the earth, this kingdom shall be received up into glory, as one indivisible portion of the universal kingdom of Jesus the Son of God, and shall throughout eternity, in a state of glory, continue the same kingdom, having shone upon the earth a terrestrial body, the moon-it shall shine in heaven a celestial body, the sun of the spiritual firmament. Thus the dominion shall not pass away, and the kingdom shall not be destroyed. The prophecy of Isaiah which has hitherto been applied to the Son of God, as the Messiah, the Redeemer of mankind, has been erroneously interpreted, because its very terms show that the subject of it is not a Divine person. "For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulders: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and peace, there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this." (Isa. ix. 6, 7.) He is said to be a child and a son-a man-child was to be born. The government shall be upon his shoulders; and yet Isaiah elsewhere says, "To him whom man despiseth, to him whom the nation abhorreth, (these terms are used comparatively with his glory, and relate to the time of his training before his manifestation,) to a servant of rulers, kings shall see and arise, princes also shall worship, because of the Lord that is faithful, and the Holy One of Israel, and he shall choose thee." (Isa. xlix. 7.) His name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor. So Isaiah further says, "Behold, my servant shall deal prudently, he shall be exalted and extolled, and be very high. As

many were astonished at thee: his visage was so marred more than any man, and his form more than the sons of men: (this refers to the fiery trial of both body and spirit through which he should be made to pass:) so shall he sprinkle many nations; the kings shall shut their mouths at him; for that which had not been told them shall they see; and that which they had not heard shall they consider." (Isa. lii. 13-15.) His name shall also be called "The mighty God." Jesus says of Himself, "I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty:" the name of the child was to be only the mighty. Angels are called gods; and in the Revelation the man is represented as a mighty angel coming down from heaven, clothed with a cloud. The name, the mighty God, signifies a mighty, but not the almighty Spirit; and he is called the mighty, because, excepting Gabriel, who stands in the presence of God, there is none who can hold with him in the things that are noted in the Scripture of truth. His name shall be called, The everlasting Father: Christ is the eternal Son, and cannot with propriety be called the everlasting Father. The man who was to come would be both a son and a father; the son of earthly parents, and therefore called a man-child, whereas Christ was called the Son of the Highest, Immanuel, God with us; he would be the father of children like other men upon earth. Of a man it might be said, that he was both a son and a father; but of Christ it can only be said that He is a Son, or a Brother; for although He is the author and finisher of our faith, He is but the Son, having life in Himself, as the Father hath; and that life proceeds from the Father and the Son as one. The Father and the Spirit are one in the Son; but it would

be as reasonable to call a man's body his mind, although they are two in one, as to call the eternal Son the eternal Father, because He is one with the Father. In no sense can it be said of the glorious Redeemer, that He is a Father: He is the only begotten Son; and when the apostle Paul applies to Him the saying, "Behold I and the children which God hath given me," he precedes it with this other saying, "I will declare thy name unto my brethren, in the midst of the church will I sing praise unto thee." (Heb. ii. 12, 13.) But he is said to be everlasting; not from everlasting to everlasting, the same yesterday, to-day, and for ever. The kingdom set up at the end of the world is called everlasting, although it had a beginning; so a man translated without tasting of death, would be truly everlasting, and yet have had a beginning. His name shall be called The Prince of Peace: Christ is called the Prince of Life; but He is nowhere called the Prince of Peace; and as if to prevent the application of this passage to Himself, He says, "Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I come not to send peace, but a sword." (Mat. x. 34.) No doubt Christ is the Prince of Peace, for He alone can give that peace of mind which passeth all understanding; but this prophecy refers to an external peace on earth, when men shall study the art of war no more, and the mission of the person referred to in this prophecy will result in this peace, for he shall restore all things, and then shall come the end. Solomon's peaceful reign of forty years, and Melchizedek the king of Peace, were types of what was to come. "Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from

henceforth even for ever." Sitting upon David's throne indicates that it is first an earthly kingdom, and that the person must appear in human form, so as to sit upon David's throne: as to its everlasting duration, it is the same with Daniel's prophecy already explained. "The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this." God is all in all; and let no man, even the greatest among men, dare to say or do any thing as of himself; "I am God, said the Lord of hosts, and besides me there is no Saviour, and my glory will I not give to another." Man is nothing, can do nothing, and cannot even know any thing, except it be given him from above; and while we must not limit God as to the extent of honour and glory to which He may be pleased to raise one or all men, still, upon no one point is there more need for caution than upon this, for however exalted a man may be in fulfilment of God's purpose, he will still be an at infinite, an immeasurable distance from Jehovah Himself, who is exalted in inapproachable excellencies far above all heavens, and fills all things. Whatever is now done upon the earth is the work of God, and to Him, and Him only, must all glory, and honour, and power be ascribed, for He alone hath created all things, and for His pleasure they are and were created.

When Nebuchadnezzar, 606 years before Christ, besieged Jerusalem, " and the Lord gave Jehoiakim king of Judah into his hand, with part of the vessels of the house of God, which he carried into the land of Shinar, to the house of his god: the king spake unto Ashpenaz, the master of his eunuchs, that he should bring ce tain of the children of Israel, and of the king's seed, and of the princes. Now among these was one Daniel, as also Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah.” (Daniel i. 2, 3, 6.)

"As for these four children, God gave them knowledge and skill in all learning and wisdom: and Daniel had understanding in all visions and dreams." (Ver. 17.) Nebuchadnezzar dreamed dreams, wherewith his spirit was troubled, but the dream went from him, and he called for the Chaldean magicians, astrologers, and sorcerers, and demanded of them to show the dream, and the interpretation thereof. "The Chaldeans answered before the king, and said, There is not a man upon the earth that can show the king's matter: therefore there is no king, lord, nor ruler, that asked such things at any magician, or astrologer, or Chaldean. And it is a rare thing that the king requireth; and there is none other that can show it before the king, except the gods, whose dwelling is not with flesh. For this cause the king was angry and very furious, and commanded to destroy all the wise men of Babylon. And the decree went forth that the wise men should be slain; and they sought Daniel and his fellows to be slain." "Daniel went to his house, and made the thing known to Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, his companicns: that they would desire mercies of the God of heaven concerning this secret; that Daniel and his fellows should not perish with the rest of the wise men of Babylon. Then was the secret revealed unto Daniel in a night vision.” This dream was a prediction of the history of the world until the end; and from thence, until the present time, no man has appeared possessing the peculiar wisdom of the first Daniel, in relation to God's secret purpose. A man-child was to be born, another Daniel, who would be a judge for God, and give decisions in His name: a reed, who would be a measure like unto a rod, to restore all things. From the time of Nebuchadnezzar's taking