become an object of royal concern; and that the homage of the rulers of nations, in their official capacity, shall be presented to them: "Kings shall be thy nurs ing-fathers, and queens thy nursing-mothers: they shall bow down to thee with their face toward the earth, and lick up the dust of thy feet." What a change must be effected in the minds of men, when the Lord shall have "turned again the captivity of Zion !"-when, instead of being "spoiled evermore," Israel shall eat the riches. of the Gentiles"-when, instead of their "old desolations,"" the sons of strangers shall build up their walls" -when instead of the oppression and tyranny they everywhere experience, “the nation and kingdom that will not serve them shall perish."

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The assistance rendered by Gentiles to Israel in returning to their own land is beautifully recognized in Scripture Prophecy as a service done to God, and they themselves are acknowledged as a "present" to Him. "In that time shall the present be brought unto the Lord of hosts, of a people scattered and peeled, (and from a people terrible from their beginning hitherto,) a nation meted out and trodden under foot, whose land the rivers have spoiled, to the place of the name of the Lord of hosts, the Mount Zion." Is. xviii. 7. The "time" referred to in the context is one of great commotion and distress; a period deeply interesting to "ALL the inhabitants of the world, and dwellers on the earth." ver. 3. In this time of awful trouble shall the restoration of Israel take place. (Dan. xii. 12.) They shall be aided in their return by others. The love of a mighty people shall be excited in their behalf; the love of a Christian people, for they shall bring Israel as a present the Lord"-even literal Israel, the people who have been "scattered and peeled." They shall bring them not merely into the fellowship of the church, but to a particular place," the place of the name of the Lord of hosts," which place is "the Mount Zion."

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unto

"And they shall build the old wastes, they shall raise up the former desolations, and they shall repair the waste cities, the desolations of many generations. And strangers shall stand and feed your flocks, and the sons of

the alien shall be your plowmen and your vine-dressers. But ye shall be named the Priests of the Lord; men shall call you the Priests of our God; ye shall eat the riches of the Gentiles, and in their glory shall ye boast yourselves." Is. lxi. 4-6. In these verses it is evident, that those thus honoured are not Gentiles, but a people distinguished from them. They shall eat the riches of the Gentiles, but are themselves that people who, in Scripture Prophecy and in Gospel narrative alike, are contrasted with them. They are those whose "waste cities" need to be repaired, and whose “former desolations" require to be raised, "even the desolations of many generations." When again they shall possess their land in peace and in security, and when blessed with the forgiveness and especial favour of God, Gentiles shall willingly be their servants in tending their flocks, in cultivating their fields, and in dressing their vineyards; while they themselves are more honourably occupied in the service of God," but ye shall be named the Priests of the Lord; and men shall call you the Ministers of our God." The Lord "shall cause them that come of Jacob to take root; Israel shall blossom and bud, and fill the face of the world with fruit." Is. xxvii. 6. "And it shall come to pass when ye shall be multiplied and increased in the land, in those days, saith the Lord, they shall say no more, THE ARK of the covenant of the Lord; neither shall it come to mind, neither shall they remember it, neither shall they visit it, neither shall that be done any more. At that time they shall call Jerusalem THE THRONE of the Lord, and all nations shall be gathered into it, to the name of the Lord, to Jerusalem; neither shall they walk any more after the imagination of their evil hearts." Jer. iii. 16, 17. That this is the period of the Millennium, the last sentence sufficiently indicates. It is also connected immediately with the restoration both of Israel and of Judah, (ver. 18.) the context having been already considered. "And thou, O tower of the flock, the stronghold of the daughter of Zion, unto thee shall it come, even the FIRST dominion, THE KINGDOM shall come to the daughter of Jerusalem." Mic. iv. 8. This is also at the future restora

tion of Israel and Judah, when the Lord shall " assemble her that halteth," and " gather her that is driven out." ver. 6, 7. In that day shall the Lord of Hosts be for a crown of glory, and for a diadem of beauty unto the residue of his people."* Is. xxviii. 5.

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SECTION VIII.

JERUSALEM REBUILT AND ENLARGED.

PART of the provision made for the long-dispersed, outcast, and despised Israel, is the rebuilding of Jerusalem, the capital, and formerly the glory of their land. "Thus saith the Lord, Again there shall be heard in this place, which ye say shall be desolate without man and beast, even in the city of Judah, and in the streets of Jerusalem, (that are desolate without man, and without inhabitant, and without beast,) the voice of joy and the voice of gladness; the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride; the voice of them that shall say, Praise the Lord of Hosts." Jer. xxxiii. 10, 12. That this promise refers to future times is evident from its being when the Lord will cause both "the captivity of Judah and the captivity of Israel to return," ver. 7; and "in those days shall Judah be saved, and Jerusalem shall dwell safely ; and this is the name wherewith she shall be called, THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS." ver. 16. Such descriptions of the safety and holiness of Jerusalem cannot apply to any part of her previous history, but refer decidedly to the period of the Millennium.

A similar prediction concerning the rebuilding of

*Much of the difficulty which many experience in believing that these sublime and gracious promises shall really be accomplished, arises from their estimating God's designs concerning the future by present appearances, and from their always viewing the predictions with reference to human probability. But it ought to be remembered, that if "the Lord has spoken good concerning Israel," that what He has promised he is able also to perform. It is charged as an aggravated part of the provocation in the wilderness, that they "tempted God, and limited the Holy One of Israel." Ps. lxxviii. 41.

Jerusalem, is given by Jeremiah, although "the city" is not expressly named: "Thus saith the Lord, Behold, I will bring again the captivity of Jacob's tents, and have mercy on his dwelling places: and the city shall be builded upon her own heap, and the palace shall remain after the manner thereof. And out of them shall proceed thanksgiving, and the voice of them that make merry; and I will multiply them, and they shall not be few; I will also glorify them, and they shall not be small. Their children also shall be as aforetime, and their congregation shall be established before me, and I will punish all that oppress them. And their nobles. shall be of themselves, and their GOVERNOR shall proceed from the midst of them; and I will cause him to draw near, and he shall approach unto me; for who is this that engaged his heart to approach unto me? saith the Lord." Jer. xxx. 18-21. This refers clearly to the future restoration of Israel. The felicity and increase described, cannot apply to their return from Babylon; while its connection with the destruction and overthrow of all their enemies carries forward our views to the commencement of the Millennium as the period to which it relates: "All they that devour thee shall be devoured; and all thine adversaries, every one of them, shall go into captivity." ver. 16.

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The city shall not only be rebuilt, but Prophecy significantly points to its occupation of the same site on which it formerly stood. In the above prediction it is marked with emphasis, " And the City shall be builded upon her own heap." The same thing is declared by Zechariah: "And Jerusalem shall be inhabited again in her own place, even in Jerusalem." Zech. xii. 6. This is repeated by the same prophet in another chapter, which contains some additional circumstances of interest: "And the Lord shall be King over all the earth; in that day shall there be one Lord and his name one. All the land shall be turned as a plain from Geba to Rimmon south of Jerusalem; and it [Jerusalem] shall be lifted up, and inhabited in her place, from Benjamin's gate unto the place of the first gate unto the corner gate, and from the tower of Hananeel unto the king's

wine-presses. And men shall dwell in it, and there shall be no more utter destruction; but Jerusalem shall be safely inhabited." Zech. xiv. 9-11. The futurity of the fulfilment of this prediction is alike evident from its close and commencement. It refers to the time when "the Lord shall be king over all the earth," when our prayer shall be answered, "Thy kingdom come.” There shall then be "no more utter destruction;" but Jerusalem being rebuilt, "shall be safely inhabited," and this re-erection will be "in her place.' It is not so obvious where "the king's wine-pressess" formerly were, although we apprehend they may have been without the city; and if so, that this is an intimation of the future enlargement of Jerusalem. But the point to which we at present direct attention is to the circumstance of a portion of the land being "turned into a plain." This is to be" from Geba to Rimmon." The former was a city situated in the tribe of Benjamin; it was built by Asa, king of Judah, and was one of the "thirteen cities given to the sons of Aaron." There were two Rimmons; the one in the tribe of Zebulun, toward the northern boundary of Palestine; the other in the tribe of Simeon, on the border of Edom. The prophecy distinguishes these, and refers to the latter as that "south of Jerusalem." There is, therefore. no reason to doubt that the prediction is to be understood literally; although the change referred to be of a miraculous na

ture.

That the city is to be greatly enlarged is evident from the following prediction: "Behold the days come, saith the Lord, that the city shall be built to the Lord from the tower of Hananeel unto the gate of the corner. And the measuring line shall yet go forth over against it upon the hill Gareb, and shall compass about to Goath. And the whole valley of the dead bodies, and of the ashes, and all the fields unto the brook of Kidron, unto the corner of the horse-gate toward the east, shall be holy unto the Lord; it shall not be plucked up nor thrown down any more for ever." Jer. xxxi. 38 40. The city shall not only "be built" to all its former dimensions, but a considerable enlargement is