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2/0 Miscellaneous Correspondence,
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study of these prophecies may be productive of profit , as well as pleasure . We read , Isaiah ii . 4 , that in the last dtry * w wider the Christian dtspeB « &tioii , men wHl beat their swords into plough - shares , and no mare learn tear . We are further told by the same inspired writer , chap . xi . 6—9 , that the consequeoce of % h \* forbearance and the spread of
Christian knowledge will be , that men and nations of dispositions hitherto as opposite as the ttfo ^ f and lamb , or the leopard and the kid , &c , will Dot ouly dwell together in a state of perfect peace , harmofw , and friendship , but also of great ease , security , and abundance ; that , as the prophet Micah expresses it , ** they shall sit every man under his vine and under his fig-tree , aud none shall make them afraid . " If Christians believe in
these prophecies , which they must wecea 9 ai ily do if they have examined the evidences of their religion , they will find in them an assurance , equal as to certainty and credibility to any that history affords , and expressed with great clearness , that a time will arrive when our holy religion will subdue the malevolent passions that have , for so many centuries ,
deluged the world with human blood ; and when it will be the happy medium of establishing universal peace and security . As experience is the general rule by which statesmen and politicians have been guided , I would ask , if Christian statesmen , men placing reliaiwe in the sacred volume of revelation , ought not to draw from these prophecies the same maxims of wisdom that statesmen have
been in the habit of doing from past history and experience ? If Christians consider the Scriptures as a revelation of the will of God * and read them with the same disposition and intention wirh which they read the letter of a friend , i . e . with a sincere desire to discover the
will of him who has written , they would , I think , soon come to the conclusion , that to engage in war is offensive to God ; ared exj > erience will shew that so far from its conferring Jastiug security oi ) a nation , it sows the seeds of its dowufal . On this subject prophetic history , past history , and the remark of our Savioilr , are in perfect accordance , that they who take the sword nhall perish by the sword .
The statesman , or man of the world , may smile at the expression , prophetic h ' mtory ; but I must take the liberty of saying that , iu one point of view , it commands greater respect than the history of the past as recorded by profane hustorruns * The latter lias been handed
Untitled Article
down to us by falhhle , interested , and prejudiced men , and past events we find to be variously recorded , according to the ignorance , the interests , or the prejudices of the writers : whereas pro * phetic h ' rstory , being handed down to us b f holy men inspired by God , has not these imperfection * . It is therefore more to be depended on than real history ; especially , as U the case in the present instance , when handed down to us in plain and intelligible language .
The prophecy , contained iu the second chapter of Isaiah , ' They shall beat their swords -into ploughshares , and their spears into pruning-hooks : nation shall not lift up sword against nation , neither shall they learn war any more /* is so very plain and intelligible as to require no comment . That contained iu chap , xi . 6—y , * though symbolically expressed , can hardly be misunderstood as to its
general import . It evidently relates to the same happy period of time , namely , the last days , and to the same triumphs of Christianity ; and it may be considered as the most sublime and highly poetical description that has ever beeu given of this glorious triumph . Whether there may be novelty in the remarks and paraphrase which I send you I know not ; but , as far as I know , these prophecies have engaged little of the attention of
commentators . If the latter ( chap , xi . ) were an insulated prophecy , its explanation would not be attended with much difficulty , as the prophet informs us that the state of happiness , figuratively described , is to proceed from " a root of Jesse , ** or
from the Messiah . But , i f we connect this prophecy with that contained in cb . ii ., of which it iuay be considered an illustration , its meaning aud application seem easy and uaturaL : and , from various equivalent expressions in the two prophecies , it is probable they are identical , that they are descriptive of the
* " The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb , and the leopard shall lie down with the kid , and the calf and the young lion aud the fatling together , aud a little child shall lead them . And ihe cow and the bear * hall feed , their young ones anal I lie down together , and tiie lion * hall eat straw like the ox . Aitd the
sucking child ahall play on the hole of the asp , and the weaned child shall put his hand ou the cockatrice' don . Thty shall not hurt nor destroy ii > < ill my holy mountain : for the earth shall hv full of tin * knowledge of the Lord ah the watcrs cover the « ea . *
2/0 Miscellaneous Correspondence,
2 / 0 Miscellaneous Correspondence ,
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Citation
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Monthly Repository (1806-1838) and Unitarian Chronicle (1832-1833), April 2, 1830, page 270, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/mruc/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2583/page/54/
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