"bruise the heel?" It is calculated to convey a sense of lameness, an idea of hindering,

and wounding, but no what is suggested to the to bruise the head?"

more than this. But mind by the expression Does it not convey at

once an impression of destruction-altogether an overcoming and slaying? Now such a destruction has not yet befallen Satan. Indeed, after the opening of the Gospel dispensation, the Apostle Paul, looking forward to the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ, tells us, that the God of peace had even then to accomplish the bruising of Satan, though it was to happen shortly; and it has not yet been done. (Rom. xvi. 20.) "A thousand years" are with the Lord "as one day," but Satan's head is not yet bruised-he is not overcome yet. Oh! how busily, and, alas! how powerfully is he at work at this moment amongst us! Then consider the promise that was given to Abraham, and settled with a covenant and an oath; "In thee shall all families of the earth be blessed." "In thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed." Has this been fulfilled? Are all the families are all the nations of the earth blessed? The Gospel dispensation is the arrangement of God by which he visits the Gentiles, "to take out of them a people for his name;" to gather

"out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation," those who are to be the associated kings with the Lord Jesus-entering into "the inheritance of the saints in light "-sitting upon his throne, one with him, in the great day when he shall reign over the world, when "his name shall be one," and "when the knowledge of the glory of the Lord shall cover the earth as the waters cover the sea." The object of the Gospel dispensation is to gather here some and there others, by faith in the name of Jesus; but what does the Lord say concerning them? "Many are called, few are chosen." Very different from this is the promise to Abraham, that "All families of the earth"-" all the nations of the earth"-shall be blessed in his seed. This has not yet been fulfilled; but we look forward to the time when in its fullest sense it assuredly shall be fulfilled.

This then was the general grand object of the choice of Abraham; that in his family should be born the Saviour; that when the Son of God was to be made flesh of a woman, that woman was to be one born of his particular family. In establishing the covenant with Abraham, it pleased God further to enable us to see a secondary object in connexion with the first. This secondary object is, that the chosen family according to the flesh shall form a nation, a

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people, for the establishment of a kingdom, a throne upon earth, on which shall sit the new Adam, who is to reign over all the earth; realizing the whole of God's blessing upon the first Adam; renewing the earth in all its brightness and in all its glory, so that it shall again be said to be, "Very good!" Now, when this second Adam thus takes the possession given to the first, he will have a throne to sit upon, in order to reign upon earth; and it has pleased God, in choosing the family, of whose flesh the Son should take manhood, to appoint by covenant that this family shall form the nation, constitute the kingdom, establish the throne upon which he shall sit. The relative position of this people may be shown by an illustration. The kingdom of England is but a portion of the British dominions; our Queen reigns over vast multitudes; but the English are the metropolitan people; and England is the place where her throne is established-where she reigns and rules—and whence goes forth the law. Just so it will be, when "the Lord shall be king over all the earth,” in the day that there shall be "one Lord, and his name one," (Zech. xiv. 9): the law shall go forth from Jerusalem; and the Lord shall have his throne there; and there from time to time, as he wills and when he wills, shall he be seen.

and known.

This is referred to in the renewal of the covenant with David: it was then especially stated, that of the loins of David God would raise up one to sit upon his throne; and we have no difficulty in understanding to whom this applies, for the Spirit of God has explained it by the Apostle Peter. (Acts ii. 29—31.) "The patriarch David, being a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him, that of the fruit of his loins, according to the flesh, he would raise up Christ to sit on his throne; he seeing this before, spake of the resurrection of Christ." The habit of being satisfied with a loose interpretation of Scripture, and undefined notions gathered up without sufficient consideration, often leads us to take words in a very erroneous sense. This passage is often read as if it stated that Jesus was promised to sit on Christ's throne, and so a spiritual throne is imagined: this, however, could not be meant, for the words declare, that Jesus is to sit on David's throne, which was a literal throne-the throne of the king of the Jews, reigning at Jerusalem over the Jews. The spiritual throne of Christ expresses the power by which Christ reigns now in the hearts of his people, and will continue to reign over their hearts for ever; but that never was David's throne; and it is said,

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that Christ shall sit upon David's throne. David sat upon a throne, which typified the spiritual throne of Christ; and in that sense the antitype is Christ's throne. When, therefore, it is said, that Christ shall sit upon David's throne, it must refer to the literal throne of David, for David never had a spiritual throne. It will only be necessary to corroborate this by mentioning one other similar text; many more may be discovered at your leisure. In the 9th of Isaiah we are told of the child to be born and the Son given unto us, "Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever." Every one of those passages which speak of Christ's sitting on the throne of David, and ruling over the kingdom of the Jews, give us the idea, that the object which God had, in a secondary point of view, was to raise up a kingdom and a people as the special inheritance over which should reign the seed of Abraham-the seed of the woman, that should bruise the serpent's head, and should bless every family in the world, and all the nations of the earth. And thus when in the second Psalm Jehovah says, "Ask of me, and I shall give thee the Heathen for thine inheritance,