ance shall be hid from mine eyes! In this astonishing language, we see the anger of the father towards his disobedient son, now that he is dead, turned against death itself that cut him off, and the grave that enclosed him, resolving to rescue him by destroying his destroyers.

To the above, I think I ought to add Chap. xiv. 4-8, as belonging to the same subject. It is, I am aware, expressive of the blessings which the Lord would have bestowed upon Israel in case of their return to him, as they were most pathetically exhorted to in the preceding verses. But if there come a time when they shall thus return, the blessings will then be actually bestowed. Like a field refreshed by dew, like a lily blossoming with beauty, like Lebanon casting forth her roots, God will bless him, and he shall be a blessing to all about him. Nor shall this goodness be abused as heretofore, but shall heighten his abhorrence of his former courses. Ephraim, being grafted into the green fir-tree, shall answer to his name; he shall be fruitful among his brethren : nor shall he, as formerly, bring forth fruit unto himself, but to him that hath had mercy upon him.

I shall conclude this piece with a few remarks on a well known passage in the prophecies of Jeremiah, as belonging to the same subject. I refer to Chap. xxxi. 15—21. The ten tribes are

here, as in other prophecies, personified under the name of Ephraim. They had, at the time of its delivery, been carried away captive more than a century. Alluding to the distresses of that period, the prophet spake as follows: Thus saith the Lord, A voice was heard from Ramah, lamentation, and bitter weeping; Rachel, weeping for her children, refused to be comforted for her children because they were not! Rachel was the mother of Joseph, from whom Ephraim descended: and by a most affecting figure of speech, she is here represented as risen from the grave, and looking about for her children; but finding none of them in the land of their fathers, she weeps for the loss of them with bitter lamentations. But let not Rachel, or rather the church of God, whom she personates, despair. Thus saith the Lord, Refrain thy voice from weeping, and thine eyes from tears; for thy work shall be rewarded, saith the Lord, and thy children shall come again from

the land of the enemy. And there is hope IN THINE END, saith the Lord, that thy children shall come again to their own border. But whence is this hope to be entertained by Rachel ? Her children had been gone for more than a century; and their name and memorial were in a manner perished. Observe the answer, I have surely heard Ephraim bemoaning himself. Thou hast chastised me, and I was chastised as a bullock unaccustomed to the yoke: turn thou me, and I shall be turned: for thou art Jehovah my God. Surely after that I was turned, I repented; and after that I was instructed, I smote upon my thigh: I was ashamed, yea, even confounded, because I did bear the reproach of my youth. This confession of Ephraim is not historic, but prophetic: for the state of mind here depicted, is represented as taking place at a time so very distant, that he should look back upon the days of his idolatry as the period of his youth. Nevertheless, when he shall return to the Lord, he shall obtain mercy. Ephraim has not only a mother to bewail him, but a father, who as soon as he hears the voice of the prodigal, is moved with compassion, and runs to meet him. Is Ephraim my dear son? is he a pleasant child? for since 1 spake against him, I do earnestly remember him still: therefore my bowels are troubled for him; I will surely have mercy upon him, saith the Lord. The virgin of Israel is then directed to prepare for returning home. Set thee up way-marks, make thee high heaps; set thine heart toward the highway, even the way which thou wentest: Turn again, O virgin of Israel, turn again to these thy cities.

But Rachel was not only the mother of Joseph, and so of Ephraim, but also of Benjamin, whose tribe adhered to Judah; and inasmuch as her voice was heard from Ramah, a city of Benjamin, the prophecy would not only have a retrospective aspect to the captivity of Ephraim by Assyria, but a prospective one to that of Judah and Benjamin by Babylon. It was in the latter that the children were carried away from Ramah, which seems to have been the head-quarters of the Babylonish general, after the taking of Jerusalem, and from whence he disposed of his prisoners, Jer. xl. 1-3. Thus both the ten and the two tribes, sustaining a relation to Rachel, are combined in the prophecy, as they should

God of Israel, as yet they shall

actually be in their restoration. Hence it follows, How long wilt thou go about, O thou backsliding daughter? For the Lord hath created a new thing in the earth. A woman shall compass a man. Thus saith the Lord of hosts, the use this speech in the land of Judah, and in the cities thereof, when I shall bring again their captivity. The Lord bless thee, O habitation of justice, and mountain of holiness. And there shall dwell in Judah itself, and in all the cities thereof together, husbandmen and they that go forth with flocks. For I have satiated the weary soul, and I have replenished every sorrowful soul. The import of these verses I take to be this: How long wilt thou seek deliverance, from human help? God will cause, what is contrary to all human calculation, weakness to overcome strength, and the church to be triumphant. Judah, with Ephraim, shall return; and righteousness, holiness, and peace, shall be established in their land.' The prophecy being a vision, the prophet adds, Upon this I awaked, and beheld; and my sleep was sweet unto me.

As there is nothing in all this which intimates the return of the ten tribes as a distinct nation, but in connexion with Judah, so neither is there any thing which leads us to look for the fulfilment merely in the return of Judah from Babylon, accompanied with a few of the Israelites; and if we read on to ver. 31-34, we shall find that the blessings promised were not to be under the same covenant as that of their fathers, but a new covenant, in which God will put his law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts. and will be their God, and they shall be his people; all which determines it to have reference to gospel times.

See Isa. xi. xii.

THAT these chapters refer to the gospel dispensation, there can be no doubt, seeing they are introduced with a prophecy, that a rod shall come forth out of the stem of Jesse, and a branch shall grow out of his roots; and by some passages in them, they would seem

to have a special reference to the latter part of it. The language in which peace and amity, as succeeding to a state of enmity and hostility, is described in ver. 6-8. seems much too strong for any thing the church has yet seen and to accord with no period short of that mentioned ver. 9. when the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea.

Ver. 10. describes the great accession to the church of Christ from among the Gentiles. In that day there shall be a root of Jesse, which shall stand for an ensign to the people; to which shall the Gentiles seek, and his rest shall be glorious. The term rest denotes an established government, succeeding to wars and troubles, like the reign of Solomon to that of David. Such will be the government of Christ in that day, to what it has been in all former periods, during which it has been engaged in one continued struggle. And as the reign of Solomon was exempted from wars, and distinguished by its buildings, so shall be the reign of Christ in that day. The Lord will then build up Zion, and appear in his glory.

the sea.

In the midst of this glory, God is represented as remembering his ancient people, both Israel and Judah. It shall come to pass in that day, that the Lord shall set his hand ▲ SECOND TIME to recover the remnant of his people which shall be left, from Assyria, and from Egypt, and from Pathros, and from Cush, and from Elam, and from Shinar, and from Hamath, and from the islands of 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. The envy also of Ephraim shall depart, and the adversaries of Judah shall be cut off: Ephraim shall not envy Judah, and Judah shall not vex Ephraim. This second time of God's setting his hand, cannot refer to the Jews from Babylon; for though that event might be so denominated in respect of their being first brought out of Egypt, yet the period of the whole prophecy does not answer to it. That which is here referred to, is something which should be wrought for Israel under the reign of the Messiah, and at a time when the earth should be full of the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters

cover the sea; which, what can it be but their conversion to him, I am not able to conceive.

What follows, in ver. 14-16, compares the return of the remnant of God's ancient people to the coming up of their fathers out of Egypt. The kingdom of the Messiah shall be enlarged, as the borders of Israel were formerly by their victories over the surrounding nations; and as then God dried up the tongue, or bay, of the Red Sea, and caused the waters of Jordan to go backward, so now he will remove every obstruction out of their way, and bring them home to himself with a high hand and an outstretched

arm.

Chap. xii. is a continuation of the subject, and contains a hymn, or sacred song of praise, suited to the joyful occasion of their deliverance. It is observable, that their first deliverance from Egypt was followed by a triumphant song, on the shores of the Red Sea. So also was their deliverance from Babylon, Psa. cxxvi. Their joy on that occasion was so great, that what had taken place seemed to them a dream; too much to be true. Surrounding nations beheld and acknowledged, That the Lord hath done great things for them; while their thankful spirits echoed the acknowledgment, The Lord hath done great things for us, whereof we are glad. But neither of these deliverances were equal to that which is here celebrated.

We may observe, in the first place, the use of the singular pronouns: Thou shalt say, O Lord, I will praise thee, &c. This may denote the unity that shall prevail among them. In their divided and scattered condition they said, OUR bones are dried, and our hope is lost; we we are cut off for our parts; but now they are of one heart and of one soul.

With respect to the matter of the song, they begin with praise to Jehovah for his great mercy in pardoning their sins, or removing that fierce anger which had for so many ages burned against them. Thou shalt say, O Lord, I will praise thee: though thou wast angry with me, thine anger is turned away, and thou comfortedst me. This is perfectly in character: true penitents look back upon past sins with bitterness, and thankfulness for having escaped them, and the wrath of God revealed from