Chapter xlii. speaks thus of Messiah's glory. "He shall not fail, nor be discouraged, till he hath set up judgment in the earth; and the isles shall wait for his law." And again: "sing unto the Lord a new song, and his praise from the end of the earth, ye that go down to the sea, and all that is therein; the isles, and the inhabitants thereof. Let the wilderness and the cities thereof lift up their voice, the villages that Kedar doth inhabit: let the inhabitants of the rock sing, let them shout from the top of the mountains. Let them give glory unto the Lord, and declare his praise in the islands." Chapter xliii.-Messiah proclaims himself the king of his people. The term people could hardly be used, if men in the flesh were then no longer in existence. "For your sakes I have sent to Babylon, and have brought down all their nobles, and the Chaldeans, whose cry is in their ships. I the Lord, your Holy One, the Creator of Israel, your king."-" This people have I formed for myself, they shall shew forth my praise." Chapter xlix.-Messiah's promise here seems necessarily to imply the continuance of the Church in a habitation 66 the earth. upon Sing, O heavens, and be joyful, O earth and break forth into singing, O mountains, for the Lord hath comforted his people, and will have mercy on his afflicted."-" The children which thou shalt have, shall say again in thine ears, the place is too strait for me, give place to me that I may dwell." The whole context shews the time spoken of to be the time of the millennial Church. Chapter li.-Corresponding passages are to be found in this chapter. "I have put my words in thy mouth, and I have covered thee in the shadow of mine hand, that I may plant the heavens, and lay the foundations of the earth, and say unto Zion, thou art my people." The heavens and earth here spoken of are the new heavens and new earth mentioned in Isaiah xxv. and lxvi. 2 Pet. iii. and Rev. xxi. already referred to. Chapter Ix.-Messiah here calls to the Church to rise and shine, for her light is come, and the glory of the Lord shall be seen upon her. He adds, "and the Gentiles shall come to thy light, and kings to the brightness of thy rising."--" The nation and kingdom that will not serve thee shall perish, yea, those nations shall be utterly wasted"-" they shall call thee, the city of the Lord-the Zion of the Holy One of Israel" "I will make thee an external excellency, a joy of many generations."" Thy people also shall be all righteous, they shall inherit the land for ever.”—“ A little one shall become a thousand, and a small one a strong nation." What is this, but an increase of the Church upon the earth? Chapter lxii. The watchmen who are set upon the walls of Jerusalem are commanded never to hold their peace day nor night, and to give the Lord no rest till he establish, till he make Jerusalem a praise in the earth; and in chap. Ixvi. after declaring the fulfilment of this prayer, it is added: "I will gather all nations and tongues, and they shall come and see my glory :" —that is, they shall see the glory of the Lord which he shall set upon Zion, when she shall be called (as in Chapter Ixii.) "sought out, a city not forsaken." The prophecy of Isaiah abounds with passages corresponding with these recitals, and surely mankind cannot pass away, without a manifestation of Messiah's glory, in bringing the flesh of man to serve him in his kingdom upon the earth. That under such a dispensation, sin and sorrow being totally removed, and Satan the tempter bound, the joy of the Church will be most abundant, and her rest most glorious, the foregoing Scriptures would demonstrate if they stood alone: but as the other prophets, and the apostles also bear witness of these things, it may be well to adduce the further corroboration of their testimony. CHAP. IV. Scripture proof of Messiah's Reign upon the Earthfrom Jeremiah and the other Prophets. The prophet Jeremiah comes next to be considered in reference to the testimony, which he affords of Messiah's second coming, to reign personally with his saints upon the earth. The transgression of Jerusalem and Judah, (the Jewish Church and people) the judgments upon them on account of their iniquities, the gathering of them in the latter days, and the judgments then to be poured out upon the nations that have afflicted them, form the principal subjects upon which Jeremiah writes. Israel also with Judah shall be gathered together, and at the same season, as appears by chapters xxx. and xxxi. and "They shall serve the Lord their God, and David their King, whom I will raise up to them," saith the Lord. "Out of them shall proceed thanksgiving, and the voice of them that make merry: I will multiply them, and they shall not be few; I will also glorify them, and and they shall not be small; their children also shall be as aforetime, and their congregation shall be established before me, and I will punish all that " oppress them."-" There shall dwell in Judah itself, and in all the cities thereof together, husbandmen, and they that go forth with flocks."-" Behold the days come, saith the Lord, that I will sow the house of Israel, and the house of Judah, with the seed of man, and with the seed of beast and it shall come to pass, that like as I have watched over them to pluck up, and to break down, and to throw down, and to destroy, and to afflict; so will I watch over them to build and to plant, saith the Lord." The prophet Ezekiel in the first twenty-four chapters declares the transgressions of Israel and Judah, and the judgments upon them from the Lord; and from thence to chapter xxxv. inclusively, he treats of the Lord's judgments upon the several nations which have oppressed his people. Chapters xxxvi. and xxxvii. set forth the restoring of Judah and Ephraim, chapters xxxviii. and xxxix. the gathering together of Gog and Magog, to fight against the mountains of Israel, and the consequent destruction of Gog and Magog; and from thence to the end, the prophet describes the latter-day temple, with its several parts, the waters of grace that flow from it, and the allotment or division of the land of inheritance amongst the tribes of Israel. Throughout Ezekiel, passages are to be found to support what has been advanced of |