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Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him." What, then, my brethren, may we expect will be our feelings of joy when we come to stand on Mount Zion above with Jesus Christ; when we shall sing the song, with all the redeemed," Great and marvellous are thy works, Lord God Almighty, just and true are thy ways, thou King of saints!" and "to him that hath loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood, and hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father," and we shall reign with him forever? Then will light, indeed, break in out of darkness, and our afflictions will become occasions of the most ardent gratitude. We shall then find that all the way in which the Lord our God hath led us was "the right way to a city of habitation." Keep, my dear brethren, the path of duty, and he will support you in it. In all your path walk closely with God. knowledge him," and then nothing is to be dreaded. Cultivate more communion and fellowship with him, and soon, very soon, the sorrows of this world will be commuted into joy, for "in his light shall we see light." And it will give us infinite pleasure to look back from that elevated spot on Mount Zion, when we become "pillars in his temple, never more to go out;" when we shall be satisfied, awaking in his likeness, and shall spend a blessed eternity in worshipping Him that sitteth upon the throne, and the Lamb, forever and ever. Amen

"Ac

VIII.

THE PROPHECY OF JACOB RESPECTING SHILOH.* GENESIS, xlix., 10: The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and to him shall the gathering of the people be.

[Preached at Broadmead, Bristol, August 10, 1828.]

THE Holy Spirit inspired the ancient saints especially in their dying hours; and whether it be that the solemnity of the scene enhances the impression, or that the effect of dying words is greater, what has been uttered under such circumstances has been usually received and retained with peculiar reverence, and at times adopted by others on similar occasions. A striking resemblance may be observed between the prophecies of Jacob, recorded in the chapter which contains the text, and the predictions of Moses respecting the destinies of the several tribes, as recorded in the close of Deuteronomy.

I. It will be proper, first, to consider the prophecy and its fulfilment. Until the period at which it was delivered, the nation of Israel was not divided into tribes; but from this period it was always so divided. The prophecy asserts that the sceptre should not depart from the tribe of Judah until a personage here denominated Shiloh should appear.

From the notes of Rev. T. Grinfield.

1. What we are to understand by the term " sceptre," as here employed, is the whole question: whether it relates to regal authority, as some suppose. This appears improbable for, in the first place, the regal sceptre was not specially placed in the tribe of Judah, and could not be said to depart from that tribe more than another : secondly, Saul was of the tribe of Benjamin, not of Judah; neither were the Maccabeans of Judah's tribe. Sceptre" here denotes a staff of office; each tribe had its rod of power, and the meaning is, that the authority of a tribe should remain in Judah until the period specified should arrive.

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After the three captivities, the ten tribes, which had been separated from those of Judah and Benjamin in the reign of Rehoboam, were lost and blended among the nations. But Judah and Benjamin, thenceforward regarded as one tribe, still possessed its rod of authority; and hence the name of Jew, derived from Judah, was used to mark the whole nation. Judah remained as a separate people during the captivity at Babylon.

2. The term "lawgiver" must be limited in its interpretation by the term "sceptre." While there was one supreme law giver in Israel, "the rulers of Israel" are frequently mentioned in the New Testament. Within forty years after the death of Christ, the sceptre, the lawgiver, did depart; since that period, every trace of political power has departed from Judah, and yet has it remained separate from all the nations.*

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3. Concerning the meaning of the term "Shiloh," which occurs only in the text, various opinions have been proposed: the most probable is that it denotes the Peacemaker; Jesus Christ, who came (as the angels celebrated His nativity) to give peace on earth;" or, as others think, it may mark Him as "sent," and thus be taken as the same word with "Siloam," which the evangelist interprets as "sent." He continually spoke of Himself as one whom God had "sent." But the former appears to me the better meaning. Jews and Christians unanimously apply the term "Shiloh" to the Messiah.

4 The prophecy proceeds to state that "to Him shall the gathering of the people be;" words which express the dependance of faith, the allegiance of hope, which would centre in the promised Lord of all : Jesus Christ is the bond of a new society on earth! The word "people" is never used in the prophecies to mean the Jews, but always the Gentiles, whose accession to the Church of Christ is thus announced in the text. By the Jews, of course, this interpretation is not admitted; but we ask, with Paul, "Is He the God of the Jews only? is He not also of the Gentiles?" Many passages of prophecy, as you are aware, confirm this interpretation. The Father, addressing the Mes

"The sense s, that, till the Messiah came, there should be in the tribe of Judah either a king, a sceptre-bearer as there was unto the captivity; or a governor, though under others, as there was unto the time of Christ, such as Gedaliah, Zorobabel, and more particularly the Sanhedrim, a court of judicature, the prince of which was always of the tribe of Judah ('Judah is my lawgiver'), and which retained its power to the latter end of Herod's reign, when Christ was come; but, quickly after the death Christ, it had none left."--DR. GILL'S Exposition.

The expressi a "from between his feet" is a Hebraism, equivalent with "from his offspring."GRINFIELD.

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siah, says, "I will give thee for a covenant to the Gentiles, for a Leader and Commander to the people :" addressing the Church, he says, "Arise, shine; for thy light is come; and the Gentiles shall come to thy light, and their kings to the brightness of thy rising." Accordingly, the Gentile nations flocked to the standard of the cross, uplifted by the apostles, and cast away their idols to the moles and bats. Jesus Christ found little success in His own nation; His words, as uttered by His Spirit in the prophet, and applied to Him by the apostles, were exactly verified: "I am found of them that sought Me not; but all the day long have I stretched out My hands to a disobedient, a rebellious people."

II. By way of brief improvement, observe,

1. The force of prophecy as an evidence of inspiration. The sign and test of prophecy is its fulfilment; according to the rule laid down by Moses, "if the word does not take place, the Lord has not spoken." Here a series of events, extending through a tract of ages, was required to prove the prediction inspired. Nothing could be more improbable beforehand than the accomplishment of such a prophecy, but the infinite mind of Deity penetrated futurity, and His power fulfilled His word.

2. The dignity of our Lord. He appears as the chief, the central object of prophecy; the light that illuminates its obscurity. The Spirit of Christ was the Spirit of prophecy; no events were touched by the prophets but such as had some relation to the kingdom of Christ, to the grand scheme of Christianity which rests on Him. Even in the early period of the patriarchs, He was the principal object of desiring expectation to holy men.

3. The consolation which believers may derive from the character which our Saviour sustains. He is represented as the great Pacifier; the Prince of Peace to His faithful subjects. Was He, then, such? and am I at peace with God, being justified by faith in Him? Has His precious blood been shed in vain for me? The dim and distant prospect of" Shiloh" could make the dying patriarch suspend his prophecy, and afterward interpose that expression of his feeling, "I have waited for Thy salvation, O Lord." All the ancient saints were waiting for Him, down to Simeon, who could depart in peace, because his eyes had seen the Saviour. And shall this great salvation come so nigh to ourselves, knock at our hearts, and yet be neglected by us? How shall we escape, if we neglect Him who has warned us: "Except ye believe, ye shall all perish?"

4. Our assembling on this and similar occasions proves the truth of the prediction; it is a comment on the words, "To Him shall the gathering of the people be." Why are we not Gentile idolaters? it is because "Shiloh" has appeared among us. Every one that comes to Christ; every one that prays, "Lord, remember me among those who shall be gathered unto Thyself," is a living evidence of this prophecy. And where is there any true centre of union but in Jesus Christ? What other name is full of music to the dying? He is the object of all reasonable expectation: all that are awake to the desire

of salvation are running into His arms, seeking shelter under His cross! He must reign; and all must either "kiss the Son," or perish!

5. Observe, as the last thing, the vanity of Jewish hope. The people to whom He came are still "looking for another;" contradicting all prophecy, all history! But, when the fulness of the Gentiles shall come in, when the times of the Gentiles shall be fulfilled, the children of Judah shall yet be visited with the Spirit of grace and of supplications; "they shall look on Him whom they have pierced, and shall mourn for Him as one that mourneth for His first-born." Let us pray for their national conversion.

IX.

THE DIVINE FOUNDATION.*

ISATAII, xxviii, 16: Therefore thus saith the LORD GOD, Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone, a tried stone, a precious corner-stone, a sure foundation: he that believeth shall not make haste.

[Preached at Broadmead, Bristol, July 16, 1815.]

THE person and salvation of Jesus Christ are frequently in the Scriptures spoken of under the image here presented, the most obvious and expressive image of security, that of a foundation. In one of the Psalms we read, in words which in the gospel narrative our Saviour expressly appropriates to Himself, that "the stone which the builders rejected, the same is become the head of the corner." In a passage of the Prophet Zechariah, Jehovah declares, "Behold, I bring forth My Servant the Branch;" a distinguished prophetic title of the Messiah; "for, behold the stone that I have laid; upon one stone shall be seven eyes;" an expression denoting the perfection of Divine knowledge and wisdom that would be possessed by Christ; just, as in the Apocalypse, He is represented as "a lamb having seven eyes, which," it is added, "are the seven spirits of God:" the sacred number, "seven," being used to mark the perfection of spiritual gifts that reside in Christ for the benefit of those who believe.

The same architectural idea is continued in the New Testament. Thus, when Peter expressed his conviction that Jesus was the promised Christ, the Son of God, our Lord answered him by the assurance, "upon this rock," upon the foundation of this faith and confession, "will I build my church." St. Paul similarly reminds his brethren, that they are "built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief corner-stone." And, to close these few selected

From the notes of the Rev. T. Grinfield.

illustrations, the text, with some variation, is thus introduced by St. Peter in his former Epistle: "If ye have tasted that the Lord is gracious; unto whom coming, as unto a living stone, disallowed indeed of men, but chosen of God, and precious, ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house: wherefore it is contained in the Scripture; behold, I lay in Sion a chief cornerstone, elect, precious; and he that believeth in Him shall not be confounded."

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The laying of a foundation, on which the hope of a repenting sinner may rest with regard to God and eternity, is represented through the whole tenour of the Scriptures as the grand object which God has proposed to Himself in all his dispensations to man. This must be evident to those who have examined the Bible with sufficient attention. We trace this destined foundation, on the day of man's first disobedience and fatal fall, in that primal promise of an incarnate Redeemer: "the woman's seed shall bruise the serpent's head." We trace it in the mysterious rite of sacrifice, divinely appointed, from the beginning, to prefigure the atoning Lamb of God: "by faith Abel offered a more excellent sacrifice than Cain." We trace it in the promised seed of Abraham, in which all nations should be blessed. We trace it in the whole system of the law as given by Moses, both the moral and the ceremonial; a schoolmaster, in both its parts, to Jesus Christ the moral law coming in "that the offence might abound," that the charge of guilt might be fixed on all, and every mouth be stopped; while the ceremonial institutions pointed to the Divine remedy provided in the righteousness and blood of the Son of God. We trace the same foundation for human hope, more and more distinctly announced in the Psalms and the prophecies: every where we discern the promise of a Divine Redeemer, and recognise the truth of His own declaration: "Search the Scriptures, for they testify of Me." That which is the great object of God's works in reference to man was naturally the great subject of God's word; as being at once most excellent in itself, and most important to be known by us. The foundation proclaimed by Jehovah in the text is the chief end of all that He has done and revealed to mankind; it is the central point in which all the lines of His providence and of His word meet and terminate. Nature supplies the scene, providence the scaffolding, revelation the plan, of that mighty spiritual edifice, of which this is the foundation!

It cannot be necessary to take up time in proving that such a foundation was needed; that sin had laid the world in a state of moral ruin; that the human soul was deeply fallen, and required to be raised and sustained. None will be found so infatuated or so obdurate as to deny or dispute this point. So sensible, indeed, are men that they need a foundation for hope towards God, that every one is disposed to lay his own. The fool flatters himself with the shadow of a house which he has built on the sand: even