Daniel repeatedly declares, that " the stone which has been cut out without hands shall break in pieces all the kingdoms of the earth, and become a great mountain, and fill the whole earth," and " stand for ever1;" and that " all people, nations, and languages, shall serve" our adorable Redeemer; and that " his dominion should never pass away V Habakkuk assures us, that " the knowledge of the Lord shall in that day cover the earth, as deeply and extensively as the waters cover the sea1." Zechariah also, who delights to dwell on this glorious subject, asserts, that " the Lord shall be King over all the earth; that in that day there shall be one Lord, and his name one : " and that " from that time there shall be no more the Canaanite in the house of the Lord of hosts111." Thus, without multiplying passages to the same effect, we see, beyond a doubt, that a blessed season is approaching, when God will, as it were, " create all things new11," and there shall be " new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness0."]
It will not be unprofitable to consider our text,
II. In reference to the present time —
But here we must notice it rather with regret —
[Though so many centuries have elapsed since the delivery of this prophecy, we are, though not in time, yet in appearance, almost as far as ever from its accomplishment. There is not one sixth of the human race that have ever so much as heard of the Lord Jesus Christ ; and of those who are called by his name, the great mass are as far from any spiritual knowledge of him as the heathen themselves. Look through Europe, or through our own highly-favoured kingdom, or even through our own immediate neighbourhood, and say, Whether you see, or hear of, any thing resembling the description in our text? Where do we find that ardent desire after God; that flocking of multitudes to Mount Zion ; that surrender of them- selves to God as living sacrifices; that determination to lose no time, but to press forward with increasing ardour, till they have found their rest in Christ ? Here and there an individual may be found that is inquiring the way to Zion : but what appearance is there of a cloud, borne forward by the breath of the Almighty ; or of a flock winging their way to Zion, with a zeal that regards no obstacle, and a rapidity that suffers no delay ? I may rather ask, Where is the place in which the great mass of the inhabitants would not regard such zeal as an enthusiasm that was to be repressed, rather than as a piety
i Dan. ii. 34, 35, 44. k Dan. vii. 14. ' Hab. ii. 14.
m Zech. xiv. 9, 21. » Isai. lxv. 17. ° 2 Pet. iii. 13.