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The commencement of this glorious period is represented in verfe 7th, by the marriage of the Lamb being come, and his wife having made herfelf ready. Among the Jews, unmarried women lived in a ftate of great retirement, and never went abroad without a vail; the marriage ceremony was conducted with great magnificence and fplendour, and after marriage the fpoufe fhared in the rank and dignity of her husband, and appeared abroad without a vail. Hence, that enlargement, fplendour, and glory, to which the church of Chrift fhall be raised at the commencement of the millennium, is beautifully expreffed in the fymbolical language, by "the marriage of the Lamb being come, and his wife having made herself rea"dy."

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In the preceding period, the outward appearance of the Chriftian church hath not been fuch as might have been expected of a church which had Chrift himself for her head. She hath always appeared under a vail. But, at that period she shall rise to that ftate of purity and fplendour, which shall fully and clearly prove her connection with Chrift as her head. She fhall then appear, in every respect as the church of Chrift. This period and state of the Chriftian church is predicted both in the Old and New Teftament, by the efpoufal of the church to Chrift. See to this purpose, Ifaiah liv. 1,-10. and Ephefians v. 23,

-27. and 32. It is faid, that his wife hath made herself ready, and that she is arrayed in fine linen clean and white. We are told, that this fine linen is" the righteousness of faints." The Lamb's wife, therefore, who is arrayed in it, must be "the "faints."

Until that time, the church of Chrift fhall not be made ready for her triumphant millennium ftate. The two great features of that ftate are peace and joy. In it the church of Chrift fhall be bleffed with uninterrupted peace, and with pure and exquifite joy. But, the preparation in the church which is abfolutely neceffary for enjoying these, is righteousness. Without righteousness, peace and joy cannot be long preserved or relished in any fociety of men. Hence, that kingdom of God is righteoufnefs, before it is peace and joy in the Holy Ghoft. This righteousness is what is here called "the righteousness of faints." It is not that felf-confident righteoufnefs, which proceeds from that infenfibility to the atrocity of fin, to the perfection of the divine law, and to the juftice of God, and from that pride which are inconfiftent with the character of faints. It is not that merely ceremonial righteoufnefs, which may be performed by the finner as well as by the faint; but it is the perfect righteousness of Christ, on which alone the faints of God rely for the expiation of their guilt, and the internal, real, universal, perL 12 manent,

manent, and progreffive righteoufnefs, produced in their fouls by the agency of the Spirit of God, the belief of the truth, and the fincere and diligent practice of their duty, which form the very character of faints or holy perfons. This righteousness is not yet fo general in the world, as is neceffary to fit men for the millennium ftate; and the church of Chrift herself is not yet fully prepared for that ftate. So much ignorance, error, fuperftition, bigotry, infidelity, profanity, enthusiasm, and fin prevail in the world, and so many grains of thefe are ftill to be found about the best of men, that neither the world nor the church of Christ are yet prepared for a state of perfect peace and exquifite joy. Mankind are fo conftituted, that, fo long as unrighteous, they are incapable of preserving or enjoying a state of pure peace and joy.

In the whole univerfe, there is not a fingle inftance of a fociety of intelligent and moral creatures who are righteous, that enjoy not uninterrupted peace and joy; nor of a fociety of fuch creatures who are unrighteous, that live in a ftate of pure peace and joy. "There is no peace, faith "God, unto the wicked."

But could not God have prepared the church and the world much fooner for that millennium of peace and joy? Certainly, in a miraculous way God could have prepared them in any space of

time, however fhort. In how much fhorter tim God could have prepared them without a miracle, it is not our province to determine. But, both fact and the nature of the thing gives us very full affurance, that a great length of time was neceffary, at least most proper, to prepare the world and the church for fuch a state of peace and joy, as fhall commence with the millennium. That ftate is not yet in fact come; and from prophecy it is evident that it fhall not arrive for above two hundred years. Neither hath the world yet arrived at hofe attainments in truth and righteousness, which would render fuch a ftate a bleffing to them. If we admit that the world is under the government of God, we must allow this fact to be a proof of the will of God; and consequently, of the fitness and propriety of a great length of time for preparing the world and the church of Chrift for that ftate. This ftill farther appears from the nature of the thing. The qualifications which both fcripture and reafon declare to be neceffary to fit men for that state of peace and joy, are the righteousness of the faints, juft and high attainments in truth and righteoufnefs, and thefe, if not univerfal, at least very general in the world. But, all improvements of the intellectual, moral, and religious kind, must be the effect of that rational conviction and approbation, which are pro. duced by that kind of evidence which does not

controul

controul or fufpend, but which leads the intellectual and moral powers of man to make a voluntary choice, in confequence of a moral perfuafion. All external compulfion is inconfiftent with, and deftructive of the nature of real knowledge, true religion, and pure righteoufnefs. Hence, to bring the bulk of mankind to the attainment of truth and righteousnefs, in that way which is fuited to the nature of fuch attainments, much time is neceffary. In religion, as in moft other things, mankind in general run from the one extreme to the other, before they fettle in the right medium. Int the dark ages, mankind ran to the extreme of bigotry, fuperftition, and enthufiafin. In the prefent century, they have run to the oppofite extreme of fcepticism, infidelity, exceffive refinement, and indifference. Like a pendulum, they muft, in the nature of the thing, vibrate from the one of these points to the other; gradually in procefs of timet making their vibratious fhorter, until they fhall fettle in that true religion which is equally diftant from both thefe extremes; that religion which is truth and righteoufnefs, and which is therefore every way worthy of God as its author, and fit for man to believe and practife; that religion, which whenever it becomes nearly univerfal, muft undoubtedly prepare the world for a state of univerfal peace and joy. When we reflect on the various vibrations from one fide to another in matters of reli

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