ings, holds, in the same force and authority, upon us, on whom the day has more distinctly begun to dawn. * For the prophetic word still "shines in a dark place," a place also foul because it is dark, for such is the present world, and our present life; it is night, compared with the day that is at hand. As the night is chosen for evil deeds, and men follow that which is evil, without remorse, under the cover of darkness; so will the things of darkness not be brought to light, or seen in their true character, till the day dawns. It is in the light of that day, when it dawns in the heart, that our present condition is seen in its true character. study of the prophetic word, in bringing out the purposes of God so far as he has been pleased to reveal them, has a most powerful influence on our estimate of things temporal, for the better estimate of things eternal. The Now it is the prophetic word, I assert, which more especially reaches the heart and conscience in respect to our condition in this life, and our prospects for the world to come. The knowledge and expectation of our future. unchangeable condition, is a light to the soul, which changes the aspect of all we are, and all we look for. The knowledge of gospel * αὐχμηρός. truth has to do with our inward experience; the prophetic word has to do with our outward character, and all our relations for time and for eternity. The word of salvation to the soul, trains us inwardly to serious self-contemplation, holy desires, and the increase of the spiritual graces of the soul;-the prophetic word directs all the powers of the mind, every holy affection-the highest elevation of which the soul is capable-through time to eternity; above all the things of this earth, to heavenly things; and links the soul to the very throne of Christ himself, where all power in heaven and earth is put into his hand, and where he sits till he has brought out the purpose of God the Father, in securing and providing for his own glory. This I take to be the import of the expression, "till the day dawn, and the day-star arise in your heart." The revelation of mercy to the soul, and the manifestation of divine grace to the heart, is the dawn of the day, in which all the sons of God shall shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. The revelation of Christ within, is the day-star which ushers in that day, in which we "shall see him as he is, and be like him." very III. The ground and reasons of this attention to the prophetical word, "whereunto ye do well that ye take heed." I may seem best to fulfil the object of this Lecture, if I enlarge on this head of my subject, only in respect to the second coming of Christ-the great truth with which my text stands connected, and the one which best serves to enforce the duty of studying the prophetic Scriptures, as indeed it is the one great prevailing theme of the prophetic song, whether of the Old Testament or of the New Testament. It may be important here to observe, that the second coming of Christ in glory, which shines forth so eminently in all the prophets, which gives its lustre to so many raptured visions, is yet so nearly blended with descriptions of his first coming in humiliation, as to be difficult of being distinguished, in regard to time. We do not, at once, see whether these events are more nearly or more distantly connected. It is this circumstance, which led the apostles and others to expect the second coming to be near at hand, after the Lord's ascension into heaven. Eighteen centuries have now intervened. We must not, however, adopt the scoffer's taunt, and say, "Where is the promise of his coming?" We must as patiently, though with a nearer hope, wait for the Son of the living 2 Peter iii. 4. God from heaven, as the Thessalonian converts from heathenism did (1 Thess. i. 9, 10). And a waiting posture is a contemplative posture, in which we shall be disposed to give earnest heed to every intimation of the approach of Him whom we expect, and abundant heed the more the day is at hand. But why is the coming of Christ, so much the object of a believer's expectation? Then will his redemption be completed; "when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh."* We read of the "grace that is to be brought unto us at the revelation of Jesus Christ." I need not remind you of the numberless passages in which we are directed to wait for this event, in all the earnestness of a lively faith; and what is the grace then to be revealed? What is the fulness of the redemption then vouchsafed? I will point at once to one, which includes and implies many other-the "resurrection of the just" from the dust of the earth, and the change of living bodies, "when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality."§ "For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we * Luke xxi. 28. † 1 Peter i. 13. Luke xiv. 14. § 1 Cor. xv. 54. which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep. For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air, and so shall we ever be with the Lord (1 Thess. iv. 15, 17). Then will it appear, that the "Spirit is life, because of righteousness" (Rom. viii. 10). Then shall be put off the body of sin, which is in the flesh, and power of sin be for ever annulled and destroyed. Then shall "a glory be revealed" in every redeemed sinner, which shall manifest the great purpose of God, in sending his Son, stripped of his own previous majesty, that he might "bring many sons to glory." Then shall Jesus Christ claim the "redemption of his own purchased possession," for which he paid the price of his blood. Then shall the body be "redeemed "§ from the grave and from death, that body, soul, and spirit may be presented "blameless"|| to Him who first formed the great scheme of our sal Rom. viii. 18; 1 Peter v. 1. + Heb. ii. 10. Eph. i. 14. || 1 Thes. v. 23. |