But in understanding it rather as promising the final return of God's wandering and scattered spiritual Israel (who become Israel by faith in Christ) to their own "heavenly country," let us consult the connexion of the promise. (1.) The promise itself represents its fulfilment to be where, and when, they shall "dwell safely." But sure, heaven is the place for the saints forever to "dwell safely," with God, rather than mortals still on trial and in the flesh. (2.) The next verse to the promise represents their habitation or "land," where gathered, as being where they will "fear" or worship God "forever," which the Jews certainly if returned could not do literally, in a worldly Canaan, unless Palestine shall forever survive the final conflagration. (3.) The next following verse represents the place of the return as being where God will never "turn away from them to do them good;" and where they shall not "depart from" him. And where else but in heaven can this be literally fulfilled? But a literal fulfilment it must have. (4.) The next onward verse shows, that these gathered Israelites or saints, on returning, are to be "planted" there, with the "whole heart and soul" of the Almighty. And just so sure as this will be literally fulfilled to the saints, now soon, at Christ's coming to gather them into heaven as his elect, just so sure, the unbelieving Jews will have no part in it, while rather they, if remaining such, must be planted deep as the bottomless pit in the lake of fire. (5.) And the next verse still onward represents the return as taking place where and when God "will bring upon" the returned Israel "all the good that" he has "promised them." This, again, can, and will be literally fulfilled to God's believing Israel, on their being gathered soon, at Christ's coming with his angels, for the purpose; while it never will, and never can, be literally fulfilled to natural Jews in a Palestine of this world, unless "ALL the good" of God's promises belong to this world only.

3. "And I will bring your brethren [Israel or saints] for an offering to the Lord, out of all nations, to my holy mountain, Jerusalem, and I will take of them for priests and Levites, saith the Lord."*

This is another of the most clear predictions, as supposed by some, of the literal return of the natural Jews to prepare the way for Christ to come afterwards. But in seeing that this, also, is a promise for the saints' return to their promised heavenly and everlasting country, and not for the mere Jews a temporal Canaan,-(1.) The passage explains itself, by representing its promised "Jerusalem" as being God's "holy *Isa. Ixvi. 20, 21.

mountain," which is apparently the same as "the Mount Zion," where the innumerable multitude of the saints are to stand, with "the Lamb of God," where with "loud voices" they will all sing the "new song" of the "redeemed," and shall forever continue their high praises, in "harping with their harps." (2.) The passage also explains itself, by showing the promise of return fulfilled when God will make them "priests," &c. This appears to be the same promise to the saints as that which promises their being made "a kingdom of priests, an holy nation ;" and that they shall be "kings and priests unto God," to "reign with him on the earth," "new earth," "forever and ever." Of course, the natural Jews must repent and be converted from their Judaism, before having any part in this blessed and glorious return of the true and faithful Israel. (3.) The next verse represents the gathering, also, to be when there shall be a "new heavens and new earth," and when the then gathered Israel shall remain before him as long as that blessed and, of course, everlasting habitation for the saints "shall remain before him." (4.) The next following verse represents this bringing back of God's people as taking place, when they shall look upon the slain "carcasses of the" wicked, where "their worm shall not die, neither shall their fire be quenched;" and when made "an abhorring unto all flesh." (5.) The fifteenth and sixteenth verses of the same connexion represent the same bringing back of Israel to be when "the Lord will come with fire, and with his chariots like a whirlwind, to render his anger with fury, and his rebuke with flames of fire," and when "the slain" by the Lord's sword "shall be many."

Most surely, all this matter of the Lord's finally bringing back his people "out of all nations," is one of the most awakening prophetic descriptions of the Lord's coming himself to judgment which could be given; and will be now quickly and literally fulfilled, in his terrible and yet glorious appearing with his everlasting kingdom, in the gathering of all his saints out of all countries into their promised heavenly city, and in the utter destruction of his then abhorred enemies. This description of the infinitely momentous event, by Isaiah, is perfectly the same, and almost to the very letter, and in every particular, as that given of it by Christ himself, in multiplied instances, both in the Evangelists and Revelation, where seemingly too plain to be misunderstood, even by a child. And is not this foretold return and gathering of Israel the same as that foretold by the same prophet Isaiah Rev. i. 6. v. 10. xxii. 5. Isa. lxv. 17, 18.

*Rev. xiv. 2. + Ex. xix. 6.

on another occasion, where he says, "The ransomed of the Lord shall return, and come to Zion [Mount Zion'] with songs, and everlasting joy upon their heads," when "they shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away," and when, as the connexion shows, "God will come with vengeance, even God with a recompense,” to “save” his then gathered people? And what has this to do with Palestine, or the natural Jews?

These are a few of the most conspicuous passages, the interpretations of which, have probably led most of us to conclude, that the literal return of the natural Jews is a very considerable part of the Old-Testament prophecies; while yet, as now exhibited, they only, and rousingly foretel the everlasting and infinite affairs of the saints' glorious and final return to "Mount Zion, the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem," in triumph over the perishing, and utter destruction of all the unbelieving, and powers of darkness, in "the battle of that great day of God Almighty." It will be found, also, by examining all the parallel prophecies of Israel's return, that they are faithfully explained by their several connexions, not as foretelling the natural Jews' literal gathering to Palestine, but rather the saints' literal return to the New Jerusalem city, where now, very soon, as the signs of the times and fulfilment of prophecy abundantly indicate, Christ, the great Judge, will come, in his glory, to "sit upon the throne of his glory," to "gather before him all nations," to "separate" the righteous forever from the wicked, to pronounce and execute the irrevocable sentence of the everlasting promise and curse, in the presence of the assembled universe. Then, to be sure, the natural Jews will all be literally gathered; the believing on the Judge's right, but the unbelieving of them on his left hand. In further support of the same position, I am to show

IV. That there is an apparent misapprehension in some of the supposed most prominent arguments in favor of the Jews' literal return, to prepare the way of Christ to come, in his glory, afterwards.

1. Probably most of us have been led to suppose, that it is absolutely unaccountable how it is, or why it is, that the Jews have so long been continued, and are yet, a distinct nation or people, under all their discouragements in maintaining it, unless it be, that the Lord may yet carry them back, and thus fulfil the prophecies of Israel's return. Without attempting to decide particularly why the Jews have kept themselves so distinct and peculiar as a people, and yet † Heb. xii. 22.

* Isa. xxxv. 4, 10.

not to be carried back to Palestine; it does seem that we may see, if we will, somewhat how it has been brought about. And has not this long and far proclaimed "Jewish fable," or "doctrine," so called, of the Jews' general and literal return, naturally tended to judaize them, or make them remain Jewish, against all accompanying attempts to christianize or denationalize them? And has it not been virtually saying, "peace, peace" to the wicked Jews, to flatter them with the carnal doctrine of all the return-promises of God as though made to them, and to be fulfilled in treasures upon earth, though they remain unconverted and blaspheming Jews, in crucifying afresh the Son of God, until the fulfilling of such promises? And what unconverted and wicked men would not like, and much choose, to remain as a nation or people, in a condition where, according to the testimony of the christian church, they may retain a sure claim to the great promises of the Old Testament, and to be fulfilled too in just such treasures as their unbelieving hearts naturally desire? And why should they not naturally desire to remain Jews, under such testimony, and where they can assure their unbelieving hearts of being the special objects of the divine favor, rather than Christians, supposed thus to have no part in those Jewish and worldly promises? And why should they, while yet unconverted Jews, and lovers of the world, be willing to give up their Judaism, and thus in a moment, without an acknowledged substitute, to tear their hearts from so many supposed golden earthly promises? And why should they be willing to suffer as a nation, and their children after them, the common lot of poor Christians, who, as a people or nation, are acknowledged by Jews and Gentiles, of every class, as having, in this world, no promised portion, "no continuing city?" And would not the Jews be much more readily denationalized, and christianized too, should the whole voice of the christian church towards them be suddenly changed, so as no longer to sing to them this syren song of divine promises their own, while yet in their Judaism? And would not the opposite course, if suddenly and faithfully adopted towards them, be even electrical? Or what if the christian church should, now at once, put away all her remaining Judaisms, and say, with trumpet voices, "Wo! wo! wo!" to you, unbelieving Jews! you, "Pharisees, scribes, hypocrites!" "except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish ;" and "Repent ye, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand;" without a promise, of any kind, in all the Old Testament, for one of you while yet remaining unbelieving Jews, and crucifiers of the Messiah, already come in the flesh, as everywhere foretold in the Jewish

Scriptures? Would not such a gospel as this preached to them, as Christ did it, and bid his followers do it, rather stir them up, make them tremble, and, by the co-operating Spirit of God, lead them to see their miserable condition, in so long standing it out against Christ? And would it not naturally lead them to flee from the wrath to come, and to prepare for the now expected sudden, second coming of the Messiah to judgment, to destroy every remaining unbelieving Jew, with the second death, rather than flatter them to remain Jews, as they have been, with false, carnal, and Jewish promises?

2. Most of us may have been led to believe in the natural Jews' literal return to prepare the way of the Lord, from the alleged supposed fact, that hitherto the prophecies concerning them have all been literally and faithfully fulfilled. The most noted of these supposed fulfilled Jewish predictions, are, (1.) their being "driven" and "scattered among all nations;" (2.) their having become a "hissing and a by-word;" and (3.) their having been now long experiencing the "curse" of the Lord for the guilt of their fathers in rejecting and crucifying the true Messiah. It is true that the Jews are very much scattered among the nations, though by no means so much so, as the people or nation called Christians, much later on the field of action than the Jews. Neither is it true, that in thus becoming scattered, they have always been specially abused, and driven from nation to nation, because I can now bring, and design to bring full and authentic testimony from credible Jews themselves, that they have gone, and are now living, generally, where they have chosen to go; for the best success in their mercantile business, that had they chosen it, they could all have located themselves in christian nations; and could have brought their population more together in one nation, and even into Palestine, had their mercantile interests permitted it, as they would, had they been more like others, an agricultural and mechanical people.

And with regard to their having long since become a "byword" and a "hissing" in the earth, as frequently foretold of Israel; it is believed, and will be found on examination, that this prophecy is now fulfilled rather with the people called Christians, than with the natural Jews. The Jews, like others opposed to Christ's holy requirements, may have felt themselves reproached and hissed by their supposed enemies the Christian Gentiles, Catholics, &c., but surely there has been scarcely enough of anything about them which has been godly, or contrary to their profession as Jews, to excite the reproaches and hisses of God's open enemies of any