OF THE ADVENT OF THE GLORIOUS DELIVERER, TO TURN AWAY UNGODLINESS FROM JACOB IV.
James Dodson
DISCOURSE XII.
ROM. xi. 26. “As it is written, There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob.”
To all true Christians, that promise of their Lord will be exceeding precious; “I will not leave you comfortless, I will come to you.” In its application to his Disciples, it had an accomplishment, when, after his resurrection, he speedily appeared to them. When he was apprehended, tried, condemned and crucified, and during the time his body lay in the grave, they were comfortless indeed. But as soon as he was risen, he came to them, according to his promise; and by the frequency of his appearances, and the
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gracious words he spake to them, their hearts were filled with joy. After Christ’s public ascension into heaven, the Apostles stood in need of his promised presence. When opposed by a malicious enemy of the Gospel, and when all men forsook him, the Apostle Paul enjoyed this blessing. “Notwithstanding the Lord stood with me, and strengthened me, that by me the preaching might be fully known, and that all the Gentiles might hear; and I was delivered out of the mouth of the lion,” 2 Tim. iv. 17. The servants and people of Christ, in every age, are interested in his promise, as well as his Apostles; and to them, and to every one of them, it will be fulfilled. Accordingly, our Saviour declares, John xiv. 21, “He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me; and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him.” In answer to a question proposed to him in the next verse, “Lord, how is it that thou wilt manifest thyself unto us, and not unto the world?” He adds, in the following verse, “if a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him.” It is therefore indisputable, that these promises belong to all the saints, and are, on special occasions, sensibly fulfilled to them. The Church as a body, are also entitled to these promises; for her glorious Head has said, “Lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world.” There are special seasons in which the Church obtains Christ’s gracious appearance on her behalf. Of these seasons, the time when the fullness of the Gentiles shall come in, and when all Israel shall be saved, is the chief. At that era, therefore, our text assures us, “There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob.”
In the two foregoing Discourses, I have endeavoured to prove that this coming will not be at all in the way of a personal, or corporeal, Advent. I am now to consider the next Head:—
III. To describe the manner of the Deliverer’s coming out of Sion, to bring in the fullness of the Gentiles, to accomplish the salvation of all Israel, and to turn away ungodliness from Jacob.
1. The Deliverer will come out of Sion for these ends, by an extraordinary circulation of the Holy Scriptures. When Christ comes to a person or a people, he sends his word and heals them. The
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sacred Scriptures are the word of salvation: when Christ sends them to men, he comes to them, and says, “Unto you is the word of this salvation sent.” The Scriptures are the word of Christ, and therefore wherever they go, Christ is there, because they testify of him. When the word of Christ abides in believers, Christ dwelleth in their hearts by faith, and is in them the hope of glory. This word is the appointed mean by which God convinces men of their sin and misery, reveals his Son in them, and calls them by his grace. The Sacred Oracles are a lamp to the feet, and a light to the path of men, and therefore when God bestows them on the nations, he sends Christ, who is the sun of righteousness, and the light of the world, to bring them out of darkness into his marvellous light. There cannot be any true knowledge of God, of Christ, or of the guilty sinner’s salvation, but by the light of God’s word. Of all Scripture it may be said, “These are written, that ye may believe that Jesus is the Christ the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name.” In the holy providence of God, and by the mediatorial administrations of Jesus Christ among men, the Sacred Scriptures have been sent into many nations in their own language, many have been disposed to receive and peruse them, and some in every place into which the word has entered, have believed in Christ, and turned to God from idols and other destructive vanities. The Scriptures both of the Old and New Testaments, have been put into the hands of the Jews, in their original language, and in other languages with which they are acquainted, and some have read of the Messiah, and believed in him to their everlasting salvation. The happy effects which the Divine word has produced on many of God’s ancient people, in the different places where they sojourn, encourage the hope, that, by this and other means, the Deliverer will soon come out of Sion, to turn away ungodliness from Jacob. This diffusion of the word of life among Jews and Gentiles, is a most glorious sign of our times. It is a new thing in the earth. The effects which have been produced already, are proportioned both to the means that have been employed, and to the time that has been spent in the application of them. From what has been done in our own day, it is evident that God is sending the rod of the Redeemer’s strength out of Sion, by which his people are made willing in the day of his power; and that this will continue and increase, by the conversion of
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Jews and Gentiles, till Christ’s saints shall be numerous, and prove like the drops of dew, from the womb of the morning.
2. The Deliverer will come out of Sion by the dispensation of Gospel ordinances, among Jews and Gentiles. These ordinances include the preaching and hearing the Gospel, the prayers and praises of the church, the observation of public fasting and thanksgiving, accompanied with the dispensation of Baptism, and the Lord’s Supper, and every other administration, belonging to Christ’s spiritual kingdom. To these we must add, the various exercises of Divine worship, to which Christians, in their personal, family, and social capacities, have access. Besides, there are the very important duties of reading the Scriptures to others; praying with them, and religious conference with them, for answering objections, for removing doubts, and for increasing their knowledge of Gospel truths. It is the duty of every christian, especially of every christian Minister, knowing the Divine will, approving of things that are excellent, and being instructed out of the law, to be a guide to the blind, a light to them who are in darkness, an instructor of the foolish, and a teacher of babes. Wherever those ordinances are dispensed, these duties are performed, and those appointed means are employed for the salvation of immortal souls, according to the will of God, and for his glory; Christ is come to that people, and God is present with them to bless them. The promises of God and of Christ confirm this encouraging truth, “In all places where I record my name, I will come unto thee, and I will bless thee,” Exod. xx. 24. “For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them,” Mat. xviii. 20. This is one of the ways in which the Deliverer will come out of Sion, for the illumination of the Gentiles, and binding up the breach of his ancient people, and healing the stroke of their wound. And has he not already begun this work? Many messengers of the church have been sent to the Jews, and to many Gentile nations, carrying the good tidings of great joy, and are proclaiming them in the name of the Lord, to those who are sitting in darkness, that they may enjoy the light of life. In the eventful season in which we live, Jesus has renewed his call, and has powerfully applied it to the Gentile churches. “Go ye into all the world, and preach the Gospel to every creature.” Blessed be his name, they have not been disobe-
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dient to the heavenly vision. By these ministrations Jesus is now saying to the Jews, and to many Gentile nations, who were not called by his name, “Behold me, Behold me.” These messengers have laboured abundantly, and their labour has not been in vain. Many have been convinced and converted, and have become unto Christ, the first-fruits of the people to which they belong. By the administration of Divine ordinances, the attendance of the people upon them, and the effects which have been produced on their hearts and lives, the changes in many places are so great and conspicuous, that they must be attributed to the Deliverer who has come out of Sion to begin his glorious work of turning the nations to himself.
3. The Deliverer will come out of Sion by the gift of education to the illiterate, and of the means of instruction to the educated among Jews and Gentiles. The advantages of education to men are incalculable. By it persons are qualified for searching the holy Scriptures, for learning important knowledge from human writings, for reading to others, and for communicating the blessing of education to their fellow-creatures. It is a mean of removing ignorance, of acquiring useful knowledge, of preparing us for situations in life, superior to those which we otherwise could have filled, and of increasing the religious, moral, and political improvement of men. We would be sanguine beyond what experience warrants, were we to expect that every educated person would reap all these advantages; but we may be assured that an educated population would be a great blessing to the world. The promises, concerning the felicities of the latter day, are of such a nature, as to demonstrate, that education will be the privilege of every land. In the erection of schools innumerable, both at home and in foreign nations, for the education of both sexes, and of every age and class, and in their continuance, prosperity and increase, we may discern the wonderful working of him, into whose hands the Father hath given all things. But this, marvellous in our eyes as it ought to be, is not all that must be said on education. Academies and Colleges have been established in places where nothing of the kind formerly existed. By these the youths obtain a liberal and christian education, for many valuable purposes; but chiefly, that the Heralds of the Cross may be so augmented, that the natives of the land may be prepared for publishing the everlasting Gospel
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among their own friends and countrymen. Nor is this all. The blessings of education, without religious and profitable reading, would be inefficient, if not pernicious. To prevent this, as far as man can do, the numerous and active Tract Societies, the Book and Tract Societies, and the local Libraries have been established to supply this defect. By their agency, millions of religious Tracts, and thousands of religious books, have been translated into different languages, printed and circulated, both at home and abroad, for the spiritual instruction of young and old, among Jews and Gentiles. These also are new things in the earth. They are under the direction of him “who is the Head over all things to the church; which is his body, the fulness of him that filleth all in all.” This system, in connexion with others of the same tendency, will, in due time, fill the world with the knowledge of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
4. The Deliverer will come out of Sion by an extraordinary effusion of his Spirit on the people of Israel, and the Gentile churches and nations. The Spirit and his influences are represented as the gift of the Father, and of Christ to the church, and to the souls of men. The Father sends the Spirit at Christ’s request, and in his name; in consequence of his atonement and intercession, “I will pray the Father, and he will give you another Comforter. But the Comforter, who is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name.” Christ sends him from the Father. “But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father.” Christ sends the Spirit from the presence, with the concurrence, and by the appointment of the Father. The Saviour’s promise to the Church is expressed in the words that follow, “He may abide with you for ever; but ye know him, for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.” He also describes his work, “He shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you. He will reprove the world of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment. He will guide you into all truth, he shall testify of me, he shall glorify me, for he shall receive of mine and shall shew it unto you.” O how suitable are these operations of the Spirit, to the children of men, in every situation, and in every period of the Church. About eight days before the day of Pentecost, on the fortieth day after his resurrection, even on the day of his public ascension into heaven, Jesus
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said to his disciples, “That they should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father, which ye have heard of me. For John truly baptized with water, but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence,” Acts i. 4, 5. His last words to them are recorded in verse 8, “But ye shall receive power after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you, and ye shall be witnesses to me, both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost end of the earth.” Of the accomplishment of these promises to them, we have the account, chap. ii. 1—5, “And there appeared unto them cloven tongues, like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. And they were filled with the Holy Ghost.” The effects of this were an increase of saving grace, an enlargement of ministerial gifts, apostolic inspiration and authority, and a supernatural ability to preach the Gospel in the language of every nation where they might be called to labour. Ever since that day the Spirit has abode in the Christian Church, and dwelt in the heart of every child of God. By the word, by the ordinances, and even by the providences of God, the Spirit operates on the souls of men for their salvation. At those times, when great things are to be performed for the Church, the communication of his influences is more abundant. The prophecy, Joel ii. 28, 29, relates to those periods. One of these happened in the apostolic period; and therefore it is mentioned, Acts ii. 17, as having, at that time, received an accomplishment, both in the extraordinary qualifications of the labourers, and in their astonishing success among Jews and Gentiles. But this, and many other promises of the Spirit, both in the Old and New Testaments, will obtain a more conspicuous fulfilment, in the conversion of the Jews, and in the subjection of the nations to Christ’s sceptre. In our own day, we have seen many effects of the common and special operations of the Spirit on the souls of men. If the endowments of Bezaleel and Aholiab for preparing the furniture of the tabernacle, Exod. xxxi. 3—6, are ascribed to the Spirit of God; if David was made to understand by the Spirit, the pattern of all things about the temple, and gave it to Solomon who was appointed to build the house of the Lord, 1 Chron. xxviii. 12; and if the people’s extraordinary liberality in contributing for that sacred edifice was produced by Divine influence, chap. xxix. 9, 14, 16, 17; the truth of the following observations cannot be questioned. By the Spirit’s influence, many
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have been directed in forming, and qualified for conducting numerous Societies for propagating the word and Gospel of Christ among the nations. By his operations on the christian public in many lands, in the support of those Societies they have consecrated part of their substance to the Lord of the whole earth. By the same agency, many persons have been prepared and inclined to translate the sacred Scriptures into the languages of many nations. Through his influence, also, many have been excited to use great diligence, and to submit to many hardships, in dispersing the Scriptures, and other means of christian instruction among men. Under the influence of the same Spirit, many have been qualified and sent to preach the glorious Gospel among Heathens, Mahometans, Jews, and Papists. Under the ministration of that one and self-same Spirit, a vast number, for their everlasting salvation, have been brought by these means, to the saving faith of their Redeemer. By the continuance and increase of these christian and unprecedented labours, the Holy and Eternal Spirit will work powerfully, till the fulness of the Jews and Gentiles shall come in. By all these operations of his Spirit, the Deliverer is coming, and will come out of Sion for the salvation of all Israel, and the conversion of the Gentile nations.
5. The Deliverer will also come out of Sion, by conveying his saving grace into the hearts of Jews and Gentiles. This is the great end of the word and ordinances. When the Spirit accompanies them with power, they immediately become effectual in his hand, for implanting grace in the souls of men. The Deliverer will manifest his glory, by causing those means, through the Spirit, to fulfil his own promise completely in the latter days; “And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men after me.” Of multitudes of his ancient people, and of the inhabitants of every land, this shall become the glorious privilege; “And of his fulness have all we received, and grace for grace.” The grace which the Deliverer will extensively bestow on the children of men, at that era, will contain a state of grace, the principles of grace, the blessings of grace, the exercise of grace, the increase of grace, and the effects of its exercise in them. He will raise up multitudes of Jews and Gentiles into a state of grace. Bringing some into the covenant of grace, they shall be justified freely by Divine grace, through the redemption that is in himself. They shall also become the sons and daughters of the Lord Almighty. In this way
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they shall be received into the Divine favour, and admitted into his family. Into their souls he will also infuse the principles of grace. Conforming them to the Divine image, by his word and Spirit, he will implant in them knowledge, righteousness, and holiness. On them he will confer the blessings of grace. All spiritual blessings which God hath provided, and Christ hath purchased, shall be given to them. For the Apostle has said, “All are yours, for ye are Christ’s, and Christ is God’s.” By his quickening Spirit, he will excite in them the exercise of grace. In their habitual frame of mind, especially in the performance of religious duties, he will cause them attain to the exercise of faith and love, of repentance and godly sorrow, of patience and hope, of humility and self-denial, of peace and joy, of sincerity and truth.—He will also bless them with the increase of grace. To them his promise shall be fulfilled, “The righteous shall flourish like the palm-tree, he shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon.” In consequence of this, they will obey that command, “But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.”—They shall also enjoy the fruits of grace. Walking thus in the fear of the Lord, they shall liberally share of the comforts of the Holy Ghost, great enlargement in true holiness, the full assurance of faith, and preparation for their latter end, belong to those fruits of grace, that they shall reap abundantly. Though these blessings are enjoyed by all believers in every period of the Church, yet Jewish and Gentile christians, at the latter day, shall possess them in an eminent degree.
6. The Deliverer will come out of Sion by executing his threatenings on his incorrigible enemies. Though his coming will be joyful to his saints, it will be a season of terror and misery to his adversaries. He will then whet his glittering sword, his hand will take hold on judgment, he will render vengeance to his enemies, and will reward them that hate him. “The Lord Jesus at the Father’s right hand, shall strike through kings in the day of his wrath, he shall judge among the heathen, he shall fill the places with the dead bodies, he shall wound the heads over many countries,” Psa. cx. 5, 6. At the very time when he will accomplish among men the promises, recorded at the beginning of this Psalm, he will fulfil on his enemies the threatenings registered at the end of it, and both his merciful and vindictive operations, on account of his everlasting priesthood and atonement, stated in verse 4, will most certainly be
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accomplished. When the Lord shall hear the cry and answer the prayer of his Church, “Oh, that thou wouldest rend the heavens, that thou wouldest come down, that the mountains might flow down at thy presence;” then, as the action of fire melts fusible substances, and boils and agitates the cold water, the Lord, by his judgments, will make his name known to his adversaries, and the nations shall tremble, as shaken with an earthquake, at his presence, Isa. lxiv. 1, 2. These threatening predictions, and many others in the Old Testament, will receive illustration and fulfilment, when the visions that John saw concerning Christ’s enemies shall be realized. The events, which are predicted under the seventh vial, being all of this kind, announce mighty, terrible, and most desolating judgments, which will be inflicted on the Deliverer’s foes, Rev. xvi. 17—21. A brief account of the same war, and its termination, is given, chap. xvii. 14, “These,” the ten kings, “shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them, for he is Lord of lords, and King of kings; and they that are with him are called, and chosen, and faithful.” The Lamb shall overcome them. “The fortress of the high fort of their walls shall he bring down, lay low, bring to the ground, even to the dust,” Isa. xxv. 12. In another vision that John saw, this scene of judgment on Christ’s enemies is further represented. This vision is told, Rev. xix. 17—21. The parties who shall then be combined against the Lord and his anointed are the secular beast, the kings of the earth and their armies, and the false Prophet, Antichrist, and his votaries. The issue of the battle, or war, is also foretold. The flesh of the kings and their armies is eaten by all the fowls that fly in the midst of heaven, till they are filled with it. And the Beast and the false Prophet are taken, and cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone. These are the declarations of Jehovah, who is infinitely just, and will not suffer his enemies to escape his righteous judgments; who is infinitely faithful, and will do as he has said; who is infinitely powerful, and can perform his word; and who is infinitely merciful and gracious, and will not suffer the men of the earth any more to oppress it. This last vision concerning the destruction of the enemies of Christ’s glory, of the Church’s prosperity, and of human happiness, is followed immediately with the vision concerning the Millennium; we may be assured that it will be verified some short time only before the commencement of that blessed era. By the execution of all these
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judgments on his enemies, the Deliverer will glorify himself among men.
7. The Deliverer will come out of Sion, by visible and extraordinary operations of Divine power, both on his Church and his enemies. Some of these works in the Church will be ordinary in their nature, but extraordinary in their degree; and ordinary in their means, but extraordinary in their effects. When nations shall be born at once, and when kingdoms shall be assembled to serve the Lord, though those influences of the Spirit may be the same in their nature, and their effects may be produced by the same means which the Church has always enjoyed; yet, in the number of the subjects of grace throughout the world, and in the rapid succession of the changes that will be produced, they shall be altogether so extraordinary, that Jews and Gentiles will have unspeakably greater reason, than the returning captives had, to exclaim, “The Lord has done great things for us, whereof we are glad.” The Deliverer, at such a time as this, may work in behalf of his Church in a way that will be supernatural, producing effects in which his own hand only, and not the hand of man, may be visibly displayed. The alterations that will be made are so great, so far surpassing former occurrences in the Church, that Divine interpositions, of an extraordinary kind, may be employed in effecting them. Some Divine operations of this sort have always accompanied singular alterations in the Church, and since this deliverance will surpass them all, it is reasonable to expect similar manifestations of Divine power. These mighty works will tend to display the Divine glory, and the Mediator’s renown; to excite the adoration and praise of the Church; to strengthen her faith, her love and obedience; and to produce the conviction and conversion of many who may be, at the time of their performance, in a state of opposition to the glorious Deliverer. The Church is also warranted to expect extraordinary exertions of Divine power, in the destruction of her enemies. These wonderful works of God against his enemies, are calculated to produce the same effects which his extraordinary acts in favour of his Church will be the means of accomplishing. The former deliverances which the Lord wrought for his people, were often accompanied with marvellous indications of his righteous displeasure against his enemies. Some Divine threatenings against Christ’s enemies are so expressed, and contain such circumstances, as induce a belief, that when they shall be fulfilled,
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God will, with great power and strange works, plead with those who plot against his Anointed. The greatness of the earthquake, and the supernatural description of the hail under the seventh vial, the terrible carnage of the last battle, and wondering lamentations of different classes over the very sudden and complete ruin of the enemy, seem all of them to predict some extraordinary interpositions of Divine Providence, when Babylon the Great shall fall, and shall arise no more at all for ever.
8. The Deliverer will come out of Sion, by completely removing every system which is in opposition to his glory and law. These may be summed up in six particular objects: The Beast, the false Prophet, the Euphratean horsemen, Heathenish idolatry, Jewish infidelity, and the corruption of Protestant Churches. By the Beast, we must understand secular tyranny, wherever it exists, under whatever form, and to whatever degree. In Daniel’s vision of the four beasts, corresponding to the king’s dream concerning it, in the shape of a man, ancient Babylon was its golden head, the kingdom of the Medes and Persians its silver breast and arms, the Greek empire its brazen belly and thighs, and the Roman dynasty its iron legs and feet. This destructive and unnatural system continues to this very day, in the kingdoms of the ten horns on the Roman earth.—The false Prophet represents the system of Popery, the whore that sitteth on many waters, who was drunk with the blood of the saints, and who has upon her forehead a name written, “Mystery, Babylon the Great, the Mother of Harlots and abominations of the earth.”—The Euphratean horsemen signifies the Mahometan religion wherever it prevails, and those most degrading secular tyrannies by which it is maintained.—Heathenish idolatry includes all the different kinds of idol-worship, superstition, and wickedness, that prevail in the Pagan world.—Jewish infidelity consists in the prevalence of unbelief in the Christian revelation among the posterity of Jacob.—Whatever is found in the doctrine, the worship, the government, or discipline of the Protestant Churches, in opposition to the word of God, must be ranked among their corruptions. When the Deliverer shall come out of Sion, all these things shall be removed. Of the fate of the Beast and the false Prophet at his coming, we have already heard in the issue of the last battle. The Turkish system, civil and religious, will also perish from the earth; for the river Euphrates will be dried up. Heathen idolatry will come to an end; “For all
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the ends of the world shall remember and turn to the Lord, and all the kindreds of the nations shall worship before thee.” Jewish infidelity shall cease, as our text and context declare. And Protestant Churches will also be purged, for at his coming they shall obtain riches and quickening like life from the dead. When the Deliverer shall come by his word, by his ordinances, and by his providences, both of mercy and of judgment, all this work will be performed; and, O how glorious will his advent be!
9. The Deliverer will come out of Sion, by binding “the dragon, that old serpent, who is the devil and satan,” Rev. xx. 12, 13. The object of this part of the Deliverer’s work, these words describe with sufficient precision. On account of his great strength, his enmity at men, and his destructive operations against them, he is called the dragon. That evil spirit who, soon after his creation, rebelled against God, and who, in the form of a serpent, seduced Adam and Eve to sin, receives the designation of the old serpent. He is denominated the devil because he is the great accuser, and Satan because he is the malicious adversary of God and man. These words contain Christ’s work on this monster of iniquity, this slave of sin; “He laid hold on him and bound him.” By the appointment of God, by his own Divine power and mediatorial authority, Jesus will lay him under almighty and invincible restraints, as a great criminal is bound and laid in irons. The place into which he shall be cast is the bottomless pit, the place of punishment prepared for him and his angels. Satan, who is miserable every moment, will be peculiarly wretched while the Church is enjoying on earth uninterrupted felicity. The time during which Satan shall remain in this situation is a thousand years. He will not at that time be imprisoned for ever. This is reserved for the end of time, at the expiration of the little season. But, in this bondage and misery, he will be most securely detained throughout the whole period of the Church’s millennial purity and glory. The end for which this enemy shall be bound a thousand years is also mentioned. “That he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled.” As this is the season when the Lord will take for his inheritance all nations, Satan will not be permitted to go to and fro in the earth, or to walk up and down in it, like a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour. By the desperate depravity, the infernal malice, and crafty temptations of this adversary, all the immoral systems and wicked practices, men-
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tioned in the foregoing particular, have been introduced, established, and continued in the world. In this way, Satan has most effectually deceived the nations, kept them in ignorance of God, and retained them in his own service. But when the Deliverer shall come out of Sion, when our Lord will take to himself his great power, and reign, He will put down this wicked one, destroy his usurped kingdom, and inflict on him all that degradation and torment which await him in the bottomless pit. The security of his imprisonment is also declared; “And shut him up, and set a seal upon him.” When Satan shall be seized, bound, and cast into prison, he shall be shut up in it as a close prisoner, his prison shall be sealed with the seal of the living God, and it shall be impossible for him to escape.
10. The Deliverer will come out of Sion, by establishing his Church in the world universally, both among Jews and Gentiles. Since Satan’s kingdom has been established throughout the whole earth, it must follow, that, on the subversion of that kingdom, and on the dethronement and miserable captivity of the prince of this world, the kingdom of Christ will be established on the earth, to an equal extent. This glorious truth is confirmed by very many Divine predictions and promises. A few of them may be mentioned. At that time, Daniel’s words concerning the Deliverer will be fulfilled: “And there was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, and nations, and languages, should serve him: his dominion is an everlasting dominion which shall not pass away, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed,” Dan. vii. 14. During that period, John’s vision, Rev. vii. 9. will be realized. “After this I beheld, and lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues stood before the throne, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands.” At that era, the information communicated to us by the great voices in heaven will be verified. “The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever,” Rev. xi. 15. To these we may add, Psal. ii. 8, xxii. 27, lxxxvi. 9, &c. Meditating on these predictions and promises, we will be convinced, that Christ’s kingdom, “which consisteth not in meats or drinks, but in righteousness and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost,” will be erected in all places of the earth. In John’s vision of the mil-
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lennial church, immediately following that of Satan’s binding, the character of her members, their worship, their spiritual privileges, their temporal dignity, and the duration of their happy state, are clearly described.
This subject should suggest to our minds, the following reflections:—
1. How bright shall be the displays of the Divine glory at the latter day! Although God’s glory is continually manifested by his works to all his rational creatures here below, and to his Church on earth, by his word and ordinances; yet there are seasons of special discoveries of that glory, both to the inhabitants of the world, and the followers of Christ. The days of the flood, the settlement of Israel in Canaan, their prosperity under the reign of their godly kings, their return from Babylon, the destruction of Jerusalem, the establishment and spread of Christianity among the Gentiles, the fall of the heathen Roman Empire, and the happy Protestant Reformation, are some of those periods. The fulness of the time when Jesus was born into the world, and when a multitude of angels sung on earth, “Glory to God in the highest, peace on earth, good-will toward men,” being a season every way peculiar, is exalted above all comparison. The season of Apostolic labours, when the Spirit was so remarkably poured out, and when multitudes embraced the Divine Saviour, and professed his religion, was a time of singular manifestations of the glory of God. But the season to which the Church is now drawing near, will be a season of displaying his glory, in a more astonishing degree. In the magnitude of the means, in the number of labourers who will be employed, in the overflowings of the Spirit, in the number of converts, in the destruction of enemies, and in the renovation of the world, this season will make most extraordinary displays of the glory of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost. Then the Church shall sing and say, “Salvation to our God, who sitteth on the throne, and to the Lamb. Great and marvellous are thy works, Lord God Almighty; just and true are thy ways, thou King of saints. Alleluia; for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth. Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to him; for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready.” In the anticipations
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of faith, let all christians utter the voice of harpers harping with their harps.
2. How powerful shall the word of God be at the time of the end, and how successful his ordinances! This word shall then become, in an eminent degree, the rod of the Redeemer’s strength sent out of Sion. He will then verify his own word, “Behold, I will pour out my Spirit unto you, I will make known my words unto you,” and then persons and nations will turn at his reproof. For convincing multitudes in every kingdom, and of every class, of their transgressions and danger; for enlightening them in the knowledge of Divine grace, of Christ as the only Saviour, and of that eternal redemption of which he is the Author; for quickening them to spiritual life; for persuading and enabling them to comply with the method of salvation revealed to them in the Gospel; and for making them live a life of faith and holiness, the word of God, by the Spirit’s influence, shall be made “quick and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged word, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.” He who has maintained in every age, a generation of true christians on the earth, notwithstanding the opposition of Satan and wicked men, can easily subdue all persons and things unto himself. This he has promised to do; we may then be assured it has been his purpose, and his purposes shall stand, for he will do all his pleasure. By means of the word, and through the Spirit’s agency, the Church shall then see Satan like lightning fall from heaven; and his kingdom, in the hearts of men and in the world, thrown down with violence, as when a great millstone is cast into the sea.
3. How abundantly has the preparation of the means, for accomplishing this work, been begun, and put into operation, even in our own day! In the course of the last twenty years, many hundreds of thousands of Bibles, in many languages, have been printed, circulated, and read, among men. Many hundreds of thousands of youths and adults have been, and still are under educational and christian instruction. Many hundred thousands of religious tracts and books have been dispersed and perused in the world. Many messengers of the churches have been sent forth, and established in the darkened parts of the earth, to spread Gospel light among those that sit in darkness. In the illumination and conversion of many,
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the most encouraging success has attended these extraordinary exertions. All these endeavours are still continued and increased. What do these holy and merciful providences of God indicate? Do they not authorise us to hope that the time is approaching, when the knowledge of the Lord shall fill the earth, as the waters cover the sea? Let us therefore lift up our heads and rejoice, for the Church’s redemption is drawing near.
4. How earnestly should christians pray that the Spirit may be poured out on all flesh! These means, however numerous, suitable, and skilfully applied, will never produce the saving effect, unless the power of the Lord is present to heal. Paul may plant, and Apollos water, but it is God who giveth the increase. How long will the Church’s desolations continue? “Until the Spirit be poured upon us from on high,” Isa. xxxii. 15. By what influence will the Church overcome her difficulties, and prosper in her Lord’s work? “Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, saith the Lord of Hosts,” Zech. iv. 6. When was it that apostolic labours became effectual to the salvation of sinners? When “the Holy Ghost fell on all them that heard the word,” Acts x. 44. The Spirit is promised, “I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh,” Joel ii. 28. Prayer is a mean of obtaining the Spirit’s influences. “How much more shall your heavenly Father give his Holy Spirit to them who ask,” Luke xi. 13. Since the Spirit’s influences are necessary, since God has promised to give the Spirit, and since he has appointed prayer as a mean of obtaining this blessing, how earnest ought we to be in our prayers at the throne of grace, that he may pour out his Spirit on men, and bless the means that are employed for the good and salvation of the nations! O how criminal will our conduct be if we neglect this important duty! With the pouring out of the Spirit, the glory of God, the conversion of the nations, the salvation of Israel, and the revival of Gentile churches, are intimately connected. O then comply with the Lord’s call, “Ye that make mention of the Lord keep not silence; and give him no rest, till he establish, and till he make Jerusalem a praise in the earth.”
5. When the Deliverer shall come out of Sion, how certain will be the destruction of his enemies? “He will consume them with the Spirit of his mouth, and destroy them with the brightness of his coming.” They may be many. The beast, the false prophet, the kings of the earth, and of the whole world, with their armies: “But
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the Lamb shall overcome them.” They may be strong: “But infinitely stronger is the Lord who judgeth them.” They may be closely united by mutual alliances: But “while they are folden together like thorns, and drunken as drunkards, they shall be devoured as stubble fully dry,” Nah. i. 10. Their preparations for conquest and defence may be complete: But their end shall be similar to the fate of the combined army in the days of Jehoshaphat, and to the destruction of Sennacherib’s mighty host, in Hezekiah’s reign. Their expectations may be high, and their boasting great: “The enemy said, I will pursue, I will overtake, I will divide the spoil; my lust shall be satisfied on them, I will draw my sword, my hand shall destroy them:” But what did really happen? “Thou didst blow with thy wind, the sea covered them; they sank as lead in the mighty waters.” And how was the Church employed? “Who is like unto thee, O Lord, among the gods? who is like thee, glorious in holiness, fearful in praises, doing wonders?” Exod. xv. 9, 10, 11. Christians should live in the assured belief and joyful expectation of their Lord’s conquests; “For he must reign till he hath put all enemies under his feet.”
6. How necessary is it that we entertain proper views of the nature of Christ’s coming out of Sion to turn away ungodliness from Jacob! His coming will be real. The effects of his coming produced on his Church, and on his enemies, will be glorious realities, known, and seen, and read of all men. His coming will be spiritual. While some look for a corporeal coming, let us expect a spiritual advent, by his word and Spirit, for the everlasting salvation of men. His coming will be extraordinary. Compared with other appearances of his to the Church, that of his incarnation excepted, it will excel them all. In the blessings bestowed on his Church, in the punishments he will inflict on his enemies, and in the glory which shall redound to his name, this season will exceed those that are past. His coming will be gradual. The rising of the Sun of Righteousness will resemble that of the natural sun. That spiritual light, by which the knowledge of God shall fill the earth, will rise gradually on men. By degrees it will shine into the hearts of individuals, and by degrees shall it enlighten the nations. Though its beginnings are small, its latter end shall greatly increase. His coming will be powerful. No enemy shall be able to prevent his coming. Opposition from within the hearts of men, opposition from without,
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opposition from the earth, and opposition from hell, will be overcome with equal ease and expedition. As men can neither retard nor prevent the rising of the sun, so none shall be able to delay or hinder the bright appearance and splendour of Christ who is the light of the world. His coming will be sudden. Great things will be done in a short period. His coming will be joyful to the saints, but terrible to his foes. The former will say, “Even so, come, Lord Jesus;” but the latter will “cry to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us and hide us from the face of him who sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb; for the great day of his wrath is come, and who shall be able to stand?”
7. How profitable will it be to understand correctly the Scriptural expectations of the Church! The coming of the blessed Deliverer, by his word, by his Spirit, and by his providences, for bringing into his Church the fulness of the Gentile nations; for accomplishing the salvation of all Israel; for turning away ungodliness from Jacob; for bestowing life from the dead on the Gentile churches; for binding Satan; for destroying false religion and secular tyranny on the earth; for establishing his Gospel kingdom throughout the world; and for maintaining it in purity and glory a thousand years. These are the expectations which christians, by the Divine word, are warranted to entertain. Let us regulate our hopes of future good by that standard, and we shall not be disappointed. Let others expect what they please. Let them talk of a personal advent, and look, some for one thing, and some for another thing, as connected with that advent; but let us look for his coming as it is described in the Sacred Oracles.
8. How earnestly should we endeavour to be religiously exercised about the Deliverer’s coming! Study to believe in the reality of his coming. To the churches, the Spirit says in the text, “the Deliverer shall come out of Sion.” This is a sufficient foundation for our faith.—Pray for his coming. It is a promised blessing, and it will be a great mercy to the Church. Say to God, in the prayer of faith, “Oh that the salvation of Israel were come out of Sion.”—Wait for it. We must exercise long patience in waiting for the coming of the Lord. His command is plain, and cannot be mistaken, “Therefore wait ye upon me, saith the Lord, until the day that I rise up to the prey.”—Observe the signs of his coming and meditate on them. Be not inattentive to his operations, lest he destroy you, and not build
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you up. Think upon the things that he will do at his coming, and consider his providences, in their tendency to accomplish any one of them. Be ready to welcome him who is coming, and rejoice at the prospect of his approach.—Warn others of his coming. Excite them to look for Jacob’s Deliverer, and Israel’s salvation. Rouse the careless to think of these things, and to seek their own salvation. Encourage the serious inquirer after the Church’s welfare to look and wait for redemption to Israel. Do every thing in your power for promoting those works which he will accomplish at his coming. The changes which Christ will introduce cannot be misunderstood. Our knowledge of them should not be improved merely for informing our minds, but also for directing our actions. According as the Lord has prospered you, either in spiritual or temporal things, be ye fervent in your prayers, and liberal in your contributions for helping forward those works of the Lord. By a life of faith on the Son of God, and a life of holiness, in following his example and obeying his commands, make yourselves ready for his coming. “Watch ye, therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man.”