classes of believers-those living before, and those living. during, the millennium; and to ground this upon a mere difference in their "external circumstances"-what is it but to confound what is essential with what is accidental— as if the glorious oneness of the whole body of believers with Christ, in his death and resurrection, in his humiliation and glory, had less virtue to bring them all together with their adorable Head, to grace his second appearing-than the adventitious diversity of their outward circumstances to separate them from each other at that bright, transporting day?

But what, after all, are those "external circumstances on which such vast stress is laid, as distinguishing the Christians of the millennium from all other Christians? "They live," says Mr. Bonar, "during these millennial days, with scarcely any, or rather with no external opposition at all; without persecution, and without Satan's temptations, for he is bound." Are "external opposition and persecution," then, so bound up with Christianity as it now exists, that it cannot be real without them-that a Christian, whose outward lot is uniformly tranquil and unruffled, though it may be a millennial phenomenon, is one hitherto unheard of-that there can be no living by faith now, no walking in the narrow way, no crucifying of the flesh and living in the spirit, no occupying till Christ come-nothing, in short, of living connexion with Christ now, that shall give assurance of appearing with him in glory, unless "outward opposition and persecution" be superadded? Are not battles inly fought, and unseen victories won, in the sphere of the hidden life, which, in that Eye that looketh not upon the outward appearance but upon the heart, are brighter manifes tations of the grace that bringeth salvation than many a martyrdom?

MR. BONAR S VIEW.

"Nor think who to that bliss aspire,

Must win their way through blood and fire;

The writhings of a wounded heart

Are fiercer than a foeman's dart."*

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If this be granted, even in one case, the ground of distinction, as far as that goes, is given up. This is so manifest, that Mr. Burgh, who takes the same view of outward suffering as indispensable to participation in the "first resurrection," perceiving that this will necessarily exclude many true Christians from the millennial reign, limits it expressly to those whom he regards as suffering Christians. And this is the only consistent way of holding the theory.t

Mr. Bonar, indeed, mentions another ground of distinction-the freedom of millennial Christians "from Satan's temptations, for he is bound." In a subsequent part of this work, I believe I shall be able to show that this expectation is totally unscriptural-founded on a misapprehension of one single symbolical prediction, contradicted by the uniform tenor of Scripture, and at variance with the whole analogy of faith. But admitting for the present the total absence of Satanic agency during the millennium-if it be allowed, as it seems to be, that the natural heart will be the same then as now, that the grace of God will find men in the same "mire," and be as illustrious in plucking any out of it, that there will be the same war with inward corruption in every Christian, the same inability to do the things that they would, and the same need to "hang upon Christ alone to the last," as there is now-what mighty difference between them and us can even the absence of

* Christian Year.

+ Lect. on Revelation, and Lect. on Second Advent. In the latter work, Mr. Burgh is pleased to cut off from this class those who deny the premillennial advent! Nor is he altogether alone in this.

Satan make-what, at least, that should sever those from us in glory who share with us in our deepest struggles?

Thus-survey it in what light we will, and on whatever hypothesis may be framed to account for it-the distinction between one portion of the elect, ransomed, sanctified, and saved Church, as being exclusively "the Bride of the Lamb," to be associated with him in his glory, and another portion of the same Church, who are not to rise and reign with Him when he comes-is utterly foreign to the Bible and fanciful in its character, unknown to the faith of the Church, and suggested only by the necessities of a system. A tedious and ungenial work it has been to pursue into the shallows such poor, unfruitful distinctions as have engaged our attention in these supplementary remarks. Gladly, there. fore, do we now come back to "a place of broad rivers and streams," to repose on the clear bosom of such words as these:-" Father, I will that they also whom thou hast given me [all the elect] be with me where I am, that they may behold my glory which thon hast given me;" "This is the Father's will, which hath sent me, that of all which he hath given me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up at the last day;" "He shall come to be glorified in his saints, and admired in all them that believe;" "Our gathering together unto Him;" "They that are Christ's at his coming!"

"Even so, come, Lord Jesus !"*

* Since writing these supplementary remarks, it has occurred to me that some notice should have been taken of those words on which many build their distinction between the bride and the rest of the saved:

Rev. xxi. 24: "And the nations (of them which are saved *] shall walk in the light of it (the New Jerusalem), and the kings of the earth do bring their glory and honour into it."

It is surprising, however, that anything should be made of such a pas• The words enclosed in brackets (wy owoμsvwv) are excluded from the text by all critical editors-by Bengel, Wetstein, Griesbach, Scholz, Lachmann, Tischendorf, and Tregelles-as wanting in MS thority.

WHEN CHRIST APPEARS.

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sage. For, as "the kings of the earth bring their glory and honour INTO the New Jerusalem," the state of both must be the same-the receptacle and the things received into it must be homogeneous. If "the kings of the earth" mean potentates living in the flesh, and their "glory and honour" mean their regal wealth and influence, then "the New Jerusalem" into which they enter, bringing this with them, must mean an earthly state of the Church. If, on the other hand, the "New Jerusalem" mean the glorified state of the Church, then "the kings" who bring their glory and honour into it, cannot mean the sovereigns of the earth living in the flesh, nor can their "glory and honour" mean any thing earthly; unless "flesh and blood can inherit the kingdom of God, and corruption inherit incorruption." Accordingly, though commentators are divided as to whether the two last chapters of Revelation denote the heavenly state, or a bright state of the Church upon earth, they agree in applying the whole verse before us to the one or the other of these states, but not to both. Thus Vitringa and others apply it to the Church on earth,* despite the "impudence" which Augustin thought it would require to venture on such a view:† while Durham, Marck, and the majority of commentators, on the other hand, apply it to the Church in glory, under the idea of a confluence of all that can be conceived of regal magnificence and grandeur to adorn that blessed

state.!

• Post longa tempora persecutionum, afflictionum, et calamitatum. magno numero implerent novam hanc Civitatem Populi Dei, et ad eam constituendam et exornandam undique confluerent; tum quoque Principes, Reges, Imperatores, Christo et Ecclesiæ ejus servaturi, suam gloriam, majestatem, vires, in eam inferrent; hoc est, in ejus converterent usum utilitatemque : &c.-Anakris. Apocalyps. ad loc.

Nam hoc de isto tempore accipere quo regnat [ecclesia] cum Rege suo mille annis impudentiæ nimiæ mihi videtur. De. Civ. Dei., Lib. xx. cap. xvii.

Magis placet, quod est apud Durhamum, tantam fore civitatis hujus gloriam, ut præ illa reges omnes regnorum gloriam deserant; vel quasi omnes reges omnem suam conferrent, ut locum su im gloriosum redderent, sic ut phrasis hæc ad externi emblematis decus spectet MARCKII in Apoc. Comm. ad loc.

CHAPTER V.

ALL THE MEANS OF GRACE, AND AGENCIES OF SALVATION, TERMINATE AT THE SECOND ADVENT.

WE have seen that the whole elect and ransomed Church

the way.

is complete when Christ comes. If this be correct, we may expect to find the ordained means for the gathering and perfecting of the Church disappearing from the stage-the standing agencies and instrumentalities-the whole economy and machinery of a visible Church-state-taken out of Here then is a test-the fairest and most satisfactory that can be imagined-by which to try the truth of our doctrine. Pre-millennialists maintain that the saving of souls is to go on upon earth after the Redeemer's second appearing. If this be true, we shall find the means of grace surviving the advent. Whereas, if grace has ceased at Christ's coming to flow from the fountain, we shall find that the channels for its conveyance have disappeared too-if the building of mercy has been completed, we may expect to find the scaffolding cleared away.

Beginning then with the Means-If it can be shown that both the written WORD and the sealing ORDINANCES by which God ordinarily gathers and perfects the Churchhaving their whole ends and objects exhausted at Christ's coming-shall then absolutely cease as means of grace salvation to mankind, I think it will be clear that all saving of souls is then at an end.

and