dreamed, And behold, seven cars withered, thin, and blafted with the eaft wind. Gen. xli.23.And Mofes ftretched forth his rod over the land of Egypt, and the Lord brought an east wind upon the land all that day, and all that night: and when it was morning, the east wind brought the locufts. Exod. x. 13. The rich man fhall lie down, but he shall not be gathered: he openeth his eyes, and he is not. Terrors take hold on him as waters, a tempeft ftealeth him away in the night. The east wind carrieth him away. Job xxvii. 19-21. Thou breakeft the fhips of Tarfish with an east wind. Pfal. xlviii. 7.—I will scatter them as with an eaft wind. Jerem. xviii. 17. Yea, behold, being planted, fhall it profper?. Shall it not utterly wither, when the east wind toucheth it? Ezek. xvii. 10.—But he was plucked up in fury, fhe was caft down to the ground, and the caft wind dried up her fruit. Ezek. xix. 12.—Thy rowers have brought thee into great waters: the eaft wind hath broken thee in the midst of the feas. Ezek. xxvii. 26.-Though he be fruitful among his breth ren, an ealt wind fhall come, the wind of the Lord fhall come up from the wilderness, and his Spring fhall become dry, and his fountain Thall be dried up: he shall Spoil the treasure of all pleafant veffels. Hof. xiii, 15.-Here a gain the caft wind is diflinguifhed as the wind of the Lord; and, by comparing this with Job i. 19. it appears that it was this fame wind of the Lord from the wilderness, which fmote the house and flew Job's children.Again, God prepared a vehement eaft wind;

and the fun beat upon the head of Jonah, that he fainted. Jonah iv. 8.-They fhall come all for violence; their faces fhall fup up as the east wind. Habak. i. 9.-Is there not before us, in the view of the archangel-establishment, an anfwer to all this?

Moreover, we have here explained the doctrine brought into view by the apoftle, Rom. viii. of the creature, or natural world, being fubjected to vanity, or to the bondage of corruption, and not having its free exercise; but that this is done, for the fame reafon of fubjection, whence is the gospel hope.-By the deluge, the earth was indeed made subject to vanity and corruption; and, emerging from the waters, it groaneth and travelleth in pain until now, and it difcovers itself ftill bound by that power; and, by its ftruggling and groaning, that it is ftill wrestling with the angel; that its baptifm is unto death, and that, one day all that belongs to the first creation, and remains of the life of nature, muft, from this caufe, expire.-But, by tracing up ftate of bondage and corruption of the crea ture, in the light of truth, to the elect eftablishment, and the redemption law, we fee the world, hereby, coming into union with its fuffering Redeemer; and that, through this bondage of corruption, there is hope, the only hope, even the fame for which the fons of God are waiting, the hope of the refurrection and eternal life.

this

And, finally, from this flate of the world, we are led to contemplate a deluge of fire, as the clofing up of the wonderful fcene. The

angelic power is ever reprefented to us as be ing fire. It is faid of the miniftering angels of Chrift, that he maketh them a flame of fire; and they are named feraphim, burners.A flaming fword was the first appearance in our world of this power.-Daniel beheld the throne of Chrift in the midst of thousand thousand, and ten thousand times ten thoufand of his angels; which throne was like the fiery flame, and his wheels burning fire. This must mean the establishment and power of the elect angelic kingdom. Moreover, he saw a fiery ftream iffue, and come forth from before him; this, doubtlefs, was the fame appearance which Mofes called a flaming fword. The angel that spake unto Mofes at Horeb, appeared in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush; and the law ordained by angels was a fiery law, and it was given forth from the mount that burned with fire, even from the midft of the fire.-The angel, also, that talked with Manoah, ascended to heaven in the flame of the altar; and it may be noticed, that the flame of the altar ever fignified the angelic difpofition, which we have fhewn to be founded in the facrifice of the everlasting covenant. As the Lord's hoft, the angels were feen like chariots of fire, and horses of fire; and, as the attendants in his court, they were beheld with countenances as the lightning; and the Lord has ever appeared as mong them the fame as at mount Sinai.

The fhekinah, in leading the camp of Ifrael out of Egypt, on the welt fide, was a watery cloud, but, on the caft fide, it was a pillar of

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fire; this gives us a view of the archangelexhibition, and of the conftitution of the world, according to Chrift's mediate state.The prefent world may be viewed as being under this baptizing cloud, as it were, between the two pillars, baptized already with the deluging waters, and waiting the approach of the pillar of fire, which, in the fcriptures, is often called the glory of the Lord; which baptifm, will finifh the ftate of the bondage and corruption of the creature; whence, by the power of fovereign grace, according to the pattern given in the redemption of those who have the first fruits of the Spirit, the whole creation, as a brand pluckt out of the fire, fhall be delivered and restored,

It is well know that flame exifts by a motion of the electrical fluid meeting resistance from another and oppofite motion; when, therefore, this angelic power, of the acting of which we have daily indications, fhall come against the course of nature with its whole ftrength, it will neceffarily produce a fhock that muft fet all on flame.

Section 11. The Covenant with Noah.

The world being thus arrested, overcome, and brought into fubjection under the bondage of corruption, by the power of the redemption law; which being the principle of a Covenant, and, in Chrift, the fource of all grace; according to the theory, we now look

for the appearing of the grace of God, in the most express covenant transactions.-Thefe, we find clearly exhibited on the divine. page. And firft, by this operation, the creature is brought to yield fubmiffively to God; and through Noah, as the head or first organ of the fubjected world under Chrift, its fubmiffion is most folemnly and explicitly offered to the Lord, to whom it was found that judgment belonged.

And notwithstanding this law of the eter nal God was nothing lefs than the sentence of death, and its establishment was felt to pof fefs a fword of judgment, which already had given an incurable wound, and was prepar ed to repeat the ftroke; the facrifice, by Noah, of every clean beast and fowl, was the moft folemn and explicit act of submission to it, as being holy, juft and good; fuch is the power and gracious effect of the redemption difcipline.

This fubmiffion being wrought in the crea ture, and in this way expreffed, it is gracioufly accepted of God; the Lord fmelled a fweet favour; for this free submission respected the fame will or law of God, that Christ confented to from everlasting; but what was infin. itely more to its advantage, was the manner in which it was offered, viz. by a facrifice, which refpected and brought into view the obedience of Chrift; it was offered under him, and in union with him; yea, HE, as confenting to the divine will, appeared in the offering, therefore God was pleafed, well pleased; and that he might be gracious for his name's