of God. As the grand apoftafy of men and angels brought every thing into confufion as far as their influence reached, fo redemption will be the bringing every thing into harmony, order, and concord again. 2. Its gradual progrefs feems to be marked out by feveral apt, yet ftriking fimilitudes-fuch as we are familiarly acquainted with. Juft like the fhining light, which fhineth more and more to the perfect day. The kingdom of heaven is like unto a grain of mustard-feed, which a man took and fowed in his field, which grew, and became a great tree, fo that the fowls in the air lodged in the branches thereof. Like a building, whose foundation must be first laid, and then it makes no very great appearance, but, by and by, it gradually arifes, until the ftructure s compleated. Such is this divine building, which shall grow an holy Temple unto the Lord. It is compared unto a treasure hid, which, while that is the cafe, is entirely concealed; but, by and by, its fhining qualities are feen, and its importance fully known, to the great joy of its poffeffor. The fecret and divine operations of this kingdom are compared to the fermenting of leaven, which is little noticed until the whole mafs is leavened. But the most striking passage is in Dániel: the beginning of this kingdom is faid to be a ftone cut out without hands, which is this, The God of heaven shall set up a kingdom which fhall never be deftroyed: and the kingdom fhall not be left unto another people, but it shall break in pieces and confume all these kingdoms, and shall stand faft for ever †. Here he speaks plainly, without any figure, so that we cannot mifs his meaning. U 3 3. THE * Matth. xiii. 31. + Dan. i.i 44. It 3. THE revelation of it has been by degrees. feemed like the dawning of the morning: the first glimpse feems to be the promise of the feed of the woman bruifing the ferpent's head, and which, undoubtedly, included in it far more than they, at that time, were capable of comprehending; but, nevertheless, was the feed, or bud, of a glorious tree. It is thought that the bodies of those beafts (whofe fkins Adam and his wife were clothed with) were offered in facrifice; and, if so, no doubt but the facrificer had fome glorious end pointed to him which they were intended to anfwer; and, therefore, in them he faw the Great Redeemer, the King of Zion, and this bleffed Kingdom, though afar off. We may be fure it could but make a dim appearance; and, therefore, it would be the bufinefs of faith to realize it, in fome degree,'to the fatisfaction of the devout worshippers. How far the Ark which Noah built, and the peaceable collecting of all forts of animals into the fame, might emblemize this bleffed time, I shall not here fay; but, I conjecture, it was not without its fignification in that respect. 4. THE pleafing views of this blessed state would, undoubtedly, be enlarged under the Patriarchs; they saw glorious things before them, though at a distance, and, viewing them by faith, embraced them, and willingly confeffed themfilues as ftrangers and pilgrims in the earth. It is true, they had but few outward helps; but, then, Jehovah was perfonally converfant among them; and furely no one, who has the light of the fun, will regret the absence of the stars. Surely Abraham felt and faw fomething when his Maker faid to him, In thee, and thy feed, fhall fhall all the families of the earth be blessed And what Jacob difcovered, in his dream, when he faw a ladder fet upon the earth, and the top of it reaching to heaven, and the angels of God afcending and defcending; † I fay, what he might fee in that bleffed discovery, we are not told; but, no doubt, he faw glorious things, which were to be accomplished in their time-when heaven fhall be more fully opened, and the angels of God afcending and descending upon the Son of Man ‡. 5. Though the ceremonial law was a cloudy difpenfation, yet it was a shadow of good things to come, though not the very image of the things themselves ||. The external pomp and stateliness of those folemnities could not be without a meaning, but were the emblems of a glory yet to be revealed. St. Paul seems to have had ravishing views of blessed times to come, when he wrote the Epistle to the Hebrews: Take one paffage instead of many,-Then verily the first covenant had also ordinances of divine fervice, and a worldly fanctuary. For there was a tabernacle made; the firft, wherein was the candlestick, and the table, and the fhew-bread; which is called The Sanctuary. After the fe cond vail the tabernacle, which is called The Holiest of all; which had the golden cenfer, and the ark of the covenant overlaid with god round about, wh.rein was the golden pot that had manna, and Aaron's rod that budded, and the tables of the covenant; and over it the cherubims of glory shadowing the mercy-jeat; of which we cannot now Speak particularly §. One is almost ready to fay, it was a pity he did not speak particularly, * Gen. xii. 3. U 3 Ch. xxviii. 12. Heb. x. 3. § Ibid xi 1 particularly, for I am fure a glorious fcene would have been unfolded, and which will be fulfilled in its time. All that expence, and ingenuity, which was exhibited in the frame and structure of the different utenfils, belonging to that fervice, was, undoubtedly, to reprefent a glory which far exceeded that of gold and filver, precious ftones, purple, filk, and fine-twined linen, which compofed the apparatus of a worldly fanctuary. Likewise the grandeur of the high-prieft's veftments did typify a far more glorious High-Prieft, and a far more glorious fervice to be made manifeft than that of the Jewish difpenfation, and will be more abundantly manifefted in a full difplay of the Gofpel difpenfation. 6. THERE was much glory difplayed in the giving of the law; but then it was a glory mixed with terror and awe-becaufe it was the ufhering in the miniftration of condemnation. The mountain was fo awfully guarded, that if a beaft touched it it was to be ftoned, or thrust through with a dart. And it was faid, Mount Sinai was altogether on a smoke, because the Lord defcended upon it in hre : and the fmoke thereof afcended as the fmoke of a furnaee, and the whole mount quaked greatly. Mofes fpake, and God anfwered him by a voice*.-After all this awful folemnity, God utters forth the Ten Commandments; and, after that, follows a feries of commands, full of humanity and senderness; and fo particular, as even to extend to beasts and birds, and, in fhort, every thing which has life, and which is fure to be accomplished in the happy reign of grace, and not before. It may here be remarked, that after Mofes, as mediator, is in audience with the Deity, the * Exod. xix. 18, 19. the glory of Jehovah affumes a milder luftre, to fhew the mild glory of the Gospel will fucceed that of the fiery law. For it is added, Then went up Mofes and Aaron, and Nadab and Abihu, the fons of Aaron, and seventy of the elders of Ifrael; and they faw the God of Ifrael: and there was under his feet, as it were, a paved work of a Sapphire-ftone, and, as it were, the body of heaven in its clearness. And upon the nobles of the children of Ifrael be laid he not his hands: also they faw God, and did eat and drink*. Here we see the Deity ftoops, and becomes fociable with mortals, and fhews the fweet familiarity with which he will treat them when he fets his Divine Tabernacle among them, and wipes away the tears from their eyes. For if the miniftration of condemnation was thus glorious, what will the miniftration of life be, but life from the dead? 7. THE Prophets faw the emblems of a Redeemer's glory ftill clearer, and all the happy confequents thereof; the overwhelming power of which feemed as much, or more, than they could bear. Before the Prophet Isaiah is fent to the people, he fays,-I faw the Lord fitting upon bis throne, high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple. Above it ftood the Seraphims: each one had fix wings: with twain he covered his face, and with twain he covered his feet, and with twain he did fly. And one cried unto another, and faid, Holy, holy, is the LORD of hofts: the whole earth is full of his glory. And the pofts were moved at the voice of him that cried, and the house was filled with smoke. Then faid I, Woe is me! for I am undone because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell amidft a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have feen the KING, the LORD of hosts. Then flew one of * Exod. xxiv. 9, 10, 11. the |