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Will Man Always Be Permitted to Usurp Authority Over Men, and Over the
Works of God? Will the World Remain for ever Under a Curse, and God's
Designs Be Frustrated?
The above are grave questions, and will necessarily require
examination, for they concern the earth and its inhabitants. Their true
solution will affect man in time and in eternity. The world cannot
remain as it is, for the following reasons:--
First. It would be unreasonable.
Secondly. It would be unjust.
Thirdly. It would be unscriptural.
Fourthly. It would frustrate the designs of God, in regard to the
spirits of the righteous; the dead; the progression of the world, and
its final exaltation; and also the exaltation of man.
First.--It would be unreasonable for man to continue his usurped
authority. If God is interested in the welfare of his creatures, he
certainly never would permit, without some just cause, the destruction
of his works, and the misery of his creatures; and we have fully
demonstrated, that the world is full of abominations, and evils, and
that those evils can only be removed by the interposition of the Lord;
that the assumed authority of men, and the Devil, can only be checked
by a superior power. God holds that power in his hands; he holds the
life of the human family in his hands; and the world, notwithstanding
its rebellion and iniquity, has to be sustained by him from day to
day. Let him but withdraw his governing and controlling power from the
earth, and it would wander wildly through space, unblest by the genial
influences of the sun, or clash against some other system, involving
all creation in ruin: let some slight variation take place in its
diurnal motion, and the sea would leave its proper bounds, overflow the
earth, and millions of the human family would perish. Let even some
slight variation take place in the atmosphere, and the Lord withdraw
the sanitory influences that preserve the earth in its present healthy
state, and the murky atmosphere would contain contagion, and disease;
the pestiferous air would spread desolation, and death; plague and
pestilence would fill the earth; and millions of foetid loathsome
beings would be living, and dying examples, of man's impotency and
weakness. Even a small insect sent to destroy the grain, accompanied
with the blight of the potatoes, such as has already been witnessed,
would produce incalculable evil; let these things become more
universal, and the death of the human family must ensue. Even so slight
a thing as too much, or too little rain would produce uncalculated
misery.
When we contemplate man as he is, a poor worm dependent upon God for
his daily bread, and upon how many slight contingencies the brittle
thread of life is continued, and that the least variation in the
economy of God might, in numberless ways, involve the human family in
ruin, and then notice his arrogance, pride, conceit, and rebellion; it
seems to us mysterious that the mercy of God should be so long extended
to him; and we can only account for it upon this principle, that God is
too great, wise, powerful, and magnanimous to be moved to anger by the
impotent ravings, the empty pride, the little meanness, the swelling
pusillanimity, and the utter helplessness, of the erratic, puerile,
insignificant creature, man. He lets him wallow in his corruptions,
gloat in his misery, and permits him to become a prey to Satan, for
a season, that he may feel the greatness of his fall, the extent of
his degeneracy, and the utter ruin that his own course, instigated
by the powers of the adversary, has brought upon him; that he may
afterwards learn to appreciate the mercies of God, see and understand
the delusion, and be enabled eternally to appreciate the mercies and
government of God, after having first atoned for his own acts and
transgressions. For like a wayward and disobedient child, he will be
glad to return to his father's house and friendship; and when the
vision of his mind shall be opened, which, if not done in this world,
will be in the world to come, he will be thoroughly disgusted with
himself and his acts, and will be glad on any conditions to find an
asylum with his Father.
This state of things, then, is merely permitted for a season, to
develop the designs and influences of Satan, and their effects; to
develop the weakness of man, and his incompetency to rule and govern
himself without God; to manifest the mercy of God, in bearing with
man, in the midst of his rebellion; to show man his ingratitude, and
the depth of his depravity, in order that he may appreciate more fully
the mercy and long-suffering of God, and the purity and holiness
that reign in the eternal world. Man has tasted the misery of sin
and rebellion, and drunk of the cup of sorrow, in order that he may
appreciate more fully the joy and happiness that spring from obedience
to God, and his laws. But to think for a moment that man here will
always be permitted to subvert the designs of God, and the world be
for ever under the dominion of Satan, is the height of folly, and
only develops more fully the pride, littleness, and emptiness of man.
For notwithstanding man is a weak creature, in comparison to God, yet
he has within him the germs of greatness and immortality. God is his
Father, and though now wandering in darkness, sunk, degraded, and
fallen, he is destined, in the purposes of God, to be great, dignified,
and exalted; to occupy a glorious position in the eternal world, and
to fulfil the object of his creation. Will this design be frustrated
by the powers of darkness, or the influence of wicked and ungodly men?
Verily, no. To suppose such a thing, manifests the greatest absurdity,
which can only be equalled by the weakness and ignorance from whence
it springs. What! God, the author of the universe, and of all created
good, suffer his plans to be frustrated by the powers of the Devil?
Shall this beautiful world, and all its inhabitants, become a prey to
Satan and his influences, and those celestial, pure, principles that
exist in the eternal world, be for ever banished? Shall the earth still
be defiled under the inhabitants thereof, when God is our Father? Shall
iniquity, corruption, and depravity always spread their contaminating
influences, and this earth, that ought to have been a paradise, be a
desolate miserable wreck? Shall tyranny, oppression, and iniquity for
ever rule? Shall the neck of the righteous always be under the feet of
the ungodly? No, says every principle of reason, for the Almighty God
is its maker. No, echoes the voice of all the prophets, there shall
be a restitution of all things. No, say the Scriptures of all truth,
"The earth shall become as the Garden of Eden," the wicked shall be
rooted out of it; the time shall come when the Saints shall possess
the kingdom, and the earth shall become as the garden of the Lord.
No, responds the voice of all the dead Saints, we died in the hope of
better things, etc. No! say our later revelations--
"The Lord hath brought again Zion;
"The Lord hath redeemed his people, Israel,
"According to the election of grace,
"Which was brought to pass by the faith
"And covenants of their Fathers.
"The Lord hath redeemed his people,
"And Satan is bound, and time is no longer:
"The Lord hath gathered all things in one;
"The Lord hath brought down Zion from above;
"The Lord hath brought up Zion from beneath;
"The Earth hath travailed and brought forth her strength;
"And truth is established in her bowels:
"And the heavens have smiled upon her;
"And she is clothed with the glory of her God;
"For he stands in the midst of his people,
"Glory, and honor, and power, and might,
"Be ascribed to our God, for he is full of mercy,
"Justice, grace, and truth, and peace,
"For ever, and ever. Amen."[A]
[Footnote A: Doctrine and Covenants, Section 84: 99-102.]
It is therefore contrary to every principle of reason and intelligence
to suppose such a thing.
Secondly.--It would be unjust: and "shall not the Judge of all the
earth do right?" But what right would there be in thus permitting
Satan to usurp the dominion for ever? It would be giving in the first
place to Satan that which belongs to God. This earth is not Satan's
inheritance; it is the Lord Jesus Christ's, he is the rightful owner
and proprietor. If Satan be indeed the God of this world, and rules in
the hearts of the children of disobedience, he is only an usurper. It
is not his rightful dominion, for all things were created by Christ,
and for Christ, whether they be principalities, or powers, or thrones,
or dominions, all these were created by him, and for him, and he only
has a right to rule; but Satan has subverted the ways of God, deceived
the human family, introduced misery, and confusion, and blighted
this beautiful creation with his contaminating curse. As an usurper,
it would be unjust to permit him to rule; it would be unjust to the
government of God, for, if God has a right to rule, no other power can
have that right, unless it is delegated, and if delegated, still the
right is vested in the power that delegates.
It is therefore derogatory to God, for the world to be yielding
obedience to another power. For while God, not the Devil, provides
for, feeds, sustains, and beautifies the Universe, and nourishes the
millions of people who inhabit the earth, with his beneficent hand and
fatherly care;--for him to be neglected and despised, or forgotten, is
the height of injustice, and the very climax of perverse ingratitude.
But again, it would be unjust to the good and virtuous; this earth is
properly the dwelling place, and rightful inheritance of the Saints.
Inasmuch as it belongs to Jesus Christ, it also belongs to his servants
and followers, for we are told, "The earth is the Lord's and the
fulness thereof," and that, when things are in their proper place,
"the Saints of the Most High shall take the kingdom, and possess the
kingdom, and the greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven, shall
be given to the saints of the Most High." Dan. vii. 18 and 27. It is
therefore their righful inheritance, and the usurpation before referred
to, while it is unjust to God, is also as unjust to his Saints. Who
can contemplate the position of the world, as it has existed, without
being struck with this fact, Where has God ever had a people but they
have been persecuted? The testimony of God has always been rejected,
and his people trodden under foot. Paul tells us that they "were
tempted, tried, sawn asunder, that they wandered about in sheep skins,
and goat skins, being destitute, afflicted, and tormented." Heb. xi.
37. And to such an extent had this prevailed among the ancient Jews,
that Stephen gravely asks the question, "Which of the prophets have
not your fathers persecuted? and they have slain them, which shewed
before, of the coming of the Just One, of whom ye have been now the
betrayers and murderers." Acts vii. 52. What did they do with Jesus!
and what with his followers! We may here ask, Is it right, is it
proper, is it just, for this state of things to continue? It is true
that the saints have had a hope of joys to come, and this state of
trial has been permitted for their ultimate good; but although this
is the case, it does not make the thing the more just. "It must needs
be," says Jesus, "that offences come, but woe to that man by whom the
offence cometh. It were better for him that a millstone were hanged
about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea," than
that he should offend one of those little ones. Matt, xviii. "They
that touch you, touch the apple of mine eye." He has cried all along,
"Touch not mine anointed, and do my prophets no harm." The saints
have suffered and endured, but they have done it in the hopes of a
better resurrection; and as they have always looked upon this earth as
their inheritance, to deprive them of this, would be to falsify the
promises of God unto them, disappoint all their hopes, render inutile
their sufferings and fidelity on the earth; and be to them an act,
not only of temporary, but also of eternal injustice. For men of God
in former days were just as much actuated by the prospect of a reward
as a merchant, a warrior, a statesman, or any other person in search
of wealth, honor, or fame. The only difference is, the one sought it
in this life, the other in the life to come; the one looked for his
reward here, the other expected it hereafter; the one had no hope
concerning the future, the other had; the one was blinded by the God of
this world, and knew not his position, or possessed not a nobility of
soul sufficient to make him brook the world, and the scorn of men, in
search of a better inheritance; the other understood by revelation his
relationship to God, the position of the world, and his high calling,
and glorious hope; he sought the nearest way to eternal life, scorned
to be captivated by the world's tinsel show, despised the short-lived
pleasures offered by the god of this world, and possessed magnanimity
of soul sufficient to lead him to acknowledge the God of the Universe,
and to brook the scorn of empty fools, and ephemeral philosophers.
If persecution's deadly shafts, and superstition's craven hate, were
levelled against him, he dared to brook death in all its horrid forms,
and live and die an honourable man, a true philosopher, a servant of
God, and endure as seeing him who is invisible, in the hopes of a
better resurrection. Deprive him of this hope, and you rob the just of
his reward, dishonour God, and perpetuate misery and corruption in the
world.
Thirdly.--As it would be unjust, so also it would be unscriptural. The
Scriptures are full and clear on this subject; they represent Christ as
being the rightful heir, and inheritor of this world; they represent
him as having come once to atone for the sins of the world; but that
he will afterwards come as its ruler, judge, and king; they represent
him as the "Lord of the vineyard, the rightful heir" to the earth, and
as having hitherto been dispossessed; but they again represent him
as coming to claim his rights, to dispossess the usurpers; to take
the authority, to rule, and reign, and to possess his own dominions.
They represent the earth as labouring under a curse; but speak also
of its deliverance therefrom; of its being blighted because of the
transgression of man; but that it shall again yield its increase and
become as the Garden of Eden. They represent the whole creation as
groaning and travailing in pain, but that the creature also shall be
delivered. That the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon all flesh; that
the wolf shall lie down with the lamb, the lion eat straw with the ox,
and finally, every creature that is in the heavens, on the earth, or
under the earth, shall be heard to say, glory and honor, and power,
etc. That the law shall go forth from Zion, and the word of the Lord
from Jerusalem. That Jerusalem shall become the throne of the Lord,
and that the dead saints shall live, and reign with Christ, no longer
deprived of their rightful inheritance; but as Jesus said when here,
"Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth."
If, then, the Scriptures are not idle phantoms, if their visions, and
prophecies were not mere phantasies, and written to deceive, we have as
much right to look for these things as we have to believe in any event
that has taken place; but lest any of my readers should be ignorant of
the Scriptures relative to these subjects, I will give a few passages
which are in themselves as clear and pointed, as any other portion of
the word of God.
Concerning Christ being the rightful heir, it is written, "All things
were created by him, and for him, and without him was not anything made
that is made." He is the "Mighty God, the everlasting Father," &c. "For
of him, and from him, and to him are all things." "Thou sayest that I
am a king, for this end was I born, etc." "Then the Lord shall be king
over all the earth."
The Jews made a great mistake concerning the coming of Christ before;
the Gentiles have made as great a mistake in regard to his second
coming. The Jews expected him to come as a temporal deliverer alone,
and overlooked his sufferings, trials, persecution, and death; the
Gentiles having believed in his sufferings, have lost sight of his
second coming; the promises of God made to the fathers; the redemption
of the earth, and the kingdom of God. Both are wrong; both believed in
part; neither in the whole. The Jews, in consequence of their unbelief,
were cut off; but when Christ comes again, he will come in the way that
their fathers looked for him, as a King, with power, and authority.
The Gentiles having fallen into darkness, have lost sight of the great
purposes of God, in regard to the redemption of man, and of the world;
the restitution of all things, and the coming of Christ to reign. They
have so far forgotten themselves, that they are actually fulfilling
the prophecy of Peter: "There shall come in the last days scoffers,
walking after their own lusts, and saying, Where is the promise of his
coming?" 2 iii. 4. But to return: the Scriptures represent Christ as
the lord of the vineyard, as the "heir" that was killed; as the "sower
of the seed" in the world; as the "destroyer of the wicked husbandmen;"
as coming to "rule the nations with a rod of iron," etc.; and to take
possession of the kingdom. Daniel says, "I saw in the night visions,
and behold, one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven,
and came to the Ancient of Days, and they brought him near before
him. And there was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that
all people, nations, and languages, should serve him; his dominion is
an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom
that which shall not be destroyed." Dan. vii. 13, 14. Zechariah says,
"And his feet shall stand in that day upon the Mount of Olives, which
is before Jerusalem on the East; and the Mount of Olives shall cleave
in the midst thereof toward the east and toward the west, and there
shall be a very great valley; and half of the mountain shall remove
toward the north, and half of it toward the south. And ye shall flee
to the valley of the mountains; for the valley of the mountains shall
reach unto Azal; yea, ye shall flee, like as ye fled from before the
earthquake in the days of Uzziah, king of Judah: and the Lord my God
shall come, and all the saints with thee." . . . . "And the Lord shall
be king over all the earth: in that day shall there be one Lord, and
his name one." xiv. 4, 5, 9. These and many other things must be
fulfilled if the Scriptures be true. These designs of God, which were
the hope of the ancient Saints, and of which poets sung, and prophets
wrote, were the consolation of all the faithful Saints, Prophets, and
Patriarchs,--Jews and Christians. Take these away, and the world, to
the Saints, is a miserable blank; the hope of the righteous futile, and
the Word of God a farce.
Fourthly.--It would frustrate the designs of God, in regard to the
spirits of the righteous, the dead, the progression of the world, and
its final exaltation; and also the exaltation of man.
When the Lord created this world, as we have already stated, he had
an object in view, not only in regard to the world, and its future
destiny, but also as it regards the spirits which were then in
existence. Those great and eternal purposes which our heavenly Father,
in his consummate wisdom, had in view, when he issued his Divine
Mandate, and this world was created, cannot be frustrated unless he
cease to be God. And those enlivening hopes which cheered his sons;
those spirits that lived with him, when they saw this beautiful orb
fashioned, this earth made as the place for their habitation, as
their possession, as the place where they should take bodies, where
they should live, rule, and reign, not only in time, but in eternity,
must not, cannot be destroyed. And yet what avails it all to them, if
Satan triumph, the wicked rule, and God's kingdom be not established!
They could not "have shouted for joy" at the prospect of this world
continuing under the dominion of Satan; at the blight, degradation,
misery, and ruin that have overspread it. But if we trace the matter
still further, and look at the righteous dead, their position would
be any thing but enviable under those circumstances. It was the
hopes of the resurrection that made them endure, and it was God that
implanted them in their bosoms; but if they are not raised, and if
Christ's kingdom is not established, and they do not reign with him,
their hopes are vain, their sufferings useless, and the purposes of
God are frustrated. In vain did they bear a faithful testimony in
opposition to a depraved world; in vain they endured, as seeing him
that is invisible; in vain they wandered about in sheep skins, and in
goat skins; in vain they looked for a city which hath foundations, as
a recompense of reward; and false and deceptive are the testimonies of
all the prophets who have testified of the restitution of all things,
from the foundation of the world. Take away this, and our highest, and
most exalted hopes are blighted; we live like fools, and die like dogs.
If the world is always suffered to continue as it is, then is the hope
of the righteous vain, the promises of God fail, Satan triumphs, and
God's purposes are frustrated.
All the designs of God concerning this world and the work of creation,
were perfected in his mind before this world rolled into existence, or
"e'er the morning stars sang together for joy." When this world was
formed, God intended it as the final dwelling place of those bodies
which should inhabit it. And when "the sons of God shouted for joy,"
it was at the prospect of that exaltation, that they would be capable
of obtaining, in consequence of this creation, which they then saw
come into existence. And if, as Jesus, they had to descend below all
things, in order that they might be raised above all things; still
this was the medium, or channel, through which they were to obtain
their ultimate exaltation, and glorification. It was by the union
of their spirits, which came forth from the Father as the "Father
of Spirits," with earthly bodies, that perfect beings were formed,
capable of continued increase and eternal exaltation; that the spirit,
quick, subtle, refined, lively, animate, energetic, and eternal, might
have a body through which to operate, that might be compared to the
steam, to an engine; the electric fluid to the telegraphic wire; for,
notwithstanding that spirit, steam, or electricity are the powerful,
quickening, energetic principles, employed; yet without the engine,
the telegraphic wire, or the matter, they would be comparatively
useless; these elements might wander in empty space; spend their force
at random, or remain dormant, or useless, without those more tangible,
material objects, through which to exercise their force. When steam
was first applied to practical purposes; when the operation of the
magnetic needle, and the mode of communication through the electric
telegraph, were discovered; when railroads and steam boats were first
invented, something of importance was discovered, and of great value to
the human family. The men who made these discoveries and applications
are deservedly looked upon at the present time as men of great genius,
and as the benefactors of the world; but what was it they did? They
did not create the elements, those already existed: steam, magnetism,
electricity, iron, coals, water, existed before, and had existed from
the beginning of creation. What was it these geniuses discovered? It
was simply a method of organizing this matter, the making use of gross
inanimate materials to confine the more subtle, refined, elastic,
energetic, and powerful, that their combined power and energy might
be brought into effect; and that through the union of two powerful
agencies, which had lain dormant, their forces might be united, and be
brought into active and powerful operation. Thus, then, was the body
formed as an agent for the spirit. It was made of grosser materials
than the spirit, which proceeded from God, but was necessary as an
habitation for it that, it might be clothed with a body, perfect in
its organization, beautiful in its structure, symmetrical in its
proportions, and in every way fit for an eternal intelligent being;
that through it, it might speak, act, enjoy, and develop its power,
its intelligence, and perpetuate its species. Hence as the discoveries
of those geniuses already referred to, were hailed with pleasure by
the inhabitants of the world, on account of the benefits conferred
upon men, so when God created this earth, and organized men upon it,
"the morning stars sung together for joy;" they looked upon it as God
looked upon it, as a work perfect, magnificent, and glorious, through
which they saw their way to exaltation, glory, thrones, principalities,
powers, dominions, and eternal felicity. They had the intelligence
before, but now they saw a way through which to develop it. Through the
world's great Architect, their Father, they discovered a plan fraught
with intelligence and wisdom, reaching from eternity to eternity,
pointing out a means whereby, through obedience to celestial laws, they
might obtain the same power that he had. And if, in fallen humanity,
they might have to suffer for a while, they saw a way back to God, to
eternal exaltations, and to the multiplied, and eternally increasing
happiness of innumerable millions of beings. And if, as Jesus, they had
to descend below all things, it was that they might be raised above all
things, and take their position as sons of God, in the eternal world;
that overcoming the world they might sit down with Christ upon his
throne, as he overcame and sat down upon the Father's throne. Rev. iii.
21.
But again; this creation is unlike the works of man, which, however
excellent, and useful, all bear the marks of humanity, all are more
or less imperfect in their structure, and liable to a thousand
contingences, are more or less clumsy, cumbrous, and unwieldy, and must
be governed by numerous very limited laws; as for instance, you can
convey intelligence, but it must be exactly on the line of the electric
wire, you cannot go beyond its limits; you can make an engine work,
but it must be stationary; or if moving, must be confined to rails,
depth of water, and a thousand other contingences. None of these things
possess intelligence, nor the principles of life within themselves,
neither can they impart, nor perpetuate it to others, they are merely
machines, to be acted upon by man, and without man they cease to exist;
when one is worn out, or broken, another must be made at the same
toil and labour; possessing not the principles of life, they cannot
impart their likeness; whereas man, beasts, fish, fowl, and all the
animate works of God can. Man's works in comparison with God's, are
like comparing a child's wooden horse to the beautiful creature God has
made, or rather his penny whistle to the music of heaven, or the larger
boy's billiards to the motions of the planetary system. They possess no
intelligence, no powers, no reflection, no agency. The works of man are
merely made to be acted upon; are short lived, temporary, perishable
things. Man, however, bears the impress of Jehovah, is made after his
image, in his likeness, and possesses the principles of intelligence
within himself, and the medium of conveying it to others. He possesses
also, power to perpetuate his species, as also to communicate his
thoughts, his intelligence, genius, and power to others, that are
formed like him. He received his intelligence, his spirit, from God, he
is a part of himself,
A spark of Deity
Struck from the fire of his eternal blaze;
he came from God as his son, he bears the impress of Jehovah, even
in his fallen degenerate corrupted state. His powerful intellect,
his stately genius, his grasping ambition, his soaring, and in many
instances, exalted hopes, display, though he be fallen, the mark of
greatness; he bears the impress of Deity and shows that he is of divine
origin.
Unlike the works of man, the work of God in relation to this earth was
destined to be eternal, not subject to be controlled by any little
contingences; nor was it dependent upon fluctuation, or change. Man's
works might fluctuate, change, or be destroyed, but not so with God's,
they were, and are eternal; eternal mind, and eternal matter; organized
and created according to the unsearchable intelligence of that eternal
unfathomable mind; that fountain of intelligence, forethought, wisdom,
and energy, that dwells with God. And this earth, and man in their
destination, and all the works of this creation, are as unchangeable
as the sun, moon, or stars, and as unalterable as the throne of God.
Satan may deceive men, for a season; their minds may be blinded by the
god of this world, but God's purposes will be unchanged. Who is Satan?
A being powerful, energetic, deceptive, insinuating; and yet necessary
to develop the evil, as there are bitters, to make us appreciate the
sweet; darkness, to make us appreciate light; evil and its sorrows,
that we may appreciate the good; error that we may be enabled to
appreciate truth; misery, in order that we may appreciate happiness.
And as there are in the works of creation opposing, mineralogical
substances which in chemical processes are necessary to develop certain
properties of matter, and produce certain effects; as fire is necessary
to purify silver, gold, and the precious metals, so it is necessary to
instruct, and prepare man for his ultimate destiny--to test his virtue,
develop his folly, exhibit his weakness and prove his incompetency
without God to rule himself or the earth; or to make himself happy or
exalt himself in time, or in eternity. But again, who is Satan? He is a
being of God's own make, under his control, subject to his will, cast
out of Heaven for rebellion; and when his services can be dispensed
with, an angel will cast him into the bottomless pit. Can he fight
against and overcome God? Verily, No! Can he alter the designs of God?
Verily, No! Satan may rage; but the Lord can confine him within proper
limits. He may instigate rebellion against God, but the Lord can bind
him in chains.
Shall the purposes of the Lord be frustrated? Verily, No! The nations
of the earth may be drunken, and rush against each other like
inebriates; but the Lord's purposes are unchanged. Thrones may be cast
down, kingdoms depopulated; and blood, sword, and famine may prevail,
yet the Lord lives, and will accomplish his own designs. Man may
forget God, but God does not forget man: man may be ignorant of his
calling, but not so with God. Man may not reflect upon the designs of
God, in relation to this earth, but God must and does; and if in man's
madness, his infidelity, his hypocrisy, or his ignorance, he cannot
find time here to reflect upon these things, he will find ample leisure
hereafter, and the purposes of God will roll on; and perhaps when he
shall be preached to, as the rebellious Antediluvians, after receiving
the punishment of his deeds, he may know something more of the power,
justice, and purposes of God, and be glad to hear the Gospel in prison
which he rejected on this earth. But to suppose that the purposes of
God will be frustrated in relation to his designs in the formation of
this earth, is altogether folly. They will roll on as steadily as the
sun or moon in their courses. And as surely as we look in the east for
the rising of the sun in the morning to display his gorgeous glory,
light up the beauties of creation, and waken sleepy man; so surely
will "the sun of righteousness arise with healing in his wings," so
surely will the sleeping dead burst from their tombs, and the glorified
bodies with their spirits re-unite, so surely will a reign of justice,
truth, equity, and happiness--the reign of God, supersede the barbarous
oppression, and corrupt governments of this world, so surely will that
long night of darkness, ignorance, crime, and error be superseded
by the glorious day of righteousness; and so surely will this earth
become as the Garden of the Lord, the kingdom and reign of God be
established, and the Saints of the Most High take the kingdom and
possess it for ever and ever. The time of the restitution of all things
will be ushered in; the earth resume its paradisiacal glory, and the
dead and the living Saints possess the full fruition of those things
for which they lived, and suffered, and died. These are the hopes that
the ancient Saints enjoyed; they possessed hopes that bloomed with
immortality and eternal life; hopes planted there by the Spirit of
God, and conferred by the ministering of Angels, the visions of the
Almighty, the opening of the Heavens, and the promises of God. They
lived and died in hopes of a better resurrection. How different to the
narrow, conceited, grovelling views of would-be philosophers, of sickly
religionists, and dreaming philanthropists!
Therefore, as we have said, anything short of this would render inutile
the hopes of the Saints; would fail to accomplish the expectation of
millions of spirits; and cause Satan to triumph, and frustrate the
designs of God. This earth, after wading through all the corruptions
of men, being cursed for his sake, and not permitted to shed forth
its full lustre and glory, must yet take its proper place in God's
creations; be purified from that corruption under which it has groaned
for ages, and become a fit place for redeemed men, angels, and God to
dwell upon. The Lord Jesus will come and dispossess the usurper; take
possession of his own kingdom; introduce a rule of righteousness; and
reign there with his Saints, who, together with him, are the rightful
proprietors.