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surely, none who is animated by a sincere affection for truth, and who actually loves the charity which he is so ready to eulogize, can help feeling deeply affected by such touching appeals to the heart and conscience as these ; and he who thus feels their power cannot be disposed eagerly to reject as a fable or a forgery, the whole book in which they are found, and of which they are a part; especially, too, when these declarations affirm so positively, that all the rest of the book is of the same character as themselves. Let him then listen candidly to a system which points out how the rest of the book is of the same character as these specimens ; which evinces, that there is a spiritual sense contained throughout the whole, which shines plainly through the very letter in such passages as we have just quoted, but which equally exists every where else, though veiled from immediate view by a clothing of images taken from natural objects. In short, every one who is not rendered inimical to the Word of God by passion, prejudice, or pride, may find abundant reason to conclude in its favour upon a candid examination of the general scope of its letter he may there find, for himself, plain indications that it is inwardly replenished with real divine wisdom: and when he sees this proved by the views of its nature which have now been developed, he surely will take it to his bosom, and thank its Author for the invaluable boon.

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I conclude with expressing a devout hope, that the Author of the Word of God will accompany this attempt at its vindication with his blessing. May the number of the sincere and devotional lovers of Truth, of all classes and of all parties, be rapidly increased! May they learn to venerate the Word of God as the Word of God, and draw from its exhaustless bosom the streams of genuine truth! Believing, also, the view of the nature of the Scriptures of which a faint sketch has now been given, to be the truth; and feeling the powerful, the unalterable conviction of

their divinity which the reception of it imparts; I add, May mankind in general be speedily brought to do justice to a system, which sets the feet of the disciple of Revelation on a rock of adamant, and invests him with a panoply of strength, aimed against which, the keenest shafts of Infidelity will ever fall blunted and harmless!

END OF THE LECTURES.

1

APPENDIX.

No. I. (Page 62.)

PROOFS OF THE SYMBOLIC CHARACTER OF THE WRITINGS OF THE Old TESTAMENT, AFFORDED BY THE REVELATION OF JOHN.

THIS book of the Apocalypse, though itself one of the most mysterious of the books of Scripture, yet affords a key to the interpretation of all the rest ;-at least of all those of the Old Testament: for it is impossible to read this book with any attention, without discovering, that it is written throughout upon the supposition, that every thing related in Scripture respecting the Jewish church and people, has a symbolic meaning, and is not merely a record of compara-" tively unimportant matters of fact. If then this book is written by divine inspiration, (and, notwithstanding the objections which some, judging by totally erroneous criteria, have raised against it, there is no book of Scripture in which the Spirit of inspiration discovers itself by more infallible marks,) we have here the most explicit testimony of that Spirit itself to the spiritual nature of the more ancient Scriptures. We will notice a little more particularly than in the text above, some statements which prove these three points; the typical character of the persons mentioned in the Old Testament ;-of the rituals of the Mosaic law;-of the places mentioned in the Old Testament.

I We need go no farther than the second chapter of this extraordinary book, to find proof that the events related in the historical part of the Old Testament, contain an ulterior reference to subjects of a spiritual nature, important to the Church and her members in every age; and that the persons whose actions are recorded in the Holy Word, are all typical characters. For in the divine address to the Church of Pergamos, we have these words: "But I have a few things against thee, because thou hast there them that hold the doctrine of Balaam, who taught Balak to cast a stumbling block before the children of Israel, to eat things sacrificed unto idols, and to commit fornica

tion."* A little further, we find Jesus Christ saying to the church of Thyatira, "Notwithstanding, I have a few things against thee, because thou sufferest that woman Jezebel, which calleth herself a prophetess, to teach, and to seduce my servants to commit fornication, and to eat things sacrificed unto idols. And I gave her space to repent of her fornication; and she repented not. Behold, I cast her into a bed, and them that commit adultery with her into great tribulation, except they repent of their deeds and I will kill her children with death And all the churches shall know, that I am he which searcheth the reins and hearts." In these passages we have two of the characters of the Old Testament brought forward, and described as still occupied in their old work of perverting the church.

The book of Numbers; relates the history of the prophet Balaam, who was employed by Balak king of Moab, to obstruct the march of the Israelites by his incantations; and who actually did prepare a snare§ into which they fell, and were visited in consequence by a destroying plague. The narrative afterwards mentions his death by the sword of the Israelites : and there, if nothing but a record of natural events were intended, we should expect the history of Balaam and his arts to end. No mention is made of any “doctrine" taught by him; much less of any sect of followers attached to such doctrine. But in the passage just quoted we find mention occur, not indeed of Balaam himself, as being still alive, but of a body of his disciples, existing fifteen hundred years after his death, during the whole of which interval he does not appear to have had any disciples at all!

Jezebel was

But the other instance, we have cited is more remarkable still. the wife of Ahab, one of the most wicked kings that ever reigned in Israel ; but who, wicked as he was, was not so abandoned as his wife: for the sacred Record says, "There was none like unto Ahab, which did sell himself to work wickedness in the sight of the Lord, whom Jezebel his wife stirred up." This wicked queen perished miserably** about 2600 years ago, and above eight hundred years before the book of the Revelation of John was written: yet she is here spoken of as being still living,-still practising what she delighted in when alive, which was, to pervert the church, and to seduce or destroy the Lord's faithful servants;-and she is represented as being still to undergo the punishment due to her crimes, though that had been so dreadfully inflicted upon her, personally, by the instrumentality of Jehu. Can any thing then be more plain, than that this mention of Balaam and of Jezebel in the Apocalypse, is designed to instruct us, that they were both representative characters, and thus that the narratives which record their actions are replete with a hidden meaning, beyond that which appears on the surface? To admit, as all must admit, that they were used as types by John, but to deny that they have a typical signification in the Old Testament, is to maintain a gross inconsisten

* Rey. ii. 14. † Ver. 20 to 23. Chs. xxii. to xxv. xxxi. 8. 1 Kings xxi. 25. **2 Kings ix. 30 to end.

§ Ch. xxxi. 16. Ch.

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