her; and when he moves himself his church rises with him. Once he was prostrate in the garden; then Zion was only a little hill; then he arose, and daily as he is lifted up his church rises with him; and in the day when he shall stand on Mount Zion, then his church shall be elevated to her utmost height. The fact is, that the church, though a mountain, is a volcano — not one that spouts fire, but that has fire within her; and this inward fire of living truth, and living grace, makes her bulge out, expands her side, and lifts her crest, and onwardly she must tower, for truth is mighty, and it must prevail — grace is mighty, and must conquer — Christ is mighty, and he must be King of kings. Thus you see that there is something more than the individual exertions of the church; there is a something within her that must make her expand and grow, until she surpasses the highest mountains,
12. But note, the great hope of the church, although it is considered madness by some to say it, is the second advent of Christ. When he shall come, then the mountain of the Lord’s house shall be exalted above the hills. We do not know when Jesus may come. All the prophets of modern times have only been prophets because they have made profit by their speculations; but with the solitary exception of that pun upon the word, I believe they have not the slightest claim upon your credit; not even men who are doctors of divinity, who can spoil an abundance of paper with their prophesies of second Adventism; “Of that day and that hour no man knows, no, not even the angels of God.” Christ may come this morning; while I am addressing you Christ may suddenly appear in the clouds of heaven; he may not come for many a weary age; but he must come; in the last days he must appear; and when Christ shall come he will make short work of what is so long a labour for his church. His appearance will immediately convert the Jews. They have looked for the Messiah as king; there he is in more than regal splendour. They shall see him; they shall believe on him; he will then tell them that he is the Messiah whom their fathers crucified. Then they will look on him whom they have pierced, and they will mourn for their sin, and gathering around their great Messiah in glorious march they shall enter and be settled in their own land. They shall once more become a great and mighty nation, indeed, a Jew shall become a very prince among men, firstborn in the church of God. Then shall the fulness of the Gentiles be converted and all kindreds and people shall serve the Son of David. Note, the church is to rise first, and when the church has risen to eminence and greatness, the nations will flow into her. Her rising will not be owing to the nations, but to the advent of Christ, and after she has become great, conspicuous, and supreme, then the nations will flow into her. I am looking for the advent of Christ; it is this that cheers me in the battle of life — the battle and cause of Christ. I look for Christ to come, somewhat as John Bunyan described the battle of Captain Credence with Diabolos. The inhabitants of the town of Mansoul fought hard to protect their city from the prince of darkness, and at last a pitched battle was fought outside the walls. The captains and the brave men of arms fought all day until their swords were knitted to their hands with blood; many and many a weary hour did they seek to drive back the Diabolians. The battle seemed to waver in the balance, sometimes victory was on the side of faith, and immediately, triumph seemed to hover over the crest of the prince of hell; but just as the sun was setting, trumpets were heard in the distance; Prince Emmanuel was coming, with trumpets sounding, and with banners flying, and while the men of Mansoul pressed onwards sword in hand, Emmanuel attacked their foes in the rear, and getting the enemy between the two of them, they went on, driving their enemies at the swords point, until at last, trampling over their dead bodies, they met, and hand to hand the victorious church saluted its victorious Lord. Even so must it is. We must fight on daily and hourly; and when we think the battle is almost turned against us, we shall hear the trump of the archangel, and the voice of God, and he shall come, the Prince of the kings of the earth: at his name, with terror they shall melt, and like snow driven before the wind from the bare side of Salmon shall they fly away; and we, the church militant, trampling over them, shall greet our Lord, shouting, “Hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah, the Lord God Omnipotent reigns.” Thus then, I have explained the first part of the text.
13. II. The second part of the text we have to consider, is this sentence — “AND ALL NATIONS SHALL FLOW INTO IT.” Here is a figure, perhaps not so sublime, but quite as beautiful as the first. Still endeavour to retain in your minds the picture of this stupendous mountain, reaching above the clouds, seen by all mankind, in either hemisphere, a wonder of nature which could not be accomplished by the ordinary rules of nature, but which divine wisdom will be able to perform. Well, wonder of wonders, you see all the nations of the earth converging to this great mountain, as to a common centre. Once in the year all the people of Israel were accustomed to go to the little hill of Zion; and now, once for and all, you see, not Israel, but all the nations of the earth coming to this great hill of Zion, to worship the Most High God. The white sails are on the Atlantic, and the ships are flying before the wind, even as the bird flies through the sky. What are they carrying? What is their noble cargo? Lo! they come from afar, bringing the sons and daughters of Zion from the ends of the earth. See over there the camel and the dromedary, {a} the great caravan passing over the pathless desert? What are these and what is their costly freight? Lo they are bringing the daughters of God, and the sons of Zion up to the Most High God, to worship him. From all parts of the earth you see them coming — from the freezing cold and from the burning heat, from the far off islands of the sea, and from the barren sands they come; they come, all converging towards the great centre of their high and holy worship. This we are not to understand of course, literally, but as a figure of the great spiritual fact that all the souls of men shall tend to Christ, and to union with his church.
14. Again, please carefully to observe the figure. It does not say they shall come to it, but they shall “flow to it.” Understand the metaphor. It implies first their number. Now when our churches are increased, converts drop into the churches; drop after drop the pool is filled. But in those days they shall flow into it; now it is only the pouring out of water from the bucket; then it shall be as the rolling of the cataract from the hillside, it shall flow into it. Now our converts, however numerous, are comparatively few, but then a nation shall be born in a day. The people shall renounce their gods at once. Whole nations shall suddenly by an irresistible impulse flow into the church, not one by one, but in one vast mass. The power of God shall be seen in bringing whole nations into the church of God. You have seen the river flowing onward to the sea, with its banks all swollen, bearing its enormous contribution to the boundless ocean. So shall it is in the last days; each nation shall be like a river, rolling towards the foot of this great mountain, the church of the living God. Happy, happy, happy day, when India and China with their teeming myriads, and all the nations of the earth, with their multitude of languages, shall flow into the mountain of God!
15. But the text conveys the idea not only of numbers, but of — (I know the exact word, but then I do not like to use it, for fear some should not know the meaning of it, it means that the nations of the earth shall come willingly to it) — spontaneity. That was the word I wanted to use; but why should we use big words, when we might find little ones. They are to come willingly to Christ; not to be driven, not to be pumped up, not to be forced to it, but to be brought up by the word of the Lord, to pay him willing homage; they are to flow into it. Just as the river naturally flows downhill by no other force than what is its nature, so shall the grace of God be so mightily given to the sons of men, that no acts of parliament, no state churches, no armies will be used to make a forced conversion. “The nations shall flow into it.” By themselves, made willing in the day of God’s power, they shall flow into it. Whenever the church of God is increased by unwilling converts it loses strength; whenever men join the church because of oppression, which would drive them to make a profession of religion, they do not flow, the church is weakened, and not strengthened, but in those days the converts shall be voluntarily won — shall come in willingly by divine grace; they shall flow into it.
16. But yet again, this represents the power of the work of conversion. They “shall flow into it.” Imagine an idiot endeavouring to stop the river Thames. He gets a boat for himself, and there he stands, endeavouring to push back the stream. He objects to it flowing towards the sea, and with his hands he tries to push it back. Would you not soon hear laughter along the banks? Ah, fool, to attempt
