thee. And the sons of strangers shall build up thy walls, and their kings shall minister unto thee: for in my wrath I smote thee, but in my favour have I had mercy on thee."* And, oh! what an appeal does this make to that portion of the Jewish nation who are absorbed in worldly gain, and fixing their interests more entirely in lands not their own. We do not read of Joseph or his brethren petitioning the Court of Pharaoh to be admitted to high office in the state; on the contrary, Joseph was raised by the overruling providence of God to effect a special purpose, but would not allow his bones to remain out of the land of promise, and the people were an abomination to the Egyptians by reason of their separate habits. The Lord was with Joseph, and he was a prosperous man; but now, Joseph's posterity seek for their advancement, from the world. We do not read of Daniel, Mishael, and Azariah, seeking preferment in Nebuchadnezzar's government; they refused to defile themselves with the king's meat, or to obey the king's command to worship the golden image-their eye was fixed upon Jerusalem, and they were never so happy as when they were looking towards the holy temple. How then can the modern Jew who really reads and prizes * Is. lx. 9, 10.

the sacred Scriptures, and who rests for his hope upon the covenant with Abraham-how can he sing the Lord's song in a strange land? Must not his heart beat high for his beloved land-the land of his forefathers-the land his by Divine covenant, gift, and conquest? Surely, it were pandering to the low grovelling feelings of our nature, to suppose that toleration under a Gentile monarchy will compensate for the glories of restored Israel.

Then let us pray our brother home. He lies by the way side wounded, robbed, half dead; the priest and Levite pity not; but, oh! may our bowels of compassion be moved to pray for recovery and restitution. A heavy debt of injustice stands against us; but, brethren, we stand as Englishmen in a blessed and threefold relation to Christ.

his

1. We have sworn, that the Lord shall be our God, and that by a solemn and national

covenant.

2. We have sealed this testimony by the maintenance of a national standard of truth, and by an uncompromising opposition to Antichristian principles, so that our land has been made a field of blood for the cause of truth.

3. We are apparently marked by Divine Providence as the nation which is to be especially

honoured in spreading the Gospel throughout world and of restoring Israel to their own land. And, oh, that we might act up to our high and unspeakable privileges. The Jews had the morning of the covenant, but they would not pay the rent of the vineyard to Christ. We have the evening of it, and what a mercy it is, that "Our beloved feedeth amongst the lilies until the day break and the shadows flee away." We shall shortly give in the account of our stewardship as a nation and as individuals.

LECTURE VIII.

THE RECOVERY OF JERUSALEM FROM ITS LONG DESOLATION, AND THE RESTORATION OF JUDAH AND ISRAEL TO THE LAND

OF CANAAN, IN CONNEXION

WITH THEIR CONVERSION.

BY THE REV. E. BICKERSTETH,

RECTOR OF WATTON, HErts.

JEREMIAH XXXI. 6-9.

"Behold, I will bring it health and cure, and I will cure them, and will reveal unto them the abundance of peace and truth. And I will cause the captivity of Judah and the captivity of Israel to return, and will build them as at the first. And I will cleanse them from all their iniquity, whereby they have sinned against me; and I will pardon all their iniquities whereby they have sinned, and whereby they have transgressed against me. And it shall be to me a name of joy, a praise and an honour before all the nations of the earth, which shall hear all the good that I do unto them, and

they shall fear and tremble for all the goodness, and for all the prosperity that I procure

unto it."

THE restoration and the future glory of Israel is the haven set before the Church in all the Old Testament prophecies, amidst the dark and stormy scenes of the last days. It is the citadel of its hope in the times of affliction. This subject occupies a very large proportion of the Word of God. The restoration of Israel is the fountainhead also of innumerable blessings to the whole world. Well, then, does it become the ministers of God's Word, prominently and distinctly to direct the attention of men to it, and to open out its reality and its glories.

We find this great and important event, which is yet to come, presented to us in the most rich variety of forms, and with special beauty, in seasons of trial and danger. It is so in the glowing prophecy of our text. Jeremiah was shut

up in the court of the prison; the houses of Jerusalem and the houses of the kings of Judah were thrown down by the mounts, and by the sword of the Chaldeans. When the Jews went forth to fight with them, it was but to fill the places with the dead bodies of men. Jerusalem was sentenced of God to fall. (Jer. xxxii. 28, 29.)