But if they show that Prophecy may be interpreted fo as to reconcile most of the various

opinions

of the Most High' when the government, in a proper sense, is put into the hands but of Christian Kings only, and fubordinate rulers. As when it is faid, Fear not, little flock, it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom,' meaning the kingdom of heaven, Luke xii. 32. we are not to understand thereby that he will make each of them kings in that kingdom, as that fignifies power and authority to rule and govern it; but that he will give them poffeffion and fruition of the glory and happiness of that kingdom, the affairs and concerns of which will be managed by the glorious King of Heaven, in a more immediate manner than the Kingdom of Chrift on earth was, when God himself shall be all in all.'

"Rev. ii. 26, 27, and iii. 21. doubtlefs fignifies rule and government in this world, under Christ, King of all Kings. The first inftance of the fulfilment of these Prophecies was Conftantine, the first Christian Emperor.-And thefe Chriftian Kings, who are deputed and delegated by Christ to rule under and for him, may be said to fit down in his throne (as Solomon is faid, 1 Chron. xxix. 23. to fit in the throne of the Lord, as King, instead of David his Father), as he is fet down on his Father's throne, by having all judgment (or government) committed to him by the Father.' In that happy time of the Church, set forth by a new heaven and a new earth, and by the New Jerufalem's coming down from God out of heaven, it may be said,

Behold the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they fhall be his people, and God himself fhall be with them, and be their God,' Rev. xxi. 12. And when God fhall pleafe to exhibit himself thus unto men, we may be well affured of a very plen

opinions concerning it—if they tend to display the HARMONY and REGULARITY which per

vade

tiful effufion of good things, of fpiritual good things efpecially; and among them, Divine affiftances to enrich the fouls of men with great measures of light and love. And this cannot but produce much righteousness and great peace among men. This faying, The Tabernacle of God is with men, feems to fignifie as much happiness thereby to be vouchsafed to men, as they can be well capable of in this world, and on this fide heaven itself, but especially in God's communication of fuch benefits as will beft fit and prepare them for the happiness of another world. And when Ezekiel feems to have fet forth the glory of the new city (which feems to be the New Jerufalem of the Revelations), he concludes, c. lxviii. with that which would commend it most of all, faying, That the name of the city from that day fhall be, The Lord is there.' Confidering then the great plenty of internal affiftanee which God will vouchfafe unto men in the happy times we speak of, and confidering the excellent order and government which will then be obferved both in Church and State, by Princes, Bishops, and Rulers, well qualified for it; it will be no hard matter to believe that their peace then will be as a river, and righteousness as the waves of the fea.'

"St. Paul fays, 'the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption, into the glorious liberty of the children of God,' Romans viii. 21. And if he hereby means a deliverance which the animate and inanimate creatures fhall one time or other receive from the vanity, weakness, and hurtfulness, which is come upon their nature by reafon of man's fin, as it's generally held he does, then the great profperity we have been speaking of, is not likely to be peculiar to the nation or people of

the

vade the WHOLE OF THE PROPHETIC SCHEME -if they excite attention to paffing objects,

and

the Jews only, when they shall be restored, but seems to be a thing more generally to be enjoyed in the world in those happy times. For, if that be St. Paul's meaning, then the deliverance of the creature from the bondage of which he speaks must be its deliverance in a great measure from that curse that came upon the earth for the fin of man, and that was extended to the other parts of the earth as well as the land of Canaan; and therefore the removal of this curfe must concern the other parts of the world as well as that. And if the creature,' or whole creation, ' which travaileth in pain until now,' fhall be delivered from this bondage one time or other, when can it be fo reasonably expected as in thofe times in which the reign and government of Chrift will make them fo happy as we have fet forth? It cannot reasonably be thought to be at the judgment of the great day, for then will be the conflagration of the world by fire, and that will not be a deliverance to the creatures, but a destruction of them.

"The hot and unchriftian contefts and divifions about fome doctrines of leffler moment, but especially about Church government and difcipline, with the great neglect of dif cipline itself; and most of all, the unsuitableness of men's lives to the Reformed Religion which they profefs, has greatly obfcured the glory of the Reformation itself, and made the day of it to be neither clear nor dark.' And indeed, the great degenerateness of the Reformed Churches from the power of Chriftianity gives too much cause to fear left Almighty God fhould chaftife that decay by letting the Reformed Churches fall once more under the power of that which is unreformed. God may fuffer them to be brought very low by their enemies to bring them to repent

ance,

and to their ultimate direction, they will anfwer most important purposes. Should the

courfe

ance, and then deliver them in fome extraordinary manner....... The general victory, which the Church in the latter days shall obtain over her enemies, will be brought to pass, so as that it will appear plainly that Almighty God, that Chrift, the King of his Church, does interpofe and concern himself in it after a more immediate and extraordinary manner than what has been usual at other times, Rev. xix. Pfalm cx, 5, 6. We have great reason to think, that the flaying his enemies with the fword of his mouth' in this place, and on this occafion, muft needs fignifie a temporal deftruction which they fhall receive from him at the battle of that great day of God Almighty, which is as likely to be as much, or more, the day of his wrath, than any on this fide the day of the general judgment of the world........... And it is not unlikely but that the enemies of the Church at such a time as this, when the kings of the earth and of the whole world have brought their armies together, may fo far outnumber those of the Church, that, unless the Lord of Hofts himself fhould by fome extraordinary acts of Providence engage for the one against the other, the Church would be in great danger of being devoured by her enemies. But, befides this, Almighty God, by appearing thus vifibly by fome token of his power and presence in the behalf of his Church and people, and against their enemies, will ferve another great defign of his grace and favour towards the world; and that is, in making fuch proceeding of his to be a means of convincing the world in general, that the God of thefe Chriftians, for whom he thus wonderfully appears, is the only true God, and their Religion the only true Religion; upon account of which they will be drawn to learn it of them. There

are

courfe of fome extraordinary circumstances, now hanging in fufpence, but of which there

was

are many Scriptures which give intimation of this, and fome hints of the manner in which the enemies of the Church will be destroyed; one of which is, the enemies falling out among themselves, and falling foul upon one another, instead of profecuting their defign against the armies of the Chriftians. Ifaiah ix. 2. Zechariah xiv. 13. xii. 2, 3, 4. Haggai ii. 22. Ezekiel xxxviii. 21. Micah v. 6. This feems to be defigned to be put in execution upon the pouring out of the feventh vial.....Amos ix. II, 12. The raifing up the decayed and low eftate of the house of David, or of the people of the Jews, is, we see, defigned by God not only as an extraordinary favour to them, but to this end alfo, as a means conducing to it, viz. that "the refidue of men might feek after the Lord, and all the Gentiles upon whom my name is called, faith the Lord,' for fo the words run, Acts xv. 17. Thefe glorious things spoken of this people of God, which will thus affect even nations, and cause them to defire and seek their favour and friendship, are to be underfood, I conceive, of their outward profperity especially, and of the extraordinariness of the change of their outward condition, both for the fuddenness of it, and the means of effecting it. As for their spiritual glory and beauty, the Heathen, it's like, will not at firft be moved with that to feek their favour and friendship, nor to admire them for that glory, because they cannot have a sense of that until they are inftructed in the nature of spiritual things. Only fo far as they come to hear of the excellency of their morals, their truth and charity, their temperance and chastity, these the Heathen can judge of indeed, and an eminency in these will procure reverence and respect even from barbarous nations. But it is likely

that