Judge, feeing they have been his witneffes in the world, and will be the fame at the great day. And Rachel faid, God hath JUDGED ME, and hath also heard my voice, and hath given me a fon : THEREFORE be called his name DAN, Gen. xxx. 6.

SIMEON, by name, reprefents the church of God as true Ifraelites, who are prevalent with God in prayer, whofe prayers God hears-for his eyes are over the righteous, and his ears are open to their prayers. And they are an obedient people to the Saviour's voice, whom they hear and obey. My Sheep hear my voice, and follow me. Simeon fignifies THAT HEARS, obeys, or is heard. And fhe conceived again, and bare a fon; and faid, Becaufe the Lord hath HEARD that I was hated, be bath therefore given me this fon alfo: and he called his name SIMEON, Gen. xxix. 33.

ISSACHAR, by his name, reprefents the church of God as the Saviour's hire or reward. He had the elect for redeeming them. Thine they were, and thou gavest them me; and I lay down my life for the sheep. They are the reward of the Saviour's labour, as the fpangled fheep was the hire of Jacob, as well as his wife. And Jacob fled into the country of Syria, and Ifrael ferved for a wife ; and for a wife he kept fheep, Hof. xii. 12. And fo did our bleffed Saviour. He affumed our nature, was among us as him that ferved, paid the debts of his fpoufe, quickened her dead foul, and espoused her to himself, as the purchase of his blood, and the reward of his labour. Jacob's time feemed but a day

2

a day for the love he had for Rachel, who was the object of his reward; for a wife he kept fheep. And for the joy that was fet before Chrift, he endured the cross, and defpifed the shame, Heb. xii. 2. which joy confifted in glorifying his Father, in his being glorified in his human nature, and in the marriage of his wife, and eternal glorification of her. Iffachar fignifies hire or reward. And God bearkened unto Leah, and she conceived, and bare Jacob the fifth fon. And Leah faid, God hath given me mine HIRE, because I have given my maiden to mine bufband: and he called his name Ifachar, Gen. xxx. 17, 18.

ZEBULUN, by name, reprefents the church of God as refiding in the cleft of the rock Chrift, Song ii. 14. of whom Zion fays, Lord, thou hast been our dwelling-place in all generations, Pfal. xc. 1. in whom they live, move, and have their being, and in whom they are commanded to ftand faft. Stand faft in the Lord, my dearly beloved. Zebulun fignifies DWELLING. And Leah faid, God bath endowed me with a good dowry: now will my husband DWELL with me, because I have born him fix fons: and fhe called his name Zebulun.

GAD, by name, represents the church as the Lord's hoft, or an army with banners, Song vi. 10. called the host of the Lord, a good company of foldiers; the camp of faints, Rev. xx. 9. engaged in the fight of faith, 1 Tim. vi. 12. a troop of good foldiers of Jefus Christ, who are to endure hardness, 2 Tim. ii. 3. to put on the whole armour

of

of God, Eph. vi. 11. and overcome the world, 1 John v. 4. Gad fignifies a troop. And Zilpah, Leah's maid, bare Jacob a fon. And Leah faid, A troop cometh; and he called his name Gad, Gen. fhe

XXX. 10, II.

ASHER, by his name, reprefents the church in her covenant ftate, being bleffed of God, and under the bleffing of Abraham. As many as are of faith are bleffed with faithful Abraham, Gal, iii. 9. which Zion certainly is; for it is on the mountain of Zion that the Lord hath commanded the bleffing, even life for evermore, Pfal. cxxxiii. 3. And this fhall be proclaimed aloud in the great day, Come, ye bleffed of my Father, inherit the kingdom. Afher fignifies blessedness, or being made happy under a bleffing, which all God's people are,. more or lefs. And Zilpab, Leah's maid, bare Jacob a fecond fon. And Leab faid, HAPPY am I, for the daughters will call me BLESSED: and he called bis name ASHER, Gen. xxx. 12, 13.

NAPHTALI, by his name, represents the church of God as mighty prevailers, ftruggling hard both with heaven and earth; like Jacob, they must wrestle hard with God for a blessing, Gen. xxxii. 24. or they will never take the kingdom of God by force, which is faid to fuffer violence, Matth. xi. 12. And they are obliged to wrestle with principalities and powers, and with Spiritual wickedness in bigh places, Eph. vi. 12. in order to overcome the world. Naphtali fignifies a mighty or prevalent wrestler. And Bilbab, Rachel's maid, con

ceived again, and bare Jacob a fecond fon. And Rachel faid, With GREAT WRESTLINGS bave I wrestled with my fifter, and I have prevailed; and fhe called his name NAPHTALI, Gen. iii. 7, 8.

These particulars highly induce me to think that these twelve patriarchs, in the fignification of their names, are twelve of thefe elders mentioned in my text. Firit, they all fprung from Jacob, whofe name Chrift affumed, Pfa. xxiv. 6. and which name every faint of God may affume, Ifa. xliv. 5. Secondly, they were the fathers of all the Ifraelites; and they are all Ifraelites that believe in Chrift for falvation, called the Ifrael of God. Thefe patriarchs all sprung from Abraham, who is the father of us all, Rom. iv. 16. and from Sarah, who in the allegory is the free woman, and the mother of us all, Gal. iv. 26. Hence we are commanded to look to Abraham our father, and to Sarab that bare us. Thirdly, these patriarchs were the fathers from whence the twentyfour courfes of priests fprung; and by their names being at the gates of this city, they appear to be the elders of this city; and the gates the gates of thefe elders; and unless we are Ifraelites by grace, as thefe patriarchs were by nature, and interested in thofe things fignified by their names, we never can enter the gates of this city. We must produce our register, as they could, and our genealogy both, as written among the living in Jerufalem, Iía. iv. 3. elfe we shall find no admittance into this city, much less into

the

the fanctuary; we fhall be ftopped in the outer court, which the reed of God's word is not to measure, becaufe 'tis to be trodden under foot, as every outer-court worshipper will be, Rev. xi. 2. God will trample hypocrites in his fury, Ifa. lxiii. 3. and expose them to as much contempt as the children of Habaiah, the children of Coz, and the children of Barzillai, who could not prove their defcent from Ifrael by register or genealogy, and therefore were they, as polluted, put from the priesthood, Nehem. vii. 63, 64.

The other twelve elders mentioned in my text, I believe to be the twelve apoftles of the Lord. They in fcripture are ftiled elders: Peter fays, The elders I exhort, who am also an elder. John ftiles himself the elder unto the elect Lady and her children. The twelve apoftles are faid to have their names in the foundations of this city of the living God: And the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and in them the names of the twelve apofiles of the Lamb, Rev. xxi. 14. As the apoftles are called elders, and are faid to have their names in the foundations of this city, it fhews that they were doctrinally or minifterially the founders of it. We all know that 'twas God that founded Zion, and the poor of his people shall trust in it, Ifa. xiv. 32. and that he that built all things is God, Heb. iii. 4. yet he ufed wife mafter-builders to lay the foundation doctrinally: I, as a wife master-builder, says Paul, have laid the foundation, and another buildeth thereon; but let him take beed