be bleffed."* The Apoftle Peter mentions this promise as refer ring to the days of the gofpel. "Ye are the children of the Prophets, and of the covenant which God made with our fathers, faying unto Abraham, And in thy feed fhall all the kindreds of the earth be blessed."+ The Apoftle Paul fpeaks of this promife as referring to Christ, and all who believe in him, making him to be the promised feed, and believers in him to be those exclusively who are bleffed in him, in whom the promised good takes place, "Know ye therefore, that they which are of faith, the same are the children of Abraham. And the fcripture, foreseeing that God would justify the heathen through faith, preached before the gospel unto Abraham, laying, In thee shall all nations be bleffed. So then they which be of faith, are bleffed with faithful Abraham.Now to Abraham and his feed were the promifes made. He faith not, And to feeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy feed, which is Chrift.”‡

This prediction and promise is very exprefs and extenfive, That all the families, kindreds and nations of the earth, fhould be blessed in Chrift, by their becoming believers in him. This has never yet taken place, and cannot be fulfilled, unless christianity and the kingdom of Chrift fhall take place and prevail in the world to a vaftly higher degree, and more extensively and universally, than has yet come to país; and all nations, all the inhabitants of the earth, shall become believers in him, agreeable to a great number of other prophecies, fome of which will be mentioned in this fection.

The reign of Christ on earth, with his church and people, and the happiness and glory of that time, is a subject often mentioned, predicted and celebrated in the book of Pfalms. To mention all that is there spoken with reference to that happy time, would be to transcribe great part of that book. Only the following paffages will now be mentioned, which are thought abundantly to prove that the kingdom of Chrift is to prevail and flourish in this world, as it has never yet done; and the church is to be brought to a ftate of purity, prosperity and happiness on earth, which has not yet taken place, and fo as to include all nations, and fill the world.

In the fecond Pfalm, it is predicted and promised, that the Son of God fhall inherit and poffefs all nations, to the ends of the earth; which neceffarily implies, that his church and kingdom fhall

Chap. xxvili. 14. † Acts iii. 25.

‡ Gal. ïii, 7, 8, 9, 1ếu

shall be thus extensive, reaching to the ends of the earth, and including all the nations and men on earth. "I have fet my king upon my holy hill of Zion. I will declare the decree: The Lord hath faid unto me, Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee. Afk of me, and I fhall give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermoft parts of the earth for thy poffeffion." By Zion here is meant, as in numerous other places in the prophecies, the church of Chrift, of which Mount Zion was a type.

The twenty fecond Pfalm contains a prophecy of the sufferings of Chrift; and the glory that fhall follow; and of the latter it is faid; "The meek fhall eat and be fatisfied. They shall praise the Lord that feek him: Your heart fhall live forever. All the ends of the world fhall remember, and turn unto the Lord: And all the kindreds of the nations fhall worship before thee, For the kingdom is the Lord's; and he is the Governor among the nations: For evil doers fhall be cut off: But thofe that wait upon the Lord, they shall inherit the earth. For yet a little while, and the wicked shall not be ; yea, thou shalt diligently confider his place, and it shall not be. But the meek fhall inherit the earth, and delight themfelves in the abundance of peace."* This is a prediction of an event which has never taken place yet. Evil doers and the wicked, have in all ages hitherto poffeffed the earth, and flourished and reigned in the world. When it is promised, that they who wait upon the Lord, and the meek shall inherit the earth, and delight themselves in the abundance of peace, the meaning must be, that perfons of this character will yet have the poffeffion of the earth, and fill the world, when no place fhall be found for the wicked, as they fhall be all destroyed, and their cause wholly loft. And all of this character who have lived before this time, and waited upon the Lord in the exercise of meekness, shall flourish and live in their fucceffors, and in the profperity and triumph of the cause and intereft, in which they lived and died. This is agreeable to other prophecies of this kind, as will be shewn in the fequel. "All the ends of the earth fhall remember and turn unto the Lord: And all the kindreds of the nations shall worship before thee" Who can believe that this has ever yet been? But few of mankind, compared with the whole, have yet turned unto the Lord. By far the greatest part of the nations of the earth, even to the ends of the world, have worshipped and do

Pfal. xxxvii. 9, 10, 11,

ΠΟΥ

now worship falíe gods, and idols. But when all the ends of the world fhall remember, and turn to the Lord; and all the kindreds of the nations fhall worship before him; then the meek shall inherit the earth, and delight themselves in the abundance of peace.

The whole of the fixty feventh Pfalm is a prediction of the fame event, and of the fame time, which is yet to come. It is a prayer of the church that fuch a time may take place; at the same time expreffing her affurance that it was coming; and the whole is a prophecy of it. "God be merciful unto us, and bless us; and cause his face to fhine upon us. That thy way may be known upon earth, thy faving health among all nations. Let the people praife thee, O God; let all the people praise thee. Olet the nations be glad, and fing for joy; for thou shalt judge the people righteously, and govern the nations upon earth. Then fhall the earth yield her increase; and God, even our God, shall bless us. God fhall blefs us; and all the ends of the earth fhall fear him."

The seventy fecond Pfalm, the title of which is, "A Pfalm for Solomon," contains a prophecy of Christ and his kingdom, of whom Solomon was an eminent type. The Pfalmift looks beyond the type to the antitype, and fays things which can be applied.to the latter only, and are not true of the former, confidered as diftinct from the latter; which is common in the fcripture, in fuch cafes. Here it is faid, "He fhall come down like rain upon the mown grafs; as showers that water the earth. In his days shall the righteous flourish; and abundance of peace fo long as the moon endureth. He fhall have dominion alfo from sea to sea, and from the river unto the ends of the earth. All kings fhali fall down before him: All nations fhall ferve him. His name fhall endure forever: His name fhall be continued as long as the fun and moon fhall be bleffed in him: All nations fhall call him bleffed. Bleffed be the Lord God, the God of Ifrael, who only doth wondrous things. And blefied be his glorious name forever, and let the whole earth be filled with his glory; Amen, and Amen."

Arife, O God, judge the earth; for thou fhalt inherit all nations."* In this Pfalm, the rulers and judges among men are accused of unrighteousness, and condemned; and then the Pfalmift concludes with the words now quoted, which refer to fome future event, in which God fhould judge the earth, and inherit

all

Pfal. lxxxii. 8.

all nations, in a fenfe in which he had not yet done it. In the fecond Pfalm, the heathen, i. e. the nations, all nations, are given to Chrift for his inheritance; and here the fame thing is expreffed, "Thou shalt inherit all nations." And by his judging the earth, is meant his reigning and fubduing the inhabitants of the earth, to a cordial fubjection to himfelf; which will be more evident by what follows, where we fhall find the fame thing predicted.

The ninety fixth Pfalm, relates wholly to redemption by Christ; to the happiness and glory of his kingdom, and his reign on earth. "O worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness: Fear before him, all the earth. Say among the heathen, that the Lord reigneth: The world also fhall be established, that it fhall not be moved, he shall judge the people righteously. Let the heavens rejoice, and let the earth be glad: Let the fea roar, and the fulness thereof. Let the field be joyful, and all that is therein: Then shall all the trees of the wood rejoice before the Lord; for he cometh to judge the earth: He fhall judge the world with righteousness, and the people with his truth." What is here foretold, is to take place before the end of the world, and the general judgment; and it relates to the whole world, all the earth and the nations in it; the kingdom and reign of Chrift is to extend to all of them: And his coming to judge the earth, and the world in righteousness, intends his reigning in righteousness, and bringing all nations to share in the bleffings of his falvation and kingdom. Agreeable to this, it is faid by Chrift, by Isaiah and Jeremiah," Behold a king fhall reign in righteousness. In those days, and at that time, will I cause the branch of righteoufnefs to grow up unto David, and he fhall execute judgment and righteousness in the land," or in the earth.*

Great part of the prophecy of Isaiah, relates to the flourishing and happy ftate of the kingdom of Chrift, and the profperity of the church in the latter days. When he foretells the return of the people of Ifrael from the Babylonifh captivity, which was a type of the deliverance of the church of Chrift from spiritual Babylon, and from all her enemies in this world, visible and invifible, he commonly looks forward to the latter, and keeps that in view, and says things of it, which are not true of the former, and cannot be applied to it. And as Zion, Jerusalem, and Judah, and Ifrael,

* Ifai. xxxii. 1. Jer. xxxi. 15.

Ifrael, were types of the church and kingdom of Christ, as including all nations, the former are commonly mentioned only as types, being put for, and sygnifying the latter. And when the gospel day, the coming of Chrift, and his church and kingdom, are brought into view, all that is included in these is comprehended; and commonly chief reference is had to the Millennium, or the day of the flourishing of the kingdom of Chrift on earth, which is In a peculiar manner, and eminently the day of falvation; and will iffue in the complete redemption of the church, at and after the day of judgment. He who reads this prophecy with care and difcerning, will be convinced of the truth of these observations; and in any other view, great part of it cannot be understood.

Only part of the many prophecies of the glory and extent of the kingdom of Chrift in this world, which are contained in this book, will be now mentioned, as those which are most express and clear, with reference to the fubject in view. They who attentively read this prophecy, will find many more which refer to the fame event.

"And it shall come to pass in the laft days, that the mountain of the Lord's house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations fhail flow unto it. And many people shall go and fay, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the houfe of the God of Jacob, and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths; for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerufalem. And he fhall judge among the nations, and shall rebuke many people: And they fhall beat their swords into plowshares, and their fpears into pruning hooks: Nation fhall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more."* It is certain, that this prophecy has not been yet fulfilled, except in a very small degree, as the beginning, and first fruits of it.

"And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a branch fhall grow out of his roots. And the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the fpirit of knowledge, and of the fear of the Lord: And shall make him of quick understanding in the fear of the Lord, and he shall not judge after the fight of his eyes, neither reprove after the hearing of his ears. But with righteoufnefs fhall he judge the poor,

☛ Ifai. ii. 2, 3, 4.

and