gether very similar language to that in the prophecy before us. I will only beg the Reader's attention to two passages more, which I will merely place in juxta position, without any comment. "Woe to the multitude of many people, which make a noise like the noise of the seas; and to the rushing of nations, that make a rushing like the rushing of mighty waters! The nations shall rush like the rushing of many waters: but God shall rebuke them, and they shall flee afar off, and shall be chased as the chaff of the mountains before the wind, and like a rolling thing before the whirlwind. And behold at evening time trouble; and before the morning he is not. This is the portion of them that spoil us and the lot of them that rob us."b "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 the nations were angry, and thy wrath is come, and the time of the dead, that they should be judged, and that thou shouldest give reward unto thy servants the prophets, and to the saints, and them that fear thy name, small and great; and shouldest destroy them which destroy the earth. And the temple of God was opened in heaven, and there was seen is his temple the ark of his testament, and there were lightnings, and voices, and thunderings, and an earthquake, and great hail!"'e

I have enlarged on this point, for the purpose of convincing the Reader of the frequency of this figure in the prophetical Scriptures: I now return to the exposition.

Surely we have had "distress of nations!" The landed, the funded, the mercantile, the agricultural, the manufacturing, the shipping, the trading interests, all in turn have experienced depression and distress; and so extensive has it been, that the members and adherents of different administrations have repeatedly pointed to its prevailing throughout every nation of the continent, as a proof that it did not originate from their own political measures. And the "perplexity" concerning its cause and cure have been equally remarkable. Numerous reasons have been assigned for it, all differing from each other! the war, the peace;-paper currency, and return to cash payments;superabundant harvests,* deficiency of crops;-free trade, restrictions upon it;-machinery, taxes, borough mongers, &c. &c. The remedies proposed have been if possible still more numerous, and some of them have been adopted: but perplexity and distress have nevertheless increased rather than

*This was first blasphemously declared by a minister of state, (Lord Castlereagh,) and it was immediately followed by crops below the average, with partial droughts and famine.

Isa. xvii. 12-14.

• Rev. xi. 17-19.

diminished; and throughout it all the hand of God is not acknowledged:-yea to hint, that it is a judgment, is in high places scouted with derision!-"Therefore for all this, the Lord's anger is not turned away, but his arm is stretched out still."

Then we have "the sea and the waves roaring.' What I have said concerning the signs in the sun, moon and stars, has led me in great measure to anticipate this point: for the perilous condition of all rulers, governments, and nobles arises from the seditious spirit existing among the people. All the governments of Europe are obliged to maintain enormous standing armies, notoriously for the purpose of keeping down the revolutionary spirit that prevails. Various demonstrations have already occurred, in different countries. In our own country we have awful symptoms: in some places we have had dreadful riots and outrages; (e. g. Bristol, Derby and Nottingham;) in others incendiary fires, destruction of machinery, with tumultuous and violent assemblages of the peasantry; and in all populous places political unions are formed to overawe and control the government by physical force. Too generally the voice of infidelity, blasphemy, and speaking evil of dignities is heard; and thousands have shown that "their throat is an open sepulchre, the poison of asps under their lips, and their feet swift to shed blood." The social bond also appears dissolved: all parties in the state are dissevered from each other; personal animosity embitters political movements; and every man's hand seems to be against his brother. It should be remembered that a similar state of things broke out with the French revolution, when infidelity, anarchy and sedition ran like wildfire among the nations. More atrocious acts were then perpetrated even than now: but the fire, which seemed got under for awhile, is now beginning to rage forth again with the same relentless fury; and it may be feared (judging from God's word) will burn up all before it, until the Lord interpose.

Is it to be wondered at, that we see "men's hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming upon the earth?" The rapidity with which events are rushing upon us, appear to arrest the attention of all who are considerate, and to inspire them with apprehension. There are, indeed, multitudes who are yet, alas! hugging themselves in a fond delusion; as if every thing around us, both religious and political, were improving. But I fear even these will soon have cause to tremble: for if I mistake not, those who are not utterly given up to hardness and blindness will speedily awake to the real character and tendency of prevailing princi

ples, and all at once discover, that they have been themselves hallooing on the dogs of war, and promoting their own destruction by a spurious and infidel liberalism.

IV. There are one or two other events which I conceive are to transpire at the time when the signs just considered shall be fulfilled, and which I would therefore briefly notice in this place.

1. The first is the completion of God's elect remnant, who are gathered out from among men, during the time when the principles of infidelity and superstition are rapidly hurrying the world onwards toward that crisis which will terminate in the battle of Armageddon. I have already observed, that some interpreters conceive this event predicted in verse 14; and my own opinion, that that verse rather belongs to the preaching of the Gospel prior to the destruction of Jerusalem. I have no doubt however, that a great evangelical movement is predicted to occur contemporaneously with the appearing of the signs in the sun and moon; which may be clearly gathered from Rev. xiv. 6, 7, where an angel is seen to "fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting Gospel to preach to them that dwell on the earth and to every nation, &c:" and this at the very crisis when "the hour of God's judgment is come!" This circumstance is important, as accounting for that phenomenon which seems to puzzle so many-viz. the increase of infidelity and ungodliness, together with the diffusion of true religion. But was not this the case prior to the destruction of Jerusalem? Thousands were converted at a single preaching; "the number of the disciples multiplied greatly, and a great company of the priests were obedient to the faith;" and yet the people at large were nevertheless given up to judicial blindness, "to fill up their sins alway, because the wrath was come upon them to the uttermost. "e

The religious movement, which has so signalized the period just passing away, may be said to have had its commencement coeval with the first decided break out of revolutionary and infidel principles in France. Since that period the Bible has been translated into upwards of 150 languages and dialects, and more than seven million copies have been scattered through the world. Since then Missionary Societies have arisen, and sent forth their heralds with the glad tidings of the Gospel to nations, kindreds, tongues, and peoples; so that we have missions to Pagans, to the Jews, to Roman Catholic and Mahomedan countries, and to the dark places of our own land. Since then the education of all classes has been attempted, from the adult of "threescore years and ten," down to the "infant of

days:" Sabbath schools have found their way into every town and village of this empire; and the national systems of Bell, Lancaster, or Pestalozzi have been adopted here and on the continent, so that Papists themselves are borne along with the stream, and compelled by the current of public opinion to affect the instruction of their members. Since then various societies for the dissemination of religious tracts and other publications have likewise poured their millions of little treatises into the world: and the age is so fertile in various schemes for the spiritual and moral amelioration of mankind, that every year witnesses some new institution formed, having these objects avowedly in view. It may be truly said, that such combined and gigantic exertions have never yet been witnessed in the world; and they form a most remarkable precursor of that crisis, which the increase and prevalence of anti-social principles is so evidently hastening.

2. A second event, which I believe is now beginning to transpire, is the passing away of the Jewish tribulation, which one may expect to discern some symptoms of at this time. I have already shewn, that the signs take place so immediately on the ending of the tribulation, as to be comprised in the period of its termination. This view is strengthened by the 34th verse: "Verily I say unto you, this generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled:" for it would seem that the Jews, whatsoever different political aspect they may assume, will continue as a nation unconverted to Christ, until all that is previously foretold, and included in the phrase "all these things," shall be fulfilled.

The indications of this passing away of their affliction are to be found, first, in the circumstance that Christians do now "speak comfortably" to them. Four or five different institutions are in existence, the object of which is to promote their spiritual welfare, or to ameliorate the temporal condition of inquirers. And, secondly, in the political measures in their behalf, which have either been proposed or adopted in France, England, and Russia and even Turkey; dictated either by the liberalism or the expediency of the age.

I must repeat, to avoid being misunderstood, that I expect, after they have come upon the stage, that their great crisis of tribulation will take place, previous to their final emancipation; but this is no way inconsistent with the period of their deliverance having arrived. We have a parallel case, if not a type of the same, in the deliverance of Israel from Egypt. The Lord first declares, "I have surely seen the affliction of my people, &c. and I am come down to deliver them." Yet an aggravation of their trials for a time followed this declaraVOL. II.-43

tion; and the period when they were in the greatest strait (being pursued by Pharaoh and his host, and shut up between mountains and the sea,) was immediately preceded by a kindly disposition towards them of the Egyptian people, in whose sight the Lord gave them favour.f

V. I shall now review the remaining portion of Matt. xxiv. -“And then shall appear the sign of the Son of Man in heaven; and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn;-and they shall see the Son of Man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory." (v. 30.) The two first clauses of this verse are not in Mark or Luke; and they seem to me to be clearly distinct from the advent itself. It becomes us to speak with diffidence of things unfulfilled; but I incline to the opinion that this sign is an appearance of the Son of Man himself in the heavens, previous to his actual descent; to prove which I cannot do better than quote the words of an intelligent

writer:

"It seems impossible to affix any definite meaning whatever to these words, the sign of the Son of Man in heaven,' unless we understand his visible presence there to be what is referred to by the expression 'the sign.' For as in Matt. xii. 39, not Jonah's sign, but Jonah the sign, is signified by the words 'the sign of the prophet Jonah; and as in Acts iv. 22 we understand the healing itself as the thing called To us, the miracle, or sign; and as in Rom. iv. 11, by the words onμsior Tepitoμns, we understand, not properly a sign of circumcision, but circumcision the sign, received by Abraham; so in the text before us we must likewise understand, not properly 'the sign of the Son of Man in heaven,' but the Son of Man in the heaven THE SIGN of his advent."'g This seems the more probable when taken in connection with the question recorded only in this Gospel,"What shall be the sign OF THY COMING?" for there does not appear to be any specific answer to it, unless it be contained in this verse: and this is a direct reply to it, which may be thus paraphrased: "Then shall appear the sign of my coming, viz. the Son of Man in heaven; after which they shall see the Son of Man actually coming."

I have reserved for this place a more particular consideration of the Advent or Coming of the Son of Man, so frequently mentioned in the course of this prophecy.

Modern commentators have been wont to consider it a figurative coming, and to have been fulfilled by the Lord's visitation of wrath upon Jerusalem. This interpretation is wholly gratuitous, as there is no ground in the prophecy itself for such a conclusion; and even if the tribulation, therein named, f See Exod. iii. 7, 8; xii. 33-36. Morning Watch, Vol. II. p. 587.