By this time, I presume, the reader well
understands what the Lord has promised, or covenanted, to do. Let him, then, in
view of these "exceeding great and precious promises," take a mental
survey of Canaan, of Israel, and of the nation -- of Canaan in its desolation,
of Israel in their dispersion, and of the nations in the abyss of mortal
ignorance, and of dark and cruel superstitions; and prostrate under the iron
heel of blood-stained and murderous tyrannies. This is truly a bottomless abyss
from which neither
In the testimony a voice is heard addressing the
nations in these words, saying, "Listen, O isles, unto me; and hearken, ye
people, from afar: the Lord hath called me from the womb; from the bowels
of my mother hath he made mention of my name. He hath made my mouth like a
sharp sword; in the shadow of his hand hath he hid me, and made me a polished
shaft: and said unto me, thou art my servant, O Israel, in whom I will be
glorified." Need the reader be told who this great and mighty one is?
Whose name was mentioned by the Lord before his birth? Hear the scriptures --
"And Gabriel said to Mary, behold thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and
bring forth a son, and shalt call his name Jesus (Heb. Jehoshua, or
Jehovah-tzidkenu, the Lord our righteousness), for he shall save his people
from their sins. He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest;
and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David: and
he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there
shall be no end (Matt.
But he was born, and has departed, and is hid in
the shadow of the Lord's hand; and has neither received David's throne, nor
does he reign over
The Lord Jesus, the servant of Jehovah, then, is
in reserve at the right hand of the Majesty in the heavens, for the purpose of
a future manifestation, not to destroy the earth, and to burn up the wicked,
but to fulfil the covenants of promise; in putting an end to the desolation of
Canaan, restoring the tribes to their native land, re-establishing the
commonwealth of Israel, enlightening the nations, regenerating society, filling
the earth with the glory of the Lord, establishing his sovereignty in the
world, and in rewarding the saints. All this is to be accomplished when the
Lord comes. The God of the fathers will then remember the covenants which He
began to fulfil when He called
This is the sense in which James understood the
testimony of God. "Simeon," said he, "hath declared how God at
the first did visit the Gentiles, to take out of them a people for his
name." Then, in quoting the words of Amos, he continues, "After
this I will return, and will build again the tabernacle of David which is
fallen down; and I will build again the ruins thereof, and I will set it up:
that the residue of men (Edom) might seek after the Lord, and all the
Gentiles upon whom my name is called, saith the Lord" (Acts 15:14-17).
This was adduced as a quietus upon the Judaizers to prove the acceptance by the
Lord of Gentiles as well as of Jews, and upon the same terms. But I have
introduced it here to show the arrangement of things in relation to the work to
be performed. We see that there is a certain labour to be finished-to wit, the
taking out a people from among the nations for the Lord's name. By the time
this is accomplished, the Lord will return. But what does the text
before us say he returns for? To set up David's kingdom which is in ruins.
But again, what ulterior purpose is to be effected through this restitution?
The turning the Gentiles from their delusions, to serve God according to the
institutions of the Age to come. The people for the Lord’s name are the
saints or "heirs of the kingdom" Such an institution requires
administrators; and as from its nature only righteous and immortal men can
inherit it, it became necessary to call them out, first from
If Jew or Gentile aspire to this glorious station
in the Age to come, "the prize" is attainable on the simple
condition of believing the things concernIng the Kingdom and the name of Jesus
Christ, and of being baptized; and thenceforth walking as becomes men who are
to be, not only the rulers, but the companions of Christ, and examples of the
nations in righteousness, equity, and faith. The time, however, for collecting
together the nobility of the kingdom is almost elapsed. It has been
continuous with the desolation of
THE PRIESTHOOD OF
In the everlasting covenant made with David, the
son promised him, who is to sit upon his throne and to wear his crown for ever,
is also set forth as a sacrificial victim ; as it is written, "In
suffering for iniquity I will chasten him with the rod of men, and with the
stripes due to the children of Adam." So the passage is rendered by Adam
Clarke. It is in strict accordance with the truth in the case; and in agreement
with the testimony, which says, "He hath borne our griefs, and carried our
sorrows; yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But he
was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities; the
chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are
healed" (Isaiah 53:4,5).
But, being a sacrifice for sin, who should be the
priest in the case, and enter into the Most Holy with his blood to make
atonement, or reconciliation, for his people? Where there is a sacrifice there
is also of necessity a priest. There were priests under the law of Moses, who
went into the Most Holy with the blood of the slain beasts, and sprinkled it
upon the lid of the ark called the propitiatory, or mercy-seat, upon which the
cherubic faces looked. But the blood of David's Son was not to be sprinkled
there. It was not to be carried into the Most Holy made with hands, either by
himself, or by the high priest of the law: and wherever its memorial was
presented, it could only be exhibited by a high priest. The Son of David could
not officiate as a priest on earth so long as the covenant from Sinai continued
the law of the land; because it permitted only the tribe of Levi to minister in
holy things. He belonged to the tribe of
But the covenant made with David, while it speaks
of his son as a sacrifice, and, by implication, of his resurrection, and future
Occupation of his throne for ever; says nothing about him as high priest of his
kingdom. Hence, in order that he might enter his divine Father's presence as a
high priest, and hereafter sit as a priest upon the throne of David's kingdom, "the
word of the oath" (Heb. 7:28) was given for the purpose. This was
necessary; for "no man taketh this honour upon himself, but he that is
called of God, as Aaron was." David's son was called to the high
priesthood of the kingdom, as distinctly as Aaron was to the same honour under
the Mosaic law. "He glorified not himself to be made a high priest; but he
that said unto him, Thou art my Son, to-day have I begotten thee; saith also in
another place, Thou art a Priest for ever after the order of Melchizedec."
(Heb. 5:4-6; Psalm 110:4)
Here, then, are two orders of priesthood
-- the Order of Melchizedec, and the Order of Aaron. Melchizedec's was
contemporary with Abraham ; Aaron's was not instituted until 430 years after
the confirmation of the covenant. Of Melchizedec, the apostle could have said
much more than he did say; but he has said enough to give us an idea of his
order of priesthood. In this he was without predecessor, or successor, without
sacerdotal genealogy, and without beginning of official days, or end of life;
but, assimilated to the Son of God, abideth a priest continually; of whom also
it is testified that he liveth. (Heb.7:3,8) The Aaronic priesthood was the
reverse of all this. Its priests were descended from Aaron, their mothers were
of the tribe of Levi, their fathers in office before them, upon which they
entered at thirty years, and vacated it at fifty. But the priesthood of
It is probable that Shem was the personage to
whom Abraham paid tithes on his return from the slaughter of the kings. Abraham
died thirty-five years before Shem reached his five hundred and second year,
after the flood. At this date, Isaac was one hundred and ten, and Jacob fifty;
so that they were contemporary with Shem for these periods of their lives.
There is no account of Shem's death in the scripture; on the contrary, it is
testified, as we have seen, that the person called Melchizedec still lives.
Now, Meichizedec is a word expressive of the character of the person who bore
it. It signifies king of righteousness, or righteous king. He was the greatest
king in
The word of the oath, saying, "I have sworn,
and will not repent, Thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchizedec
having changed the priesthood of the kingdom, "there is made of necessity
also a change of the law (Heb
In the everlasting covenant made with David it is
declared of his immortal son by the Lord, saying, "He shall build a
hoi£se for my name." David wished to execute this great national work,
but was forbidden. It was afterwards accomplished by Solomon, and in this he
eminently typified the "greater than Solomon," who is to construct a
similar edifice, only on a vastly more magnificent scale. This will appear from
the following testimony. After Solomon's temple was laid in ruins, and while
the Jews, after their return from Babylon, were erecting a new one upon the
site of the old, the word of the Lord came to the prophet, saying, "Behold
the man whose name is THE BRANCH: and he shall grow up out of his place, and he
shall build the temple of the Lord; even he shall build the temple of the
Lord; and he shall bear the glory, and shall sit and rule upon his throne;
and shall be a priest upon his throne. And they that are far off shall come
and build in the temple of the Lord" (Zech.
Let the reader turn to the texts following, and
he will have no doubt as to the person styled the Branch. (Zech. 3:8; Isaiah
11:1; Jer. 23:5; 33:15; Rev. 22:16) The Melchizedec Son of David, then, is to
build the Millennial Temple in Jerusalem to the name of Jehovah; and as the
Tyrian Gentiles aided Solomon to rear his edifice, so those who are far off
from Jerusalem, where the prophecy was delivered, are to co-operate in the
erection of Shiloh's, which is to be "a house of prayer for all
people," (Isaiah 56:7) when the Lord shall "plant the heavens,
and lay the foundations of the earth, and say unto Zion, Thou art my
people." (Isaiah 51:16) If the reader wish to know more about the temple
to be built by
When the Lord Jesus shall sit upon the throne of
his father David, as high priest of the nation, and has dedicated the temple to
the Most High, what then? "Many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let
us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house (or temple) of the God of
Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths
(Isaiah 2:3). "The sons of the stranger, that join themselves to the Lord,
to serve him, and to love the name of the Lord, to be his servants, every one
that keepeth the sabbath from polluting it, and taketh hold of my covenant;
even them will I bring to my holy mountain, and make them joyful in my house of
prayer; their burnt offerings and their sacrifices shall be accepted upon mine
altar." And "there shall be no more the Canaanite in the house of the
Lord of hosts."(Isaiah 56:3-6)
THE NAME OF JESUS CHRIST.
If I have been successful in making a distinct
impression upon the reader's mind as to the nature of "the kingdom of God
and of his Christ"; and that impression has originated within him a desire
to know what he must do to inherit it, it remains now to direct
his attention to the things of the name of Christ. This is a subject which
would occupy very much space if all were to be said about it that would be
profitable. I find myself, however, compelled to confine myself to a mere
sketch, which the reader must more highly finish as the result of his own
investigations.
The name of Jesus Christ comprehends all
that is affirmable of him; and is, therefore, the summary of his character as a
prophet, sacrifice, priest, and king. Hence, to understand his name we must
know what is testified of him in the law, the prophets, the psalms, and the
apostles. From the "Old Testament" we may become acquainted with the
Now there are certain things affirmed of Jesus
Christ, the belief of which is highly essential to the constituting of a
believer an heir of the kingdom. These things have regard to Jesus as an
offering for sin. He died, was buried, and rose again. These are facts. But
what is the truth, meaning, or doctrine of the facts? "He was delivered
for our offences, and raised again for our justification"
(Rom.
A very circumscribed and superficial view of the
gospel is that which finds it stated in the words, "Christ died for our
sins according to the scriptures, was buried, and rose again the third day
according to the scriptures."(1 Cor. 15:3,4) The "our"
for whom Christ died are those who believe in the gospel of the kingdom, not
those who are ignorant of it; or, as the apostle expresses it, those "who
keep in memory A CERTAIN WORD I preached unto them." What word?
That which he taught among them a year and six months; and which he preached
wherever he went. The word concerning "the hope of Israel," on
account of which he was taken prisoner to Rome; and which the Jews listened to
patiently, (Acts 18:4) so long as he did not mention the name of Jesus; but
when that was introduced, they opposed themselves and blasphemed.(Acts
15:5,6,11)Because the apostle is made to say in the common version that he
"delivered first of all," the death and resurrection of
Christ, persons, who know no other than their mother tongue, conclude that the
sacrifice of Jesus for sin was the first thing spoken, and the very gospel
itself! But the apostle did not write "first of all"; his
words are: "among the first things" in the original Greek. And
why does he call up the things mentioned in the third and fourth verses in
preference to the other things he delivered? Because he was about to refute the
Platonic notion taught by some in Corinth, to wit, "that there is no
resurrection of the dead" and to do so it was necessary to remind them of
his having preached to them the sacrificial death and resurrection of Jesus;
which was all a fable, if there were no future resurrection as they said,
because it had "passed already" (2 Tim. 2:18): "Ye are
then," said he, "yet in your sins, and they who are fallen asleep in
Christ are perished."
Three things were to be preached in the name of
Jesus Christ to them who believed in the promises made of God to the fathers.
These were, first, repentance; secondly, remission of sins; and
third, eternal lfe.(Luke 24:44-47; John 20:31) To preach the kingdom in
the name of Jesus Christ was to expound the things concerning it; and to offer
them to all who would become the subjects of repentance and remission of sins
in his name. Neither "flesh and blood," nor sinners,
can inherit the
Now, the repentance which results from believing
the gospel of the kingdom is not "sorrow for sin"; nor does it
contain the least bitterness or remorse of feeling in it. The scripture word
translated repentance signifies a change of mind and purpose.
When such a change takes place from believing the truth, it is a disposition
and mode of thinking such as characterized Abraham, who is the model of the
faith and temper which precedes justification in the name of the Lord. But a
change of mind and purpose, however "evangelical," is only granted
for repentance in the name of Jesus Christ. That is to say, though a believer
of the gospel of the kingdom might possess this state of mind and child-like
disposition, he would not be regarded as in repentance any more than in Jesus until
the name of Christ was named upon him according to "the law of
faith." It imports not how much a woman loves a man, she is not his
wife, and therefore entitled to none of the benefits he is able to confer,
until she puts on his name according to law. The name of Christ consummates
everything. "Complete in him"; but out of him everything is
imperfect. Faith is unfinished, and the change of mind and disposition is
incomplete, until the believer of the gospel of the kingdom puts on the name of
Christ. In the act of doing this, his faith is counted to him for
righteousness, or remission of sins that are past; and his change of mind and
disposition is granted to him for repentance (Acts 5:31; 11:18).
But a right to eat of the tree of life in
the paradise of God is also imparted to the believer through the name of
Christ. The life-giving efficacy of his name is derived from his resurrection
as the first-fruits of them that sleep. Had Jesus not risen from the dead, men
could not have obtained a right to eternal life through his name. This is the
doctrine of the apostles and the prophets. An unrisen sacrifice is only a
temporary propitiation for sin. This was the nature of the sacrifices under the
Mosaic law. Hence the law had no vitality in it; "for if there had been a
law given that could have given life, verily righteousness should have been by
the law." (Gal. 3:21) But this was impossible. Moses was the mediator of
the covenant from Sinai. He died, and the Lord buried him; but there was no
testimony added of his resurrection : and though he lives (for he appeared to
Jesus on the Mount), it was after the law came into force. The Mosaic law is,
therefore, a minister only of death and cursing. But Jesus died and rose again,
and lives for evermore. Hence, the gospel in his name, and the new code
hereafter to be promulgated from
While a believer is out of Christ, he is in his
sins, and while he is in his sins he is under the sentence of death; for
"the wages of sin is death." As soon, however, as his sins are
forgiven through Christ's name, in the act of forgiveness he passes from under
the sentence of death; and as there is no middle, or neutral position, he comes
under the sentence of life, and rejoices in hope of the kingdom of God. Thus
Jesus Christ hath abolished death, and brought life and incorruptibility to
light in the gospel of the kingdom. (2 Tim. 1:10) There is no other way of
obtaining them than through his name, and bv a resurrection from the dead; or,
if living at the setting up of the kingdom, by a change in the twinkling of an
eye. Such is the doctrine of Christ as opposed to the vain philosophy of Plato.
The Papist and Protestant admirers of this heathen speculator, contend for the
hereditary immortality of an immaterial essence, innate in sinful flesh; while
the Lord Jesus has made known that life and incorruptibility are attributes of
the kingdom of God, which they only can obtain who are accounted worthy on
gospel principles of inheriting it. In fine, incorruptible life is part of the
reward of the righteous; and nowhere in the Bible is immortality predicated of,
or promised to, men who die in their sins. Out of Christ, immortality there is
none.
DEATH-BED AND GAOL REPENTANCE.
By "the great salvation" is
meant deliverance from the grave by a resurrection to life, and a share in the
kingdom of God. This, as we have seen, is predicated on faith in the promises
made to the Fathers, an Abrahamic disposition, baptism into the name of the
Holy Ones, and faith made perfect by works. In other words, salvation is
promised to those only who walk in the steps of Abraham's faith. To deny this
is to deny the testimony of God. His own Son was not exalted until he was made
perfect by suffering. "He that believes the gospel, and is baptized, shall
be saved; and he that believes not shall be condemned." This fiat has
never been revoked; it is, therefore, as valid arid exceptionless as when it
fell from the lips of the Son of God.
Now, in view of this irrefutable truth, what
shall we say of that system which holds out assurances of "heaven" to
men of earthly, sensual, and devilish lives, when they find themselves
prisoners of disease, and convicts in the clutches of the law? When death
stares them in the face, they are exhorted by their "spiritual
guides" to "make their peace with God"; and even when preparing
for the scaffold are taught by "gaol chaplains" to expect to meet in
heaven the companions of their crimes; and that by partaking of the
"sacrament" they are making their souls ready "to meet their
God!" And upon what is all this "consolation of religion"
founded? Upon a terrible apprehension of the molten and flaming sulphur in
hell's cauldron, into which the "penitents" are taught their"
immortal souls" will be plunged by God, and where they will be tormented
by the Devil for all eternity. A gaol-chaplain at Coventry actually burned a female
convict's hand with the flame of a candle as a foretaste of her tortures after
death if she did not repent! This was his plan of proceeding in the "cure
of her soul"! But if disease, or crime, had not captured the
"penitents," their career would have been still onward in iniquity.
Finding there is no escape from death, either by the rope, or in the ordinary
way, their audacity and impiety are suspended. They are imposed upon by the
clerical assurance that the Lord is "waiting to be gracious"; they are
directed to the thief upon the cross; and they are deceived by the falsehood
that "while the lamp holds out to burn, the vilest sinner may
return." All is ready, the gospel feast is prepared, and nothing is
wanting but for them to believe that Christ died for them, to be sorry for the
past, profess themselves at peace with God and all mankind, and to pray for
forgiveness through Jesus Christ.
Thus the "spiritual guides" of the
people shrive them to perdition. An act of the mind, prompted by terror and their
persuasions, is proposed by them as a set off for a whole life of impiety and
crime! What base views must such men have of the God whose ministers they
pretend to be! Their "consolations" are unmitigated blasphemy, and
false from first to last. Need they be surprised at the little impression they
make upon the public mind by their preaching; and that mankind are daily
increasing in infidelity? The million, though ignorant, are not fools.
"What necessity for us," say they, "to trouble ourselves about
religion ? We can be shrived in half-an-hour for all the offences of a long
life of sin." It is the preachers that make men infidels by the
preposterous absurdities they preach in the much-abused name of Christianity.
But the worst, and most repulsive, form of
ministerial blasphemy is exhibited in gaol-chaplain consolations. These are a
striking manifestation of clerical ignorance of the letter and spirjt of the
truth. The scripture saith, that "no murderer hath eternal life abiding
in him ", and that even "he that hateth his brother is a
murderer," and, consequently, beyond the pale of mercy. Murder can only be
pardoned through a faith in the truth that works by love and purifies the
heart, and made perfect by obedience. If after this such a believer fail of the
grace of God, and hate and murder his brother, there is no forgiveness with
God, "he shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth upon him."
What with sprinkling infants in the name of the Lord, and calling it Christian
baptism; shriving reprobates at the gates of death, and calling it repentance;
and committing their loathsome carcases to the earth under a repetition of
"common prayer" read over myriads of times, and styling it
Christian burial; surely there is superabundant reason to conclude, were we
even ignorant of the truth itself, that both priests and people are deceiving
and being deceived.
To call the popular system of religion by which
we are surrounded the religion of Christ, is not only a misnomer, but an
imputation on the wisdom of God. Infant-sprinkling, death-bed repentances, and
"Christian burials," as they are termed, are mere human inventions.
They belong to the apostasy, and are no part of the "things of the
It is because of these abominations that the
judgments of God are falling upon the nations. Ministerial and popular
iniquities have brought the pestilence upon this people; and war and famine
upon others. They are but the beginning of sorrows. The present storm may lull;
but it is only that it may gather force to sweep before it all refuges of lies.
"Woe to the world because of offences!"
In former pages I have endeavoured to show the
reader what the truth is. I have advanced nothing, that I can recollect, but
what I have adduced "the law and the testimony" to prove. Let him
view the landscapes of the moral world by the light of the truth, and he will
behold the darkness visible. He will see its drapery in tatters, and its rags
falling to pieces from very rottenness. Its fabric is rent from the dome to its
foundations; and its structure is like a bowing wall and a tottering fence.
There is no safety under its roof. Even the owls and the bats of its crannies
are panic-stricken. Come out, then, dear reader, and leave the den, if
unhappily you sojourn there. Believe the truth for its own sake, and obey it;
and if you stand alone, be of good courage. There is more real satisfaction in
knowing, and being able to prove, the truth, and in contending single-handed
for it, than in all the honour and enjoyment derivable from the applause of
men, or the abundance of the world's goods a man may possess.
If the righteous "scarcely be saved"
what scope is there for the ungodly and the sinner; and if judgment began at
the house of God in the persecutions it endured, "what shall the end be of
them that obey not the gospel of God? (1 Pet. 4:18,17) Be not deceived by the
traditions of the Gentile scribes and orators. Their ministrations have no
vitality in them, and leave their flocks in their own predicament, "dead
in trespasses and in sins." Therefore "come out from among them, and
be ye separate, and touch not the unclean; and I will receive you, and will be
a Father to you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord
Almighty." (2 Cor. 6:17,18)