money, in trying to set up and establish as many Zions as there are sects and parties, when God has assured us "That he will arise and have mercy upon Zion, for the time to favour her, yea the set time, is come; for thy servants take pleasure in her stones, and favour the dust thereof." This is the reason, and the only reason, assigned.

A house divided against itself, against its head and centre, cannot stand; but it is just as bad, and as inconsistent, to have many heads, as to have no head at all. Both are monsters in the true creation and order of God; it is contrary to his word, and the order of his providence.

But to illustrate more plainly and fully this subject, let us suppose that we are as desirous to establish the Kingdom of Great Britain, as the children of God are to see his Kingdom established on this earth. Let us suppose that we saw the indispensable necessity of its subjects possessing all the holiness of heart and state that the Bible declares they must possess, as a necessary preparatory state, before they can enter the Fifth Kingdom of the Stone.* What would we think if a person or persons should be continually trying, by every means in their power, to set up as many centres of union as they have Zions in Christendom-one in Liverpool, another in Manchester, another in Birmingham, another in York, another in Don

* Alluding to Daniel's fifth kingdom, called "the stone cut out of the mountains without hands."

caster, and so on, with as many centres as there are places in England? When the King had declared (and all his subjects professed to believe his declarations true) that he had chosen London; that he had desired it for his habitation; here he would dwell. "This is my rest: here will I dwell." That the King had declared "that the law should go forth from London." Would not the King of England rightly judge and condemn every person as guilty of rebellion and treason who should attempt to support any centre of union, or laws from any other centre than London, no matter how much they professed to have the kingdom of Great Britain within them, and his laws written in their hearts. If this is the case, why not practise the laws as he has given them to us, and respect the place he has declared they should issue from.

Well would it be for us, and all who have taken upon them the name of Christ, if they could in this day say with David, "Surely I will not come into the tabernacle of my house, nor go up into my bed; I will not give sleep to my eyes, or slumber to mine eyelids, until I find out a place (doubtless he was in a much better state of mind than those who do not care about any place at all,) for the Lord, an habitation for the mighty God of Jacob. We will go into his tabernacles: we will worship at his footstool. Arise, O Lord, into thy rest; thou, and the ark of thy strength."

I am bold to affirm, if there ever has been an open case of apostacy from the primitive faith, it is holding up and professing these blessed truths in state and faith; and our practice being directly contrary to our faith, and we living in our ceiled houses, not as pilgrims, but as kings and lords of the whole earth; this is the reason that we have become blinded, and given up to every imagination of our wicked hearts, instead of following the Word of the Lord; our eye has not been single, but double, having the world and worldly professions on the one hand, and a heaven somewhere beyond the bounds of time and space, in state, on the other hand.

And what a picture does Christendom now present, as much divided as ever Babylon, or those engaged in building the Tower of Babel-no union of purpose, no agreement in doctrine and practice; what one sect affirms to be true, the other declares to be false.

Let any stranger, any sincere and honest enquirer, come amongst us seeking truth, where would he find rest to his soul? only in his ignorance, in being entirely unacquainted with our condition and diversity of faith and practice-we are like so many scattered hairs, blown to the four winds of the heavens, without any centre of union, or harmony of action.

Surely it is time for us, high time for us, to husband all the virtues and excellence of heart

that our holy religion bestows and enjoins, and to arise up and seek "a city that hath foundations, whose maker and builder is God."

Let not the god of this world blind our eyes so that we lose sight of our glorious promised inheritance-by faith we see it, and by faith we have an evidence, that what God hath spoken is true. Then, "give him no rest till he establish, and till he make Jerusalem a praise in the earth."

"Established in the latter days,

On mountains of eternal praise,

Will be the house that God shall raise,
By Judah's Holy Lion.

From Zion shall go forth the Law,

And God will smite the world with awe,
And to his Church all nations draw,
To praise the Lord in Zion.

And many nations there shall come,
The lame, the blind, the deaf and dumb,
And find an everlasting home,

Unto his holy mountain.
Then glorious Zion shall arise,
And teach the nations to be wise,
And purge away their host of lies,

And wash them in her fountain.

It was thus the ancient Prophet sung,
While inspiration moved his tongue,
And while by faith his harp was strung,

He future things declared.

This lovely new Jerusalem

All other buildings will condemn,

And in Mount Zion over them

The Lord will reign for ever."

I will now mention some of the very great bless

ings that must follow the setting up Jerusalem as the centre of unity for the whole earth; but before I proceed with this, I desire to remove one stumbling block out of the way-this I do for the sake of those who discern no difference between this dispensation and the one that is immediately to follow. I make these remarks, under the head of this present Gospel dispensation, "which is mercy to us, and judgment to Israel as a nation," viz., "This is a dispensation when the invisible kingdom only consists in hidden spiritual principles and properties, and not embodied. But in the next dispensation, which will be mercy to the Jews and judgment to the Gentiles, I remark, that the kingdom of heaven does not merely exist in spiritual and invisible principles and properties, but is embodied and visibly made manifest —this is the reason that we Gentiles are taught to pray "Thy kingdom come;" consequently, it must be yet future, but in the next dispensation the kingdom of heaven will be on this earth, as it is now in heaven, and we shall have no need of praying for what we then possess."

One most excellent and exalted blessing that will follow this dispensation, is, the kingdom of heaven will then be visibly seen and manifest upon Mount Zion at Jerusalem to the eyes of all men, and we shall never more have cause to pray for it

See observations on the Three Distinct Administrations under the Gospel dispensation.