (hall then take place, much to the happinefs of mankind ; the want of which at prefent, is a very great misfortune, and doubtlefs contributes amazingly to the fpread of vice, and the deftructkm C T U R E Xlf. 95 cTeftruction of the fouls of men : i. Chrifl?s minifters, or the watchmen of Zion, (hall fee eye to eve ; and, 2. They that believe mall be one, as the Father and So7i are one. This unity our bleifed Redeemer prayed for, before he left the world to go to the Father ; and though his prayer has never yet been anfvvered and fulfilled, it certainly will be, in that glorious period of which I am fpeaking, and not before. Some fay that thofe who believe in Chrift think alike in all "eflential matters, and only differ in fome circumftan- tials : but I mud confefs, I do not know one liable point of doctrine, however plainly it rriay appear to be revealed in Scripture, in which all believers agree; not even reflecting the character of God, the perfon of Chrift, the plan of falvation, the reftirrection of the body, &c and finely thefe are fome of the mod weighty. It is not likely therefore that the world at large will believe, while Chrillians are fo exceedingly difunited. Other's. tell us, that our Saviour only prayed that theie might be a fefcret myftical union between Christians, and they will go fo far as to tell us that all believers are one in Chrift already, and fo the prayer is accomplished. But let fuch remember' that our Lord prayed for this unity,, for the purpofe of having the world brought, id confequence of the lame, to believe and know that he is the true Median; and was fent by God : and therefore this onenefs muft be fuch as the world can behold. There are ftill others that will gravely tell us, that all the faints are One in heaven : But unhappily this union cannot be difcerned by mortals below, fo as to bring the world to believe and know that Jcfus is the Memah. Some agais; Vol. II. N imagine, C)S Lefiurss on the Propfikchu imagine, that if the fame forms were ufed by all believers, and the fame articles of belief profeffed, it would fulfil our Saviour's prayer, and bring the world to believe ; but to be one as the Father and Son are one, feems to imply much more than this. For my part I freely confefs, that I never exped that part of the prayer of our Lord to be fulfilled, 'till part of the prayer which he taught us to pray is aecomplifhed, ' Thy kingdom come : thy will be done on earth, as it is in heaven.'' — Which will be at that time when he fhall dwell on earth as really as he doth now in the heavenly city above. Some would have us to believe that it is no matter at all whether minifters preach the gofpel alike, or believe r s exactly agree in mind and judgment. But fuch think very differently from St. Paul, who, writ- ing to the Corinthians, faid, ' Now 1 befeech you, * brethren, by the name of our Lord Jefus Chrift, < that ye all f -eak the fame thing, and that there be « no divifions among you, but that you be perfectly * joined togedier, in the fame mind, and in the fame ' judgment :' i Cor. i. 10. And in his farewell to that church, he did not forget to exhort them to be of one mind, as the mod ready way to live in peace; that lb the God of peace, who hates difcord and ftrife, might be with them: i Cor. xiii. n. While the churches in the apoftolic age continued in love and pei fed agreement, they flourifhed exceedingly, Oh what a happy and glorious church was that at Jerufalem, when l The multitude of them that be- * lieved, were of one heart and of one foul!' Acts iv. 32. Then great grace was upon them all, and their LECTURE XII. 97 thtir number foon increafed to many thonfinds. Bat this was nothing more than a figure and pattern, and the firft-fruits of what mall be in that glorious day, when Jefus (hall reign over the wh< »le earth ; when there (hall be one Lord, and his name one ; one way, one doc- trine, one worfhip ; when all the millions of believers (ball have one defign, one love, be of one heart; and be as perfectly one as the human body is one, or, more peifectly ftill, as the Father and the Son are one. Then (ball all the world believe and know that Chnft Jefus is the Son of God- — the true Mefliah — the Saviour of (he world. Nothing has given the world more offence, and caufe of Humbling, than the jars, contradictions, wrang- lings and divifions, among thofe who profefs to be the difciples of Chrift, except it be their fcandalous lives and converfations : Thefe two things, taken together, have prevented the Heathen, in all ages, from becoming members of the Chriftian church. And what has abun- dantly made the matter worfe, inflead of mending it, has been the intolerant fpirit which has prevailed among all feds, filling them with wrath and hatred againfl thofe who differ from them ; and which has frequently caufed them not only to hate, but to perfecute and to kill each other. Animofities between minifteis — di- vifions in churches — hatred of one feci: againfl another, rifing to perfecution, even to death — and the wicked lives of moft profeffors of religion in all countries :-4- all thefe things conjoined, have given fuch a fatal blow to Chriftianity in the world, that it never can re- cover "till Jefus comes. But all thefe dreadful difor- N z ders oS Leclurcs on the Prophecies. clers fliall be perfectly remedied in the Millenium ; ; for then i. There (hall be a living infallible Judge on earth, even Jefus Chrift our Lord ; To that no controvei lies can long exiil ; for all will be determined by his fen- tence, from which there can be no appeal. He {hall thus judge among the nations, and fhall rebuke many people ; and they {hail not only beat their (words into, plough! hares at his word, and their fpears into pruning- hooks at his command, but their contentions fliall ceafe at his determinations ; and there fliall be no more wranglings and difputings concerning points of doctrine nor practice ; all fliall fubmit to his fentence ; as fays the prophecy — Therefore my people JJmII knozv my name : therefore they/hall knozv, in that day, that I am he- that doth [peak; beho/a, it is I : Ifai. lii. 6. 2. Chrift will bring with him his chofen 'faints and followers, whom he will make rulers over all the earth ; for they fliall reign with him. ^ Daniel had the promife that he iiiould reft, and (land in his lot at the end of the days of tribulation ; and there is no doubt but ail the faithful faints fliall have the like honour. Thofe that have been faithful over a few things, fliall be then made rulers over many things. Thefe all having the perfect mind of Chi it, fliall infiruct all thofe who wifh to draw near the King, how to do it with pro- priety : and all fliall teach one way, fo that there fliall be no divifion at all. And if they go forth as immor- tal Aiming joyful feraphs, to proclaim Jefus to man- kind as the univerfal King, it may be truly faid of them, a? in the next verfe to that which 1 cited out of |iai. lii. — ( How beautiful upon the mountains are the ' feet LECTURE Xir. 9™ c feet of him that bringetb good tidings, that publiih- ' cth peace, that biingeth good tidings of good, that ' publifheth falvatiofc, that faith unto Zion, Thy God ' reigneth,' ver. y. 3. It is then immediately added — c Thy watchmen ' (hall lift up the voice, with the voice together (hall 1 they ling : for they ftiia.ll fee eye to eye, when Jeho- 4 vaii fhall bring again Zion;' vcr. 3. — Whether thefe watchmen are thofe that (Lad be raifed, or changed at the coming of Chrift, (as is mod likely) or whether they mail be fnch as (hall be appointed leaders by the authority of the Saviour., from amono- the people, it makes no difference in this cafe: they fhall fee eye to eye, without the fmalleft difference of . ientiments or practices; fo that no poHibfe fchifm can happen then, nor error of any kind fpring up. 4. All people and nations fhall go up to Jerufalem, from year to year, to wormip the great King over all the earth, and to learn his will, in order to perform it : for thus declare the prophets ; faying — ' And many ' peoples fhall go and fay, Come ye, and let us go up * to the mountain of Jehovah, to the houfe of the c God of Jacob ; and he will teach us of his ways, 4 and we will walk in his paths : for out of Zion fhall c go forth the law, and the word of Jehovah from. c Jerufalem :' Ifai. ii. 3. Micah iv. 2. — Thus all na- tions fhall flow to the holy mountain, where Jefus (hall reign: There they fhall receive instruction from the fountain-head, in which they cannot be deceived, nor err in the leaft ; and thus, at that time, all the Church (hall be one, as the Father and Son are one — and all the world fhall believe and know that the Saviour reigns— jo© Lectures on the Prophecies. reigns — -all ("hall fubmit to his laws, obey his decrees, and readily perform his will. All nations and king- doms (hall call upon the name of Jehovah with one pure lip, and ferve him with one moulder or confent : Zeph. iii. 9. And as for holiness to Jehovah, which is now fo much wanted, it (hall then be written upon the bells of the horfes ; and every pot in Jerufalem and in Judahfhall be holinefs to Jehovah : Zech.xiv.2c, 21. And if the mod common utenfils fliali then be holy, how much more (hall they be clean that bear the (acred veflels, more immediately dedicated to the Lord ! I have fuch ideas of the holinefs of thofe times, places, things, &c. that I cannot exprefs. There (hall be on earth the holy mountain, on which (hall (land the holy houfe, of which holinefs is the law. " This is the law of the houfe — Upon the top ef the mountain, the whole limit thereof round about Jlo all be mofi holy : Behold, this is the law of the houfe .*" Ezek. xliii. 12. Into this facred houfe, the Holy One of God (hall enter, attended by holy faints and angels : There the holy name of God (hall be reve- renced. The children of Ifrael (hall then become a holy people — And their feed fh all be knozvn among the Gentiles, and their offspring among the people : all that fee them floall acknowledge them, that they are the feed which Jehovah hath bleffed : Ifai. lxi. 9. In the courts of holinefs (hall the holy people eat and drink, and praife the holy Lord. Holinefs (hall fpread through the earth ; nothing unholy, or unclean, (hall approach the palace of the great King, and fcarcely (hall be found in the world, dunng the time of his reign. There fh^ll then LECTURE XII. lOl tlienbeno complaint of unholy priefts, and carnal pro feilbrs ; all the (tumbling blocks that have, forfo many ages, hindered the fuccefs of the gofpel, and prevented thefpread of true religion, (hall be removed, andexift no more. Then may it be faid with truth, in the words of the prophet, out of that chapter of which fo much ufe has been made in this Lecture — Break forth into joy, Jing together, ye wafte places of Jerufalem ; for Jehovah hath comforted his people, he hath redeemed Jerufalem ; Jeho- v ah hath made bare his holy arm, in the eyes of all the na- tions : and all the ends of the earth fhall fee the falvation •f our God: lfai. lii. 9, 10. The obstructions being entirely removed, the glory of God fhall fpread, 'till it (hall cover the wide earth; as faith the prophet, lfai. xl. 5. — And the glory of Jeho- vah fhall be revealed, and all jleflo JJjall fee it together: for the mouth of Jehovah hath f poke n it. With this mod lovely fcene in view, I clofe the prefent Lecture. END OF THE TWELFTH LECTURE, LECTURE XIII. Some Ohfcrvat'wns upon EzekieVs vijlons of the Holy Houfe, and of the entrance of the Lord into it by the eaft gate : fen Jin* to prove hi certainty of ChrifTs perfonal defcent to dwell and reign on the earth, during the Millenium. fo MONG the many great proofs from Scripture JL that the Lord Jefus Chrift will reign perfonally upon earth, I reckon, as none of the lead, thole pro- phecies thaifpeak of a place being built for his refidence during the glorious period ; which temple is particu- larly defcribed by Ezekiel, in chap. xl. xli. xlii. But as the chapters would be long and tirefome to read and defcant upon particularly ; I mall only make a few brief remarks upon the whole, tending to throw fome light on this fubjeft, hitherto unexplored. Ezekiel was carried into captivity before Jerufalem was deftroyed, and probably at the fame time that Je- hoiachin, the king of Judah, was taken away, and car- ried to Babylon ; for he dates his firft vifion and pro- phecy, in the fifth year of king jehoiachin's captivity, in the fourth month, in the fifth day of the month. It pleafed God, not only to fpeak to Ezekiel, and de- clare to him things to come, as to other prophets ; but alfo to mew him in vifion thofe things which he defigned to bring to pafs refpecting Jerufalem, and the land of Ifrael. He mentions feveral virions : The firft was a vifion of the glory of God, fomething fimilar to thofe which lecture xur. 103 which the prophet Ifaiah and the apoftle John beheld. This vifion, which he faw by the river Chebar, and which, after feven days, he beheld again in the plain, and which he defcribes in the beginning of his book, was defigned to make him acquainted with the glory and the majefty of God, and to give him a commif- fion to be a prophet, that he might warn the houfe of Jfrael. His fecond vifion, (or if you call it the third, you may) is defcribed in his eighth, ninth, tenth, and ele- venth chapters; and is woithy of particular attention. It was fourteen months, to a day, from the time he faw the glory of God by the river Chebarj and about fix years before the actual deftru&ion of Jerufalem. He was fuddenly tranfported in vifion to Jerufalem ; 'wherehe firft beheld the amazing abominations, im- pieties and idolatries, of which the people were guilty * then hebeheld men, or angels, draw near with their wea- pons to deftroy the city, and flay the people. But be- fore they were permitted to go out to deftroVj one was fent forth to fet a ma: k upon all thofe that lamented for the abominations that were committed in the land. Then he heard the com million given to deftroy, faw the glory of God depart from the remole and city j and partly by vifion, and partly by plain words, had a full reprefentation and account of the total deftruction of the city and temple, and the fLughter of the moftof the inhabitants. Now all the fubjecls of this vifion and prophecy were fulfilled in about fix years : from which I argue, that if the deftrmftion of the city and temple, which was fore-mewed him in vilion, nnd foretold him by the Vol. II. O fpirit 204 Lectures on the Prophecies. fpirit of prophecy, and the unerring word of the Lord, was certainly accomplifhed ; even fo fhall the glorious things forefhewed and foretold to the fame prophet, by the fame authority, and in the fame manner, partly by vifion and partly by words, be as exactly fulfilled; notwithftanding the many years that have palled, or may yet pafs, between the predictions and their com- pleat fulfilment. It was in the fourteenth year after the city was fmit- ten, that Ezekiel was once more carried in vifion to the land of Ifrael ; but upon a very different errand from what he was, when, nineteen years before, he was carried to behold the fins and deftruction of Jerufalem. Now, he was brought thither to behold the wonderful things which fhall take place in the latter days. This vifion was long after the deflruction of the city ; to flievv that the things therein reprefented fhould not take place at the return of the Babylonifh captivity, (as we are fure that none of them did) but in the latter days ; a time then long to come. But as the prophet had feen in vifion the city and beautiful temple forfaken and deftroyed — had lived to fee the fulfilment of the vifion and prophecy — had long mourned for the fins and calamities of his people — it was certainly a very gracious and comforting circumftance for him to be fa- voured with a view of the glory of that land in the lat- ter days, and of a beautiful temple, that fhall be built for the Lord, wherein he fhall place his throne, and dwell for ages. I am afraid, that I fhall not be able to fet the vifion before you in all its beauty ; for my comprehenfion of it is but weak, dull, and imperfect : < But 3LECTURE XIII. 10$ 4 But what I can, I will perform ; the reft * Muft be referv'd for nobler tongues and pens.' I hope fome abler and more ingenious pens will take up the beautiful fubjecl, and difcufs it more at large, than either my ability or defign will give me leave to do. All I can pretend to do, is to draw fome few of the outlines of this wonderful plan and elevation, and make a few remarks upon fome of the mod firiking circumftances.— - The prophet writes thus : — c In the five-and-twen- c tieth year of our captivity, in the beginnin g of the * year, in the tenth day of the month, in the four- f teenth year after that the city was fmitten, in the felf- c fame day, the hand of Jehovah was upon me, and * brought me thither. In the vifions of God brought * he me into the land of Ifrael, and fet me upon a very c high mountain, by which was as the frame of a city e on the fouth. And he brought me thither, and c behold there was a man whofe appearance was like c the appearance of brafs, with a line of flax in his * hand, and a meafuring reed : and he flood in the ' gate. And the man faid unto me, Son of man, c behold with thine eyes, and hear with thine ears, and ' fet thine heart upon all that I fliall fhew thee : for to * the intent that I might fhew them unto thee art thou 1 brought hither : declare all that thou feefl to the ' houfe of Ifrael. And behold a wall on theoutfideof c the houfe round about, and in the man's hand a mea- ' furing reed of fix cubits long, by the cubit and an 1 hand-breath, Sec.' Ezek. xl. i 5. We may obferve, that this building which the pro- phet beheld in vifion, flood upon a very high moun- tain ; and there is no doubt but, in reality, the glorious O 2 temple 106 Leflures on the Prophecies. temple of the Lord fhail Hand upon a high and very fcxalfced mountain, called, in the prophecies, The Moun- tain of Jehovah's Houfe.^ — And it mail come to pafs * in the laft days, that the mountain of Jehovah's ' houfe fhall he eftablifhed in the top of the moun- c tains, and fhall be exahed above the hills ; and all * nations fnall flow unto it :' Ifai. 11. 2. Mic. iv. 1. The former temple , that built by Solomon, and that built by the returned captives, flood upon Mount Moriah, in Jerufalem : but that which is to be built for Chrift to dwell in, will fland upon a more lofty moun- tain ; not in the city, but more than thirty miles diftant to the north ; as any attentive reader may perceive, by carefully reading the 48th chapter ; where we find the inheiitance of the twelve tubes laid out, beginning from the no:th, nex^ to the land of Hamath, where Dan has bis portion; next to him Ather; then Naph- tan\ and next to him ManafTdi ; then Ephraim, and by him Reuben ; thenjudah. Af.er the fettlement of thtfe (even tribes, a dedicated portion is marked off, which is to contain the fanclwary, the priefts and Le- vies portions, and the pofleffion of the city. To know exactly how large this four-fquare portion is, of five and twenty thoufand reeds fquare, is difficult, anfil is beyond my p .wer to tell certainly ; becaufe, th u^h we are ta'.d that the reed with which the angel mea- fured the whole was fix cubits, and are alfo informed that the cubif was a cubit and a hand's breadth ; (fee (hap. xl. \5 ? xliii. 13.) yet, for want of knowing exactly the lei !gih of the cubit, (whether eighteen inches, or twenty-one inches, or three feet) and the meafure called an hand-breadth., (whether four inches and an half, LECTURE XIII. JOy half, or whether a (Van containing nine inches) we connot be quite ce tarn of its precife length and breadth, and perhaps we may never be able to deter- mine with certainty 'till it is fulfilled, when no doubt every thin^ than appear exact, according ro the pro- prophecy. But at prefent I fhall take the cubit to be eighteen inches., and the hand-breadth to be four inches and a half, which put together make twenty- two inches and an half, and fix times this is eleven feer and three inches for the length of the reed; twenty five thoufand of this meafure is fifty-three miles and a quarter, and ninety feet. Then there is a divifion of ten thoufand reeds, or twenty-one miles and a quarter and three hundred feet broad, in the midft of which (lands the fanctuary, which ir divided by a wall of five hund ed reeds each way, to feparate • between the fanctuary and the profane place. I will here give you, at one view, the exact dimen- iions of the holy portion, and all the pans into which it is divided, according to the above rule. From the fouthern boundary of the holy portion, to the iouthern wall of the city, two thoufand eight hundred and twelve feet, fix inches, or half a mile, and one hundred and feventy-two feet, fix inches. The city itlelf nine miles, and three thoufand one hundred and five feet, or nine miles and an half and fou: hundred and fixty five feet. From the north- ern wall of the city, to the fouthern wall of the fanc- tuiry, thirty-«ne miles, and five th.ufand and feventy feet for thirty-one miles three quarters, and one thou- fand one hundred and ten feet. From to8 Lectures en the Prophecies. From the fouthern wall of the fan&uary, to the northern wall of the fame, one mile, and three hun- dred and forty-five feet. From the northern wall of the fanctuary to the north- ern boundary of the holy portion joining to Judah's pof- feffion, ten miles, and fix hundred thirty-feven feet fix inches. All which added together make the firft men- tioned fum, fifty-three miles, and one thoufand four hundred and ten feet, or fifty -three miles and a quarter, and ninety feet. It being evident therefore, by the largenefs of the fancluary, and by the diftance which it fhall ftand from Jerufalern, or the city Jehovah Shammah, that no fuch temple hath ever yet been built, confequently the whole remains to be fulfilled. This glorious and beautiful temple and fanctuary being exprefly and particularly defcribed, it cer- tainly follows that it mufl be buik on earth ; and from the magnitude and glory of the fame, we may conclude that it will be the refidence of the great King, during the period of his reign on earth, which we are allured will be a thoufand years. I fhall make a few remarks upon this holy place, which will comprehend all the light I have in the matter at prefent. i. Unlefs it had been the pleafure of God that fuch a houfe mould be built, he certainly never would have (hewed it to the prophet, nor thus defcribed it fo very particularly : for no poflible reafon can be given for this long and minute defcription, which takes up three whole chapters, unlefs fuch a palace is to lie hereafter built in reality : for to pretend that it is only LECTURE XIU. riOf only intended as a myftical reprefentation, as many- explain it, pointing out the flourifhing ftate of the Christian church on earth, or as others, the glorified ftate in heaven, is juft as void of foundation, and full as abfurd, as it would have been for Mofes when he came down from the mount, with that particular defcription of the tabernacle, &c. recorded in Exod. xxv. xxvi. xxvii. and that charge to fee that he made every thing according to the pattern (hewed him in the mount, to have given out, that the Lord Je- hovah intended nothing more, than that his religion mould be practifed in the hearts and lives of men, but that no buildings of any earthly materials were to be erected, but that they were only mentioned as metaphors, &c. For if any perfons will take the pains to read over the three chapters in Exodus abovementioned, and then thofe three in Ezekiel, (xl. xli. xlii.) which fpeak of the holy houfe, the fanc- tuary of the Lord, which is to be built, (fince it never yet has been) they will find the meafures equally exacl:, and the defcriptions alike particular : with this only difference, that Mofes was commanded imme- diately to caufe the things to be made according to the pattern, but Ezekiel only beheld what was to take place, and was commanded to fhew the pattern to the houfe of Ifrael ; and as he had feen. it meafured, to let them meafure it; that fo it might be firmly en- graved and imprinted upon their memories, that God, in due time, would caufe fuch a palace to be built, for the glory of his name. 2. It is evident that the prophet was not only inftrudted by the vifion to look upon the building of the tio JLefiures tn the Prophecies. the temple in the manner that he faw it reprefentedj as certain ; but highly important, and of great con- fequence. This is evident, not only by the folemn manner in which the virion was (hewed him by the authority of God, and by the miniftration of glorious angels, but alio by the ftrict charge given him, in thefe words, * Son of man, behold with thine eyes, * and hear with thine ears, and fet thine heart upon * all that I (hall (hew thee : for to the intent that I * might (hew them unto thee art thou brought hither : * declare all that thou feed to the houfe uf Ifrael •/ thap. xl. 4. The prophet is called by the appellation of Son of man, a name which Chrift often gave him- felf, but by which none of the prophets were called, except Ezekiel and Daniel ; the latter only once. Ezekiel was charged to fee with his eyes, to hear with his ears, and to fet his heart to all that was fliewed to him, and to pay the greater! pofiible atten- tion thereto, and alfo to declare it all to the houfe of Ifrael; but if it was never defigned to be literally accomplifhed, of what ufe could it be to declare it to the houfe of Ifrael ? for to this day they do not underftand it; and they even forbid any to read this vifion 'till they are thirty years of age, efteeming it the moft difficult of all the prophecies : And indeed nothing lefs than the idea of its being exactly fulfilled, canever make it to be thoroughly underftood. Yet as he was folemnly charged, even a fecond time, to fhew the form and fafhion of the houfe to the houfe pf Ifrael, theie muft have been forne weighty inten- tion in the fame. For when he had a vifion of the Lord himfelf entering into the holy houfe, he re- ceived tfecTtrRE xin. in ceivect a charge from him to let thi$ matter be known, cfpecially if he found in the people any difpoiltion to be forry for their foimer tranfgreiTions, which had occafioned the destruction of the glorious, beautiful, and magnificent temple buik by Solomon: In .it cafe he was to comfort them, by giving them a cer- tain expectation of this houfe being built, which lball be far more glorious : and that it might not be for- gotten, it was to be written in their fight, and the pattern of it (ei before them. 1 Thou fon of man, lhew the houfe to the houfe ' of Ifrael, that they may be afhimed of their iniqui- f ties : and let them meafu' - e the pattern. And if ' they be afliamed of all that they have done, fhew * them the form of the houfe and the fafhion thereof^ ( and the goings out theieof, and the comings in ' thereof, and all the forms thereof, and all the ordi- c nances thereof, and all the forms theiejf, and all * the laws thereof; and write it in their fight, that they ' may keep the whole form 'hereof, and all the o:di- * nances thereof, and do them. This is the law of * the houfe ; Upon the top of the mountain, the wh le * limit thereof ^ound about drill be moft hoiy. Be- ' hold, this is the law of the houfe :' chap. xiui. 10, II, 12. 3. The buildings appear, by the defcription, to be very grand, and mostly four-fquare. The feparate place (divided by a wall to make a feparation be- tween the fanchury and the profane place) is accord- ing to the meafure, as I have already noticed, one rule and three hundred and forty-five feet fquare ; Which is a place large enough for many thoufands, if Vol. 11. P noc ij-a Lcclures on the Prophecies. not feme millions, to enter in upon occafion. Here the great King will hold his court, and here difplay his glory. From this place that righteous law will go forth which (hall rule the earth. To this moft holy- temple the faints fhall have free admittance at all times ; and even thofe who are in a mortal (late, or who have not been raifed and changed, mall fome- times be admitted to pay their homage there. There fhall be a conftant communication between this tem- ple and the higheft heavens ; and angels fhall go and return to and from the glorious prince. For thus he faid to Nathanael, ' Hereafter ye (hall fee heaven I opened, and the angels of God afcending and de- ' fcending upon the Son of man :' or continually com- ing to him, and returning from him. Such a glorious intercourfe will there be between angels and men, in that bleffed period ! fuch great wonders are referved to blefs our fight, in that long-expected day, when the Lord our Saviour fhall reign in his holy moun- tain ! 4. The gates in the outward wall are only three, that I find any account of; one towards the eaft, which is the royal gate, at which the Lord God of Ifrael fhall enter ; and as this is not a common gate, and fhall not be conftantly open, therefore there is no gate upon the weftern fide oppofite thereto. The gates at which the people fhall enter to pay their homage to their Lord, and to behold his glory, fland upon the north and fouth fides, oppofite to each other. The peonls of the land will be allowed to enter at thefe gates in the folemn feafts, taking this precau- tion not to return by the way that they came in, but to LECTURE XIII. II3 co go forth by the oppofite gate. The prince fliaU be permitted to enter in by the eaft gate, and to go forth by the fame. • But when the people of the ' land fhall come before Jehovah, in the folemn 1 feafts, he that entereth in by the way of the north c gate to worlhip, (hall go out by the way of the fouth c gate : and he that entereth in by the way of the e fouth gate, (hall go forth by the way of the north gate : ' he mall not return by the way of the gate whereby * he came in, but (hall go forth over againft it :* Ezek. xlvi. 9. The gates of the inner court are exactly oppofite to the outer gates, and they are juft a,n hundred cubits diftant from each other : fo that from the gate on the eaft fide, in the outward wail, to the gate of the inner court, is an hundred cubits ; and the lame may be faid of the north and of the fouth- gates. There is a general regularity and exactnefs in the meafures of all the gates, chambers, &c. fave that in going up to the gates in the outer wall, you afcend by feven fteps, both on the north fide, and on the fouth fide, (How many on the eaft fide is not mentioned) ; but on the eaft, north, and fouth fides, the afcent to the inner court is by eight fteps. Whatever myftery fome may find in thefe and many other defcriptions in thefe chapters, I (hall content myfelf with obferving, that the exadlnefs with which the place is defcribed, and the proportions affigned to each gate, building, chamber, court, &c. is no where exceeded in Scripture, either in the de- fcription of the tabernacle in the wildernefs, erected by Mofes 3 or the glorious temple built by Solomon : P % and $74 Leflures ov t^e Prophecies, and we have jufct is aiucb real r i ' el i eve that- fuch a temple, occ. as this delcribed by Ezekiel, will be b iilt. for the reception of the Lord, as *e have to believe tha: the tabernacle vvas erected in the »il- dernefsj or the temple built in Jerufalem, or any- other fact recorded in the facred hilto.y, happened ; fo. we have in both cafes the lame authority. 5. The materials- of which the houie, &c. (hall be compoied, a'e not defcribed very particulady ; ex. e^t jufi fo far as to let us know that the build- ing is to be on ear h; and compofed cf fuch ma- tenuis as earth can fr.rnim, as wood, and thick pi: Is: See Ezekiel xli 16. 22. 25, 26. But no tie - ' ' he houfe will be very glorious, much mo r e fj than either of the forme-- temples; and though not intended, like tlu N a Jerufalem, to endure or remain before God to endlefs ages-, yei exceedingly well fuited 1 it difpenfation, and calculated to lait for the lime f thoaifand years, without decav. And to ti building of this temple mall ali nations freely contribute; as m fht days of S^olom m, and mo*e fo For ' The kin^s of Ta mifli and of the ifles lhalj * ins prefents : the kangs of Sheba and Seba lhalJ * o 7 ' gifts:' PL lxxii. io. « All they from She* a f fib; il come . the (hall bring g)ld and incenfe, hey f fhall .hew forth the p aife of Jehovah^ * Surely c the \ib:. fhall wait for me and the fhips of Ta ll h « firft, to b ii g rhy fons from far, their filver and their e gold with them;, unto the name of Jehovah thy * God, and to the Holy One of Ifrael, becaufe he c hath glorified thee. The glory of Lebanon fhall f come unto thee, the'fii tree, the pine tree, and the * box together^ to beautify the place of my fan&uary, 6 and LECTURE MIT. "5 6 and I will make the place of my feet glorious.' c For ' brad 1 will bring g Id, aud for nu i will bring ' iiKer, and for wo >u biad, and for itones iron :* liai. lx. 6. 9. 13. 17* There can be no want of diffident riches to build and dec ji ate tins lacre I temple, when the gain and fubflance of many nations lhall be confecated to the L 1 f the whole earth, Mic. iv. 3. and when the whole inufe of ifrael flbalj be uniud in this good work, md when it (hall be earned on under the f ecia] I'ectAin of thai King, of whom Soi a non in all his glorv w ..s ui at t tigurc. Att thefe things .r can be n doubt, but the gkr\ li iioufe (hail far exceed the glory o( the firfi. Bui the g'ci: 1. glory ot all, is, (That the Lord hiru'Hi f. ail triumphantly enter in, and make the ftatc j palace his conitant relidence during the Mil- ieu ium. This glorious even*: is beautifully defcribed by the prophet LzekieK in the xliii. chapter of ins prophecy ; a part of which I (hall real to you, and make tome remarks as 1 pafs along, which I hope will be worthy of your attention. ' Afterward he brought me to the gate, even the ' gate that ;ooketh toward the eaft. And behold, the ' glory of the God of Ifrael came from the way of the 'cat- and his voice was like the noife of many ' wacers, and the earth Pruned with his glory :' ver* 1, 2. The prophet having beheld in vifion the temple- prepared for the greal inhabitant, is here led forth to the eaft gate, where he beholds the glory of the God •f Iiiael coming hum the eafti — which certainly intends Il6 Leffures on the Prophecies, intends the perfonal appearance of the Lord Jefus Chrift, the viiible Jehovah, without which I cannot fee the lead propriety in the text : but if it be allowed that the great Lord of the whole earth fhall fuddenly come into his temple, when it is prepared for him, then the meaning is eafy, confident, and rational, exactly agreeable to the plained letter of Scripture, and perfectly fuitable to that glorious date of things which fliall then take place. The prophet faw in vifiori what fhall really come to pafs, when the bleffed Re- deemer (fo frequently diled Jehovah in thefe pro- phecies) (hall appear in his glory, with which the earth itfelf mall dune. Oh how lovely, majedic, and beautiful, will the King of kings appear in that glo- rious day ! When St. John beheld him in vifion, when he heard behind him a great voice as of a trum- pet, faying, ' I am Alpha, and Omega, the fird ' and the lad;' &c. when he turned to fee the voice that fpake unto him, what an adonifhing fight he beheld ! Hear his grand defcription, of the awful and dreadful, glorious and lovely fcene. ' And being turned, I faw feven golden candle- 1 dicks ; and in the midd of the feven candledicks, 6 one like unto the Son of man, clothed with a gar- * ment down to the foot, and girt about the paps * with a golden girdle. His head and his hairs were * white like wool, as white as fnow ; and his eyes * were as a flame of fire ; and his feet like unto fine ' brafs, as if they burned in a furnace ; and his voice ' as the found of many waters. And he had in his ' right hand feven dars : and out of his mouth went e a fharp two-edged fword, and his countenance was as the fun fliineth in his drength/ No LECTURE XIII. II} No wonder that when St. John faw this vifion of Jefus glorified, he fell at his feet as dead, though he had been fo intimate with him while he abode on earth ! But kindly the Lord laid his right hand on his fainting difciple, faying unto him, ( Fear not ; * I am the firft and the laft : I am he that liveth, and * was dead ; and behold, I am alive for evermore, * Amen ; and have the keys of hell and death :' Rev. i. 10 18. Such was the vifion of St. John, nor was that of Ezekiel lefs glorious : for he fays, c And it was ac- * cording to the appearance of the vifion which I fa\y 6 when I came to deftroy the city : and the virions * were like the vifion which I faw by the river Chebar : * and I fell upon my face :' ver. 3. In the firft and tenth chapters of this prophecy, you may find a very particular defcription of this glory, and thefe virions ; which vifions are much the fame as thofe beheld by the prophet Ifaiah and St. John the Divine : See Ifai. vi. and Rev. iv. and v. Thefe were all wonderful vifions, glorious to be- hold ; and the fame thing is intended in them all, or rather they are all the fame ; viz. The Saviour of mankind manifefted to Ifaiah and Ezekiel, in the glory which he had before he came into our world, and to St. John in that glory which he received after his afcenfion into heaven ; which, in truth, was the fame glory which he poflefied before. As for the feraphim, or living creatures, fome have taken great pains to prove them to be a reprefentation of the Trinity, and of the humanity of Chrift : but I think the feraphim are creatures: 1. becaufe the Scripture exprefly calls them fo : 2. becaufe they are reprefented HJ Leclures on t^e Prophecies. reprefented as worfhipp ; ng Goa : 3. ihev are called faints, and they, as weil as the four and twenty elders, have every one of them harps and golden vials full of odours, which are the prayers of faints : 4. And what confirms me in the idea that they are creatures, yea, and redeemed creatures too, is, that they, with the elders, as the reprefentatives of the church of the iirft born, or firft fruits unto God and die Lamb, fung a new fong, faying, ' Thou art worthy to take * the book, and to open the feals thereof; for thou * waft flain, and haft redeemed us to God by rhy * blood, out of everv kindred, and tongue, and peo- * pie, and nation ; and haft made us unto our God * kings and priefts, and we (hall reign with thee 011 ( the earth :' Rev. v. 8, 9, 10. I think I need fay no more to prove them not to be the creators, but creatures. But the glory in which they ftand is inconceivable; and the high rank they hold among intelligences, hath made foine conclude them to be the reprefentatives of the facred Trinity^ joined to the glorious humanity of our Lord : but for the reafons abovementioned, and others that ■light be given, I diffent from them. The view that Ezekiel had of the glory of the God of lfrael, made him fall upon his face. The prefence of God always humbles and abafes the foul : the more we know of the Divine character, and the more we behold the beauty of the Lord, the more we (hall fee and confefs our own unworthinefs. This was the cafe with Abraham, Mofes, Job, Ifaiah, Ezekiel, Daniel, and St. John, and with all holy beings; the very fe- raphim veil their faces before God and the Lamb. Ezekiel LECTURE XTII. 119 Ezekiel farther fays — f And the glory of Jehovah ' came into the houfe, by the way of the gate whofe ' profpect is towards the eaft :' ver. 4. When the temple was built and dedicated by Solo- mon, the cloud of glory filled the houfe of the Lord — * So 'that the priefts could notftand to minifter, becaufe ' of the cloud : for the glory of Jehovah had filled ' the houfe of Jehovah:' i Kings, viii. 10, 11. 2 Chron. v. 13, 14. — This was the vifible token of the Divine prefence, and (hewed that God dwelt there in a peculiar manner : But I prefume it was impoffible to tell at which door, or in what manner, this glory en- tered. But the prophet Ezekiel pofitively informs us, that the glory of the Lord entered into the houfe by the way of the gate whofe profpecl is towards the eafl. — And is not this a plain proof that Chrift will perfonally appear, and come into the temple that (hall be prepared for him ; and will enter in at the eaft gate ; which fhall remain fhut, as the prophet declares ? for which the reafon is given in thefe words : — l Then he brought "' me back the way of the gate of the outward fanc- i tuary, which looketh towards the eaft ; and it was ' fhut. Then laid Jehovah unto me; This gate * fhall be fhut, it fhall not be opened, and no man ' fhall enter in by it : becaufe Jehovah, the God of t Ifrael, hath entered in by it ; therefore, it fhall be * fhut :' Ezek. xliv. 1, 2. Can any thing be plainer than the vifible prefence of Jehovah, in this text ? He fhall enter at the eaft gate of the temple. But would it not be highly abfurd to fay, that the invifible God, whofe prefence fills hea- ven and earth, entered in at the eaft gate ? But iup- Vol.II. Q^ pofmgj 1 20 Leftures on the Prophecies. pofing, what I think I have proved, that Jefus Chrifl is called, in this and many other pafTages, Jehovah, and the God of Ifrael; and that he (hall appear in glory, and be perfonally vifible on earth, and fhall enter into his temple by the eaft gate ; then the whole appears plain, rational, and eafv : But in any other view, I can make nothing at all of it. The prophet goes on to inform us of what happened to himfelf, and what he faw and heard at the time when he had this wonderful viijon. ' So the fpirit took me up, and brought me into the * inner-court ; and behold the glory of Jehovah * filled the houfe. And I heard him fpeaking unto * me out of the houfe ; and the man flood by me ;' veu 5, 6. Ezekiel having viewed the temple and all the build- ings belonging thereto, and having feen the Lord enter in at the eaft gate, he was taken up, and brought by the Spirit into the inner-court ; where he beheld the glory of the Lord, and heard his gracious voice fpeaking to him out of the houfe : and he has preferved the fpeech which the King of kings and Lord of lords was mod graciouily pleafed to deliver from his throne on that occafion ; a part of which I (hall read to you at this time : And if the fpeeches of the kings of the earth are heard with fo much applaufe, how much more ihould we liften to the ipeech of the Lord God, even our Saviour Jefus Chrift, who (hall affume his throne, and take poneffion of his palace in that glorious day, when the prophetic vifions of Ezekiel fhall appear to be divine realities ? Pari LECTURE Xllt. 121 Part of the Speech of his mofi facred, mojl excellent Ma- jefty, Jesus, Jehovah, the Lord God of Ifrael — ■ the great King over all the earth — -King of kings, and Lord of lords — on his entra?ice into his holy temple, and taking pojfeffion of his throne. ( And he faid unto me ; — -(fays Ezekiel)— c Son of * man,- the place of my throne, and the place of the " lbles of my feet, where I will dwell in the midft of If- * rael for ever : and my holy name (hall the children * of Ifrael no more defile, neither they nor their kings, * by their whoredoms, nor by the carcafes of their ' kings, in their high places. In their fetting up their 6 threfhold by my threfholds, and their poft by my ' pofls, and the wall between me and them, they have c even defiled my holy name by their abominations { that they have committed : wherefore I have con- 6 fumed them in mine anger. Now let them put * away their whoredom, and the carcafes of their kings ' far from me, and I will dwell in the midft of therii * for ever. Thou fon of man, fhew the houfe to f the houfe of Ifrael, that they may be afhamed of their ' iniquities : and let them meafure the pattern. And * if they be afhamed of all that they have done, mew * them the form of the houfe, and the fafliion thereof, ' and the goings out thereof, and the comings in there- ' of, and all the forms thereof, and all the ordinances ' thereof, and all the forms thereof, and all the laws ' thereof;' and write it in their fight, that they may ' keep the whole form thereof, and the ordinances ' thereof, and do them. This is the law of the houfe ; Q_2 < Upon 122 Leflures on the Prophecies. < Upon the top of the mountain, the whole limit ' thereof round about (hall be moll holy : behold, ' this is the law of the houfe :' ver. 7 12. After this the Lord goes on to defcribe the altar, and to appoint facrifices, and to direcl: in what manner they (hall be prepared and offered ; of which I fhall fpeak in my Lecture concerning the reftoration of the Jewifh temple fervice : but, at prefent, fhall make a few obfervations upon that part of the fpeech which I have read. 1. It is evident that the Lord defigns to dwell in this holy temple for ever, or during the Millenium age ; that is, for a thoufand years. This is that houfe of Jehovah, of which both Ifaiah and Micah fpeak, to which the nations of the earth, and all people, fhall invite each other to go up ; faying — ' Come ye, and c let us go up to the mountain of Jehovah, and to the ' houfe of the God of Jacob ; and he will teach us of 1 his ways, and we will walk in his paths.' Then {hall it be faid, in the mod fublime fenfe — ' Jehovah is in his holy temple; let all the earth ' keep filence before him/ The nations of the world fhall then keep filence, and learn the will of their Re- deemer and King. The cxxxii. Pfalm, and many other paflages of Scripture, are more applicable to that glorious en- trance of the Lord into his holy temple, than to any event that has yet happened. 2. The holy houfe being exprefly called the place of his throne, and the place of the foles of his feet, intimates that he fhall then begin to reign over his people ilCTURE XIII. I23 people in his holy mount, from that time even for ever, (or, to the age) :' Mic. iv. 7. and that he (hall abide there until he accomplices all thofe glorious pur- pofes for which he fhall vifit the earth. 3. The children of Ifrael (hall be at that day aa holy people, and fhall ferve the Lord with purity and fincerity, and (hall no more defile his name by any abominations of flefh or fpirit : he fhall dwell among them, they (hall be happy, and (hall have a pre-emi- nence above all other nations ; and (hall thus be, in reality, in the latter days, what they were called and chofen to be at firft, but which in fact they never yet have obtained. 4. Such a holy place (hall then be on earth as the like was never feen before, and fuch holinefs (hall take place and abound as will far exceed all de- fcription. The whole land (hall be holy, but es- pecially that mountain whereon the mod holy temple fhall be built. The whole limits round about (hall be mod holy ; this is called the law of the houfe. Nothing unholy or impure (hall come near the facred place to defile it, no unclean perfons fhall approach it. The purity that (hall then take place in the hearts, lives, converfations, and even in the mod ordinary employ- ments of mankind, and much more in the folemn worfhip which they (hall pay to the great King, fhall perfectly correfpond with the holinefs of thofe times, and the fanctity of the place. 5. This facred houfe was (hewed to the prophet in vifion, not to deceive him with a falfe appearance of what (hall never take place ; but that he might fhew to the houfe of Ifrael the great things which God 1 24 Leflures on the Prophecies. God hath purpofed to fulfil in the latter days ; that they might be afhamed of all their iniquities, and be comforted in their prefent long difperfion, with the hopes of that future glory and profperity, which they fhall enjoy in that glorious time when the Lord fhall dwell among them; and they (hall be his people, and (hall keep all his ordinances, and he fhall be their God. Thus in this laft temple, Chrift fhall dwell fur- rounded with glory, and at the fame time fhall rule fpiritually in the hearts of men, and govern all nations by his deputies ; and all the glory that was in the cloudy pillar, that dwelt in the tabernacle, that inha- bited the magnificent temple built by Solomon, with all that was ever feen in the temple built by Zerub- babel, and rebuilt by Herod ; all the glory and ex- cellency that appeared in Chrift when he was on earth ; or in Christianity and the Chriftian church ever fince; all, all, (hall meet and dwell in this facred place, of which I have been fpeaking* The very thought that all thefe vifion? ard pro- phecies fhall be fulfilled, is enough to inflame all our defires, to fee the King in his beauty, and to behold that glorious land, when it fhall become the delight of the Lord, and be no more forfaken or defolate. The very exprefs defcriptions of this houfe, and the entrance of the Lord God of Ifrael into the fame by the way of the eaft gate, abundantly prove that he fhall appear vifibly, and reign perfonally on earth ; without which I cannot poffibly fee how the Scriptures can be fulfilled. There LECT URE XIII. 125 There arc many more obfervations that might be made upon the glorious building, and its many con- veniencies ; but as I have not a thorough undemand- ing of the whole plan, (which indeed is fomewhat difficult to me entirely to comprehend, or fully to explain), I mall therefore leave the fubjecl: to more accurate pens than mine to difcufs; hoping foon to fee fome bright genius undertake the tafk. Befides, I have many other fubjects to difcourfe upon inthefe Lectures, which I may be better able to underftand myfelf, and of confequence to explain to you, than the particulars of this glorious building; it is fuffi- cient for my prefent purpofe to have proved its exift- ence in the Millenium, and to have pointed out its ufes, and fome of the great defigns for which it mall be ere&ed. At this time I mall add, A DISCOURSE A DISCOURSE Upon the univerfal Kingdom of Christ on Earth, and the BleJJings thereof. Zech. xiv. 9.---* And Jehovah fhall be King over all the earth: In ' that day fhall there be one Jehovah, and his name one.' TH E glorious reign of Chrift and his faints on earth, is a fubjed of fo much importance, and of which the Scriptures fpeak fo fully and plainly, that I can hardly be willing to take my leave of it, *till I have considered and enlarged upon fome of the many beau- tiful fcenes of which the prophets fpeak with fo much rapture ; and whereon we dwell with fuch exftatic plea- fure. I wiflb I was able to do jirftice to my theme, and to paint the glories of the Median's reign, in fome mea- sure, according to what it (hall appear in that happy zera, when ' Jehovah fhall be King over all the c earth : In that day (hall there be one Jehovah, c and his name one/ In this difcourfe I (hall, firft, point out who is in- tended by Jehovah ; fecondly, the time when he fhall reign ; thirdly, the extent of his dominion ; fourthly, the ;iature and excellency of his government ; fifthly, the amazing happinefs of his fubjects. Firft, Who is intended by Jehovah, in the words now read ? And I think, for my part, that there cannot be the lead room for difpute in the prefent cafe. Jefus, the Son of the Mod High God, who is called the Holy One a discourse: 127 One of Ifrael, is mod certainly the highly-exalted and dignified perfon. Of this there cannot be the lead folid reafon to hefitate, if we confider that it is the fame Jehovah that was fold for thirty pieces of filver, which filver was caft unto the potter, as a goodly price that he was prifed at by the children of Ifrael. He is alfo the fame Jehovah who was pierced— upon whom the Jews, who pierced him, fhall look, and for whom they {hall mourn, and be in bitternefs. It is the fame glo- rious perfon who (hall come to deliver them from their enemies — whofe feet fhall ftand upon the Mount of Olives, which is before Jerufalem, on the eaft ; at which time the mountain fhall fplit afunder, and half of it fhall remove towards the north, and half of it towards the fouth. It is he that (hall come, and all the faints with him — who (hall enter into the temple at the eaft gate — -and who Hi all place his throne on the glorious holy mountain. It is he that fhall be worfliipped by all nations — who fhall go up from year to year to Je- rufalem for that purpofe. Now, it is evident that fome of thefe prophecies have been fulfilled in Jefus, and the reft may be : but in the nature of things, it is impoffible that they mould be true of the invifible God ; whom no man hath feen, or can fee, and live. This being evident, I pais, ficonity 9 to confider when he fhall be King over all the earth. It is of great im- portance in all prophecies well to underftand the times, ages, feafons and periods, when thofe things fhall hap- pen that are predicted ; and, for want of this obferva- tion, many fall into very great miftakes, and apply the wonderful prophetic declarations of God, to fuch Vol. II. R. events 128 Leftures on the Frophecies. events to which they have not the leaft allufion ; and thus degrade the glory of the Scripture, and weaken its evidence. But as a great number of events are mentioned that mail take place at that time, and which events are fo ftriking that they cannot be unnoticed, or mil/taken, when they fhall happen ; we may fpeak with great confidence concerning them i. The Lord, or Jehovah, cannot be king over all the earth, 'till he (hall vifibly appear — 'till he fhall come to earth — 'till he (hall come with all his faints — 'till his feet fhall ftand upon the Mount of Olives — 'till he fhall raife his faints to reign with him, and change thofe who (hall be found on earth. Now thefe are fuch furprizing events, as fhall point out the exact beginning of the glorious period, without any poflibility of deception or miflake ; and for want of attending to thefe things, the doctrine of the Mille- nium has been brought into contempt, through the ig- norance or imprudence of foolifh men, and has fome- times given umbrage to kings and rulers ; for they feared, or pretended to fear, that their fubjects would rebel, under the idea of felting up a fifth monarchy, or the kingdom of Chi ift : But had they been told, that this kingdom of the Lord could never take place till the time of his appearing — and that the overturn- ing of the kingdoms of the earth mould be the work of God alone, and not of men — that they would never be called to refign their crowns 'till the Chrift of God 'fiiould come to earth in perfon to receive them, &c. — it would have been impomble for them to have taken offence; at lead', upon anyjuft or plaufible ground. 2. When A DISCOURSE. 129 2. When the Lord fhall be King over all the earth, the twelve- tribes of lfrael fhall inherit the land which God gave to their fathers, and fhall be fettled therein no more to be removed ; and it fhall be divided to them according to their tribes ; but in a different manner from what it was in Jolhua's time : — of which diviiion I fhall fpeak in one of the following Lectures. At the fame time, they fhall be one people and nation, no more to be divided for ever ; and fhall be converted to God, and be a holy, wife, and obedient people, from that time forward. 3. At the time of Jehovah's reign, all nature fhall be changed for the better ; waters fhall break out in the wildernefs, and dreams in the defart, and the mod bar- ren land fnall become fruitful : By all which, and num- berlefs other figns, it may be exactly determined when thekingdom of Jehovah has taken place. 4. At that time there fhall be no more wars through all the world, neither fhall the wild beads retain their ferocity any longer ; the earth fhall become a paradife, and the golden age fhall be more than realized; the glorious things which God hath fpoken fhall be ac- complifhed. 5. I apprehend that the words of St. Peter, where he fays — But beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thonfand years, and a thou- fand years as one day, (2 Pet. iii. 8.) intimate, that our Lord's day of reigning on the earth with his faints will be a thoufand years ; and this is exprefly aflerted by St. John, Rev. xx. fo as to put the matter beyond all reafonable doubt : and the general expectation of bcth Jews and the ancient Fathers, and of thofe in all ages, R 2 who 130 Lectures on the Prophecies. who have given their minds to the itudy of this matter, joined with 'the intimations of the feventh-day fabbath being a type of this fabbath, or reft, that remains for the people of God : All thefe, and fome other confe- derations, make me to conclude, that the reign of our Lord and Saviour over the whole earth, will commence at the clofe of fix thoufand years from the creation ; and, very probably, he may appear a little before. However, I dare venture to declare, that he will not appear next year, nor the ye,ar after, as fome have lately predicted, who, it is likely, will outlive their own pre- dictions, as many others have done. One reafon of fuch frequent and grofs miftakes, is, not attending to thofe things which mult take place before the coming of Chriit; as, the weakening of the Turkifh empire — the return and fettlement of the Jews in their own land, and the great combination of their enemies againit them — the fore troubles into which the chil- dren of Ifrael (hall be brought — the taking and facking of Jerufalem : — All thefe events, and doubtlefs many others, mult take place before the Lord will appear ; which will require fome confiderable time for their ful- filment. But as the Saviour gave this fign to his difciples, that when they faw Jerufalem, in thofe days, compalTed about with armies, they might know that its deflruction was nigh, even at the door, as it was then the determi- nate purpofe of God to give up the city to utter ruin : fo, from the prophets, I am able to give this infallible fign, that when, after the return of the Jews to their own land, their enemies final] aiTemble, ravage the country, come before Jerufalem, and take it ; then may A DISCOURSE. I3I may it certainly be known that the Lord will foon ap- pear, and deliver the city, by deftroying its enemies. Then (hall he take to him his great power, and (hall reign according to the prophecies. But 1 come to (hew, thirdly, the extent of his domi- nion.-- And of this important matter we are well aflured in the Scriptures. In the very words of my text we are informed, that ' Jehovah ihall be King over all the * edrth ;' and in the Pfalms, that ' He (hall have domi- * nion alio from fea to fea, and from the river unto the e ends of the earth. They that dwell in the wildernefs ' (hall bow before him ; and his enemies (hall lick the * duft. The kings of Tarihifh, and of the ides, (hall c bring prefents ; and the kings of Sheba and Seba ' (hall offer gifts : yea, all kings (hall fall down be- * fore him; all nations (hall fcrve him:' Pfal. lxxii. 8, 9, 10, 11. There is no occafion of multiplying proofs of this nature ; it is evident that his dominion (hall be univer- fal — (hall extend through all the globe, and not be confined to a fmall part, as Chriftianity has been hi- therto — his name (hall be known to all people, and all (hall adore him. The heathen (hall be his inheritance, and the uttermoft parts of the earth (hall be his poffef- fion ; and his kingdom lhall fill the world. Fourthly, I am to (hew the nature and excellency of his government. And we have the happinefs of being informed that his government (hall have the following glorious pro- perties : j 01 Leclures on the Prophecies. 1. It (hall be a righteous, juft, and equitable go* vernment. — f Behold, a king {hall reign in righteouf- ' nefs ; and princes {hall rule in judgment:' Ifai. xxxii. i. — c He (hall judge thy people with righte- * oufnefs, and thy poor with judgment :' Pfal.lxxii. 2. — '• With righteoufnefs (hall he judge the goor, and re- ' prove with equity for the meek of the earth ; and ' righteoufnefs ihall be the girdle of his loins, and * faithfulnefs the girdle of his reins :' Tfai. xi. 4, 5. The bleffings of a juft and impartial government are very great indeed ; and in any country where any fuch prevail, though but in a fmall degree, how every thing flourishes ! how the face of the Ground is im- proved, and the barren wildernefs is feen to fmile ! But where tyranny, injuftice, and oppreiTion prevail ; the moft fruitful foil is turned into barrennefs. But a juft and 'perfectly equitable government has never yet been adminiftered among men, nor mall it be found on earth 'till Jefus comes : Then (hall it appear in all its glory, and make all his fubjecls happy. 2. The government of Chrift (hall be favourable to the poor, who are, and have generally been defpifed, contemned and neglected, by all governments and eftabliihments. Is it poffible, even in England, for a poor man, without friends or money, to obtain juftice acainft a rich, powerful, and mighty man, who op- preffes him ? I believe, if the queftion was aiked, it might be anfwered in thefe words : — '. With men it is 1 impoffible ; but with God all things are poffible.' But of Chrift it is faid — c He (hall judge the poor f of the people ; he (hall lave the children of the * needy, and (hall break in pieces the oppreffor. For 6 he A DISCOURSE. I33 c he (hall deliver the needy, when he crieth; the poor ' alfo, and him that hath no helper. He fhall fpare * the poor and needy, and (hall fave the fouls of the ' needy. He fhall redeem their foul from deceit and ' violence ; and precious (hall their blood be in his e fight :' Pfal. lxxii. 4. 12, 13, 14. Thefe paffages are full to the purpofe, and (hew that Chrift's government fhall be raoft excellent in- deed ! While juftice is bought and fold, the poor will always be oppreffed ; but when the Saviour shall reign, bribery and corruption shall have no exiftence ; and confequently the poor shall be delivered from thofe miferies under which they groan at prefect. 3. Under the government of Chrift, wicked nefs (hall not dare to appear ; but righteoufnefs fhall every where prevail, and peace fhall triumph. ( The moun- 1 tains fhall bring peace to the people, and the little ' hills by righteoufnefs. In his days fhall the righ- ( teous flourifh, and abundance of peace fo long as c the moon endureth :' Pfal. lxxii. 3. 7. Righteoufnefs, piety, and goodnefs, fhall then be far more common than vice and iniquity are at pre- 1 fent. 4. Chrift's reign fhall be long, peaceful, and prof- perous, and (hall be efteemed the greateft bleffing that ever was beflowed upon mankind. i They (hall ' fear thee as long as the fun and moon endure, ' throughout all generations. And he fhall live, and ' to him fhall be given of the gold of Sheba : prayer ' alfo fhall be made for him continually, and daily ( fhall he be praifed. His name (hall endure for ever : < his X^4 Leftures on the Prophecies. * his name fliall be continued as long as the fun, and * men (hall be bleffed in him ; all nations fhall call ' him bleffed :' Pfal. lxxii. 5. 15. 17. 5. Chrift's government fliall be very powerful, fa that no revolution (hall be feared. His kingdom, like the (lone cut out of the mountains without hands, fliall become a great mountain, and fhall fill the whole earth, and (hall never be deitroyed, nor fucceeded by any other empire ; it (hall confume all kingdoms, and (hall (land for ever : See Dan. ii. 34, %$* 44> 45* vii. 14. 18. 22. 27. 6. The government of the glorious Jehovah fhall be very mild, and only terrible to the proud, tyran- nical, wicked and rebellious, whom he will utterly deflroy from the earth. ' Behold, Adonai Jehovah ' will come with ftrong hand, and his arm fhall rule ' for him : behold, his reward is with him; and his c work before him. He (hall feed his flock like a * fhepherd ; he (hall gather the lambs with his arm, 6 and carry them in his bofom, and fliall gently lead ' thofe that are with young :' Ifai. xl. 10, 11. Thefe expreflions imply the mod mild, gentle, and happy government that can be conceived ; — yea, and far more than can be conceived at prefent ; as nothing like this hath ever been yet experienced under any government, nor ever can be, except under that of Chriil. Oh that the happy time were come ! But I come, fifthly, to attempt to fet forth the amazing happinefs of his fubjecls, under his glori- ous government. This happinefs fliall extend to all, and fliall be both general and particular — -But language fails to defcribe it. A DISCOURSE. 135 it. I behold the lovely fcene rifing to my view, but how fhall J fct it forth ? It would be apt to make our broken and difconfolate hearts lick with defire, if we mould be entertained with a defcriprion of that feli- city which is referved for men in thofe mod happy times. But where fhall I begin ? The world will, during that happy period, be en- tirely different from what it is now. The earth ihall be delivered almoft entirely from the curfe ; the mod barren land fhall become fruitful ; wars, famines, wafting peflilences, earthquakes, and the other cala- mities that defolate the globe, fhall ceafe. All enmity fhall be deftroyed out of the whole race of men, and from among the hearts. Tyranny, oppreflion, fraud, and injuftice of every kind, (hall be no more. Do- meftic broils, thofe greater]: real ills of life, (hall then no longer exift. There fhall be happinefs in families; peace in neighbourhoods : tatling, whifpering, backbiting, re- proaches, flanders, lying, and evil-fpeaking, fhall no longer ruin the characters and peace of mankind. There fhall then be no cruel parents, difobedient children, hard-hearted and wicked hufbands, unfaith- ful, ungodly, and provoking wives ; tyrannical mafters, and undutiful fervants. Thus as peace and content- ment fhall reign in the fmaller circles, the fame fhall extend to the larger, 'till towns, cities, countries, and kingdoms, and the whole world (hall rejoice, and be happy ! All difputes about religion fhall be at an end; f There fhall be one Jehovah, and his name one;* Vol. II, S and S»g6 Leflures on the Prophecies. and all fhall know, fear, and love that name ; all fliall willingly obey and ferve the Lord, and keep his commandments, which fhall then be known not to be grievous. The amazing happinefs and pleafure that mankind fhall take in going up to Jerufalem from year to year, to worfliip Jehovah, I fhall attempt to confider in a difcourfe by itfcff ; for I think it one of the mod grand and rational fources of pleafure that ever men did or can enjoy on eartn. What happinefs it muft be to fee all happy around us, and to be freed from all envy ! which fhall be the cafe in the time when the Lord fhall reign on the earth. That anxiety for a livelihood which makes molt people unhappy at prefent, fhall then be wholly removed, and plenty as well as peace, joined with health and contentment , fhall make men univerfally happy under the mild, righteous, and moft excellent government of the Lord. ( He fliall be as the light of the morning when the * fun rifeth, even a morning without clouds ; as the ' tender grafs fpringing out of the earth by clear fhin- € ing after rain :' i Sam. xxiii. 4. * He fliall come e down like rain upon the mown grafs ; as fliow- * ers that water the earth :' Pfal. lxxii. 6. Oh how glorious fliall his reign be ! and how happy his nume- rous fubjects, who fliall increafe and flourifli under his government ! * There fhall be an handful of corn 5 in the earth upon the top of the mountains : the * fruit thereof fliall fhake like Lebanon ,• and they of ' die A DISCOURSE. I37 1 the city fliall flourifh like the grafs of the earth :' Pfal. Ixxii. 16. Oh how delightful it will be to fee vice and all its attendants baniflied from the globe ! Difcord and mifery fhall ceafe; love, peace and harmony, (hall every-where prevail ; and true piety flourifh and abound. The four very diftreffed characters of poor, father- lefs, widows, and Jirangers, fliall then be happy* Men fliall fo love one another, that they fhall be at home wherever they go. Na fear of thieves, robbers, murderers, impofters, (harpers, rogues, or villains of any defcription, shall damp the flame of charity. No coveteoufnefs shall shut up the bowels of any, nor fcarcity of the good things of life compel the generous to deal with a fparing hand, as now is fre- quently the cafe. No charities shall be perverted, as often we fee with regret in the prefent corrupt ag;e. In short, the cuftoms, manners, laws, ways and works of men, shall be fo changed, that the world shall hardly be known to be the fame-; every thing shall be nearly reverfed. The fubject is boundlefs, and charming beyond de- fcription ! — -But I mud forbear, and clofe the prefent Difcourfe with the words of the Pfalmift, Pfal. Ixxii. 18, 19. ' Bleflfed be Jehovah God, the God of 1 Ifrael, who only doeth wondrous things. And blef- ' fed be his glorious name for ever : and let the whole 1 earth be filled with his glory, /unen, and A,nen> END Of THE DISCOURSE, fa tfi&ipn i n ray yH*J *' yjrcV Mr. Cowper has beautifully exprefled the glory of the Millenium) in his Poem called Jfc* Ta/k, Book VI. ' Rivers of gladnefs water all the earth, And clothe all climes with beauty : the reproach Of barrennefs is part. The fruitful field Laughs with abundance ; and the land once lean, Or fertile only in its own difgrace, Exults to fee its thiftly curfe repeal'd. The various feafons woven into one, And that one feafon an eternal fpring I The garden fears no blight, and needs no fence ; For there is none to covet ; all are full. The lion, and the leopard, and the bear, Graze with the fearlefs flocks. All balk at noon Together, or all gambol in the made Of the fame grove, and drink one common flream. Antipathies are none. No foe to man Lurks in the ferpent now. The mother fees And fmiles, to fee her infant's playful hand Stretch'd forth to dally with the crefted worm, To ftroke his azure neck, or to receive The lambent homage of his arrowy tongue. All creatures worfhip man, and all mankind One Lord, one Father ! Error has no place ; That creeping peftilence is driv'n away 5 The breath of heav'n has chas'd it. In the heart No paffion touches a difcordant ftring ; But all is harmony and love. Difeafe Is not. The pure and uncontaminate blood Holds ifsdue courfe, nor fears the froftof age. One long employs all nations, and all cry, Worthy the Lamb, for he was flam for us. The dwellers in the vales, and on the rocks, Shout to each other, and the mountain tops From diftant mountains catch the flying joy, * 'Till 140 Mr. Cow per on the Millenium, 'Till nation after nation, taught the ftrain, Each rolls the rapturous Hofanna round. Behold, God's promifes are now fulfill'd; Jerufalcm rebuilt, in glory fhines ; All kingdoms, and all princes of the earth Flock to her light ; the riches of all lands Flow into her; unbounded is her joy, And endlefs her increafe ! Thy rams are there, Nebaioth, and the flocks of Kedar too ; The looms of Ormus, and the mines of Ind, And Saba's fpicy groves pay tribute there. Praife is in all her gates. Upon her walls, And in her ftreets, and in her fpacious courts, Is heard Salvation. Eaftern Java there, Kneels with the native of the fartheft Weft ; And Ethiopia fpreads abroad the hand, And worfhips. Her report has travell'd forth ''Into all lands. From ev'ry clime they come, To fee thy beauty, and to ihare thy joy, O Sion ! an aflembly, fuch as earth Saw never ; fuch as Heav'n ftoops down to fee. - ■ * Thus heav'nward all things tend. For all were once Perfect-, and all muft be at length reftor'd. So God has greatly purpos'd ; who would elfe, In hisdiihonour'd works, himfelf endure Difhonour, and be wrong'd without redrefs ? Hafte then, and wheel away a fhatter'd world, Ye flow revolving feafons ! We would fee (A fight to which our eyes are flrangers yet) A world that does not dread and hate his laws, And fufFer for its crimes ; would learn how fair The creature is that God pronounces good; Howpleafant in itfelf what pleafes him. Come then, and, added to thy many crowns, Receive yet one as radiant as the reft, Due to thy laft and moft effectual work, Thy word fulfill'd, the conquer! of a world.* i 4 Ih^tc ^ La/tdof Ciuuriin if irn vi *Ui I' I V far and utrn K j', '■.ri_I t <\ 7 •oliliriJi zj:kzf:j^ xr.v:xi7/rr.XL LECTURE XIV. %7:e recovery of the whole houfe of Ifrael, even all the twelve tribes — Their fettlement in their ozvn land, no wore to be removed — And the nezv divijion of the land, different from what it was in Joshua's time, or ever Jince. GO D has been pleafed to declare, in many ex- prefs prophecies, that not only the defcendants of Judah and Benjamin, commonly called The Jczvs, but ail the twelve tribes of Ifrael, (hall return to the land which God gave to their fathers, and (hall poflefs it, one as well as another ; and though the fate of the ten tribes, called by the name of Ephraim, was, ac- cording to the word of prophecy, to be broken, fo as not to be a people ; (fee Ifai. vii. 8.) — and to be ut- terly caft off and reje&ed from being God's people; (fee Hof. i. 6. 9.) — yet, by the fame authority, we are told ' It fhall come to pafs, that in the place ' where it was faid unto them, Ye are not my people ; ' there it (hall be faid unto them, Ye are the fons of ' the living God. Then fhall the children of Judah 1 and the children of Ifrael be gathered together, and * appoint themfelves one head ; and they fhall come ' up out of the land : for great fhall be the day of Jez- 1 reel :' Hof. i. 10, 1 1.. — < For the children of Ifrael ' fhall abide many days without a king, and without a ' prince, and without a facrifice, and without an image, ' and without an ephod, and without teraphjm. After- Vol, II, T < ward, 144 Lectures on the Prophecies. ' ward fhnll the children of Ifrael return, and feek Je- ' ho\ ah their God, and David their king, and fh -11 c fear Jehovah, and his goodnefs, in the latter days :' Hof. in. 4, 5. Since the prophecies of their difperfion and defola- tion have been fulfil' ed for many agt-s, there can be no doubt but thofe which fpenk of the recovery of the vvh le twelve tribes, their being gathered out of all nations, fettled in their own land no more to be re- moved, and 1 heir becoming one nation, rhongh conti- nuing diflincl: tribes; ihall be perfectly fulfilled m clue time. ' In thofe days, and in that time, faith Jehovah, ' the children of Ifrael Ihall come, they and the chil- 1 dren of Judah together, going and weeping: they * mill go and feek Jehovah, their God, They c (hall afk the way to Zion, with their faces thither- ' ward ; faying, Come, and let us join ourfelves to * Jehovah in a perpetual covenant, that mall not be * forgotten ;' Jer. 1. 4, 5. You mull h :ve obferved, that the new covenant is to be made with the houfe of Ifrael, and with the houfe of Judah ; which are mentioned apart diftinctly, left any doubts of the return of Ifrael, as well as Judah, mould poilefs our minds. There ate many that believe the Jews will be re^- turned to, their own land again, that cannot conceiveit poflfible for the ten tribes to be returned and diftin- guifhed from the reft, as they appear to be loft, and mixed with other nations; fo as no longer to know themfelves ; neither are they known to others. Some few of them are doubtiefs mixed with the Jews, but fcr LECTURE XIV. I45 far the greater part are mixed with other nations ; or, if they compofe a nation or nations of themfelves, no proper authentic account has been trartfmitted ro us, where they are to be found, or who they are. All feems but conjefhue here. — The truth is. they were to be no people, 'till their return; while the children of Judah were always to remai'-. a diTmct peo- ple, known to mankind, and fcattered sLmotig die na- tions, as living witnelTes of the truth of pmphto . The different fates of the ten tribes and the two, mould be fo far from caufing Us to doubt of the real truth of thofe prophecies that fpeak of their being here- after one nation, exifting in fep-irare tribes, that we fhould be the more confirmed : for the fame God that declared the former, which hath fo exactly come to pafs ; hath fpoken the latter as pofitively, and much more frequently. As God faw, no doubt, that the faith of believers would need much pofitive evidence; as the difficulties that lie in the way of Ifrael's recovery, are far greater than thofe in the way of the Jews ; he has therefore condefcended to give us many wonderful promifes re- flecting it. If our reafm would perfuade us that the houfe of Ifrael is fo mixed with the nations that ir never can be feparated, God informs us, faying — s For lo I 1 will command, and I will fift the houfe of Ifrael, ' among all nations, like as corn is fifted in a fieve ; 1 yet (hall not the lead grain fall upon the earth :' Amos ix. 9. Here God declares, by the mod apt and beautiful metaphor, that he can and will feparate Ifrael from among all nations, more eafily, certainly, and entirely, T z tha* 146 Lectures on the Prophecies, than the moft careful hufbandman can feparate die wheat from the chaff with which it is mixed. He can do it foeffe&ually, as not to leave fo much as one behind. As when they went out of Egypt, there was not-an hoof left behind, but on the contrary a mixed multitude accompanied them ; fo fliall it be in the latter days. ' Therefore, behold the days come, faith * Jehovah, that it fliall no more be faid, Jehovah ' liveth, that brought up the children of I frael out of the * land of Egypt ; but Jehovah liveth, that brought up * the children of I frael from the land of the north, and c from all the lands whither he had driven them : and I c will bring them again into their land that I gave unto e their fathers. Behold, I will fend for many fishers, i faith Jehovah ; and after will I fend for many hunters, ' and they fliall hunt them from every mountain, and * from every hill, and out of the holes of the rocks. * For mine eyes are upon all their ways : they are not * hid from my face:' Jer. xvi. 14, 15, 16, 17. * Therefore, thus faith Adonai Jehovah : Now * will I bring again she captivity of Jacob, and have- ' mercy upon the whole houfe of Ifrael, and will be ' jealous for my holy name. Then fliall they know that * I am Jehovah their God, who caufed them to be lee! 1 * into captivity among the heathen : but I have ga- ' thered them unto their own land, and have left none 4 of them any more there :' Ezek. xxxix. 25. 28. * And it fliall come to pafs in that day, that Jeho- c vah (half beat off from the channel of the river * unto the dream, of Egypt ; and ye fliall be gathered * one by one, O ye children of Ifrael. And it fliall * come to pafs in that day, that the great trumpet Ih-^ll « be IECTURI XIV. K47 * be blown, and they (hall come who were ready to * perilh in the land of Affyria, and the outcads in the * land of Egypt, and (hall worfhip Jehovah, in the * holy mount at Jerufalem :' Ifai. xxvii. 12, 13. * And it fhall come to pafs in that day, that Je- 4 iiovah fhall fet his hand the fecond time to rc- ' cover the remnant of his people who fhall be left: ' from Affyria, and from Egypt, and from Pathros, and ' from Cu(h, and from Elam, and from Shinar, and * from Hamath, and from the iilands of the fea. And * he (hall fet up an enfign for the nations, and (hall * affemble the outcafts of Ifrael, and gather together *jhe difperfed of Judah, from the four corners of the 4 earth. The envy alfo of Ephraim mall depart, and * the adverfaries of Judah (hall be cut off : Ephraim * fhall not envy Judah, and Judah fhall not vex ' Ephraim:' Ifai. xi. 11, 12, 13. All- thefe paffages, and many others declare, that God will gather Ifrael, or Ephraim, as well as Judah, from among the nations; that none (hall be left among the heathen ; that all (hall return to their own land ; that God will gather them one by one ; and that he has had his eyes upon them in all their difper- fions, and has not fuffered them to be wholly cut off, nor any of the tribes to become extinct. And though they may not know themfelves, nor be known by others; yet the great Obferver of mankind knows them, and is able, and moll certainly will make them known, both to themfelves and others ; and will bring them out of all their fecret dwelling- ptaces. ' And their feed (hall be known among the Gen- ' tiles, and their offspring among the people : all that * fee 1^3 Leffures en the Prophecies. ' fee them mall acknowledge them, that they are the * feed which Jehovah hath blefled :' Ifai. lxi. 9. ' In thofe days the houfe of Judah mall walk with * the houfe of Ifrael ; and they shall come together * out of the land of the north, to the land that I * have given for an inheritance unto your fathers :* Jer. hi. 18. ' M reover, the word of Jehovah came to Je- * remiah, faying ; Confidereft thou not what this * people have fpoken, faying, The two families which ' Jehovah hath chofen, he hath even cad them ' off: thus have they defpifed my people, that they ' should be no more a nation before them. Thus ' faith Jehovah, If my covenant be not with day ' and night, and if I have not appointed the ordi- * nances of heaven and earth ; then will I cad; away c the feed of Jacob, and David my fervant, fo that I 1 will not take any of his feed to be rulers over the ' feed of Abraham, Ifaac, and Jacob : for I will caufe * their captivity to return, and have mercy upon them :* Jer. xxxiii. 23 26. Some of the children of Judah, in the prophet's days, fuppofed (as many Chriftians do now, and as the believing Gentiles are too apt to do) that God had caft off" the two families (Judah and Ifrael) whom he had chofen ; thus defpiiing the people of the twelve tribes of Jacob, efteeming them as no nation : but God teftifies, by the mouth of his prophet, that day and night should ceafe, before he would fuffer the twelve tribes, or even the houfe and feed of David, to be ex- tinct ; and that he would molt certainly caufe all the tribes to return, and make the children or defendants of LECTURE XIV. I49 of David rubers over them. « Thus faith Jehovah, * who givcth 'he fun for a light by day, and me ordi- ' nances of the moon and flat's for a light by night; ' who divideth the fea, when the waves thereof roar; * Jehovah of hofts is his name : If thole ordinances ' depart from before me, faith Jehovah, then the feed ' of Ifrael alio fhall ceafe from being a nation before ' me foi ever. Thus faith Jehovah; If heaven above ' can He meafured, and the foundations of the earth ' fe; checl out beneath, I v\ill alio caft off' all the feed * of Ifrael for all that they have done, faith Jehovah :* Jer. xxxi. 35, 36, 37. Thefe wor 's prove that the houfe of Ifrael, diftin- guifhed from Judah, or rather the whole twelve tribes, fhall never become extinct, or be entirely caft off, fo as not to be gathered again to their own land. And indeed I am fo confident that Ifrael mail be reftoied and brought again into their own land, (out of which they have been caft ever fince the time of Hezekiah) and fhall become one people with Judah, no mote to be divided into two nations; that could it be proved (as it certainly cannot) that all the ten. tribes have been long fince deftroyed, and that none of them are now in exiftence on earth, my faith in the promifes of God would not fail ; I fhould even in that cafe have a refource ; I fhould without hefitation read Ezekiel xxxvii. and interpret it all in the literal fenle, and fhew that God would open their graves, and bring them up out of their graves, and would put his Spirit in them, and caufe them to live, and bring them into their own land, and join them with Judah, and 1^0 Leftures sn the Prophecks. and caufe the whole twelve tribes to become one nation . But there is no neceffity for interpreting the firft part of the chapter to mean a proper or bodily, but rather a political refurrection ; becaufe God has explained the bones to mean the whole houfe of Ifrael, whofe bones are dried, that is, their hopes are loft, and they feem- ingly as much cut off in their own and others' fight, from any expectation of ever pofleffing their land again, as though they were actually in their graves. But how deplorable foever their prefent fituation may be, and however unlikely their return may be thought, nothing is more plainly revealed in the bible than that all the tribes of Ifrael mall return and poffefs their land ; and fhall be one people and nation for ever, no more to be divided into two kingdoms at all ; and that God will fave them out of all their dwelling pla- ces wherein they have finned, and will cleanfe them, and they (hall be a holy people, who (hall walk in the ways of God, and keep his commands, and (hall be his people, and he will be their God, from that time forth and to the end ; and David (hall be raifed up to be their king, and his feed (hall be rulers over them ; and Jehovah, that is, Jefus, (hall dwell perfonally in his fanctuary, which (hall be in the midfl of them, for evermore, or to the end of that age. And as for the difficulty of diftinguifhing the twelve tribes apart, which fome make fo great a handle of againfl the prophecies, if it is only obferved that their fettle- sncnt, in the order as defcribed by the prophet, (hall take place under the immediate direftion of Jefus, as their firft fettlement did under his great type and fig Llt ' e * I»£CTUR£ XIV. I5J figure, t 1i e valiant Jofhua: the whole difficulty vanifhes immediately. For though it would be impoffible for all the men on earth to duti.iguifh and feparate the tribes, yet it will be eafy to Him who has power to raife the dead. The glorious Meffiah, who is fo fre- quently called Jehovah in the prophecies, can eafily perform all thefe wonders. But that the tribes fhall be {o feparated and dif- tinguifhed, is evident by the following divifion of the land for an inheritance to all the twelve tribes ; which divifion is entirely different from that which took place in Jofhua's time, yet was exprefly declared by the Lord to the prophet Ezekiel ; and remains cer- tainly to be fulfilled, as no fuch hath ever yet had the fhadow of an exigence. ' Thus faith Adonai Jehovah; This (hall be the ' border whereby ye (hall inherit the land, according ' to the twelve tribes of Ifrael ; Jofeph mail have two ' portions. And ye (hall inherit it one as well as ano- * ther; the which I lifted up mine hand to give it ' unto your fathers : and this land fhall fall unto you ■ for an inheritance* And this (hall be the border of ' the land toward the north -fide : from the great fea, ' the way of Hethlon, as men go to Zedad ; Hamath, ' Berothah, Sibraim, which is between the border of ' Damafcus and the border of Hamath ; Hazar-hat- * ticon, which is by the courfe of Hauran. And the ' border from the fea (hall be Hazar-enan, the border * of Damafcus, and the north northward, and the ' border of Hamath : and this is the north-fide. * And on the eait-lide ye (hall meafure from Hau- * ran, and from Damafcus, and from Gilead, and Vol. II. U < from jrj2 Leftists Oft the Prc-phi-: 6 from the land of Ifracl by Jordan, from the bordff ■ unto the eaft fea ; and this is the eaft-fide* And the 6 fouth - fide fouthward, from Tarnar even to the ' waters of flrife in Kadefh, the river, to the great 6 fea : and this is the fouth -fide fouthward. e The weft-fide alfo {hall be the great fea, from c the border, 'till a man come over againft Hamath : 6 this is the weft-fide. * So fhall ye divide this land unto you, according 6 to the tribes of Ifrael. And it fhall come to pais ' that ye mail divide it by lot unto you, and to the c Grangers that fojourn among you, who fhall beget e children among you : and they fhall be unto you as * born in the country among the children of Ifrael : ' thev mall have inheritance with you among the tribes * of Ifrael. And it fhall come to pafs that in what * tribe the ltranger fojourneth, there fhall ye give him * his inheritance, faith Adonai Jehovah.' We obferve in the words above read, the follow- ing circumftances. 1. An abfolute promife of God, that the twelve tribes lhall again pofTefs the land which God lifted up his hand to give to their fathers : it muft be again divided to them, and they mail inherit it, who have been fo many ages caft out of it. 2. The divifion of the children of Jofeph into two tribes by Jacob in his bleffing, was according to the mind, and by die direction of God, and fhall be con- tinued under the reign of Chrift, and in the new fet- tlement of the land. 3. God hath not forgotten the oath he fware to Abraham, Ifaac, and Jacob, to give the land def- cribed LECTURE XIY. *53 cribcd to them and their pofterity for an everlafting pofleflion ; and though for a long time they have been baniihed for their iniquities (as was threatened by Mofes) yet the covenant (lands firm, and cannot be abrogated, being commanded to a thoufand genera- tions ; and the piomifes are abfolute, and cannot fail: not all the powers on earth can prevent the chofen tribes from returning to and poffefiing the promited land, according to the prophecies. 4. The boundaries of the land are the fame as thofe given in Numbers xxxiv. 1 to. only the Lord to Mofes firft defcribes the fouth border, then die weft, and next the north, and laftly the eaft border; but to Ezekiel he firft defcribes the north border, then the eaft, next the fouth, and laft of all the weft. But there is not the leaft real difference : the Mediterra- nean, or great fea, is the weft border ; the land of H&- math and Damaicus, the north ; the fea of Galilee, the river Jordan, and the fait fea, the eaft ; the wilder nefs of Kadefli, &c. the fouth border. But thuugh the limits of the land are the fame precifely, to prevent our miftak- ing the place and country ; yet the divifion of it to the feveral tribes is very different, to prevent our miftak- ing the time, or accommodating it to any other event : and to make the prophecy fo remarkable, as that when it comes to be fulfilled it may be as evident as' the fun in the firmament, beyond the pofTibility of a doubt ; and as every ftep we go on this ground (hews us that it hath never been accomplilhed ; fo the amazing exactnefs of the whole account, will no doubt be wonderfully juftified by the correfponding events. U 2 5. We 1 34 Lectures on the Prophecies. $. We have the pleafure to find in this new divifion (different from what it was before), that the land mall be divided as well to the ftrangeis that fha.ll fojourn among the tribes, as to the tribes themfelves ; and not only fo, but the ftrangers mail have the great indul- gence to choofe their inheritance where they pleafe. This is a wonderful kindnefs, and plainly mews that at the time of this divifion there (hall be great friend- fhip and harmony fubfifting between the Kraelites and other nations. 6. It is very remarkable that though the exact fitua- tion of each tribe is exprefly pointed out, yet that it is declared at .the fame time that the land (hall be divided by lot ! Aftonifhing ! Who but God would point out the poffeflion of each tribe, and then leave the whole to be decided by fuch an apparently cafual method as the cafting of a lot ? None but a Being of infinite \vi(dom, and of univerfal power, who can order and controul all things according to his pleafure, could poffibly infpire men to predict the (ituation of the tribes without hefitation, and then leave the matter to lot, and caufe it in every inftance to be decided exactly according to the prediction. But ftrange and impoflible as this may appear, there was fomething like it in the former divifion of the land ; for Jacob in his blemng foretold, that Simeon and Levi mould be divided in Jacob and fcartered in Ifrael : and how rem irkably was this prediction fulfilled ! For Levi was fcattered in all the tribes, and Simeon had a poffef- fion within the tribe of Judah's inheritance : and the Jews have a tradition that the Simeonites being much itraitened in their inheritance, not only went, as we read (i Chron. iy. 39, &c.) to feek new habitations, by LECTURI XIV. 155 bv which they were conftantly divided from the reft of che fame tribe; but great numbers of them were necefiitated to feek a lubfirtence am^ng the other tribes, by inftiucting their children. Of Judah it was prophefied, that his eyes fliould be red with wine, and his teeth white with milk ; that is, that his inheritance mould be the mountainous part of the land of Canaan, proper for the cultivation of grapes, and the palturage of milch kine : which was exactly the cafe, even though his pofleflion was given him by lot. Of Zebulon it was la: \ that he mould dwell at the haven of the fea, .and mould be an haven for fhps, and tint his border (houFd be unto Zidon : and a'cordingiy when the lot came up for his pofTemon, it extended from the fea of Galilee to the Mediterranean, where they had commodious havens for thips. How wonderful it was that Jacob mould foretel the (kuation of feveral tribes, that were deter- mined by lot hundreds of years afterwards ! But he was infpired infallibly in what he faid, and God directed the Iocs exactly to coincide with the predictions. But here in the prophecy of Ezekiel, the fituation of every tribe is foretold, and yet all fhall be deter- mined by lot. When this comes to be accomplished it will make the matter very public ; and the wifdorrt of God, and his fore- knowledge, and his fuperinten- dence, will be abundantly manifefted, and the truth ©f prophecy will fhine moft glorioufly ! But we come now to the new divifion of the inheri- tance to the twelve tribes. See the Map prefixed to this number. Ezek. xlviii. ver. 1. — < Now thefe are the names * of the tribes. From the nonh-end to the coaft 'of ijj6 , Lectures on the Prophecies. f of the way of Hethlon, as one goeth to Hamath; e Hazar-enan, the border of Damafcus northward, to ' the coaft of Hamath ; for thefe are his fides eaft c and weft ; a portion for Dan.' Some are of the opinion, and I find Mr. Wesley adopts it, that the whole tribe of Dan, which fprang but from one family, was entirely deftroyed for idola- try very early ; forafmuch as no mention is made of that tribe in the firft of Chronicles, wheie the genca-: logy of the reft of the tribes is reckoned : and this tribe is alfo omitted in Rev. vii. and none a r e men- tioned as fealed out of it. But here Dan is the very firft named tribe: a plain and direct pro. if that it never was wholly deftroyed. This tribe, mentioned laft in Jofhua, is firft in Ezekiel ; fo that the laft is lite- rally here tie firft. We plainly fee that the vulgar notion of one loft tribe is a mere fiction all are pre- ferved by God (till in exiftence, and (hall in due time poflefs the land. Ver. i. ' And by the border of Dan, from the eaft- c fide unto the weft-fide, a portion for Afher.' Afher was the laft but two that received an inhe- ritance in Jofhua's time, but here it is the fecond. It may be here obferved once for all, that the pof- fefjions of the feverai tribes lie parallel one to another, and run acrofs the land, each bounding on the Medi- terranean, or great fea, wePc ; and rnoft of their eaft- ci'R boundaries are waters ; as the fea of Galilee, the river of Jordan, and the lake of Sodom. The length pf each pofleffion is according to the breadth of the land, and confequently varies ; but the breadth of each inheritance is precifely the lame. Ftr. 3 LECTURE XIV. 1^7 Ver. 3. ' And by thj border of Afher, from die eaft- * fide even unco the weft fide, a portion for Napthtali.' This tribe was the laft but one that received an inhe- ritance in the days of Jofhua, but fhall be the third in o'der beginning from the north-fide. The inheri- tance of Napthrali lay in a very different form be-o e, having Zebulun un its fouth, and Afher on its weft border : bur the great Proprietor of the country, who hath once divided this iand unto the tribes, and will divide it again, has thought proper to vary the form and foliation of each inheritance, though all are in- cluded within the old bounds ; that fo by the divi- fions being different, his right ofdifpofal might appear, and that the different periods might be ftrikingly marked by thefe great variations. Ver. 4. ' And by the border of Napthtali, from the c eaft fide unto the weft-fide, a portion for Manaifeh.' All that are the leaft acquainted with Scripture know that in the former divifion of the country, the tribe of Manaifeh was divided ; half the tribe having their poffeiiion on the eaftern fide of Jordan, with Reu- ben and Gad ; and the other half in the land of Canaan. Ver. 5. l And by the border of ManafTeh, from the * eaft- fide unto the wePc-fide, a portion for Ephraim.' — ManafTeh and Ephraim, the two fons of Jofcph, fhall have each a portion ; and thus Jofeph mall have two portions, according to the fpecial direction of the Lord ; and thefe portions fhall lie contiguous to each other. Ephraim fhall renounce all connexion with idols, and fhall no more envy Judah, nor be that fierce, jeal I 5$ Leflures on the Prophecies, jealous, warlike, lordly people, as formerly. — ; — - Ephraim, in the diviiion from the houfe of David, was the leading tribe, and mod of the kings of Ifrael were Ephi aimites ; fo that Ephraim, by a figure, is fre- quently put for the whole of the ten tribes. Ephraim was rejected and call off by God, and threatened with great deft ruction, for idolatry and other crimes ; and the name is not mentioned in Rev. vii. among the fealed : yet God, whofemecy is great, ftill remembers Ephraim with great kindnefs and affection, and fays : ' I have furely heard Ephraim bemoaning himfelf ' thus : Thou haft chaftifed me, and I was chaftifed, as ' a bullock unaccuftomed to the yoke : turn thou me, ' and I (hall be turned ; for thou art Jehovah my ' God. Surely, after that I was turned, I repented ; and 6 after that I was inftructed, I fmote upon my thigh : * I was afhamed, yea, even confounded, becaufe I did * bear the reproach of my youth ? Is Ephraim my dear * fon ? is he a pleafant child ? for fince I fpake againft ■ him, I do earneftly remember him ftill : therefore ' my bowels are troubled for him ; I will furely have 'mercy upon him, faith Jehovah:' Jer. xxxi. 18, 19, 20. * How (hall I give thee up, Ephraim ? how (hall I ' deliver thee, Ifrael ? how (hall I make thee as Ad- ■ mah ? how (hall I fet thee as Zeboim ? Mine heart is *" turned within me ; my repentings are kindled toge- ' ther. I will not execute the fiercenefs of mine ' anger ; 1 will not return to deftroy Ephraim : for 'I am God, and not man : the Holy One, in the ' midft of thee : and I will not enter into the city :' Hofea xi. 8, 9. By "LECTURE XIV. I59 By tliefe words we may plainly perceive, that though God gave Ephraim up, and caft Ifrael off, yet he never made an utter end of any of the tribes, as he did of Sodom and Gomorrah, Admah and Zeboim ; be- caufe he not only declared that he would not wholly deftroy them, but hath exprefly promifed to bring them again, and place them in their own land. '-And I will ftrengthen the houfe of Judah, and I < will fave the houfe of Jofeph ; and I will bring them * again to place them : for I will have mercy upon 1 them : and they (hall be as though I had not call c them off: for I am Jehovah their God, and will 1 hear them. And they of Ephraim (hall be like a ' mighty man, and their heart (hall rejoice as through ' wine, yea, their children fhall fee it, and be elad ° c their heart (hall rejoice in Jehovah. I will hifs for c them, and gather them ; for I have redeemed them ; e and they shall increafe, as they have increafed. And c I will fow them among the people : and they shall ' remember me in far countries, and they shall live * with their children, and turn again. I will bring them c again alfo out of the land of Egypt, and gather them ' out of AfTyria ; and I will bring them into the land * of Gilead and Lebanon ; and place shall not be * found for them. And he shall pafs through the fea * with affliction, and shall finite the waves in the fea, * and all the deeps of the river shall dry up ; and the * pride of AfTyria shall be brought down, and the 6 fceptre of Egypt shall depart away. And I will c ftrengthen them in Jehovah, and they shall walk * up and down in his name, faith Jehovah :' Zech. x. 6- 12. Vol. II. X Thefe tSc Letlures on the Prophecies. Thcfe are glorious promifes indeed, reflecting the moft degenerate of all the tribes of Ifrael, and that tribe that was the mod feverely threatened ; — (fee the prophecy of Hofea) — yet God, for his name's fake, would not cut it off, but hath made many great and precious promifes to that tribe in particular and ro die ten tiibes, as comprehended under that general name of Ephraim, Let me here obferve once for all, that it is abun- dantly declared in the prophets, that greater miracles shall attend the return of the whole body of the tribes from their long difperfion, than happened at their cc m- ingout of Egypt, even fo as to caufe their former deli- verance by the hand of Mofes, to be forgotten in com- parifon of this. It is faid — l According to the days * of thy coming out of the land of Egypt, will I shew e unto him marvellous things:' Mic. vii. 15. ' And Jehovah shall utterly deftroy the tongue of * the Egyptian fea ;' that is, the part of the Red Sea that was divided for Ifrael to pafs over, when they came out of Egypt, shall be utterly deftroyed, and turned into permanent dry land ; and shall fo remain, as a Handing proof that this prophecy is fulfilled. ' And with his mighty wind shall he shake his hand * over the river, and shall fmite it in the feven dreams, * and make men go over dry-shod :' 7 bat is, the river Nile shall, by the power of God, be divided, as Jor- dan was of old, to make a way for Ifrael to return. And alio the water of the great river Euphrates shall be dried up for the fame purpofe. 4 And there shall be an high-way for the remnant of f his people which shall be left from Aflyria ; like as 1 it Lecture xiv. t6t c it was to Ifrael in the day that he came up out of the * land of Egypt :' Ifai. xi. 15, 16. See alfo Rev. xvi. 12. The wonders of this fecond grand deliverance, and the deliverance itfelf, shall be fo much greater and more defirable than their former deliverance from Egvpt, that l they shall no more fay — Jehovah ' liveth, that brought up the children of Ifrael out { of the land of Egypt; but Jehovah liveth, who ' brought up, and who led the feed of the houfe of If- 6 rael out of the north country, and from all countries ' whither I had driven them ; and they shall dwell in * their own land :' Jer. xxiii. 7, 8. See alfo Jer. xvi, *4> 151 God ( will allure Ifrael, and bring her into the wil- c dernefs, and will fpeak comfortably unto her, and * will give her her vineyards from thence, and the val- * ley of Achor for a door of hope ; and she shall fing e there as in the days of her youth, and as In the day * when she came up out of the land of Egypt : s Hofea ii. 14, 15, O glorious day ! when shall it arrive ?• — f Oh that c the falvation of Ifrael were come out of Zion ! When e Jehovah bringeth back the captivity of his people, c Jacob shall rejoice, and Ifrael shall be glad I* Pfah xiv. 7. liii. 6. It is faid of Ephraim — » f They shall increafe as they c have increafed :' And I apprehend that the tribe of Ephraim in particular, shall increafe abundantly, above their brethren of ManafTeh ; or e'fe I cannot fee how Jacob's blemng to Ephraim can ever be known to be fulfilled : For when Jacob laid his right-hand oft X 2 Ephraim'* i62 Lcclarss on ih~c Prophecies. Ephraim's head, who was the youngeft ; Jofeph fougfil to remove it, and place upon ManafTelTs head, faying ; * Not fo, my father : for this is the firft-born ; put thy 6 right-hand upon his head. And his father refufed, ' and faid, I know it, my fon, I know it ; he alfo shall e become a people, and he alfo shall be great : but * truly his younger brother shall be greater than he, and * his feed shall become a multitude of nations :' Gen. xlviii. 18, 19. But I am not able to find any light from Scripture fufficient to aflure me that this prophecy was ever yet fulfilled : for though at the time of their com- ing out of Egypt, the men of Ephraim were forty thoufand and five hundred, while thofe of ManafTeh were only thirty- two thoufand and two hundred, eight thoufand and three hundred lefs ; yet when they were numbered again, Ephraim's fons were only thirty-two- thoufand and five hundred, while thofe of ManafTeh were fifty-two thoufand and feven hundred — twenty thoufand and two hundred more than their brethren the Ephraimites : Neither do I find that Ephraim ever after exceeded ManafTeh in numbers. And half the tribe of ManafTeh had an inheritance on the other fide Jordan, larger than Ephraim had in the whole ,• con- lifting of all Bafhan, and half Gilead, and all the towns ofVfair, which are in Baflian, threefcore cities: See Joih. xiii. 29, 30, 31. ' And there fell ten portions 6 to ManafTeh, befide the land of Gilead and BaQian, * which were on the other fide Jordan :' Jolh. xvii. 5. Neither do we ever find that Ephraim prevailed over ManafTeh afterwards, either in numbers, extent of poffeffions, or in war; on the contrary we find, that in the days of the judges, Jepthah, aGileadite of the tribe of Manaffehfc LECTURE XIV. l6c j> Manafleh, being infulted by the Ephraimites, gathered his brethren and flew forty-two thoufand Ephraimites at one time : Judges xiv. i 6. Thus if we look to pall events we (hall be put to it to prove Jacob's prophecy true; but if wc believe the Scriptures, that God will bring Ephraine, again, and place that tribe in the land of Canaan, and caufe it to increafe, fo as to poffefs Gilead and Lebanon, and multiply the children of Ephraim fo that place (hall not be found for them ; then Jacob's prophecy may be amply accomplished. Give me leave here to obferve, that though at the firft return and fettlement of the tribes they mall all be placed in the land of Canaan, between Jordan and the Mediterranean, which land mail be then morc than fufficient for them ; yet when they come to in- creafe they (hall break forth on the right hand and on the left, (hall fpread on every fide, and (hall caufc the wade cities to be inhabited, and (hall raife up and repair the defolations of many generations. Sec Ifai. liv. 2, 3. Ixi. 4. So that finally, before the end of the Millenium, they (hall poffefs all that vaft country which God pro- mifed to Abraham, Gen. xv. 18 21. * From the 4 river of Egypt to the great river the river Euphrates ;' which none will pretend they have ever yet actually poffeffed. The fame is mentioned by Mofes, Deut. i. 7, 8. xi. 24. And after he had feparated three cities of refuge on the other fide Jordan, he ordered them to feparate three more when they came into the land of Canaan, which they did : but beildes, he adds thefe remarkable 164 LeRures on the Prcphecies. remarkable words : * And if Jehovah thy God cn- * large thy coa(t; as he hath fworn unto thy fat' ers, e and give thee all the land which he promifed to givs r unto thy fathers : If thou (halt keep all thefe com- e mandments to do them, which I command thee this c day, to love Jehovah thy God, and to walk ever * in his ways ; then (halt thou add three cities more < for thee befides thefe three :' Deut. xix. 8,9. But they did not thus obey God's commandments; Jeho- vah did not enlarge their coafts, nor did he ever give them all the land that he promifed unto their fathers, and confequently they never feparated the other three cities as cities of refuge. The great coun- try that was promifed to Abraham and to his feed, having never yet been pollened by them, dill remains to be inherited in the latter days, when God fhall caufe their captivity to return. All which circumftances prove that all the tribes of Ifrael are now in being, God knows where, and he will furely return them to their own land, and fulfil all his promifes, in the largeft and mod extenfive fenfe, which he made to their fathers. After this bng digreffion into which Ephraim has led me, I return to the divifion of the land among the reft of the tribes. Ezek. xlviii. 6. — ' And by the border of Ephraim, ' from the eaft-fide even unto the weft-fide, a portion 1 * for Reuben.' In the former divifion Reuben had his inheritance on the other fide Jordan, from whence he was carried captive, and certainly, as a tribe, has never returned fince ; but in the glorious Millenium this tribe (as well LECTURE XIV. 165 well as the reft) fhali be brought back, and placed in the land of Canaan, between Ephraim and Judah. Ver. 7. ' And by the border of Reuben, from the * eaft-fide unto the Weft-fide, a portion for Judah.* All that are acquainted with (acred geography- know that Judah was fettled at the fouthern part of the land of Canaan, and had the largeft poffemon by far of any of the tribes, extending all along the fouth border of the country, from the fea or lake of Sodom, to the great fea, or the Mediterranean ; and as far to the northward as to touch even Jeruialem itfelf; which city is fometimes reckoned to Judah, and fometimes to Benjamin, {landing in the borders of both the tribes. This tribe had more than an hundred cities with their villages, and a full third of the whole country in its poffellion ; but then the children of Simeon had their inheritance wholly within that of the tribe of Judah. God had wifedefigns, no doubt, in giving Judah fo large an inheritance, extended acrofs the whole land, and having no other tribes to the fouthward, weftward, nor indeed to the eaftward on this fide Jordan, or rather on this fide of the lake of Sodom, which was all the length of it their eaftern boundary, as the Mediterra- nean was their weftern. The Lord not only forefaw that Judah would be the largeft and the royal tribe, but that the other tribes, except Benjamin, would revolt and fet up a feparate kingdom, and therefore Judah had one-third of the country, that fo it might not be fwallowed up by the rebellious tribes ; and the inhe- ritance of Benjamin joined that of Judah, that thefe two tribes might the more eafily unite their forces^ withftand their enemies, defend themfelvcs, and the holv LcBurcs on the Prophecies. holy city and temple, which flood between them as a bond of union. But in their future fettlement, thofe caufes will exile no more ; for the twelve tribes are never to become two nations again, and there are to be no contentions among them ; Ephraim fhall not envy Judah, neither (hall Judah vex Ephraim any more. Judah will only have a common portion, as I may call it ; and yet when the fituation of it is confidered, it is the choiceft portion of all the tribes, having Reuben on the north, the Mediterranean on" the weft, Jordan on the eaft, and the holy portion, wherein 'anctuary (hall ftand, on the fouth. Who would not wifti to dwell with Judah at that time? After the poiTefiion of Judah comes the holy por- tion, the extent of which I have before confidered. The whole extent of the holy portion is an exact fquare, taking in the poffeffion of the city ; fo that neither the fancliuary nor the city ftand in the poiFeffions of any of the twelve tribes. The portion of the prince are thofe pieces of land that are cut off on the eaft and weft fides of the con- fecrated fquare. The fquare itfelf is divided into three parts : the north divifion is for the priefts, the fons of Zadok, who (hall all live together, and not be fcattered through all the tribes as before ; and the fanctuary (hall be in the midft of them. Oh happy people ! Oh happy priefts ! to have the Lord dwell among them ! O glorious portion indeed ! The middle divifion, through which the holy river fhall run, is for the Levites. This, from its fituation between the fan&uary and the city, and being blefi'ed with LECTURE XIV. ibf with the healing (beam of the river running from the facred houfe, muft be one of the mod delightful fpots that ever was feen — far exceeding, if poflible, the garden of Eden itfelf. The fouthern divifion is a portion for the city. Call your eyes on the map, and you will fee all thefe divifions explained at once. But I mull pafs to men- tion the inheritances of the reft of the tribes. Ver. 23. ' As for the reft of the tribes, from the * eaft-fide unto the weft-fide, Benjamin (hall have s a portion.' JLittle Benjamin (hall not be forgotten, but (hall have a lovely and a very pleafant portion in the land. There (hall be little Benjamin with their ruler, as well as the princes of Judah with their council, who (hall join to blefs God in the congregations, even Jeho- vah, from the fountain of Ifrael. Benjamin (hall not then be that fierce and warlike tribe as Jacob defcribed him to be ; bur, c The be- ' loved of Jehovah (hall dwell in fafety by him/ as Mofes declares : Deut. xxxiii. 12. In the former divifion Benjamin's portion joined to Judah's on the north, but in the future divifion thefe tribes (hall be feparated by the whole breadth of the holy portion, (more than fifty miles) Judah lying on the north, and Benjamin on the fouth, having the holy portion between them. O happy tribes, who (hall only be feparated by what will unite them more firmly ! Vcr. 24. — ( And by the border of Benjamin, from • the eaft-fide unto the weft-fide, Simeon fhall have ' z portion.' Vol. II. Y Though 2 63 Lcflures on the Prophetic i. Though Simeon was as it were curfed by Jacob, and wholly omitted by Moles in the bleffing he gave the tribes before his death, and had no inheritance/ but only a part of Judah's portion ; yet, in the next divifion of the land, this tribe mall in no wife be forgotten, but ihall have a pofTefiion by ilfelf, as large and full as Judah, and, by the map, considerably more fo : for though all the portions (hall be of the fame breadth, yet they will differ in length, according to the breadth of the land ; for each portion fhall extend acrofs from theeaft-fide unto the weft-fide ; all fhall bound on the Mediterranean weft ; fo that all fhall have an equal quantity of fea-coaft. Ver. 25. c And by the border of Simeon, from the ' eaft-fide unto the weft- fide, IfTachara portion.' Iflachar had a pieafant land before, and he delighted in reft ; and thus quietly became a fcrvant to tribute : but under the government of the Lord, this tribe fhall enjoy a much more pieafant land, and a far more per- fect ftate of reft, without being under the lead oppref- fion or exaction. Its fituation will be in a different part of the land from what it was before : for Jordan was its border before, but hereafter the lake of Sodom (hall be its eaftern boundary, as alfo of all the five f uithern tribes. But Oh ! how different will this lake be in that time from what it is now, or ever hath been ! Inftead of being a deadly bituminous lake, wherein nothing can live, its waters will be healed, and will be full of fifh of the beft kinds, as the fifh of the Mediter- ranean, exceeding many ; only fome marfhes and miry places will remain as proofs and fpecimens of what the 1ECTUR.E XIV. 169 the whole now is, left any fhould deny the truth of hiftory or prophecy. Ver. 26. ' And by the border of IfTachar, from the ' eaft-fide unto the weft-fide, Zebulun a portion.* Zebulun is placed here in a very different part of the land from that where his lot fell in the days of Jofhua ; though Zebulun may as truly be for an haven of fhips as formerly : His coaft (hall be at the fame great fea on the weft; but inftead of being almoft at the north part of the land, he (hall be almoft at the fouth ; and in the room of the beautiful lake of Gene- faret for his border, he fhall then be bounded on the eaft by the lake of Sodom, which fhall then be more beautiful and pleafant than ever the fen of Galilee was; and be as full of fifh ; and being much iarger, (hail be more frequented. There the princes of Zebulun fhall delight themfelves with the abundance of God's good- nefs, and fhall praife his name. Ver. 27, 28. ( And by the border of Zebulun, from ' the eaft-fide unto the weft-fide', Gad a portion. And * by the border of Gad, at the fouth-fide fouthward, ' the border fhall be even from Tamar unto the waters ' of ftrife in Kadefh, and to the river toward the great * fei ' lea. p Gad was one of the tribes that had their inheritance on the other fide of Jordan, in Jofhua's time : but in the future fettlement, this fhall be the frontier tribe, and poflefs the fouthern part of what formerly belonged to Judah. But Oh how changed fhall that wildernefs be, in thofe days ! The blefling of Mofes to Gad is very remarkable, and perhaps is yet to be fulfilled. — — • Y 2 < And 170 Leftures en the Prophecies. 6 And of Gad he faid, B'.effed be he that enlargetk e Gad : he dweileth as a lion, and teareth the arm ' with the crown of the head. And he provided the c firft part for himfelf, becaufe there, in a portion of * the lawgiver, was he feated. And he came with the e heads of the people ; he executed the juftice of c Jehovah, and his judgments with Jfrael :' Deut. xxxiii. 20, 21. Jacob in his bleffing fays — e Gad, a troopj (hall ' overcome him : but he fhall overcome at the laft :* Gen. xlix. 19. Gad has been overcome, and carried captive many ages ago : But I cannot fee how Gad can overcome at the laft, unlefs the captivity of this tiibe be returned, as well as that of the tribe of Judah ; certainly Gad can never overcome, if Gad is not in being. The very expfeffion that Gad fhall overcome at the lajl ; im- plies, that however long his enemies may prevail againft him, he fhall at laft be victorious over them all. But if the captivity of Gad is never returned, and that tribe is never heard of more ; then Jacob's blef- fing may be quite reverfed : In that cafe, it might be faid with truth, that however victorious Gad might be over his foes for a feafon, that finally they mould pre- vail over him, overcome him, and he fhould never more exift as a diftind tribe. But as the prophecy of Jacob fnall be certainly fulfilled, it is evident that the tribe of Gad (hall be reftored to a condition far more flourishing than ever it enjoyed; and fh all, with the reft of the tribes, be planted in the promifed land, no more to be pulled up, or carried captive, for ever. Ver. 29. LECTURE XIV. 171 Ver. 29. — c This is the land which ye (hall divide f by lot unto the tribes of Ifrael for inheritance ; and c thefe are their portions, faith Adonai Jehovah.' As this was a prophecy in the days of Ezekiel, it could not have the lead allufion to any event that had happened ; and as no fuch divifion by let hath ever taken place fince, it is evident that the whole remains to be fulfilled — but (hall all be certainly and exactly accompliihed in the time of our Saviour's reign on earth. We may be as fure that this land will be thus di- vided among the twelve tribes, as though we favv it ful- filled before our eyes : for God hath fpoken the word, and it cannot fail. He hath faid — ' This is the land ' which ye (hall divide by lot unto the tribes of Ifrael * for inheritance :' and he that calleth things that are not as though they were, has declared thefedivifions to be the portions of the tribes : and lead any fhould dif- pute the fulfilment of the prophecy on account of its improbability, God adds two of his names to confirm bis words, Adonai Jehovah faith it fhall be fo; and this is a fufficient anfwer to all objections. What he hath faid, fhall be done — what he hath promifed, he will perform. Here I reft the matter : If God's words are literally true, I have not the leaft doubt of Ifrael's redemption, and return to the promifed inheritance ; and the feafon long waited for mall come at laft : Which may the Lord haften, in his own good time ! IND OF THE FOURTEENTH LECTURE. LECTURE XV. The ajlonijlmig fruit fulnefs of the land of Canaan in for- i/ncr times, and the great numbers of people that dwelt therein, especially in the reigns of David ^/Solomon. — 7/i pre feat barren Jlaie no objection to Divine Reve- lation. — Prophecies of its glorious and fiourifoing con- dition under the government of the Lord, with refpetl to the plenty that jlo all abound, and the vaft multitudes of people that ft? all dwell therein. JJAVING in my lafl coniidered the fettlcment JL of the twelve tribes in the holy land, and pointed out their particular filiations, according to the prophecy of Ezekiel, I come in this Lecture to fpeak. of the fruitfulnefs of the country in the glorious pe- riod, and of the vaft multitudes of inhabitants that fhali dwell there at that time. But before I proceed to confider the prophecies of its future fruitful (late, and of the amazing increafc of the inhabitants under the government of the Lord, it will be proper to take a little retrofpective view of what it Formerly was, in the days of Jofhua, David, and Solomon ; as this will ferve to (Irengthen our faith, and remove fome of thofe objections out of our way, which infidelity would urge againft die fulfilment of the glorious prophecies of the final profperity and fiourifhing eftate of that country. When we confider the fmallnefs of that land which the children of lfrael poffeffed (not being three hun- dred liCTU!.! XV. 173 dred" miles long in any place, and coflfidcrably lefs than one hundred wide at the broaden: place; far lefs, than the kingdom of Ireland, and not much larger than the principality of Wales, and lefs than my of the United States of America, except the three leaf!:) we are filled with wonder at the amazing multitudes of inhabitants that formerly refided there ; who were entire]y fupported by the produce of the country, befides fupplying their neighbours with vaft quanti- ties of provifion. . The land of Canaan was c A land of wheat, and 1 barley, and vines, and fig-trees, and pomegranates ; € a land of oil-olive, and honey :' Deut. viii. 8. Sec alfo 2 Kings xviii. 32. It was a land which Jehovah cared for, and his eyes were upon it for good, from the beginning of the year, even unto the end of \\\z year. See Deut. xi. 11, 12. And to the immediate blefling of God, its aftonifhing fruiifulnefs may be afcribed, more than to any other caufe. But that we may have a better idea of its fertility, let us confider the multitude of its inhabitants. There entered in to poffefs the land of Canaan in the days of JoPnua, fix hundred and one thoufand feven hundred and thirty men, able to go forth to war, befides the children of Levi. Now fuppofing the men capable of bearing arms to be a fifth part of the inhabitants, (which perhaps is near the truth) and there will be found no lefs than three millions, ei<*ht thoufand fix hundred and fifty pcrfons, befides the Levites, whom 1 reckon to be in all, both men, women and children, forty-fix thoufand ; which in the whole amount 1 74 Lcflurcs on the' Fropheclcs. amount to three millions, fifty- four thoufand fix hun- dred and fifty perfons. When David numbered the people in his folly, he found (according to i Chron. xxi. i. 5, 6.) one mil- lion five hundred and feventy thoufand men that drew the fvvord, befides Levi and Benjamin ; and if the armed men are a fifth part, as I have before fuppofed, then the inhabitants at that time altogether amounted ,to feven millions eight hundred and fifty thoufand, befides Levi and Benjamin, whom we may reckon at an hundred thoufand more. Befides the flrangers in the land of Ifrael, who in the beginning of Solomon's reign were numbered and found an hundred and fifty- three thoufand and fix hundred, men capable of bearing burdens, hewing ftones, and ovcrfeeing the work ; and if they had families in proportion, then the whole number of the flrangers was feven hundred and fixty-eight thoufand ; which, added to the fore- going calculated and fuppofed numbers, will make eight millions feven hundred and eighteen thoufand inhabitants in the land of Ifrael at that time. The number of the men of Ifrael and Judah, could not have decreafed much until the memorable battle between Abijah king of Judah, and Jereboam king ©f Ifrael, when their armies were as follows : ' And ' Abijah fet the battle in array with an army of vali- ' ant men of war, even four hundred thoufand chofen * men ; Jeroboam alfo fet the battle in array againft ' him with eight hundred thoufand chofen men, being ' mighty men of valour :' 2 Chron. xiii. 3. And the iffue of the battle was, that five hundred thoufand chofen men of Ifrael fell down flam before Abijah and LECT1THI XT. f?£ lii$ people. • i ch dreadful defeat the tribes of tfrael never recovered their former numbers any more, but were perpetually diminiflied, 'tiil they became a very fmall people in comparifon of what they had been. But the tribes of Judah and BenjamM increafed in fuch a manner, as in the days of Jeholhaphat to amount to one million one hundred and (ixty tboufand mighty men of valour, ready armed and prepared for war; which muft caufe us to fuppofe that the whole number of his fubjeds amounted to five millions and eight hundred thoufand fouls. But after his days they decreafed, and probably have never been io numerous fince. How amazingly fruitful muft that fmall country have been in the days of David and Solomon, to have contained almoft nine millions of people ! As many at leaft as Great Britain contains, and three times as many as the inhabitants of the United States of Ame- rica. And all thefe not only had a bare fubfiftence, but they generally lived in plenty, and had no want of any thing necefTary or convenient. A fpecimen of the peace and plenty in the reign of Solomon, with his daily bill of fare, the provi- fion he gave to Hiram, and the facrifices he offered at the dedication of the temple, may altogether give us a little idea of the fertility of the country then, and ferve to ftrengthen our faith in thofe Divine promifet that defcribe the future felicity of the fame. For is is generally allowed, that the peaceable and plentiful reign of Solomon was typical of the more glorious teign of our Lord and Saviour, that greater than Solo- Vol. II, Z tnort* -ty€ Lefturts en the Frcphtc'ies. mon, who fhall have univerfal dominion over the whole earth. ' Judah and Ifrael were many, as the fand which is ( by the Tea in multitude, eating and drinking and * making merry. And Solomon reigned over all king- ' doms, from the river unto the land of the Philiftihes, c and unto the border of Egypt : they brought pre- e fents, and ferved Solomon all the days of his life. 'And Solomon's provifion for one day was thirty 6 meafures of fine flour, and three-fcore meafures of ' meal, ten fat oxen, and twenty oxen out of the c paftures, and an hundred fheep, befide harts, and 6 roebucks, and fallow deer, and fatted fowl. For e he had dominion over all the region on this fide ■ e the river, from Tiphfah even to Azzah, over all the ' kings on this fide the river : and he had peace on { all fides round abound him. And Judah and Ifrael * dwelt fafely, every man under his vine and under ' his fig-tree, from Dan even to Beerfheba, all the ' diys of Solomon. And Solomon had forty thou- 6 land flails of horfes for his chariots, and twelve ' thoufand horfemen :' i Kings iv. 20 26. Solomon promifed Hiram ' twenty thoufand mea- 6 fares of beaten wheat, and twenty thoufand meafures ' of bailey, and twenty thoufand baths of wine, and * twenty thoufand baths of oil :' 2 Chron. ii. 10. All this he gave him yearly for his workmen and houf- hold : See 1 Kings v. it. When the temple was finifhed, Solomon and all the congregation brought up the ark of Jehovah, and they facrificed fheep and oxen before it, ' that could ' not LICTURI XV. 177 • not be told nor numbered for multitude :' 1 Kings viii. 5. 2 Chron. v. 6. As the number is not fet down, we cannot prefume to guefs hovv many animals were facnticed on this pccafion ; but the facrifice of peace -offerings which Solo non offered unto Jehovah ac the dedication of the houfe, amounted to two-and- twenty thoufaod oxen, and an hundred and twenty thoufand f&eep : 1 Kings viii. 63. 2 Chron. vii. 5. A mod prodigious number indeed, to be bflerc i atone time ! but fuch a featt of tabernacles was never kept before, neither hath fuch a magnificent one been obferved fince : But when all nations (hall go up to Jerufalcm, from year to year, to worlhip the king Je- hovah of hofts, and to keep the feaft of tabernacles, far greater fplendor (hall be feen, and greater pleafure (hall be experienced, than was at the dedication of the temple, though that far exceeded any fecne that the fun ever yet beheld. All thefe circumftances tend to give us a great idea of the abundance with which the land of Ifrael was bled at that time. And though Hezekiah and his great-grandfon Jofiah, reigned only over Judah and Benjamin, and the country was greatly impoverished in their times to what it had been before ; yet upon occafion of open- ing the houfe of God after it had been (hut up by wicked Ahaz, the people brought in facrifices and thank-ofFerings of feventy bullocks, an hundred rams, and two hundred lambs, befidesthe confecratcd thinrs, which amounted to fix hundred oxen, and three thou- fand (hcep ; * and alfo the burnt offerings were in Z 2, ' abundance.* I»>8 LeifurtsM the Prophecies . 1 abundance.' This vas in the days of Hezekiah, who at a feaft of the paffover gave 4 to the congregation c a thoufand bullocks fevei thowfand flieep ; and 4 the princes - I the congregation a thoufand. 'bull* tl beep :' See 2 Chron. xxix. 32, :x. 24. And Jc he ig :eent!l year of his reign, kept one of the mod folemn r'cafts of the paffover that ever was obferved, at which he gave out of his royal bounty, and out of his own fubftancc thirty thou- fai . lambs, and. three thoufand bullocks ; and fome of . princes gave two thoufand and fix hundred , lambs, o:c. and three hundred oxen ; and fome of the chief of the Levites gave to their bre- thren for nafibver-oiTenngs five thoufand fmali a z % and five hundred oxen : fee 2 Chron. xxxv. 7, 8 9. All thefe- things I have mentioned to (hew the won- derful plenty that formerly reigned in the land of Pa- leftine ; and many other circumftances might be added for the feme pu pole. But tor many ages pair., that land, formerly fo fruitful, has been turned into barrennefs, for the wickednefs of its inhabitants ; whereby the prophecy of Mofes has been fulfilled : fee Dent. xxix. 22 28. Man) travellers are ailoniilicd when they behold the prefent deplorably dare of that country, and arc ready to think it irnpoffibje that ever it could have yielded fuch abundance as the Scriptures defcribe, and cannot believe that ever, it can be fruitful any more. But no doubt they who beheld it in its former glo'y, would have thought it very unlikely that fuch $ fruitful land fhould ever become barren ; but He that 11CTU11 XT. €7$ that threatened, hath performed his threatenings in this inftance, as he has already, or will in all other cafes. And although f The kings of the earth, and ' all the inhabitants of the world, would not have * believed that the adverfary and the enemy mould * have entered the gates of Terufalem/ Lam. iv. 12. yet as God had faid, ' For though ye had fmitten the * whole army of the Chaldeans that fight againft you, * and there remained but wounded men among them, * yet mould they rife up every man in his tent, and 'burn this city with fire,' jer. xxxvii. 10. — fo it came to pafs lat the city was taken and deflroyed. The prefent in ennefs of the land of Canaan, which is a fubject: of k om to infidels, ought to be far from caufing us 10 be offended, and making us to difbelieve either the hiftory of its former fiuiifulnefs, or the pro- mifes of its future profperity : On the contrary, wc fliould be the more confirmed in our faith on this very account. For the fame authority by which we are told of the fertile, ftate of that land in time 'pad, foretold its prefent wafte and barren fituation, when fuch an event appeared very improbable ; and by the fame, its future glory and amazing fertility is expreily and plainly declared. As by its prefent Mate of (lerility, many threatenings are fulfilled, and the power of God is revealed, the country is but thinly peopled, and therefore referred by the providence of God for its proper owners, and is but of little ufe to its prefent landlords; all which things are wonderful, and demand our attention : — fo, when it (hall hereafter become far mere fertile than ever, the power, goodnefs, and faithfulnefs of God, wil! i8o Letlnres on the Prophecies, will be abundantly manifefted — the country will be capable of fupporting vaftly greater numbers than ever dwelt there before — and a multitude of glorious pro- mifes be fulfilled; fome of which I mall proceed. to confider. And as mod of the prophets have fpoken of the great plenty which {hall be in the latter days, in that happy country, and fome of them very largely; I mail be at no lots for proofs in this Lecture. I mall not, however, be able to collect them all ; but fhall content rnj felf with giving fpecimens from fome of the facred writers, who have treated upon this delight- ful fubje£fc. David, (peaking of that glorious period, fays — • c Then mall the earth yield herincreafe; and God, c even our own God, (hall biefs us. God (hall blefs ' us, and all the ends of the earth fhall fear him :' Pfal. ixvii. 6, 7. The meaning of thefe words rnuft be, that the earth fh.il! then yield her ircreafe, in a more abundant man- r. r than ever; elfe it could not be a prophecy at all at tjiat time, much lefs a noble prediction, worthy of the Holy Spirit to declare. And if we confider that David words atihat time when the land of Ifrael was in its mod flourifhing condition, the evidence will be the ftronger. The earth did greatly yield its increafc in the days of David ; yet he fpoke of a time to come, «vh?n the earth JJjould yield her increafe, in fuch a man- ner as that all former plenty would be reckoned as nothing in comrarifon. And, to prevent our mifbking the time when this wonderful event (hall lake place, he fixes it at that period when God's way (hall be known vpon eajthj and his falvation among all nations — when he L E C T ¥ R. £ XV. ljj he (hall judge the people righteoufly, and govern the nations upon earth — when the people (hall praife him., and all the ends of the earth fhall fear him. See the whole pfalm ; all of which applies with eafe to the- time of Chrift's reign on earth during the Millenium, and to no other period. Ifaiah fpeaking of the fame time, fays — ' Then (hall * he give the rain of thy feed, that thou (halt fow the ' ground withal, and bread of the increafe of the ' earth ; and it (hall be fat and plenteous : in that day ' (hall thy cattle feed in large paftures. The oxen ' likewife, and the young ailes, that ear the ground, * (hall eat clean provender, which hath been winnowed * with the (hovel and with the fan :' Ifai. xxx. 23, 24. Nothing can be plainer, than that an amazing (late of plenty is promifed to the land of Ifrael in that day ; infomuch that the cattle, in (lead of feeding on ftravr and chaff, (hall feed on clean winnowed grain : and certainly, in that time men can have no want of good food, when even the meaneft beads fhall have plenty of choice grain, well cleaned, to feed upon. This prophet fpeaks of the long defolation of the land of Canaan, and of its future prosperity, in one continued difcourfe ; chap, xxxii. 10 16. 1 Many days and years (hall ye be troubled, ye care- c lefs women : for the vintage mall fail, the gathering 6 (hall not come. Tremble ye women that are at eafe j 1 be troubled, ye carelefs ones ; ftrip you, and make < you bare, and gird fackcloth upon your loins. They ■ (hall lament for the teats, for the pleafant fields, i r c the fruitful vine. Upon the land of my people fhall * come up thorns and briers; yea, upon all the houfes 'of j$2 LeMiires on iht Prtphecles. * of joy in the joyous city : Becaufe the palaces fha!l be •forfiken-: the multitude of the city fhall be left; * the forts and towers lhall be fqr dens foi ever, a joy ' of wild afles, a pafture of flocks ; until the Spirit be ' poured upon us from on high, and the wildernefs be ' a fruitful field, and the fruitful field be counted for a * foreil. Then judgment fhall dwell in the wildernefs, * and righteoufnefs fhall remain in the fruitful field.' The infpired writer here defcribes, in great variety of language, the defolation of the land, the total ruin of the city Jerufalem, and the many days and years in which it- mould thus continue — a period which our tranflators have rendered for ever, but which fhall end when the Spirit is poured from on high upon the people, which [hall be at 'the appearing of Chrift ; when they lhall have the fpirit of grace and fupplications poured out upon them. Then fhall a great change take place, not only in them, but in their land alfo : the mod bar- ren places fhall become fertile, and even the very wil- dernefs fhall be turned into fuch a fruitful field, as that v in comparifon therewith the moft fruitful field, now or formerly in the land, would be efteemed as but a foreft. The fame fruitfulnefs is alfo ftrongiy expreffsd, in §bap. xxxv. 1,2. * The wildernefs, and the folitary place, fhall be ' glad for them, and the defart fhall rejoice, and blof- ' Com as the role. It fhall bloffom abundantly, and ' rejoice even with joy and finging ; the glory of Leba- * non fhall be given unto it, the excellency of Carmel ' and Sharon : they fhall fee the glory of. Jehovah, ' and the excellency of our God.' Wtf* LECTURE XYi 183 What a wonderful (late of fertility is intimated in thefe words ! the glory and excellency of God will exceedingly appear in the wonderful change that (hall then take place. — I (hall make fome further remarks upon this pafTage, and fome o;hers that are fimilar, when I come to fpeak of the millenial waters ; and (hall therefore pafs to mention another beautiful pafTage out of the fame evangelical prophet; chap li. 3. ' For Jehovah (hall comfort Zion : he will corn- ' fort all her wade places, and he will make her wilder- ' nefs like Eden, and her defart like the garden of Je- 6 hovah ; joy and gladnefs (hall be found therein, ' thankfgiving, and the voice of melody,' This is a glorious promife, that the mod wade and defolate places (hall be inhabited, and become fruitful, like the blifsful garden planted by our great Creator for the delight of mankind in a date of innocency. — The beautiful fcene here defcribed will be realized in that blefled age of our Redeemer's reign, when his righteoufnefs and falvation (hall go forth, and when his arm (hall judge the people ; and the ifles (hall wait for him, and on his arm (hall they trud. Then Qiall it be faid — c Break forth into joy, fing together, ye 1 wade places of Jerufalem 1 for Jehovah hath com- 1 forted his people, he hath redeemed Jerufalem. Je- ' hovah hath made bare his holy arm in the eyes of * all the nations : and all the ends of the earth (hall fee 1 the falvation of our God :' chap. lii. 9, 10. As I proved the former fertility of the land of Ca- naan by the vad number of inhabitants that the coun- try contained — it will not be amifs to take notice of fome of thofe prophecies which fpeak of the multi- Vol. II. A a tudes I §4 Lefiures on the Prophecies. tudes that fhall inhabit the land again, in order more effectually to prove the fruitfulnefs of the foil in the Millenium. Ifai. xlix. 17 zi. £ Thy children fhall make e hafte ; thy deftroyers, and they that made thee wafte, 4 lliall go forth of thee. Lift up thine eyes round * about, and behold : all thefe gather themfelves toge- 4 ther, and come to thee. As 1 live, faith Jehovah, c thou (halt furely clothe thee with them all, as with an 6 ornament ; and bind them on thee, as a bride doeth. c For thy wafte and thy defolate places, and the land * of thy deftrudtion, fhall even now be too narrow, by e reafon of the inhabitants ; and they that fwaliowed ' thee up ill all be far away. The children which thou ( (halt have, after thou haft loft the other, (hall fay again ' in thine ears ; The place is too ftrait for me ; give e place to me, that I may dwell. Then (halt thou fay 6 in thine heart, Who hath begotten me thefe, feeing I { have loft my children, and am defolate, a captive, * and removing to and fro ? and who hath brought up 6 thefe ? Behold, 1 was left alone; thefe, where had c they been ?' Zion is here reprefented as aftonifhed at the Vaft number of her children that fhall come from all parts, and fill the defolate country with inhabitants, and (hall increafe in fuch a manner as that there fhall not be , room enough to hold them. The whole paffage is highly fublime and beautiful, and cannot fail to ftrike an attentive reader with great' pieafure : — but the vaft field I have before me, will not fuffer me to make any remarks upon it. Another LECTURE XV. 1 8^ Another paflage of the fame kind, is in chap. liv. 2, 2. < Enlarge the place of thy tent, and let them ftretch ' forth the curtains of thine habitations : fpare not ; f lengthen thy cords, and (Lengthen thy (lakes : For ' thou (halt break forth on the right hand and on the 1 left ; and thy feed (hall inherit the Gentiles, and ' make the defblate cities to be inhabited.' Throughout this whole chapter, the mod beautiful and glorious promifes are made that can be conceived : Jerufalem is rcprefented under the character of a wo- man forfaken, and a wife of youth refufed, and put away; which has long been the cafe with that people, but the glory which they (hall receive (hall far exceed all their fhame and reproach. The words which I have read, fpeak of their abundant increafe, and conlequenrly may be brought as a proof of the fruitfulnefs of the land, which yet (hall be far from being able to con- tain its inhabitants ; for they (hall break forth on the right-hand and on the left, and make the defolate cities to be inhabited, and fpread abroad on every (ide, ''till the whole country dial] be far more populous than ever, and all the neighbouring places (hall be filled with them. As the fame prophet declares in chap. lviii. 12. ' And they that (hall be of thee (hall build 1 the old wafte places : thou (halt raife up the foun- ' dations of many generations ; and thou (halt be e called The repairer of the breach, The reftorer of e paths to dwell in.' And again, in chap. lxi. 4. * And ' they (hall build the old wattes, they (hall raife up ' the former defolations, and they (hall repair the wade c cities, the defolations of many generations.' A a 2 All \Z6 Lectures tn the Prophecies. All thefe, and many other paffages of the like nature in the writings of this highly illuminated and evange- lical prophet, (hew, that in that glorious time the land (hall be exceeding fertile, and the inhabitants prolific ; fo that all the wade and defolate places (hall be inhabited, and the face of the country (hall be filled with cities, and thofe cities filled with flocks of men. But having given a fpecimen of what Ifaiah has written upon this beautiful fubject, let us pafs to the other prophets, and hear what they teftify refpecting the fame. In Jeremiah's prophecy we find many glorious pro- mifes, of Jfrael's reftoration, and of the return of the tribes to the land which God gave to their fathers, and of their becoming a holy and happy people, &c. But as the fruitfulnefs of the country, and, in confequence of that, the populoufnefs of the cities, are the fubjeds we are now upon, I (hall notice only thofe paffages which have fome reference to thefe. * Thus faith Jehovah ; Behold, I will bring again c the captivity of Jacob's tents, and have mercy on * his dwelling places ; and the city (hall be builded 6 upon her own heap, and the palace (hall remain * after the manner thereof. And out of them fhal^ 6 proceed thankfgiving, and the voice of them that * make merry : and I will multiply them, and they (hall * not be few ; and I will glorify them, and they (hall f not be fmall :' Jer. xxx. 18, 19. Thefe words declare the certainty of the return of thecaptivity of the tribes, the rebuilding of the city, gnd the multiplication of the people : and to prevent miftakes, ■aiftakes, all thcfe glorious promifes are referred to the latter days, or connected with fuch circumftances as have not yet taken place, and which are fo remarkable that they cannot happen without being noticed. One of which, as a fpecimen, I will notice in this place. It is faid in chap, xxxi — c Again I will build thee, and thou (halt be built, * O virgin of Ifrael : thou (halt again be adorned with * thy tabrets, and (hall go forth in the dances of ' them that make merry. Thou (halt yet plant vines c upon the mountains of Samaria : the planters (hall * plant and eat them as common things. For there * (hall be a day that the watchmen upon the mount 6 of Ephraim fhall cry, Arife ye, and let us go up ' to Zion unto Jehovah our God.' All that are the lead acquainted with facred hiftorf know that the mountains of Samaria belonged to the rebellious tribes, and the children of Judah and Jeru- falem have never had them in poffefTion at all : for when the king of Aflyria carried away the inhabitants of the country, he brought others and planted in their room, who were always enemies to the Jews ; and when after the return from the Babylonifh captivity, the Samaritans offered to affift in building the temple at Jerufalem, and wererefufed, their enmity encreafed, and finally they fet up a temple in that country upon mount Gerizzim, in oppofition to that in Jerufalem ; after which the mod rooted hatred and averfion gre\r up in both thefe nations one againft the other, and f« continued to the laft. What a remarkable prophecy is this ! that the vir- gin of Ifrael (hall not only have this part of the land i* LcHircs on the Prophecies. m pcflemon, but fliall plant vines 'upon thcfe moun- tains, and tbat fuch an amazing plenty of the choiceft ■s fliall be produced, as that the planters (hall . and eat them as common things ! Neither is the other circumffcanee lefs remarkable, that a day (Kall come (which has never yet been fince Ifrael was feparared from Judah) that the watchmen upon the mount of Ephraim fliall cry, Arife ye, and let us go up to Zion unto Jehovah our God. Ephraim (hail unite with Judah in that day, and both together (hall go to worihip the great King in his holy mountain. As this remarkable prophecy has never yet had fo much as the fhadow of an aceomplifhment, it vet remains to be fulfilled : and when it comes to pafs it mull be evident to all beholders. The great plenty which they fhall enjoy, is thus defcribed by Jeremiah. 4 Therefore they fliall come and ling in the height * of Zion, and fliall flow together to the goodnefs of ' Jehovah, for wheat, and for wine, and for oil, ' and for the young of the flock and of the herd, and < their foul fliall be as a watered garden ; and they ' fliall not forrow any more at all. Then fhall the * virgin rejoice in the dance, both young men and old * together: for I will turn their mourning into joy, e arid will comfort them, and make them rejoice from * their forrow. And I will fatiate the foul of the ' priefts with fatnefs, and my people fliall be (atisfied X J J L i. ' with my goodnefs-, faith Jehovah.' ' And there fliall dwell in Judah itfelf, and in all ' the cities thereof together, hufbaridmen, and they £ that go forth with Hocks. For I have fatiated the LECTURE XV. 1S9 * weary foul, and I have replenished every forrowful * foul.' ( Behold, die days come, faith Jehovah, that I ' will low the houfe of lfrael and the houfe of JuJah c with the feed of man. and with the feed of bead. c And it mall come to pafs that like ab 1 have watched ' over them to pluck up, and to break d )Wn, and to ' throw down, and to deftroy, and to afflict ; fo will I * watch over them to build and to plant, faith Jeho- ' vah :' Scever. 4, 5, 6. 12; 13, 14. 24,25. 27,28. happy land ! and happy people, when God fhail work fuch wonders among them ! Thefe promifes are plain, and need no comment: they are fully expreffive of the greateft profperky, plenty and happinefs. 1 ihall give but one fpecimen more from this pro- phet to the fame purpole, and mall then pafs en to the next. ' Thus faith Jehovah ; Again there (hall be heard c in this place, which ye fay (hall be defolate without ' man and without beail, even in the cities of Judah ' and in the ftreets of Jerufalem, that are defolate c without man and without inhabitant, and without 'bead; the voice of joy and the voice of gladnefs, c the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the e bride, the voice of them that lhall fay, Praife Jeiio- c vah of hods, for Jehovah is good ; for his mercy c endureth for ever ; and of them that ftiall bring the fa- c crifice of praife into the houfe of Jehovah : for I will 6 caufe to return the captivity of the land as at the c firfl, faith Jehov ah. Thus faith Jehovah cf hods : ' Again in this place which is defolaj;e without man * and I no Lcfiures tn the Prophesies. • and without beaft, and in all the cities thereof, fnali • be an habitation of fhepherds caufing their flocks to ' lie down. In the cities of the mountains, in the • cities of the vale, and in the cities of the fouth, and ' in the land of Benjamin, and in all the places about • Jerufalem, and in the cities of Judah, (hall the flocks ' pafs again under the hands of him that telleth them, 6 faith Jehovah. Behold, the days come, faith Je- • hovah, that I will perform that good thing which • I have promifed unto the houfe of Ifrael and to • the houfe of Judah.' Chap, xxxiii. 10 14. Jeremiah's prophecy in general confifls of threaten- ings; but the thirtieth, thirty-nrd, and thirty-third chap- ters, confift almoft entirely of very gracious promifes, equal to any that can be found in all the prophets ; and the latter part of the third, fixteenth, and thirty- fecond chapters, and the former part of the twenty- third chapter, are of the fame ftile ; and perhaps in all the reft of the prophecy not more than ten verfes can be found that contain any favourable promifes to Ifrael or Judah. Jeremiah lived in the time when the fins of Judah had rifen to the greateft height, and in the very time when the calamities threatened were executed : he had the greatefl: talent for lamentation of any of the prophets, and his hard lot was caft in a place and time when he had but too much occafion to make ufe of it. Therefore we need not wonder to find {o few glorious promifes of Ifrael and Judah's delive- rance in his book, but rather we may be furprifed to find fo many, and thofe fo very plain and decifive. Thofe which I have felected from him at this time arc fully to my puroofe, and lerve to (hew the happy fta:e LECTURE XV. I9I of the land of Ifrael in the latter days, with regard to the plenty that ihall abound there, and the numerous inhabitants that fliall dwell in that delightful country : which is my chief intention at prefent. Now let us hear what Ezekiel has to fay upon thefe fubjecls. His prophecies have afforded us a foundation for feveral Lectures, and will for a number more ; he is very plain and full to the point I am now upon, and declares that the land (hall be made exceeding fertile, that the waftes fliall be builded, and that men (hall be multiplied abundantly upon the mountains of Ifrael. ' But ye, O mountains of Ifrael, ye Ihall fhoot/orth c your branches, and yield your fruit to my people of 6 Ifrael : for they are at hand to come. For behold 6 I am for you, and I will turn unto you, and ye fliall c be tilled and fown : And I will multiply men upon ' you, all the houfe of Ifrael, even all of it : and the ' cities fliall be inhabited, and the waftes fliall be ' builded : And I will multiply upon you man and c beaft ; and they fliall increafe and bring fruit ; and ' I will fettle you after your old eftates, and will do ' better unto you than at your beginnings : and ye 1 fliall know that I am Jehovah. Yea, I will caufe * men to walk upon you, even my people Ifrael ; and ' they fliall poflefs thee, and thou flialt be their inhe- ' ritance, and thou flialt no more henceforth bereave 6 them of men. Thus faith Adonai Jehovah : Be- ' caufe they fay unto you, Thou land devoured, up 1 men, and haft bereaved thy nations ; therefore thou ' flialt devour men no more, neither bereave thy na- ' ticns any more, faith Adonai Jehovah. Neither will )L. II. Bb * I caufe 1Q2 Lffiurcs on the Prophecies. * • ' I caufe men to hear in thee the Ihame of the heathen ' any more, neither (halt thou bear the reproach of the ' people any more, neither malt thou caufe thy nations * to fall any more, faith Adonai Jehovah :' Ezekiel xxxvi. 8- 15. This is a fpeech which God has made, by the mouth of his fervant, to the land and mountains of Ifrael, containing promifes of the greateft profperity ; and there are feveral circumftances that abfolutely prevent us from accommodating them to any pa » events. 1. It is particularly declared, that all the houfe of Ifrael (hall be multiplied upon the mountains, and in the land of their poffeffion ; and therefore this could not be fulfilled whan the fmall remnant of Judah, Ben- jamin and Levi, returned from Babylon ; nor can it ever be accomplished, until the whole twelve tribes return from their long difperfion. 2. God promifes that he will fettle the mountains after their old eftates, and will do better unto them than at their beginnings. But this was far from being the cafe at any time between the return of the Jews from Babylon and their final deftru&ion and difperfion by the Romans : for the country was never fo fruitful and populous as in the days of David and Solomon. -->. God declares that after the fulfilment of thefe promifes, the mountains and land fhould never bereave the people of their men, nor caufe their nations to fall any more ; and this is repeated over and over, and over ao-ain, that it might be noticed the more, and for the greater confirmation, and to (hew the certainty and importance of this circumftance. But if we pretend to accommodate this prophecy to any paft event, we Iliuft LECTURE XT. 193 mud inevitably change the truth of God into a lie : for fince the return of the Jews from Babylon, the land hath devoured its inhabitants more than ever, and hath been fubjeft to that reproach far more fince than ever it was before; and the country hath been for- faken of its former inhabitants more than feventeen centuries, and is at prefent almoft a defolate wilder- nefs : So that no poilible method remains to fave the credit of this prophecy, but to declare that the whole remains to be fulfilled. After this prophecy directed to the land, there fol- lows another directed to the people, to the fame pur- pofe ; of which I will give you an extract. 6 And ye -fliall dwell in the land that I gave to your ' fathers; and ye fhall be my people, and I will be ( your God. I will alfo (live you from all your un- ' cleanneffes : and I will call for the corn, and will ' increafe it, and lay no famine upon you. And I will * multiply the fruit of the tree, and the increafe of the ' field, that ye fliall receive no more reproach of fa- ' mine among the heathen. Thus faith Adonal Je- ' hovah; In the day that I fliall have cleanfed you * from all your iniquities, I will alfo caufe you to dwell ' in the cities, and the wades fliall be builded. And * the defolate land fliall be tilled ; whereas it lay defo- ' late in the fight of all that pafled by. And they s fliall fay, This land that was defolate i» become like * the garden of Eden ; and the wafte and defolate, and ' ruined cities, are become fenced, and are inhabited. *■ Then the heathen that are left round about you fliall ' know that I Jehovah build the ruined places, and ■ plant that which was defolate : I Jehovah have B b 2 ' fpoken 104 Lcclurcs on the Prophecies. { fpoken it, and I will do it :' Ver. 28, 29, 30. 33, 34, 35i 3 6 - What pains God takes to fpeak in fuch a manner as to. prevent our miflaking the time ! He tells the children of Ifrael, that .in the day when he (hall have cleanfed them from all their iniquities, he will caufe them to dwell in the cities, and the wades (hall be builded, &c. — Now, if we fliould be afked to prove that this prophecy of their dwelling in the cities, &c. was not fulfilled after the return of the Jews f.om Babylon, we may eafily prove that it was not, by only obferving, that they- have never been cleanfed from all their iniqui- ties, but yet 'remain a very polluted people. And if, on the other hand, any mould pretend that they and all men are, in the Scripture- fenfe, actually cleanfed from their iniquities already, as fome do — in that cafe, we may confute them by God's exprefs declaration, that at the very time when he (hall have cleanfed them from air their iniquities, he will caufe them to dwell in the cities, and the wades fliall be builded, &c. There- fore, as both thefe events, viz. their being cleanfed from all their iniquities, and their becoming a great and populous nation, and filling the country, fo as to build the wades, are to take place nearly at the fame time, and in the lame period ; we may be fully allured that neither of them have as yet been fulfilled. The wonderful promifes of the plenty that fliall abound at that time, in the land that now lies wade, furely demand our attention. The change from what it now is (viz. a defolate wajk, to what it fliall be then, a mojl fruitful and zvell- cultivated country, like the garden of Eden) fliall be noticed by all beholders, who fliall men- LECTURE XV. . I95 mention it with the greateft admiration ; and it fnall be known by all to be the wonderful work of God : and the greateft glory (hall redound to his name by the ful- filment of thefe promifes, which he confirms in a pe- culiar manner, by faying — i I Jehovah have fpoken ' it, and I will do it.' After thefe pofitive declarations fo frequently made by the great God, we fhould not fbffer the lean: hefita- tion to arife in our minds reflecting the certainty of thefe events, which are yet to be brought about, in fuch a manner as to be known and noticed by all the fur- rounding nations. I (hall give you but one fpecimen more, from the prophecy of Ezekiel at prefent ; and that is as fol- lows : ' And I will bring them out from the people, and ' gather them from the countries, and will bring them ' to their own land, and feed them upon the mountains ■ of Ifrael, by the rivers, and in all the inhabited 6 places of the country. I will feed them in a good { pafture, and upon the high mountains of Ifrael ' fhall their fold be : there (hail they lie in a good 1 fold, and in a fat pafture shall they feed upon the * mountains of Ifrael. ' And I will caufe the shower to come down in his c feafon ; there shall be showers of bleffing. And the ' tree of the field shall yield her fruit, and the earth ' shall yield her increafe. ' And I will raife up for them a plant of renown ; ' and they shall be no more confumed with hunger in ' the land, neither bear the shame of the heathen any 'more.' — Chafixxxh, 13, 14. 26,27. 29. The in6 Ledures on the Prophecies. The promifes are plain that they shall be brought into the land of Ifrael, which fhall become exceeding fruitful in all good things — (ball be bleffed of God in a mod glorious manner, fhall never experience famine or hunger more — but enjoy the greateft plenty ima- ginable. Whether this plant of renown mentioned in this chapter, intends any particular tree or vegetable, that {hall yield a vaft quantity of food, and lhall never fail, and fhall therefore prevent all pofhbility of fa- mine ; or whether it is to be underflood in any other light, time mud difcover. Nothing can, however, be more evident, than that there fhall be a perfect fecurity againfl all famine, want, or fcarcky. They fhall have rain in due feafon, and the land fhall yield her increafe, and the trees of the field fhall yield their fruit. And their threfhing fhall reach unto the vintage, and the vintage fhall reach unto the fowing time : and they fhall eat bread to the full, and dwell in their land fafely ; as God promifed them by Mofes, in cafe they would / obey him, and keep his commandments. But this they did not do, and therefore were dilinherited : But when they fhall be under the new covenant, they fhall walk in all his ftatutes, and never turn afide more, and all thefe promifes fhall be fulfilled to them. Having feen that Ifaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel, all prophefied largely of the amazing fertility and fruitful- nefs of the land of Ifrael in that glorious period, and of the multitudes of inhabitants that lhall dwell in that happy country ; let us now go to the minor prophets, and fee if any thing of the fame kind is found in their writings. S3 God j LECTURE XV. 397 God, by the prophet Hofea, fays : ' ' And it (hall come to pais in that day, I will hear, ( faith Jehovah, I will hear the heavens ; and they ' fnall hear the earth ; and the earth lhall hear the corn * and the wine, and theoil ; and they (hall hear Jezreel. * And I will low her unto me in the earth, and I will ' have mercy upon her that had not obtained mercy ; s and I will fay to them who were not my people, * Thou art my people ; and they (hall fay, Thou art ' my God :' Chap, ii. 21, 22, 23. ' I will be as the dew unto Ifrael : he (hall grow as * the lily, and caft forth his roots like Lebanon. His 1 branches (hall fpread, and his beauty (hall be as the * olive tree, and his fmell as Lebanon. They that * dwell under his (hadow (hall return ; they (hall re- 1 vive as the corn, and grow as the vine ; the fcent 6 thereof shall be as the wine of Lebanon :' Chap, xiv. 5, 6, 7. All thefe words imply that Ifrael shall enjoy a mod flourishing eftate, and shall be blened of God with all good things ; and, more than all, he will be the God of that people whom he hath fo long rejected, and they shall become his people in a better fenfe than ever, and shall never forfake him more : neither will he ever leave them, nor fuffer any evil to befal them ; but will open his rich treafures, and abundantly fupply all their wants. Joel fays — ' Then will Jehovah be jealous for 6 his land, and pity his people. Yea, Jehovah will * anfwer, and fay unto his people, Behold, I will fend * you corn, and wine, and oil ; and ye shall be fatis- 'fieC ic}3 Lectures on the Prophecies. * fied therewith : and I will no more make you a * reproach among the heathen. 4 Fear not, O land ; be glad and rejoice : for Je- * iiovah will do great things. Be not afraid, ye c beads of the field : for the paftures of the wilder- ' Etefe do fprrng, for the tree beareth her fruit, the c fig-tree and the vine do yield their drength. Be ' giad then, ye children of Zion, and rejoice in Je- ' hovah your God : for he hath given you the for- f mer rain moderately, and he will caufe to come ' dovn ior you the rain, the former rain, and the ' latter rain in the fird month. And the floors mail { be full of wheat, and the fats (hall overflow with 6 wine and oil. ' And ye (hall eat in plenty and be fatisfied, and ' praife the name of Jehovah your God, that hath ' dealt wonderoufiy with you : and my people, (hall * never be afhamed :' Joel ii. 18, 19. 21 — 26. ' And it (hall come to pafs in that day, that the ' mountains fhall drop down new wine, and the hills i fhall flow with milk, and all the rivers of. Judah 4 mall flow with waters :' Chap. iii. 18. All thefe exprefiiens betoken the greateft abun- dance of corn, wine, oil, and all the necefTaries, comforts, and conveniences of life, in that happy time. But among all the prophets 1 do not find one thar, in a few words, exprefles the amazing abundance which the land fhall produce in that day, in fuch a ' ' manner as Amos : the defcription muff charm and animate all that have the lead relifh for thefe beauties. ( Behold, LICTURB XY. l£ £ * Behold, the days come, faith Jehovah, that the * plowman fhall overtake the reaper, and the treader ' of grapes him that foweth feed ; and the mountains * fhall drop fweet wine, and all the hills (hall melt. * And I will bring again the captivity of my people of 1 Ifrael, and they lhall build the wafte cities, and inha- * bit them ; and they (hall plant vineyards, and drink ' the wine thereof; they fhall alfo make gardens, and * eat the fruit of them. And I will plant them upon ' their land, and they fhall no more be pulled up out ' of the land which 1 have given them, faith Jehovah ' thy God :' Amos ix. 13, 14, 15. So vaft fhall be the harveft, that before the reapers can get it off the ground, the plowman fhall overtake them, and be obliged to wait for them to clear the fields : and he that preffeth out the wine fhall be em- ployed 'till the feed time comes, fo plenteous fhall the vintage be. The mountains fhall be faid to drop fweet wine, becaufe of the abundance of grapes which the vines planted on them fhall yield; and the hills, by a beautiful figure, fhall be faid to melt with fatnefs, owing to the great numbers of oil trees which fhall grow there, and the vaft herds of milch kine which fhall feed thereon. The long and peaceable pofTeffiori of the land, out of which the children of Ifrael fhall never more be caft, forbids us to look back for the fulfilment of thefe prophecies ; but in the flrongefl manner incites us to look forwards to that happy period when ' Thou (O God) wilt perform the truth ' unto Jacob, and the mercy unto Abraham, which ' thou haft fworn unto them from the days of old :' Micah vii. 20. Vol, II. C c Many aOO Leftures on the Prophecies. Many more proofs might be brought from the pro- phets, refpefting the plenty of the land of Ifrael in the latter days, but I forbear : enough has been faid to prove the point; and as this difcourfe has already been drawn out to a confiderable length, I (hall add no more at prefent. END Of THE FIFTEENTH LECTURE. LECTURE XVI. The glorious and jlourijhing condition of the land of Ifrael under the government of the Lord, with refpetl to the fafety, pleafantnefs, and healthfulncfs of that happy country, in the time of the Millenium. WHEN we would defcribe a country as being very defirablc, we muft always begin our ac- count with its fruitfulnefs ; for let any land have never fo many excellent accommodations, yet if it is not and cannot be rendered fertile, it will not be likely to become very populous, nor can it be faid to be a place greatly to be defired, or fought after. But if a country be defcribed to us as exceeding fertile, we are ready then to afk, Is it a place of fafety ? — Is it healthy ? — Is it pleafant ? &c. And all thefe advantages are im- portant, and would be fo eftecmed by thofe who would with to become inhabitants of the land. Thus wifely hath God directed the holy prophets to write largely of the great abundance which the land of Ifrael mail enjoy in the time of our Saviour's glorious reign, as you have heard ; and hath alfo communicated, by the fame means, divers promifes of the fafety, pleafantnefs, health- fulnefs, &c. of that highly-favoured country, in that mod bleffed period. Which glorious predictions I fhall confider in their order. The land of Canaan has probably had more human blood (lied there than has been upon any'part of the C c 2 globe $$s Leflures tn the Prophecies. olobe of the fame extent, and, according to the pro- phecies, it will be foaked more than ever with the blood of the flain : yet a ftate of the greateft peace, tranquility, fafety and quietnefs, is promifed to the children of Ifrael in that very country, where they have experienced fo much trouble and affliction ; and where they have never yet found any long continued reft. I have nothing more to do than to collecl: together fome of thofe excellent promifes of God, that treat of the fafety and happinefs of the people in that time, and make a few obfervations upon them as I pafs along*. God by Jeremiah fays — c Therefore fear thou not, 'O my fervant Jacob, faith Jehovah ; neither be * difmayed, O Ifrael : for lo I will fave thee from afar, 6 and thy feed from the land of their captivity ; and ' Jacob (hall return, and mail be in reft and quiet, and f none (hall make him afraid :' Jer. xxx. 10. *■ And I will gather the remnant of my flock out of f all countries whither I have driven them, and will { bring them again to their folds ; and they (hall be f fruitful, and increafe. And I will fet up fhepherds i over them, which fliall feed them : and they (hall f fear no more, nor be difmayed, neither (hall they be € lacking, faith Jehovah. Behold, the days come, < faith Jehovah, that I will raife unto David a righte- * ous Branch, and a King fliall execute judgment and f juftice in the earth. In his days Judah fliall be faved, e and Ifrael (hall dwell fafely : and this is his name i wherewith he (hall be calkd, Jehovah our righ- 1 teous>ess :' Jer. xxiii. 3, 4, 5, 6. There tECTtJR! XVI. 2C3 There sannot be the lead doubt but this righteous Branch fpoken of is Chrifl, and the feafon here called In his days, is the time when he lhall reign and profper, and (hail execute judgment and juftice in the earth; for then Judah (hall be faved, and Ifrael mail dwell fafely ; which has never been the cafe fince Jeremiah's time, and therefore certainly remains to be fulfilled ; and, befkles, the fulfilment of this prophecy is referred to that time when ' they (hall no more fay, Jehovah c liveth, 'which brought up the children of Ifrael out of 1 the land of Egypt ; but Jehovah liveth, who c brought up and who led the feed of the houfe of * Ifrael out of the north country, and from all countries * whither 1 had driven them ; and they mall dwell in 6 their own land :' ver. 7,8. ' Behold, I will gather them out of all countries vvhi- ( ther I have driven them in mine anger, and in my 1 fury, and in great wrath ; and I will bring them again 6 unto this place, and I will caufe them to dwell fafely : * And they (hall be my people, and I will be their ' God :' Jer. xxxii. 37, 38. ' And I will bring Ifrael again to his habitation, c and he (hall feed on Carmel and Bafhan, and his foul f (hall be fatisfled upon Mount Ephraim and Gilead :' Jer. 1. 19. All thefe paffages, and many more out of this pro- phecy, intimate, that when Judah and Ifrael fhali be turned to the Lord, and (hall have acknowledged the glorious Median, they (hall dwell in the greatefl fafety, and (hall never more be diftreffed or difturbed by their enemies, or any dangers. And this lame fecurity is promifed by the mouth of feveral other prophets; fome Z ">4 LcFIures on the Prophecies. forne of whom have written very largely upon the fubjecT. God by Ezekiei informs us, that the mountains of Ifrael were become infamous among the people even inthofedays, (and certainly much more fince) for that they feemed to devour their inhabitants ; but he de- clares that the infamy fhall ceafe, in thefe words : — * I will caufe men to walk upon you, even my people * Ifrael; and they fhall poffefs thee; and thou (hah * be their inheritance ; and thou (halt no more hence- ' forth bereave them of men. * Thus faith Adonai Jehovah : Becaufe they fay ' unto you, Thou land devoured up men, and haft ' bereaved thy nations ; therefore, thou (halt devour ' men no more, neither bereave thy nations any more, 1 faith Adonai Jehovah. Neither will I caufe men to \ hear in thee the (name of the heathen any more ; nei- ' ther (halt thou bear the reproach of the people any ' more; neither (halt thou caufe thy nations to fall *■ any more, faith Adonai Jehovah:' Ezek. xxxvi. 12 15. God by Ifaiah fays — e Violence mall no more be 1 heard in thy land, waiting nor deftruction within thy * borders; but thou (halt call thy walls Salvation, and ' thy gates Praife:' Ifai. Ix. 18. ' In righteoafnefs (halt thou be eftablifhed : thou * (halt be far from oppreihon ; for thou shalt not fear : ' and from terror ; for it shall not come near thee d Ik'.i. liv. 14. Thei'l- are glorious promifes, and shall be ail fully accomplished in that bleffed day when Jehovah shall be Ling over all the earth. In the land-of Judah shall men L ECTBRE XVI. 20$ men dwell, c and there shall be no more utter deftruc- ' tion ; but Jerufalem shall be fafelv inhabited :' — Zech. xiv. 1 1. ' The remnant of Ifrael shall not do iniquity, nor * fpeak lies : neither shall a deceitful tongue be found ' in their mouth : for they shall feed and lie down, and * none shall make them afraid :' Zeph. iii. 13. Thefe are a few of the many promifes of permanent peace and fafety, which are found in the writings of the prophets, and which shall be performed to the chil- dren of Ifrael in the latter days, in that glorious period of which we are fpeaking. Inflead of commenting upon thefe promifes, which are fufKciently plain ; I shall point out, from Scripture, thc'c great caufes which shall produce fuch wonderful effecTs, as peace and quietnefs, reft and fafety, to that land for fuch a period. 1. The immediate prefence of the Lord in that happy country, shall fecure the conftant peace and tranquility of the fame ; as is clearly expreffed in the following Scriptures : * Sing, O daughter of Zion ; fhout, O Ifrael ; be * glad and rejoice with all the heart, O daughter of ' Jerufalem. Jehovah hath taken away thy judg- ' ments, he hath caft out thine enemy ; the King of ' Ifrael, even Jehovah is in the midft of thee : thou * fhalt not fee evil any more. In that day it fhall be ' faid to Jerufalem, Fear thou not ; and to Zion, Let ' not thine hands be flack. Jehovah thy God in the ' midft of thee is mighty : he will fave, he will rejoice ' over thee with joy ; he will reft in his love, he will 'joy over thee with finging:' Zeph. iii. 14- 17. 206 Lectures on the Prophecies. ■ So (hall ye know that I am Jehovah your God ' dwelling in Zion my holy mountain : then mall Je- * rufalem be holy, and there (hall no ftrangers pafs * through her any more. But Judah (hall dwell for e ever, and Jerufalem from generation to generation. ' For I will cleanfe their blood that I have not cleanf- * ed : for Jehovah dwelleth in Zion:' Joel iii. 17. 20, 21. c For I, faith Jehovah, will be unto her a wall * of fire round about, and will be the glory in the midft 1 of her. c Sing and rejoice, O daughter of Zion ; for lo, I ' come, and I will dwell in the midft of thee, faith e Jehovah. And many nations mall be joined to * Jehovah in that day, and ihall be my people : and * I will dwell in the midft of thee, and thou (halt * know that Jehovah of hofts hath fent me unto thee. ' And Jehovah (hall inherit Judah his portion in the ' holy land, and (hall choofe Jerufalem again. * Be filent, O all flefli, before Jehovah : for he * is raifed up out of his holy habitation :' Zech. ii. 5. 10, 11, 12, 13. ' And I will encamp about mine houfe, becaufe * of the army, becaufe of him that paffeth by, and ' becaufe of him that returneth : and no opprefTor * (hall pafs through them any more : for now have I ' fcen with mine eyes :' Zech. ix. 8. * Moreover I will make a covenant of peace with * them : it (hall be an everlafting covenant with them : * and I will place them, and multiply them, and will 1 let my fanctuary in the midft of them for evermore* ' Mv tabernacle alfo (hall hz with them : Yea, I will • bs r be their God, and they fhall be my people. And ■ the heathen {hall know that I Jehovah do fanctify c Ifrael, when my fanctuary fhail be in the midft of c them for evermore :' Ezek. xxxvi. 26, 27, 28. < And in that day fhall ye lay, Praife Jehovah, ' call upon his name, declare his doings among the ' people, make mention that his name is exalted. Sing 1 unto Jehovah, for he hath done excellent things : ' this is known in all the earth. Cry out and fhout, f thou inhabitant of Zion : for great is the Holy One * of Ifrael in the midft of thee :' Ifai. xii. 4, 5, 6. See alfo to this fame purpofe, Pfaltn xlvi. xlvii. xlviii. which all belong to that glorious period, and cannot with propriety be applied to any other time. Thus the Lord dwelling among the people, fhall be one great and effectual caufe of the fafety and peace of the land at that time ; fufficient, one would think, without any other, to prevent all fear and danger of every kind. But, 2. The deftru&ion that (hall fall upon the enemies of Ifrael, and the enemies of the Lord, fhall procure peace and fafety to the country, and to thofe who dwell therein. This deftruction I have largely con- fidered already, and therefore fhall only cite a few texts in proof of this point. ' Behold they (hall furely gather together, but not ' by me : whofoever fhall gather together againft thee ' fhall fall for thy fake :' Ifai. liv. 15. ' For the nation and the kingdom that will not fervc 1 thee fhall perifh ; yea, thofe nations fhall be utterly ' wafted :' Ifai. lx:. 12. Vol. II. D d 'Behold 2(5 5 Left urn on the Prophec'ua. * Behold I will make Jerufalem a cup of trembling, c unto all the people round about, when they {hall be * in the fiege both againfl Judah and againft Jerufa- ' lem. And in that day will I make Jerufalem a * burdenfome ftone for all people : all that burden ' themfelves with it fhall be cut in pieces, though all * the people of the earth be gathered together againft * it/ ' In that day will I make the governors of Jn- ' dah like a hearth of fire among the wood, and like 6 a torch of fire in a fheaf ; and they fhall devour all * the people round about, on the right hand and on 6 the left : and Jerufalem fhall be inhabited in her 4 own place, even in Jerufalem/ ' In that day (hall Jehovah defend the inhabitants * of Jerufalem : and he that is feeble among them at 6 that day fhall be as David; and the houfe of David \ fhall be as God, as the angel of Jehovah before c them. And it fhall come to pafs in that day that * I will feek to deftroy all the nations that come * againft Jerufalem :' Zech xii. 2, 3. 6. 8, 9. ' And Judah fhall alio fight at Jerufalem, and the ' wealth of all the heathen round about (hall be ga- ' thered together:' Zech. xiv. 14. 1 And the houfe of Jacob fhall be a fire, and the * houfe of Jofeph a flame, and the houfe of Efau for f nubble, and they fhall kindle in them, and devour j them ; and there fhall not be any remaining of the ' houfe of Efau 5 for Jehovah hath fpoken it / Obad. iS. * They fhall fly upon the moulders of the Philif- * tines towards the weft ; they fhall fpoil them of the * eaft together, they mall lay their hand upon Edom * and LECTURE XVI. 20^ * and Moab, and the children of Animon (hall obey ' them :' Ifai. xi. 14. ' For in this mountain (hall the * hand of Jehovah reft, and Moab fhall be trodden ' down under him, even as draw is trodden down for e the dunghill :' Ifai. xxv. 10. * And there fhall be no more a pricking brier unto ' the houfe of Ifrael, nor any grieving thorn of all that ' are round about them, that defpifed them ; and they ' fhall know that I am Adonai Jehovah. Thus faith * Adonai Jehovah ; When I fhall have gathered the ' houfe of Ifrael from the people among whom they * are fcattcred, and fhall be fanclified in them in the ' fight of the heathen, then fhall they dwell in their ' land that I have given to my fervant Jacob. And * they fliall dwell fafely therein, and fhall build houfes, * and plant vineyards : yea, they fhall dwell with con- ' fidence, when I have executed my judgments upon ' all thofe that defpife them round about them ; and * they fhall know that 1 am Jehovah their God s' Ezek. xxviii. 24, 25, 26. I need not multiply quotations ; for it is evident from the nature of things, as well as from Scripture, that the deftrudtion of tkeir enemies, (thofe that defpifed them, warred againft them, and fought their hurt) fliall caufe them to enjoy peace and tranquility. I fhall there- fore pafs to mention another caufe of that long (late of reft and quietnefs, which fliall continue during the Saviour's reign, in the land of Ifrael. 3. There fhall be no more animofities nor divifions among the tribes of Ifrael, as formerly. Some of their moft terrible and deftru&ive wars were among them- fclves, upon account of private or national quarrels. D d 2 As 210 "Lefiures en the Prophecies,, As for inftance : Jepthah and his brethren Hew of the Ephraimites, at one time, forty and two thoufand, becaufe they infulted him : Judges xii. i — — 6. In the dreadful war between the Ifraelites and the tribe of Benjamin, which happened on account of the woman that was abufed in Gibeah, and in which that tribe was almofl entirely deftroyed, there was (lain not lefs than fixty-fix thoufand men. See Judges xx. There was long war between the houfe of Saul and the houfe of David (2 Sam. iii. 1.) in which doubdefs many thoufands fell, though we are not informed of the e mmber. In the battle between David's fer« tnd ■•Ai'rA mi's army, t ere fell of Ifrael twenty thoufand men. 2 Sam, xviii. 7. After the defection of the ten tribes, there was almofl: continual was between the kings of Ifrael and thefe of Judah: In one fet battle there fell flain of Ifrael, five hundred thoufand chofen men : 2 Chron. xiii. 17. And ' Pekah the fon of Remaliah (one of the kings of Ifrael) flew in Judah an hundred and twenty 6 thoufand in one day, who were all valiant men ;' 2, Chron. xxviii. 6. But in the future glorious fettle ment of the tribes, they mall be all one people, and fhall never be divided into two nations any more ; neither fhall they ever falj out among themfelves on any occafion. ' The envy alfo of Ephraim (hall depart, and the * adversaries of Judah fhall be cut off: Ephraim mall * not envy Judah, and Judah (hall not vex Ephraim :* JLfai. xi, 13. * Ar 4 ■LECTURE 3CYI. 211 c And I will make them one nation in the land upon ' the mountains of Ifrael ; and one king fhall be king * to them all : and they fhall be no more two nations, * neither (hall they be divided into two kingdoms any * more at all :' Ezek. xxxvii. 22. 4. Another caufe of the fafety which the land fhall enjoy, is the peace which fhall every-where abound : for as wai s (hall ceafe from the ends of the earth, there can be none in the land of Ifrael, which fhall be more immediately under the government of the Prince of Peace. Mod of their enemies being at mil deftroyed, as you have heard, and the reft being far removed from them, they (hall have no room for fear. * Thy children (hall make hade ; thy deftroyers and * they that made thee wafte, fhall go forth of thee. * For thy Wafte and thy defolate places, and the land ' of thy deftruction, (hall even now be too narrow, by ' reafon of the inhabitants ; and they that fvvallowed ' thee up fhall be far away :' Ifai. xlix. 17. 19. AH nations at that time, inftead of fighting againft Jerufafem and the land of Ifrael, (hall go up from year to year to woifhip there, and (hall treat the If- raelites with the greateft refpect — But thefe fubjects are too copious to be introduced into this Lecture, and rnuft be referved for feparate difcourfes. , 5. The fins, iniquities, and tranfgreflions of the peo- ple (which are the procuring caufes of all evil) being wholly removed, they cannot fail to enjoy peace, rcft^ and fafety. There are fo many promifes that this fhall be the cafe at that time, that I cannot pretend to collect them £ll in this place, nor need I, as they have chiefly been fet 2 1 % Leftures on the Prophecies, fet before you in the covenant which God will make in thofe days. I will nevertheless give you a fpeci- men, as thefe bleffings are of great importance. I will begin with the words of Micah, chap. rii. 18, 19, 20. 1 Who is a God like unto thee, that pardoneth 4 iniquity, and paileth by the tranfgrcffion of the rem- * nant of his heritage ? He retaineth not his anger for * ever, becaufe he delighteth in mercy. He will turn * a^ain, he will have companion upon us ; he will fub- ' due our iniquities ; and thou wilt caft all their fins * into the depths of the fea. Thou wilt perform the truth * to Jacob, and the mercy to Abraham, which thou ' haft fworn unto our fathers from the days of old.' Next, a witnefs from Jeremiah of the fame glorious truth. 6 In thofe days, and in that time, faith Jehovah, * the iniquity of Ifrael fhall be fought for, and there * fhall be none ; and the fins of Judah, and they (hall c not be found : for I will pardon them whom I re- ' fcrve :' Jer. 1. 20. See alfo Jer. xxxi. 33, 34. xxxii. 37 ' — 42. xxxiii. 6 9. Ezek. xxxvi. 24 33. xxx vii. 23. God, by Hofea, fays : — c I will heal their back- f fliding, I will love them freely : for mine anger is * turned away from him :' Hof. xiv. 4. And, by Zechariah — ' I will remove the iniquity «-of that land in one day ;' Zech. iii. 9. And, to prevent any miftake refpecling the time, it is exprefly declared, that it {hall be at that day when the people fhall dwell in fuch peace and harmony amongft thcmfelves, and in fo little fear of any foreign invafion, that they fliall call every man his neighbour, undtc L2CTUR1 XYI. 213 under the vine and under the fig-tree : fee ver. 10. which betokens a perfect ftate of eafe and happinefs. 6. In order that the land may enjoy the greateft pof- fibile fecurity and reft, all thofe evil beads that formerly infefted the country, and were fuch a terror to the in- habitants, (hall either ceafe entirely out of the land, or, which is better flill, lofe all their ferocity, and be no longer dangerous. • And 1 will make with them a covenant of peace, ' and will caufe the evil beads to ceafe out of the land : ' and they mall dwell fafely in the vvildernefs, and deep ' in the woods. And they mail no more be a prey to ' the heathen, neither (hall the beafts of the land dc- ' vour them : but they fliall dwell fafely, and -none ' (hall make them afraid :' Ezek. xxxiv. 25. 28. 1 And in that day will I make a covenant for them ' with the beafts of the field, and with the fowls of ' heaven, and with the creeping things of the ground : i and I will break the bow and thefword, and the hat- * tie out of the earth, and will make them alfo to lie * down fafely :' Hofea, ii. 18. See alfo Ifai. xi. 6, 7, 8, 9. and lxv. 25. Thus have I confidered the peace and fafety which the land of lfrael (hall then enjoy, and fome of the caufes which fliall produce fuch a glorious ftate. Oh how different will that country be at that time from what it ever has been heretofore, and efpecially from what it is at prefent ! Now you cannot travel through thofe countries without a guard; and when the few inhabitants- fow, they have but little expecta- tion of reaping : and it is frequently feen that when a man lows his feed, an armed friend walks by his fide, to 214 Leftures on the Prophecies. to prevent any one from robbing him, even of the feed, while he is fovving it. But in thofe bleffed days there fhall be the utmoft fafety, infomuch that the peo- ple may dwell "fafely in the wilder nef, and Jleep in the zvoods : Ezek. xxxiv. 25. Their property mail be fecure from the ravages of men or beafts : — Theyfoall not build, and another inha- bit", they Jhall not plant, and another eat : Ifai. lxv. 22. The roads fhall be fafe and pleafant, and every cir- cumftance fhall be highly agreeable. Thus much may fufhee, as to the peace and fafety of the Holy Land in the time of our Saviour's reign. I come now to confider another fubject ; which though not of equal importance with thofe I have treated on already, is yet fuch as God hath not neglected to reveal ; and that is, that the land of Canaan {hall not only be rendered exceedingly fertile and perfectly fafe, but alfo very pleafant. To this purpofe God fpeaks by Jeremiah ; faying : 1 In thofe days the houfe of Judah mail walk with the ' houfe of Ifrael, and they fhail come together out of 4 the land of the north to the land that I have given for ' an inheritance unto your fathers. But I faid, How ' fhall I put thee among the children, and give thee a ' pleafant land, a goodly heritage of the holts of na- ' tions ? And I faid, Thou (halt call me, My father; * and fhalt not turn away from me :' Jer. iii. 18, 19. The country, from its natural fituation, is pleafant, lying between thirty-one and thirty-five degrees of north latitude, free from the extremes of heat and cold ; and is rendered {till more agreeable by the Mediterra- nean fea, being its weftern border, and by many other fmaller LEC T If 1L E XTI. 2*5 fmaller feas, which are at no great diftance ; by which means an eafy communication can be carried on with all parts of the globe : the ufe of which we fhall fee more plainly, when I come to treat upon the going up of the nations every year to worfliip the Lord at Je- rufalem. The country was formerly pleafant, from its mod agreeable profpccls. Its mountains, hills, vaiiies, plains, woods, groves, feas, rivers, brooks, cities, towns, villages, &c. muft have been delightful to the eye ; and what a dying Mofes viewed with rapture, and what even the glorious Jehovah (hewed him then as a fight worthy of his attention. But how inconceivably pleafant (hall it be rendered in the time of the Millenium ! For then ' Jehovah * fhall comfort Zion ; he will comfort all her wade * places, and he will make her wildernefs like Eden, * and her defart like the garden of Jehovah : joy ' and gladnefs fhall be found therein, thankfgiving, £ and the voice of melody :' Ifai. li. 3. — ' For ye fhall ' be a delightfome land, faith Jehovah of hofls :' — Mai. iii. 12. The beauty and glory of the city and country, as defcribed by Jehovah, in the moft fublime and ele- gant language, deferves our attention : 6 The glory «of Lebanon fhall come unto thee; * the fir-tree, the pine-tree, and the box together ; to * beautify the place of my fan&uary, and to make the ' place of my feet glorious. * Whereas thou haft been forfaken and hated, fa * that no man went through thee ; I will make thee an * eternal excellency, a joy of many generations. VoL.IL Ee 'Thou 216 Lcfturts on the Prophecies. c Thou fhalt alfo be a crown of glory in the hand of ' Jehovah, and a royal diadem in the hand of thy God. e Thou fhalt no more be termed, Foifaken ; neither 1 (hall thy land any more be termed, Defolate : but thou ' fhalt be called, Hephzibuh, and thy land, Beulah : * for Jehovah delighteth in thee, and thy land fhall f be married. For as a young ma n marrieth a virgin, 6 fo (hall thy fons marry thee : and as the bridegroom e rejoiceth over the bride, fo fhall thy God rejoice' < over thee :' Ifai. Ix. 13. 15. lxii. 3, 4, 5. It would be eafy to multiply paffages that fpeak of the glory, beauty and pleafantnefs of that land in the time of our Saviour's kingdom : but inflead of that, I fhall mention thofe things which will caufe that country to appear more lovely and beautiful than we can conceive. 1. The great glory of that happy land will be the immediate prefence of the Lord dwelling in his holy temple, fituated upon the height of the holy hill, where he will choofe to refide : which (hall be efta- blifhed upon the top of the mountains, and fhall be exalted above the hills, and to which all nations (hall flow. * 2. The beautiful city in the midft of the land, lying four-fquare, laid out and built with the mod exact order, and filled with houfes, palaces, gardens, fountains, &c. and inhabited by multitudes of holy, righteous and happy people, fhall add much to the beauty of the icene. 3. Thofe charming rivers of which the prophets fpeak with fuch rapture, one of which fhall rife from under LECTURE XVI. 217 under the threfhold of the eaft gate of the temple, and shall empty itfelf into the fea of Sodom which shall be healed thereby ; and the others shall be living waters which shall go out of Jerufalem, half of them running towards the weftern fea, and half of diem toward the eallern fea ; shall contribute not a little to beautify the land, as well as to render it fruitful. I shall fpeak of thefe and other waters which shall flow in the Millenium, in a difcourfe on purpofe. 4. The aftonishirig fruitfulnefs of the land shall make it pleafant : for were it ever fo pleafantly fitu- ated, if the water was bad, and the ground barren, it would be but a mere waPce ; far from pleafmg, it would difguft the eye ; but to fee the folds full of sheep, the vallies (landing thick with corn, the mountains covered with vines, the trees loaded with fruit, and plenty abounding every-where, mud give delight to all beholding eyes. 5. It muft. be exceeding delightful to fee the coun- try filled with virtuous inhabitants : Not like Naples, a Paradife inhabited by devils, as the proverb is ; but a paradife like the garden of God, inhabited with rational, wife, good, holy and' happy people ; as dif- ferent from what men now are, as day is different from night. Many other circumftances will contribute to the beauty of the country ; but I mud not enlarge. Yet before I quit the delightful fcene, come with me in your imagination, not to the top of Pifgah where Mcfes ftood to view the land, but to the top of the mofl holy mountain, whereon the facred temple shall E e 2 fo$ 21$ Zeflures en the Prophecies. be built. O bleffed place ! O glorious mountain • whofe whole limit round about is moft holy ! May \vc be permitted, O Lord, to fet the feet of our medi- tations upon the hill which thou haft defired to dwell in, and take a perfpeclive view of the beautiful coun- try which thou haft chofen in thy wifdom before all others ! Now caft your eyes abroad, look eaftward, and weftward, and northward and fouthward, and behold the pleafant land which God fware to Abraham and his feed ! See it in all its glory and beauty ! Oh had I the glowing colours of the immortal Raphael, or the poetic language of our Englifh bard, to defcribe what I behold ! Imagination itfelf is overloaded, and faints beneath the profpect. Look to the Mediter- ranean ; what vaft fleets of (hips appear in fight, filled with people coming to worfhip the King, Jehovah of hofts, and to keep the feaft of Tabernacles ! See how that beautiful road, from Joppa to Jerufalem, is crowded with multitudes coming to behold the glory of the Lord ! 4 Who are thefe that fly as a cloud, ' and as the cloves to their windows ? Surely (fays the f Lord) the ifles (hall wait for me, and the fhips of f Tarfhiih firft, to bring thy fons from far, their filver * and their gold with them, unto the name of Jei-io- c vah their God, and to the Holy one of Ifrael, be- f caufe he hath glorified thee :' Ifai. lx. 8, 9. Look to the fouthward and eaftward ! How is this prophecy fulfilled, 4 The multitude of camels lhall c cover thee, the dromedaries of Midian and Ephah ; f all they from Sheba lhall come : they fhall bring ' gold LECTURE XVI. o I( j * gold and incenfe ; and they fhall fhew forth the e praifes of Jehovah. All the flocks of Kedar fhall ' be gathered together unto thee, the rams of Ne- * baioth (hall minifter unto thee : they fhall come up * with acceptance upon mine altar, and I will glorify * the houfe of my glory!' Ifai. lx. 6, 7. O what: a fight ! thoufands and millions nocking from all parts, with the praifes of God in their mouths, all agreed to walk in his ways ! Behold, the fea of Sodom; once how deadly ! but now healed, and is full of fiih : fee from end to end the fifhers fpread their nets, and draw abundance of filh to fhore, to ferve for food to the vaft multitudes that anemble on thefe occafions ! See the beautiful river flowing from the temple, running through the plain with its healing waters I View the green trees upon its banks, whofe leaves heal all diforders, and whofe fruits, always in feafon, afford the mod wholefome and delicious nourifh- ment ! Caft your eyes over the delightful country ! behold the fituation of the twelve tribes, exactly according to the prophecy of Ezckiel ! Now the great promifes are fulfilled, which were fo long doubted of and denied, or, which is all the fame, figured and meta- phorized away. O what a paradifiacal view ! ' Look ' upon Zion, the city of our folemnities :' now behold * Jerufdem a quiet habitation, a tabernacle that fhall ' not be taken down ; not one of the ftakes thereof * fhall ever be removed, neither fhall any of the <* cords thereof be broken :' Ifai. xxxiii. 20. O what 220 Leflurcs en the Prophecies. what a lovely city ! who can defcribe it ? c Beau- ' tiful for fituation, the joy of the whole earth is mount * Zion, on the fides of the north, the city of the Great 4 King : God is known in her palaces for a refuge :* Pfal. xlviii. 2, 3. Turn from this view and furvey the mount on which you (land, and defcry the temple in which the Great Inhabitant refides, furrounded with his glorified ones ! But the rapture is too great ! We can only take a glimpfe for the pi cent. Oh the grandeur ! — Oh the beauty ! — Oh the magnificence ! — Language fails to defcribe it. Think the reft. We defcend from the mount, having juft glanced at the beauty of the land ; which no words can exprefs, nor fcarctly thought conceive. 1 might (peak a little of the kealthimfs of the Holy Land at that bleiTed feafon : but it mud naturally oc- cur to all that hear me, that if the child lhall die an hundred years old, or he that dieth at an hundred years of age [hall die a boy; yea, and flial! be looked upon as accurfed, cut off for his fins in his childhood, as it were — if the days of God's people mall be like the days of a tree, and his elect fhall long enjoy the work of their hands — then it cannot be a fickly country. See Ifai. lxv. "20. 22. And efpecially if we confider the healing waters that fhall flow, and the leaves of the trees that (hall be for medicine, and the gracious promifes of God ex- preffed in the prophecies ; faying — ■' Behold, I will ? bring it health and cure, and I will cure them, and * reveal unto them the abundance of peace and truth. < And LECTURE XVI. 221 ' And I will caufe the captivity of Judah and the cap- ' tivity of Ifrael to return ; and I will build them as at ' the firft. And I will cleanfe them from all their ini- ' quity whereby they have finned a'gainn me ; and I *,will pardon all their iniquities, whereby they have * finned, and whereby they have tranfgrefied againft ' me :' — Jer. xxxiii. 6, 7, 8. ' And the inhabitant fhail not fay, I am lick ; the ' people that dwell therein (hail be forgiven their ini- ' quity :' Ifai. xxxiii. 24. There (hall be no peftilences, famines, or wars; nothing to deftroy. No infectious air, unhealthful wa- ters, or poifonous weeds, fhali be found in the happy land. It may be certainly concluded, that the voice of Health, as well as of Peace and Plenty, mail be heard through the world ; and much more in that happy land, whofe glorious and flourishing condition under the government of the Lord, I have endeavoured briefly to defcribe. And I doubt not but you will all be ready to fay with David — e Happy id that people ' that is in fuch a cafe : yea, happy is that people ' whofe God is Jehovah :' Pfal. cxliv. 15. Thefe are fome of the gracious promifes of God, made to his ancient people ; which he will mofl cer- tainly accomplifh. < For the gifts and calling of God are without re- * pentance :' Rom. xi. 29. I have gone through what I propofed at this time ; and have briefly confidercd the fafety, pleafantnefs, ar-4 %% j Lefiures on the Prophecies. and heakhfulnefs of the land of Canaan, in that glo- rious period of which God hath fpoken fo largely by the mouth of his holy prophets. 1 have followed the Scriptures as my guide in fpeak- ing ; and hope you will be candid enough to examine and judge of what 1 have faid, by the fame rule. END OF THE SIXTEENTH LECTVKZ. ( 22 3 ) LECTURE XVII. the MILLENNIAL WATERS-. And the happy effects theyjliall produce. AS nothing contributes fo much to the fruitful- ncfs of any country as the plenty of the firearm* of water that flow through the fame, fo one great caufe of the amazing fertility of the earth, in the time of our Saviour's reign, fhall be the multitude of new rivers, and ft reams of living water, which (hall fpring forth in the mod barren parts of the globe, created by the powerful hand of God, for the glory of his great name, and the happinefs of his creatures. But as this charming idea may be efteemed by many as a beautiful fiition, I fhall take up the fubjed in this dif- courfe, and prove, beyond all contradiction, from the exprcfs words of prophecy, (if we are to underftand them in the literal fenfe, as I fuppofe, and think I have before proved) that God will create, or caufe to fpring forth, new rivers and ftreams of water, for the Vol. II. F f mod 224 Left tires on the 'Prophecies. rnoft glorious purpofes. And although this fubjedt i* fo copious, and the paffages fo many and ftriking, as might afford matter for feveral difcourfes, yet as I have feveral other fubjects belonging to the fame glorious period yet to treat. of, in their order, and as I ftudy brevity and plainnefs, I mall endeavour to bring all the prophefies relating to this aftonifhing event together, in this Lefmre, and make fome obfer- vations upon them: beginning with the defcription of the living waters in the holy land. I mall begin with that remarkable prophecy of Zechariah, Chap xiv. 8. " And it mall be, in that rufalem in the latter days, which the Lord will caufe to fpring forth for his name's fake, in the day of his coming, where there are none at prefent ; fo that the wonder fhall be felf-evident, and all fhall confefs it to be the work of God alone, F f z Another 226 LeBures on the Prophecies. Another prophecy which I will notice, concerning the amazing fruitfulnefs of that land, and the plenty of waters in that glorious time, is in Joel, iii. 18. " And " it mail cometopafs in that day, that the mountains " thall drop down new wine, and the hills (hall flow •crifices and burnt offerings being reftored, and continued under the reign of the MelTiah, is Eze- kiel ; and 1 believe it is impoffible for any one to read the nine lad chapters of his bock, and to be- lieve them as true prophecies remaining to be fulfil- led, without being convinced that facrifices will be reftored. Something reflecting this fu eject is men- tioned in every one of thole chapters, except the xlvii. fo that I cannot pretend to read all that he hath written upon it, but muft refer you to the chap- ters themf.lves, only I will give you a fhort analyfis of them as far as they relate to facrifices, priefts, Sec. In the xlth. chapter, from verfe 39, to 43. we read that Ezekiel had a view, in his virion, of tables of ftone, whereon the burnt-offering, fin-offering, and trefpafs-offering, and other facrifices were to be flain, and whereon the inftruments were to be laid that were to be ufed in flaying them ; as alfo hooks an hand broad, fattened round about ; and he be- held the flelh of the offering upon the tables. I i 2 In <. 2$o LeSiures on the Prophecies. In verfes 45, 46, there is an account of the cham- bers of the priefts, the keepers of the charge of the houfe, and thofe belonging to the priefts, the keep- ers of the charge of the altar; and it is added, " Thefe are the fons of Zadok among the fons of " Levi, who come near to Jehovah, to minifter ■* unto him." In this chapter, therefore, we read of priefts — 1 altar — facrinces — burnt-offering — fin- offering, and trefpafs-offering — and of inftruments wherewith they are flain, and alio of the flefli of the offering. If all thefe things united do not fully prove the Reftora* tion of Sacrifices, I confefs I cannot tell what they mean. In chapter xli. there is nothing particularly men- tioned refpedting facrifices : Only in verfe 22. the dimenfions of the altar are fet down. In chap, xlii. verfes 13, 14, we read of the holy chambers, where the priefts that approach Jehovah, mall eat the moll holy things ; where they mall lay the mod holy things, and the meat-offering, and the fin-offering, and the trefpafs-offering; for the place is holy. And there the priefts that enter therein Ciall lay their garments wherein they minifter ; for they are holy. But in chapter xliii. there is a grand account of the entrance of Jehovah the God of Ilrael, (who can be no other than our Lord Jesus) into the fanc- ruary, by the way of the eaft gate; and there is tire fpeech of the great King, on thatgioriou:; occaiion ; the former part of which I gave you in one of the foregoing LECTURE XVIIt* 2jl foregoing lectures, and then promifed to take fome notice of the latter part, in this lecture. I mall now therefore read that part of the speech of the KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS, wherein he folemnly appoints the meafure, and or- dinances, and facrifices of the altar; and alfo the priefts that fhall offer them, &:c. " And thefe are the meafures of the altar after for every one that erreth, and for him that is fimple. The LECTURE XVIII. 257 The paflbver is to be continued as formerly on the fourteenth day of the fitil month, and uhleavenend bread is to be eaten feven days. The prince is to prepare for himfelf and for all the people of the land a bullock, for a fin-offering, and during the {cv^n days of the feafl, he is to provide daily a burnt- offering to Jehovah ; of (even bullocks and feven rams without blemifli, and a kid of the goats daily for a fin-offering ; and is to prepare a meat-offering of an ephah for a bullock, and an ephah for a ram, and an hin of oil for an ephah. And he is to do the fame at the feafl of tabernacles, on the fifteenth day of the feventh month, and for the feven following days : which facrifices are different in feveral re- fpechs from what are enjoined in the law of Mofes ; as any perfon may fee, who will be at the pains of comparing one with the other. The ordinance for the prince to provide the facrifices is entirely new, and peculiar to that difpenfation ; as alfo feveral other things, which an attentive reader will notice. I do not find any mention of the feafl of Firft- fruits, in Ezekiel ; nor of any of the falls which the law of Mofes commanded : For we are allured that they mail all be turned into joy and gladnefs and chearful feafls to the houfe of Judah, in that day. Zech. viii. 19. This hath never yet been (as I have obferved before) : The fall on the great day of atonement was Uriel:! y commanded in the law, and hath never been yet kept as a feafl ; and the many falls which the Jews continue to obferve till the pre- K k 2 lent 2$Z Leflures on the Prophecies. fent time, plainly fhew that the time of their being changed into chearful feafts is not yet come. In chapter xlvi. there are a variety of directions refpecting the worlhip, facrifices, and offerings, of the prince and people, whereon I fhall notice feve- ral things wherein the facrifices differ from thofe i«- the law of Moles. On the Sabbath the Lord com- manded Mofes, that two lambs of the firft year without fpot mould be offered to the Lord, befide the daily burnt-offering, which was never to be omitted. But in Ezekiel the order is, that the prince mail offer in the Sabbath fix lambs without blemilh, and a ram without blemilh. In the be- ginning of the month, the command to Mofes was to offer two young bullocks and one ram, and /even lambs of the firft year without fpot, and a kid of the goats for a fin-offering ; befide the continual burnt-offering, he. But to Ezekiel, one young bullock without blemilh, and fix lambs, and a ram without blemiih. The daily or continual burnt-offering, as com- manded to Moles, was two lambs of the firft year without fpot, one to be offered in the morning, and the other at even ; and a tenth part of an ephah of flour for a meat-offering, mingled with the fourth part of an hin of beaten oil ; and the drink-offering was the fourth part of an hin of ftrong wine. The daily burnt-offering, as mewed to Ezekiel, was one Jamb of the firft year without blemiih, to be offered every LECTURE XVIII. 2jj0. every morning ; and ihe meat-offering is the Jixtb part of an ephah of fine flour, and the //vW part of an hin of oil, to temper with the fine flour. Compare Numbers xxviii. and Ezekiel xlvi. to- gether, and you will readily perceive that both (Chapters are alike plain and intelligible. In both, offerings and facrifices are expreffly commanded ; in both, the daily, weekly and monthly facrifices are appointed, and their manner declared. There is no more room to reafon away one than the other : both alike depend upon the will and pleafure of the law-giver. All the facrifices in Ezekiel differ from thofe in the books of Mofes ; which circumftance fully proves that they cannot poffibly be the fame. Thofe commanded in the law of Mofes have all been practifed exactly for many years together ; thofe given to Ezekiel, in vifion, and by the Spirit of pro- phecy, have never been practifed at any time. For all the facrifices ever yet offered by the Jews aright to the Lord, were offered exadtly according to the law of Mofes : therefore the manner of facrificing as defcribed by Ezekiel, remains to be fulfilled in the time of the Millenium. In this xlvith chapter, there is alfo a defcription of the place where the priefts fhall boil the trefpafs- offering and the fin-offering, and where they fhall bake the meat-offering ; and alfo the boiling places are defcribed, where the minifters of the houfe fhall boil the facrifice of the people. If thefe laws, commandments and ordinances, do not as plainly fhew that facrifices fhall be in ufe, as any 260 LeBures on the Prophecies. any thing in all the books of Mofes fets them forth, then I confefs I am no judge of the meaning of words. For my part, I confefs that I cannot fee how the force of the prophecy can poffibly be e- vaded, any more than the Truth of the books of Mofes can be fet ailde. In chapter xlvii. there is not a word relative to priefts, Levites, nor facrifices, as I obferved before. Nor in the xlviiith ; except only the account of the portions of the priefls and Levites, which they mall poffefs in the holy portion in the mid ft of the land ; and which portion they mail not fell, neither ex- change, nor alienate the firft fruits of the land ; be- caufe the land ihall be holy unto the Lord. The priefls fhall all dwell together, around the fancfuary, as I have noticed before ; and the Levites fhall have a portion, of the fame extent befide them. There they fhall dwell and increafe, and jbe an holy and happy race of beings, quite different from what they have ever been heretofore. Thus have I given you, as I promifed, a brief analyfis of the nine laft chapters of Ezekiel, fo far as they relate to facrifices, offerings, priefls, Le- vites, &c. From which I have fully proved, (if any thing can be proved) that facrifices fhall be again in ufe, and be celebrated with greater fo-lem- nity than ever. If we believe the prophecies at all, we mufl ad- mit this, fincc nothing can be plainer ; and but few fub- LECTURE XVIII. 26l fubjedts feem to have equal pains taken to fet them in a plain and clear light." I might have (hewn many other differences between the ordinances given to Mofes, and thofe in Ezekiel's prophecy, all tend- ing to (hew them not to be the fame, but purpofely varied, to prevent miftakes ; but having performed what I intended, viz. to prove that Sacrifices fhall be in ufe hereafter, even in the time of the Mille- nium, I need not add any more on this part of my fubject. What remains is, to endeavour to ac- count for this difpenfation ; to lhew its confiftency with that glorious tfate of Chriftianity that mall then take place ; and to anfwer fome objections. And here give me leave to premife, that if a fact is proved, though we cannot account for it, yet we ihould not therefore difpute its truth ; fince we are certain of the exiftence of many things that we are unable to account for. Thus if I have proved from the prophecies, in the plained manner, that Sacrifices and burnt-offerings mall be again appointed by the Lord, there can be no reafonable or folid objection railed againft the hypo- thecs, on account of my ignorance of God's inten- tion therein ; for what he hath determined to do, he will do, whether men can account for it or not : for he is not obliged to give account of his matters. And if we refolve the whole of thefe ordinances into the fovereign plcafure of the great Legiflator, I believe .none will be able, to accuie us of ading'an improper part. For if all things on earth arc his, he has cer- tainly*' 262 Led 'tires on the Prophecies. tainly a right to diipoie of them as he pleafes. I might go on in this manner to lilence all cavils, without fatisfying any. But I confefs, for my own part, that I fee, thofe reafons in the divine conduct in this inftance, that not only give me content, but even high fatlsfaction and delight. But fince God has no where exprefily declared in the fcriptures his reafons for reiloring facrifices, burnt -offerings, daily, weekly, monthly and yearly facrifices, feafts, &c, you may call the following rea- fons, my conjectures, if you pleafe ; They arc fuch as fatisfy me. 1. The Millenium appears to me as a mixed ftate, wherein heaven and earth fhall be joined, as it were, and all the difpenfations that have paft fucceflively fhall meet at once and appear in their beauty ; fo that Solomon's words may be applied to thisfubject; " That which hath been is now, and that which is to be hath already been ; and God requireth that which is pad." Ecclef. iii. 15. So that in the Millenium, all the ways in which God hath been ferved in all ages lhall be in ufe at once ; which muft appear glorious in the eyes of all beholders ; and confequently facri- fices and offerings, by which the fervants of God approached and worfhipped him for many ages, even four thoufand years, fhall be again reftored with greater glory than ever. 2. Sacrifices muft have been at fir ft immediately appointed by God himfelf; for it is impoffible that the idea mould ever have entered into the minds of men. LECTURE XVIII. 263 men, that God was well pleafed with the immolation of animals, unlefs he had revealed it. So that it ap- pears evident, that all the facrifices of the heathen took their rife from tradition, which was revelation corrupted. And the devils fought from the begin- ning, to obtain that worfhip from men that was due to God alone : Hence the origin of devil-worfhip, or image-worihip, which once almoft univerfally ob- tained in the world, and flill continues in a confide- rable part of it. Now fince it is plain, that God appointed men to approach him by facrifices and offerings formerly, when his vifible prefence was amongft them, and when he frequently converfed with them under a human form, as in the days of Adam, Enoch, Noah, Abra- ham, Mofes, Jofhua, &c. how very reafonable is it to fuppofe that when the vifible Jehovah comes to dwell on earth in his glory, and make it his conftant refidence during a thoufand years, that he will ap- point the fame medium of intercourfe as he did when he occafionally vifited and converfed with men in old times ! 3. It muft be acknowledged, that the Haying and offering facrifices, is a molt folemn and awful man- ner of approaching Jehovah, and is calculated to ftrike the minds of men with great ferioufnefs ; and efpecially, if the tokens of the divine prefence are manifefted at the time. And therefore in this light, Sacrifices appear extremely fuirable to the glory of the Millenium ; when the Lord will be really and Yifibly prefenr, L 1 4- Sacri- 264 LeElures on the Prophecies* 4. Sacrifices feem to me to have been intended to exprefs intimate communion and fellowfhip between God and his people. This was beautifully repre- fented by a part being devoured by the fire on the altar (which was a figure of the heavenly fire), and part being eaten by the priefts, and another part by the people; all combined to exprefs friendfhip and communion, If I am right in this idea, then it will naturally follow, that facrifices of this kind, will be more proper for the Millenium, than they ever were for any other period ; as then there will be greater union, friendfhip and communion between God and men, than ever was before, fince fin entered the world, 5. Sacrifices appear to me to have been of very different kinds, and ordained for very different pur- pofes. There were, under the Mofaic difpenfation, fin-offerings — trefpafs-offerings — peace-offerings — burnt offerings — free-will-offerings — facrifices of thankfgiving and praife — -offerings of enquiry — offer- ings for cleanfing, &c. Now moft of thefe appear as proper for the Millenium as for the time when they were ufed, and even more fo; and therefore mod of thefe are re-appointed in the prophecy of Ezekiel, with fuch evident variations as lhew them not to be the fame, as I have noticed before. And it is certainly reafonable that in the Millenium all the to- kensof love, gratitude,refpecl:,praife, reverence,thanks- giving, fubmiffion, and obedience, fhould be fhewn to the Lord, that can poflibly be expreffed by words LECTURE XVIII. 265 or actions ; and therefore as facrificing is one of the moft expreffive ways whereby thefe things can be reprefented, it is very reafonable to fuppofe it mull be in ufc at that time, for thofe valuable purpofes. 6. Sacrifices appear to have more immediately been in ufe under the divine Theocracy than at any other time ; and were intended, among many other things, to keep up a continual fenfe of God's pre-, fence among his people, and his protection over them, their dependence upon him for every thing they en- joyed, and a continual fear of fin and tranfgreffion, lb highly offenfive to his pure and holy eyes. Sacri- fices were alfo intended to keep the people in a ftate of internal and external purity, and to preferye them from every thing unclean. The fin and trefpafs of- ferings were not intended to deliver wilful, pre- fumptuous, bold, rebellious tranfgreflbrs from death ; but chiefly defigned to make atonement for the weak- nelTes, fins of ignorance, and infirmities of the peo- ple. Thus God always made a vaft difference be- tween fins of ignorance, infirmity, &c.-and fins of perverfenefs and rebellion ; though many men in our days feck to deftroy that diitindtion — which ex- ifts in the very nature of things, and was made by God himfclf ! Now in the Millenium the Lord will reign over all the earth, and cfpecially over the people of the houle of Jacob ; he will take them more immedi- ately under his protection than ever, he mall be with them far more manifeftly than in the days of LI 2 old; i66 Lectures on the Prophecies. old ; they fhall have a conftant dependence on him, and fhall be His fervants, fhall hold their land un- der him, and lhall pay him the tribute of facri- fices; they fhall be taught to avoid fin, and live in the greateft poffible purity, both of flelh and fpirit. Sin and trefpafs offerings fhall only be made for every one that erreth, and is. fimple, but wilful tranfgreffions fhall be punifhed with immediate death ; and thus an increafe of evil fhall be prevented, as I jfiave fhewn before. Now when it is confidered that the Millenium fhall be in every inftance much more of a divine Theocracy than ever yet was exhibited, and that the children of Ifraei fhall be that very holy people that God called, chofe, and commanded them to be of old, there can be no reafon to doubt but facrifices will take place, calculated in every refpect to correfpond with that glorious ftate in which they fhall be at that time, * 7. It muft be acknowledged, that if the Jews had not rebelled againft God, and rejected his Anointed, their city and temple would not have been deftroyed, nor their facrifices haveceafed; and there- fore, what hinders when they fhall return to the Lord, and receive the glorious Meffiah as their King, but that their former wcrfhip may be reflored to them, in all its glorious magnificence, and with a vaft addition of glory, as feveral of the prophets feem to declare } 2, God's works and ways have an infinite variety in tfiern, as wc ll as a noble {implicit}', and the greateil grandeur ; LECTURE XVIII. 267 grandeur ; and why mould not the great Supreme, amongft the variety of thofe ways in which he will "be adored in the Millenium, appoint facrificcs as one of the methods? I believe none can give any fufficient reafon to the contrary : Nay, fince God has declared that he will at that time be worfhipped in that way, and will accept the offerings of his people, we ought not to doubt it in the leaft. ' 9. The Lord always fuits his difpenfations to the different times and people when and where he intro- duces them, and therefore as he once faw good to ap- point facrifices, he may choofe the fame again ; and hfe doth all things for the belt. And certainly as he has a right to ordain ceremonies, and fufpend, change, or abrogate them at his pleafure, he may- appoint what forms of worfliip he pleafes, and who fhall fay unto him, What doeft thou ? The fubftance or elfence of true religion, always was, is now, and ever will be the fame ; but the forms have been changed, and may be again, by the fame divine au- thority as that which ordained them at firft. And if it lhall pleafe Him, who is the proper judge of all fitnefs, in the time of the Millenium, to order that the Ifraelites mail approach him by facrifices, and lhall be priclts and minifters, as it were, to the reft of mankind, who mall join with them in prayers and praifes — but perad venture not in offering facrifices, i — Who mall dare to condemn this procedure ? To me it appears more beautiful than my tongue can exprefs. jo. Covenants a68 Leflures on the Prophecies, 10. Covenants were formerly confirmed by cutting off purifiers, ilaying beads, facrificing, and eating flefh together ; and therefore how very reafonable it is to fuppofe, that when Judah and Ifrael mall again come into covenant with each other, and fhall alio join themfelves to the Lord in an everlafting cove- nant, that fhall never be forgotten, that fuch glori- ous tranfactions fhall be confirmed, and kept up*by facrifices ! 1 1 When the laws refpecYmg facrifices were given to the Israelites, they were and continued to be a blind, obftinate, and difobedient people ; and, as a body, never faw the beauty of thofe inftitutions, nor the feveral designs of them ; and even to this prefent day, the vail on their hearts remains untaken away ; fo that they have never profited by thofe ceremonies as they might have done, and as God intended they •Ihould; partly through their blindnefs and ignorance, and partly through their depravity of heart; and therefore God complains of them in all the prophets, becaufe they abufed his facrifices, either by wholly neglecting them, bringing thofe that were blemilhed, contrary to the law, giving them with grudging minds, with ill-will, or in hypocrify and deceit, or as intended to cover over grofs crimes, &c, &c. By thefe and many other God-provoking wavs which they ufed, they caufed Jehovah to hate and defpife their folemn feafts, and to reject and loath thofe very fa- crifices which he ordained ; and their fweet incenfe became an abomination to him, becaufe of their wicked* LECTURE XVIII. 269 wickednefs. But when they fhall turn to the Lord, and the vail fliall be taken away, and they fhall have new hearts and new difpofitions, it feems neceffary that facrifices lhould be again reftored, in order that they might fee their ufe and beauty, and might offer them acceptably, with pure hearts and right tem- pers, according to God's glorious defigns in the infli- tution of them at firft ; which feem never yet to have been anfwered : Nor do I fee how they can be, unlefs facrifices fhall be reftored again, and of- fered up far more acceptably than ever they have been hitherto ; as they certainly will be, according to the prophecies, when the people fhall be cleanfed. from all their filthinefs, delivered from all their blindnefs, and cured of all their obflinacy and hy- pocrify ; when they fhall willingly bring their choi- ceft offerings, exactly according to the command of God, with pure hearts, clean hands, upright difpo- fitions, finccre intentions, accompanied with all that love to God and goodnefs, which is required in order to render any ferviccs acceptable. Then ihall the offering of Judah and Jerulalem be pleafant to Jehovah, even more than in the days of old. Then fhall the flocks of Kedar, and the rams of Ne- baio h come up with acceptance upon God's altar, and he will glorify the houfe of his glory : The priefts fhall make the burnt-offerings of the people Upon the altar, and their peace-offerings, and God, even Adonai Jehovah will accept them. See Mai. iii. 4. Ila. lx. 7. Ezek. xliii. 27. 12. Sacri- 270 Lefiures on the Prophecies, 12. Sacrifices, burnt-ofTerings, &c, have been the fcom and derifion of modern infidels ; there is no part of the fcriptures that have been fo much the object of their ridicule, and reprefented fo unworthy of God as thofe palTages in the books of Mofes, that have relation to facrifices and offerings ; therefore it ap- pears to me to be abfolutely neceflary for the honour of God, and of his holy law, that facrifices be again reftored, and their defigns and ufefulnefs under- llood. God will in the end fully vindicate his cha- racter and all his ways, and therefore it feems necefla- ry that he fhould make Sacrifices to be as much ho- noured in the world as they have been defpifed. Indeed there feems almoft the fame neceflity that facrifices mould be reftored as that our Lord mould again appear on earth. He muft appear to be glorified where he fufTered fhame and difgrace ; and facrifices mud be again appointed and honoured where they have been fo much flighted, dilhonoured, and con- temned. There appears to me fufficient reafon in each of thefe obfervations to juflify the renewal of Sacrifices., how much more then in all together ! and perhaps God may have many more defigns in that difpenfati- tion than I have hinted ; but thefe having occurred to my mind, I have penned them down. I have reafon, however, to conclude by the evi- dence that appears to me, that what has been delive- red will beefteemed by molt readers not only fuffi- cient to prove that Sacrifices will be reftored, but abundantly LECTURE XVIII. 271 abundantly to juftify the wifdom and goodnefs of God in fuch an appointment. I have now only to anfwer a few objections, which perhaps may arife in the minds of fome that may hear or read thefe Lectures, or more probably will be made by fuch as have not, and will not clofely attend to the fubject. And though no poffible objection Can have fufficient force to overthrow plain prophecies|(as thefe certainly are), yet it may be well to obviate all difficulties that are likely to arife, for the fatisfaction of honeft enquirers. ObjeBlon I. The Law is faid to be the fhadow of good things to come ; but the body is of Chrift. Col. ii. 17. Heb. x. I. and, that as all the facrifices pointed to him, and were fulfilled in his death, therefore they are now abolifhed ; and confequently it is inconfiftent with the Chriftian difpenfation to fuppofe that facrifices and burnt-offerings fhall be again reftored, and continued in the world. Anfwer. (i.) Granting that all the facrifices pointed to the death of Chrift, and were fhadows of good things then to come, yet that is no hindrance to their being reftored as emblems of good things paft f by which their defigns may be better underftood than otherwife they could be. (2.) But, it is very remarkable, that thofe part", of the Law that more efpecially pointed out the death and fufferings of Chrift, and his entrance in- to heaven, as the folcmnities of the great day of M in atone- 272 LeJIures on the Prophecies. atonement, &c. are wholly omitted in Ezekiel. There is no mention made of the day of atonement, nor of any perfon under the character of the high prieft, nor of any one of the priefts being diftin- guifhed from the reft, nor that any one fhould go into the moft holy place to make atonement once a year. The priefts, the fons of Zadok, feem all alike allowed to enter into the inner court, to mini- fter there before the Lord. And though fin-offer- ings and trefpafs -offerings are to be made, yet no bodies of beafts are to be carried and burnt without the camp ; but the bullock is to be burnt in the appointed place of the houfe without the fan&uary. Ezek. xliii. 21. There is no mention made of the two goats, one to be offered as a burnt- offering, and the other as a fcape goat to be let go alive. In fact, the great day of atonement, and all the folemnities thereof, which pointed to (Thrift's fufferings, death, going without the camp to be crucified, being bu- ried in a clean place out of the city, rifing, entering into heaven, and making atonement there for fins, more than all the other facrifices of the law befides, are wholly omitted in Ezekiel's prophecy, and thofe facrifices that are there appointed, where they have any conformity to the law of Mofes, are only an- iwerable to fuch facrifices as were appointed as the common medium of communication between God and the people. But the obfervation of the paflbver will be ftill kept up, as a memorial of the deliverance of Ifracl out of Egypt, or rather in remembrance of the death of Chriit, which took place at the paff- over. LECTURE XVIII. 273 over. So that I cannot obferve any thing in the rites and ceremonies mentioned by Ezekiel, that in the leait militates againit. Chriflianity, or its glo- rious author, or the atonement of Chriit, but the contrary ; all things appear to be ordered there with the greater!: wifdom, and exactly fuited to that glo- rious difpenfation that ihall then take place. Objcftion II. But the Angel informed the prophet Daniel, that the Meffiah mould caufe the facrifice and the oblation to ceafe ; and that the city and lancxuary fhould be deftroyed. Dan. ix. 24 — 27. Anfzver. This prophecy in all its parts has been exactly ace omplifhed ; and therefore we mould be- lieve that all other prophecies fhall be accomplifhed as exactly as that hath been. Daniel's prophecy did not fay, that the facrifice and oblation fhould not be reftored, but that they mould ceafe; and they did ceafe accordingly. But the prophecy of Ezekiel has declared they ihall be in ufe when the tribes Ihall be fettled again in the land that God gave to their fathers : And fince this prophecy came by the fame authority as the other, and as Daniel's has been fo punctually fulfilled, we have no reafon to doubt but Ezekiel's ihall be as exactly accomplished. ObjeBion III. Perhaps this prophecy of Ezekiel has been fulfilled already ; or is to have a myftical interpretation put upon it ; or it may point to the kingdom of glory in heaven above. M m % Anfzver. 274 Lectures on the Prophecies. Anfwer. All thefe notions are truly ridiculous ; for thefe things are to be fulfilled when all the tribes united mall dwell in their own land, and be an holy and happy people, and the Lord fhall dwell amons; them : and as thefe things have never taken place fince, it follows that the prophecy has never been fulfilled. And as for explaining it in a myflical fenfe, fo as to fet afide the plain fenfe of the words, we might jufl as well pretend that all the laws, ftatutes, rites and ceremonies, commanded to Mofes, were only to be taken in a myftical fenfe, and were never executed, and that no facrifices ever ■were offered from the days that Ifrael came out of Egypt to the prefent time. For it is evident to all readers that the directions are as plain and particular in Ezekiel, as in any part of the books of Mofes. And as to the latter part of Ezekiel pointing to the heavenly ftate, (though fome have adopted it) there never was any thing more abfurd and ridiculous ; for there is not a chapter, nor fcarcely a verfe but con- futes the idea. There is marriage and death fpoken of, chap. xliv. as well as many other things which can- not take place in heaven ; and what has killing of bcafts, boiling and baking meat, &.c. &c, to do in a defcription of heaven and its glories ? as alio the clivifion of the land which God gave to Abraham, and the building of the temple ? whereas there is no tem- ple in the new Jcrufalem. . In truth the nine laft chapters of Ezekiel fpeak only of thofe things that fhall take place in the Mil- iniiuin; and have no allufion to any thing before nor after LECTURE XVIII. 275 after that period. And it is evident that facrifices lhall then take place by the direction of the great Lawgiver, for many important purpofes, that have been and might be mentioned. o 1 But having gone through what I propofed in this Lecture, viz, to prove that Sacrifices, burnt-offer- ings, &c. lhall be in ufe in the land of Ifrael during the Millenium, and having attempted to ihew the coniiftency of that inftitution with the Gofpel dif- penfation ; I fhall take up your attention for a few minutes, in treating of the folemnities of the great day of atonement, and mew that they were all ful- filled in the fufferings, death, refurreclion, afcen- fion and interceffion of Chrift our Lord. I have already obferved, that this part of the ceremonial difpexifation pointed to Chrift more than any part befides, and have noticed that nothing of all this is re-appointed in Ezekiel's prophecy ; wherefore it follows that the deiign of it was anfwered in Chrift, and therefore that offering which was made upon the great day of atonement hath ceafed forever. As Chrift our Saviour is the great High Prieft, and as that office was fulfilled in him, it is never to belong to any other. Therefore there is not the leaft men- tion of any high prieft in the time when facrifices are to be reftored, as I have already noticed. Now let us briefly furvey the facrifices of the great day of atonement ; and the high prieft in his coftly drefs, entering within the vail, with the blood of reconciliation in one hand, and the facred incenfe, and 2y6 LeSlures on the Prophecies. and the cenfer full of burning coals from off the altar before Jehovah in .the other; and behold all fulfilled by our great High Prieft. The law refpecYing the great day of atonement, &c. is found written in Leviticus, xvi. There we find that the high prieft was to flay a young bullock for himfelf, and a goat for the people, and to bring their blood within the vail, but their whole bodies were ordered to be burnt without the camp. The ap>ftle fpeaking of this ordinance fays, — " We have an altar whereof they have no right to " eat who ferve the tabernacle. For the bodies of t( thofe beafts whofe blood is brought into the i( fanctuary by the high prieft for fin, are burnt ring them home at laft ; for the obi efts of his love fhall all come to know his redeeming power. In the breaft-plate of Judgment was put the Urim and Thummim, which words fignify Lights and Per-r feffions ; by thefe the Mind of God was known on all occasions, but by what method I cannot pretend exactly to determine. But furely Lights and Per- fections dwell upon the heart of our Redeemer con- tinually, and he hath made known the Mind and Will of God to us, and is able to make all wife unto fal vation that enquire at his moujh, and obey his commandments. But as Aaron was to enter in where no eye could fee; him, and where it was death for any other to approach, how were the people, who were praying .without, to know that their high prieft was not flruck dead ? how were they to gain the know- ledge that God bad accepted him on their behalf? For the time of his being concealed from their fight muft have been a period of painful anxious fufpenfe, nnlefs fome certain fign or true token was given, whereby they might know that he was alive, and accepted before the throne of God, even the mercy- feat. For who would have dared to draw the cur-- t*in, op peep within the facred vail, where one look vvould have been immediately puniftied with death? " ' Tq LECTURE XVIII. l3t To prevent this difficulty, there were artificial pomegranates, and golden bells placed between them, on the hem of the robe round about ; fome fuppofe that there were feventy-twa bells ; I know not their number, but their ufe was plain, viz. that by the found of them during the time of the high prieft's miniftration in the holy place, the people without might be allured that he was alive, and was accepted with God on their behalf. When he entered in before Jehovah, he firft took a cehfer full of burning coals from off the altar, and took his hands full of fweet tncenfe, and put it upon the fire before Jehovah ; this caufed a cloud of in- cenfe, fmoke, and fweet perfume to rife and cover the' mercy-feat, to the end that he lhould not die : Then he took the blood of the* bullock, and with the greateft poflible reverence fprinkled it upon the mercy -feat, eaftward, and before the mercy-feat feven times : Then the Lord by fome gracious fign fhewed the prieft that he accepted him and his of- fering, at which perhaps he leaped for joy, which caufed the found of the golden bells to be heard among the people ; by which they knew that their prieft. was alive. When this was done, he came out of the moil holy place,? but not into the fight of the people, but be- tween the vails; these he flew the goat for the fin. Offering of the people/ and brought his blood into' the moft holy place within the vail, and fprinkled it, as he did the blood of the bullock ; then he came N n 2 again- 282 LeBtires on the Prophecies. again into the tabernacle and put fome of the blood both of the bullock and of the goat upon the horns of the altar round about, and fprinkled of the blood upon it with his finger feven times. All this time he was to remain unfeen by the people ; but the found of the golden bells continued to be heard as he went into and out of the moft holy place, fo that the people knew that he Was alive, as certainly as if they had beheld him with their eyes. Thus when our glorious Redeemer and great High Prieft was about to afcend out of the fight of his difciples, and to enter into Heaven itfelf, the holieft of all places, of which the holy places under the Law were but faint figures, he gave them a fign, by which they might know that he had entered and obtained acceptance there ; viz. the promife of the Holy Ghoft ; and he flriclly commanded them to tarry at Jerufalem till they mould be endued with power from on high, St Luke, xxiv. 49. " And " being affembled together with them, commanded " them that they ihould not depart from Jerufalem, " but wait for the promife of the Father, which il (faith he) ye have heard of me." Ads i. 4. This command they obeyed, and all continued with one accord in prayer and fupplication, waiting to hear from their Lord. They remained in a kind of fufpenfe during ten days, . But when the great and glorious day of Pentecofl was fully come, as they were all with one accord in one place, fudden- ly there came a found from heaven, as of a ruining mighty LECTURE XVIII. 2§3 mighty wind, which filled all the houfe where they were fitting, and there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, which fat upon each of them. " And they were all filled with the HolyGhoft, and " begun to fpeak with other tongues, as the Spirit " gave them utterance." Acts, ii. i, 2, 3, 4. By this they knew as well that their Lord was entered into heaven, and had made reconciliation for iniqui- ty, and had obtained acceptance, and received gifts for men, as though they had beheld the whole fcene with their eyes, or as well as the congregation knew that Aaron was alive, Sec. by the found of the gol- den bells. Then they could boldly fay, •* This " Jefus hath God raifed up, whereof we are wit- " nefles. Therefore being by the right hand of " God exalted, and having received of the Father " the promife -of the Holy Ghoft, he hath med " forth this which ye now fee and hear." Verfes 32, 33- Then they proclaimed the Gofpcl to men; the found of which is more fw r eet, lovely and plealant, than Aaron's golden bells could be, and far exceeds the moft charming mufick : and wherever the gofpel is preached it is known that our great High-Prieft lives to rrTake intercetlion for us in heaven above. Oh ! the charming founds of Good Will ! Peace ! Pardon ! Love ! Wiidom ! Power ! Redemption ! Reconciliation ! Salvation ! What delightful news it is to hear that Jesus who was once dead, is alive, and lives for evermore, and has 284 Leftures on the Prophecies. has the keys of hell and death, and that all power in- heaven and earth, is given unto him ! It is enough : Jesus is alive ! and he hath opened a new and living way into the holieft of all, by his own blood, fo that we may come to God by him, and not be confumed.' I will only notice one thing, more in Aaron's drefs ; and that is, that there was a plate of pure gold upon the mitre on his forehead, upon which thefe words were engraved, " Holiness to Jehovah." This he was always to have upon his forehead when he went into the holy place, that fo the people might be accepted before Jehovah. If Ifrael's tribes were accepted before God on the account of Aaron's having thefe words on his fore- head, how much more reafon have we to hope for acceptance with God through the obedience, death, refurredlion, afcenfion, and inter cefhon of him, who was fuch an High-Prieft, as well became us, was fuitable to our needs, who was holy, harmlefs, unde- fined, feparate from finners, and made higher than the heavens ! Heb. vii. 26. The purity, perfection, and holinefs of our Redee- mer's life can neverbe fet forth : Holiness to Teho- vah, was the language of all the tempers of his heart, all his thoughts, words, and actions. And it is the nature of his religion to make men holy, and without blame before him in love ; and the followers of the Lamb are called, and chofen to be holy. " As he " who hath called you is holy, fo be ye holy in all " manner LECTURE XVIII. 2&*~ ct manner of converfation : becaufe it is written, Be u ye holy ; for I am holy." i Pet. i. 15. 16. Let us therefore follow " Holinefs, without which no M man fhall fee the Lord." Heb. xii. 14. As Jefus could not have been our Saviour unlefs he had been holy, fo.we cannot be faved but by being made holy, and conformed to him. I have made thefe few obfervations upon the facri- fiees of the great day of atonement, and the high prieft's entering into the holy place, with blood, fire, and incenfe, dreft and adorned with his glorious and beautiful garments, &c. wherein I have defigned to ihcw that the whole of that fervice pointed to Chrift, and was fulfilled in and by him, in his fufferings, death, refurrection, afcenfion into heaven, and inter- ceffion there. And therefore nothing of the kind is mentioned in the prophecy of Ezekiel, where the new appointment of facrifices is fpoken of. The offerings in the glorious Millenium mall have their many ex- cellent ufes, but fhall in no wife interfere with that one, full, fufficient, and perfedt oblation and facriiice of our Lord, whereby he hath forever perfected them that are fanctified. But as the blood of bulls and goats, and the alhes of an heifer fprinkled upon the unclean, fancYified of old to the purifying of the flein, the fame means may be ufed again for the fame pur- pofes. And facrifices and burnt-offerings may be died according to the divine appointment, for the pur- pofes of expreffing gratitude, thankfulncls, and obedi- ence to God. Enough 286 LeElures on the Prophecies* Enough I hope has been faid to prove, that the fa- crifices fpoken of by the prophets, that fhall take place in the Millenium, are not inconfiftent with what our Saviour hath done and differed, or what his holy Apoitles have "written upon the fubjedt. • Confcious in myfelf that I have fincerely deiired in this Lecture to fpeak to the honour of God and his word, as revealed in the Law, Prophets, and the Gofpel, lam not greatly concerned at the Judgment thaf unthinking men may pafs upon what I have faid, but chearfully commit it to the bleffing of the Lord, and leave it to your ferious confideration. END OF THE EIGHTEENTH LECTURE, ( 287 ) LECTURE XIX. the great Respecl with which the Descendants of Jacob shall be treated by all People : And some Observations upon their History, and the Prophecies concerning them* Isaiah, xllx. 22, 23.. it npHUS faith Adonai JEHOVAH, Behold ■*■ I will lift up mine hand to the Gentiles, ", and fet up my ftandard to the people : and they M (hall bring thy fons in their arms, and thy daugh- " ters (hall be carried upon their moulders. And 11 kings fliall be thy nurfing fathers, and their <( queens thy nurfing mothers : they lhall bow down « c to thee with their face toward the earth, and lick ie up the duft of thy feet ; and thou (halt know " that I am Jehovah : for they (hall not be aihamed «« that wait for me." Vol. II. O o Isaiah 288 LeSiurei on the Prophecies. Isaiah lx. 3, 4, 5. 10, if, 12. 14, 15, 16. " And the Gentiles fliall come to thy light, and ec kings to the brightnefs of thy rifing. Lift up ec thine eyes round about, and fee ; all they gather " themfelves together, they come to thee : thy fons " fliall come from far, and thy daughters fhall be ' ' nurfed at thy fide. Then thou mart fee, and flow " together, and thine heart fhall fear and be en- " larged ; becaufe the abundance of the fea fhall be cc converted unto thee, the forces of the Gentiles n fhall come unto thee. t{ And the fons of flrangers fhall build up thy xe walls, and their kings fhall minifter unto thee : " for in my wrath I fmote thee, but in my favour <( have I had mercy on thee. Therefore thy gates iC fliall be open continually ; they fhall not be fhut cc day nor night ; that men may bring unto thee