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these solemn and holy truths utterly scoffed at and rejected, I have no other option left me but to believe that those who refuse to listen to the Scriptures on these points would equally have withheld all credence to the numerous and explicit texts bearing on our Lord's first advent; for I maintain that the evidence of the second advent of Christ and all correlative and subordinate incidents are as clearly predicted as are those attendant on the first advent, and that if man refuse to admit the full and reiterated evidence of the pre-millennial advent, they would equally have disregarded that of the first advent.

How came it to pass that when our Lord quoted in the synagogue (Luke, iv, 16-21) the words from Isaiah lxi, he abruptly stopped in the middle of a sentence, and exclaimed "this day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears"? This portion, to the extent here cited, all acknowledge to have been then fulfilled; and if so, why not equally admit that the following verses, all bearing on the same subject, are to receive an equally comprehensive accomplishment? Why not acknowledge that the message in Isaiah, lxi, from the middle of the 2nd verse to the close of the book, applies to the Jew, that Zion is Jerusalem, that the now ruined and desecrated city shall be rebuilt, the waste places repaired, that strangers shall feed their flocks, and the sons of the alien shall be their ploughmen and vinedressers, that they (the Jews) shall be named the priests of God, that they shall eat the riches of the Gentiles, and that in their glory shall they boast them-selves? This is no recondite or figurative language, it is plain and simple to the meanest intelligence. And yet, to admit its application to the Jews would necessarily involve a recognition of their return to Palestine, of the restoration of their ceremonial law, and of their power and

superiority over the Gentile race and rather than acknowledge the explicit announcement of the future glory of the chosen people, the ground on which Paul bases his argument in the 11th of Romans for the eventual recovery of the Jew from his fallen state, the opponents of this doctrine prefer to fritter it away in some unintelligible and unprofitable theory of the feasibility of the world gradually falling into a happy state of millennial blessedness by the increase of science, the development of moral qualities, the cessation of war, crime, and ignorance, and the perfectability of man under the concurrent influence of such abnormal conditions.

I think, however, it must be allowed that if the first and half of the second verses of Isaiah, lxi, are literal, it follows as a logical deduction that the succeeding ones should be read in the same light: we cannot arbitrarily insist that one portion of a connected sentence is figurative and the other literal. All must be one or the other, and as our Lord distinctly employs the words he quoted as having literally been fulfilled, we have no option but to acknowledge that the remaining verses of this and following chapters will eventually obtain a corresponding literal accomplishment: and if so, the prophecy it contains cannot by any rule of interpretation apply to the church, but regards only and solely the Jewish nation and its future glory.

Hundreds of passages might be adduced, stronger and plainer than this, to convince any unbiassed mind of the restoration of the Jewish nation to their land subsequent to the return of the Lord Jesus to take possession of the throne of David, synchronising with the destruction of Antichrist, and the establishment of the spared remnant in Mount Zion; but this has been so amply demonstrated by

abler writers than myself, that those who desire to know the truth may safely confide in their labors. I would merely add, that though doubtless some of the prophetical events connected with our Saviour's first advent have been fully verified, yet in a vast number of instances a full and exhaustive accomplishment is yet future: take as an instance, Zec., ix, 9, where we read of Jesus entering into Jerusalem riding on an ass, this has been literally fulfilled ; but it is also added, "he is just, and having salvation:" this yet awaits completion. Take again Isa., ix, 6, for unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given:" this has been fulfilled, but from these words to the end of the 7th verse not one iota has yet received realisation. Other and many passages might be quoted to the same effect, but alas! with very little prospect of effecting any change of mind in those who resist proof, however clear and explicit, unless it fits into the groove of preconceived ideas.

There exist, unhappily, many and varied systems of interpreting prophecy, but in my estimation one only offers a satisfactory solution of most of the difficulties attendant on its study, and that is literalism. It is, I feel convinced, the only true principle to a right comprehension of Scripture, and the only safe guide to preserve the diligent seeker after truth from the shoals and shallows that otherwise might obstruct his course. I would not say that literality entirely obviates all difficulties, but it presents far fewer than any other system. That great and orthodox divine, Hooker, has said, "I hold it for a most infallible rule in the interpretation of sacred Scripture, that where a literal construction will stand, the furthest from the letter is commonly the worst:" and any one who has patiently and prayerfully studied them in this sense will thoroughly endorse this lucid statement. Scripture, in its true and

literal sense, not only harmonises with man's best and holiest feelings, inasmuch as he honors God by accepting with love, joy and thankfulness the revelation of His counsels, but he feels by so doing that he is forewarned and forearmed against all the dire tribulations about to fall on a sinful and apostate world.

A full and complete knowledge of the whole Bible in all its bearings, historical, prophetical and preceptive, is essential to a right comprehension of the vast and vital subjects it treats upon; and any one vainly imagining that he can exegetically propound views irrespective of this initiatory research, labors under a great delusion. Unity in every part is the fundamental law of the Bible: it is impossible that one part of Scripture can be antagonistic to another. Each prophecy is complete in itself; it may run through many books, and be found treated under various types, figures and symbols, and it may have found partial fulfilment or representation at different times and seasons of the Jewish economy, but the unravelling and complete exhaustion cannot be effected before the times of the restitution of all things. All prophecy has Jesus for its final aim, object, and destination, and consequently cannot possibly receive its full accomplishment until the end of all things, "when He delivereth up the kingdom to God and the Father......when God shall be all in all" (1st Cor., xv, 22-28).

Figure, type, and symbol abound in Scripture, and it would be absurd to interpret literally objects in nature or creation which are evidently employed as representatives of events or judgments, such as oil, wine, lily of the valley, rose of Sharon, sheep, flocks, smiths, carpenters, varied colored horses, the dove, or the beasts in Daniel; but in

almost every instance where these figures of speech are found, the context or parallel passages fully explain their meaning. Simple, ordinary language invariably surpasses the metaphorical; the emblematical will generally obtain its signification in the historical, and type always finds its counterpart in the future. If figurative language is employed, as it sometimes is, Scripture will assuredly furnish the key to unlock the supposed mystery; if not discoverable in the chapter itself, it will be found in analogous passages: but never rest satisfied till the true signification is realised. If not explained in the chapter itself, it will be in other parts by the aid of parallelism : and if not then to our full satisfaction, let us bend our proud spirit to the ground, and admit that onr spiritual intelligence is too darkened to perceive it, or that the Lord our God has not thought fit to reveal it to us; but never, under any circumstances, array Scripture against Scripture, or exalt one part of it at the expense of another. ALL is divinely inspired: one concurrent testimony runs through the whole and by no possible reasoning of man or devil can the slightest discrepancy or contradiction be substantiated. We may fail to discover the connecting links, but the chain of evidence is faultless: our dwarfed and circumscribed vision may not penetrate the apparent obscurity, but rather than allow one doubt to rise in the mind, let us say with the Apostle, "Let God be true and every man a liar."

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He makes us

Prophecy, be it borne in mind, is not given to the world in general, but to the church of God. He reveals it unto us as His friends (see Gen., xviii, 17): participators in His counsels: "He makes known to us the mystery of His will, according to the good pleasure which he purposed in Himself" (Eph. i, 9): He says I call

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