6, 7, and the dismal night itself he states must be preceded by the slaying of the witnesses and the universal spread of popery. This slaying of the witnesses he considers must be universal throughout christendom; and therefore not fulfilled by the burning of protestants in Queen Mary's time; nor by the popish reign of James II; nor by the temporary expulsion of the protestants from Piedmont by the duke of Savoy; all which events occupied about three years and a half, and were by some therefore supposed to be intended: though he thinks that these events may be for hints or pledges of the greater one. He assigns several reasons for concluding, that the witnesses could not then have been slain; the most cogent of which appears to be, that in that case a great earthquake or revolution ought to have taken place, destroying a tenth of the papal city; (which he thinks means France;) and the Turkish empire ought to be passing away, which was then in great power.* He thinks that from Rev. XVIII. 7, may be gathered, that the papacy would revive and be in its greatest security just before its overthrow; and conceived, that though as a secular prince the Pope's authority was declining, yet that popery itself was then gaining ground; whilst the reformed churches and protestant dissenters were falling into doctrines and practices which naturally led to popery. He concludes this point as follows: "Now in all that I have said I do not pretend to any extraordinary impulse from God, or to any prophetic spirit, but ground all upon the word of God; and if what I have said does not appear 'from thence, and upon the face of 'things in providence, I have no

pretensions to any thing else to support my opinion with, and as ' such only I deliver it."

After this dark night he expects another morning, the spiritual reign of Christ, symbolized by the Philadelphian church state; in which the vials of wrath are to be poured out upon the antichristian states, knowledge shall be increased, multitudes converted, the fulness of the Gentiles brought in, and the Jews restored. The kingdoms of this world are to become the kingdoms of our Lord and his Christ, and the marriage of the Lamb will be come. (Isa, XI. 9; XXX. 26; LI. 1; Rev. XI. 15-17; Ps. LXXII. 7—11.)

Yet sure as this morning comes a night is to follow-not of persecution, but of coldness and carnal security, represented by the Laodicean state; (Rev. 111. 15, 16;) whilst the threat of Christ, that the church is to be spued out of his mouth, shews that she is to be cast off for her apostacy. See also Luke xvII. 26-29.

Another morning is to succeed, which will consist of the personal reign of Christ for " a thousand years," which will be "as one day.” Then will take place the first resurrection; after which there will be no further night to the saints, which he gathers from Isa. LX. 19, 20, and Rev. xxi. 23.

IV. He concludes with the exhortation, "If ye will enquire, enquire ye; return, come:" shewing first, that we should search the scripture, specially the prophetic parts of it, and more particularly the book of Revelation; that we should add to this prayer and supplication, as Daniel did; and enquire with modesty and humility. Secondly, that we should return to the Lord by faith and repentance, (Rev. 111. 2, 3.) Thirdly,

that we should come to the Lord and take of the water of life freely. Rev. XXII. 17.

SERMON II.

1. CHRON. XII. 23. And of the children of Issachar, which were men that had understanding of the times, to know what Israel ought to do; the heads of them were two hundred; and all their brethren were at their commandment.

This sermon is added by Dr. Gill, in the way of further practical improvement of the Watchman's answer.

After noticing the great influence which these two hundred men had over their tribe, all their brethren being at their commandment, he inquires," in what their understanding might consist."

He reviews and rejects the various opinions of Jewish and Christian commentators on this point; as that they were chronologers or astronomers, whereby they fixed the times of the great festivals,-that they were astrologers, and also useful to the agriculturist, to prognosticate the weather and seasons ;--that they were historians, and therefore could in doubtful cases refer to precedents.

He himself inclines to the opinion that their understanding was a political prudence, grounded on a knowledge of the prophecies of God; and that in the particular instance connected with the text it is evident from verse 23, that they were encouraged to turn the kingdom to David at this juncture, by a prediction which was known in Saul's life time.

And the use he makes of this interpretation is to insist, that those who have any understanding of prophetic times, relating to the Church of Christ, should inform the Israel of God, what they ought to do in them or in the prospects of them.

I. He observes, that there are some times and seasons the knowledge of which is not to be attained

when men indulged themselves in 'pleasure, lived in great security, unaware of the ruin coming upon them; and that when the Son of man cometh faith will not be found in the earth; (whether it be under'stood of the grace of faith, or of 'faith with respect to Christ's coming ;) and when we compare these things with the present time, and consider the luxury, love of pleasure, carnal security and infidelity that abound among us, we might conclude that the coming of Christ is just at hand; were it not that there are many things which require to be previously fulfilled."

He refers to the Book of Revelation in particular, as a guide to understand the times; conceiving the message to the seven Churches of Asia prophetical of the condition of the Church of Christ from the time of John to the end of time. From this book he gathered, that the Philadelphian church state was then to come; which he says is to be distinguished by an open door of the gospel," large conversions of Jews and Gentiles, much holiness and

'brotherly love, and great spirituality; after which the church, being 'proud of its gifts and the Spirit withdrawing, will sink into lukewarmness and security; which will 'bring on the Laodicean state, which ' will issue in the general judgment." "Moreover, there are certain very 'memorable events, the dates of 'which are peremptorily fixed: as the treading of the holy city forty two months; the witnesses pro'phesying in sackcloth and under 'discouragements 1260 days; during which term also the Church is to be nourished in the wilderness even for a time, times and half a time; and power is given to the 'beast or antichrist to continue forty and two months;a-all which began and will end together. For these dates are actually the same; 1260 days being 42 months; (reckoning thirty days to a month, as was customary in the Eastern 'nations ;) and could we be certain 'when these dates begin, we should ' have no difficulty about the expira'tion of them, or how long it is 'to it.

Good men have been mis'taken in their calculations for want of this. But though we can come 'at no certainty as to the precise time, when these things shall be ; ' yet some degree of understanding of them may be come at: and 'from the circumstances of things it may be concluded, that these ' dates cannot reach beyond a hundred and fifty years more; and it I may be, they may expire much 'sooner.'

ligious ordinances; to be instant prayer; and to regard the concerns both temporal and spiritual of their fellow creatures. (2.) The Israel of God ought to do these things, not for justification, but because it is the will of God; because they are useful to men and profitable by way of example: and they are in themselves honest, pure and of good report. (3.) God's Israel ought most especially to do them, because they were fore-ordained, created, and redeemed to them; and they are the only persons in a proper capacity to do them.c

Secondly, there are some things in particular which the Israel of God are to do, according to the times in which they live, or which they expect. From Revelation II. 4, 5, and 1 Cor. XIV. 13, he shews the need of watchfulness, of jealousy for the truth, of penitence for our coldness in regard to it, of courage to make it known, of sticking close to God's word, of a readiness to meet Him, and of a preparation to endure affliction.

In urging believers to "hold fast" to the doctrine of the Reformation, which they had" heard and received," his words are worthy of note:

-"If you would keep the enemy from within, preserve your outI works; stand by them, quit not even such as may seem of the least importance; dispute every inch of 'ground; give not way in any thing, nor for any time, no not for an hour, that the truth of the gospel may con'tinue with you d 'tis this giving up ' of one thing after another that is 'the ruin of us. What is the reason ' that deism has had such a spread among us of late years? Among the rest, not only is it owing to the books wrote against Christian

a Rev. xI. 2, 3; xii, 6, 14; XIII. 5.

c 2 Tim. 11. 21.

b Ephes. 1. 4; 11. 10; Tit. 11. 14. d Gal. 11. 5.

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one truth of the Bible being given up after another, till at length there 'is scarce any thing left worth con. tending for. And so it is in other controversies among those that are 'called Christians;-something is generally given up on the side of truth, for which the writer is com'plimented as an ingenious man, ' and a man of good sense; this proves a snare to him, and whenever he 'writes again, he'll give up some'thing more to confirm his charac'ter; or another will start up, and take the same method, observing which way the stream of reputa<tion runs; whilst those on the other 'side secretly laugh at them; and ' thus are we likely to be wheedled and cajoled out of truth, by artful and designing men on the one hand, ' and through the weakness of some on the other; and we shall have more and more of this giving up of truth, as the night we are entering into grows darker and darker." His concluding words, after he has spoken of the night of affliction, are as follow.-

And now, as to the morning that will follow after, this you should 'most firmly believe;-though scoffers may mock at it, and carnal professors be unconcerned about it ' and give no credit to it ;—yet suf'fer yourselves, a little while, and 'He that shall come will come, and 'will not tarry. Pray for his king'dom and coming; give him no rest day or night, till he arise and have mercy on Zion, and make his Je'rusalem the praise of the whole earth; be hasting in your warm 'affections and earnest desires after 'those glorious times, which God will hasten in his own time; and ' in the darkest season look for this 'morning, for at evening-time it shall be light; and a glorious one it will be, as a morning when the sun Irises, a morning without clouds.' I

The discourse begins with an exposition of the previous verses. The title of the Syriac version is, “ Concerning the redemption of Jerusalem." Like Canticles, it abruptly begins with a relative without an antecedent : His foundation is in the holy mountains," (or mountains of holiness :) in allusion either to the Zion and Moriah on which the temple stood, or to the mountains round about Jerusalem, both which he considers to be types of the Church. Zion (in verse 2) he considers as another name for the church; and her gates as representing her public worship and ordinances, which the Lord loveth more than all the dwellings of Jacob," i. e. more than the private habitations of his people, though in these he hath delighted of old by anticipation. (Prov. VIII. 31.) Thus he concludes, that the words

'some distance from each other, and ought to be carefully distinguished and not confounded: by the help of ' which distinction we may better ́ understand many prophecies of the • Old Testament, which are to be ranged under these different heads, and to be referred to these distinct 'periods of time.”

He especially rests this distinction upon a comparison of Isaiah LX. 11, with Rev. xxI. 25, from the former of which passages he seems to imply,* that there will be the alternation of day and night in the spiritual reign; but no night at all in the personal reign.

By the spiritual reign he does not mean the authority which Christ now has from being seated at the right hand of the throne of God, neither his ruling by his Spirit in the hearts of his people; but a period of time to be eminent for spirituality, and which he then considered future. (See before, pages 52, 53.)

1. The events immediately to lead to it are the ascending of the witnesses into heaven; the blowing of the seventh trumpet; and the destruction of antichrist by the Spirit of Christ's mouth, "and the brightness of his coming;" (2 Thess. II. 8.) which text he interprets as of a spiritual, not a literal coming,

The removal of antichrist he conceives will be greatly effected by the pouring out of the seven vials of wrath, none of which, as he concludes, had then taken place. The angels who pour them out he interprets to be protestant kings, princes, and generals of armies; and for as much as the vials are given to them by one of the four living creatures, (whom he makes emblems of gospel ministers,) he supposes that these princes will be incited to take the work in hand by the minister of re

ligion, and that therefore they, (the princes) are said to go forth from the temple-the place in which they have received orders for their work. (Rev. xv. 1—7; xvi. 1.)

He explains the subjects of the seven last plagues as follows:

1st vial is poured on the earth—i. e. on the continental countries of papal Rome; as France and Germany. 2nd on the sea, or maritime powers; as Spain and Portugal. 3rd on the rivers and fountains of waters, or places adjacent to Rome; as Italy and Savoy. 4th on the sun, which is the Pope personally with his cardinals, bishops, &c. 5th on the seat of the beast, which is Rome. 6th on the river Euphrates, or Turkish empire, which will make way for the kings, or kingdoms of the East, as Persia and Tartary, to receive the Christian religion, 7th on the air, i. e. the whole kingdom of Satan, who is the prince of the power of the air; and this will clear the world of all false religion. He notices also a great resemblance between these vials and the plagues sent on Egypt; whence he thinks the great city "is spiritually called Sodom and Egypt;"as, the noisome sore and the boils and blains; the waters turned into blood in both instances; the beast's kingdom filled with darkness, and the thick darkness of Egypt; the three spirits like frogs, and the frogs in Pharaoh's court; the great hail storm of the seventh vial, and the plague of hail. He did not consider any of them to be poured out (though some great and learned men had thought the contrary,) because they had not yet seen any such devastations on the continent— France, Spain, Portugal, Italy, Savoy and the places near Rome, to produce the effects described;—“the Euphrates is not dried up; the Turk