il at length God gave to Abraham the distinct promise that
the Deliverer should arise from his posterity; saying, "In thy seed
shall all the families of the earth be blessed" (Gen. xxii. 18).
Again ages passed; and David was raised up from amongst the
descendants of Abraham, and of the predicted tribe of Judah, and to
him the promise was made, "Thine house and thy kingdom shall be
established for ever before thee; thy throne shall be established for
ever" (2 Sam. vii. 16). We know that princes of the family of David
succeeded one another on the throne for 450 years, until the Jews were
carried into captivity; but we learn from the Psalms that it had been
revealed to David himself that this promise was not to be fulfilled in
any such earthly and temporal manner. And his faith and hopes are
expressed continually in glowing words, describing a Kingdom of
Messiah, which should be universal and without end, a Kingdom of
righteousness and peace.

Thus in Psalm ii. the nations of the world are represented in
rebellion against God and the Messiah. "Why do the heathen rage, and
the people imagine a vain thing? The kings of the earth set
themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the Lord,
and against His Anointed" (Ps. ii. 1, 2), i.e. Messiah--Christ. And
then the decree of the universal sovereignty of Messiah is
proclaimed: "I will declare the decree: the Lord hath said unto me,
Thou art My Son; this day have I begotten Thee. Ask of me, and I shall
give Thee the heathen for Thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts
of the earth for Thy possession" (Ps. ii. 7, 8). Then in Psalm xxii,
after the mysterious sufferings of Messiah have been set forth, His
Kingdom is again proclaimed as universal: "All the ends of the world
shall remember and turn unto the Lord; and all the kindreds of the
nations shall worship before Thee" (Ps. xxii. 27). And, to pass over
other passages, in Psalm lxxii. Messiah's everlasting reign of
righteousness and peace is described in glowing words: "They shall
fear Thee as long as the sun and moon endure, throughout all
generations. In His days shall the righteous flourish; and abundance
of peace so long as the moon endureth. All kings shall fall down
before Him; all nations shall serve Him. His Name shall endure for
ever; and men shall be blessed in Him; all nations shall call Him
blessed[4]" (Ps. lxxii. 5, 7, 11, 17).

Many years passed; and then Isaiah proclaimed in prophecy, "Behold a
Ki