confusion, instead of the fea of glass for the purity and fplendor of the refined materiality, commixed with light, and in that state, lucidum fpeculum, the luminous mirror of the wonders and glories of God, feen in that river of fire before his throne. Dan. vii. 9.-12. Rev. iv. 6.-15, 2. All fallen beings and their veffels must pass through fire and blood of the lamb, to be brought to humility, meeknefs, refigned will, peace and love again. 2dly. This living animal is fometimes called cherub, and fometimes cherubim, because it imports one perfect man in the likeness of God, from the foot of the bull, divided in two, yet not separated, to the man on the throne of fapphire. Ezek i. 26. 3dly. They are called living animals, because they are those phyfical glories which fell with the firft cherub, and his angels, when their thrones were caft down. Dan. vii. 9. Ezek. xxviii. 13. 19. Rev. xii. 7.-9. These are now the frong bulls and the bullocks with the bulls of Ifa. xxxiv. 5.-8. for the laughter and facrifice of the Lord in Bozrah. Where the prophet looked to the feast of tabernacles, in which feventy bullocks were killed, and the blood of fourteen lambs, the double fevens or fabbaths of God in the fpirit, was in every day but one, fprinkled upon them, till they were at laft devoured into the fire of the lamb's throne of judgment, in the power of his holy wrath as at Pentecofle, the day of the Lord's vengeance, and recompenfes for the contre

uerfy of Zion. Ifa. xxxiv. 8. Numb. xxix. 13.-36. Thefe, in the fuperlative fenfe of this paffage, are the living animals, for which the most high God, in his mercies from ancient time, operating for redemption, has prepared a place in his inheritance, where they once exifted in the glory of their creators.

"Of thy goodness thou, O God, haft prepared "for the poor."

The word gnani, in the first sense, denotes the affiicted one, the Meffiah, the man of forrows and ac quainted with grief. Ifa. liii. 3. For no forrow was to be like unto his forrow, as no reward was to be equal unto his, to whom God gave power over all flesh, and the whole world to be raised up to happiness and glory; the nobleft reward for the most exalted love, tried by fufferings unto death, even the death of the crofs. Lament. i. 12. Phil. ii. 8. Heb. ii. 915. * 2dly, it denotes all the feed of this true Aaron, of humble and contrite fpirit, meek and lowly in heart like their head and prince; for the afflicted people the Lord will fave, and his eyes are upon

No one has penetrated fo much into the deep fenfe of the che rubim, as Hutchinson has done: and had he been free from all prejudice, he would probably have given a more true judgment of this wonderful bieroglyphic, fo magnificently exalted by cabbalifts, and their opponents, the Talmudifts and Rabbanifts, than any mo dern writer.

the

the haughty and men of violence to bring them down, 2 Sam. xxii. 28. The magnanimity of the chriftian faith is peculiar, in bearing evil and returning good, it is as different from the world, and what that loves and commends, as God is different from man in his ways and judgments. Our Lord begins his beatitudes in most abfolute contradiction to the beast, the devil in the firft eminent fenfe, and all men under his dominion, in pride, envy, malice and covetoufnefs. Bleffed are the poor in Spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of the heavens. Bleffed are they that mourn, for they shall be comforted: Blessed are the meek, for they fhall inherit the earth. These are bleffings, in the most important fenfe, future and referved for the day of the Lord. That which is highly efteemed among men, is abomination in the fight of God. Luke xvi. 15. 1 Sam. vii. 10. Faith and obedience can have no proper trial for an exalted reward, but under fome darkness and obfcurity, as well as by things painful to flesh and blood; without which, all perfons and ftates would be on the level. Jacob could not travel and labour to acquire bleffings for Efau, and Edom; nor Jofeph be afflicted by his evil brethren, to rife fuperior in power and dominion, and in dignity of love and beneficence to finners against him. This is God's delight and pleasure to exalt fuch patient and meek sufferers, and to bring the proud, the violent, the revenge

ful

ful and malicious to the feet of these precious pnes, to receive on humiliation, shame and selfabhorrence, pardon, and then bleffings from their hands. None can be thus humble, till they see the fall of man, the root of evil, and the man of fin in themselves; the law teftifying against flesh, as the apostle fpeaks, and flaying us by its judgment, and fhewing us void of all ground of açceptance with God, but in the righteousness of Chrift, re-implanted, and ingrafted on our wild olive. Rom. vii. 11. The true knowledge of the law is as a record against flesh and blood, the fin and the effects and wages of Adam's first offence. Here pride and felf dignity revolt at once; and though* envy, jealousy, hatred and malevolence reign more powerfully among the learned and philosophers, the leaders of public opinion; yet modern writers will give a different picture of human nature, while the whole earth is a living teftimony to the force and extent of original depravity and corruption; and in christian kingdoms, with all the advantages of hope and fear in the utmost stretch,

* Let the Marquis d'Argens in a long note p. 180--192. on Ocellus Lucanus furnish a view of philofophers, who cannot keep the out

e fair: how much less the heart and spirit? and for the character of the noble and rich families, the moft indebted to heaven, in this kingdom, let Jenyns and Ofwald be confulted: or rather, let your own eyes and cars judge for themselves.

and

and of purer light and knowledge, our own nation feems to be one mafs of degeneracy and profligacy, excepting a little falt remaining; a fmall number fcattered as in the days of Elijah, scarce seen by any eye, but his which pierces and pervades the universe. It is much fafer to err on the right fide, by having a mean opinion of our moral powers, than err, by entertaining such a high conceit of our strength, of our ability by nature, contrary to facred record, to the fentiments and self-feeling of all wife men in every age, and to our internal knowledge and consciousness of the two feeds of good and evil in ourselves. The ftronger we are in our fight, the lefs reafon have we for merciful confideration in our tranfgreffions and errors: the weaker our nature is felt to be, the more we are affured of the divine affiftance and compaffion; he knoweth, whereof we are made: he remembereth we are but duft. Pfal. ciii. 14. Let man remember too, that the grace of God is manifefted in our weakness, not in our ftrength; as a good parent watches more a feeble and fickly child, than one that is strong and healthy.

Verse 11. The Lord ADONAJ will give the word: great will be the company of the preachers.

The Lord will give the fpeech of those who publish glad tidings to the great army. Thus Ainfworth tranflates this verfe. The Bishop of London interprets it thus.

JEHOVAH