Practical reflections on the second advent

Chapter I

Scriptural Testimony continued yA ae . ; CHAPTER III.

Probable Reasons for the prominence given to this subject in Scripture. : atk : ; a

CHAPTER IV.

Probable Reasons continued . ¢ é : : ;

CHAPTER V.

CHAPTER VII,

Practical Reflections : ; ; A : 2

Page. 9 iv CONTENTS

CHAPTER VIII.

*

CHAPTER IX.

Address to Millennarians f

CHAPTER X.

Address to Millennarians . A

CHAPTER XI.

Address to Millenarians

CHAPTER XII.

CHAPTER XIII.

Address to Anti-Millennarians.

CHAPTER XIV.

Concluding Address Og | Ue

Preface

My object in undertaking this little work has been chiefly two-fold. First—In reference to those who, either from prejudiced alarm, excited by the very words ‘‘ Second Advent,” (as if all discussion, connected with this event, was necessarily associated with heritical or enthusiastic opinions,) or from any other cause, have not hitherto sufficiently directed their thoughts to the all-important subject, of which this volume treats. It has been my desire to induce such individuals to examine, in an unprejudiced and prayerful spirit, the testimony of Scripture on the point, and to ascertain, from the careful and devout perusal of its pages, what degree of prominence is given to the exhibition of the Second Advent of the Redeemer, in the development of the Gospel-scheme, and what practical purposes it is there represented as being designed to promote.

I cannot but feel convinced that the result of such an investi-

ation, if carried on in a teachable frame of mind, and with Ponts dependence on the divine guidance of the Holy Spirit, will be the persuasion, that this glorious event has a station of peculiar prominence, and authority, assigned to it, in the scriptural exhibition of the Gospel—that it is intended to subserve the most important practical results, connected both with the believer’s personal sanctification, and the spiritual welfare of the church of Christ—and that it possesses, as a stimulant to Christian watchfulness, patience, faithfulness, and zeal, in running his heavenward race, some considerations of a character peculiarly powerful, and peculiarly attractive to a Christian’s heart.

The second object, I have had in view, has been to offer a few admonitory hints, in (I trust) an humble and affectionate spirit, to those faithful followers of the adorable Redeemer who, while agreeing in their views of every doctrine essential to salvation, and in their grateful desire to glorify Him who is pre-

1* vi PREFACE.

cious to their souls, beyond all price, are constrained to differ we: interpretation of what is usually designated the millennarian scheme.

It has been my anxious wish, to warn them of some dangers, to which an excessive partiality for, or prejudice against, this scheme seems peculiarly to expose them; to persuade them to dwell rather on the essential points, of primary importance, connected with the Saviour’s glory, the church’s welfare, and their own. salvation, about which they are all agreed, than on those disputable points, of such subordinate importance, about which they differ; and to concentrate their thoughts and energies, (so far as the subject of unfulfilled prophecy is concerned,) on the exhibition and enforcement of those grand general views, in connection with the second coming of the Son of God—the magnificent prospects of blessedness and glory, which it unfolds to the eye of faith—the animating motives to Christian devotedness and zeal, which it supplies—and the sublime incentives to holiness of heart and life, which it enforces, with such peculiar solemnity of appeal, in which all the children of God are alike interested, and, as it were, identified together by this joint-participation of such precious promises, and such glorious hopes. While, therefore, they are united by such a bond of union, assuredly they should not allow any difference of opinion on any speculative subject, in which the glory of their common Saviour is not vitally engaged, to interrupt for a moment that harmony of Christian love, and Christian communion, which ought ever to subsist among all the members of the family of the redeemed.

Such being the object of this volume, it is manifest, that it will not supply to any zealous partizan, on either side of the muchcontroverted millennarian question, the smallest materials for obtaining a triumph over an opponent, as I have not attempted to establish any peculiar theory or system; but rather endeavoured to remind each of the two parties, how much, (on a subject, that seems purposely involved, as to its precise import, in great obscurity,) has been urged, both in the way of sound reasoning, and scriptural testimony, by the advocates of the system, from which they dissent*—and what reason, therefore, there is to state their own opinions with caution and humility, and to treat those of their opponents with candour and respect.

I have also been desirous to persuade them ever to remember, that the practical influences, which the realized anticipation of “the appearing of the great God our Saviour” is intended to exercise over the believer’s heart, and life, whether in the way of sanctification or comfort, are, to a very great extent, indepen-

* See a list of the most valuable works on the subject of unfulfilled prophecy in Bickersteth’s “ Practical Guide to the Prophecies.”

PREFACE. Vii dent of any peculiar views, as to the disputed points of the millennarian scheme. And that therefore assuredly all who love the Lord Jesus Christ, in sincerity and truth, however constrained conscientiously to differ on these points, both may and ought to agree in habitually fixing their thoughts and desires on the glorious event itself—cherishing its fondly-anticipated approach in their abiding recollection, as a most powerful stimulant to unceasing vigilance, unwearied exertion, and uncompromising faithfulness, in their Divine Master’s cause; and, amidst all their trials and tribulations, looking forward with patient expectation, and devout joy, to the arrival of that day, which will be to them, and all they love in Christ, the day of the full consummation of all their brightest hopes of the unutterable blessedness, which has been purchassd for them, at the costly price of their Redeemer’s infinitely-precious blood; and which, in all the fulness of its glory, will be bestowed upon them in the day of His appearing!

I cannot conclude, without earnestly entreating the fervent prayers of every Christian reader of these pages, that the divine blessing may rest upon this humble effort to promote the object, that should ever be dearest to the Christian’s heart. May that Omnipotent Spirit, who can put honor on the weakest instrumentality, vouchsafe, in His infinite condescension, to bless this little volume, as the means of leading even one careless sinner to seek for safety, peace, and happiness, where alone they can be found, beneath the shadow of a Saviour’s cross; and advancing even one of His own faithful followers in more abiding watchfulness, and spiritual preparedness for the day of His manifestation, and more abundant meetness for the inheritance among the saints in light. May He bless it as the means of inducing every child of God, who peruses it, habitually to try the lawfulness of every pursuit, in which he is engaged, and every recreation in which he indulges, by the simple but searching test, which the second coming of the Son of God supplies, for assuredly a safer or more scriptural one could not be adopted; and how immediately and incontestably would the unsuitableness of being engrossed by worldly pursuits, or being a partaker of worldly amusements, be made manifest, by the application of this test ; for what child of God would wish to be surprised, in the midst of such scenes, by the sudden appearing of the Lord from heaven! May this little volume also lead such of its readers as have hitherto neglected the subject, to the sober, serious, prayerful . study of that most important portion of God’s revealed word, unfulfilled prophecy, that they may be admonished by its warnings, cheered by its promises, and gladdened by the glorious prospects for the church of Christ which it unfolds! May the Spirit also vouchsafe to bless this work as the means of persuad-

Vill PREFACE.

ing any of His believing people, whom difference of opinion, on millennarian subjects, has in the least degree alienated from each other, to lay aside all those unkindly feelings, which are so peculiarly unbecoming in the servants of swch a Master, as the loving Saviour of mankind; and to walk together in love, treading in His footsteps, and maintaining, amidst all their diversities of speculative judgment in minor points, the unity of the Spirit, as fellow-heirs of the same glorious inheritance, in the bond of brotherly affection, and heavenly peace. Should so great an honour be put on this little work, even in a single instance, whiie I shall most unfeignedly rejoice, at having been made instrumental towards the accomplishment of such an object, to Him, to whom undividedly they are due, as the power and the blessing belong exclusively to Him, be ascribed, with the deepest gratitude, all the glory, and all the praise !

anes

SCRIPTURAL TESTIMONY.

WHEN some important scriptural truth is seized upon by individuals, of an enthusiastic temperament, whose piety is sincere, but not sober—and in the constitution of whose mental system an ardent imagination preponderates over a sound judgment, many deplorable consequences, not merely to the individuals themselves, but also to the cause of divine truth, are the unavoidable result. Nor is it perhaps one of the least disastrous of those consequences, that, in the minds of many Christians, of a soberer cast of character, the unauthorized speculations of human reason are so closely associated—I should rather say, identified, with the revealeddoctrines of divine truth, that the latter are unjustly involved in all the suspicion and censure, which the former deservedly incur. And thus the incrustation of human error is the cause, not merely of the beauty of the divine truth which it covers being concealed, and its form disfigured, but even of the truth itself bemg altogether neglected as unprofitable, if not condemned as injurious, to the very cause, of which (when properly understood,) it would be found to be at once an ornament and support.

It is from this habit of identifying the errors of

10 CHAPTER 1.

human exposition with the truth of divine revelation, that many have been led to regard with suspicion and dislike the doctrines of free grace, because they have been so frequently perverted to promote the unhallowed purposes of antinomian licentiousness. While others, observing how often personal holiness has been substituted, as the ground of a sinner’s acceptance, for the alone scriptural basis on which a sinner’s hope of salvation can rest—even the Redeemer’s righteousness have been led to embark in-an unhallowed crusade against those very truths, which constitute the ultimate design and highest glory of the doctrines of the Cros; —and, in the ardour of their zeal to destroy the proud, presumptuous claims of the self-righteous Pharisee, engage in an unholy warfare against that holiness, without which, (as a capacitating qualification, though not as a meritorious title, for Heaven’s happiness,) no man shall see the Lord.

But there is perhaps no doctrine of Scripture which has suffered more severely from the habit of confounding together the errors of man and the truth of God, than the all-important and most glorious doctrine of the second coming of the Son of God, to which the eye of the believer is, in Scripture, constantly directed to look, as to the glorious bow of Christian promise, shining amidst the clouds and darkness, that overshadow the

prospects of the Church’s latter days—the bow, on which the Christian voyager to eternity is taught to fix his steadfast gaze, that he may be cheered and gladdened by its divine radiance, amidst all the storms which he must expect to encounter, till he arrives at the only haven, where he will be for ever beyond their reach— the heavenly haven of eternal rest.

This doctrine, from which the believer has been, in the oracles of God, directed to draw the most animating motives for vigilance, zeal, holiness, and consolation, has been at various times, and never perhaps more remarkably than in our own day, so mixed up with startling heresies, and wild schemes of millennarian prophecy, that many sober-minded Christians have been led, I fear, to extend to the doctrine itself the feelings of suspicious alarm, justly excited by the extravagant theories of those, who have grafted upon it heretical opinions, or speculative dreams. And because it has been thus mixed up with the errors of heresy, or the reveries of enthusiasm, they have not given to it that place, in their own system of private meditation, or public teaching, which it occupies in Scripture ; and thus there arises a remarkable discrepancy between their statements, on many important and interesting scriptural subjects, and those of the word of God. Herein has been exhibited the result of a tendency, to which the human mind is smgularly prone. Inthe desire to avoid one extreme, many have rushed into the opposite. The difficulty of navigating between the Scylla and Charybdis of opposing errors has been experienced. While steering their course amidst surrounding perils, in their eagerness to escape from the whirlpool of extravagance, many have struck against the rock of indifference, on this momentous subject. Because one class have given the second coming of the Son of God an undue prominence, placing it as the principal figure in the foreground of every representation of divine truth, and this, not exhibited in the sober tints of scriptural statement, but arrayed in all the gorgeous colouring of an enthusiastic imagination ; the other class have as unduly depreciated its importance, almost entirely neglecting to introduce it into their portraitures of a Christian’s privileges, and a Christian’s hopes.

Because the former have ventured to predict the exact period of the Redeemer’s promised advent, forgetting, “that it is not given unto them to know the times and the seasons, which the Father has put in His own power,” and some have even dared, with presumptuous precision, to fix the very date of that day, of which “ knoweth no man—no—nor the angels in heaven,” but in the bosom of the eternal Father the awful secret lies concealed ; the latter have neglected sufficiently to hold it up before the eye of faith, as the glorious object on which the believer ought to fasten his fond and steadfast gaze; or to remind themselves and others, (as frequently and earnestly as Scripture requires them to do,) that suddenly as the lightning’s flash, unexpected and unwelcome to the world, as a thief in the night, the day of the Lord will come! And that therefore, now especially, when crowding signs in heaven and earth seem to betoken the approach of some eventful crisis, in the history of our race, professing Christians should be always ready—prepared to stand before the Son of Man, because we know neither the day nor the hour, wherem He may come! but we do know, that come in what day or at what hour He will, blessed are those servants of His, whom when He cometh, He shall find watching !

Obliged, by providential appointment, to withdraw from the field of active labour, and left to stand alone on the watch-tower of observation, I have been led to think, after having attentively noticed some of the remarkable signs of the times, that, in the present peculiar circumstances of the Church of Christ, an attempt to moderate between the two extremes, to which I have alluded, if undertaken in an humble, affectionate, and prayerful spirit, might not be altogether unproductive of spiritual good, or unaccompanied with the divine blessing.

In considering this deeply interesting and important subject, I propose to adopt the following plan :—

First—to bring forward some of the more striking scriptural testimonies, that bear upon the subject.

Secondly—To suggest some probable reasons for the second advent of the Redeemer being exhibited, to the extent that it is in Scripture, as the object of a believer’s habitual contemplation.

Thirdly—To draw some practical inferences and exhortations from the view taken of this glorious event—and

Fourthly—To address myself, in the language of affectionate advice, to the two classes of character to which I have before adverted, as inclined, on this subject, to adopt opposite extremes.

We are now to consider, according to our proposed plan,

1st.—Some of the striking scriptural testimonies on this subject.

In selecting these, I shall confine myself to the New Testament—not because I do not think that the Old contains many, which might be fairly proved, by the soundest principles of honest imterpretation, to bear upon the point—but because I wish to avoid altogether any passages, of at all a doubtful or disputable character; and to bring forward only such, as in their obvious meaning unquestionably refer to the second advent of the Son of God, when He shall personally come in His glory, in visible and. most awful manifestation. And such passages (as might have been expected,) are to be looked for chiefly in that portion of the Word of God, which contains the clearest announcement of the promises, and prospects, in their full and final consummation, declared, by the voice of prophecy, to be reserved for the church of Christ.

I am sure that any individual, who has not made the subject a matter of previous investigation, would be surprised at the result of an attentive research, by discovering, how frequently the second coming of the Lord Jesus Christ is, in Scripture, brought before the believer’s view as an event which he ought to keep in constant recollection, to stimulate him to incessant watchfulness and untiring patience, in running the race set before him—and how those exhortations to unwearied diligence, and zeal, and perseverance, whether in advancing the life of God in our souls, or the cause of God in the world, which we are in the habit of deriving from other sources—particularly from the certainty of death, and the uncertainty of the time of its approach, are in the Word of God, with a frequency and solemnity the most impressive, derived from the certainty of the second coming of the Son of God, and the uncertainty of the day or the hour When He will come!

A few quotations will suffice to establish this assertion.

Let us look, then, for example, to the Christian duty of watchfulness. Would we exhort a child of God— one, in whose heart the love of a crucified Saviour has been shed abroad by the Holy Ghost—one, whose hope of salvation rests, simply and unmixedly, on the merits of a Saviour’s sacrifice, and righteousness, and whose life is constrainingly and consistently influenced by a grateful desire to promote a Saviour’s glory— would we exhort such a one to be always in a state of Christian watchfulness, and preparation, in the scriptural sense of the words? Do we not draw our exhortations, principally, from the solemn reflection, that in the midst of life we are in death—and that we know not the hour when the awful summons may be sent to us— prepare to meet thy God, for this night thy soul shall be required of thee !”

Now, I do not mean, for one moment, to deny that such exhortations are most suitable, and supply most powerful motives to a Christian’s mind, for maintaining an habitual state of sleepless vigilance in the discharge of every Christian duty, and constant readiness, at a moment’s warning, to appear in the immediate presence of the holy God. 4

But when the Saviour would inculcate on his followers the necessity of this ceaseless watchfulness, what is the consideration from which He derives His awful and awakening charge? “Watch,” says the Divine Teacher, “ for ye know neither the day, nor the hour, wherein the Son of Man cometh’”—and, lest we might suppose the exhortation was intended only for those to whom He was then speaking, He adds the emphatic words—“ What I say unto you, I say unto all—Watch !”

I am fully aware that it may be said, that, for every practical purpose, this warning may be understood as equally impressive, whether we consider it to refer to the uncertainty of the hour of death, or of the second advent of the Lord from heaven. Nor do I forget, that to every individual, the day of his death is, virtually, the day of the coming of the Son of Man—as the seal of unchangeableness is equally stamped on his eternal destiny by the stroke of death, or the appearance of the Saviour—and either event equally terminates the period of a believer's watchfulness, and opportunities for labouring on earth, in the service of the Lord he loves. And so far from wishing to weaken, I would rather, (had I the power,) give increased emphasis to every motive for uninterrupted watchfulness, and abounding zeal in the work of the Lord, derived from the reflection how soon must—how suddenly may, come that night, wherem no man can any more watch or work. Still, if there be, (as I cannot but conclude, after the most attentive consideration of the chapter, from which the passage is taken, especially the 30th and 36th verses, that there is,) mcontrovertible reason to believe, that the event to which our blessed Lord wished to direct the thoughts of His disciples then, and in every future age, as the grand stimulant to incessant watchfulness, was His own promised return to our world—so certain as to its ultimate fulfilment, but so uncertain as to its precise period, then does it seem to me incompatible with that profound respect, which we owe to every word which has been transmitted to us, as uttered by the Redeemer’s lips, habitually to substitute for the event, which he has thus stamped with the seal of His choice and approbation, as the appropriate motive for His people’s watchfulness, any other event, which we may consider equally well adapted for this purpose.

Surely—could we even discover no peculiar marks of wisdom in the choice He had made, (and I am far, indeed, from believing this to be the case here,)—once we have reason to conclude, that, on any point, we have clearly revealed to us the mind and will of Christ the only attitude that then becomes us, as His disciples, is that of the humble Mary, sitting, in child-like teachableness, at His feet—to hear with devout attention, and receive with unquestioning faith, every word, whether of warning or encouragement, of admonition or instruction, that proceeds out of His mouth.

We shall be led to adopt the same conclusion, with increased force of conviction, if we examine attentively the parable of the ten virgins.

In this singularly beautiful and impressive parable, the same duty of constant watchfulness is enjoined, and on the same ground, as in the preceding chapter.

The object presented to the eye of the believer, as the motive to stimulate him to be always watchful— always ready—is, not his own death, but the second coming of the Son of God! “ Behold the Bridegroom cometh, go you forth to meet him!” The happiness he is led to anticipate is not so much derived from looking forward to the day when he shall depart, to be with Christ, as to the day when the Heavenly Bridegroom shall come, to celebrate His espousals with His beloved Bride, the Church—and they that are ready shall go in with Him to the marriage; and

SCRIPTURAL TESTINONY. 17 shall know by blissful experience, how “ Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb!”

Now I most willingly admit here, as before, that it is the very same line of conduct that should be pursued by a child of God, in the anticipation, either of the sudden appearance of the messenger of death, or the sudden appearance of the Sonof God. Still I would observe, as before, that since the Saviour has here so expressly marked out the uncertainty of the period of His promised return to our world, as the ground on which He presses on His people the all-important duty of incessant watchfulness, we ought not, in the display of our wisdom, to substitute any other ground, exclusively or prominently, for the one He has chosen, in the exercise of His.

I say, exclusively or prominently—because I do not think that we ought tg overlook those other grounds, derived from the uncertain tenure of life, and the immediate blessedness of those who die in the Lord, since neither the Saviour, nor his apostles did so—but I do think that we ought to give to His second coming precisely that place in owr teaching, which it occupied in His—and we have seen, I trust, enough even already to convince us that this was no obscure or subordinate station, but one of conspicuous prominence, and preeminent authority.

Let but the second coming of the Lord preside in this, its divinely appointed place in our public and private ministrations, and then let every other motive, which Scripture sanctions, be urged with the degree of force and frequency that Scripture assigns.

Nor must one obvious, but not unimportant observation be omitted—that if the Redeemer considered such an exhortation suitable, at the period when He Himself was upon earth, knowing, as He did, the vast interval of time that must elapse before He should

O*

18 ' CHAPTER 1.

revisit it, with what an immense accession of force must the suitableness of such an exhortation apply to us, on whom indeed the ends of the world seem to have come—to us, whose providential lot is cast na period, apparently distinguished by so. many of the spiritual signs, which characterize the latter days of the history of the Church of Christ.

Is not this pre-eminently atime of “ distress of nations, with perplexity?’ Does not that word “ perplexity” designate, with an accuracy, most painfully correct, the aspect of affairs, in whatever direction we look—at home or abroad, towthe Church, or to the world? And if we were asked to describe the general tone of feeling, that pervades all characters and classes m our day, could we find terms more strictly appropriate, than to describe the present as a period, when “men’s hearts were failing them for fear, and for looking the things that are coming upon the earth?”

Is there not a general expectation, whether derived from the convulsions of the political, or the excitement of the reba world—from consulting the records of history, or the page of prophecy, that we are on the eve of some mighty change, some tremendous catastrophe, in the history of our race!

Can we observe the fearful spread of infidelity, the increased energy of the conflict between the powers of light and the powers of darkness, or the restless movements of the spirit of revolutionary phrenzy, which, under the specious name of reform, is stalking, with gigantic strides, throughout the earth, uprooting things long established—overturning things, that appeared secure of such immortality as eayth ean give— threatening to rend asunder the very descconia of society, and to dissolve the entire fabric of civilized government, throughout the world, can we observe all this, and not be conscious that the earth is trembling beneath our feet, as if it felt within its labouring womb the threatenmg throes of an approaching shock, that will convulse it to its centre ? '

And can we see and feel these awful signs of the times, crowding around us, and never hear the whisperings of a yet more awful voice, that seems to break, more and more distinctly every day, on the attentive ear! ‘Behold the Bridegroom is coming! Watch, therefore, for ye know neither the day, nor the hour, when He will come!”

Let me not, however, be misunderstood, as if, in using these expressions, I had fallen into the very - error I have previously deplored, and was presuming, with unwarrantable confidence, to declare—“ The Lord is at hand.”

I would not attempt with presumptuous hand to pull aside, or with unhallowed eye to pierce through the thick veil of intentional obscurity, which God Himself has flung over the precise period of the second advent of His Beloved Son, and which the event itself will alone liftup! But as, on the one hand, we ought not to attempt to discover what God has determined to conceal from our view, or even desire to know what God has not thought fit to reveal; so neither ought we, on the other hand, to overlook what God intended us to observe, or to be heedless and unreflecting spectators of what God has commanded us to ponder seriously, and solemnly lay to heart.

We should remember that it is equally disrespectful to the Divine Majesty, to pry, with unhallowed curiosity, into the “ secret things, which belong to the Lord our God”—or to neglect, with as unhallowed carelessness, the things which He has revealed, as matters of warning and admonition for us, and for our children. That as the one isa sinful encroachment on the Divine prerogative, so is the other a sinful contempt of the Divine condescension—and that the very same lips, which rebuked the former by the grave reproof—* It is not for you to know the times, and the seasons, which the Father has put in His own power’—have rebuked the latter in those words of yet severer condemnation — Ye hypocrites! ye can discern the face of the sky, and can ye not discern the signs of the times ?”

To neglect the signs of the times is then, in the Saviour’s estimation, no proof of superior wisdom ; but is branded with His srongly marked displeasure, as a proof of stupidity in divine, which is but rendered more conspicuous and censurable by sagacity in earthly, things.

Their skill in prognosticating the character of the coming weather, is made the ground of condemning the spiritual ignorance or carelessness of those, who, from signs, more clear in their prediction, and more certain in their fulfilment, neglected to prognosticate the character of coming events—so that to anticipate what from scriptural signs it seems reasonable to expect, and to be prepared, accordingly, for approaching emergencies, which, to the experienced eye of faith, are seen to cast their shadows before them, as they are drawing nigh, seems to be not only matter of permission, but of precept; not only allowed, but enjoimed us, by the Lord!