And thus it is meet, that the last kingdom which shall take place on earth, should be the kingdom of God's own Son and heir, whose right it is to rule and reign; and that whatever revolutions and confusions there may be in the world, for a long time, the cause of truth, the righteous cause, should finally prevail, and God's holy people should at last inherit the earth, and reign on earth; and that the world should continue in tumults and great revolutions, following one another, from age to age, the world being as it were in travail, till truth and holiness are brought forth; that all things should be shaken, till that comes which is true and right, and agreeable to the mind of God, which cannot be shaken; and that the wisdom of the ruler of the world should be manifested in the bringing all things ultimately to so good an issue....
It is represented as a time of vast increase of knowledge and understanding, especially in divine things; a time wherein God would "destroy the face of the covering cast over all people, and the veil spread over all nations" (Isaiah 25:7), wherein "the light of the moon shall be as the light of the sun, and the light of the sun sevenfold" (Isaiah 30:26), "and the eyes of them that see shall not be dim, and the heart of the rash shall understand knowledge" (Isaiah 32:3–4), "and they shall no more teach every man his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord, because they shall all know him from the least to the greatest" (Jeremiah 31:34).
And a time of general holiness, (Isaiah 60:21) "Thy people shall be all righteous"; and a time of a great prevailing of eminent holiness, when little children should, in spiritual attainments, be as though they were "a hundred years old" (Isaiah 65:20), and wherein "he that is feeble among God's people should be as David" (Zechariah 12:8).
A time wherein holiness should be as it were inscribed on everything, on all men's common business and employments, and the common utensils of life, all shall be dedicated to God, and improved to holy purposes; (Isaiah 23:18) "and her merchandise and hire shall be holiness to the Lord." Zechariah 14:20–21, "In that day shall there be upon the bells of the horses, 'Holiness unto the Lord'; and the pots in the Lord's house shall be like the bowls before the altar; yea, every pot in Jerusalem and in Judah shall be holiness unto the Lord of Hosts."
A time wherein religion and true Christianity shall in every respect be uppermost in the world; wherein God will cause his church to arise and shake herself from the dust, and put on her beautiful garments, and sit down on a throne [Isaiah 52:1–2]; and the poor shall be raised from the dust, and the beggar from the dunghill, and shall be set among princes, and made to inherit the throne of God's glory [Psalms 113:7–8].
A time wherein vital piety shall take possession of thrones and palaces, and those that are in most exalted stations shall be eminent in holiness. Isaiah 49:23, "And kings shall be thy nursing fathers, and their queens thy nursing mothers." Isaiah 60:16, "Thou shalt suck the breasts of kings." Psalms 45:12, "The daughter of Tyre shall be there with a gift, the rich among the people shall entreat thy favor."
A time of wonderful union, and the most universal peace, love and sweet harmony; wherein the nations shall "beat their swords into plowshares" [Isaiah 2:4], etc., and God will "cause wars to cease to the ends of the earth, and break the bow, and cut the spear in sunder, and burn the chariot in the fire" [Psalms 46:9]; "and the mountains shall bring forth peace to God's people, and the little hills by righteousness" [Psalms 72:3]; wherein "the wolf should dwell with the lamb" [Isaiah 11:6], etc., and wherein "God's people shall dwell in a peaceable habitation, and in sure dwellings, and quiet resting places" (Isaiah 32:17–18 and Isaiah 33:20–21).
A time wherein all heresies and false doctrines shall be exploded, and the church of God shall not be rent with a variety of jarring opinions; (Zechariah 14:9) "the Lord shall be king over all the earth: in that day there shall be one Lord, and his name one."
And all superstitious ways of worship shall be abolished, and all agree in worshiping God in his own appointed way, and agreeable to the purity of his institutions; (Jeremiah 32:39) "I will give them one heart and one way, that they may fear me forever, for the good of them and their children after them."
A time wherein the whole earth shall be united as one holy city, one heavenly family, men of all nations shall as it were dwell together, and sweetly correspond one with another as brethren and children of the same father; as the prophecies often speak of all God's people at that time as the children of God, and brethren one to another, all appointing over 'em one head, gathered to one house of God, to worship the king, the Lord of Hosts [Zechariah 14:16].
A time wherein this whole great society shall appear in glorious beauty, in genuine amiable Christianity, and excellent order, as "a city compact together" [Psalms 122:3], "the perfection of beauty" [Psalms 50:2], "an eternal excellency" [Isaiah 60:15], shining with a reflection of the glory of Jehovah risen upon it, which shall be attractive and ravishing to all kings and nations, and it shall appear "as a bride adorned for her husband" [Revelation 21:2]. A time of great temporal prosperity; of great health (Isaiah 33:24, "The inhabitant shall not say, I am sick."); of long life (Isaiah 65:22, "As the days of a tree, are the days of my people.").
A time wherein the earth shall be abundantly fruitful; (Psalms 67:6; Isaiah 30:23–24; Amos 9:14 and many other places). A time wherein the world shall be delivered from that multitude of sore calamities that before had prevailed (Ezekiel 47:12), and there shall be an universal blessing of God upon mankind, in soul and body, and in all their concerns, and all manner of tokens of God's presence and favor, and "God shall rejoice over them, as the bridegroom rejoiceth over his bride" [Isaiah 62:5], and "the mountains shall as it were drop down new wine, and the hills shall flow with milk" (Joel 3:18).
A time of great and universal joy through the earth, when "from the utmost ends of the earth shall be heard songs, even glory to the righteous" [Isaiah 24:16], and God's people "shall with joy draw water out of the wells of salvation" [Isaiah 12:3], and God shall "prepare in his holy mountain, a feast of fat things, a feast of wines on the lees, of fat things full of marrow, of wines on the lees well refined" [Isaiah 25:6], which feast is represented (Revelation 19), as "the marriage supper of the Lamb."
Yea, the Scriptures represent it not only as a time of universal joy on earth, but extraordinary joy in heaven, among the angels and saints, the holy apostles and prophets there (Revelation 18:20 and Revelation 19:1–9).
Yea, the Scriptures represent it as a time of extraordinary rejoicing with Christ himself, the glorious head, in whom all things in heaven and earth shall then be gathered together in one. Zephaniah 3:17, "The Lord thy God in the midst of thee is mighty; he will save; he will rejoice over thee with joy; he will rest in his love; he will joy over thee with singing." And the very fields, trees and mountains shall then as it were rejoice, and break forth into singing. Isaiah 55:12, "Ye shall go out with joy, and be led forth with peace; the mountains and the hills shall break forth before you into singing, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands." Isaiah 44:23, "Sing, O heavens, for the Lord hath done it; shout, ye lower parts of the earth; break forth into singing, ye mountains; O forest, and every tree therein; for the Lord hath redeemed Jacob, and glorified himself in Israel."
Such being the state of things in this future promised glorious day of the church's prosperity, surely 'tis worth praying for. Nor is there any one thing whatsoever, if we viewed things aright, which a regard to the glory of God, a concern for the kingdom and honor of our Redeemer, a love to his people, pity to perishing sinners, love to our fellow creatures in general, compassion to mankind under its various and sore calamities and miseries, a desire of their temporal and spiritual prosperity, love to our country, our neighbors and friends, yea, and to our own souls, would dispose us to be so much in prayer for, as for the dawning of this happy day, and the accomplishment of that glorious event.
No comments:
Post a Comment