Others say, Has not Paul said, "I determined not to know any thing among you, save Jesus Christ and him crucified." Would it not be much better to dwell on such a text as that, and not to spend an hour and a quarter in endeavouring to prove the order of events which God has left undetermined, and about which, perhaps, absolute certainty is altogether unattainable? True, the apostle Paul did say, "I determined to know nothing among you but Jesus Christ and him crucified." But the same apostle did also say, "But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the first-fruits of them that slept. For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive. But every man in his own order: Christ the first-fruits; afterward them that are Christ's at his coming. Then cometh the end, when he shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father; when he shall have put down all rule and authority and power. For he must reign till

The last enemy that

he hath put all enemies under his feet. shall be destroyed is death." And the apostle Paul, in reminding his converts what he preached, and what was the effect of his preaching, says, "For they themselves show what manner of entering in we had among you, and how you turned to God from idols to serve the living God, and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, even Jesus which delivered us from the wrath of God."

Others again will say, "If these things be so, what occasion is there for missions?" And I was so misinterpreted in uttering some of these sentiments before, that one told me he had heard that I no longer took the least interest in missions, because I believe this age is soon to close, and Christ is soon to come. The facts are altogether the opposite: because the time is long, you can afford to be slack; because the time is short, we can afford only to be busy. Because this is the age for selection, for preparing a people to meet the Lord, I feel that every energy of heart and head ought to be concentrated. Now we must give largely and make large sacrifices: the candle is nearly burned to the socket-I must write quicker while the little light remains. The paper is almost covered with writing-I must crowd what remains with closer writing, more startling sentiments, more

thrilling warnings, more earnest exhortations. The age is draw ing to a close; the shadows of the world's eve are gathering round; the crash of thrones, the fall of dynasties, the shaking of the earth, to be followed by the shaking of the heaven, are heard as dread premonitory sounds booming over all the earth. We know not, my dear friends, how soon the Lord may come. Let every one, therefore, have his loins girt, and his lamp burning— his foothold the Rock of ages, and his hope the crown of glory.

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LECTURE XXX.

THE FALL OF JERUSALEM.

"He which testifieth these things saith, Surely I come quickly. Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus."-Revelation xxii. 20.

In my first discourse on these words, I showed how frequently the advent or second coming of our Lord is referred to in the New Testament. In my second discourse, I endeavoured to show you the order of this event; and I think the texts I adduced clearly prove that Christ comes first to our world, and then the Millennium, or the reign of happiness and joy and peace, shall follow. In this lecture I wish to direct your attention, in connection with this text, to the last prophecy of our Lord relating to the destruction of Jerusalem: distinguishing how much of it relates to that event which is mentioned in the text-the coming quickly of the Son of Man. Next Lord's-day evening, if spared, I will show you the other intervening event between the first and second advent of Christ-the Man of Sin; and then, in the last discourse I shall preach upon this portion of this book, I will show you what are the signs and symptoms, as far as I have gathered any fresh ones, of the nearness of that great and hopedfor event. The prophecy then-which I will illustrate as briefly as I possibly can, by quoting illustrations of it-is contained in Matt. xxiv. In that prophecy, so much, as I have told you, refers to the destruction of Jerusalem, which was near; so much, to the advent of Christ, which was beyond it: this subject will show us that nothing is to take place between the destruction of Jerusalem and the coming of Christ, in the way of spiritual prosperity and happiness to the church universal; but, on the contrary, the prolongation of the great tribulation which is to overtake the Jew, and the ruins of his noble capital; while all the land of Israel will continue in a state of desolation until Christ comes, and then, and only then, it shall cease. It appears, from

the first verse, that Jesus went out and departed from the temple, and his disciples came to him to show him the buildings of the temple, and that Jesus said unto them, "See ye not all these things? Verily I say unto you, There shall not be left here one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down." He that made such a prediction as this, amid the circumstances of strength, of splendour, and of greatness which surrounded him. at that moment, must either have been a maniac, speaking in his madness, or he must have been He to whom the past, the present, and the future are equally luminous. It is added, "And as he sat upon the Mount of Olives, the disciples came unto him." I think it is important to explain this prophecy, because many persons say that the predictions which relate to the downfall of Jerusalem apply also to the second advent of Christ; and others apply the whole to the second advent of Christ, and overlook the plain and palpable fact, that the great bulk of it was fulfilled in the destruction of the Jewish capital and the Jewish polity. They said, "Tell us, when shall these things be?" I beg of you specially to notice the words "these things," because they are referred to again and again. "When shall these things be?" is the first question; and, "What shall be the sign of thy coming," (napovaia, personal appearance,) "and of the end of the world?" This is the second question. The word rendered "world" is not zóopos, which means the created world, but alù, which means a dispensation-When shall be the end of the age?-alby vov, "that now is," being the usual form for the present dispensation; and alòv pékhov, "the age to come," being the form for the millennial dispensation, described in Rev. xxi. xxii. There are here three great questions stated: first, When shall these things be? secondly, What shall be the sign of thy coming? thirdly, And of the end of this dispensation which is now begun? Jesus proceeds instantly to answer these three questions in succession; and in distinguishing the contents of the chapter, you distinguish what is fulfilled from what remains to be fulfilled, and thus gather what is to intervene between the destruction of the Jewish capital, and the erection, the coming down from heaven, of that New Jerusalem-"that city that hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God."

Jesus thus proceeded to answer and explain them: "Take heed that no man deceive you. For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many. And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled; for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom; and there shall be famines and pestilences, and earthquakes in divers places. All these are the beginning of sorrows. Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you; and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name's sake;"-addressing plainly the disciples: the disciples asked the question, and to the disciples, as representing the Christians, he addresses himself:"And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another. And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many. And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold: but he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom. shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come. When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand,) then let them which be in Judea flee into the mountains: let him which is on the house-top not come down to take any thing out of his house: neither let him which is in the field return back to take his clothes. And wo unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck in those days! But pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the Sabbath-day: for then shall be great tribulation, such as was not from the beginning of the world to this time; no, nor ever shall be. And except those days should be shortened, no flesh should he saved; but for the elect's sake those days shall be shortened." (Verses 4-22.)

Down to this, he seems to me to refer specially to the downfall of Jerusalem; then, from verse 23 onward, he guards them against misinterpreting the signs of his advent. From verses 23 to 29, and from verses 30 to 41, he describes his own second coming, and the end of the alov, or age. To show you that his predictions from verses 4 to 23 have been strikingly fulfilled, I