dwelleth righteousness; He shall sit on the throne of David, over the house of Jacob for ever; He shall confound His enemies, and break them in pieces like a potter's vessel; He shall restore the Jews, and comfort them after their long period of banishment and persecution.* Let us, for the sake of illustration, suppose a conversation between a Christian who holds these views, and a company whether of priests or people in these days, who think it is more sober-minded to account for the expression of the prophets by the assumption of a spiritual interpretation. Imagine such a one quoting the 9th chapter of Isaiah, the 6th and 7th verses: "For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice, from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this." There can be no mistake in this here is His birth declared, His name, and His reign over the kingdom of David. He says, "The kingdom of David is the rule over the Jewish nation, the twelve tribes, as unbroken in the days of David, and the throne is the personal government over them in Jerusalem. I expect,

* Zech. xiv. 9; Luke i. 32, 33, and xix. 27; Rev. ii. 26, 27; Ezek. xxxvii.

accordingly, that Messiah shall appear again; that He shall sit on the throne of David, and rule over the whole twelve tribes of Israel in the Holy Land." "Nay," reply the company; "the meaning of this highly figurative language is, that He shall rule spiritually in the hearts of His people; it signifies that holy authority which He exercises over all His people now, and will exercise over all the nations of the earth when converted, together with the Jews. This is the meaning, and it is the wildest extravagance to interpret and expect it literally as the throne of David in Jerusalem."

The answer is, "I do not deny the spiritual truth you state. It is, indeed, quite true that He reigns invisibly in the hearts of His people now, and that this reign is in several passages of Scripture called the kingdom of God, or of heaven. This is a precious truth, in which I greatly delight in its proper place; but this is not the statement of the prophet in the passage before us; his statement is, not that the Lord is reigning in their hearts, but that He will reign over the house of Jacob; which I expect to be fulfilled literally as it is stated." "It cannot be," say the others. Why, how derogatory to the dignity of the glorious Saviour of man to leave the glory of His Father, and return to reign on the earth. The meaning must be spiritual; there are too many difficulties in the way of a literal interpretation.

In the case of the first Advent, according to the predictions of the prophet, the events, as we have seen, proved the correctness of the literal

interpretation. And so will it be in the case now before us. To deny this, is to deal in a most arbitrary manner with the language of the prophets; assuming that nothing can be literally predicted by what has already been fulfilled.

Suppose we take the spiritual interpretation, and reject the literal, what shall we say to the Jews? If we maintain that this prediction in the 9th chapter is spiritual, what consistent answer shall we give to the Jew, when he tells us that the meaning of the virgin bearing a son, as predicted in the 7th chapter, is also spiritual, and so denies the incarnation? Oh, what a stumblingblock do we throw in his way by doing this? We take the Scriptures and break them asunder. We take the 7th chapter, and insist that the meaning is literal; but take the 9th chapter, and insist that the meaning is spiritual. This is not a fanciful objection. I have heard a Jew say to a Christian minister, We shall not believe you; how can you expect it, when you take as much as is convenient for yourselves, and maintain it to be literal, and escape from the rest by maintaining that it is spiritual?

Thus I have called your attention to two points, -the time and nature of the advent, disclaiming the slightest intention to fix the direct date; but proving, as I think, with much scriptural power, that the time relatively considered is at the commencement of the millennium, and that the advent proved to take place at that time is a personal advent. I shall now only call your attention further to the state of mind in which this glorious

personal appearance of our Lord should be expected by us. My brethren, it is the end that gives importance to the progress of any proceeding. It is the winding up of a transaction that gives weight to every preceding step. It is the settling of the account which reflects its sovereign power over the details of the business. Now with what amazing diversity of feeling, do men anticipate the winding up of an open transaction, the settling a long-standing account.

Contrast two cases. First, the case of a guardian, who, having the management of the property of his ward, proceeded year after year to spend a considerable portion of it, while he allowed his friends and the public to suppose it was accumulating for his young relation. Every year adds to the amount of his fraudulent embezzlement ; his own affairs become involved; he hopes that by taking a large loan from his ward, he will be able to retrieve his own losses, to maintain his respectability in his profession, and eventually to repay all. The reproofs of his conscience are silenced by calling it a loan, and by the intention to repay it. The money is taken, and embarked in his own business. Fresh losses succeed. Embarrassments revive and strengthen. If his character be lost, his business, depending upon character and credit, will be ruined. To guard against suspicion, fresh expenses are incurred. Another loan must be taken from the already impoverished trust. And in the meantime the young man is coming of age, and a winding up

of the transaction, a settling of the accounts, is at hand! Now, look at the young man: heir of a large property left under wise restraints by his father during his minority; warm-hearted, generous, ambitious of doing good, but from sound principle and filial reverence, shrinking from any scheme of raising money before the time appointed by his father, and therefore longing with the buoyancy of happy hope for the day when he shall be in possession of his inheritance, and able to carry on his designs of usefulness on a large scale, and with perfect honesty, and with the delightful consciousness of having conformed to his beloved father's will. Oh, my brethren! contemplate these two characters. Follow them to the eve of the young man's birthday, the day of reckoning! Mark what a night they spend! On the one side, anguish and agony, remorse, terror, despair; the phial of poison, perhaps, or the murderous pistol, ready to execute the fatal deed of selfdestruction ! On the other side peace, hope, joy, every fresh meditation winging the heart with ecstasy in the approach of the long-looked for happy morning.

My brethren, among ourselves at this present time there is a transaction going forward; a great transaction of business for eternity. Temptations abound. Fraud holds out a promise of gain. Unfaithfulness holds out a promise of ease. nity holds out a promise of distinction. holds out a promise of impunity. While, on the other side, faith and faithfulness speak loudly

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Unbelief