So quotes St. Paul from Joel; whilst of the wicked which have heard the gospel preached, he says, "How then shall they call upon him in whom they have not believed?" but of the just of the nations which have not heard, he says, " And how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher ? and how shall they preach except they be sent ? As it is written, (the apostle here quotes from Isaiah,) How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him, that bringeth good tidings:" Esaias continues, “that publisheth salvation that saith unto Zion (that is, unto the promised seed, to be regenerated when the remnant are reclaimed) thy God reigneth! Thy watchmen shall lift up the voice; with the voice together shall they sing: for they shall see eye to eye when the Lord shall bring again Zion. Break forth into joy, sing together, ye waste places of Jerusa lem for the Lord hath comforted his people, he hath redeemed Jerusalem. The Lord hath laid bare his holy arm in the eyes of all the nations; and all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation

thence, touch no unclean thing; go ye out of the

midst of her*; be ye clean that bear the vessels of the Lord. For ye shall not go out with haste nor go by flight: for the Lord will go before you; and the God of Israel will be your rereward+. Behold marin sa my servant shall deal prudently, he shall be exalted and extolled, and be very high. As many were astonished at thee; his visage was so marred more than any man, and his form more than the sons of men. So shall he sprinkle many nations; the kings shall shut their mouths at him; for that which had not been told them shall they see; and that which they had not heard shall they consider." Thus by St. Paul's quotation from Joel and from Isaiah, and by his bestowing on it a future reference, we may perceive that he expressly points out the preaching of the everlasting gospel at the last ‡; what time, the seed shall inherit the gentiles §-when all the just of

*It is written of the Daughter of Zion, "Thou shalt go even to Babylon; there the Lord shall redeem thee from the hand of thine enemies."

+ According to that which is written with respect to the passage through Jordan, " and the rereward came after the ark." Rev. xiv. 6, 7.

§ See Isa. liv. 3. Not "gentile so called by the circumcision

whatever clime may hear; of whatever creed may live.-"The just shall live by faith"-" For God is no respecter of persons; in every nation (saith St. Peter) he that feareth him, and worketh righteousness, is accepted with him."-"There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female, but ye are all one in Christ Jesus-And if ye be Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed and heirs according to the pro

mises.'

made

DITE

by hands," but gentile as contradistinguished to the promises.

CONCERNING FIGURES AND SIGNS.

In the ninth chapter of Hebrews, and 24th verse, it is written, "For Christ is not entered into the holy places made with hands, which are figures of the true; but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us."

I. Not only were the things made under the law by the express command of God, patterns of things in the heavens, (being figures, as it were, to be transfigured,) but I may say, that all things which are done by him, that are manifested to us, are figures of hereafter things. The creation of all things, for instance, in seven days* is evidently a figure of

We may

In the eleventh chapter of Genesis, and 4th verse. observe that the seven days are pointed out to be as one day; for, as regarding an immortal state, it is, as it were, one day; whilst with respect to things, as at present here below, seven evenings and mornings are to be literally understood.

a to be renewed creation, and to be effected in that period: for (in the first place) I shall observe that the Evangelist saith, “ 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 And further it is written, "And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold I make all things new." Secondly, for in Isaiah we find these words, which have (as may be seen) an ultimate reference. "And the light of the moon shall be as the light of the sun, and the light of the sun shall be seven fold, as the light of seven days, in the day that the Lord bindeth up the breach of his 'people, and healeth the stroke of their wound." Thirdly, as a figure of "the building up again the tabernacle of David which is fallen down, and the closing up the breaches thereof; and the raising up his ruins, and the building it as in the days of old*, that they may possess the remnant of Edom, and of all the heathen, which are called by my name, saith the Lord that doeth this." It is written in the sixth chapter of the book of Kings, "That Solomon in the fourth year of his

* Acts xv.-Amos ix. 11, 12.