"they; and the blind leading the blind, both stumbled on the "stumbling stone, and fell into the ditch together. 2. Mista"ken notions of the nature of the Meffiah's kingdom was an "other cause of their rejecting this precious ftone. They "had formed a notion to themfelves, without any real ground " from fcripture-prophecy, that the Meffiah was to appear "in the form of an earthly monarch, and that he was to lift "up the head of the Jewish nation, and make the Romans, "and all the nations of the world their vaffals and tributa"ries; but finding themselves mistaken, they difown and "crucify him as an impoftor; which, by the by, serves to "discover what a dangerous thing it is not to have right con. "ceptions of the spiritual nature of Chrift's kingdom." Having thus far introduced himself to the fubject by the Jewish builders, and declared the danger of wrong conceptions of the nature of Chrift's kingdom, he folemnly applies what he had been faying of the Jewish builders to this day, in the remarkable words before noted. And by the fame rule it is applicable to any day wherein Chriftianity is corrupted: for it is of the corruptions of Chriftianity that he is fpeaking. The corruption of Chriftianity has fucceeded in the room of the corruption of the Jewish church, which was chiefly owing to the builders. And from thence the rejection of Christ, in his minifters and people, in his truths and the profession of his name, as the Prophet, Prieft, and King of his church, has proceeded, even as the rejection of Chrift himself flowed from the corruption of religion among the Jews: And both had their rife from a mistaken notion of Chrift's kingdom as fet forth in the prophecies. Thus far we have Mr Erskine. But 'tis pity he did not go farther than merely to point out the way. However, keeping his direction in view, and minding the warning he has given of danger in mistaking the nature of Chrift's kingdom: Let us go on to confider, first, How the Jewish builders that dealt fo much in the Old-Teftament prophecies, and explained them to the people, came to form fuch a notion of the Meffiah's kingdom; and next, By a fuitable application of this to fome of the corruptions of the day we live in, what he fays of the caufe of the evils and corruptions of the day, may appear with fome evidence to them that want to know the truth in this matter. As to the first, Mr Erfkine fays, It was without any real ground from fcripture-prophecy, that they formed that carnal notion of the Meffiah's kingdom to themfelves; and when he says, there was no real ground, he does not deny, but ra ther : ther infinuate, that there was fome appearance of a ground for their notion of the Meffiah's kingdom in the prophecies. And so there was: so it behoved to be. The prophecies of the Mef fiah, and his kingdom behoved to be involved in figures: o therwise they could not have have been fulfilled by men pro feffing to believe them, as they were fulfilled by the Jews. Even as the New-Teftament prophecy concerning Antichrift could never have been fulfilled by men profeffing to believe the New Teftament, if it had been spoken plainly, and with. out any proverb. God fet up the kingdom of David in the prophecies, as a figure of the kingdom of Christ, and spake of it accordingly. The kingdom of heaven is a mystery, the hidden sense of a figure; and it has many fuch mysteries, which the Jewish builders were not made to know. They did not know the wisdom of God in a myftery; and fo they took up with the figure, and neglected the hidden fenfe. Yea, it was not fo eafy for them to perceive it as it is for them that have the New-Teftament revelation, making these things very clear that were dark unto the prophets themfelves and therefore they are yet more inexcufable than the Jewish builders, who have the New-Teftament revelation complete, and profefs to believe it, and yet entertain carnal notions of the kingdom of Chrift. Not only the Jewish builders, but our Lord's difciples, in the days of his flesh, while he was fpeaking parables, and before he afcended to the throne of his kingdom, and poured down the Holy Ghost, to make the New-Teftament revelation full and clear, understood the prophecies of a worldly kingdom. But after the New Teftament revelation, the only infallible explication of the Old, is completed by the Holy Ghoft fent down from heaven, it is more criminal in them that profefs to believe it, to imagine ftill, that, according to fcripture-prophecy, Chrift's kingdom must be some way of this world. And Mr Erfkine believes there are fome fuch imaginations in the minds of Chriftians at this day, when he is perfuaded, that carnal notions of the kingdom of Chrift, which is not of this world, lie at the bottom of the corruptions of the day. The Jewish builders, according to the view they had of the prophecies,' which yet had not a real ground in them, imagined, that the Meffiah was to fit on David's earthly throne, which the New Testament makes the figure of the heavenly; but Christians, fo called, fet the kings of Europe on that throne, even as the Christian builders in the days of Conftantine fet him on that throne and in this the Jewish builders had plainly the bet ter ter of Chriftians, according to the prophecies; for they gave David's throne to the Meffiah that they were looking for. The expectation that fome have of a temporal reign of the Jews in their old land, when once they are converted in a national way, and that in their land will be the vifible feat of Christ's kingdom over all the world, before his fecond coming, is very like the notion that the Jewish builders had of the Old Teftament prophecies; and they that think they have a real ground in the prophecies for fuch expectations, need not be furprifed at the great blunder that the Jewish builders committed in explaining the prophecies. If we confider the application that fome make of the prophecies touching Chrift's kingdom to Scotland, we cannot be furprised at the application that the Jewish builders made of them to the land of the Jews: for it is manifeft, that, by the style of the prophets, the Jewish application had fome way the advantage. And if there was enough faid in the prophecies to confute the Jewish notion of them, and to render them inexcufable in rejecting the kingdom of Chrift in the appearance it made to them, much more are they without excufe by these prophecies who have and own the New Testament that explains them. This fenfe of the prophecies was the more agreeable to them, that it flattered their pride, and did not remarkably cross any of their worldly lufts; but rather made way for the hopes of getting them fulfilled. This gave it a vaft advantage in their carnal minds, and in the minds of the people, over the sense of the prophecies that our Lord and his apoftles contended for. This made them overlook every thing in the prophecies that feemed to cross this carnal fenfe of them, or reconcile it the best way they could with this fenfe. Yea, with what difficulty were the difciples at first persuaded to give up with this carnal sense of fcripture prophecy, and embrace the fpiritual one? It required that mortification to the world and heavenlinefs of mind, that was wrought in them by the Holy Ghost sent down from heaven, to recon cile them to the true interpretation of the prophets. But the fenfe of the fcripture-prophecy that did not bear fo hard on mens lufts as our Lord's interpretation of them did, was not maintained by the Jewish builders without a zeal of God and his worship and fervice. They fhewed the greatest zeal for the law of Mofes, and for the glory of God, as the author of the Old-Teftament revelation, in contending for their fenfe of the prophecies againft Chrift, and in rejecting VOL. I. 3 I jecting him and his spiritual heavenly kingdom. They did not imagine, that, in the kingdom of their Meffiah, wickednefs and profanity was to take place; very far from it: they expected he would reform the corruptions that were complained of among them; and that, in exalting their nation, he would revive and confirm the covenant made with their nation on Sinai, in all the articles of it, and establish the law of Mofes over all nations who were to be blessed in the obfervation of that law, and in coming within the bond of that covenant, at the fame time that they came in subjection to the Jewish nation. And in this they had by far the advantage of any of them that now profefs the greatest zeal for national covenants, or any national form of a church, that can pretend to no more of an interest in divine inftitution, but as they are a copying after that national covenant and church which the Jewish builders opposed to the kingdom of Chrift, that was the end of that covenant and church; and can pretend to no other divine inftitution, but such a sense of the prophecies of the Old Testament as that whereby the Jewish builders rejected Chrift and his kingdom. Though this feems plainly inconfiftent with fome part of Mr Erfkine's fermon, yet it agrees not ill with a private letter of his fome time ago published, and is perfectly confiftent with the fenfe and true scope of the passage in the fermon that was propofed in the beginning to be illuftrated. And it has likewife fome countenance from another part of the fermon, where he says, p. 36. inference 6. "See from what is faid "what it is makes a flourishing church. It is not her exter"nal peace and plenty or profperity, not her connection in politics with kings or parliaments, patrons, heritors, or "any other fet of men: but her connection with the chief corner-ftone. This, and this only, is what beautifies the "whole building, and makes her increase with the increase of "God." It will not be very easy to declare how far a national church and covenant, and fhutting the door unto places of civil or military truft on fuch as are not well affected to that church and covenant, can take place without fome connec tion in politics with kings and parliaments, or with the legiflative civil power. And, feeing this connection at least adds nothing to the beauty of the building, there can be no real lofs in dropping it, that we may give ourselves wholly to the maintenance of the connection with the chief corner-stone, which alone beautifies the building, and makes the church increase with the increase of God. The natural tendency of a national covenant and a national church, depending on that connection with kings, parliaments, and armies, is external peace, by the destruction of fects, plenty or riches to the clergy of that church, and worldly profperity; which, Mr Erfkine fays, is far from being that which makes a flourish, ing church. And he reckons that the increase of the church that comes that way is not the increase of God; that only is with him the increase of God that comes by holding the head, which was the kind of increase before any king or kingdom of this world owned Chriftianity. Here is a queftion, If there be any real ground in fcripture. prophecy for this fenfe of the words of the prophets, that the nations of this world are to be churches, and in covenant with God as Ifrael was? And the Apoftle James seems to determine it, in that fpeech he made Acts xv. in the church in Jerufalem, to which the other apoftles and the elders of that church, with that whole church, agreed; he fays, "Si66 meon hath declared how God at the firft did vifit the na❝tions to take out of them a people for his name, and to "this agree the words of the prophets." If we confider these words with the words that follow, we cannot be at a lofs to understand the Holy Ghoft's fenfe of his own words in the fcripture-prophecy, when he speaks of the nations being brought into the church, and called by God's name, or ha ving his name called on them; and among all the private interpretations and different fentiments of men about what it is that the words of the prophets agree to about the nations, this is the mind of the Holy Ghoft, the infpirer of the prophets. We may alfo fee from that context, that the king. dom of Chrift, as it stood when James made that speech, was. the antitype of the kingdom of David: and that the fubjects of that kingdom were but a remnant of the Jewish nation, and a remnant of every other nation where he had any fubjects. This is Chrift's kingdom, his church, of which the prophets fpake; and for this fenfe of the prophets, the apoftles contended against such as would not admit the nations upon whom God's name was cailed into the church, without the Jewish national covenant. Another reason of the mistake of the Jewish builders about the Messiah's kingdom spoken of in the prophets was, that they took not the fcripture by itself to compare it with Chrift's doctrine, but according to the tradition of their fa thers. And the tradition of the fathers about the Meffiah's kingdom being more agreeable to their worldly lufts, where 312 with |