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the young and old fhould rejoice together, and that God will turn their mourning into joy. All this is to take place when the new covenant is made with them. See verfe 31, 32, 33, 34.

What a glorious fituation must the world be in at that day, and particularly the Jews. When this city and temple is built; when the twelve tribes are restored, and each enjoying their land, according to the new divifion of it to each tribe. When they fhall fee the king in his beauty, dwelling in his temple, built in the city which lies between the feven, and five tribes of Ifrael.

Now caft your eyes abroad; look eastward, weftward, northward, and fouthward. Behold the pleasant land which the Lord promifed to Abraham, and his feed. Behold the Mediterranean fea on the weft! See the fhips appear, bringing from diftant lands, the worshippers, who are coming to fee the king in his beauty, and to crown him Lord of all. See them landing at Joppa, while their brethren on the shore joyfully receive, and welcome them to Emmanuel's land; Hark! How these brethren of different nations, all fpeaking one language, join their loud voices, and fhout, "worthy is the Lamb who has redeemed us by his blood." See the crowds which fill the road from Joppa to Jerufalem, haftening to fee the city of the great king,and going from strength to ftrength,till at last they appear in Zion before God. Look fouthward, and eaftward, and fee the multitudes coming by land, on camels and dromedaries, to join their brethren, in praises to the LORD, who dwells in Jerufalem.

Add to all this, the voice of health is heard, fickness, war, and famine is no more. Surely we may fay, "blef fed is he that fhall eat bread in thy kingdom." Even fo, Amen.

SERMON XI.

"WE HAVE ALSO A MORE SURE WORD OF

PROPHECY," &c.

IN this Sermon will be noticed, the peculiar rivers, and Streams, which will flow through the land of Canaan, in the thousand years of Chrift's reign on the earth.

IT

T is evident from the prophecies, that when Chrift reigns on the earth, there will be many new rivers ftreams, fprings, and fountains, in different parts of the earth, even where now there are none.

The first I fhall notice, is the one mentioned by Ezekiel. This river, many have undertaken to fpiritualize, or turn into a fimilitude; but we might with as much propriety turn the whole fcriptures into fimilitudes, and fay of the whole, as Ezekiel's hearers once faid of him, "Doth he not speak parables ?"

I shall give a particular account of this river as it is recorded in Ezekiel; that every candid reader may fee that a real river is intended, and not a figurative one.

The defcription of this river which shall appear in the thousand years of Chrift's reign on earth, is recorded in Ezekiel xlvii. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 11, 12, "Afterwards he brought me again unto the door of the house; and, behold, waters iffued out from under the threshold of the house eastward; for the fore front of the house ftood toward the eaft, and the water came down from under the right fide of the houfe, at the fouth fide of the altar,then brought he me out of the way of the gate northward, and led me about the way without unto the outer

gate by the way that looketh eastward, and, behold, there ran out waters on the right fide. And when the man that had the line in his hand went forth eastward, he measured a thoufand cubits, and he brought me through the waters; the waters were to the ancles. Again he measured a thoufand, and brought me through the waters; the waters were to the knees; again he measured a thousand, and brought me through; the waters were to the loins. Afterward he measured a thousand; and it was a river that I could not pafs over; for the waters were rifen, waters to swim in, a river that could not be paffed over.

And he faid unto me, Son of man, hast thou seen this? Then he brought me, and caufed me to return to the brink of the river. Now, when I had returned, behold, at the bank of the river,were very many trees on the one fide and on the other. Then faid he unto me, these waters iffue out towards the east country, and go down into the defert, and go into the fea; which being brought forth into the fea, the waters fhall be healed. And it fhall come to pafs, that every thing that liveth, which moveth, whetherfoever the river fhall come, fhall live; and fhall be a very great multitude of fish, because these waters shall come thither; for they fhall be healed; and every thing fhall live whither the river cometh. And it fhall come to pafs, that the fifhers fhall ftand upon it from En-gedi even to En-egliam; they fhall be a place to fpread forth nets; their fifh fhall be according to their kinds, as the fish of the great fea, exceeding many. But the miry places thereof, and the marfhes thereof, fhall not be heal. ed, they fhall be given to falt. And by the river, upon the bank thereof, on this fide, and on that side, shall grow all trees for meat, whose leaf shall not fade, neither fhall the fruit thereof be confumed; it fhall bring forth new fruit, according to his months, because their waters they iffued out of the fanctuary; and the fruit thereof fhall be for meat, and the leaf thereof for medicine."

This river is mentioned as one which never ran before; and on this account fome may think this has reference to the outpouring of the spirit in the last days; but the

prophecy declares that God's opening new rivers and fountains in the defert is a new thing which he will do. Ifaiah xliii. 19, 20, "Behold I will do a new thing; now it fhall fpring forth; fhall ye not know it? I will even make a way in the wilderness, and rivers in the def.ert. The beafts of the field fhall honor me, the dragons and the owls, becaufe I give waters in the wilderness, and RIVERS in the defert, to give drink to my people, my chofen." "And there fhall be upon every high mountain, and upon every high hill, rivers and ftreams of waters, in the day of the great flaughter, when the towers fall." It is plain that thefe prophecies concerning rivers and streams are to be fulfilled, at the time when the great army is flain, and when the Jews are in great profperity. See verfe 24, 26, 27, 28, 29.

XXX. 25,

I will mention one prophecy more to prove that there will be rivers in the land of Canaan, in the thousand years, such as never were before. Joel iii. 18, "And it fhall come to pafs in that day, that the mountains shall "drop down new wine, and the hills fhall flow down with -milk, and all the rivers of Judah fhall flow with waters, and a fountain fhall come forth of the house of the LORD, and fhall water the valley of Shittim.”

This prophecy is to be fulfilled, when the great army is brought into the valley of decifion, when the LORD fhall roar out of Zion, fee verfe 14, 16. This is the time when the great army shall be destroyed, as has been noticed in a former fermon. At this time the rivers and fountain fhall flow; at which time it is faid, Egypt fhall be a defolation while Judah fhall dwell forever, and Jerusalem from generation to generation.

Thefe places are fufficient to prove to any rational mind, that rivers and fountains will at that glorious time flow in great abundance through the promised land, when all nations fubmit to Chrift.

I fhall now mention feveral things concerning the river mentioned by Ezekiel.

1. We will notice the fource of this remarkable river.

In the chapters before this the man with the measuring line had hewn Ezekiel the city and houfe of the Lord

of hofts, where he will dwell in the latter days. He told him what the law of the house was,-HOLINESS. h Chap. xliii. 12, "This is the law of the houfe; upon the top of the mountain, the whole limit thereof round about fhall be most holy. Behold this is the law of the house." He fhewed him three gates of the house, one on the north, one on the fouth, and one on the east. The north and fouth gates were for the entrance of the worshippers; o but the eaft gate was for none but the prince to`enter;. ¿ the Lord Jefus, the prince of peace.

703

After he had fhewn him the eaft gate, or door, andmai carried him round to other places, he brought him back again to the east door of the holy houfe; there he faw waters running out from under the threshold of the eafte door. Here is the beginning of that river which he faw afterwards deep enough to fwim in. This must be the fame river mentioned in Joel iii. 18, "And a fountain S fhall come forth of the house of the Lord, and fhall water the valley of Shittim." Here the fame house and fountain is mentioned which Ezekiel faw. I think that a Zechariah has reference to this river when he fays, W Zech. xiv. 8, "And it fhall come to pafs in that day, that living waters fhall go out from Jerufalem; half of them towards the former fea, and half of them towards the hinder fea; in Summer and in Winter fhall it be." This water is to go out of Jerufalem, when the Lord is king over all the earth.

2. After the man had fhewn the waters to Ezekiel, he began to measure by the fide of the little stream, and after he had measured one, thoufand cubits, he brought him across,and the waters were only to his ancles. He meafured a thousand more, and the waters were to his knees. He measured a thousand more, and brought him across ; the waters were to his loins. When he measured the fourth time, the waters had increased to a river where he might fwim.

The diftance which was measured, was over one mile,. and short of three. What a rapid increase of water, in running no further. Part of his vifion, all

All this Ezekiel had in vifion.. muft own was a reality. He really 1

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