it is nigh upon your doors," (ì ràs lúpas.) Now, some one will say, that this is utterly incompatible with what you have stated when these things take place this trouble, all these judgments to say Christ is nigh, even at the doors, is not correct. But is it not constantly stated in every chapter of the Bible, "The Lord is at hand?" Does not the apostle James use the very same expression, in the fourth chapter of his Epistle : "The napovoia, the personal appearance of the Lord draweth nigh ?" This just means, that the church of Christ should, from this moment, assume this position-their foothold the cross, their hope the crown; looking for nothing upon earth so glorious, so dear, so precious, so beautiful, as the return of Him who left them, and who promised that he would come again and receive them to himself; that where he is, there they should be also. Then he adds, "Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things are fulfilled." If you suppose "these things" to refer to what he has stated about the destruction of Jerusalem, it is perfectly explicable; but there is another way of explaining it also. The word here used is reved. I have looked into every dictionary I could lay hold of, and it is defined— no doubt, to signify a generation-thirty years of time; and if these words apply to the destruction of the temple, it was literally true, that during the lifetime of the generation then living that temple was destroyed. The word reveà, however, is more frequently used, by Homer especially, to denote a race, a people; for instance, γενεὰ μελισσάων, the race or nation of bees; γενεὰ à0pánov, the race of men, meaning the race as distinguished from some other; γενεὰ φύλλων, race of leaves; and so γενεά may denote this race, this people-the Jews, as a race, shall not pass from the earth until all these things be fulfilled. And if so, there can be no difficulty in the way of the interpretation which I have tried to establish, of the coming that is here alluded to.

Some have an idea that the expressions describing the coming of Christ may not mean a personal coming; but wherever this coming is alluded to, the word employed is napovcía, which means, in all instances but one, (and that one may be explained,) a personal coming. You will see it by comparing verses 20 and 37 with verse 30; no one can doubt that it is our Lord's personal

coming: "They shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds

of heaven;" and in verse 37, "As it was in the days of Noah, so also shall the coming of the Son of man be." He is speaking plainly of the same event. Now, if the Millennium is to precede the coming of Christ, things would not be as they were in the days of Noah. But if the Millennium is to succeed it, then the Son of Man will come upon a world that does not expect him, and begin that state of felicity, holiness, and happiness, which shall be merged in the glory and happiness of heaven for ever and ever.

ye

The practical lesson I will conclude with is contained in the 42d verse: "6 Watch, therefore for know not what hour your Lord doth come." And again, in verse 44: "Therefore be ye ready for in such an hour as ye think not, the Son of Man cometh." It is very plain that the world will not be ready, in the best sense, at Christ's approach. Men will be saying, All these views are nonsense; we have nothing to do with prophecy until it has been fulfilled. If the Christians of Jerusalem had said, "We have nothing to do with Christ's prophecies, we have only to do with his precepts," they never would have left Jerusalem and reached Pella in safety. But why did our Lord give them these prophecies respecting the destruction of Jerusalem? To guide them. Why has he given us prophecies? why are they written? Surely, to be of service; and if to be a guide, surely, to be frequently studied; and if to be studied, surely, in some degree, to be opened, and, as the period approaches, to be more and more thoroughly known. But that the great mass of men will not be looking for such an event, is plain from what Peter says, "that in the last days shall come scoffers, walking after their own lusts, and saying, Where is the promise of his coming? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation. For this they willingly are ignorant of, that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of the water and in the water: whereby the world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished but the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judg ment and perdition of ungodly men. But, beloved, be not igno

rant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, (as some men count slackness,) but is long-suffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up." But, to you who are believers, the command is, "Watch :" be anxious about the time of his advent, but far more anxious about personal preparation for it. The sentinel does not care when his commanding officer visits him, if he is always at his post. The servant does not mind when his master overlooks him, if he is always busy at work. The porter does not mind when his lord knocks, if he be waiting at the door and ready to open. Thus, that Christian is sure to be right, whether he understand things unrevealed or not, whose heart is right in the sight of God, and whose hope and confidence are in the Lord his righteousness. Watch, then, against being surprised; watch against dereliction of duty; watch against every effort to withdraw you from the post of duty, as if it were the post of peril and not of safety and be ye ready. You ask, How can we be ready? By being sure that you are standing on the right ground. Stand upon the Rock of ages; your loins girt, and your lamps burning; Christ's righteousness your title, Christ's name your watchword: and, come what may, neither your hope nor your position can be overturned.

Be ready, also, by not only being in the right state, but by having also the right character. We must not only be standing in Christ as our sacrifice, but we must have our hearts sanctified and prepared by the Spirit of God, so that we shall hail and rejoice in his coming. It does not mean, by having such hearts, that you are to leave your place. Two persons shall be grinding at the mill, both engaged in duty; one's heart shall be in heaven, the other's heart shall be in his mill. Two persons shall be found in one shop; one shall have his hand in the shop but his heart in heaven, and the other shall have his heart and hand both in the shop. Be here discharging the world's duty, feeling the world's responsibilities; but let your hearts be in heaven, where Christ

your treasure is. Be ready also to resign the world whenever you are bidden to do so? Do not bury your hearts in it; do not let it absorb them; do not think that this world is all; discharge, as I have told you, every obligation; no man is to leave his trade; no man is to be less loyal, to be less dutiful, to be less diligent in business; but every man is to be more "fervent in spirit, serving the Lord." Standing, then, upon the right ground, having thus the right character, let us lift up our heads, and know that the noise we hear from afar is only the rush of the chariot-wheels of Him, who comes armed with destruction, indeed, for a world that rejects him, but full of mercy and peace and welcome to them who wait for his coming.

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LECTURE XXXI.

THE MAN OF SIN.

"He which testifieth these things saith, Surely I come quickly. Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus."-Revelation xxii. 20. (Connected with which you will also read 2 Thess. ii. 1-17.)

JUST before I enter on the more immediate subject of discourse, I am anxious to refer to a slight misapprehension-originating, I believe, from a mistranslation-which occurred to the minds of some in the course of my exposition of Matt. xxiv., last Lord's-day evening. You remember that I tried to solve what seemed an almost insurmountable difficulty-the distinguishing what portion of Matt. xxiv. relates to the downfall of Jerusalem, and what to the end of the world. As Jesus sat on the Mount of Olives, his disciples asked him these three questions: "Tell us, when shall these things be? And what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world?" I said that I conceived the disciples asked three definite questions, and that our blessed Lord gave in the chapter three distinct and appropriate replies. The first question is, "When shall these things be?" viz.: the downfall of Jerusalem: I said that I conceived the answer to this question was finished at the close of verse 22. I then said that our Lord, in verses 23, 24, enters upon his own personal coming, and he tells them that "You are not to suppose yet that I am come for judgment; for if any man shall say unto you, 'Lo, here is Christ, or there; believe it not,'

for my personal coming will not be so mistakable a thing that men will have any doubts about it; but, on the contrary, it shall be 'as the lightning that cometh out of the east and shineth even to the west,' that all eyes may see it, and no man shall be able to dispute it." Then he gives the signs of it. "Immediately after the tribulation shall the sun be darkened, and the moon