fon of man will come in the glory of his father, the ANCIENT of DAYS, in the clouds of heaven, with his holy angels, that is, the whole congregation of the firft-born fitting on white thrones, judging the nations in meekness, righteousness and truth. Then will come forth the univerfal theocracy of God and his Chrift, the whole family of 144000 priests and kings over all nations and tongues, which will enjoy the grand fabbath of one thousand years, now drawing near. For the fake of the elect, the days fhall be fhortened, even for the benefit and grace of their very enemies, and perfecutors: who, both in unbelieving Jews and Gentiles, will be brought down to that state of humiliation, shame and confufion of face, defcribed thus by that sublime evangelift, Ifaiah chap. Ix. 14. The fons of thofe that afflicted thee, fhall come to bow down to thee; and all that defpifed thee, fhall worship at the foles of thy feet, and fhall call thee, the city of JEHOVAH, Zion of the holy Ifrael. By which Israel, we must understand the church or affembly of all the firft-born according to their name, dignity, and riches of kings and priests unto God, and the lamb. And this interpretation will explain the last verse of that deep and grand prophet, Ezekiel. And the name of the city from that day, JEHOVAH, her name; as the city must be underfood of the new Jerufalem, the bride of the lamb, and the mother of us all. R 4

This

1

This fenfe is more noble and correfpondent to the city of the living God in the revelation, which tranfplants all the most eminent and fublime prophecies into itself, for their ultimate completion in the Meffiah.

Verses 30, 31. Rebuke the wild beast of the reed, the multitude of ftrong ones, with the calves of the peoples, fubmitting with pieces of filver. Scatter thou the peoples, that fhall delight in wars.

Princes fhall come out of Egypt, Ethiopia fhall haftily ftretch her hands unto God.

The wild beaft, or company lurking in the reeds of the Nile, is by the Chaldée interpreted of the armies of finners, who, in the moft principal sense, denote the old dragon, leviathan in his fea, whofe

* The disregard of the points in the word, Shammah, will be eafily juftified by moft of the learned in this language, till their authority can be established on better ground, than the defenders of them have yet given. Some of them appear contrived for expedition in tranfcribing: afterwards multiplied to perplex the reading, and fenfe, with a fubtle defign.

The ancient Jews fpeak continually of the heavenly temple, as the antitype to that on earth. In Tanchuma. fol. 38. The cæleftial temple correfponds to the earthly, and the ark of the covenant to the throne of glory in heaven. There were in the temple above, Seraphim, the table, the golden altar, the candlestick, the darkness, and the cherubim or chariot. Paffages innumerable may be seen in ugolini altare exterius, and Buxtorf. Arca fœderis.

head

head was fmote in the seven streams, myftically the seven spirits or lights, which clothed his Beersheba and Bathsheba of pure, lucid, living matter, his sea of glass as crystal, mingled with fire, his own rays of light through this vaft bed, and ocean of glory, till felf-will by pride and exaltation brought confufion or Babel into his principality. Ifa. xxvii. 1. Pfal. Ixxiv. 14. Rev. xii. 3-10. Ezek. xxviii. 12-19. As Egypt or mitfrajim, the earth of ftraitneffes, compreffion and affliction, represents the matter of the firft holy, and the holy of holies of Lucifer's golden city and palace, (as a high son of God before rebellion) loft and shut up in bands of hard, dark and cold materiality, called by the prophets rocks, and ftones, brafs and iron, lead and tin, gold and filver become drofs. Ifa. i. 21. Ezek. xxii. 18-22. So this land figures great enemies, fpiritual evil ones in high places, rulers of the dark air, the fubtle cold and northern horn, or strength of condenfation. The air is the great fea, where the crooked ferpent of Ifaiah chap. xxvii. 1. the first maker of crooked ways, and a crooked generation, shall be flain with the fore, great and piercing fword

In Merrick's annotations on this pfalm, fome make the beast of the reed, the Hippopotamos. Bochart interprets it of the crocodile, and of the fishermens darts formed of reeds. Calmet understands

leviathan

fword, that is, the everlafting fire or penetrating light, the marvellous light of the fon of God, which he manifefled at the baptifm of fire, even the holy fpirit, who brought forth the true prifoners from the land of Egypt, and houfe of bondage, as the firft. born clothed with the eternal houfe of glory from heaven:

In the fame view, Ezekiel fpeaking in the deep and important sense of prophecy, fays of Pharaoh, Satan's figure in the land of oppreffion and compaction, "thou art as a whale in the feas: thou camest forth with thy rivers, and troubled the waters with thy feet, and fouledft their rivers. chap. xxxii. 2." As the crocodile was the beaft of the reed in that typical country, fubtle, hypocritical and cruel, (as naturalifts have long described him) he may fland as a proper figure of Satan and his hefs, whofe policy, ftrength, and cruelty he reprefents in external nature. For thus the facred writings give forth the evil in all hurtful and favage beafts, as a contraft to the good in the kind, mild and friendly difpofitions and manners of other animals. Moft beautiful, and striking leffons have been drawn from earlieft obfervations and languages from this moral field, as oppofites through all

leviathan of Pharaoh. But Pharaoh himself is a figure of a rebel king of ancient time, whofe iand aptly reprefents matter in darknefs, compaction or co-ar&lation.

the

the forms of good and evil, phyfical and moral, are more forcible by the contraft, and affect the mind. quicker than arguments by words. But did this royal prophet, fo ftrong, clear and illuftrious a figure of a David on high, fe nothing but crocodiles, whales and dragons of the deep, in this beast of the reed, or only enemies, who made fpears and carried on wars with thefe inftruments from the banks of the Nile? The mereft letter man, the trifling Talmudifts of the degraded Jews would be afhamed of fuch a fordid fenfe, and of fuch enemies for the arm of the Lord and his fervant, the Meffiah, to conquer and tread under foot. The two verses point out the rapid fubjection of all enemies to the fpiritual David, at a time foreseen by this prophet, in his knowledge of the myfleries and feafts of the law, prinkled with the blood of the lamb, and fanctified by his victorious fire, Jehovah's typical sword, great, ftrong and piercing; with which he will flay all enemies above, and below, in the revolution of the ages, predeftinated for that noble end of deftroying death, fin, and corruption from all his works; which is the great and glorious office of Meffiah, the king, to the glory of himself, and his father, who separated him from ancient times for this moft perfect difplay of goodnefs, and of love furpaffing knowledge. Nor can there be any doubt, but that David faw the evangelical Pentecofte, the baptifm of heaven, from the