conveyed have been already considered (p. 89); those in which the latter was conveyed are the following. Speaking of Solomon, the Lord "He shall build an house for my name, says: and I will stablish the throne of his kingdom for ever....And thine house, and thy kingdom shall be established for ever before thee: thy throne shall be established for ever" (2 Sam. vii. 13, 16). "I have made a covenant with my chosen, I have sworn unto David my servant, Thy seed will I establish for ever, and build up thy throne to all generations.... Once have I sworn by my holiness, that I will not lie unto David. His seed shall endure for ever, and his throne as the sun before me. It shall be esta

and as a faithful

blished for ever as the moon, witness in heaven" (Ps. lxxxix. 3, 4, 35—37).

Now as the perpetual grant OF THE LAND secures the restoration of Israel as an united people to their country; so this perpetual grant OF THE THRONE, confined to the tribe of Judah, secures to the house of David the restoration of all its royal honours and dignity. It is to this that the prophecy of "seven times" must have a reference as it regards Judah; because, for purposes essentially connected with the first coming of Christ, it cannot have a reference to their dispersion, as they were, after seventy years' captivity in Babylon, restored to their own land for above 500 years; so that their dispersion has

not continued yet for 1800 years. Applied to Judah this period must refer, therefore, to something of a nature peculiar to that tribe; and as this grant of the sovereignty remains in equal force with that of the country made to Abraham, so it possesses in an equal degree the principle of resuscitation, which ere long, like Aaron's rod, shall bud, and blossom, and bear fruit. I consider, therefore, that this perfection of calamity as applied to the tribe of Judah, in addition to their other complicated sufferings, is the loss of their regal honours, which, after the period of 2520 years, shall be again restored.

If this view of the subject be correct, the next inquiry is, in what particular year did the kingdom of Judah finally become dependent and cease to exercise regal authority? as from this year the restoration of the house of David must be dated.

It may be proper in the first place to notice, before pursuing this inquiry, that as long as the kingdom of Judah stood, the crown did actually continue in the line and family of David. Unlike that of the Ten Tribes-which was continually changing from one family to another, and from one tribe to another-this crown continued in one uninterrupted, unbroken line of succession, from David to Jehoiakim, the last king who exercised the rights of an independent sovereign. And this succession from father to

son included a space of about 450 years; a circumstance unprecedented in the annals of history! Not, indeed, that the kings of Judah were all men who walked after the ways of David, and did that which was right in the eyes of the Lord, although such a succession of excellent men, in one kingdom, as Asa, Jehoshaphat, Hezekiah, and Josiah, men who truly feared God, are no where else to be found seated on one throne;-yet there were some of them— particularly Jehoram, Ahaziah, Ahaz, and Manasseh-who were very wicked men, and who horribly provoked God. In virtue, however, of his oath and promise to David, and because they were the ancestors of Christ, he did not take away the crown for their wickedness. Speaking of Abijam's wicked reign, it is said:

66

For David's sake did the Lord his God give him a lamp in Jerusalem, to set up his son after him, and to establish Jerusalem" (1 Kings xv. 4). Likewise in 2 Chron. xxi. 7, speaking of Jehoram's great wickedness, the same reason is given why the Lord continued his family on the throne: "Howbeit the Lord would not destroy the house of David, because of the covenant that he made with David, and as he promised to give a light to him and to his sons for ever."

Not indeed, speaking after the manner of men, that this line was not several times in

danger of being broken, and indeed destroyed; particularly when Athaliah conspired to murder all the seed royal, and proceeded so far in its accomplishment as to imagine she had actually accomplished her purpose. (2 Kings xi.) And also in the instance of the confederacy formed by the kings of Syria and Israel (see the "Second Period”) to dispossess Ahaz and his family of the throne, and set up in their place another family, even the son of Tabeal (Isa. vii. 6). On both these occasions the house of David seemed to be on the very brink of destruction, but the blessing that was in it saved it; and in these, as well as in every threatened danger, it was preserved up to the time of Nebuchadnezzar's invasion, when, with the nation in general, it went into captivity.

In the consideration of the "Third Period" we have seen that there were two commencements from which this captivity is to be dated -namely, the years 606 and 588 B. c. it must, therefore, be somewhere between these two points of time, from whence the loss of this regal and sovereign authority is to be reckoned. I consider that the last independent act of sovereignty exercised by Jehoiakim, the last king of Judah, must have been what is related in 2 Kings xxiv. 1: "In his days Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up, and Jehoiakim became his servant three years: then he turned

period of 2520 years, is nothing more than expressing, that the principles and maxims by which they have ruled and governed have been totally at variance with the principles of the Gospel, and the high commands of heaven; for no one can strictly be said to be in his right mind whose heart is not right with God. Hence, in the second Psalm the following exhortation is given, and happy those to whom God gives grace and wisdom to attend to it: "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 from the way, when his wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all they that put their trust in him."

In the "Seventh Period" the four successive monarchies that have ruled the world will be found represented in a more revolting light than even that of insanity; they are represented as ferocious wild beasts. And it is worthy of observation, that whilst in the visions given to Daniel they are thus represented, in those given to Nebuchadnezzar himself they are couched under emblems and symbols flattering to an ambitious and worldly mind: as "a great image whose brightness was excellent," and as "a great tree," towering to heaven, and spreading over the earth.

There is one other argument that seems to