salvation; and will issue in the complete redemption of the church, at and after the day of judgment. He who reads this prophecy with care and discerning will be convinced of the truth of these observations; and in any other view, great part of it cannot be understood.

Only part of the many prophecies of the glory and extent of the kingdom of Christ in this world, which are contained in this book, will be now mentioned, as those which are most express and clear, with reference to the subject in view. They who attentively read this prophecy will find many more which refer to the

same event.

"And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the Lord's house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it. And many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob, and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths; for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. And he shall judge among the nations, and shall rebuke many people: And they shall beat their swords into ploughshares, and their spears into pruning hooks: Nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more."* It is certain that this prophecy has not been yet fulfilled, except in a very small degree, as the beginning, and first fruits of it.

"And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a branch shall grow out of his roots. And the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of knowledge, and of the fear of the Lord: And shall make him of quick understanding in the fear of the Lord, and he shall not judge after the sight of his eyes, neither reprove after the hearing of his ears. But with righteousness shall he judge the poor, and reprove with equity, for the meek of the earth: And he shall smite the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips shall he slay the wicked. And righteousness shall be the girdle of his loins, and faithfulness the girdle of his reins. The wolf also shail dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf, and the young lion, and the fatling together, and a little child shall lead them. And the cow and the bear shall feed; their young ones shalì lie down together: And the lion shall eat straw like the ox. The sucking child shall play on the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the cockatrice' den. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain: For the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea."t This is evidently a prophecy of Christ, and his kingdom on earth. He shall judge and reprove for the meek of the earth, and slay all the wicked on earth, that the meek may inherit it; which is exactly agreeable to the forementioned prophecy in the Isaiah ii. 2, 3, 4. † Chap. xi. 1-9.

thirty seventh Psalm. "Evil doers shall be cut off, and yet a little while and the wicked shall not be ; but the meek shall inherit the earth; and delight themselves in the abundance of peace." And this universal peace and harmony among men, which shall take place at that time is expressed in the prophecy before us, in very strong, figurative language; by the wolf dwelling with the lamb, &c-And the ground and reason of this is given. "For the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea" By the knowledge of the Lord is meant true religion, or real christianity, which consists most essentially in benevolence and goodness, as has been shown. So far as this takes place, love, peace, and the most happy concord and union are promoted; and every thing contrary to this suppressed and banished. Therefore, when this shall take place universally among men, and fill the earth, as the waters cover the sea, there will be nothing to destroy or hurt, but universal safety, peace, and love. No such time has ever been yet known. The true knowledge of God has been so far from filling the earth, that gress darkness has covered much the greatest part of it; and real christianity has been confined to narrow bounds; and but very few of mankind have attained to the character of true christians, even where the gospel has been published. And a horrible scene of oppression, cruelty, war and murder, has spread all over the earth; and will continue to do so, until Christ shall arise and smite the earth with the rod of his mouth, and slay the wicked with the breath of his lips; and cause the earth to be filled with the knowledge of God. Such a happy time is yet future, and will certainly come.

The twenty fifth chapter contains a prophecy of the same event, some of which is worthy to be transcribed. "And in this mountain shall the Lord of hosts make unto all people a feast of fat things, a feast of wine on the lees, of fat things full of marrow, of wines on the lees, well refined. And he will destroy in this mountain the face of the covering cast over all people, and the veil that is spread over all nations. He will swallow up death in victory, and the Lord God will wipe away tears from off all faces, and the rebuke of his people shall he take away from off all the earth; for the Lord hath spoken it. And it shall be said in that day, Lo, this is our God, we have waited for him, and he will save us This is the Lord, we have waited for him, we will be glad, and rejoice in his salvation.”

The gospel is here represented by a rich feast; and it is promised that all people and nations shall have their eyes opened to see it ; and all reproach and opposition to the church of Christ shall be taken away from off all the earth; and there shall be universal joy in the salvation, for which the church has long waited, and which shall come in the last day.

"Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith your God. Speak comfortably to Jerusalem, and cry unto her, that her warfare is -accomplished, that her iniquity is pardoned: For she hath re

ceived of the Lord's hand double for all her sins. The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, prepare ye the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a high way for our God. Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low; and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places plain. And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together: For the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it."*

This is a prophecy of the times of the gospel, as it is thus applied in the New Testament. It does refer to the first introduc tion and the coming of Christ into the world; but is not confined to this: It gives a comprehensive view of this great salvation, and the favour and glory which is to come to the church of Christ in this world, and looks forward to the day when the glory of the Lord shall be so revealed, that all flesh, that is, all nations, all mankind, shall see it together. This has not yet been fulfilled; but is to be accomplished in a time yet to come, when " The earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea."t All that precedes this day is preparatory to it, as the ministry of John the Baptist was an introduction to it, and more immediately prepared the way for Christ.

From the beginning of the fortieth chapter of Isaiah, to the end of the sixty sixth chapter, with which his prophecy closes, there is almost one continued series of predictions and promises of good, salvation, happiness and glory to the church of Christ, which have principal reference to the latter day, when the Millennium shall take place; and when they will have their chief accomplishment. It will be sufficient to answer the end now proposed, to mention the following passages.

Salvation by Christ is frequently represented as actually extended to the ends of the earth, which has not yet been accomplished. "Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth; for I am God, and there is none else. And he said, it is a light thing that thou shouldest be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob, and to restore the preserved of Israel: I will also give thee for a light to the Gentiles, that thou mayest be my salvation unto the end of the earth. The Lord hath made bare his holy arm in the eyes of all nations, and all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of our God." The same phrase is used by the prophet Micah. "And he shall stand and feed in the strength of the Lord, in the majesty of the name of the Lord his God, and they shall abide for now shall he be great unto the ends of the earth."S

The sixtieth chapter of Isaiah is filled with comfort and promises to the church, as also are the preceding chapters. The following expressions may be particularly noted. "Arise, shine, for thy light is come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee. For behold the darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the people; but the Lord shall arise upon thee, and his * Isaiah xl. 1, &c. Hab. ii. 14. Isa. xlv. 22. xlix. 6. lii. 10. Chap. v. 4.

glory shall be seen upon thee. The Gentiles shall come to thy light, and kings to thy rising. Therefore, thy gates shall be open continually, they shall not be shut day nor night, that men may bring unto thee the forces of the Gentiles, and that their kings may be brought. For the nation and kingdom that will not serve thee shall perish: Yea, those nations shall be utterly wasted." No such event has been yet. When this shall take place, all nations, all mankind, must belong to the church; for all others shall be utterly wasted. The same thing is foretold by the prophet Zechariah.

*

The sixty first chapter of Isaiah is on the same subject, and the sixty second throughout. Upon such promises made to the church, she breaks forth into joy and praise, in the prospect of the good that is coming to her. "I will greatly rejoice in the Lord, my soul shall be joyful in my God; for he hath clothed me with the garments of salvation; he hath covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decketh himself with ornaments, and as a bride adorneth herself with jewels. For as the earth bringeth forth her bud, and as the garden causeth the things that are sown in it to spring forth; so the Lord God will cause righteousness and praise to spring forth before all nations.” "For Zion's sake, I will not hold my peace, and for Jerusalem's sake, I will not rest, until the righteousness thereof go forth as brightness, and the salvation thereof as a lamp that burneth. And the Gentiles shall see thy righteousness, and all kings thy glory And thou shalt be called by a new name, which the mouth of the Lord shall name. I have set watchmen upon thy walis, O Jerusalem, which shall never hold their peace day nor night Ye that make mention of the Lord, keep not silence, and give him no rest, till he establish, and till he make Jerusalem a praise in the earth. Go through, go through the gates; prepare you the way of the people; cast up, cast up the highway, gather out the stones, lift up a standard for the people. Behold, the Lord hath proclaimed unto the end of the world, Say ye to the daughter of Zion, Behold, thy salvation cometh; behold, his reward is with him, and his work before him. And they shall call them, The holy people, the redeemed of the Lord: And thou shalt be called, Sought out, A city not forsaken." "Who hath heard such a thing! Who hath seen such things? Shall the earth be made to bring forth in one day, or shall a nation be born at once? For as soon as Zion travailed, she brought forth her children. Shall I bring to the birth. and not cause to bring forth? saith the Lord. Shall I cause to bring forth, and shut the womb? saith thy God Rejoice ye with Jerusalem, and be glad with her, all ye that love her; rejoice for joy with her, all ye that mourn for her: That ye may suck, and be satisfied with the breasts of her consolations; that ye may milk out, and be delighted with the abundance of her glory. For thus saith the

Chap. iii. 14-19.

† Įsa. Ixii. 1, 2, 6, 7, 10, 11, 12.

Lord, Behold, I will extend peace to her like a river, and the glory of the Gentiles like a flowing stream."*

In the prophecy of Jeremiah, the following passages are found, which predict the utter abolition of idolatry on earth, and the conversion of all nations to christianity, which events have not yet come to pass. "At that time they shall call Jerusalem (i. e. the church) the throne of the Lord, (i. e. the Lord shall reign in and by it.) And all nations shall be gathered unto it, to the name of the Lord, to Jerusalem; (i. e. shall become members of the church) Neither shall they walk any more after the imagination of their evil heart." They shall wholly renounce their idolatry, and all their wickedness. "Thus shall ye say unto them, The gods that have not made the heavens and the earth, even they shall perish from the earth, and from under those heavens. They are vanity, and the work of errors. In the time of their visitation they shall perish." According to this prophecy, this will take place while this earth and the heavens remain, and therefore before the day of judgment.

This subject is set in a very clear light in the book of Daniel the prophet. It is there repeatedly declared that the church or kingdom of Christ, shall be the last kingdom on earth; that it shall succeed four preceding monarchies, become great, and fill the world, and exist in a very happy and glorious state on earth. By the dream of Nebuchadnezzar, and the interpretation of it in the second chapter of Daniel, the kingdom of Christ is set in this light. The image which Nebuchadnezzar saw represents four kingdoms or monarchies, viz. 1. The Babylonian. 2. The Medo Persian, or that of the Medes and Persians. 3. The Macedonian or Grecian. 4. The Roman. These are all to pass away and be destroyed, to make way for a fifth kingdom, which shall be great, and fill the world; which is described in the dream, by the following words: "Thou sawest till a stone was cut out without hands, which smote the image upon his feet that were of iron and clay, and break them in pieces. Then were the iron, the clay, the brass, the silver and gold, broken to pieces together, and became like the chaff of the summer threshing floors, and the wind carried them away, that no place was found for them. And the stone that smote the image became a great mountain, and filled the whole earth." This is interpreted by Daniel in the following words: "And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed And the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces, and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand forever. Forasmuch as thou sawest that the stone was cut out of the mountain without hands, and that it broke in pieces the iron, the brass, the clay, the silver and gold, the great God hath made known to the king what shall come to pass hereafter." That this last kingdom is the kingdom of Christ, there

Isa. lxvi. 8, 9, 10, 11, 12. Jer. iii. 17. Chap. x. 11, 15.