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the moon in the night, to serve in the absence of the sun. Christ's coming as he did to the children of Israel in Moses' time, his appearing first to him in the burning bush, and in such a wonderful way redeeming them out of Egypt, (which was, if I may so say, the Old Testament redemption,) redeeming them, and revealing himself to them by Moses, and entering into covenant with them by Moses; (their great prophet, and king, and intercessor like to Christ, and that was instead of God to Pharaoh, and instead of Christ to the people, and was as it were the Old Testament Christ, and therefore that church is called his body, by Jude, v. 9 of his epistle;) his coming down out of heaven to dwell among the people, whereby he as it were bowed the heavens and came down, and the mountains flowed down at his presence; his speaking to the people with an audible voice; his speaking to Moses face to face, as a man speaks with his friend; his appearing in the form of a man to the seventy elders, (when they saw the God of Israel, and did eat and drink, which is spoken of as a new thing,) and afterwards leading them into Canaan, and working such wonders for them by Joshua, who bears the name of Jesus, and was called the shepherd and stone of Israel in Jacob's blessing of Ephraim, and was to the people in Christ's stead, as their leader and captain of salvation: I say those things were, as it were, the first conjunction of the moon with the sun, whence she set out in her revolution, when the gospel light, or the revelation of Christ, and the great truths respecting him, was but very small and dim, being almost wholly hid under types and shadows. After this, it gradually increased; the prophets that were afterwards in Israel were more clear than Moses was in what they taught of gospel truth. The succession of prophets began in Samuel, and David had much of the spirit of prophecy. Gospel light was much more full and clear in the revelations made by him than it had been in any revelation the church enjoyed before. But in the revelations that were given by the prophet Isaiah, gospel light is fullest and clearest of all beyond what we have in any other Old Testament revelation. This was at about the middle of the space between Moses and Christ. In Isaiah, the Old Testament church enjoyed gospel light as it were reflected from a full moon; there was no prophet afterwards that spake so fully of Christ, and afterwards the spirit of prophecy diminished. It continued in a smaller degree, till some time after the captivity, and then wholly ceased in Malachi, or a little after his time; and the minds of the people became more and more darkened, as to their notions of Christ, and his kingdom, till Christ's time; when they were exceeding corrupt and carnal, expecting a temporal Messiah. They were under blind guides that led them into the ditch, and had in a great measure made void the commandment of God by their tradition,

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as the light of the moon ceases as she approaches her conjunction with the sun.

[306] Rev. xxi. 22. "And the street of the city was pure gold, like unto transparent glass." This does most livelily represent the perfect purity of that city and its inhabitants. In the most stately and magnificent cities in the world, however beautiful the buildings are, yet the streets are dirty and defiled, being made to be trodden under foot; but the very streets of this heavenly city are so pure, that their being like pure gold does not sufficiently represent the purity of them, but they appear also like clear glass, or crystal. If there be the least dirt or defilement, it discovers itself in that which is transparent; but those golden streets appeared perfectly clear, without the least speck to lessen the transparency. Christ represents as though the saints that he has washed, though they are clean, yet while in this world have defiled feet, they need to be often washing their feet, but in that world their feet shall be perfectly pure, so as not at all to defile the streets. This is an evidence that what is treated of in those two last chapters of Revelations is the heavenly state of the church.

[470] Rev. xxii. 11. "He that is unjust, let him be unjust still," &c. That the thing which is intended by these words was, That now, the revelation of the mind and will of God was finished, the great standing rule of faith and practice sealed, no further means of grace were to be expected, and no additions to the word of God, and no other revelations, should be given till his last coming; and that therefore they that would not well improve those means and this revelation, and were not made righteous and holy thereby, should continue in a state of sin for ever. God would never provide any further means than this word, those Holy Scriptures which were now completed and sealed. I say, that this is Christ's meaning, is much confirmed by the words of the same glorious person, with which are ended and sealed the visions of Daniel, Dan. xii. 9, 10. "Go thy way, Daniel, for the words are closed up and sealed till the time of the end. Many shall be purified and made white and tried, but the wicked shall do wickedly, and none of the wicked shall understand, but the wise shall understand." Daniel desired a further revelation to be given to him concerning those matters that had been represented to him, as in the preceding verses; but Christ here signified to him that the vision and revelation, that was to be given concerning those matters unto the church of Israel, was now finished, completed and sealed, and all the rest that he curiously desired to pry into was concealed, and should be so to the time of the end.

And moreover signifies that this revelation of them, that already had been given, was sufficient for the ends that God designed it, to give wisdom, and be a means of the sanctification of his own people but, as for the rest, they will not understand nor will be reclaimed from their wickedness. If they would not make a good improvement of the revelation that is now given, neither would they if a further revelation should be given. Therefore they that will not be made wise and holy by what is revealed, shall have no further revelation, they shall have no further means to make them wise, or bring them to repentance. They that are wise and holy shall increase in wisdom, and be built up in holiness by this revelation; but they that are unwise, let them continue without understanding, and they that are unholy and unrighteous, let them continue still to do wickedly.

END OF VOL. IX.

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