dresses to Ruth,) to signify as much as come to thy kingdom; and the morsel dipped in vinegar, to denote the reproaches and torments of the Messiah. Which is an argument, that they expected such a king as should be exposed to such sufferings as our blessed Saviour endured; who saith in the Psalmist, They gave me vinegar to drink."" Mr. Scott adds, "The interpretation is indeed most absurd; yet it is remarkable as tending to prove that point." 66 In proceeding to the 1st book of Samuel," the illustrious prophet, reformer, deliverer, and judge of Israel," we must remember that the first twenty-four chapters are probably all that were written by him whose name they bear. "The narrative itself," says Mr. Scott, in his preface to the 1st Samuel, may in some measure be considered as prophetical, recording many typical events, which had their accomplishment in Christ. And the song of Hannah concludes with a prophecy of our Lord, in which He is for the first time predicted expressly as the Messiah, or Anointed of God. ii. 10." The passage of which he speaks is the following. "The adversaries of the Lord shall be broken to pieces: out of heaven shall He thunder upon them: the Lord shall judge the ends of the earth; and He shall give strength to his king, and exalt the horn of his anointed." His note on the passage is worthy of attention, as the reader will find who refers to it. In many parts of the sacred writings reference is continually made to the mighty works of Jehovah, in Egypt, in the wilderness, and in Canaan. Here we find an illustration of the remark; and when Hannah says, "Out of heaven shall He thunder upon them," the mind is immediately turned to Mount Sinai, when "there were thunders, and lightnings, and a thick cloud upon the mount, and the voice of the trumpet exceeding loud; so that all the people that was in the camp trembled." And so terrible was the sight, that Moses said, "I exceedingly fear and quake." These were the accompaniments of the delivery of the law. And when the Lord shall come to avenge the breach of that law on "the world of the ungodly," need we marvel that the same accompaniments are foretold, as then to be made manifest, which attended its delivery to impress upon the hearts of men its awful character and sanction? 1 But let us attend more closely to Hannah's prophecy. "The adversaries of the Lord shall be broken to pieces." When? Let the Spirit of the Lord reply from the first Psalm. "Then shall He speak unto them in his wrath, and vex them in his sore displeasure. Yet have I set my king upon my holy hill of Zion." "Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron, thou shalt dash 1 Exod. xix. 16. 2 Heb. xii. 21. But do them in pieces like a potter's vessel." we need further information? Let us attend to the Revelation of Jesus Christ which He made to his servant John. "And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse, and He that sat upon him was called faithful and true, and in righteousness He doth judge and make war. His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns; and He had a name written, that no man knew but He himself. And He was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood; and his name is called THE WORD OF GOD. And the armies which were in heaven followed Him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean. And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it He shall smite the nations, and He shall rule them with a rod of iron; and He treadeth the wine-press of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God." The event, therefore, which Hannah foretold, was not fulfilled in the days of David; nor was it in the days of St. John; neither will it be until Christ comes forth as King of kings, and Lord of lords, having on his head διαδήματα πολλα, even many diadems, in token of his then taking to himself as his right all the kingdoms of the earth and the glory of them." 1 Rev. xix. 11-15. 2 "The crown sɛpavoc is no where in this book used as the hieroglyphical mark of kingly authority upon earth, but uniformly the diadem diadnμa. Thus the dragon in imperial Rome The other parts of this prophecy point also as clearly to the time of Christ's second coming. "The Lord shall judge the ends of the earth." When our Lord first appeared, He taught the church this great truth, that the Father had committed all judgment unto the Son.' But, to prevent misapprehension as to the time of his exercising this kingly prerogative, He told them, that, He then came, "not to destroy men's lives but to save them," 2 "not to judge the world but to save the world." The season of judgment, therefore, was reserved; and reserved until his second advent, when He "shall judge the quick and the dead at his appearing and his kingdom."4 3 Passing by the anointing of Saul and the early part of his reign, we come to the interesting history of "David, the anointed of the God of Jacob," who was as remarkable a type of Christ. as any with which we meet in Scripture. appears having on his head diadημaтa έπтα, seven diadems: the beast, a symbol of decemregal Rome, or the empire divided into ten kingdoms, appears having on his horns, chap. xiii, dɛкa diadnμara, ten diadems. Christ himself, when He appears as King of kings and Lord of lords, to possess all the kingdoms of the earth, has on his head, chap. xix. 12, dɩadnμara ñoλλa, many diadems; although when seen previously in another capacity as king of Zion, or the prophet of his church reaping the earth, i. e. gathering his elect, He appears wearing the pavog or crown. Rev. xiv. 14." Scheme of prophetic arrangement of the Rev. E. Irvine and Mr. Frere critically examined by W. Cuninghame, Esq. p. 41. 1 John v. 22, 27. 2 Luke ix. 56. 42 Tim. iv. 1. 39 CHAPTER III. THE JOINT HISTORIES OF DAVID AND SOLOMON TYPICALLY CONSIDEred. THE neglect of types, as an appointed mean of spiritual instruction, has drawn forth a rebuke from Jehovah, when pleading with his church in a former age, Hos. xii. 10; and it exposes us, who are guilty of it at this day, to a repetition of the same. But, whilst I would endeavour to avoid the evil of such neglect, by bestowing upon them the attention which they deserve, it is not my wish to fall into the opposite error, and strain them beyond their legitimate meaning. The fact appears to be this, that the whole of the Old Testament Scriptures are replete with types; that, commencing with the first Adam, "who was a figure of Him that should come," and concluding with the last of the prophets, there is scarcely an eminent Scripture character, who, in his name, office, or in some particular, did not shew forth Him, who combined in his mysterious person both God and man, the several offices of Prophet, Priest, and King: the great Covenant Head of an elect body: the true Passover, or Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world; and the one Mediator between God and sinners, who as a daysman between them could |