primarily referred to, was none other than our blessed Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ Himself; and I then shewed how that after He had declared that "God sent not His Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through Him might be saved," He was rejected both by Jew as well as Gentile. This is the rejection referred to in this Psalm; from whence we see, that as it began at the first Advent, and will continue, more or less, throughout the whole of this Dispensation; so at the close of it, it will come to a head, and be stamped out at the second Advent, when man's day of trial under the present state of things will have terminated.

The first three verses of the Psalm refer primarily to the first Advent; the fourth verse refers exclusively to this Dispensation; verses five to nine refer to the second Advent; and the remaining verses contain an expostulation with the Kings and Judges of the earth, for their violation and abuse of the authority which had been committed to them; with a statement of the blessedness of those who put their trust in the Messiah therein set forth.

That the first three verses of the Psalm refer primarily to the first Advent, is shewn in the Acts of the Apostles: for when Peter and John, who had been apprehended and brought before the High Priest on the occasion therein referred to, had been "let go, they went to their own company, and reported all that the Chief Priests and Elders had said unto them. And when they heard that, they lifted up their voice to God with one accord, and said, Lord, thou art God, Which hast made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and all that in them is: Who by the mouth of Thy servant David hast said, Why did the heathen rage, and the people imagine vain things? The kings of the earth stood up, and the rulers were gathered together against the Lord, and against His Christ. For of a truth, against Thy holy servant," maîdá, "Jesus, Whom Thou hast anointed, both Herod, and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles and the people of Israel, were

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1 Chap. ix., Sec. 2, pp. 420-432. John iii. 17. 3" Outlines," pp. 432-445.

gathered together, for to do whatsoever Thy hand and Thy counsel determined before to be done. And now, Lord, behold their threatenings: and grant unto Thy servants, that with all boldness they may speak Thy word, by stretching forth Thine hand to heal; and that signs and wonders may be done by the name of Thy holy servant," raidos, "Jesus."

Whereupon we read further that "when they had" thus "prayed, the place was shaken where they were assembled together; and they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and they spake the word of God with boldness"—a passage from whence one might almost date, as it were, the commencement of God's mocking laugh at the enemies of His Christ all through this Dispensation: for that it will be carried through it, we learn from such passages as Psalm xxxvii. 12, 13: where we are told, that "the wicked plotteth against the just, and gnasheth upon him with his teeth. The Lord shall laugh at him: for He seeth that his day is coming." And again in Psalm lix. 8, "But Thou, O Jehovah, shalt laugh at them; Thou shalt have all the heathen in derision." While the close of the Dispensation itself is thus characterized, "Because I have called, and ye refused; I have stretched out My hand, and no man regarded; but ye have set at nought all My counsel, and would none of My reproof: I also will laugh at your calamity; I will mock when your fear cometh; when your fear cometh as desolation, and your destruction cometh as a whirlwind; when distress and anguish cometh upon you. Then shall they call upon Me, but I will not answer; they shall seek Me early, but they shall not find Me: For that they hated knowledge, and did not choose the fear of Jehovah: They would none of My counsel: they despised all My reproof. Therefore shall they eat of the fruit of their own way, and be filled with their own devices."

Verse 4, therefore, relates exclusively to this Dispensation: for that God's mocking laugh (speaking of course after

1 Acts iv. 23-30. 2 Acts iv. 31.

3 Prov. i. 24-31.

the manner of men,) at the rejectors of His Christ will be continued throughout the whole of it, is shewn not only from the above passages of Scripture, but also from the fact that such rejectors exist not only throughout the whole of the Dispensation; but that they will be at the height of their rejection, at the close of it: which is immediately referred to in the next verse (verse 5), in which God assures us that He will then take judgment upon them.

Moreover as the attitude of such rejectors towards the Christ of God, will be precisely the same at His second coming, as it was at His first; although at that time even more defiant and demonstrative; as "the transgressors will then have come to the full; we see that the first three verses relate not only to the first, but to the second Advent likewise; and that the whole Psalm, therefore, will have its complete fulfilment only at that period.

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Viewing then the Psalm in this light, we learn from it, that at the close of this Dispensation, "the Gentiles" will "tumultuously assemble" (margin), "and the people imagine a vain thing;" while "the kings of the earth, and the rulers,” will "take counsel together, against Jehovah, and against His Messiah," or "Christ." And the purport of their counsel is said to be, to "break their bands asunder, and cast away their cords from" them. This is the time spoken of in the Revelation, when "the ten Kings," Tηs oikovμévηs öλns, i.e., of the whole Roman world, "will give their power and strength unto the beast," i.e., Antichrist; and will be "gathered together" "by three unclean spirits," the spirits of demons, working miracles, which go forth," to "gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty"—" into a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon," or, the hill of Megiddo in the Holy Land; preparatory to a descent by them from thence upon Jerusalem, for the purpose of "cutting off" God's people Israel "from being a nation; that the' name of Israel"

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very

1 Daniel viii. 23. Rev. xvi. 14; xvii. 13.

3 Rev. xvi. 14, 16.

might "be no more in remembrance." This also is the time referred to by the Prophet Isaiah, when he says, “The earth is defiled under the inhabitants thereof; because they have transgressed the laws, changed the ordinance, broken the everlasting covenant."2 The place where they will ultimately assemble is likewise declared to be "the valley of Jehoshaphat;" for thus speaketh the prophet Joel, “Proclaim ye this among the Gentiles; prepare war, wake up the mighty men, let all the men of war draw near; let them come up." "Assemble yourselves, and come, all ye Gentiles, and gather yourselves together round about: thither cause Thy mighty ones to come down, O Jehovah. Let the Gentiles be 'wakened and come up to the valley of Jehoshaphat: for there will I sit to judge all the Gentiles round about. Put ye in the sickle, for the harvest is ripe: come, get you down; for the press is full, the fats overflow; for their wickedness is great. Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision,"-concision, or threshing (margin): "for the day of Jehovah is near in the valley of decision."'3 And so John tells us, in the Apocalypse, "And I saw the beast," i.e., Antichrist," and the Kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against Him that sat on the horse," i.e., Christ Jesus the Lord, who is "King of Kings, and Lord of Lords," "and His army."

And now "He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh: the Lord," Adonai, i.e., the Lord Jesus, "shall have them in derision." "Therefore saith the Lord, Jehovah of Hosts, the mighty One of Israel, Ah, I will ease Me of Mine adversaries, and avenge Me of Mine enemies." For this is the time spoken of, when "Jehovah shall send the rod of His strength out of Zion: rule Thou in the midst of Thine enemies:" who have now been made a "footstool" for His feet." “Then shall He speak unto them in His wrath and vex them in His sore displeasure." For "the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and

1 Psalm lxxxiii. 1-4.
4 Rev. xix. 16, 19.

2 Isaiah xxiv. 5.

3 Joel iii. 9-14.

5 Isaiah i. 24.

6 Psalm cx. 1, 2.

the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man," in that day, will"hide themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains; and" will say "to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of Him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb: for the great day of His wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?"" And the beast," i.e., Antichrist, "was taken," èíao@e, seized, or laid hold of, "and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshipped his image. These both were cast alive into the lake of fire burning with brimstone. And the remnant were slain with the sword of Him that sat upon the horse, which sword proceeded out of His mouth: and all the fowls were filled with their flesh."

And thus will that "precious corner stone,"3 on which "whosoever shall fall shall be broken: but on whomsoever it shall fall, it will grind him to powder,' "" which the builders rejected," "smite the image upon his feet that were of iron and clay, and brake them to pieces. Then " will "the iron, the clay, the brass, the silver and the gold," be “broken in pieces together, and become like the chaff of the summer threshing-floors; and the wind" will "carry them away, that no place" shall be "found for them: and the stone' shall "become a great mountain, and fill the whole earth."5 For "in the days of these kings," i.e., the ten kings associated together under Antichrist, "shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left to other people," rather to another people, i.e., another earthly people: because it is to be "given to the people of the saints of the Most High," or, of the high, or heavenly places: "but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever." For, as the Psalm proceeds, "Yet "-notwithstanding

1 Rev. vi. 15-17. Rev. xix. 20, 21. 3 Isaiah xxviii. 16; 1 Peter ii. 6-8. 'Mat. xxi. 42, 44. 5 Daniel ii. 34, 35. 6 Daniel vii. 27.

7 Daniel ii. 44.