shall dwell safely; and this is his name whereby he shall be called, THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS."* Yes, it is for the Messiah that the throne of David is waiting! How gloriously does Isaiah sing of the birth of Him who is to occupy its vacancy. "For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given, and the government shall be upon his shoulder; and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice, from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts

will perform this."+ And how does the angel Gabriel, when addressing the virgin concerning the birth of the Lord, re-echo the sounds of the prophetic lyre of the son of Amoz, when he says, "He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David. And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end."+

2. His people. They are called "Israel" in the

* Jer. xxiii. 5, 6.

† Is. ix. 6, 7.

Luke i. 32, 33.

10th verse of the chapter before us:

"Moreover

I will appoint a place for my people Israel," &c. Let us endeavour to ascertain, from other portions of Scripture, of what Israel the prediction speaks. Are we to understand by the term Israel after the flesh; or, according to the interpretation of some, the Gentile Church? We will appeal to an inspired commentary to determine: "The Redeemer shall come to Zion, and unto them that turn from transgression in Jacob, saith the Lord. My Spirit that is upon thee... shall not depart

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out of thy mouth, nor out of the mouth of thy seed, nor out of the mouth of thy seed's seed.. Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee."* This is one of a large class of similar predictions, which speak of the restoration of Israel, and of the return and residence of our Lord Jesus Christ with his people. Now there are found not a few warmly to contend that "Zion' and "Jacob" are here figurative phrases, and that the return of the Redeemer is merely the manifestation of his grace in the heart. We have, however, the authority of the Apostle Paul for taking a very different view of the matter. "All Israel shall be saved, as it is written, There shall come out of Zion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob." Is not "Israel" here the literal Israel?

* Is. lix. 20, 21. lx. 1.

+ Rom. ii. 26.

Then is, consequently, her Jerusalem the literal Jerusalem, and her throne David's throne, reestablished in the person of the Lord Jesus Christ. If Israel be restored, there cannot consistently be any other interpretation. But further, in the passage already quoted, we have the announcement, "Thy light is come." What light? Let us turn for an answer once more to the inspired commentary. "The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light: they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the light shined."* Now, so far as this remarkable prophecy has received its accomplishment, how has it been fulfilled? By the personal descent of the Lord Jesus Christ from heaven to earth, and his continued residence among his people Israel in Galilee. Have we not here another key to unlock the treasures of unfulfilled prophecy? If the primary and partial fulfilment of this prophecy is to be found in the personal appearing of the Lord among his people Israel, may we not look forward to its complete and plenary accomplishment in that still future but not far distant day, when, having returned to Zion, he shall arise as "the Sun of righteousness with healing in his wings;"t when his "feet shall stand upon the Mount of Olives ;"+

* Is. ix. 2.

+ Mal. iv. 2.

‡ Zech. xiv. 4.

when "the moon shall be confounded, and the sun ashamed, and the Lord of hosts shall reign in Mount Zion, and in Jerusalem, and before his ancients, gloriously."*

What is the present state of the future subjects of the Lord Jesus? St. Paul thus describes their moral state: "Israel hath not attained unto the law of righteousness, because they sought it not by faith."+ Hosea thus describes their outward state: "The children of Israel shall abide many days without a king, and without a prince, and without a sacrifice, and without an image, and without an ephod, and without teraphim." And how does he describe their future state? "Afterward shall the children of Israel return, and seek the Lord their God, and David their king; and shall fear the Lord and his goodness in the latter days."§ Surely this latter promise must be taken as literally as the foregoing threat. Whom then are we to understand by "David their king." Not the actual David, long since dead; but the Messiah, of whom "the beloved" was an eminent type, and whose name is frequently applied to Christ in the prophecies.|| "The great cardinal facts of prophecy," says an

* Is. xx iv. 23. § Hos. iii. 5.

† Rom. ix. 31, 32. + Hos. iii. 4. See Jer. xxx. 9. Ezek. xxxiv. 23; xxxvii. 24.

ingenious writer,* "are revealed in three ways. 1. In simple language. 2. In symbolical language. 3. In figurative language.- In each of these three ways is the restoration of Jerusalem and the reign of the Lord set forth. In simple language: "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."+ And immediately before this we have the announcement, "The Lord shall be king over all the earth: in that day there shall be one Lord, and his name one." The same is revealed in Ezekiel symbolically, in the vision of the dry bones, which is thus explained by the Lord himself: "Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel: behold they say, Our bones are dried, and our hope is lost; we are cut off for our parts. Therefore prophesy, and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD, Behold, O my people, I will open your graves, and cause you to come up out of your graves, and bring you into the land of Israel. And ye shall know that I am the LORD,

*Prophecies respecting the Jews and Jerusalem, in the form of a Catechism."-Plymouth.