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pected glorious state of the Christian church, which is spoken of, Isai. xxv. 6. This feast was on the seventh month of the year, which was a kind of an holy sabbatical month, as the seventh day of the week was an holy day, and the seventh year an holy year, and also the year of Jubilee, at the end of seven times seven years: so this glorious state of the church is to be in the seventh age of the world, or seventh thousand years. The feast of tabernacles was the greatest feast in the month, it was to be kept on that month, after Israel were prepared for it by the feast of trumpets and the Day of Atonement, both in the same month. So way shall be made for the joy of the church of God in its glorious state on earth, by the preaching of the gospel, and deep repentance, and humiliation for its great sins and long continued deadness and carnality.

So

The feast of tabernacles was the last feast they had in the whole year, before the face of the earth was destroyed by the winter. Presently, after the feast of tabernacles was over, a tempestuous season began; see Acts xxvii. 9. "Sailing was now dangerous, because the feast was now already past." this feast of the church will be the last feast she shall have on earth; the last pouring out of the Spirit, before the lower world is destroyed. The feast of tabernacles was kept when they had gathered in the fruit of their land; Levit. xxiii. 39; and is called the feast of ingathering, at the end of the year. So this great spiritual feast of the church shall occur after God's ingathering of both his harvest and vintage spoken of Rev. xiv. It will be the time of his gathering in all his good fruits before winter, as it were; that is, before the destruction of the world, a time wherein the saints of the earth will come to their full ripeness.

The feast of tabernacles was kept in commemoration of God's setting up his tabernacle among the children of Israel in the wilderness, but in that glorious time God will above all other times set up his tabernacle among men, in the midst of his spiritual Israel, as is prophesied, Ezek. xxxvii. 27, and proclaimed in Rev. xxi. 3. The world was created about the time of the feast of tabernacles. See No. 204, on Levit. 23. 34-36. So this is the creation of the new heavens, and new earth. The temple of Solomon was dedicated at the time of the feast of tabernacles; then God descended in a pillar of cloud, and dwelt in the temple; so this is the time wherein the temple of God should be erected, and beautified, and dedicated, and God shall come down from heaven to dwell in his church. The church of God shall as it were go up to the mountain of the

hill of the Lord, as they did on that great occasion of Solomons's dedicating the temple.

Christ was born, and came to tabernacle in flesh on the feast of tabernacles; so then shall Christ be born. The woman in travail shall then bring forth her son that is to rule all nations, and then mankind above all other times shall enjoy the benefit of the birth of Christ; Christ shall then be born in the souls of

men.

There seems to be greater tokens of rejoicing in this feast than any other. The people dwelt in booths of green boughs, which represent the flourishing, beautiful, pleasant state the church shall be in, rejoicing in God's grace and love (represented by the colour green.) She shall yet dwell in tabernacles on this side heaven, her land of rest. Their branches of palmtrees represent the church's flourishing, as the palm-tree, and the glorious victory the church shall then have obtained. The willows of the brook they shall make use of, represent the flourishing state of the souls of God's people, as a tree planted by the rivers of waters. Levit. xxiii. 40. Neh. viii. 15. The olive brauches represent the church's fullness of the Spirit, the antitype of the oil of the olive. At the feast of tabernacles God's people left their houses to dwell in booths, which represented two things that should be in the glorious times, viz. their great weaunedness from the world, and their joy in God.

Thus the two great feasts of the Jews that followed the passover, represent the two great seasons consequent on the death of Christ, which was at the passover of the communication of the benefits of Christ's redemption to his church on earth; one that which was in primitive ages of the Christian church, which began in the day of Pentecost, on which the Holy Ghost was not only given in the ordinary sanctifying, saving influences, but also given in extraordinary gifts of inspiration for the revealing the mind and will of God, and establishing the standing rule of the faith, worship, and manners of the Christian church, which answered to the giving of the law at mount Sinai, which was on the feast of Pentecost: the other is that which shall follow the destruction of Antichrist, which answers to the setting up the tabernacle in the wilderness, and the gifts, sacrificings, and rejoicings that were on that occasion, which was on the same day of the year that the feast of tabernacles was. These three great feasts do prefigure those three grand events that are brought to pass for the church of God in the progress of the work of redemption, and the death of Christ to purchase salvation for the church, and those two great outpourings of the Spirit to apply it. See Note on Ezek. xlv.

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[106] Mal. ii. 15. "And did he not make one? Yet had he the residue of the Spirit." He made them one flesh, their bodies are each other's; but the rest, (or residue,) which is the Spirit, God reserves for himself. A man is one body with his wife, but one Spirit with Christ. 1 Cor. vi. 16, 17. The phrase in this sense is not different from what is common, as Deut. xxi. 8, thy people of Israel; the city of London; the city of Jerusalem; and besides it does not appear by the original but that the words are in opposition and not in regimen. It might have been translated the residue, the Spirit; or if we interpret it as in the margin, the excellency of the Spirit, then the meaning is that though God needed them, and therefore they ought to be most nearly united in affection, yet he reserved to himself the soul's best love, the best of the heart.

[321] Mal. iv. 1, 2. "For, behold, the day cometh that shall burn as an oven; and all the proud, yea, all that do wickedly, shall be stubble: and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the Lord of hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch. But unto you that fear my name shall the Sun of Righteousness arise with healing in his wings; and ye shall go forth, and grow up as calves of the stall." The day here spoken of is the day of the coming of Christ; the day spoken of in the first, second, and third verses of the foregoing chapter; "Behold, I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me. And the Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to his temple, even the Messenger of the covenant, whom ye delight in; behold, he shall come, saith the Lord of hosts; but who may abide the day of his coming, and who shall stand when he appeareth? for he is like a refiner's fire," &c. This day shall burn as an oven, with respect to the wicked. Christ, who will then come, the Sun of Righteousness, whose coming or rising will usher in that day, and who then will be as a refiner's fire, will search and burn up the wicked as stubble, and dry and dead plants, so that it shall leave them neither root nor branch; but with respect to those that fear God's name, his beams shall not be scorching, but healing, of a benign, healthful nature, as the warm, pleasant sunbeams are to living plants, and animals, which make them to grow and flourish, so that they grow up as calves of the stall. He will be as a refiner's fire; will then only refine the sons of Levi, and others that fear God's name; they are as gold and silver that are not consumed, but refined in the fire; but he will consume the wicked that are as dross. Christ shall then prune and purge the faithful branches; but as for those that are dead, barren, dry branches, they shall be cut off, and cast into the fire and burnt.

The Sun of Righteousness that shall come in that day, when he is risen, shall be as the pillar of cloud and fire was of old, which gave light to the Israelites, and was a defence unto them, was their sun and shield, but consumed and destroyed the Egyptians.

Thus it will be at Christ's last coming, the light and glory of his appearance will be intolerable to the wicked, it shall be like the fire of a furnace to their souls, and shall make the day like an oven to them, and his coming shall actually be attended with a dreadful conflagration of the fiercest glowing heat in which they shall be burnt. But the appearance of his glory shall be exceeding pleasant, and joyful, and healthful to the saints. The sight of this glory shall perfectly heal them; shall drive away all remains of sin, and make them perfectly holy; shall drive away all corruptibility and ill qualities of their bodies, and they shall be changed in the twinkling of an eye into a state of glorious health, strength, perfection, activity, and incorruptibility; it shall perfectly heal all trouble and sorrow, and shall for ever banish all such things, however the church of God shall then be found in a very distressed state. So it was at Christ's first coming, that coming was infinitely for the benefit of the elect, but to the unspeakable misery of the wicked many ways, as might be shown. It brought on a glorious state of the church but a most fearful destruction of unbelievers, as in the destruction of Jerusalem, and the whole land. So it was at Christ's coming in Constantine's time, and so it will be at his coming at the destruction of Antichrist.

[133] Mal. iv. 2. "But unto you that fear my name, shall the Sun of Righteousness arise with healing in his wings:" that is, in his beams; it is very much like other metaphors that were common amongst those eastern people. The sun rises to fly through the heavens, and the bright beams by which it is encompassed are the wings.

[68] Mal. iv. 6. Turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse." By fathers, are meant all sorts of fathers, parents, rulers, and teachers, the hearts of these shall be turned to the children, that is, they shall faithfully rule and guide, and teach them, take care of them, and consult their true good; and the hearts of the children shall be turned to their fathers, that is, they shall be obedient, shall hearken to their teachers, &c.; so it is applicable Luke i. 17, "the disobedient to the wisdom of the just."

[11] Matth. i. 3. "And Judas begat Pharez and Zara of Thamar." So it is remarked, in the 5th verse, that Salmon begat Booz of Rachab, and that Booz begat Obed of Ruth, and in the 6th verse, that David begat Solomon of her that had been the wife of Uriah. All the mothers are not noted, but only those which were either harlots or Gentiles, except the wife of Uriah the Hittite, who was a wife of a Gentile. These are taken notice of, because Christ's descending from several harlots and Gentiles intimates unto us that all that are saved by Christ were sinners. That the church of Christ is made up wholly of such as were once sinners, that is, spiritual harlots, or adulterers and idolaters, thereby also typifying the calling of the Gentiles.

[124] Matth. i. 16. "And Jacob begat Joseph, the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus, who is called Christ." This genealogy proves that the kingdom of Israel was Christ's by right of inheritance. Christ, though he was not the real son of Joseph, yet was the legal son; with greater reason than, when a man took a wife, and died, and left no seed, his brother's seed by her were to be looked upon as his, and had the right of inheritance.

[332] Matth. iii. 2. "Repent ye, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand." The following are the places of the Old Testament from whence probably the Jews principally took their notion of the kingdom of heaven.

Dan. ii. 44, 45, vii. 9 to 15, xxvi. 27; Ps. xcvi. especially the 4 last verses; Ps. 1. 1 to 7, compared with Dan. vii. 9 to 15; Ps. xcvii. and xcviii., especially the last verse; Isai. ii. 1 to 6, and 15 to the end, ix. 6, 7, xi., xii., xxiv. 23, and especially verses 9, 10, 11, xxv., xxvi., xxvii., xxxii. 1 to 9, xxxv., xl. 3, 4, 5. 10, 11, xli., xlii. 1 to 22, xlix., Ix., Ixi., lxii., Ixiii. 1 to 7, lxiv. 1, 2, lxv. 17 to the end, lxvi; Jer. xxiii. 5 to 9, xxx. 9, xxxi., xxxiii., especially ver. 15, 16; Ezek. xxi. 27, xxxiv. 20 to the end, xxxvii. 20 to the end; Hosea ii. 16 to the end; Joel ii. 28 to the end, iii. 9 to the end; Amos ix. 11 to the end; Micah iv. 1 to 9, v., vii. 8 to the end; Obadiah, ver. 17 to the end, especially ver. 15, 16; Nahum i. 15; Zeph. iii. 8 to the end; Haggai ii. 1 to 10, and 21 to the end; Zech. ii. 11, 12, 13, iii. 8, 9, 10, vi. 9 to the end, viii. 20 to the end, ix. 9 to the end, x., xii., xiii., xiv.; Mal. iii. 1 to 7, and 16 to the end, and chap. iv.

[9] Matth. iii. 7. "Who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come?" Having respect principally to that wrath