that the " scales may fall from your eyes ;" and that, being *' brought from darkness unto light, you may be turned from the power of Satan unto God ! "]
2. To those who are come to God's holy mountain —
[You find that the promises of the Gospel have not disappointed you. If you are not " satisfied with the plente- ousness of God's house," it is not because the provisions are withheld from you, but because you want a better appetite for them. " Be not straitened in yourselves ;" and be sure you never shall be straitened in your God : " open your mouth wide, and he will fill it." Above all things remember to feed continually on " the body and blood of your beloved Lord ; for his flesh is meat indeed, and his blood is drink indeed^" And soon you shall be called to the banquet above, where " your Lord shall gird himself and come forth to serve you." Then shall these promises receive their full accomplishment ; and you shall possess that " fulness of joy which is at God's right hand for evermore."]
' John vi. 54, 55.
Christ's advent a ground of joy.
Isai. XXV. 9. It shall he said in that day, Lo, this is our God ; we have waited for him, and he tvill save us : this is the Lord; we have waited for him, we will he glad and rejoice in his salvation.
IF the benefits of Christianity were duly estimated by us, there would be no bounds to our attachment to it, or our delight in it. What an assemblage of images have we in the verses immediately preceding my text, to display the excellence of our holy religion ! In truth, the human mind is scarcely capable of com- bining such a variety of ideas as are here presented to us, so as to reduce them to one common focus, and at one view to comprehend them all. But the common result of all will doubtless be that which is declared in my text. The whole Church of God, and every individual member of it, will be impressed alike with wonder and admiration at a discovery of our redeeming God, and will exclaim, '' This is our God ; we have waited for him, and he will save us : this is
893. J Christ's advent a ground of joy. 615
the Lord; we have waited for him; we will be glad and rejoice in his salvation !"
Let us, then, consider this, L As the language of the Church at large —
The time spoken of in Scripture as " that day" sometimes refers to one period, and sometimes to another; and frequently comprehends several distinct periods, in which the things predicted shall receive a partial and progressive accomplishment. In the passage before us, the prophet may be considered as comprehending in his view,
1. The apostolic age —
[For many hundred years had the Jews been waiting for the Messiah's advent : and at that precise time, when Jesus came, were they " expecting him, as the consolation of Israel," and " looking for redemption in Jerusalem." And no sooner was he born into the world, than an angel appeared to certain shepherds, to announce his advent ; saying, " Behold, we bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people : for unto you is born, this day, a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord^" As for the joy which these tidings excited, we may judge of it, not only from the exultation of the shepherds, but from the expressions of that aged saint, who, on taking the infant Saviour in his arms, exclaimed, " Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace, for mine eyes have seen thy salvation"!"]
2. The millennial period —
[The Church is now expecting a second advent of our Lord, when he shall take to him his great power, and reign over the face of the whole earth. We verily believe that the time is near at hand, when " all kings shall bow down before him, and all nations shall serve him," and " all the Idngdoms of the world become his undivided empire." And oh ! what joy will his advent diffuse throughout the whole intelligent creation, both of Jews and Gentiles ! Of that time the Pro- phet Isaiah speaks, when he says, " Rejoice ye with Jerusalem, and be glad with her, all ye that love her: rejoice for joy with her, all ye that mourn for her : for thus saith the Lord, Be- hold, I will extend peace to her like a river, and the glory of the Gentiles like a flowing stream. And when ye see this, your heart shall rejoice, and your bones shall flourish like a herb''." And in the book of Revelation, the same event is thus