History of Presbyterianz’sm

his people after enduring the great afflictions of the operations by which all that enter into his spiritual kingdom are qualified to reign with him a thousand years. Those afflictions are described in the 5th, 6th and 7th verses of the same chapter; and surely any enquirer would have some superior ingenuity who would undertake to explain those as literally applic- able to the David that was king of Israel before Jer- emiah’s prophecy, without the spiritual meaning of those passages. The spiritual meaning is contained always in the language of inspiration, and it is with the spiritual meaning we have to do, since Christ’s kingdom which was of this world was closed, and his spiritual kingdom of grace, which is not of this world, was opened up on the day of Pentecost. But those who have not entered into it have no concep- tion of its nature and heavenly character. “Verily, verily, I say unto thee, except a man be born again he cannot see the Kingdom of God.”—John iii: 3. For “the Kingdom of God is not meat and drink, but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost.” “The Kingdom of God cometh not with observation.” “KnOW ye not that the Kingdom of God is within you.” But although it is with the spiritual meaning of the word of God we have to do in gospel times, yet the word in its literal sense is needed to help us to the knowledge of the spiritual. The scriptures of the Old and New Testaments are so closely connected one with another that they must both be consulted for corroborative evidence in all cases. What was typified and prophesied of in the

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