2 Pet. ii. 11.

D. "Whereas angels, though they are greater in strength and power, bear not an execrable judgment against," &c.

N. "That is, they use no railing nor cursing sentence."

P. B. "Bring not railing accusation against," &c.

James i. 18.

D. "For of his own will hath he begotten us by the Word of truth, that we might be some beginning of his creatures."

N. "Beginning, i. e. a kind of first-fruits of his creatures."

P. B. "

That we should be a kind of first-fruits of his creatures."

Rev. xxi. 17.

D. "And he measures the wall thereof, a hundred and forty cubits, the measure of a man," &c.

N. "i. e. according to the measure of men; this seems to be the true meaning of the words."

P. B. "And he measured the wall thereof, an hundred and forty cubits, according to the measure of a man."

It will thus be seen that the note in the Romish version is just our Protestant translation. Be thankful for our translation, which was begun by Tyndal, and finished in the reign of James I. in 1611; and, lastly, give that holy book supremacy in everyday life, and character, and conduct. Build upon no man's

word he that builds his creed on God's word will feel his footing sure when the world is convulsed around him. One text from the Bible outweighs a thousand fathers; and one "Thus saith the Lord" is more conclusive to my mind than all the decisions of all the councils in Christendom. With the Bible, you can never be made slaves; without the Bible, you will not long remain freemen. With the Bible, our privileges, our freedom, our faith, our hope, must rise or fall together.

Recollect, my dear friends, these things were written, this book was inspired, that, believing, ye might have life through his name. They were not written for our curiosity or for our delight, but "for our learning." When the manna fell about the camp of the Israelites, they did not gather it as naturalists, to classify it, but as hungry men, to live upon it. When the Israelites looked to the serpent of brass, they did not look upon it with m

upo

riosity, anxious to test the metal; but they looked

men, to be healed by it. My dear brethren,

take care of reading the Bible as critics, as geologists, as controversialists, as philosophers. It is your Father's great voice: listen to it. It is your Father's blessed prescription: take it to your hearts. It is not something to be cavilled at, to be analyzed, to be disputed; but it is truth to be admitted into the mind, grace to be received into the heart; and if you will open that blessed Book, and pray to Him that inspired it to teach you its meaning, and rivet its truth upon your hearts, then you will find it is not only the plainest book, but the best book. You will bless God throughout eternity that you took "that lamp from off the everlasting throne," which opened to you the way of salvation, and gave you a response to the question, "What must I do to be saved?" which no other oracle can give: "Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved."

368

LECTURE XXVIII.

THE ADVENT.

"He that testifieth these things, saith, Surely I come quickly. Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus."-Revelation xxii. 20.

I HAVE explained in previous lectures the manifold and attractive glories of the heavenly Jerusalem; and I have shown you the characteristics of those who shall be excluded from, and. the characteristics of them who shall be admitted within, the gates of the city-enjoy its sorrowless and its nightless state, and so be for ever with the Lord. In this chapter I have dwelt also upon additional warnings or testimonies that are added, under the inspiration of the Spirit of God, by John the evangelist. I have shown you the invitation addressed to all in verse 17. The Holy Spirit of God, the bride-the redeemed church that is now waiting to be complete by the accession of the saints that are now on earth-say, "Come; and let him that is athirst come, and whosoever will, let him come." That is, let every man say to another, Come and thus it is a great mistake that only the ministers of the gospel are to be the preachers of that gospel. It is the great law of the Christian economy, that every heart that receives the truth is to seek to communicate that truth. There is no fear of the ministerial office being entered on by too many, or of too much zeal in this blessed vocation: the risk is all in the opposite direction. The Spirit says, Come; the church says, Come; and let every one that heareth, say, Come: let every one that has felt the preciousness and the sweetness of these living waters, proclaim to those who are ignorant of them, "Come and drink and be satisfied, all." "And let him that is athirst come, and whosoever will, let him come and take of the water of

life freely." There is no restriction, no limit; there is no man in this vast assembly who is not at this moment welcome to the Lord Jesus Christ. There is no man at this moment between whom and that blessed Lord there is any obstructing element, except that man's unbelief and unwillingness to go to Jesus. There is no curse upon you, like a vast load pressing you to hell, when you would spread your wings and soar to heaven. There is none that you will have to blame if you are lost. This, as I have often told you, will be the corroding and terrible agony of the lost: "I did it all myself; I am a suicide, self-ruined: God did nothing of it; I did it all myself." "Whosoever is athirst," then, "let him come and take of the water of life freely."-I then showed you the guards that are placed upon this book, and, indirectly, upon the whole word of God. "If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book; and if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things that are written in this book." And then, to close all, that glorious Redeemer, "who testifieth these things," saith, "Surely I come quickly:" and then it is added, "Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus." It is most remarkable, that the book opens with this and closes with it. "Behold, he cometh with clouds, and every eye shall see him." We too shall see him. There is not an individual in this assembly who shall not gaze upon the Lord of glory, no longer hanging in agony upon the cross, but throned in ineffable grandeur upon the throne of his glory: "And they also that pierced him; and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him." And the book concludes with the same, as if that warning were of special moment, of great, instant, and personal importance-"I come quickly. Even so, come, Lord Jesus."

In this lecture I shall endeavour to show you how full the New Testament is of what is called the second advent of our Lord, whatever be the nature of it. You must not take my opinion of the nature of it: you must not form your conceptions of that day from any descriptions of mine; but you must, like the Bereans, search the Scriptures, and see if these things be so; and if then

my voice is the echo of the voice of the Spirit of God, it is at your peril that you reject it, it is your privilege to receive it.

Explain it as you may, no sooner was Jesus gone from his disciples, than they felt it an irreparable catastrophe; and every time that Jesus gave them an intimation of his going away, the apostles mourned over it, and they were comforted only by such words as these, "It is expedient that I go away; for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you." Yet you must notice, that the Holy Spirit was not to be substituted for Jesus, but a witness of Jesus. It is, I conceive, a misapprehension of the nature of the evangelical economy, to suppose that the Spirit of God has so taken the place of Jesus that we can dispense with him, and look only to the Spirit. If I understand his office, or if I have read the Scriptures that proclaim it clearly, the office of the Spirit of God is, not to supersede the King of saints, not to be a substitute for his personal coming, not to make us satisfied that he is gone, and careless that he should come again; but to testify of Jesus, to create in us an intenser waiting for his advent, to cause us to cleave closer to him in love, in truth, in sympathy, and to count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of him. In all the hardships. that the apostles suffered, the promise which he himself gave them, "I will come again," seemed to be that which sustained them in their toils, mitigated their sorrows, increased their patience, brightened their hope, and made them to be "more than conquerors." And, strange to say, Jesus had no sooner gone than the cry was raised, "Come, Lord Jesus." And he has no sooner declared, in the closing verse of this chapter, "I come quickly," than John instantly says, not as some would say, "Lord, we can do without thee, for we have the Spirit. Lord, we do not need thy presence, for the Comforter is with us:" but John adds, what we too if we have John's spirit shall add, "Even so, come, Lord Jesus." Nor are you to suppose that Christ's spiritual presence is a reason for being indifferent to his personal presence. On the contrary, faith, as it grows in strength, always approximates to sight. Faith is not a grace that is to last for ever. Faith is the telescope that we use to see, and catch some gleam of glory of the distant personal Christ: this dispensation itself shall pass away;