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would be scepticism and naturalism; that the powers of nature and reason would be so exalted, as to make it difficult to know what was really supernatural: that books of thrilling adventure, whether truth or fiction, would be most sought after, — those containing anything of religion would have to present it in a lively form, more to amuse the fancy, than to improve the heart : the doctrine of the inner word will yet produce great mischief; for philosophers will require a kernel without a shell, a Christ without a Bible, and from the most refined subtilties pass into the coarsest materialism : that it need not sur- prise any if men devoid of the truth take refuge in Popery : Socinian- ism and the Papacy, now seemingly widely apart, will bye and bye flow together, and bring everything to a crisis. u When events have arrived just at the finishing of the mystery of God, we shall hear the striking of that clock, which has so long been silent. One important advantage of contemplating God’s general economy in all ages is, that hereby we lose sight of our own petty self-interests : for we are occupied with things of superior interest, observing how God’s uni- versal purposes are advancing to their accomplishment. It also helps against the natural dread we have of death. Moreover, wdiilst careering in thought over the billows of departed ages, borne in thought on the current of time from century to century, the doings not only of private individuals, but even of the greatest monarchs, have seemed to me as the mere passing of a wave in the great ocean scene.” u God has often given a promise for His believing people to feed upon, and yet interposed many circumstances apparently adverse to its fulfilment ; the fulfilment has nevertheless been brought to pass, suddenly, and when least expected. So now as to the coming of Christ : Our business is to go on, living upon the promise of His coming. Upon our so doing depends the exercise of every Christian virtue.” 66 All the prophecies, even of the Old Testament, had Christ for their chief object ; and contained some points of reference to events more remote than that of His first coming .”
Dr John Robertson, an English physician, published a valuable volume of Extracts from Bengel’s Exposition of the Apocalypse, and from the Notes of the Gnomon upon it, London, 1757. Bengel in his Cyclus attempted to show that there was a real coherence in his progressive scale of Apocalyptical periods. However it was based on the erroneous opinion of astronomers in his day, that the mean tropical year consisted of 365 days, 5 hours, 49 minutes, and 12 seconds; from which he inferred, that after 252 Apocalyptical periods, i.e. 252 times 111^ years, or 280,000 years, a cycle of the solar system would be completed, and the planets would have returned to the same relative positions to one another and to the fixed stars, from which they set out at creation. But recent astronomers have found the mean tropical year is 365 days, 5 hours, 48 minutes, and 44 seconds [but Herschel, 49*7 seconds] : so that Bengel’s cycle can be no longer maintained. It was however only a subsidiary argu-
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