SERMON VII. THE PRIVILEGES CONNECTED WITH ISAIAH XXXIII. 16, 17. He shall dwell on high: his place of defence shall be the munitions of rocks; bread shall be given him; his water shall be sure. Thine eyes shall see the king in his beauty: they shall behold the land which is very far off. THE prophetic Scriptures, viewed in connexion with their fulfilment, afford a public evidence of the genuineness and authenticity of the 'sacred volume of which * Little did the writer imagine, whilst delivering this discourse in St. Nicholas Church, Gloucester, that it would prove, as eventually it has proved, his parting address to that congregation. How should every minister preach every sermon as though it were the last; and how should hearers improve every opportunity as though there were not another to succeed! H they form a part, and demonstrate the religion which it teaches, to be from God. To investigate these writings diligently and patiently, and by comparing them with the records of history, to trace out the correspondence between predictions and their accomplishment; or, with humility and caution, to look into the future purposes of God with respect to the church and the world, as far as the lamp of prophecy may have cast upon them any gleam of light, is a delightful and noble. employment. It is an exercise well calculated to enlarge our capacities for the apprehension of divine subjects, to confirm and establish our faith; to fill our minds with the fear and love of Him to whom all things are naked and open, "who declareth the end from the beginning," and who understandeth the very thoughts, feelings, and intentions of his creatures even ages before they themselves are brought into existence.* It is, in a word, an employment well calculated to present to our minds profitable views of the past, to produce salutary impres* Is. xlvi. 10, and Ps. cxxxix. 2. sions as it respects the present, and to furnish us with anticipations of the future awfully sublime, irresistibly awakening, and delightfully animating. Blessed, therefore, is he that thus readeth, and to such purposes, the book of prophecy, and they that keep those things which are written therein.* Such, however, is not the only lawful method of studying the writings of the Prophets, nor the exclusive use which it may be proper to make of them. The Christian who is unread in the page of history, and unskilled in philological research, finds in these writings, even amidst many difficulties and obscurities, much that is plain and intelligible, much to instruct and reprove, much to humble and encourage. "Thy words," will he be able to say, in the language of the prophet,-"thy words were found, and I did eat them; and thy word was unto me the joy and rejoicing of my heart."† Thus reading and meditating on the prophecies for purposes purely devotional and practical, he meets with many a portion whereupon his soul is satisfied as " with marrow and fatness:" and of such a nature is the passage before us. "He shall dwell on high; his place of defence shall be the munitions of rocks: bread shall be given him, his waters shall be sure. Thine eyes shall see the king in his beauty: they shall behold the land which is very far off." It shall be my endeavour to show, First, the import of the words; and, Secondly, their application. I. THEIR IMPORT. Many passages of the prophetic Scriptures have a double, sometimes even a threefold application: but not to inquire at present into the literal or primary sense of the passage before us, we scarcely need hesitate to understand it, in its spiritual application, as illustrative of Christian experience, and as denoting the peculiar privileges of true believers in Christ. The words, therefore, may be regarded in this light, as expressive of dignity, security, and provision-of spiritual enjoyment and heavenly prospects, 1. The words of our text denote the dignity of the Christian character. He whose character is described in the preceding verse, to which we shall have occasion to refer hereafter, "shall dwell on high." This may denote that moral dignity to which the soul of each penitent believer in Christ is restored, and that moral and spiritual excellence of character, which invariably results from the washing of regeneration, and the renewing of the Holy Ghost. This, however, can have nothing to do with that supposed dignity of human nature, viewed irrespectively of any gracious change, on which the moralist delights to dwell. Of such innate excellence in man, regarded as a sinner, and before he becomes the subject of sanctifying grace, the Scriptures are silent; whilst, on the contrary, they uniformly describe mankind as altogether in a state of misery and degradation on account of sin. Such statements, however, do not in the slightest degree contradict the fact, that God created man for great and noble ends; and that the nature of man, so long as he retained his primæval uprightness, was exalted and dignified. It is in equal consonance with the great end and design of the gospel, which is to restore human nature, in some measure here, and perfectly hereafter, to |