His emblem is a liona lion's whelp, or young lion, gone up from the prey -for he is gone up on high, he hath led captivity captive: But he did firft humble himself-He ftooped down, he couched as a lion, and as an old lion, who fhall roufe him up.

THIS is the lion spoken of in the revelation of St. John Behold the lion of the tribe of Judah! And I beheld, and lo, a lamb ftood as it had been flain! What! is the lion of the tribe of Judah, changed into a flain lamb? Yes, for though ftrong and powerful as a lion to encounter and fubdue his enemies; to his faithful followers he is a lamb flain, the true propitiatory facrifice the Lamb of God, which taketh away the fin of the world.

THE fceptre fhall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come_The fceptre is the enfign of dominion, which was to remain with the tribe of Judah, and confequently with the Jewith people, until Shiloh come, that is, until the advent of the Meffiah, who is the Shiloh here spoken of. The Hebrew word Shiloh fignifies "peace," and is one of the appellations of him who is emphatically ftiled, the Prince of peace, of the increase of whofe government and peace, it is faid, there fhall be no end, for he muft reign till he has put all enemies under his feet. Rule thou, says David, in the midft among thine enemies, and thy people fhall be made willing in the day of thy power.

UNTO him fhall the gathering of the people be Here alfo the language of

David will explain the prophefy of Ja cob, and point out that no other than our Lord is here meant; of whom it is faid, that all kings fhall fall down before him, and all nations fhall do him fer

wice.

THE next verses are very obfcure, owing to their highly figurative language Binding his foal unto the vine, and his afs's colt unto the choice vine; he washed his garments in wine, and his clothes in the blood of the grapes: his eyes fhall be red with wine, and his teeth white with milk. Under thefe fin gular images are defcribed the riches and glory of Chrift's kingdom. Wine, which maketh glad the heart of man, is here used as the emblem of fpiritual refreshment and confolation derived from Chrift, who is the true vine: The afs's colt bound to this Vine,

is man by nature, who is faid in Job, to be born a wild afs's colt rough and intractable, till brought into fubjec.. tion and obedience to the law of God. By virtue of the blood and righteoufnefs of Christ, the fouls of the faithful are purified and made clean from the defilements of fin; this is that washing of garments, here fpoken of. The eye, is the fymbol of intelligence, and the eyes red with wine, denotes joy in the confolations of the Gofpel, here fignified by wine. Milk, is the food of children, and reprefents the tender nourishment of inftruction fuited to the capacities of thofe, who are children in divine knowledge I have fed you with milk fays St. Paul to his Corinthian converts: And the Hebrews are reproved for their flow progress in the gofpel, under the fame metaphor For when for the time ye ought to be teach

ers, ye have need that one teach you again which be the first principles of the oracles

of God, and are become fuch as have need of milk: St. Peter alfo, fpeaking of this milk, exhorts us to defire, as new born · babes, the fincere milk of the word, that we may grow thereby. As wine and milk to the body, fo is the Chriftian doctrine to the foul. This is that wine and milk, which the prophet Ifaiah counfels us to buy without money and without price. And as the teeth of an infant accuftomed to milk, are white and unftained. by groffer food, fo are the minds of Chrift's children, his true difciples, pure and uncorrupted by the manners of the world.

LEAVING this obfcure paffage, which in a spiritual view, we have fhewn to refer to the bleffings of Chrift's kingdom, pass we on to the next fon of