100 THE WottLO TO COME. Adam ; for the believers of all ages, as well as of all nations, shall appear together in that day, and acknowledge Jesus the Saviour According to the brighter or darker discoveries of tiee age in which they lived, he has been the common object of their faith. Ever since he was called the seed of the woman; Gen. iii. 15. till the time of his appearance in the flesh, all the chosen of God have lived upon his grace, though multitudes of them never knew his name. It is true, the greater part of that illus- trious company, on the right-hand of Christ, lived since the time of his incarnation, for the great multitude, which no man could number, is derived from the Gentile nations ; Rev. vii. 9, Yet the ancient patriarchs, with the Jewish prophets and saints, Shall make a splendid appearance there : One hundred and forty - four thousand are sealed among the tribes of Israel ; verse 4. These of old embraced the gospel in types and shadows ; but now their eyes behold Christ Jesus, the substance and the truth. In the days of their flesh, they read his naine in dark lines, and looked through the long glass of prophecy to distant ages, and a Saviour to come, and now behold they find complete and certain salvation and glory in him. These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them ; Heb. xi. 13. They died in the hope of this salvation, and they shall arise in the blessed possession of it. Behold Abraham appearing there the father of the faithful, who saw the day of Christ, and rejoiced to see it; John viii. 56. who trusted in his Son Jesus, two thousand years before he was born : His elder family, the pious Jews surround him there, and we his younger children among the Gentiles, shall stand with him as the followers of his faith, who trust in the same Jesus, almost two thousand years after he is dead. How shall we both rejoice to see this brightest day of the Son of man, and congra- tulate each other's faith, while our eyes meet and centre in him, and our souls triumph in the sight, love, and enjoyment of him, in whom we have believed ! How admirable and divinely glo- rious shall our Lord himself appear, on whom every eye is fixed with unutterable delight, in whom the faith of distant countries and ages is centered and reconciled, and in whom all the nations of the earth appear to be blessed, according so the ancient word of promise; Gen. xii.8. and xviii. 18. Secondly, It is a further occasion of pleasing wonder, to That so many wicked obstinate wills of men, and so many perverse affections should be bowed down, and submit themselves to the holy rules of the gospel." This is another instance Of the grace of Christ, and shall be the subject of our joyful ad- miration. Every son and daughter of Adam by nature is averse to God, inclined to sin, a child of disobedience and death ; Eph.
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy OTcyMjk=