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would do a service to the world by quoting chapter and verse for the maintenance of this tenet.

Notwithstanding the greater wickedness, and the more dreadful punishment of Jerusalem, the prophetic eye of Isaiah saw through the vista of ages the return of that devoted, yet beloved city. "Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith your God. Speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem, and cry unto her, that her warfare is accomplished, that her iniquity is pardoned; for she hath received of the Lord's hand, double for all her sins." The 3d verse of this 40th chapter, points to the time of our Saviour's appearance for the fulfilment of this prediction. That Christ referred to the same event, is too evident to be denied by those who will examine his awful denunciations against the capital of Judea. Reasoning analogically, then, is it not clear, that if the favour of God abounds to the dwellers in that sinful city, laden with iniquity, the inhabitants of Sodom, who are described by Ezekiel as "more righteous than" the Jews, shall enjoy the smiles of Deity, notwithstanding their sudden overthrow?

But analogical reasoning, however fair and conclusive, is not the sole support of this belief. The words of prophecy render the proposition certain. And let it be remembered, once for all, that all this array of scripture and argument, is set in opposition to a tenet which rests on no better authority than current opin ion-a meteor which always eludes the grasp a mere shadow of a shade. But however fanciful may be the origin of those vain imaginations which "lead to bewilder and dazzle to blind," still, as the effects are painful, both duty and inclination call on us to use the most efficient means for the removal of the cause. Having already quoted scripture as the foundation of legitimate and conclusive argument, it will now be used as direct and positive testimony. See Ezek.

16 where the prophet, in speaking of the judgments which were to be poured out upon Jerusalem, and their ultimate return to the God of their salvation, uses the following, and other similar language:

"When I shall bring again their captivity, the captivity of Sodom and her daughters, and the captivity of Samaria and her daughters, then will I bring again the captivity of thy captives in the midst of them."

Some years ago a clergyman in New York, to escape the unavoidable conclusion of the language, declared it was written ironically! Let those who would reiterate such a sophism, read the whole chapter, but especially the following:-" For thy sister Sodom was not mentioned by thy mouth in the day of thy pride. For thus saith the Lord God, I will deal with thee as thou hast done. Nevertheless, I will remember my covenant with thee in the days of thy youth, and I will establish unto thee an everlasting covenant. Then thou shalt remember thy ways, and be ashamed, when thou shalt receive thy sisters, thine elder and thy younger and I WILL give them unto thee for daughters, but not by thy covenant. And I will establish My covenant with thee; and thou shalt know that I am the LORD."

Remember-"I will deal with thee as thou hast done." Did the Jews ever confer the curse of endless misery on any portion of God's creation? But, here is the direct testimony. To rebut this will require what you can never produce-better and counter evidence. Yours truly,

JULIUS.

LETTER 9.

Dear Sir,- If you please, we will now return from the digression occasioned by your scruples, and examine Mat. 8: 12. "But the children of the kingdom shall be cast into outer darkness; there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth." The following is the translation of this passage in the improved version, by Mr. Kneeland, and is, I think, rather an improvement on the common version. "But the sons of the kingdom shall be thrust out into darkness, and there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth." I have not noticed the difference in the mode of rendering this citation, because I conceive the sense to be different, but because the language is more intelligible. In the common translation, different editions vary in the word outer, which is frequently rendered utter. But let us examine the text in such a manner as to find the sease, and if possible ascertain its true meaning.

You are already aware of my mode of investigating a text by its context. The utility of this method is too obvious to need a remark on the present occasion. What then, says the context?

"And when Jesus was entered into Capernaum, there came unto him a centurion, beseeching him, And saying, Lord, my servant lieth at home sick of the palsy, grievously tormented. And Jesus saith unto him, I will come and heal him. The centurion answered and said, Lord, I am not worthy that thou shouldest come under my roof: but speak the word only, and my servant shall be healed. For I am a man under authority, having soldiers under me and I say to this man, Go, and he goeth; and to another, Come, and he cometh; and to my servant, Do this, and he doeth it. When Jesus heard it, he marvelled and said to them that followed, Verily I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel. And

I say unto you, That many shall come from the east and west, and shall sit down with Abraham and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven."

After this comes the text---" But the children of the Kingdom shall be cast into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth." That here is a contrast, and a great one, is obvious, and our business is to learn in what it consists. The difference seems to obtain between the many who shall come from the east, and the west, and the children of the kingdom. Who are thus designated we can easily learn from the scriptures.

Respecting the apostacy and rejection of the Jewish nation, our Lord spake many parables. It was an event, to which, merely as a Jew, he looked with the most intense interest. It lay near his heart, and was the frequent theme of his discourses. The parables of the vineyard, the talents, the labourers, the marriage feast, the ten virgins, the sheep and goats, the prodigal son, the unjust steward, the rich man and Lazarus, and a variety of others, are all examples of the prediction of this event, and a little attention to our subject will exhibit the same information. In the parable of the vineyard, our Lord says to the Jews, "The kingdom of God shall be taken from you, and given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof." In the parable of the marriage feast, after the king had ordered the man without a wedding garment into darkness, it says, "there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth." The commencement of this parable states, that the kingdom of heaven is like to a certain king, which made a marriage for his son. That the kingdom of heaven here signifies the gospel dispensation, is too evident to admit a cavil. Here, then, see the kingdom from which the children of the kingdom were to be ejected. Christ" came to his own, and his own received him not." He was a Jew, and the Jews were his own

people. The Jewish church was a vine of God's planting, but they made void the word of God by their traditions, and brought down on their guilty heads the woes denounced by Christ on their chief city.--O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them that are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not. Behold, your house is left unto you desolate." When the king learned that those who were first bidden, refused to come, he "sent forth his armies, and destroyed those murderers, and burned their city." How well this agrees with the fate of the Jewish nation, you need not to be informed. Nor need I to advise you, how exactly the conduct of those invited to the marriage feast corresponds with the character of the Jews, and the usage which the primitive apostles received at their hands.

"Wherefore, behold, I send unto you prophets, and wise men, and scribes and some of them ye shall kill and crucify; and some of them shall ye scourge in your synagogues, and persecute them from city to city: That upon you may come all the righteous blood shed upon the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel unto the blood of Zacharias son of Barachias, whom ye slew between the temple and the altar. Verily I say unto you, All these things shall come upon this generation."

A question is now pertinent. If all the blood of martyrs which had been shed on the earth were to be required of that generation, in what was the retribution to consist? I am not ignorant of what will be answered, but is it correct? Shall we receive the dictum of man's wisdom, or shall we leave it to be answered by him who made the prediction? We prefer the latter. What then is it?

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