flock be cut off from the fold, and there be no herd in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation"-etc. The diversified soil and recurring seasons of Canaan presented and suggested imagery to the sacred penmen, that have rendered nearly every operation of the husbandman vocal with Divine Truth-with mementos of man's dependence or evidences of God's bounty, with invitations to prayer or calls to duty. "He watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the cater""He causeth grass to grow for the cattle and herb for the service of man; and wine that maketh glad the heart of man, and oil to make his face to shine, and bread which strengtheneth man's heart"-"Thou waterest the ridges thereof abundantly; thou settlest the furrows thereof; thou makest it soft with showers; thou blessest the springing thereof thou crownest the year with thy goodness"-etc. With these milder scenes and images, the chosen Inheritance offered also those of a more terrible character, and such as at once meet the experience, touch the feelings and rouse the souls of those inhabiting the torrid regions of the globe-the earthquake, the volcano, and he hurricane. "He looketh on the earth and it trembleth"-" He toucheth the mountains and they smoke" -"He bowed the heavens and came down, and there was darkness under his feet"-"The Lord thundered out of heaven, and the Highest gave his voice, hailstones and coals of fire"-"The voice of the Lord divideth the flames of fire"-"The hills melted like wax at the presence of the Lord"-etc. Nor did this wonderful land fail to supply images and experiences that come home to those whose lot is cast in the colder and more dreary parts of the earth. Embodied in the songs of Zion we find the allusions: "Time of snow"-"Snow and vapors "-" Snow like wool""Hoar-frost like ashes"-"Ice-like morsels"-"Who can stand before his cold "-"Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be white as snow"-" Wash me and I shall be whiter than snow”—etc. These examples are sufficient to show what fitness there was in the Land chosen of God, to be the theatre on which the history should be made, and the country in which the psalms and promises and predictions should be written, that were to be for the edification and comfort of mankind in all ages and countries of the world. But above and beyond all, in the choice of this particular country regard was had to one greater than patriarchs or prophets, even to the incarnate Son of God: nay, behind, and far behind all indication of choice. even in the Divine plan and preparation of this peculiar land, reference was had to His wondrous ministry of wisdom, love, and power among men; such materials were deposited for its formation at the bottom of the sea, and such forces were employed for its upheaval in hills and valleys as would constitute it a suitable field for the proclamation of his message of grace, for the exercise of his miraculous benevolence, and for laying Him down upon the altar of Divine Justice, a sacrifice for the sin of the world. Had the Son of the Highest appeared among men in any other country, the Gospel History, in the character of the materials which compose it, would have been wholly different from what it is. Many of his most important instructions, as well as most wonderful works, grew out of the local peculiarities or conditions of the country. His miracles were called forth by the diseases of its climate, by the storms of its lake, by the destitution of its desert, and by the dead buried in its caves. His teachings were throughout interwoven with the natural features and productions of the land; His inimitable parables were read from its vineyards, its sown fields, its hid treasures, its tares, its fig trees, its drawn fish, its wandering sheep. In a word, Palestine, in its features and productions, was as closely connected with the ministry and death and burial of Christ, as are the warp and woof of a piece of tapestry with the varied forms and figures displayed upon it. A FOURTH reason for making Canaan the home of his chosen people was its central position in regard to the inhabited parts of the earth. "I have set Jerusalem in the midst of the nations and countries that are round about her." As it was necessary to place the sun in the centre of the planetary system, that its light and heat might be diffused more readily and equably to all the members of that system-so it was expedient that the Seed of Abraham, the Depositaries of Divine Truth, should be planted, as it were, in the midst of the world, that the light of that truth might be the more readily disseminated among all nations. Looking at the map of the world, it will be seen that no district or country more central to the three great divisions of the Old World could have been chosen than Canaan. It forms as nearly as possible the point of junction between Asia, Europe, and Africa, into which, in the fulness of time, the light of the Gospel should flow, as the saving heaith of all nations. We see, then, that Canaan was assigned to God's chosen people as their home and inheritance for reasons worthy the Divine wisdom, and for ends most gracious toward man. And we learn, hence, too, that God did but give to Abraham a glimpse of his long-formed and far-reaching plans toward our fallen race when He said to him, "Lift up now thine eyes, and look from the place where thou art northward, and southward, and eastward and westward; for all the land which thou seest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed for ever." Long before the Patriarch had thus looked around him from that eminence, yea, "while as yet the Lord had not made the world, nor the fields, nor the first clod of earth," His holy eye had looked down from the height of his sanctuary, and prospectively surveyed and divided the Land among his numerous posterity yet unborn. Already, in his prescient view, that division among the Tribes had been made, that holy Book had been written, that Mount Zion had been crowned with the sacred Temple, that Calvary had sustained the mysterious Cross of his beloved Son, and the tidings of his redeem.ing love had gone forth from Jerusalem among all nations. "Known unto God are all his works from the beginning." |