one new moon, and from one fabbath to another, fhall all flesh come to worship before me, faith the 24 Lord. And they fhall go forth, and look upon the carcaffes of the men that have tranfgreffed against me for their worm fhall not die, neither fhall their fire be quenched and they fhall be an abhorring unto all flesh. From the 5th to the 10th verfe of this chapter, it is thought by many, that the deftruction of the city and temple of Jerufalem, and the fudden spread of the gospel is foretold; and that the country fellow that came up to the feaft of Tabernacles, about feven years before the fiege of Jerufalem, alluded to the fixth verfe, when he cried without ceafing, Wo to the city! wo to the temple! A voice from the four corners, a voice against Jerufalem, a voice against the nation, &c. But granting that the man had this text in view, which is not certain (his words being confiderably different from it) it will not follow that thefe words in the Prophecy were intended to predict that event. And as to the words of the 8th, as soon as Zion travailed, he brought forth her children, which are thought to relate to the sudden spread of the gofpel, they appear to me rather to respect the fudden and unexpected Restoration of the Iraelites in the latter times. For the gofpel was established gradually in the world, and did not bring forth its children at once, or in one day, as it is expreffed in the former part of this verfe. From the 10th verfe to the end of the chapter, the happy state of Jerufalem restored, and the deftruction of her enemies, is plainly delivered, It is faid, ver. 19. that thofe that escape of them, Shall be fent unto the nations, to Tarshish, Pul, Lud, Tubal, Javan, and the ifles afar off. Now the them here does not mean (as fome fuppofe) the Jews who are now accordingly difperfed among these nations, but thofe which fhall escape of all those nations and tongues mentioned in the verfe before, which fhall be gathered together; and which in the 16th verfe are called all flesh, with whom the Lord will plead with fire and fword, and the flain of the Lord fhall be many. And who should thefe be, but thofe who, according to other Prophecies, which I shall hereafter confider, are to oppofe this re-fettlement of Ifrael, and to fall in the battle of Armageddon; to which also the laft verfe of this chapter relates--they shall go forth, and look upon the carcaffes of the men who bave tranfgreffed against me; for their worm shall not die, &c. words which are elsewhere applied to the fame battle of Armageddon. I shall make but one remark more, viz. on verfe 20. where it is faid, they (the Gentiles) shall bring all your brethren-out of all nations, upon horfes and chariots, &c.-to my boly mountain Jerufalem, which circumstances seem to me to be such, as are by no means applicable to the church, or to the return from the Babylonish captivity. MICAH MICAH prophefied in the days of Jotham, Abaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah, about 750 years before Chrift. XXIII. MICAH ii. 12. I will furely affemble, O Jacob, all of thee: I will furely gather the remnant of Ifrael, I will put them together as the fheep of Bozrah, as the flock in the midft of their fold: they fhall make great noife, by reafon of the multitude of men. XXIV. MICAH iv. I. But in the last days it fhall come to pass, that the mountain of the houfe of the Lord fhall be established in the top of the mountains, and it fhall be exalted above the hills, and people fhall 2 flow unto it. And many nations fhall come and fay, Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, and to the house of the God of Jacob, and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths for the law fhall go forth of Zion, and 3 the word of the Lord from Jerufalem. And he fhall judge among many people, and rebuke ftrong nations afar off, and they fhall beat their fwords into plow-fhares, and their fpears into pruninghooks nation fhall not lift up a fword against na4 tion, neither fhall they learn' war any more. But they shall fit every man under his vine and under his fig-tree, and none fhall make them afraid: for the mouth of the Lord of hofts hath spoken it. 6 In that day, faith the Lord, will I affemble her that halteth, and I will gather her that is driven out, 7 and her that I have afflicted. And I will make her that halteth a reinnant, and her that was caft far off a ftrong nation; and Jehovah fhall reign over them in mount Zion, from henceforth, even for II ever.*. Now alfo many nations are gathered against thee, that fay, Let her be defiled, and let 12 our eye look upon Zion. But they know not the thoughts of the Lord, neither understand they his counfel: for he fhall gather them as the heaves in13 to the floor. Arife, and thresh, O daughter of Zion: for I will make thine horn iron, and I will make thy hoofs brafs, and thou fhalt beat in pieces many people: and I will confecrate their gain unto Jehovah, and their fubftance unto the Lord of the whole earth. This fourth chapter of Micab, according to the contents prefixed to it, defcribes the glory, peace, kingdom, and victory of the church and fo indeed it does; but it is not the prefent, or any paft state of the church, as appears from the third and fourth verfes; for fuch an univerfal peace and happiness has never yet taken place, nor ever will till thofe laft days, when the mountain of the boufe of the Lord fhall be established in the top of the moun * In Tiydale's tranflation of the 7th verfe, it is, And will give iffue unto the lame, instead of And I will make her that balteth a remnant, which is certainly better. For the Lord is here promifing an increafe to her that halteth, and is driven out, as appears by the latter end of the verse, and not a diminution of them to a remnant. tains, tains, or till he that was caft afar off fhall be made a ftrong nation, i. e. till Ifrael fhall be reftored, and become the moft powerful nation upon earth. Then it is, that the church of Chrift fhall be in that glorious and happy ftate, fo often foretold by the Prophets. XXV. MICAH V. 3. Therefore will he give them up, until the time that fhe which travaileth hath brought forth then the remnant of his brethren fhall return 4 unto the children of Ifrael. And he fhall ftand and feed [or rule] in the ftrength of the Lord, in the majefty of the name of Jehovah his God, and they fhall abide for now fhall he be great unto the ends 5 of the earth. And this man fhall be the peace when the Affyrian fhall come into our land: and when he fhall tread in our palaces, then fhall we raise against him seven fhepherds, and eight princes of 6 men. And they fhall wafte the land of Affyria with the fword, and the land of Nimrod in the entrances thereof thus fhall he deliver us from the Affyrian when he cometh into our land, and when he tread eth By the Affyrian, according to Mr. MEDE, is meant Gog of the land of Magog, chief prince of Meshech and Tubal, of whom Ezekiel prophecied. Not as though this fhould be his original nation, but as the province from whence he fhould fall into the land of Ifrael. For the prince of Magog and Tubal cannot come into the land of Ifrael, till he be firft mafter of the land of Abur, which lies between ⚫ them. And the Prophet describes him by this name, rather than by that of his own nation, because the name of Asbur was at that time fo terrible to the Jews, and the invasion D 3 ⚫ of |