wise enter into the new Jerusalem whatsoever maketh a lie. Thus both Testaments agree that the holy city, which is the name of the new Jerusalem, is perfectly holy.

It will be an immortal state. God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away. The immortality. of the new Jerusalem and its holy inhabitants is most emphatically expressed by the tree of life being there, yielding her fruit, and their having right to it.

The perfection of the new Jerusalem appears from its being the promised reward of the saints -the faithful. Upon him that overcometh I will write the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, which is new Jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven from my God: and I will write upon him my new name. And under the head of the new Jerusalem, in the 21st chapter of Revelation, the same promise is repeated: He that overcometh shall inherit all things, and I will be his God. Again, it is said, “Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city."

The new Jerusalem being the promised reward of the faithful, it can be no other than the city Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob looked for, which had foundations, whose builder and maker is God -the city prepared for them-wherefore God is not ashamed to be called their God.

In the same manner, the future kingdom of Christ on earth--the millennium-is spoken of

in the Scriptures as reward, which awaits the Lord's people-the prophets and the saints, and all them that fear his name. "The seventh angel sounded, and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ, and he shall reign forever and ever. And the elders worshipped God, saying, We give thee thanks, O Lord God Almighty, because thou hast taken to thee thy great power, and hast reigned.

"And the nations were angry, and thy wrath is come, and the time of the dead that they should be judged; and that thou shouldest give reward unto thy servants the prophets, and to the saints, and them that fear thy name, small and great."

The kingdom of Christ to come, and the new Jerusalem, being both spoken of as the reward of the saints, shows their kindred-that they are really the same thing under different names: in the expectation of which, we have an easy and literal sense for the promise, often repeated, that the righteous-the meek-the blessed of the Lord -shall inherit the earth. When he laid the foundation of the world, he prepared for them a kingdom; and he then rejoiced in the habitable part of his earth, because the righteous should inhabit it, and dwell therein forever.

We shall here attend to an objection often made to the sentiment that the righteous shall inherit the earth in this literal sense, which is, that it is undesirable-it can be no exaltation, but must be great degradation, for the dead in

Christ, whose spirits are gone into heaven, to return, and again live on the earth.*

This objection is founded in ignorance of the Scriptures, and of the power of God, respecting the new heavens and the new earth, and the new Jerusalem, or millennial church state. For it is certain that nothing can be said more of heaven than is said of the millennium; nothing is said, or can be said, in the language of mortals more sublime of heaven above, than that it is full of the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea, and nothing is there to hurt or destroy. But this is said of that holy mountain, the millennial church. Yea, is it not plainly intimated, that the earth will then outshine the upper worlds?that those upper worlds of light will then be confounded by the light and glory of the earth? For the moon shall be confounded, and the sun ashamed, when the Lord of hosts shall reign in mount Zion, and in Jerusalem, and before his ancients, gloriously.

The sun and moon are the brightest emblems of the still higher worlds, and are used in the Scriptures for language to express the highest ideas of heavenly glory. The evangelist could say no more of the glory of Christ in the mount of transfiguration, than that his face did shine as the sun. And to say that the sun will be overpowered-ashamed-by the glory of the millennial world, is saying all that can be said of the third heaven; and, to me, strongly implies that the redeemed new earth will be the brightest of all worlds.

*This is the objection stated page 67, in the note.

The Lord made the earth for the children of men; and, as he knew what kind of habitation would be most convenient and pleasant for them, why may we not conclude, that, when it is redeemed and restored, it will be the happiest seat for the saints in the universe?

As Christ was ascending up to Jerusalem, and his disciples were expecting that the kingdom of God should immediately appear, they began to rejoice, saying, Hosanna to the Son of David -peace in heaven, and glory in the highest. This highest sentiment of heavenly glory the angels respond on earth peace; expressing their good will to the earth-wishing it the enjoyment of glory in the highest.

And the redeemed in heaven sing, We shall reign on the earth; expressing also their good will to, and desire for, a kingdom of glory on the earth.

And we on earth also pray that heaven should come on earth: thy kingdom come, thy will be done in earth as it is in heaven.

The millennial kingdom is the Son of David's highest hosanna: and though a sense of unworthiness may check the thought, it must be desirable to his people to reign with him, and there to see, and sing the hosanna-glory in the highest.

Having attempted to answer the objection, as it is made to us, we shall offer the same against the modern millennium, that it is undesirable to the people of God.

The modern millennium, on the one hand, is represented too imperfect for a state of liberation. The people of God, in the exercise of faith, do not wish to rest till they enter into God's rest;

on the contrary, in their right exercise, they would first accomplish as a hireling their days, and then enter into his rest, and cease from their own labors or works, as God did from his. And on the other hand, it is described too indulgent for a state of discipline-far more fit for the nurture of bastards than of sons. While I am occupying for my Lord, on probation, let me agonize and wrestle hard, says the Christian soldier; and when my sabbath comes, let me have an unclouded sky, and let my sun no more go down. The friends of Christ choose to be in the world as he was, and desire to tread after him and his people the thorny path to glory.

But, it is said, good people must be pleased with this millennium, because it is expected that millions of souls will then be converted; and, to them, this must be desirable.

That such vast multitudes are yet to be converted to Christ as some have calculated and numbered, is what I have not been able to discover in the Scriptures.* For ought I know

* The argument, that the church of Christ, for his honor, and for the illustration of divine benevolence, must yet be increased by the amazing population of a millennium, until it outnumbers among the human race them that perish, has also been advanced for universal salvation, and we see not but with as much propriety; for if the advantage of Christ over Satan his enemy, and the exercise of divine benevolence in him, depend on numbers, to make the glory of his victory complete, and the exercise of benevolence perfect, we must conclude all will be saved. But this is not the ground of arguing the honor of Christ, nor the divine benevolence: the argument, therefore, is nothing to the purpose, either of the modern millenists or the Universalists.