verse"-under which he writes, "The creature at the day of judgment shall be restored (as before) to that condition of liberty which it had in its first creation. See Acts iii. 19, 21. 2 Peter iii. 13."

Mr. Poole mentions also the other interpretation of this place, that the creature is to be understood of the Gentiles, and the subjection to vanity, of their idolatry and vain superstitious worship; but as this interpretation is not now received, we believe, by any, it need not be farther quoted.

We profess and believe," says Doctor Goodwin, "not only that Christ by his death made a purchase of all, and by his sacrifice procured the standing of the world for the elect, and so the creatures' preservation comes to be included in the elect's covenant and promises; but there is by Christ a liberty one day to be conferred upon the whole creation, in their being delivered from the bondage of corruption, into the glorious liberty of the sons of God; so as, in their capacity, they shall have a share in the privileges of the new world-that world to come."*

And upon Rev. v. 13, And every creatureheard I, saying, Blessing, &c., he writesEvery creature in its kind shall worship Christ, Phil. ii. 10, 11. Every creature comes in here, because, when Christ's kingdom is set up, they shall be renewed, (Rom. viii. 21,) and be delivered into a glorious liberty."+

It is with no small difficulty the modern millenists get over this passage. They acknowledge that this, and others of the same import, favor the + Expo. p. 16.

*Of Election, p. 61.

doctrine of a restoration of the natural world; and also, that" it is the opinion of many, and of great authority too, that, after a purification by fire, this world will be restored to a far more glorious state than that in which it is at present, and will forever be the place of the residence of holy and happy beings."* Undoubtedly, Henry, Poole, Goodwin, and a thousand others we might name, ought to be esteemed great authority; when they believe and profess none other thing than that which all the prophets, since the world began, have said should come; namely, a restitution of all things.

If there be such a restitution of all things, it is properly called a world to come; and that there must be such a world, is argued, not only from the plain declarations of Scripture, such as, "I create new heavens and a new earth "- "I make all things new "" times of restitution of all things ""the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption, into the glorious liberty of the children of God”—“ and every creature which is in heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, heard I, saying, Blessing," &c., but, also, from what is said of a world to come as being put under Christ: For what world is this, put under him, where our Savior is absolute sovereign? It must be a world before the close of the day of judgment; for then the government which was put into his hand will be put out of it; the kingdom which was given and delivered to him will be delivered up into

*Dr. Edwards.

the hand which put all things under him; and then will Christ also himself be subject.* * And it is not the present world, because the apostle calls it future, THE WORLD TO COME; so we read it; but, rendered more strictly, it is, the habitable earth to come. And it cannot, in the nature of things, be this world, or earth; for here are to be the wicked-them that transgress and offend-to the end of it: the tares and the wheat are both to grow together until the harvest, which is the end of this world. Nor will death be put under the feet of Christ and his saints till then. And whilst yet we see transgressors, and them that offend, in the earth; and the bodies of the saints lying

*The saints in glory will shine forever, as the brightness of the firmament; and their eternal felicity and exaltation is frequently expressed by their being kings, and reigning; they shall reign forever and ever. And as one

star differs from another in glory, so will saints differ. The prophets and apostles, and they who have turned many to righteousness, will shine, or reign, with distinguished lustre; but in the midst of this firmament of glory, Jesus will forever shine as the sun; he will be the first-born among many brethren-the head and husband of the church; and, in this sense, the king of glory. He will undoubtedly enjoy degrees of holiness and happiness above what are enjoyed by all the saints and angels: he will receive the everlasting honors of his personal worth, mediatorial offices and work; and be admired and adored in all the infinitely glorious character of Redeemer : and thus he will reign forever. But this is a very different idea of reigning, from that absolute and universal sovereignty over the world to come, ascribed to him in the 8th Psalm, 2d of Hebrews, &c. This sense of his reigning forever and ever is as consistent with his giving up the dominion and sovereignty of the world to come, and himself being subject, as is the subjection of all saints with their reigning forever and ever.

under the power of death; we see not all things put under him, according to the promises.

It appears therefore necessary, for the fulfilment of this most glorious promise to Christ, that after this world of his kingdom militant, where he rules among his enemies in arms all around him, another world of his kingdom triumphant should come, before the end of his delegated or mediatorial royalty, where all his enemies, disarmed, lie under his feet.

:

Modern millenism greatly eclipses the glory of Jesus Christ; it robs him of his most glorious kingdom. According to this scheme there is no world put under him—all in subjection under his feet for the present is not; "we see not yet all things put under him :" he is now waiting or expecting till his enemies be made his footstool. Nor will the millennial world be put under him; for though, according to this opinion, his enemies will then be fewer and weaker, yet he will rule as now in the midst of his enemies: sin will not wholly be subdued in the hearts of his people; there will be still in them the company of two armies still the law of sin and death: the curse will still lie upon the earth, and in some measure have its effects; and the king of terrors-the great enemy death-will still reign.* And at

* Some of these millenists have supposed that the saints would generally live all the millenary, and that at or near the close would generally die off; but this is not in the least getting over the difficulty; for, should they outlive Methuselah in a mortal state, death would in fact reign over them all the while. And should he not reign over the living, certainly he must reign over the dead saints, the bodies of whom they all agree to consign over to death and the grave, the whole thousand years.

the close of this, or at the opening of the following state, he will deliver up the kingdom, and all dominion will take its eternal state. Therefore, as we said, according to this hypothesis, there is no world put in subjection to Jesus Christ.

This modern sentiment of the millennium does exceedingly eclipse the glory of Christ. It leaves out of view the consummating goodness of the covenant of royalty the chiefest diamond of the crown of David: what Christ himself is now waiting with earnest expectation to see, even his times-his own day, the day of Christ; what all his saints in heaven raise up their immortal desires to, by singing, and saying, We shall reign on the earth; what all the lower creation is reaching after, groaning for, and to which it is travailing in pain; and what, also, the saints on earth, who have the first-fruits of the Spirit, with unutterable aspirations of soul, are waiting and looking for; that then, with the completion of the glory of the Son of God, they also may receive the last accomplishment of their adoption, by the redemption, or resurrection of their body.

The kingdom of Christ to come was the great object of his humiliation and suffering: "For to this end Christ both died, and rose, and revived, that he might be Lord." "He humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross: wherefore, God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name; that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father."