behold him : he will see him for himself, and not another. *

As he really and visibly ascended, so shall he really and visibly descend. He shall come in like manner as he was seen to go into heaven. He shall appear as “ King of Kings, and Lord of Lords." He shall set up his universal dominion“ from sea to sea, and from the river to the end of the earth.”+ He shall be acknowledged and adored as “King over all the earth."

Does this appear incredible to you? Do you say “ We cannot believe that all these marvels will be accomplished ? It cannot be that this poor, guilty, accursed earth will again become the abode of righteousness and the theatre of the Redeemer's glory! This is too wonderful for our faith !” 'How then, I ask, can you believe the mystery of the Incarnation? The wonders of the first advent are, in reality, greater than those of the second. Surely it requires more faith to believe that “God was manifest in the flesh," that he “who was in the form of God, and thought it not robbery to be equal with God," was made in the likeness of men, lived in poverty, suffering and persecution upon earth, and finally died the accursed death of the cross, and became a tenant of the grave,-than to believe that He who “ manifested to be the Son of God with power by hi

was

resurrection from the dead”—shall come again in glory and majesty to receive the homage of a ransomed world. “The zeal of the Lord of Hosts will perform this.” He will “overturn, and overturn, and overturn, till He whose right it is to reign shall come, and rule king of nations as he now does king of saints."

Of the precise time when this great event shall take place, we pretend not to have any accurate knowledge; and upon the whole subject of unfulfilled prophecy it becomes us to speak with diffidence and caution ;-remembering always that, although it is our duty, so far as may be allowed to our ignorance, to ascertain what is the meaning of God's word,—that word was never intended to make us Prophets. We may be certain of the great facts which are clearly revealed; but of the means by which they are to be brought to pass, or of the precise time of their accomplishment, we should speak with the most profound humility ; for they are among

the secrets which the Lord has concealed in his own bosom. All confident calculations on these points, however plausible and reasonable they may appear to our short-sighted minds, should be checked by the remembrance of the Master's words, “ The Son of man cometh in an hour when ye look not for him. Of that day, and of that hour, knoweth no man; no not the angels which are in heaven, neither

the Son, but the Father.” But of the great revealed fact, that Jesus will come again in his glory, we may be as certain as that he once came to visit us in great humility:

May this truth be deeply impressed upon our minds! May we be habitually prepared for the coming of our Lord !

In the further discussion of this subject, I shall avail myself of the light thrown upon it by the labors of others, as well as of that which may be obtained by the prayerful study of the Scriptures themselves.

The object aimed at, however, is not a minute and systematic exposition of all the prophecies relating to the subject, but an investigation of those prominent points which are most clearly revealed and of the highest practical importance.

Your attention is now invited to a notice of some of the leading events which are spoken of in scripture as PRECEDENTS, or things which go before the second coming of our Lord. The first to which we shall refer are those presented to our view in the striking and memorable words of the text. " And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity ; the sea and the waves roaring; men's hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth : for the powers of

heaven shall be shaken, and then shall they see the Son of man coming in a cloud, with

power

and

great glory. And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up and lift up your heads: for your redemption draweth nigh.”

The prophecies contained in this chapter are precisely the same, and expressed in nearly the same language, with those recorded by St. Matthew and St. Mark.* The discourse of which they form a part is that memorable one in which our Lord foretold the destruction of Jerusalem; an event which, according to the general belief of Christians, was a type, foreshadowing the greater terrors of the last day. Some have inferred from the words, “this generation shall not pass away till all these things be fulfilled,"'+ that it is exclusively applicable to that long past historical event.

But Bishop Horsley and others have shown, conclusively, that the phrase is not to be thus limited. The word translated “generation,” in some connexions means “an age,” in others, a nation, and then again it means a class of men of a particular character. Thus the wicked are called “a generation of evil doers," and "the righteous are counted to the Lord for u generation.” Our Saviour called the Jews “a wicked and adulterous generation,” because they sought after unpromised signs, and would

not believe his doctrine and Messiahship. And it is no perversion of his words, or evasion of his meaning, to understand him as saying, that the wicked, unbelieving, Jewish nation would not cease to exist, or should “not pass away,” till all the things of which he then spake should be fulfilled. *

There must be an excessive strain and perversion put upon our Lord's words if we confine the whole prophecy to the destruction of Jerusalem by the Roman army. To that event the words immediately preceding the text do unquestionably relate. “When ye shall see Jerusalem encompassed with armies, then know that the desolation thereof is nigh. Then let them which are in Judea flee to the mountains; and let them which are in the midst of it depart out; and let not them that are in the countries enter thereinto. For these be the days of vengeance, that all

, things which are written may be fulfilled. But wo unto them that are with child, and to them which give suck, in those days, for there shall be great distress in the land, and wrath upon this people. And they shall fall by the edge of the sword, and shall