The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1838-10-02 00:00:00

it I ask you—if I continue my simile, if I were to ask
you, " will you go to-day to London ?" and suppose
you were to tell me " it is not your business," would you
tell mb by this that you will never go there? or only that 1
have no business to know the time? Now, hear the answer.
"And be said unto them, it is not for you to know the times
or the seasons which the father hath put in his own power.
But ye shall receive power, aster that the Holy Ghost is come
upon you; :and ve shall be witnesses unto me both in Jeru-
salem and in all Judea, and in Samaria, and unto the ut-
termost part of the earth. And when he had spoken these
taings, while they beheld he was taken up.." And now,
mark the circumstance. "And a cloud received bins out of
their sight." This was the miracle by which he was conveyed
to heaven. "And while they looked steadfastly towards
heaven as he went up, behold, two men stood by them in
white apparel; which also said, Ye men of Galilee, why
stand ye gazing up into heaven? this same Jesus, which is
taken uo from you into heaven, shall so come in like man-

!tier as ye bave seen bun go into heaven' " Shall so come
in the self same manner," according to the Greek text. So
von have seen him go into heaven; they saw him go into the
cloud, and he himself says, " Henceforthye shall see the son
of man coming into heaven"—the son of man, and that he
shall appear exactly in the figure of the son of man is proved;
first, that he went up as the articles of the Church of England
teach us, in the figure of the sun of man towards heaven.
And go to the history of Daniel, in the 7th chapter of Daniel,
and 13th and 14th verse, which I will also analyse according
to the original text. I saw in the night visions, and behold,
one like the son of mau"—here the grammarians say is k,
which means in the form of a thing—" in the form of the son
of man, came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the
ancient of days, and they brought hint near before him." So
you see, he will also come in the form of man, as he went
up; besides this, where it is said in the 12th verse, where be
went up, it was on the Mount of Olives. Now go to the 14th
Zechariah, the 4th verse—" And then shall the Lord go forth
and fight against those nations, as when he fought in the day
of battle. And his feet shall stand in that day"—where he
stood when be went up, on the self same mount—" upon the
Mount of Olives." And in order that we may never have
any occasion to spiritualize this Mount of Olives, a geogra-
phical description of it is given as you find it in the map,
such as it is exactly now existing—" which is before Jerusalem
on the east, and the Mount of Olives shall cleave in the midst
thereof, toward the east and toward the west." So you see,
that in the self same manner he shall come again. Besides
this, our Lord Jesus Christ himself fixes the time of his sitting
upon the throne of his glory at his second coming; so that at
present he does not sit upOn the throne of his own glory, but
at the right hand of God the Father, as a priest according to
the order of Melchizedec, as it is in the 110th Psalm. Now
mark this too, he sits at the right hand of God his Father as
a priest; as the Apostle Paul in the 6th chapter to the He-
brews also tells us, "as a priest according to the order of
Melchizedec." Now, Melchizedec was not of the tribe—of
any tribe of Israel; not of the tribe of Judah, and therefore
not a descendant of David; and for this reason, by his sitting
at the right hand of God he has not at all renounced the ex-
pectati,m to sit in any way—either spiritually or literally in
any way, upon the throne of his father David; but at the
same time, as I said, lie fixed the time of his coining—of his
sitting upon the throne of his own glory. I refer you first to
Revelations—to the 3d chapter of Revelations; I refer you
to the 2lst verse. "To him that overcometh will I grant to
sit with rue in my throne, even as I also evercame, and am
set down with my Father in his throne"--on the throne of
God. Now, and that he shall sit upon the throne of his own
glory at his coming, he said—he has most distinctly told us
in Matthew, in the 31st verse, in the 25th chapter—" When
the son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy an-
angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne." At that
time when the Son of Man shall come in his glory, and all the
holy angels with him,—" then,"—at that time—"shall he sit
upon the throne of his glory." So we see, that he himself de-
clares distinctly, that he is not yet seated upon the throne of
his glory, though the anointed King, just as David the
type—the Father, is the type of his Son and his glory. He
was the anointed King of Israel by Samuel. But he did not
enter his Kingly office until Samuel was slain, and so out
Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of David, though the anointed
King, has not yet entered his Kingly office, although Christ
shall be slain. For every proposition proved from the Scrip-
ture must be produced; that throughout the Scripture his
Kingly office will only take place after the judgment over
his enemies, we can see throughout the prophets; see, for
instance, in the 32d chapter of Isaiah. Here we see it goes
on, in the 324 chapter, it is said first—there we see the judg-
ments, Ormoah—and then, " Behold, a King shall reign in
righteousness, and princes shall reign in judgment"—at that
time when the judgment shall have gone over his enemies.
Besides this, go to the 2d chapter of Daniel, in the 49th
verse; after these Kings of the Roman empire have been
ground to powder, and then—" rn the days of these Kings
shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom which shall never
de destroyed; and the kingdom shall nut be left to other
people!" Compare with this the 7th chapter of Daniel, the
13th and 14th verses ; we also see that it shall take place
after the destruction of the Eastern and Westeru Roman
empire; then it goes on—" I saw, and behold, one like the
Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to
the Ancient of days, and they brought him near before him.
And there was given him dominion, and glory, and a king-
dom, that all people, nations and languages should serve
him;" and so en. And in the 27th verse—" And. the King-
dom and dominion, and the greatness of the Kingdom"—
where ? in heaven? No;—" under the whole heaven, shall
be given to the people o the saints of the Most High." I
also recommend to your consideration, the following re-
markable prophecy, from the let chapter of Luke, from the
prophecy of Gabriel.—" And the angel said unto her, Fear
not, islary, for thou hest found favour with God. And be-
hold thou shalt conceive in thy womb and bring forth a Son,
and shalt call his name Jesus.—This was literally fulfilled,
as every one of you shall confess;—" He shall be great;"—
Who can deny that this was literally fulfilled, even on the
cross. His look converted the thief on the cross. 1 remem-
ber reading one day, when a child, in the assembly of
Rabbis, and every one of them cursing the name of Jesus,
when suddenly they burst forth in these observations,—
" this can not be denied that he was very great." The reason
for it was-this, what these Rabbis assigned—and my dear
friends. one of these Rabbis was my own father—that he
after all, though crucified, and having died the most igno-
minnua death on the cross, that he should have been able to
overturn the minds of the people of all nations from impos-
tures, and that his relieion, in spite of all, should have been
established and have brought so many millions of nations
out of idolatry." And another said, " the most extraordinary
thing was, that Constantine, the greatest emperor, should
also have declared himself to be a convert to Christ." You
see you have here the testimony of enemies. But my friends,
he was greater in a higher sense at his death. How did he
display his greatness? When the curtain in the temple rent
in twain, and the sun was darkened, and the earth trembled,
and the mountains split. This shows that a great man must
have died. -Now here, all is literally fulfilled ; not spiritu-
ally, literally.—" He shall be great, and shall be called the
Son of the Highest." Really this testimony is literally ful-
filled. When travelling iu the mountains of Khoordistan, I
asked the Chaldean Christian', what do You think of Christ?
and they said, "He is Jesus, the Son of tite_Highest." To the
very letter fulfilled. Go to the Syrian Christians and ask them
" How do you call Jesus ?" " Jesus the Son of the Highest."
Go to the Armenian Christians, how do they call him ? "Jesus
the Son of the Highest." You see how literally. But we
don't at once say all the rest must be fulfilled literally.
" And the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his
father David." Has this been fulfilled? Not a word—not
a single word of it. Further, if these passages which related
to Jerusalem were to be understood spiritually, the New
Testament would have spirinialised them. If the New Tes-
tament has tint spiritualised them. what right has any com-
mentator to do it? Is it not an addition to the word of God?
So, for instance, here I refer you to the 9th chapter of Antos,
and the 11th verse,—" In that day will I raise up the taber-
nacle of David"—spiritually so? no—" that is fallen, and
close up the branches thereof:" these are still open. .I
may be there in twenty days, and see all open. " And I will
raise up his ruins"—still in ruins—your senses cannot de-
ceive you; not yet fulfilled—" and 1 will build it as in the
days of old." So they were in ruins for centuries; so they
are in ruins now. But if the New Testament had spiritual-
ized this passage, I would submit. But now go to the 15th
of the acts, in the 14th verse. There was a question about
the Gentiles anti the Jews, namely, the Jews believed that
the Gentiles roust accommodate themselves according to the
Jewish rights. Here Peter sets this whole question right,
and James explains it more fully. He. says, " Simeon bath.
declared how God at the first did visit the' Gentiles." For
what could his first coming have been? He visited the
Gentiles for what reason ?—" To take out of them a people
for his name''—to hasten to accomplish the number of his
elect, as the church tells us; and so he is going on at this
day—at this moment ; ecclesia, a people called out; a church;
to establish a church among the gentiles, which I understand
the words of the prophet as it is written. Where is it written ?
You have heard it in Amos, 9th chapter and 11th verse, and
here it is repeated :—" After this I will return"—the Lord
will return; and what shalt he do?—" and will build again"
—a spiritual tabernacle ? Do I read it right ? Quite incorrect.
Go and see—" the tabernacle of David, which is fallen
down; and I will build again the ruins thereof, and will set
it tip." Now here it is, beysind all doubt, that his establish-
ment of' the kingdom of our Lord shall be a visible and a per-
sonal one. Then it is a question, in what way he will come ?
At his first coming his voice was not heard in the street, and
he. came like a tender plant out of a dry ground, " despised
and rejected of men," and " a man of sorrows, acquainted
with grief," literally. But, my dear friends, at his second
coming how will he come? Let us go again to scripture.
You have seen how literally his sufferings were fulfilled, and
his humiliation literally. Now, go to Isaiah—the 3lst chapter
of Isaiah. Wonderful! It is here described, his second
coming. What of it ? No longer one of humility—" Thus
bath the Lord spoken,"—excuse me, in the 4th verse—" like
as the lion, and the Young lion, roaring on his prey, when a
multitude of shepherds is called forth against him." I had
such a real, clear idea of this when lately in Abyesinia, in the
mountains of Arabia. I was sitting in the open field, with
some chiefs; they were consulting; and around us were the
shepherds, when speedily a roaring of the lions and tigers
, were heard; when all arose suddenly and exclaimed, " Shep-
herps, shepherds, shepherds !"—there the whole mountain
was in uproar. So it shall be, my friends, when the Lion of
the tribe of Judah shall come, " roaring on his prey; when a
multitude of shepherds is called forth against him, and
he will not be afraid of their voice, nor abase himself
for the voice of them; so shall the Lord of hosts coins
down"—for what purpose ?—•' to fight fur Mount Zion and
for the hill thereof. As birds flying, so will this Lord
of hosts defend Jerusalem;"—not annihilate the world, but
defend and establish it—" defend Jerusalem;" as the Jews
so beautifully pray at Jerusalem when they mention it every
03,!—when they mention Jerusalem, and that they must es-
tablish and build it again. Very soon? No; when it shall
suit His purpose; "Ile shall come down in glory"—ennie
dawn to fight for Mount Zion, and for the hill thereof. "As
birds flying so will the Lord of Hosts defend Jerusalem; de-
fending it also, he will deliver it, and passing over it, he will
preserve it." And this is his preservation, and 'delivery,
and liberation, and emancipation of Jerusalem; as what
Peter calls—" the creation of a new earth" according to the
prophecies. For where are these prophecies? You only find
these prophecies mentioned by Peter in the 65th chapter of
Isaiah. Here is the prophecy of this creation, and here is
the exposition of this new earth and heaven. Now mark, in
the 17th verse. "For, behold, I create new heavens and a
new earth, and the former shall not be remembered nor come
into mind." But now, go on,—But be ye glad and rejoice
for ever in that which I create." What is meant? The cre-
ation of a new heaven and a new earth; " For behold, I
create Jerusalem a rejoicing, and her people a joy." Now
she goes about sorrowing and weeping away the morning.
But this will be the creation—"l create Jerusalem a rejoic-
ing, .and her people a joy, and I will rejoice in Jerusalem."
This is the comment about the creation of the new heaven
and new earth—"and joy in my people; and the voice of
weeping shall be no more heard in her, nor the voice of cry-
ing." Well now, here I think it would keep us to long to
show all these passages to prove his personal corning, and
his rising as you have seen hint, and his sitting upon the throne
of David. In what way can yowplace the throne of David ?
Anywhere else but in Palestine? as a Jew will tell you.
The throne of James is in London; the throne of the Sultan
Mahomet is in Constantinople; and the throne of David
where? Where is it? In heaven ?—The throne of David
never was in heaven. It is in Jerusalem, 13 miles distant
from Japha. Or as others say, "the indwelling of the Holy
Ghost." Oh, my dear, dear friends, do you include in this
way any partial clause, just as if in order to get rid of it ?
There are some say, "Ob, there are so very holy men who
have not believed so and so." Yes, my dear friends, many
have done a great deal of good who did not believe it. So-
crates, likewise, did a great deal of good, and he did not
believe it; and Fenelon, and Pasco', and Vincent Epoula,
—all these did a great deal Of good, and did not believe it,—
not one word of this; they believe the transubstantiation :
therefore must you believe it? They have done a great deal
of good. You see it is altogether untenable, whatever is said
against it. Then it is said again, as I heard yesterday,—
" yes, but only the practical view, it is the practical chris-
tianity that we want." My dear friends, what practical love