vision of the "waters which issued out from "under the threshold of the house eastward," which is thus continued, " And when the man "that had the line in his hand went forth east

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ward, he measured a thousand cubits," or as

,ויטר אלף באטה,it is in the original

"He

"measured a thousand with a cubit, and he

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brought me through the waters; the waters "were to the ancles.

Again He measured a thousand, and brought "me through the waters; the waters were to the "knees. Again He measured a thousand, and

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brought me through; the waters were to the "loins.

"Afterward He measured a thousand, (and "it was) a river that I could not pass over : "for the waters were risen waters to swim in, a "river that could not be passed over."

When we remember that the invitation of the prophet is "Ho every one that thirsteth, come

ye to the waters," we shall be prepared to admit, that under this same similitude, the doctrine which maketh wise unto salvation through Christ, may be alluded to in this description, as well as in the words of Isaiah; but while we

have thus no difficulty in the supposition that the progress of the Gospel does, in some manner, form the theme of this vision, we must still seek from Scripture alone, such help as may lead us to a right and consistent interpretation of the several particulars comprehended in this portion of Ezekiel's prophecy.

All commentators will, I believe, agree that the sense which is conveyed under the metaphor of waters, is the same in this place, as in the passage of Isaiah which I have already noticed, or in that of Zechariah, who predicts that "it "shall be in that day that living waters shall go "out from Jerusalem; half of them toward the "former sea, and half of them toward the "hinder sea; in summer and in winter shall it "be. And the Lord shall be king over all the "earth; in that day shall there be one Lord, " and his name one." And thus the fulness of this spiritual river is referred to the time of the Messiah's future dominion. Nor is it less evident that the description given in the subsequent verses of Ezekiel's prophecy, is identical in meaning with that which is found in the Apocalypse.

The words of the former are, "Behold on the "bank of the river were very many trees on the "one side and on the other."-" And it shall

come to pass that every thing that liveth, "which moveth whithersoever the river shall

come shall live and there shall be a very "great multitude of fish, because these waters "shall come thither; for they shall be healed, "and every thing shall live whither the river "cometh. And it shall come to pass that the "fishers shall stand upon it."-" And by the "river on the bank thereof, on this side, and on "that side shall grow all trees for meat, whose "leaf shall not fade, neither shall the fruit "thereof be consumed it shall bring forth new

:

"fruit according to his months, because their

waters they issued out of the sanctuary, and "the fruit thereof shall be for meat, and the leaf "thereof for medicine."

But by St. John also, it is said, "He shewed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God "and of the Lamb; in the midst of the street "of it, and on either side of the river was there "the tree of life, which bare twelve manner of

fruits, and yielded her fruit every month and "the leaves of the tree were for the healing of "the nations *."

But

Thus the river of Ezekiel is the river "of the "water of life," and the trees "whose leaf shall "not fade," of which it is said by the Prophet "that the fruit thereof shall be for meat, and "the leaf thereof for medicine;" are those the leaves of which are described in the Apocalypse, as being for the healing of the nations." as this identity includes also an identity of time, and as the words of the Apocalyptic prophecy are admitted to refer to a period subsequent to the commencement of the millennial kingdom of Christ, so the last thousand measured by "the "man that had the line in his hand," when the waters were risen, "waters to swim in, a "river that could not be passed over," is that very time in which "Satan shall deceive the "nations no more till the thousand years be "fulfilled."

Thus, then, the Scripture itself affords to us a measure whereby we may compute the several

* Rev. xxii. 1. &c.

thousands which should precede the last of those mentioned by Ezekiel. It teaches us that the subject here referred to is the accomplishment of that covenant, whereby the promised Saviour should appear when "the fulness of the time" being come, "God sent forth his Son, to redeem them that were under the law, while in the

progress of fulfilment he should gradually cause the Gospel of the kingdom to be

preached in all the world for a witness unto "all nations,' before the end shall come." Thus, also, that voice of tradition, or that computation of chronology which brings the most remarkable. events of the Gospel dispensation, whether in its preparation or development, most nearly to coincide with the commencement of four millenary periods, is not without some evidence of Scripture in favour of its authenticity; and whatever internal marks of truth we may discern in the computation used in the book of Enoch, thus receive an independent confirmation, the strength of which will depend upon the probability of our conjecture, that the cubit has been made use of by Ezekiel as a measure of time, with the mystical sense to which I have already