of the Mahomedans, of the Jews, and of the multitudes of merely nominal Christians; in a word, it implies the universal knowledge and reception of the truth, and a universal submission to the authority of Christ.

When all this takes place; when the millions of Europe and of Asia shall renounce their idolatry and their various forms of false religion, and embrace the holy precepts of the gospel; when Ethiopia shall stretch out her hands unto God; when the isles shall all receive his law; when every family in our vast continent shall be blest with the Bible, and with a disposition to make the right use of it; and when the whole church thus enlarged shall cease vain wrangling, and love as brethren; then may Jerusalem be said to be esta blished; and then, too, will she be a praise in all the earth. There will be nothing like her for beauty, and grandeur, and glory under the whole heavens. 2. I NOW PROCEED TO SHOW, THAT IT IS THE PURPOSE OF GOD TO ACCOM

PLISH ALL THIS FOR HIS CHURCH.

He has said that Christ must reign until He has put all enemies under his feet; that He shall have dominion from sea to sea and from the river to the ends of the earth. Yea, all kings shall bow down before Him and all nations shall serve Him. From the rising of the sun unto the going down of the same, my name shall be great among the Gentiles, and in every place incense shall be offered unto my name and a pure offering. The same is predicted by the prophet Daniel. After speaking of the rise and fall of other kingdoms in succession, until he came to the Roman Empire, he says, In the days of these kings shall the God of Heaven set up a kingdom which shall stand for ever. The commencement of this kingdom he thus describes: I saw-and behold one like the Son of Man, came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days, and they brought him near before him. And there was given him dominion, and glory and a kingdom, that all people, nations and languages should serve him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed. After predicting in these general terms the kingdom of the Messiah, he goes on to speak of other kingdoms which would arise, and especially of one distinguished from the rest by striking peculiarities, and which would continue for a limited time, at the end of which it would be utterly destroyed. Then, i. e. subsequent to the destruction of this kingdom, a glorious scene opens before the eye of the prophet, which corresponds with all we have stated as being implied in the universal establishment of the kingdom of Christ. This vision therefore claims particular attention, as being immediately connected with our subject. The four great Empires which stand most conspicuously on the page of ancient history, were exhibited to the prophet under the emblem of four great beasts,--the first of which was devoured by the second, the second by the third, and the third by the fourth. Being solicitous to know something further respecting the fourth beast, which was diverse from all the rest, his heavenly interpreter proceeded to give him the desired information. The fourth beast, said he, shall be the fourth kingdom upon earth, which shall be diverse from all kingdoms, and shall devour the whole earth, and shall tread it down and break it in pieces. And the ten horns out of this kingdom are ten kings that shall arise; and another shall arise after them; and he shall be diverse from the first, and he shall subdue

three kings. This fourth kingdom was unquestionably the Roman Empire, for the prophet was expressly informed that the first was the Babylonian, the second the Medo-Persian, the third the Grecian; and we know the Roman Empire followed next, and devoured the whole earth, and trod it down and broke it in pieces; i. e. it subdued all other kingdoms, so that Rome was proudly called "the mistress of the world." So far, there can be no mistake. It is equally certain that as the Roman Empire declined and fell, ten kingdoms arose out of it. Another fact which authentic history records, is, that when the Roman Pontiff assumed temporal power, his dominions embraced three of these kingdoms. The conclusion from this fact is obvious, and cannot be evaded. It is, that all which the prophet says respecting this singular power, that should subdue three kings and possess their dominions, is to be applied to the pope of Rome; or to that kingdom of which he is the head. And what does the prophet say of him?-He shall speak great words against the Most High. This is explained by the apostle Paul, when speaking of the same personage; whom he calls the man of sin and son of perdition; who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God. The lofty and blasphemous pretensions of the Pope fully correspond with this prediction; and no other character recorded in history will correspond with it.-Moreover, "he shall make war with the saints of the Most High, and wear them out." The unremitted persecution of

all within the reach of his power, who dared to think and act for themselves in matters of religion; a persecution extending through centuries, in which more than fifty millions of human beings, have been sacrificed; this is the appalling fact, which corresponds to the above prediction. Thus have the saints of the Most High been worn out and the terrible process is going on still, though less extensively, and with less publicity; for the Inquisition is to this day in full operation in Spain; and a similar power is employed for similar purposes, in other places, though without the name. But let the heavens be glad and let the earth rejoice, that this kingdom is now waning, and is soon to end. The prophet was informed that it would exist only for a time, times, and the dividing of time; i. e. for three and a half prophetical years, which, as this expression is explained in the Apocalypse, amount to 1260 years. Learned men have fixed upon several different periods, for the commencement of this power, or of the reign of antichrist, as it is also called. My object, however, does not require any minute calculations. Take any one of the periods fixed upon, and add to it 1260 years, and you will get a result which would not reach far beyond the period of time to which we have now arrived. And when that time shall come, the glorious change will take place for which we are required in the text to pray for Daniel says, I beheld, and the same horn, or power, made war with the saints and prevailed against them; until the Ancient of days came, and judgment was given to the saints of the Most High, and the time came that the saints possessed the kingdom. Again-he says, the saints shall be given into his hands, until a time, and times, and the dividing of time. But the judgment shall set, and they shall take away his dominion, to consume and destroy it unto the end. And the kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the kingdom under the

whole heaven, shall be given to the people of the saints of the Most High ; whose kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey Him.

The apostle Paul says, the Lord shall consume this wicked one with the breath of his mouth, and shall destroy him with the brightness of his coming. And the apostle John represents the destruction of the same power, as being sudden and terrible, beyond all human description: (Rev. xviii.) But before this awful catastrophe, a voice is heard from Heaven, saying, Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues; for her sins have reached unto Heaven, and God hath remembered her iniquities. These tremendous judgments, inflicted upon the power which has so long corrupted the church of God, and wasted the saints, will make way for the universal diffusion of the Gospel. This is predicted in the two next chapters; (xix and xx.) And while great Babylon comes in remembrance before God, to receive the cup of the wine of the fierceness of his wrath, the false prophet is not forgotten. Both are to be cast into the lake burning with fire and brimstone. That is, the Mahomedan power in the East, will be destroyed as well as the papal power in the West; and the two events, it would seem, are to be cotemporaneous; or the one speedily to follow the other. Moreover, according to Zechariah xiv. 4, the destruction of the Mahomedan power, represented by the cleaving asunder of a mountain, will be immediately followed by the return of the Jews to Palestine, (v. 5), and their conversion to Christianity; (v. 9, compared with Ezek. xxxvi. 24—28). And when the Jews shall be brought in, we know the fulness of the Gentiles will be gathered also. And there appears to be a high degree of probability, that the Jews, when converted, will be made instruments of blessing the world. Their history alone, in connexion with the prophecies respecting them, will be equivalent to a thousand miracles in proof of the divine inspiration of the Bible. Infidelity will thus be silenced. And, besides, having been so widely dispersed, and having a knowledge of the languages and customs of all nations, among whom they have been scattered, the Jews will be eminently qualified to become missionaries at once: and thus, perhaps, will that prophecy in Zech. xiv. 8, be - remarkably fulfilled: And it shall be in that day that living waters shall go out of Jerusalem. May not these living waters mean the blessings of the gospel, which will be carried to all nations by the Jews after their conversion? Whether this opinion be correct or not, the next verse describes a state of things which we might reasonably suppose would be the result of such a movement:—And it shall be in that day that living waters shall go out of Jerusalem :-and the Lord shall be king over all the earth. In that day shall there be one Lord and his Name one. This can mean nothing less than the universal prevalence of one religion; or the universal establishment of the kingdom of Christ. He is to be KING over all the earth; for all kings shall bow down before Him, and all nations shall serve Him. If this is not predicted, then nothing can be certainly gathered from the language of prophecy. It is, therefore, the purpose of God to establish Jerusalem and to make her a praise in the earth.

men.

3. IN ACCOMPLISHING THIS WORK, GOD WILL EMPLOY HUMAN AGENCY. The command to evangelize the nations was given, not to angels, but to Go ye, and preach the gospel to every creature.-Go ye, and teach all nations. Again, the Savior says to his disciples, Ye are the light of the world.-Ye are the salt of the earth: i. e. you are to be the instruments of enlightening, and purifying, and saving the world. But, in order to answer this description, and to execute this high commission, Christians must be a peculiar people; they must have a distinct character; a character as distinct from that of the world, as light is from darkness. If a lighted candle did not produce an effect essentially different from darkness, it would not answer the purpose for which it is intended. Darkness would never enlighten itself. Before a wise man makes use of an instrument, he will see that it is fitted for the purpose which he intends to accomplish by it. And God has revealed it as his purpose, to fit his church for the great work which He intends to accomplish by her instrumentality. Accordingly we find in the prophecy of Daniel, that after the sanctuary or the church has been polluted and trodden under foot, i. e. in a state of comparative corruption and depression, for 2300 prophetical days, it is to be purified: Then shall the sanctuary be cleansed; (Dan. viii. 13, 14.) And this must be antecedent to the time referred to in the prophecy already considered, when the saints of the Most High shall take the kingdom and possess it for ever and ever. THE CHURCH THEN IS TO BE PURIFIED, BEFORE SHE WILL BE THUS EXALTED. This conclusion from the prophecy of Daniel, accords with the still clearer prediction of Isaiah. The sixtieth chapter of his prophecy contains the most striking representation of that state of the church to which the text refers, that is to be found in the Bible. It commences thus: Arise, shine! for thy light is come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee. For behold, darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the people, but the Lord shall arise upon thee, and his glory shall be seen upon thee. This is doubtless before the millennium; because the inhabitants of the earth are represented as being covered with gross darkness, excepting the church; which becomes so luminous, as to be an object of admiration and wonder to the nations: an event which was typified by the light shining upon Israel in the land of Goshen, while all the land of Egypt around was covered with darkness. The difference between the church and the world must then be very great, and the EFFECT will be correspondent. "The Gentiles shall come to thy light, and kings to the brightness of thy rising." But a vast change must. take place in the character of the church before the glory of the Lord can be seen upon her, as here predicted. The glory of the natural sun is seen upon an object, when that object reflects the light of the sun. It must be the same kind of light which it receives, although its intensity and brilliancy. may be in a measure abated. So the church must reflect God's moral image, in order that his glory may be seen upon her. But how is this to be done? The explanation is easy. The Lord Jesus is the brightness of the Father's glory, and the express image of his person: or, according to Professor Stuart, the radiance of his glory, and the exact image of his substance. He is also spoken of as the Sun of righteousness: Unto you that fear my name shall the Sun of righteousness arise. This promise is fulfilled; the Sur

of righteousness is now shining; and every one upon whom his light shines is required to reflect that light, clearly and distinctly; or, in the language of the apostle, we are required to be conformed to the image of the Son of God; to have the same mind, and to follow his steps. Every advance, therefore, which the church makes in holiness, or in conformity to the image of Christ, is an approximation towards that character which she must attain, to be fitted for the great work to which she is called; or, in other words, it is an approximation towards that state of things, which must precede and prepare the way for the millennium. Every genuine revival of religion tends to this result; every victory which truth gains over error has the same tendency. This then is the point to which the minds of all Christians ought to be turned; and on which they who make mention of the Lord ought not to keep silence: for if this be not gained, nothing will be gained. The church will not be established, and made a praise in the earth, until fitted for this distinguished honor. The work of converting the world must, according to the revealed purpose of God, be done by her; and yet it will not be done, until she be fitted for the work. This fitness then, is the first grand object to be attained. Let all Christians and ministers consider this; and let them pray, and preach, and labor, with this object distinctly in view; and never imagine that the distribution of Bibles and tracts, the multiplication of ministers, the extension of the sabbath and infant school systems, or any other means will avail, while the church remains darkened by error, and deformed by sin. On the contrary, let genuine revivals of religion be extended, until the spirit of the Gospel shall pervade the whole church let truth gain its victories over error, until all professed believers shall be sanctified through the truth, and conformed to the image of the divine Savior; and then the glory of God will be so seen upon the church, that the happy effects here predicted will follow :-The Gentiles shall come to thy light, and kings to the brightness of thy rising. Lift up thine eyes round about and see; all they gather themselves together; they come unto thee; thy sons shall come from far, and thy daughters shall be nursed at thy side.-The abundance of the sea shall be converted unto thee; the forces of the Gentiles shall come unto thee.-Surely the isles shall wait for me; and the ships of Tarshish first, to bring thy sons from far, their silver and their gold with them, unto the name of the Lord thy God, and to the Holy One of Israel, for He hath glorified thee. And the sons of strangers shall build up thy walls, and kings shall minister unto thee.—The glory of Lebanon shall come unto thee, the fir-tree, the pine-tree, and the box together, to beautify the place of my sanctuary; and I will make the place of my feet glorious. The sons also of them that afflicted thee shall come bending unto thee; and all they that despised thee shall bow themselves down at the soles of thy feet; and they shall call thee the City of the Lord; the Zion of the Holy One of Israel. Whereas thou hast been forsaken and hated, so that no man went through thee, I will make thee an eternal excellency, a joy of many generations. I will also make thine officers peace, and thine exactors righteousness. Violence shall no more be heard in thee; wasting nor destruction within thy borders; but thou shalt call thy walls salvation, and thy gates praise. The sun shall be no more thy light by day: neither for brightness shall the moon