may be in its season. For it is strongly felt that when the truth, with its divine and perfect light, shines into the soul, it dispels the darkness, and finds a resting-place in the heart that desires to be subject to the ever-living Word of God. It is like the bringing in of a light to a dark place-it dispels the darkness; while the endeavour to combat with the darkness will not dispel it, and the two things-light and darkness-cannot combine.

May the consideration of these truths prove a blessing from Him who alone can bless. And may He enable us to practice that which He teaches, and to live in the power of the things which are unseen and eternal-abundantly blessing His own word to our souls.

In searching into these subjects a very large scope of Scripture will be before us.

The prophetic Scriptures of the Old Testament embrace five great distinct subjects, viz. :

1. The Corruption or Ruin of Israel, God's elect nation.

2. Judgment following this ruin, whether from the hand of the Gentiles or otherwise.

3. The Times of the Gentiles, and their judgment. 4. The Crisis, or short period of judgment when the Lord will make "short work upon the earth;"

introductory of that age when "the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of Jehovah, as the waters cover the sea." (Hab. ii. 14.)

5. The glory or Kingdom, which we know familiarly as the Millennium.

Prophecy is in the main occupied with earthly events; and that of the Old Testament is silent as to the mystery, "which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God." (Eph iii. 9.) "The mystery which was kept secret since the world began, but now is made manifest through the prophetic writings." (Romans xvi. 25, 26; διά τε γραφῶν προφητικῶν, i.e. the prophetic writings of the New Testament in which are revealed the mystery of "Christ and the Church.") God's dear Son having been rejected by the world and the Jew, is to have a heavenly bride-a church gathered to Him out of Jew and Gentile-while he is hidden in the heavens, by the Holy Ghost come down, which will be joint heir with Him of all the glory which the Father has given Him when He assumes openly the headship of all things.

I would make a remark upon 2 Peter i. 20, before passing on. "Knowing this first that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation." There have been certain partial fulfilments of prophecy in times past which, no doubt, bore largely in them the features of the occurrences to which, when fulfiled in

a primary application, they referred. But if we were to say that their scope ended there, we should miss the mind of the Spirit in the object of the scripture, and at once make it of private interpretation, by confining its application solely to the occurrence which had come to pass. Prophecy begins in the mind, and counsels, and self-conceived purposes of God, and only ends in the full display of Himself and in the glory to be perfected and displayed in His Son. It links together two things-the counsels of God and their accomplishment in Christ, We cannot, therefore, begin at a subsequent point, or stop at any prior to the end, without losing its great aim.

No matter how accurate may have been the apparent fulfilment of certain prophecies; when we come to examine the details, we are sure to find features which clearly show that when God was pleased to use the circumstances that were then coming, or through which those who were addressed were passing at the moment; and even these before Him,-He has always shown that He had other thoughts in view, reaching on to the accomplishment of His full purposes and glory; of which the matter then before Him served as a type. Instance the plague of locusts in Joel, which the Spirit of God uses to bring the consciences of the people before Him at the moment; and yet it forms an impressive figure of the judgment of Judah at the

hands of the northern army, and the deliverance of the nation and judgment of the Gentiles, at the time of the introduction of the kingdom. Many other instances could be adduced as to this principle.

CHAPTER II.

THE GENERAL SCOPE OF THE DEALINGS OF GOD.

WITH respect to this subject we will refer to three Scriptures: 1st, "But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law." (Gal. iv. 4.) 2nd, "In the dispensation of the fulness of times, he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth, even in him; in whom also we have obtained an inheritance.” (Eph. i.

10, 11.) 3rd, "And the angel that liveth for ever and ever.

sware by him

that there should

be time (delay) no longer: but in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he shall begin to sound, the mystery of God should be finished." (Rev. x. 6, &c.)

These three portions of Scripture mark out the great leading events or epochs of God's dealings towards the world. The first of them is past; and the two others manifestly future. We shall now endeavour to ascertain from Scripture to what past dealings and ways of God the expression in Galatians refers"When the fulness of the time was come." We must,