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To these promises, therefore, the issuing of this gentle stream of water from under the gate of the temple refers; and also to the promise made to the woman, that of her seed there should arise one who would bruise the serpent's head, which promise is now renewed to Abraham, that in him shall all the families of the earth be blessed.

The vision of this temple and waters, is a symbol of the plan of salvation, which none but God could sug gest; and comprehends at a glance, the law, the sacrifices, and the Gospel, with its concomitant glory and final spread over the globe.

The angel, therefore, when he began his measurement, had his eye fixed on Abraham, and those promises of God, as being the threshold, or door of hope, from whence he began to measure this river of life.

The angel who showed these things to the prophet, had in his hand a measuring line, and measured from the threshold of the gate, along the course of the stream a thousand cubits, at the end of which the waters were found as deep as to the ancles.

From this place he again measured a thousand cu. bits, at the end of which, the waters were as deep as to

the knees.

From thence, he again measured a thousand cubits, and the waters were as deep as to the loins.

And from this he continued to measure another thousand cubits, at the end of which the waters had become a great river, in which one might swim, but too wide to pass over.

From this place the river continued its course, and

passed down in the desert, and from thence into the sea, whose waters shall be healed, thereby causing a great multitude of fish to be brought forth.

The sea here mentioned, is a symbol of nations, multitudes, and tongues.

See Revelations, chapter xvii. verse 15.--And he saith unto me. The waters which thou sawest, are peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues ;" who shall be the subjects of the healing power of these waters, whose numbers and extent of country are compared to a sea or an ocean, covering the whole earth; for, observe, it is too great, and too wide, and too deep, to be passed over at all.

In attempting to give an exposition of those verses, which inform us of the conduct of the angel, who measured with a line this river, by cubits, a thousand at a time, I shall assume the positions of adapting the measurement of this river to the measurement of time, as referring to distinct dispensations of God's providence, in revealing, from time to time, and from age to age, to the Patriarchs, Prophets and Apostles, and to his Church, in every age, his purposes of grace in the earth.

My desire in so doing is, to trace these waters, or this river, through the various periods of its measurement, to where they are represented by the prophet, so enlarged and extended, as to present to the view of such as look for the coming of Christ on earth spiritually, one universal ocean of His glory and holiness among men, which, when accomplished, is called the Millennium.

From sacred chronology, it appears that Abraham; the great Patriarch of the tribes of Judah and Israel, was born two thousand years (lacking four) before Christ, and two thousand and eight years after the creation, (three hundred and fifty-two after the flood) which brings the life of Abraham half way between the creation and the advent of Jesus Christ.

Inasmuch, therefore, as God begins with Abraham more fully to disclose his good purpose towards man than he had previously done, it becomes the prophet to view Abraham as the threshold of the gate of that temple, from under which the fountain of this river proceeds, and accordingly the angel commences to measure the river at that place, in company with the prophet.

The method pursued to measure this very extraordinary river, which is noticed in many other parts of the Scriptures, is singular and interesting. It would seem this glorious angel laboured to impress the mind of the prophet, that as he had measured this river by cubits, so must be measured the several dispensations of the increase of the knowledge of God in the earth, till it shall become embosomed in the great sea of universal holiness. These cubits cannot be understood to signify any thing else but years; a thousand cubits, therefore, mean a thousand years. And as illustrative of this opinion, we will notice, that the present mode of measuring latitudes and longitudes on the surface of the earth, to ascertain degrees and distances, is very similar to the way the angel adopted to measure that river. His cubits were the symbols of years, as our

minutes are the symbols of miles: and as seconds are the integral parts of a minute, which by the astronomer is used as a symbol for a mile, so are inches the integral parts of a cubit, which by the prophet is here used as a symbol for a year.

The first measurement, therefore, of the first thousand cubits, is considered a grand symbol of a thousand years, and extends from Abraham to the building of the first temple at Jerusalem by Solomon, which was finished exactly at the end of three thousand years from the creation; and is, therefore, a thousand years, lacking a mere fraction, from the birth of Abraham till this house was finished.

During this thousand cubits or years, God gave to Abraham several glorious and gracious promises respecting the Messiah, who should come into the world through his lineage. These promises were made to him by the everlasting God, through the medium of supernatural vision. See Gen. xv. 12. "And when the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abraham; and, lo, a horror of great darkness fell upon him." And also at verses 17 and 18 it is said, "And it came to pass, that, when the sun went down, and it was dark, behold a smoking furnace, and a burning lamp that passed between those pieces. In that same day the Lord made a covenant with Abraham.”

The Lord also, in a supernatural way, gave to Abraham a son, when both he and his wife were past the time of life, and also supernaturally preserved that son irom death by the intervention of an angel's voice, who cried from the air just above where he was bound on Mount Moriah to be slain and sacrificed.

And to Isaac, Jacob was given, to whom God also conversed in vision. See Gen. xxviii. 12, 13, 14. “ And he dreamed, and behold a ladder set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven; and behold the angels of God ascending and descending on it. And, behold, the Lord stood above it, and said, I am the Lord God of Abraham thy father, and the God of Isaac: the land whereon thou liest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed. And thy seed shall be as the dust of the earth; and in thy seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed."

And to Jacob was given the twelve patriarchs who went down into Egypt where Moses was born, and from thence the whole nation of the Jews, consisting of about three millions of souls, journeyed towards the country of the Canaanites.

During this journey, the whole nation were carried as it were upon the wings of a great eagle; for God divided the Red Sea and let them pass over safe to the other shore.

At this place also, the angel of the covenant stood between the two hosts in the form of a pillar of cloud. That side which looked towards the Egyptians, bad the appearance of blackness or darkness, which involved their whole army in the shades of night. But that side which looked toward his people, the Jews, shone with the brilliancy of a lambent flame, and gave them light till the morning rose, when it again assumed its cloudy aspect.

From this sea, in the process of years they came to Mount Horeb, at which place the angel of the cove

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