of a season when righteousness and peace and joy shall fill every heart, and influence every action of the human family; and still to live as many who profess this conviction do live, is a case that cannot be imagined. And even this verbal profession is not steadily adhered to. When, indeed, the destiny of the world's population is viewed through the medium of prophecy, an anticipation of a coming and transcendently glorious change is generally excited; but when the future is contemplated in connexion with the experience of the past, and the moral aspect and state of the present,then frequently our faith is shaken, and we deny our previous testimony. Then we exclaim, "Surely this cannot be ?""The world is too bad to be so greatly mended,"" Human nature will be human nature still." It is therefore necessary to reconsider the whole matter. We We must tarry awhile, in contemplation of the "things which shall be hereafter." We must appeal to the law and to the testimony." must allow the dazzling light of inspiration to disperse our doubts, and fill our hearts with enlightened and unwavering confidence. Before we proceed to parts of our inquiry which will be painful, and perhaps offensive to "flesh and blood," it will be beneficial to linger for a few moments to listen to "glad tidings of great joy," and to gaze upon "the glory which should follow" the sufferings of Christ. "This is for our health." We shall not be wearied by exercise like this-we shall renew our strength. Whilst we are musing the fire shall burn, and, if we do not hinder it, it shall consume our apathy, and constrain us to exclaim in all sincerity, "Oh that all might catch the flame, All partake the glorious bliss!" And now, if your heart be with ours, we are mutually anxious to reperuse and re-consider those portions of Holy Scripture which have reference to the progress of Christianity among the sinful, guilty, wretched, dying population of our world. We shall, therefore, at once present a few of them to your notice. What then do the Scriptures teach as to the extent of the influence which the religion of Jesus Christ shall exert upon the nations of the earth? Is this religion indeed destined to become the religion of the world. Our task, though but commenced, is almost done. We must allow the testimony of prophets, and apostles, and of THE LORD himself, to fill most of our remaining space. Our own remarks shall be as brief as possible. 1. The very first allusion to a Saviour indicates, and not indistinctly, the success of his mission. "I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel." Gen. iii. 15. the heel. Now, to bruise the head implies a greater achievement than to bruise The good to be achieved by the seed of the woman is therefore more extensive than the evil wrought by the serpent. If then the evil hitherto has been so prevalent, what may we not expect as to the future prevalence of the good? 2. The inference we have deduced from the promise just noticed is confirmed in a most remarkable way, by the covenant made soon after wards with Abraham. "In thy seed shall all the families (or nations) of the earth be blessed." Gen. xii. 3. This cheering promise of blessing to all nations, occurs in the Bible no less than seven times. It was made twice to Abraham, once to Isaac, and once to Jacob. It is quoted by the Almighty himself, by St. Peter, and by St. Paul. Both the Apostles interpret it as referring to Christianity. The former explains the term blessed, "Unto you first, God having raised up his Son Jesus, sent him to bless you, in turning every one of you from his iniquities." Here then we tread on firm ground. All the nations of the earth are to be blessed, in the seed of Abraham, by being "turned away from their iniquities." And St. Paul explains this promised blessing of all nations as signifying the "justification of the heathen through faith." Nothing can be more decisive as to the conversion of all nations, than these inspired explanations. 3. The Book of Psalms affords much evidence on this question. At the very opening, we have the following passage. "The Lord hath said unto me, Thou art my son; this day have I begotten thee. Ask of me, and I will give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession." Ps. ii. 8-9. And this subjugation of the heathen, thus absolutely promised, is, in the subsequent verses of the Psalm, made a reason for cheerful submission to the Messiah. "Be wise now THEREFORE, O ye kings: be instructed, ye judges of the earth. Serve the Lord with fear, and rejoice with trembling. Kiss the son, lest he be angry, and ye perish by the way." A plain intimation this, that by gentle means, or when such fail, by severe means, all the king doms of the earth shall become the kingdoms of our God, and of his Christ. 4. In the 110th Psalm, this universal conquest is again declared. "The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit thou at my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool. The Lord shall send the rod of thy strength out of Zion; rule thou in the midst of thine enemies. Thy people shall be willing in the day of thy power." Ps. cx. 1-2. 5. And the 72nd Psalm, known as the "Psalm for Solomon," appears to be "in type and in truth," as the heading expresses it, but an enlarged view of the same glorious event. We present it, however, only as an apparent evidence, for it does not appear to us that any absolute and positive proof of its application to the Messiah, can be found. And we seek truth only: not the maintenance of a preconceived opinion. We give the portions of the Psalm which are most pertinent to question. our "Give the king thy judgments, O God, and thy righteousness unto the King's son. * * * * * * "In his days shall the righteous flourish; and abundance of peace so long as the moon endureth. He shall have dominion also from sea to sea, and from the river unto the ends of the earth. "Yea, all kings shall fall down before him, all nations shall serve him. For he shall deliver the needy when he crieth; the poor also, and him that hath no helpers. He shall spare the poor and needy, and shall save the souls of the needy. He shall redeem their souls from deceit and violence and precious shall their blood be in his sight. ~* # * "His name shall endure for ever; his name shall be continued so long as the sun and men shall be blessed in him ; all nations shall call him blessed. Blessed be the Lord God, the God of Israel, who only doeth wondrous things, and blessed be his glorious name for ever; and let the whole earth be filled with his glory; Amen, and Amen." Ps. lxxii. What a prophecy is this! Of what matchless sublimity is the language! dicted! Surely it is of And how great are the things preJesus, the Son of David," according to the promise, and not of, (or not merely of,) Solomon, that the Prophet here speaks. It is hard to conceive that blessed in him; all nations shall call such expressions as "men shall be him blessed," can be spoken of any other but "the desire of all nations" himself. Our inference from these remarks, is this, it is as difficult to conceive that the Psalm predicts anyworld to Christ, as it is to conceive thing but the subjaration of the that it has no reference to Christ at all. 6. But evidence now opens upon us so full and explicit as, we think, will place the matter beyond doubt. The evangelical Prophet," as might be anticipated, speaks with his accustomed clearness of expression. following passage: Very early in the book we have the "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. And many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob, and he will teach us his ways, and we will walk in his paths, for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusa lem, and he shall judge among the nations, and rebuke many people: and they shall beat their swords into plough shares, and their spears into pruning hooks: nation, neither shall they learn war any tion shall not lift up sword against namore. Is. ii. 2-4. 7. The following well known passage occurs but a few chapters afterwards. "His name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end." Is. ix. 6-7. 66 8. And but two chapters further, Righteousness shall be the girdle of his loins, and faithfulness the girdle of his reins. 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. And 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's den. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain: for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea.' Is. xi. 5-9. 9. Our next, from the same Prophet, affords evidence that, we think, is indisputable. "And in this mountain shall the Lord of Hosts make unto all people 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. And he will destroy in this mountain the face of the covering cast over all people, and the vail that is spread over all nations." Is. xxv. 6-7. Surely the removal "of the face of the covering," and of the "vail," from all nations and people indicates their conversion to the truth. 10. And again, "Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for our God! Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall te made low, and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places plain; and 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. xl. 3-5. For brevity's sake, we pass an impressive passage in the 49th chapter, and come to a short, but, to our mind, an infinitely cheering sentence, in the 53rd. "The pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in his hand. He shall see of the travail of his soul, and be satisfied." Is. 1. 10-11. The Redeemer shall be satisfied with the prosperity and success which shall attend his saving work! What will be the extent of that success? Who can imagine "the travail of his soul?" And who, then, can imagine the glorious result? 12. The 60th chapter of the same book is one comprehensive prophecy of the glory and extension of the church. We can only give two or three verses. "The Gentiles shall come to thy light, and kings to the brightness of thy rising. * * * "The abundance of the sea shall be converted unto thee, the forces of the Gentiles shall come unto thee. * "The nation that will not serve thee shall perish, yea those nations shall be utterly wasted. * * * "Violence shall no more be heard in thy land, wasting nor destruction within thy borders. Thy people also shall be all righteous, they shall inherit the land for ever." Is. lx. 12-18. In taking our leave of this book, from which we have been compelled to quote largely, we have merely to remark, that the numerous and explicit testimonies found therein, are in perfect harmony with its general character,-an especially evangelical prophecy. shall now be heard. 13. Jeremiah, the next in order, lem the throne of the LORD, and all the "At that time they shall call Jerusanations shall be gathered unto it, to the name of the LORD, to Jerusalem: neither agination of their evil hearts." shall they walk any more after the im No language can be more express than the concluding words of this verse. 14. God hath given us "line upon line:" prophecy after prophecy. Is it possible, that we are still unbelieving? Do we still feel as if the world was too bad? As if the prejudices and passions of men were too strongly inclined to evil, to allow us to hope for their conversion to holiness and love? Are we still disposed to allow our experience to set aside God's prophecy? Listen we, then, to succeeding prophets. "There was given him (the Son of man) that all people, and nations, and landominion, and glory, and a kingdom, guages should serve him: "I beheld and the same horn made war with the saints, and prevailed against them. Until the ancient of days came, and judgment was given to the saints of the most high, and the time came that the saints possessed the kingdom. the greatness of the kingdom under the "And the kingdom and dominion, and whole heaven, shall be given to the people of the saints of the most high." Dan. vii.14, 21-2, and 27. 15. Joel, as it is well known, and as quoted by St. Peter, also affords us some evidence. "And it shall come to pass afterwards, that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh." Joel ii. 28. 16. Zephaniah shall be our next witness. Lord, until the day that I rise up to the "Therefore wait ye upon me, saith the prey for my determination is to gather the nations, that I may assemble the kingdoms, to pour upon them mine indignation, even all my fierce anger: for all the earth shall be devoured with the fire of my jealousy. For then will I turn to the people a pure language, that they may all call upon the name of the Lord, to serve him with one consent." Zep. iii. 8. 17. We have not, even yet, heard the last. "He shall speak peace to the heathen: and his dominion shall be from sea to sea, and from the river even to the ends of the earth." Zech. ix, 10. 18. We have gone through the first great division of the Bible. We commenced with Genesis; we conclude with Malachi. He is not silent. "From the rising of the sun even unto the going down of the same, my name shall be great among the Gentiles; and in every place incense shall be offered to my name, and a pure offering, for my name shall be great among the heathen, saith the Lord of Hosts." Mal. i, 11. We must now proceed to the New Testament. It will be perceived by the progressive numbers, attached to our quotations, and the remarks thereon, that we have already produced eighteen distinct prophecies bearing on our question, and we think severally supporting the answer we have proposed as the true one. We cannot, of course, judge with certainty of the impression which a review of this evidence will produce on other minds: but we must declare, our own mind is at perfect rest. And we can scarcely conceive it possible for any one to evade the force of such an accumulation of proof. Wemust, however, glance through the New Testament, as well as the Old. What then is its testimony? 19. The very first announcement of a Saviour, as being actually born, gives us a glorious confirmation of previous prophecies. "Behold, I bring you glad tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people." Luke ii. 10. And what is this "great joy" thus to "be" experienced by all people? What, but the reception of a Saviour, "which is Christ the Lord. ?" 20. Come we now to hear HIM speak, who " spake as never man spake." "Whereunto shall I liken the kingdom of God? It is like a leaven, which a woman took and hid in three measures of meal until the whole was leavened." Luke xiii. 20 and 21. This style of teaching, on this point, is precisely such as might be looked for, when the general character of our Lord's teaching is taken into account. He taught by parables. But we think that the evi dent design of this parable is to show, that the Gospel of the kingdom of God shall increase until the whole moral world be leavened. 21. And for this, all the followers of Christ are commanded, by him, to pray. "Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven." Matt. vi. 10. done, on earth, as universally,-not Thy kingdom come; thy will be merely, as perfectly as it is in heaven," is apparently the sense of the petition. But we are certainly not commanded to pray for an event that cannot be realised: or that ought not to be believingly expected. 22. The Apostles also give us important testimony. St. Paul's is as follows. "I would not brethren that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness, in part, hath happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in. And so all Israel shall be saved, as it is written, there shall come out of Zion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob." Rom. xi, 25. and 26. Here, the Apostle declares purposely the future conversion of the entire nation of the Jews, and incidentally, that of "the fulness of the Gentiles." And the meaning of the term fulness, as here used, may be gathered almost with certainty from a previous verse, where the "fulness" of Israel evidently means "all Israel." Here then is another declaration of the future conversion of the whole human race! 23. There is nothing more remarkable, in connexion with the question of the world's conversion, than the almost entire absence of every thing like evidence in Scripture of the recollect, or find, a single passage negative. We are unable either to which presents a real difficulty; and even apparent difficulties are exceedingly rare. The book of Revelation, to which we now, in conclusion, must appeal, removes these, as well as crowns, by its closing testimony, our series of quotations. "And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit, and a great chain in his hand. And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the devil, and satan, and bound him a thousand years. And cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed a little season." Rev. xx. 1-3. 24. It is this event, we believe, that is referred to in the 11th chap ter, as follows:-an event worthy of such a commemoration. "And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, 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." Amen! Even so, Lord Jesus! Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven!" O, thou that hearest prayer! hear that thou hast thyself inspired! Why are the wheels of thy chariot so long in coming? Why tarry the wheels of thy chariot ?" this prayer, 66 Finally; does the Bible furnish any proof, or apparent proof, on the other side? We have already declared our conviction on this point. There is no real, and scarcely a shadow of apparent difficulty in connexion with the decision we come to. And the book of Revelation removes that passing cloud, that "shadow of a shade." The case stands thus. The one 66 pro ever phecies speak of the universal kingdom of Christ on earth, as an lasting kingdom," as that "endureth for ever." And yet there are other passages which describe the world, at its dissolution, as being wicked, or wicked to a great extent. Such is Rev. vi. 16, where "the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men," are represented as "saying to the mountains and rocks fall on us, and hide us," &c. Now without a key to solve this, an apparent difficulty might have remained to damp our zeal, and quench our energy in working for the salvation of our world. BUT WE HAVE A KEY. Glory to God in the highest! We have a key from him that openeth, and no man closeth after him. "That he (Satan) should deceive the nations no more TILL the thousand years were finished. And after that he must be loosed for a little season. And shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth.-And they went up on the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city, and fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them. And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brim stone, where the beast, and the false prophet are. (These, the Papal and Mahometan powers, were destroyed from the earth before the "thousand years.") And they shall be tormented day and night for and him that sat on it, from whose face ever. And I saw a great white throne, the earth and heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them. And I saw the dead small and great stand before God." Rev. xx. 3, and 7-12. Here is the wisdom, which reconciles and harmonizes dark sayings. The "thousand years" shall come; —an enduring, and in comparison with the "little season," an everlasting" period. Yes. So long that the Messiah shall❝ 66 see the fruits of the travail of his soul and be satisfied." because men universally no longer Then once more "must" (perhaps have pleasure in the truth) 66 the deceiver of the nations be loosed." But it shall be but for a little season. So soon as persecution commences, SO soon as the deceived nations attack the camp of the saints, the fire from heaven descends, the devil throne appears, and the dead, small is cast into the lake, a great white and great, stand before God? Christian brethren! We have resolved, and do now again most solemnly, in the sight of God, resolve, that henceforth this object, the salvation of the world, shall engross all our powers, and engage Will you our utmost energies. assist us? Will you also " to the help of the Lord"? We trust, think this confidence is not unfound-we believe you will. And we ed. We know that many, many hundreds, perhaps thousands, of hearts are with us. come up Let us have your hands;-nay, we will not ask thus, let GOD have hearts and hands and all. God is giving us the will, and he shall point out the way. Brethren, prepare for action! whole armour of light. Put on the The world shall be subjugated to our Master's peaceful sway? We shall soon find modes and means--methods of union and co-operation; and grace to act upon them shall be given, " according to our day." Our next inquiry is now excited Is the Christian system-the system of means and agencies developed in the New Testament for promoting Christianity, indeed efficient for the conversion |