have taken place, or ever will be practised among men, have been introduced. And by breaking the everlasting covenant made with Abraham, and transgressing the laws, and changing the ordinances, which have been given and published by Moses, and the Prophets, by Jesus Christ, and his Apostles, which, had they been observed, would have preserved the church uncorrupt, and spread true religion and holiness over the whole earth; by disregarding and violating all these, the world is filled with wickedness, which will continue and increase, until mankind in general shall be ripe for that punishment, which God will inflict in those calamities and judgments, which will destroy and sweep from the earth the greatest part of the inhabitants; so that there will be but comparatively few men left, like the few olives which remain on the tree after it is shaken, and the scattering grapes, which hang on the vine, after the vintage is over. Those who shall be left when the battle is over, will lift up their voice, and sing for the majesty of the Lord. They will behold the terrible works of God, in which they will see his terrible majesty, and tremble, submit, approve, and adore, and praise and pray. And then the Millennium will begin.

"The prophecy goes on, and the same events, as to substance, and this battle, and the consequence of it, are described in other words: "Fear and the pit, and the snare are upon thee, O inhabitant of the earth. The earth is utterly broken down, the earth is clean dissolved, the earth is moved exceedingly. The earth shall reel to and fro like a drunkard, and shall be moved like a cottage, and the transgression thereof shall be heavy upon it, and it shall fall, and not rise again." This battle is described in the Revelation, in the same figurative language: "And there was a great earthquake, such as was not since men were upon the earth, so mighty an earthquake and so great. And every island fled away, and the mountains were not found "*" And it shall come to pass in that day, * Rev. xvi, 18, 29.

that the Lord shall punish the host of the high ones that are on high, and the kings of the earth upon the earth. And they shall be gathered together as prisoners are gathered in the pit, and shall be shut up in the prison; and after many days shall they be visited. Then the moon shall be confounded, and the sun shall be ashamed, when the Lord of hosts shall reign in Mount Zion, and in Jerusalem, and before his ancients gloriously." This prediction respects the great men and kings of the earth, who exalt themselves in pride and wickedness, and tyrannize over men, and describes their overthrow in this battle. They shall be taken as prisoners, be punished for their pride and tyranny, and shut up that they may do no more mischief. Thus God will cut off the spirit of princes, and be terrible to the kings of the earth."* is here said, that the Millennium shall follow upon this, in the reign of Christ and his church, "When the Lord of hosts shall reign in Mount Zion, and in Jerusalem, and before his ancients gloriously.""Then the moon shall be confounded, and the sun ashamed." That is, then there shall be such spiritual light and glory in the flourishing kingdom of Christ on earth, and so superiour to all the light and glory of the natural world, as that the latter shall be utterly eclipsed, and appear to be worthy of no regard, compared with the former.

And it

"The three next chapters are a continuation of prophecy of the same event, viz. the judgments which are to be inflicted on the false and degenerate professors of religion, and the world of mankind in general, previous to the prosperity of the church and kingdom of Christ in the world, which will be evident to the careful judicious reader; and that the predictions contained in them, coincide with those which have been mentioned. It is needless to transcribe any particular passage here, except the following: Come, my people, enter thou into thy chambers, and shut

*Psalm lxxvi. 12.

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thy doors about thee; hide thyself as it were for a little moment, until the indignation be overpassed. For behold, the Lord cometh out of his place to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity: The earth also shall disclose her blood, and shall no more cover her slain.' This must be a great and dreadful day of battle, punishment and vengeance, which shall fall on the inhabitants of the earth in general, when all the blood which has been, and shall be shed, from the beginning of the world to that day, shall be required at their hands. There is no reason to think, that this punishment has yet been inflicted; but it will doubtless be executed by the battle of that great day of God Almighty, mentioned in the sixteenth chapter of the Revelation; and more particularly described in the fourteenth and nineteenth chapters, which have been considered; and in the foregoing prophecies of Isaiah, which have been now mentioned. The words which follow those transcribed above, are, " In that day, the Lord with his sore, great, and strong sword, shall punish leviathan the piercing serpent, even leviathan that crooked serpent, and he shall slay the dragon that is in the sea. The same event is here predicted, of which there is a prophecy in the twentieth chapter of the Revelation, viz. of the dragon that old serpent which is the devil and Satan, being laid hold of, and bound and cast into the bottomless pit. And the same consequence of this with respect to the church is here foretold, as is described there, viz. the prosperity of it, by the special favour and pretence of God. "In that day sing ye unto her, A vineyard of red wine. I the Lord do keep it, I will water it every moment: Lest any hurt it, I will keep it night and day." While the battle is going on, and God is punishing the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity, his people will be hid as in a secret chamber; but when it is over, they will become as a flourishing, fruitful vineyard, producing abundance

* Isaiah xxyi, 20, 21.

of red wine, in consequence of the peculiar favour and care of Jesus Christ, and the abundance of heavenly divine influences.

The thirty-fourth and thirty-fifth chapters of Isaiah contain a prophecy of the Millennium, and of the day of battle which will precede it, which will consist in the punishment of the world, for their iniquity. "Come near, ye nations, to hear, and hearken, ye people: Let the earth hear, and all that is therein: the world, and all things that come forth of it. For the indignation of the Lord is upon all nations, and his fury upon all their armies. He hath utterly destroyed them, he hath delivered them to the slaughter. For it is the day of the Lord's vengeance, and the year of recompenses for the controversy of Zion. Strengthen ye the weak hands, confirm the feeble knees. Say to them that are of a fearful heart, Be strong, fear not: Behold, your God will come with vengeance, even God with a recompense; he will come and save you. Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped. Then shall the lame man leap as an hart, and the tongue of the dumb shall sing; for in the wilderness shall waters break out, and streams in the desert," &c. "And the ransomed of the Lord shall return and come to Zion with songs, and everlasting joy upon their heads; they shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away."

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"In the forty-first chupter of Isaiah, God, speaking to the church, and promising the good things and prosperity which were in store for it in the days of the Millennium, says, Behold, all they that are incensed against thee, shall be ashamed and confounded: They shall be as nothing, and they that strive with thee shall perish. Thou shalt seek them, and shall not find them that contended with thee: They that war against thee shall be as nothing, and as a thing of nought. Behold, I will make thee a new, sharp threshing instrument, having teeth; thou shalt thresh the mountains, and beat them small, and make the

hills as chaff. Thou shalt fan them, and the wind shall carry them away, and the whirlwind shall scatter them: And thou shalt rejoice in the Lord, and shalt glory in the Holy One of Israel."

In the forty-second chapter, God makes promises to his church, which are to be accomplished in their fulness, in the days of the Millennium, and speaks of the war and battle in which he will destroy his enemies, to open the way for the good things which were to be done for the church. "The Lord shall go forth as a mighty man, he shall stir up jealousy like a man of war: He shall cry, yea, roar; he shall prevail against his enemies. I have long time holden my peace, I have been still, and refrained myself: Now will I cry like a travailing woman, I will destroy and

devour at once. I will make waste mountains and hills, and dry up all their herbs; and I will make the rivers islands, and I will dry up the pools. And I will bring the blind by a way that they knew not, I will lead them in paths that they have not known: I will make darkness light before them, and crooked things straight. These things will I do unto them, and not forsake them."

"The fifty-ninth and sixtieth chapters are wholly on this subject of the Millennium. In the fourteen first verses of the fifty-ninth chapter, the great degree of wickedness of the world of mankind is described. And then God is represented as greatly displeased, and rising to battle, to punish men for their evil deeds. "And the Lord saw it, and it displeased him that there was no judgment. And he saw that there was no man, and he wondered that there was no intercessor: Therefore, his arm brought salvation unto him, and his righteousness, it sustained him.— For he put on righteousness as a breast-plate, and an helmet of salvation upon his head; and he put on the garments of vengeance for clothing, and was clad with zeal as a cloak. According to their deeds, accordingly he will repay fury to his adversaries, recompense to his enemies; to the islands he will repay