lively spirit, and unanswerable manner of the reply, increasing its powerful impression upon the reader, in a climax of questions, that for their great plainness answer themselves; and for their great force, entirely dissipate the calumny of his enemies. But to translate the last sentence affirmatively, does not materially vary the impression of the whole truth on the mind.

And now, intelligent reader, you can believe this; and although you may have a better way of explaining the passage, you can allow that this explanation is not altogether bad. There is, at least, something plausible in it, and nothing absolutely offensive to good sense, or to sound doctrine. I am sure you must think so: for this is the only passage in the New Testament, in which our translation reports the kingdom of heaven to have come already; and the original does not absolutely do it here. You may be surprised to hear this is the only place, in which our New Testament pronounces the kingdom of God, or of heaven, or of Messiah, to be among the things present, and already come : and it should not do it here, in justice to the original.

There are passages of this sort:

"Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven:" which the other beatitudes, with common sense, and universal experience and observation, explain of the world to come, and not of this world. It is the manner of the Holy Spirit to declare of a thing future, the certainty of which God would deeply impress upon the heart of man, in the time present, as if it were in hand already: "theirs is the kingdom of heaven;" and no soul of man truly "poor in spirit," hesitates for one moment so to understand the word, in respect to his own mind and faith and hope.

"THE KINGDOM OF GOD IS WITHIN YOU."

"O, grant us grace, Almighty Lord,
"To read and mark thy holy word;
"Its truths with meekness to receive,
"And by its holy precepts live."

The curious Pharisees, on one occasion, demanded to know of Jesus: "when the kingdom of God should come.' This is the question every age of the world puts to the preacher of the doctrine of the kingdom of heaven at hand:" "You say it is at hand, I want to know when it is going to come?"-Mark the answer of the Great King, and reverence his words, which proud Pharisees in Jerusalem could not do.

"He answered them, and said: The kingdom of God cometh not with observation. Neither shall they say, Lo here! or Lo there! For, behold, the kingdom of God is within you." He surely did not mean to say his kingdom was absolutely in the hearts of these Pharisces, and yet to them was the word spoken. They demanded of him an impertinent question; and he replied for their correction, not for their satisfaction. They looked for Messiah's kin.dom in this world; and they would know of him, who preached it at hand, when it should come. He replied: "It does not come with outward show, and the pomp of this world; as you suppose. You cannot say: Lo here, it is Jerusalem: Lo there, it is the church! If you would have an interest in it, when it comes, as you seem to desire, look not for it in this world, or in the gospel dispensation: look within you; bethink yourselves. Your way to see it, is through repentance unto life eternal, and through a change of heart.”

This was a gracious answer to their forward question, turning their impertinent demand into an occasion of giving

them heavenly advice and instruction, worthy of the Lord Jesus, and wholly above the power of any man not actuated by the Iloly Spirit. The reply is profitable in every age, to repress the too confident spirit of man in the calculations of the times, "which the Father hath kept in his own power." And yet I approve of such calculations. The scriptures furnish data for approaching them with an accuracy, that may well set the people of this and of succeeding ages, to the office of Daniel, who, having found out by the books, that the time of Judah's captivity was well nigh accomplished, anxiously sought by the use of extraordinary means of grace, to prepare himself and his people, humbly to receive the great favor of God.

say

No man supposes for one moment, that the Lord meant to his kingdom was in the p.oud heart of the unbelieving Pharisees; and yet to them only was the word spoken: "The kingdom of God is within you'—at the same time, he turned from them immediately on this word, to warn his humble disciples as follows.

"And he said unto the disciples: The days will come, when ye shall desire to see one of the days of the Son of Man, and ye shall not see it. And they shall say unto you, See here! or See there! Go not after them, nor follow them. For as the lightning, that lightneth out of the one part under heaven, shineth unto the other part under heaven; so shall also the Son of Man be in his day. But first must he suffer many things of this generation." (Luke 17: 20 to 26.)

That his disciples need not be misled by this word to the Pharisees, he cautioned them instantly, that though they should desire to see one of the days of his kingdom, they should not see it in this world. And, that their ardent desire for it, and their zeal, should not betray them in any age, to believe the false prophets, who would come with the general affirmation of these times: "Here is the kingdom of heaven! See here! or see there! It is the church, the

very gospel of itself!-Lo here; it is the church; or lo there it is the gospel dispensation in the millennium !"-in order, I say, to save them from being carried away by their own fond desire of this kingdom, and misled to believe the many false prophets, who should come in his name, preaching the kingdom here, or there, in this world, he warns all beforehand, that its coming will be like the lightning of heav. en, which shows plainly for itself, and does not need that one should inform another of its vivid flash; for no one under the canopy of heaven can fail to see instantly when it appears, before another can have time to say see here; or see there!-Even " so shall also the coming of the Son of man be in his day, [and kingdom,] but first must he suffer many things, and be rejected of this generation." Nothing can be plainer; not the lightning itself.

My heart faints in this view of my own past delusion, and of the prevalent delusion of my brethren, in respect to the very thing, upon which the Lord here graciously warns us not to be deceived. "Therefore, say unto the house of Israel: Thus saith the Lord God, Repent, and turn from your idols, and turn away your faces from all your abominations. They shall bear the punishment of their iniquity; the punishment of the prophet shall be even as the punishment of him that seeketh unto him; that the house of Israel may go no more astray from me, neither be polluted any more with all their transgressions: but that they may be my people, and I may be their God, saith the Lord God." (Ez. 14: 6, 10, 11.)

"NOT TASTE OF DEATH, UNTIL THEY SEE THE KINGDOM OF GOD."

The next passage which I notice, for the reliance placed in it, to support the belief of the kingdom of heaven long come in this world, is that found in (Mat. 16: 28; Mark 9: 1: Luke 9: 27 ;) where it is said: "There be some standing here which shall not taste of death, until they see the kingdom of God." The natural inference is, that the time of the kingdom must begin before all the men of that age died. But let it be borne in mind that the Lord purposely concealed the time of his kingdom, not only from the haughty Pharisees, but from all men, even his chosen disciples. In this place he speaks of it as future, and not having come, as the Holy Spirit in the gospel uniformly does: and he speaks of it in a connection that is uniform, and very peculiar in the three Evangelists, who record this word. In the first place, the word here relied upon to prove the kingdom to have already come, is every where introduced by a solemn and unequivocal reference to the judgment day: as in Matthew : For the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father, with his angels; and then he shall reward every man according to his works. Verily I say unto you, there be some standing here, which shall not taste of death, till they see the Son of man coming in his kingdom.

"And after six days, Jesus taketh Peter, James, and John his brother, and bringeth them up into an high mountain apart, and was transfigured before them."

The same connection precisely is followed in Mark and Luke. The coming here spoken of, is, therefore, to be taken for his final coming to judgment in the end of the world. "The glory of his Father with the angels," marks the character of that coming again, in a way not to be mistaken: and that signified by the words, " and then he shall reward every man according to his works," demonstrates it to be the judg