ness of divine glory. When we refer to the expectations entertained, and the assertions uttered, by inspired men in ancient times, to whom the gracious designs of the Most High were revealed, and whose language has been handed down in the record of prophecy, we have to recognise announcements made on the part of the Being by whose unerring truth their statements were dictated, of an intention to change the moral character of mankind, and by the influence of the religion to which we pay our homage, secured by the mediatorial exaltation of its Author, to destroy the systems of falsehood and evil, for the diffused dominion of knowledge, rectitude, and redemption. Is it not written, as the promise of the Father to the Son," Ask of me, and I shall give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession?" Is it not written," He shall have dominion from sea to sea, and from the river unto the ends of the earth: all kings shall fall down before him, all nations shall serve him?" Is it not written, "It shall come to pass in the last days that the mountain of the Lord's house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills, and all nations shall flow unto it?" Is it not written,-"The earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea?" Is it not written,-" The glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together: for the mouth of the Lord hath

spoken it?" Is it not written, the narrative of a sublime vision-" I beheld till the thrones were cast down, and the Ancient of days did sit, whose garment was white as snow, and the hair of his head like the pure wool; his throne was like the fiery flame, and his wheels as burning fire. A fiery stream issued and came forth from before him thousand thousands ministered unto him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him: the judgment was set, and the books were opened.—I saw in the night visions, and, behold, one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days, and they brought him near before him. And there was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, 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?" Is it not written,-" The Lord shall be king over all the earth: in that day shall there be one Lord, and his name one?"* What then is prophecy, but a solemn witness to the coming of the universal glory?

And when, in addition to these proclamations of earlier ages, you turn to the pages of the Christian revelation itself, what is there but the advance of one uniform claim to ultimate conquest, and universal dominion-an affirmation,

* Psalm ii. 8. lxxii. 8, 11. Isa. ii. 2. xi. 9. xl. 5. Dan. vii. 9-14. Zech. xiv. 9.

that He who died on Golgotha, and lives in heaven, at once the sacrifice and the Lord, must be exhibited among all nations, and put down all rule and all authority and power." And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me." "This man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins,”—and on the merit of the sacrifice is founded the extent of the dominion,-" for ever sat down on the right hand of God; from henceforth expecting till his enemies be made his footstool." "He must reign, till he hath put all enemies under his feet."-It is amidst disclosures, enough to elevate the coldest hearts to sublimity, we are told that the Redeemer shall go forth conquering and to conquer;" that great voices in heaven shall be heard, saying, "The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ, and he shall reign for ever and ever," while the ascription shall ascend from the redeemed, the high pæan of victory, "We give thee thanks, O Lord God Almighty, which art, and wast, and art to come, because thou hast taken to thee thy great power, and hast reigned;" and that in the final destruction of his foes, the Saviour shall come amid the emblazonry of conquest, and with many crowns on his head," having on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, King of kings, and Lord of lords," claiming the universe as his own, and then fixing its destinies for ever!*

John xii. 32. Heb. x. 12, 13. 1 Cor. xv. 25. Rev. vi. 2.

xi. 15–17. xix, 11–16.

-My brethren, we stand not to vindicate or argue on the testimony; we put it forth as magisterial and as beyond a doubt: the whole course of prophecy, every fact as to the moral government of nature,—every fact as to the value of the Redeemer's atonement, the purpose of the Redeemer's exaltation, and the extent of the Redeemer's reward,-all combine in the utterance of one mighty voice," the whole earth SHALL be filled with his glory:"--and now, man, animated almost to inspiration while he contemplates the bright and glowing vision, may reiterate the shout of confidence and rapture, like that which once rung over the plains of Europe, but the cause how far nobler," It Is the will of God—It is the will of God!"

IS

-And O, happy will the age be, when thus the grand object of Christian desire shall be accomplished, and the renovation of earth shall be achieved! happy beyond what poet's fancy could ever imagine, or even prophet's inspiration could ever behold! Then the groanings of creation will be hushed, and its travail will be ended; the woes which now stalk abroad in the revelry of their sad dominion will depart; the passions which have long rent the harmony of the globe will be chained in eternal bondage; the feuds and schisms which have divided man from man, and empire from empire-transforming the children of the same family into murderous foes, the parents of war and slaughter, will

die; the symbols of carnage will be taken down, and the arts of blood will be forgotten; and the entire circuit of nature will present one vast habitation of love. Then " the wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf, and the young lion, and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them. The cow and the bear shall feed; their young ones shall lie down together: and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. And the sucking child shall play on the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the cockatrice' den."* Then Art will perfect her attractions; Science will develop all her discoveries of wonder; Law will sheathe her sword amidst the obedience, order, rectitude, and charity of an enlightened and a holy race; while Religion will go forth in her fair pre-eminence, receiving the grateful homage of the millions she has redeemed, and consecrating all things to God. It will be the jubilee, the great sabbath of the world; Jehovah will dwell with men; and at last eternity will enshrine the globe in its brightness, and thus consummate the scene!

Now, Christians, the mighty theme is before you-the Diffusion of the Divine Glory.-And does it need, that the formal effort should, in conclusion, be employed, to kindle your desires, and direct your energies, that you may be led to participate as you ought, in the furtherance of

* Isaiah xi. 6-8.