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glory and favour of God; the fubjective ingredients, divine light, peace, love, with all the holy difpofitions belonging to the new heart; the principal efficient caufe, the Spirit of God; the outward means, the word of God, and the ordinances of his worfhip, making his people joyful in his houfe of prayer, If. lvi. 7.; all which bleffings are entirely different from outward profperity and greatness, and very confiftent with the want of it. If fome paffages in the prophecies relate to particular feafons, when God would give relief from perfecution, and make his people taste of the comforts of outward tranquillity; feeing fuch events have actually happened in various times and places, and that in fuch a manner as has shown that it was the doing of the Lord, it was very fit that fuch things fhould have been foretold, though they are far from being the Meffiah's chief benefits. If fome predictions concerning the outward tranquillity of the church, are not yet fulfilled, this is no juft objection, as was observed before, against other predictions that are fulfilled. And the notion of a temporal Meffiah will be still farther refuted, in confidering prophecies which foretell the perfecutions of the gofpel-church at her firft erection, and in after ages.

Though the effential glory and gracious purpofes of God are always the fame; yet as the manifeftations of the glory and favour of God, and our apprehenfions and impreffions of these things, admit of very different degrees, the highest degree conftituting the heavenly bleffednefs; fo the prophets give much the fame account with the apostles, of the fuperiority of the new above the old difpenfation, in refpect of more abundant measures of divine light and peace, holiness and joy.

As to the light of divine knowledge, the prophets foretell, that in the times of the Meffiah that light would not only be more diffufive, in extending to the Gentile nations, but alfo more full and clear.

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clear. In Jeremiah's description, chap. xxxi. 34. which is one of the most remarkable defcriptions of God's new covenant, and upon the matter the fame with the new teftament, or new difpenfation of God's covenant in the laft days, one of the principal things infifted on is a fuperior measure of divine knowledge by virtue of a divine teaching. And in various prophecies formerly cited, the times of the Meffiah are extolled as times when God's righteoufnefs and falvation fhould be revealed, If. lvi. 1.; when the righteoufnefs of Zion fhould break forth as brightnets, and the falvation thereof as a lamp that burneth, I. Ixii. 1.; when the glory of the Lord fhould arife on Zion, If. lx. i.; and when the Sun of righteoufnefs fhould arife with healing in his wings, Mal. iv. 2.

As that light, which was to be far more clear, as well as more extenfive, in the times of the Meffiah, was to be a light, difcovering God's incomprehenfible mercy and grace to finners, and fo caufing God's righteoufnefs and falvation to break forth as brightnefs, it is evident, that it behoved fuperior meatures of fuch light to tend to greater degrees of the moft folid peace and pureft joy. Accordingly, in If. liv. 13. great meafures of divine peace are mentioned as the effect of divine knowledge and inftruction and in other prophecies formerly cited, we are told, that the chaftifement of our peace would be laid on the Mefliah, If. liii. 5.; that he himfelf would be the prince of peace; that of the increase of his government and peace there would be no end, If. ix. 6. 7.; that his people fhould go out with joy, and be led forth with peace; that the mountains and hills fhould break forth into finging before them, and all the trees of the field clap their hands, lf. Iv. 12; that in his days the righteous fhould flourish, and abundance of peace, fo long as the moon endureth, Pf. lxxii. 7 *. Such increase

See Pl. cx. 4. and Hebr. vii. I.

and

75 and abundance of divine peace, is the native fruit, not only of fuperior meafures of divine light, difcovering the grounds of the finner's peace, hope, ' and joy, but also of the actual accomplishment of the promises concerning divers glorious caules of peace and falvation; particularly the Meffiah's facrifice, finifhing the tranfgreffion, making an end of fins, and making reconciliation for iniquity; opening a fountain for taking away fin and uncleannels, and of the promifes concerning his interceffion as a high priest for ever at the right hand of the Majefty on high, Pf. cx. 4. Heb. i. 3. and of larger measures of the divine Spirit, giving efficacy to the most perfect divine revelation.

As the Apostle Paul calls the New-Teftament dif penfation, not only the miniftration of life and righteoufnefs, but alfo of the Spirit, 2 Cor. iii. 6. 8. 9. the prophets give the fame view of that dif penfation, when they speak of the times of the Meffiah, as times when, in an eminent manner, the Spirit would be poured down from on high, fo as to make the wilderness become a fruitful field, lf. xxxii. 15. And in If. xliv. 3. after thefe metaphorical expreffions," I will pour water upon him that "is thirsty, and floods upon the dry ground," a plain explication of these metaphors is added in the following words; "I will pour my fpirit upon thy feed, and my bleffing on thine offspring; and "they fhall fpring up as - willows by the water" courses." Seeing, therefore, it is an uncontested rule of interpretation, That the words of any writer fhould be understood according to his own definition or explication of them, in cafe he give any fuch explication, it follows, that prophetic figures, about pouring down waters and floods, lf. XXXV. 7. xli. 18. mutt fignify God's pouring down the influences or operations of his Spirit, as well as the inftructions of his word. And as, in the prophecy now cited, pouring down waters and floods

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floods evidently denotes new plenty, or abundance of the bleffing promifed; fo in lf. lix. 21. we have a clear proof, that the promife of the divine Spirit is not confined to the first age of the gofpel-church, feeing it is faid exprefsly, "This is my covenant "with them, faith the Lord, My fpirit that is up"on thee, and my words which I have put in thy "mouth, fhall not depart out of thy mouth, nor "out of the mouth of thy feed, nor out of the "mouth of thy feeds feed, faith the Lord, from "henceforth and for ever." As these words may reasonably be conceived spoken to the Mefliah, who is mentioned by the name of the Redeemer in the preceding verfe, and whofe people are called his feed, If. 53.; fo the prophecies which fpeak of the Meffiah, as filled with the divine Spirit, If. lxi. 1. 2. 3. fpeak of him as qualified, by that means, for communicating the fruits of the Spirit to his people. New degrees of the inward operations of divine grace, or of the divine Spirit, are included in Jeremiah's account of the new covenant, or new dif penfation, when he defcribes it by promifes of God's putting his law in mens inward parts, and writing it on their hearts. Though fome meafures of the fanctifying grace of God's Spirit were beftowed under the old difpenfation, as is evident, befides other arguments, from scripture-prayers concerning that bleffing; yet that larger measures of it should be the distinguishing privilege of the new difpenfation is hinted even in the words of Mofes, Deut. xxx. 6. where circumcifing the heart, in order to mens loving God with the whole heart, is mentioned as a bleffing belonging to the latter days; which must be understood of greater degrees of that ineftimable benefit.

This leads us to confider the prophetic account of future bleffednefs: for though that doctrine is not by far fo fully or fo clearly revealed in the Old Teftament as in the New, by which life and immor.

tality are faid to be brought to light, or more clearly difcovered; yet, befides various paff ges which either contain direct affertions, or come very near to direct affertions, of that doctrine, there are many inftructions in the Old Teftament from which that doctrine may be inferred by neceffary confequence; and that not only by more remote confequences from more general views of the divine perfections, but more immediate confequences from the divine promifes. And as to the general question, Why the Old Teftament does not reveal this doctrine more fully and clearly? it is fufficient here to refer to what is faid in another part of this Effay, about the comparative obfcurity of the Old Teftament in general.

The paffages in the Old Teftament which speak more directly of a bleffed immortality, may be ufefully divided into thofe that fpeak particularly of the refurrection of the body, and those that speak only in general of a state of future bleffednefs after death. One of the moft remarkable paffages of the first fort is in Job xix. 25. 26. &c. where Job affirms in the ftrongeft manner, that though the worms fhould deftroy his fkin and his body, and though his reins fhould be confumed within him, yet he fhould fee God, his Redeemer; he fhould fee him in his flesh; he fhould fee him for himself, and his eyes fhould behold him, and not another (for him); he fhould fee him ftanding on the earth at the latter day which expreffions contain a very ftrong affertion of the reunion of the foul and body at the last day. And this literal meaning of Job's words is much confirmed by the uncommon folemnity of the introduction, y 23. 24. "Oh that my "words were now written! oh that they were

printed in a book! that they were graven with 46 an iron pen and lead, in the rock for ever! For "I know that my redeemer liveth," &c.

In Daniel xii. 2. 3. it is faid, that "many of "them that fleep in the duft of the earth fhall a

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wake,

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