2 Judea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth." But, though the Lord declined any further discussion of that important subject at that time, their attention was speedily directed to it by the angels, who appeared immediately after their Lord had been taken up: "which also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus which is taken up from you into heaven shall so come in like manner as ye have seen Him go into heaven." Hence, when they reflected upon this assurance of the heavenly messengers, they would connect that assurance with the prediction of Daniel the prophet, that, in the appointed season, "one like the Son of man should come with the clouds of heaven, and there shall be given unto Him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages should serve Him."3 Hence with this they would associate the Lord's promise that He would come in his own glory, and in his Father's, and in the holy angels. Hence they would connect with this the remembrance, that when they said, Lord, teach us to pray, one of those comparatively few but comprehensive petitions which He put into their hearts to make, was, “Thy kingdom come." Events of most awakening importance having thus occurred, they went back 1 Acts i. 8. 2 Acts i. 10, 11. 3 Dan. vii. 10, 14. 2 to Jerusalem, waiting for the fulfilment of the promise, that the Holy Ghost should come upon them. When therefore that promise was fulfilled, we find the apostle Peter explaining to the wondering multitude, that it was the accomplishment of a part of the word of the Lord by the prophet Joel, which should "come to pass in the last days, saith God." 3 The former part of this prophecy, as quoted by St. Peter, appears at that time to have been accomplished, whilst the portion of it contained in the 19th and 20th verses must, I think, be reserved as the immediate forerunner of "the great and notable day of the Lord." 4 The apostle next applies and explains the words of David concerning Christ and his resurrection, shewing that the resurrection of Jesus was necessary as a preliminary step to the fulfilment of another prophecy, which God had confirmed to David with an oath, and of which, therefore, He would not repent,5 that Christ should sit on David's throne; from which circumstance it is written in the prophet, that "at that time they shall call Jerusalem the throne of the Lord;" and again, in another place, that Christ should " reign on Mount Zion, and in Jerusalem, and before his ancients gloriously."7 1 Acts i. 4. 3 Acts ii. 15-21. 5 Psalm cx. 4. 7 Is. xxiv. 23. 2 Acts ii. 1-4. 6 Jer. iii. 17. In the following chapter we find the words which have given rise to the enquiry which is the subject of these pages, upon which, as they have been fully explained at the commencement, here we need not dwell. In Acts x. 42, St. Peter teaches, that the testimony which the church was to bear by preaching was, that Christ was ordained of God to be the judge of quick and dead. In which her teaching looks forward to his return in power and great glory, to perform that which, until the time spoken of by the apostle, is "his work, his strange work, his act, his strange act."1 St. James, the Bishop of Jerusalem, quotes a part of the prophecy of Amos in his address to the council, which was held to consider the question concerning the observance of circumcision and the other Mosaic rites by the converted Gentiles. Of that portion of the word of the Lord we have already spoken, but we may here observe that the apostle, having referred to what Simeon had declared, namely, that it was the purpose of Jehovah to take out of the Gentiles a people for his name, in other words, a church, (or ecclesia,) quotes this passage to shew two things, the one, that the tabernacle of David should fall for a season, at the close of which the Lord would build again Is. xxviii. 21. 2 Acts xv. 1-17. the ruins thereof, and set it up, which should be followed by the other, namely, the residue of men seeking after the Lord, and all the Gentiles upon whom his name is called. This latter part of the prophecy appears to harmonize with what St. Paul explains, Rom. xi. 12, 15; where he clearly reveals the purpose of God to be this, that after the restoration of his people, whom for a long season He would cast off, another great influx from among the Gentiles should follow, which is commonly described as their second call. St. Paul's address to the Athenians contains a reference to the day of the Lord,' as that "in which God will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom He hath ordained:" beside this, we meet with no other reference to the day of Christ in this part of the sacred Scriptures. We now proceed to consider the epistles of St. Paul in order. CHAPTER II. EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS. Of the several passages in this letter, which refer to the return of the Lord in glory, those in the ivth, viiith, and xith chapters are the 1 Acts xvii. 31. most interesting. In the iid, the apostle speaks of "the day when God shall judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ," but enters into no particulars which demand our notice. To the remarkable expressions, which he uses in the ivth chapter, respecting Abraham, let us, therefore, first attend. "For the promise that he should be the heir of the world was not to Abraham or to his seed through the law, but through the righteousness of faith." ver. 13. The righteousness of faith, therefore, which is the appointed mean of a sinner's justification in the sight of God, is the instrument of conveyance of this privilege, whatever it may be, "to Abraham" and "to his seed." That the privilege was future, when St. Paul wrote, must be clear from the terms employed; that it referred, and still must refer to the world in which we dwell, is also clear, for the same reason. It was then an inheritance, and an inheritance of this world, in which both Abraham and his seed were interested; and as neither Abraham nor his seed have as yet appeared in this character, at some future period they must. When will that period arrive; and what can we suppose to be the extent of the privilege? If that period have not yet come, neither can it, during the dispersion of Israel and Judah; wherefore we must look to the time of their |