have devoted themselves to this study effected? Have they not been instrumental in causing the Christian world to keep a watchful eye upon those convulsions and revolutions which are connected with the accomplishment of God's purposes, and as accelerating his intentions towards the righteous and the wicked? And must not this devout observation of his providence have confirmed the faith of many believers, and have tended, in a high degree, to preserve conspicuous the reality of true religion? On the other hand, had the prophecies been always considered as a dead letter before the times of their fulfilment, what would the Christian have known? or what should we hereafter know concerning them, at the arrival of the predicted periods? Suppose the navigator, skilful in traversing the seas and coasts already familiar to him, were to neglect supplying himself with the instruments and charts necessary for further voyages which he was ordered to undertake to other parts of the world, should we not deem him insane, or as having acquired his previous skill to less account than his interests demanded? So is the believer, who, content with a partial knowledge of Christian doctrines, imagines it sufficient merely to acknowledge the existence of prophecy, without using all the aids which he can obtain to discover the passing and ultimate events which it foretells, and which involves the great interests of the Redeemer's kingdom, in the voyage to immortality. It must concern us, then, to become acquainted with the remarkable coincidences which the spirit of prophecy and past history unitedly point out, and to endeavour to form

"There has been no age of the church in which the Millennium was not admitted by individual divines of the first eminence."-Encycl. Brit.

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some probable conjectures respecting the still more important and soul-awakening events of the future, so "shortly" to come to pass," or rather, so near their completion. "Behold the fig-tree, and all the trees; when they now shoot forth, ye see and know of your own selves that summer is now nigh at hand. So likewise ye, when ye see these things come to pass, know ye that the kingdom of God is nigh at hand,” Luke xxI. 29-31. This unanswer. ably proves the Saviour's design, that we should not only watch, but compare the signs of the times with his word, involving the idea of a previous regard.

Some of the most excellent writers of the two last and present centuries, agree in general with the system of Scripture doctrines here suggested, which was more especially maintained also by the Christian world beyond the three first centuries, till obscured by the rising power of Antichrist, the ministers of religion exchanging the vital interests and privileges of the gospel for temporal advantages.

"Whoever considers duly how much of the whole Bible is of a prophetic character, and that our God did undoubtedly design that this part of his word should be studied, and be profitable to his church, cannot but be sensible that the right understanding of the prophecies is a valuable gift to the Christian, and greatly to be esteemed. To understand not only the past, but the present, and the general character of the future, according to the Divine Mind, raises us above the petty scenes of this transient world, and its little conflicts, into communion with the Divine Being; and our minds open to those larger views, by which God would lead his people to the discovery of his wisdom, power, and love, and while on earth, to have their conversation in heaven.

"God's purposes should not be kept back and concealed from our fellow men, who, immersed in the business and cares of this world, give far too little time to the study of God's word. It is our clear duty to confess the truth, and the ministers of God are more especially watchmen on the watch-tower, and bound to discern the signs of the times, and to give notice to their people of God's purposes, as revealed in his word, and developing in his Providence.

"We are expressly told, though the word of God was read every Sabbath day in the synagogues, Acts xv. 21, that the Jews through ignorance of that word, crucified the Lord of glory, Acts III. 17, 18. St. Paul says, "They that dwell at Jerusalem, and their rulers, because they knew him not, nor yet the voices of the prophets which are read every Sabbath day, they have fulfilled them in condemning him." Acts XIII. 27. Oh, may we then be warned not to be ignorant of the voices of the prophets, lest we make an irremediable mistake about his second coming, thinking it at a distance, instead of preparing for its approach.

"The prophetic writings should be carefully read, not merely for the future events which they foretell, but as every where bearing the rich treasures of divine truth; and furnishing noble displays of the glory of God, and clear manifestations of the way of salvation, of the duties of the creature, and of his dependance on the Creator. They are full of deep doctrines, sweet promises, holy precepts, and heart-stirring motives to follow the will, and to live to the praise of the great eternal Jehovah. Their holiness speaks their divinity, even before their fulfilment has made it a demonstration; their present usefulness declares the wisdom and lovingkindness of the Lord, even before their

accomplishment has displayed his omniscient eye, his omnipotent arm, his perfect equity, and boundless grace.

"It has pleased the Holy Spirit to reveal things in a variety of ways. Sometimes,' says Bishop Lowth, 'the obvious or literal sense is so prominent and conspicuous, both in the words and sentiments, that the remote or figurative sense is scarcely permitted to glimmer through it. On the other hand, and that more frequently, the figurative sense is found to beam forth with so much perspicuity and lustre, that the literal sense is quite cast into a shade, or becomes indiscernible.' Let us not lean on our own or any other man's wisdom, so much as upon the constant teaching of the Holy Ghost, and comparing Scripture with Scripture."

The following are "explicit statements of the value of prophecy, as a light to the church: Amos III. 7; John xv. 15."

"One grand instrument of effecting the blessed reformation was the popular conviction that Popery was the Man of Sin, and Papal Rome, the Babylon of Revelation. But for this interpretation of prophecy, we might still have been in the darkness and infatuation of that awful perversion of the Gospel.

"If we wait till all are agreed, before we are influenced by prophetic truths, we must wait till the day of grace be passed, and Christ be come in his glory."*

That the book of the Revelation of John, as indeed the other books of prophecy, should have been comparatively so little regarded in the assemblies of Protestants, and other sections of the Christian church, is but a tacit acknowledgment that their contents have been undervalued, and that * Bickersteth's Practical Guide to the Prophecies.

the fulfilment of the past, and gradual developement of the future state of the church, have not been presented to our attention, even from the period of the Reformation, as strong sources of joy and consolation, and as being connected with "the principles of the doctrine of Christ" as much as any other. They have rather been considered as occupying an unimportant or intermediate interest in the concerns of earth and heaven. Mr. Cox well observes: "To the real believer in the coming and kingdom of Christ this part of divine truth is a prominent part: he does not allow it to push other objects out of their places; but to him, its proper station appears to be an eminent one. It is not a non-essential, and so it is important. In his eyes it sheds rays of glory upon all other parts of truth, and so it is glorious. To him the temple of truth is incomplete without it, and so it is most necessary. He feels that this doctrine is designed for the heart, in connexion with the head; and that it is divinely calculated to comfort in sorrow, to raise up under dishonour, to cheer in persecution, and to enliven in duty; in fine, whatsoever things are lovely, profitable, and of good report, are nourished and cherished by believing expectations of the glorious appearing, infallible judgment, and righteous reign of our great God and Saviour Jesus Christ."" Again, he further truly observes: "Many parts of God's word are more fully understood by those who receive this doctrine than by those who reject it. Wrong conceptions of any one revealed truth of God lead to a misunderstanding of many parts of the Bible. For instance, let any one reject the doctrine of Christ's proper divinity, how many hundreds of passages must he mutilate, wrest, and misapply! It is the same with the doctrine in question; and I do again affirm, that