evil in this very house of David itself, to say nothing about the whole of his posterity. And yet that house, until the coming of the Messiah, was not only actually visible to external observation, but beautifully continued in all its established order and ordinance, and remained so proof against, all the opposition of devils and men, that it could not be overturned by any one, nor even altered; but all were compelled, even against their wills, to leave that political economy, or the sceptre of Judah, as it was first instituted, and according to the word of the divine promise, until the manifestation of Christ.

And, if you look at the visible face of the kingdom or church of the Messiah, as to its appearance in the world, since the time of his manifestation, there will seem to be still greater confusion and scattering; nay, it will appear that there never was less order, more dis traction and misery, or a more deplorable state of things in any common government, than in this kingdom of the Messiah the Son of God. For, on the one hand, tyrants in power furiously scatter and lay it waste by fire, sword, and cruelty of every kind. And, on the other hand, fanatics and authors of false doctrines and sects shamefully divide and sunder it. And moreover, there appear in the lives and conduct of many who prefess the name of Christ, an open and hardened presumption and impurity. So that, as I before observed, in no government does there appear a more ruinous state of things, or less order, than in this government. For all those external enemies that I have mentioned, and those internal members, or rather, the devil in both, strives with all his might, that this dominion of Christ might be utterly destroyed and brought to nought, or be kept in a state of the utmost misery and turbulence.

In a word, as I said, Christ appears to be such in the world, as if he felt no concern whatever for his kingdom and government; as though he had no wish that it should be manifestly seen any where; and as if it were any thing but a kingdom all-wisely constituted and happily administrated, or ARUCHA and SEMURA, as it is here said. And yet, it is true that it is such a

kingdom as is here described: and it must of necessity answer to both these terms in all things and through all things. And although it does not appear to be so, according to human judgment and human observation, yet, it is so in the eyes of him who declares concerning this kingdom, Song. viii. 12, "My vineyard which is mine is before me." And also, Matt. xxviii. 20, "And lo! I am with you alway even unto the end of the world." And, again John xvi. 33, "Be of good cheer, I have overcome the world."- For, when those who fear God contemplate the church through all this series of time, they see, and themselves experience, that there ever was, and still exists and remains among the human race, a small company collected together by the power which is from above, who profess and worship the name of Christ in true faith and godliness, who go on to spread abroad the true doctrine of the gospel by their teaching and profession, who hold the true use of the sacraments and of the 'keys' of the church, who experience the Holy Spirit working effectually in them by his illuminations and gifts, and who stand fast in this kingdom of the Son of God, invincible against the gates of hell.—It now follows

For all my salvation and all my desire are nothing.

If, saith he, I may be allowed to glory at all in myself,—I am a king appointed of God, and have a dignity bestowed upon me above all other kings. I have often conducted wars, in which I have fought bravely and gained signal victories; and, by the help of God, have experienced many wonderful deliverances. And moreover, in my administration of government, I have done many things that have been beneficial, and that, with singular success. (This is what he means by "my salvation.") I have diligently governed the state, and have exerted my utmost endeavours that all things may be done rightly and in order, and that each one may have his right: and I have also suffered many things. But all this glory, not of my government only, but of that belonging to all other kings and

this order of the times and seasons, has as it were shadowed and set forth similitudes, whereby to present unto us these different states of sin and grace; that we might, by the different changes of the seasons, be continually reminded of these things until the last day, (when there shall be another and a new heaven and earth, and another order of things,) and that we might thus be brought to think upon these great matters, and learn to make a practical use of them each day of our lives. And may God grant, that our eyes and ears may be attentive to the admonitions which the seasons thus afford us.

According therefore to this spiritual representation of things contained in the changes of the seasons, Adam, the first of the human race, may rightly be said to have first lived in the all-delightful time of spring; (seeing that, he was created in the very time of spring, as being the time in which the world also was first made;) but. by sin, he cast himself into the dreadful time of winter, until God, by this all-gracious sun, his dear Son, dispelled the awful winter, and restored this new spring, and again established an eternal church, which he still goes on to gather together, that it may hereafter live in the eternal enjoyment of God. And now this wonderful change, or, as the Psalm speaks, these years of the right hand of the Most High, have begun, he who lives in this new and eternal spring, shall never die: and, he who dies in that dreadful winter, shall never live: that is, as Christ saith, "He that believeth and is baptized, shall be saved: but he that believeth not, shall be damned." For, on the latter, that eternal sun, concerning which David here speaks, is gone down and has set for ever: but, on the former, he arises and shines in his eternal light.

Nor is this the only thing that is intended by this mention of the spring and the winter: but it more especially refers to that great secret of the prophetic doctrine, that the kingdom or dominion of the Messiah, would not be like the political economy of Moses. For that polity and government of Moses, is the ministration of the law; by which, sin is not only not taken away,

but is really increased; or as Paul saith, becomes "exceeding sinful." Because, the law shews how great and terrible sin is; and men by it are accused and condemned; and being by it cast into horrid fears, they not only begin to hate the judgment of God, and the law itself, by the sentence of which they feel themselves so condemned and killed, but also flee away from God; as Paul wonderfully and copiously sets forth this office of the law, and the effects of it.

This is indeed to stand at the foot of Mount Sinai, while it horribly shakes and trembles with thunderings and lightnings, being made to rock from its foundation; while there is such a terror produced all around, that it seems as if heaven and earth were rushing together. And in truth the light and rays of the sun were darkened with far more heavy and thick clouds than if it had been in the middle of the freezing winter, though it was then the time of spring to this visible world when the light of the sun occasionally beams forth; but, at that time, he was so far removed that his rays had no effect whatever. So the nations and the ungodly, who are without the law, and lie buried in the winter under their sins, live in greater security, and, as they imagine to themselves, far more happily than the people of God; because they, even in the time of their spring, endure the terrible tempests of law terrors, which are as thunderings and lightnings. For when that all-fair sun, Christ the Son of God, does not shine into their minds with his splendour, they have none of the joys of the spring to delight or refresh them; but Moses fills all things with terror and death by the heavy tempest of his law. Thus, the storms and tempests which variously infest this our air and atmosphere, are to us as perpetual prophets and teachers, shewing us, that it is the same with the minds and consciences of men, and that the godly are often thus overwhelmed with the terrors of the law; who, nevertheless, as Paul saith, are not under the law, but under grace.

But however, as David saith, after the times of

still carries on the comparison of the gladdening and fruitful time of spring.) And this is the same kind of weeds or thorns that Christ means when he calls them, with reference to this passage, "tares" (Zizania): for although Ambrosius interprets this word as signifying a kind of degenerate or bastard wheat, yet, I think something worse than that is here intended by Christ; that is, that he means some kind of weed or thorn that is separated from the wheat in the harvest when the sheaves are collected, and afterwards burnt, as Christ says; wherein, he expresses himself exactly according to the words of David, who says, that these thorns shall be 'plucked out' from the rest, and afterwards 'utterly burned with fire.'

I understand Zizania, therefore, to signify the same as Koz does in this passage; namely, that more rough, sharp, and prickly kind of thorns or thistles, which grow among the wheat itself, and which, in the time of harvest, are cut up separately with hooks, and afterwards torn up by the roots with rakes and harrows; for they cannot be gathered by the naked hand, nor are they of any other use than to light the fires on the hearth; but that zizania which they call bastard wheat, is of use as fodder for cattle.

Such thorns and thistles as these are that generation of Jews who persecute the Messiah who has been manifested by the most signal and divine testimonies; and that with such fury and malice, that they could not be turned from their determination by any goodness of God, nor by any wonderful works; nor brought to embrace the Son of God promised and given unto them, until at last the Roman armies destroyed them with arms, fire, sword, and slaughter. Yet even now, they cease not to burn with rage wherever they assemble together in their conventicle, though they are now miserable exiles under the flaming wrath of God.

Thus, then, you see was predicted by David, the utter destruction of that people, because they rejected this their Lord and King. And this is according to the words of Luke also, where he saith, xiii. 35, “Behold