phet Isaiah, in the 11th chapter of his prophecies, "that the Lord shall set again the second time to recover the remnant of the people, and he shall set up an ensign for the nations, and shall assemble the outcasts of Israel; and gather together the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth." "For I would not, brethren," said the apostle Paul, in the 11th chapter of the Epistle to the Romans, "that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits, that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the gentiles be come in; and so all Israel shall be saved. As it is written, There shall come out of Zion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob." says Hosea, "and the children of Israel shall abide many days without a king, and a prince and a sacrifice; afterward shall they return, and shall seek the Lord God and David their King; and shall fear the Lord and his goodness in the latter days."

And

Add now to these some further particulars connected with the present state of Israel, and of the nations among whom they have been scattered.

While it was predicted of the Jews, that they should suffer numerous persecutions of the severest kind-be dispersed through all the nations of the earth-and become an astonishment and a by-word among all nations-it is also predicted, that God should be still with them, to prevent them from being destroyed by their enemies. "And yet for all that," says God by Moses, "when they be in the land of their enemies, I will not cast them away, neither will I abhor them, to destroy them utterly, and to break my covenant with them." And, says the prophet Jeremiah, in chapter xlvi. "But fear not thou, O my servant Jacob, and be not dismayed, O Israel! for behold I will save thee from afar off; and thy seed from the land of their captivity; and Jacob shall return, and be in rest and at ease, and none shall make him afraid." With this is joined the punishment of their enemies, and by whom they were persecuted. "Fear not thou, O Jacob, my servant, saith the Lord; for I am with

thee; for I will make a full end of all the nations whither I have driven thee; but I will not make a full end of thee."

Again: observe that the fulness of the gentiles seems to be intimately connected with the conversion of the Jews; and our endeavours to promote the one are thus subservient to the conversion of the other. "I say then," says the Apostle of the gentiles respecting the Jewish nation, "have they stumbled that they should fall? God forbid: but rather, through their fall, salvation is come unto the gentiles, for to provoke them to jealousy. Now, if the fall of them be the riches of the world, and the diminishing of them the riches of the gentiles, how much more their fulness! For if the casting away of them be the reconciling of the world, what shall the receiving of them be but life from the dead?" And, again, "I would not that you should be ignorant, brethren, of this mystery, lest ye be wise in your own conceits-that blindness in part is happened to Israel until the fulness of the gentiles be come in. And so all Israel shall be saved. As it is written, There shall come out of Zion the Deliverer; and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob; for this is my covenant unto him when I shall take away their sins."

These predictions the facts relative to the Jewish nation amply corroborate; and thus encourage our endeavours to promote their conversion and happi

ness.

"The preservation of the Jews," says an eminent writer, "is one of the most signal and illustrious acts of Divine providence. They are dispersed among all nations, but they are not confounded with any. They still live as a distinct people, and yet they no where live according to their own laws and government, no where enjoy the full exercise of their religion. Their solemn feasts and sacrifices are limited to one certain place, and that has been now for ages in the hands of strangers and aliens. No people have continued unmixed so long as they have done. The northern nations have come in swarms into the more southern

parts of Europe; but where are they now to be discerned and distinguished? The Gauls went forth in great bodies to seek their fortunes in foreign parts, but what traces or footsteps of them are now remaining any where? In France, who can separate the race of the ancient Gauls from the various other people who, from time to time, have settled there? In England, who can pretend to say with certainty, which families are derived from the ancient Britons, the Romans, the Saxons, the Danes, or the Normans? The most ancient and honourable pedigrees can be only traced up to a certain period; and beyond that, there is nothing but conjecture and uncertainty, obscurity and ignorance. But the Jews can go up higher than any other nation. They can deduce their pedigree from the beginning of the world. They may not always know from what particular tribe or family they are descended, but they know certainly that they all sprung from the stock of Abram. And yet the contempt with which they have been treated, and the hardships which they have undergone, in almost all countries, should, one would think, have made them desirous to forget or renounce their original: but they glory in it; and after so many wars, massacres, and persecutions, they still subsist, and are very numerous.

"Nor is the providence of God less remarkable in the destruction of their enemies. For, from the beginning, who have been the greatest enemies and oppressors of the Jewish nation, removed them from their own land, and compelled them into captivity and slavery? The Egyptians, the Assyrians, the Babylonians, the Syro-Macedonians, and lastly, the Romans. But where are now these great and famous monarchies, which, in their turn, subdued and oppressed the people of God? Are they not vanished as a dream? and not only their power, but their very names are lost on the earth, while the Jews are subsisting as a distinct people at this day. And what a wonder of Providence is it that the vanquished should so many ages survive the victors, and the for

mer be spread over the world, while the latter are no more!"

Brethren, while we see in these circumstances the wonderful accomplishment of the prophecies respecting this ancient, and in every view peculiar people: while we see in them the clearest proof of the inspiration of Moses and the Prophets; the confirmation of the Divine origin and authority of the Mosaic law, which, in so signal a manner, has been maintained-do we not see also many reasons to look forward with hope and expectation to those days when the predictions respecting the conversion and prosperity of this people shall be also fulfilled? Do we not see this, not only in the fulfilment of many prophecies, of various kinds, but also in their general state and condition? Separate and distinct for ages, though dispersed over every country-increasing in numbers, notwithstanding their hardships and persecutions, are they not also becoming more and more the objects of compassion and kindness; are they not also giving more frequently, in this present age, examples of movement, favourable to the hope of their conversion? Should we not therefore look forward with faith and confidence to the glory promised them in the latter day: and what a powerful and delightful testimony would thus be given to Moses and the Prophets, and the blessed kingdom of the Son of God! And should it not be the object of our endeavours and our prayers, while the judgments they have suffered by their unbelief give warning to us, to guard against those rocks on which they have been cast away? "Because of unbelief they were broken off, and thou standest by faith. Be not high minded, but fear. For Zion's sake, therefore, will I not hold my peace; and for Jerusalem's sake I will not rest, until the righteousness thereof go forth as brightness, and the salvation thereof as a lamp that burneth.— Lift up your eyes to the heavens, and look to the earth beneath; for the heavens shall vanish away like smoke, and the earth shall wax old like a garment, and they that dwell thereon shall die in like

manner; but my salvation shall be for ever, and my righteousness shall not be abolished. Awake, awake, put on strength, O arm of the Lord; awake as in the ancient days, in the generations of old!-Art thou not it that hath cut Rahab, and wounded the Dragon? Art thou not it which hath dried the sea, the waters of the great deep; that hath made the depths of the sea a way for the ransomed to pass over? Therefore the redeemed of the Lord shall return, and come with singing unto Zion; and everlasting joy shall be upon their heads; they shall obtain gladness and joy; and sorrow and mourning shall flee away."