holier than thou;" but the remainder of the chapter, from the eighth verse, is full of encouragement to the elect, and warnings to those who forget the holy mountain, which is to be found in the new earth, and may therefore be called New Jerusalem, as well as that part of America to which the pilgrim fathers fled from High Church of England persecution, was named New England: "Thus saith the Lord, As the new wine is found in the cluster, and one saith: Destroy it not, for a blessing is in it; so will I do for my servants' sakes, that I may not destroy them all. And I will bring forth a seed out of Jacob, and out of Judah an inheritor of my mountains: and mine elect shall inherit it, and my servants shall dwell there. And Sharon shall be a fold of flocks, and the Valley of Achor a place for the herds to lie down in, for my people that have sought me. But ye are they that forsake the Lord, that forget my holy mountain, that prepare a table for Gad, and that furnish the drinkoffering unto Meni. Therefore will I number you to the sword, and ye shall all bow down to the slaughter: because when I called ye did not answer; when I spoke ye did not hear; but did evil before mine eyes, and did choose that wherein I delighted not. Therefore thus saith the Lord God, Behold my servants shall eat, but ye shall be hungry; behold my servants shall drink, but ye shall be thirsty; behold my servants shall rejoice, but ye shall be ashamed; behold my servants shall sing for joy of heart, but ye shall cry for sorrow of heart; and shall howl for vexation of spirit. And ye shall leave your name for a curse unto my chosen for the Lord God shall slay thee, and call his servants by another name: that he who blesseth himself in the earth, shall bless himself in the God of truth; and he that sweareth in the earth, shall swear by the God of truth; because the former troubles are for gotten, and because they are hid from mine eyes. For behold I create new heavens, and a new earth; and the former shall not be remembered, nor come into mind. But be ye glad and rejoice for ever in that which I create : for behold I create Jerusalem a rejoicing, and her people a joy. And I will rejoice in Jerusalem, and joy in my people and the voice of weeping shall no more be heard in her, nor the voice of crying. There shall be no more thence an infant of days, nor an old man that hath not filled his days: for the child shall die an hundred years old; but the sinner being an hundred years old, shall be accursed. And they shall build houses and inhabit them : and they shall plant vineyards, and eat the fruit of them. They shall not build, and another inhabit; they shall not plant, and another eat; for as the days of a tree, are the days of my people, and mine elect shall enjoy the work of their hands. They shall not labour in vain, nor bring forth for trouble; for they are the seed of the blessed of the Lord, and their offspring with them. And it shall come to pass, that before they call, I will answer: and while they are yet speaking, I will hear. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain, saith the LORD." St. John, who was taught by the same Holy Spirit that inspired all the Old Testament prophets, observes the same order as they do in first predicting a destruction of the Lord's enemies by fire, and then describing a place of refuge for those who were serving him faithfully. In the 18th chapter of the book of Revelations, we find the overthrow of "Babylon the Great," the subject of the prophet's pen; and in the 21st chapter the following description of the place prepared for the elect people of God: “And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea. New Jerusalem, or (A And I, John, saw the holy city, NEW INHERITANCE OF PEACE) And I heard a great the tabernacle of God them, and they shall coming down from God, out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. voice out of heaven, saying, behold is with men, and he will dwell with be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God. And 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 interpretation of this chapter has caused some controversy amongst divines; but as I do not profess to interpret, and only express my opinions, in order to lead others to inquire as well as myself, I shall just ask, is there not a possibility that the prediction "there shall be no more sea," may be figurative language, and as the sea is used as an emblem of trouble, may it not be interpreted "there shall be no more trouble?" If intended to be understood literally, it might allude only to the Mediterranean Sea, which was the largest sea known to the Apostles, and which may be destined to be dried up by a convulsion of nature, which may unite Europe and Africa, when "The LORD ariseth to shake terribly the earth." St. John's description of a city which he saw "coming down from heaven" has also been a subject for difference of opinion amongst commentators; and I remember being once amused at a picture I saw, very well engraved, of a city, or assemblage of stone houses, with windows, towers, &c., &c., all firmly united together, and coming down very gracefully through the clouds. I know not * Isaiah, ii, 19, 22, whether the painter of the original picture intended that his city was to have met with its foundation on earth, in the shape of rock or sand, or whether he would have liked to have taken lodgings in it himself; but his ideas and mine of the city described by St. John are very different. Bishop Horsley says, very justly, that "To attain this useful end of prophecy-which is to afford the highest proof of Providence-it was necessary that prophecy should be delivered in such disguise, as to be DARK while the event is remote, to CLEAR UP as it approaches, and to be rendered CONSPICUOUS by its fulfilment." Thus the prophecies concerning the "Inheritance of peace" were intended to remain involved in the same mystery as the Prophecies of Daniel until "knowledge was increased;" and until the gospel was preached to all nations. Since the invention of gunpowder, people have not thought of building cities with walls round them or limiting their size, therefore the "Inheritance of Peace," is only a country where houses may be built, and vineyards planted, and where the Lord's people may live as Christian brethren, fulfilling the command "love thy neighbour as thyself," and studying, individually and collectively, while building those houses and planting those vineyards, how they can best obey the precept, "Do unto others as you would they should do unto you.” Until Australia was discovered, there was not a part of the world where those principles, which are ultimately to triumph over selfishness, could be carried out to their full extent, because every country the gospel was preached in was pre-occupied by idolators or unbelievers; and Australia could not have been arrived at, unless the Mariner's compass had been discovered, and the art of ship-building, and the sciences of Navigation and Astronomy, brought to perfection. "Long lay the ocean paths from man concealed, Though light as film, and trembling as the dew."* Old Jerusalem was built by idolators, and was, of course, suited for the residence of persons who were selfish and proud. There were probably, within its walls, as many palaces for the rich, and as many hovels for the industrious, as there are in some of the cities of Europe which are doomed to destruction. But as the Inheritance of Peace" is to be occupied by those who pray with sincerity, "Thy will be done on earth, as it is done in heaven," we may expect that in building their house, they will not imitate the proud nations of Europe, but prove in the erection of their dwellings that they love their neighbours as themselves," and are animated by a heavenly and Christian spirit. When such a city as this is erected by "Trees of Righteousness," it will be fit for the reception of the Saviour of Mankind, in the words of St. John "prepared as a bride adorned for her husband," or as he expressed himself in the 10th verse, it will be "the bride, the Lamb's wife." "And there shall be no more death," is also a text which has given rise to much difference of opinion. The way in which I understand it, is, There shall be no more premature death. As the prophet Isaiah says, "a man shall fulfil his days." When man is guided by Montgomery. |