The covenant was with regard to One Seed, a Sou to come of the tribe of Judah, One whom his brethren should praise the Shiloh, the One Sent, unto whom the gathering of the people should be, Gen. xlix 8—10. It also regarded this people, the multitudinous seed, who were especially to come of the two families of Joseph, Gen. xlviii. 2—20. Of Joseph more particularly was to come the body, upon the Head of which the fulness of the blessing was to come, Gen. xlix. 25, 26. The blessing could only be enjoyed by a people found under the Head; as being gathered into Oneness with Christ; as being given newness of life in Him; as being born again of the incorruptible seed of the word, which liveth and abideth for ever;as being begotten again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead; as being made the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus, who was of the seed of David according to the flesh; and declared to be the Son of God, with power, according to the Spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead.

It is as looking to Jesus, and as seeing the numerous posterity, promised unto the fathers, regenerated, or born again, through the power of his word, that we see the meaning of what follows: "And the word of the Lord came unto Jeremiah, saying, Thus saith the Lord, If ye can break my covenant of the day, and my covenant of the night; and that there should not be day and night in their season; then may also my covenant be broken with David my servant, that he should not have a son to reign upon his throne; and with the Levites, the priests, my ministers." A son hath been born of the family of David, in whom the Levitical priesthood hath been superseded; and since whose ascension, into the holiest of all, the rudimental service of the tabernacle upon earth, hath been done away:— "And being made perfect, He became the Author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey Him. Called of

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God an High Priest after the order of Melchizedek, of whom we have many things to say and hard to be uttered, seeing ye are dull of hearing," Heb. v. 9—11. Listen to the call, Is. lv. 3: "Hear and your souls shall live; and I will make an everlasting covenant with you, the sure mercies of David." And Ezek. xxxvii. 4, "O ye dry bones, Hear ye the word of the Lord." And Jer. xxxi. 10, "Hear the word of the Lord, ye nations," or Gentiles, "and declare it in the isles afar off." So may He see His seed, in a people who were called Lo-ammi, or Gentiles, dwelling in these isles afar off: they being found sous of the living God, through the power of his lifegiving word.

When, by His word and Spirit, the lost house of Israel are made to stand upon their feet, an exceeding great army, then will Jesus be found indeed the second Adam, and this word will be found true: and it can only be found true in Him, and in the natural seed being made the spiritual seed, through his regenerating word: "As the host of heaven cannot be numbered, neither the sand of the sea measured; so will I multiply the seed of David my servant, and the Levites that minister unto me." That word will be found true: "If ye be Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise:" which promise was to be enjoyed in the son of David. Out of Him it is vain to look for the blessing; and all that will have it in Him are welcome. In Him "ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should show forth the praises of Him, who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light: which in time past were not a people, but are now the people of God: which had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy," 1 Pet. ii. 9, 10; also Hos. i. ii. Let us, in connection with this subject, remember the words of the Lord to the ruler of the Jews: "Marvel not that I said unto thee, ye must be born again."

Jesus is Prince of the kings of the earth; He is the Head of his body the church, which is to be given to sit with Him on his throne. This body is chiefly to be of the two families of Joseph.

Some may be apt to say, that, seeing the blessing can only be had in Christ, and that all who are in Christ are heirs of the blessing, then the promise with regard to the natural seed is superseded, by that with regard to the spiritual seed, and is no more to be regarded. Not so. God's wondrous

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working with regard to the natural descendants of the fathers, in order to make them the children of promise, and accomplish the intents of his heart with regard to them, will be found one of the most powerful testimonies to that truth, through the reception of which they are regenerated after the image of Jesus. phetic word, with regard to the two families who were chosen to be types of blessing, Gen. xlviii. 20, is not to be laid aside. Its fulfilment will yet astonish the world; and prove a most conclusive argument in behalf of Christianity. We are now to see that we have the prophetic word confirmed with regard to the natural seed, as before we had, with regard to the spiritual. The people can only be blessed in Christ; but it was promised that especially the two families of Joseph would be blessed in Him. The birthright was given to them. The Chief Ruler was to come of Judah; but still the birthright was Joseph's. In his posterity, as submitting to Christ, the blessings of multiplicity, supplanting power, and means of blessing all na

tions, were to be realized, as already they so remarkably are in our people, spread out unto all the nations of the earth, with unprecedented facilities, natural and artificial, for receiving and communicating good. The Jews had little conception of what was to happen to these two families, when they saw them driven from their homes by the Assyrians. As little did they think that Jesus whom they afterwards crucified, and of whom they said, "His blood be upon us, and upon our children," would, as becoming the acknowledged Head of that outcast people, procure for them all blessing which had been promised, and from which they appeared to be for ever removed, as being lost among the Gentiles.

"Moreover the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah, saying, Considerest thou not what this people have spoken, saying, The two families which the Lord hath chosen, he hath even cast them off." It is to be recollected that "this people," the people that were near to the prophet, and whose words he had an opportunity of hearing and considering, were the Jews, the inhabitants of Jerusalem, whose words the Lord reports also to Ezekiel, ch. xi., when he calls to that prophet's remembrance the outcast house of Israel, saying, ver. 15, "Son of man, thy brethren, thy brethren, the men of thy kindred, and all the house of Israel wholly, they unto whom the inhabitants of Jerusalem have said, Get you far from the Lord: Unto us is this land given in possession." A careless reader might suppose that the families of David and Levi were those

referred to in the text, Jer. xxxiii. 24; but independent of the fact that the two families of Joseph were indeed those that the Lord chose to inherit the birthright, 1 Chron. v. 1, 2; Gen. xlviii. 13—20; xlix. 22—26, it is altogether incongruous, and contrary to fact, to say that the inhabitants of Jerusalem, here called "this people," rejoiced in the expulsion of the reigning family and of the Levites at that time; but it is clear they had done so, with regard to the two chosen families, Ephraim and Manasseh—the two families of which the Lord had purposed to make a great people, and a multitude, or fulness, of nations. Indeed, with regard to the whole house of Israel, it is clear, from what is stated, Ezek. xi. 15, that it could most truly he said of the Jews, the inhabitants of Jerusalem, "Thus they have despised my people, that they should be no more a nation before them."So, however, it was not to be with the Lord: they were never to cease from being a nation before Him for ever, although to the eye of man they would have ceased to be a people. Thus spake the Lord, of the outcast house of Israel, as distinguished from the Jews, Ezek. xi. 16, "Although I have cast them far off among the heathen, and although I have scattered them among the countries, yet will I be to them as a little Sanctuary in the countries where they shall come." When yet out of the land, and when having come into other countries than those into which they were taken by the Assyrians, in place of being put far from the Lord, they were to be received into Him as their sure and all-sufficient Refuge: which he can only be to them in the Son of David; who also was rejected of the Jews, but appointed to be Ruler in Israel. The outcast children of Joseph have received Him as the Crucified One; and, through Him, have they, even already, been lifted into power and blessing, May they have the mind of their Prince—of Him who made Himself of no reputation, who took upon Him the

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form of a servant, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. See Phil. ii. 11—15. So will they follow after the things that make for peace, and experience the truth of the promise, Is. ix. 7. "Of the Increase of his government and peaceno end; upon the throne of David, and upon His kingdom, to order it, and to establish it," &c. As Joseph was made a shepherd to his father's house in Egypt, so have the two families of Joseph, which the Lord especially chose to be brought into blessing in Christ—so have they been given the power of blessing, in the countries where they have come. As conspicuous have they been in the political and religious world, as the heavenly bodies are in the natural; and as sure has the word been fulfilled with regard to them in the appointed season. The word of the Lord is tried, and it is indeed found a true word: "Thus saith the Lord, If my covenant be not with day and night, and if I have not appointed the ordinances of heaven and earth, then will I cast away the seed of Jacob, and David my servant; that I will not take of his seed to be rulers over the seed of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob." And this shall be especially manifested in the Restoration, when the governors of Judah, spoken of Zech. xii., will be found to be of the very people whom the Jews supposed to be made "not a people;" the very people upon whom the Lord seemed not to have mercy, but utterly to take away, whilst he had mercy upon the house of Judah. But now they that were cast far off, are made nigh by the blood of Jesus. And this was not only to take place, as it has been doing, out of the Land; but it will be fully manifested in the Land. The Lord will accomplish his word, when we are prepared for the promised blessing; and when He is inquired of by the house of Israel to do it for them. "For I will cause their captivity to return, and have mercy on them."

And thereafter, even during the full establishment of the Millennial Kingdom, the words will be found true with

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regard to the children of promise. The Bride who will be given to sit with the King upon the throne of his glory, and who shall be given the dominion over the whole earth, under the whole heaven, will be found chiefly to have come of the two families that the Lord did choose, as truly as the Bridegroom hath come of Judah. It will not be a mere Gentile Church ruling over the Lord's chosen nation, but it will be found that the very people He chose for his name, have had his name put upon them. Soon may the Bride, indeed, make herself ready; and be found in the place which the Lord did choose to place his Name there. Soon may He there, and thence be proclaimed King of Salem, by the people of whom He can most truly say, "I have chosen thee, and not cast thee away." Already hath He been exercising, with regard to them, his kingly power, making of them princes in all the earth. He hath been causing them to inherit the Gentiles, out among whom they were cast, and for whose case they may well be expected to feel. Having been themselves Gentiles so long, they may truly sympathise with the Gentiles. Soon the God of their fathers will, through them, cause the desolate places of Jerusalem to be inhabited: when it will be their part to seek and obtain mercy for the Jew, who rejected Him who alone could save them; and in whom the fatherless have found salvation, both temporal and spiritual—Through Him they are made of the family of David; yea, sons of the living God.— They can do no other than exalt their King—than proclaim Him whose Name is Wonderful, Counsellor, the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace—King over all the powers that be.

The Blessing can only be found as taking refuge in the ark of the covenant—under the mercy seatsprinkled with the peace-speaking

blood of Jesus. He is our peaceMelchizcdek, King of Righteousness; and after that King of Salem, which is King of Peace. And it was written, and is being fulfilled, "Let the Blessing come upon the Head of Joseph, and upon the crown of the Head of Him that was separate from his brethren."

"Jesus is worthy to receive,

Honour and power divine;
And blessings, more than we can give,
Be, Lord, for ever thine."

Soon may Israel know themselves, and know the Name of their God, and truly acknowledge Him as the Wonderful, the God of providence; as the Counsellor, the God of redemption; as the Mighty God, the God of creation; as the Everlasting Father, whose compassion and care for his children is unceasing; and, finally, as the King of Salem, or Prince of Peace.—Our Great God and Saviour, having fully proved himself to be the King of Righteousness, and his people having submitted to Him as such, He will assuredly prove Himself to be the King of Peace.

He is, 1 Tim. i. 17, "The King," the Prince of Peace—"Eternal," the Everlasting Father—"Immortal," the Mighty God, who can preserve his people alive in the midst of death, and bring them forth into fulness of life"Invisible," the Counsellor, who for us hath entered within the vail, so that now we see Him not: but we look for his second appearing, without sin unto salvation. He is also "the only Wise God," the Wonderful, who hath, indeed, dealt wondrously with Israel in the past, and not less marvellously will his Providence he manifested with regard to them in the future. "Now unto the King, eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God, be honour and glory for ever and ever. Amen." In "His Name," Pray for the peace of Jerusalem."

The mystery of God, which was to be finished in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he shall begin to sound, must refer to some important working of God, which would be ripe for disclosure in the last days, after the sixth trumpet has sounded, and when the seventh begins to sound. It is not, however, anything entirely new that is revealed, but rather it is the opening up of that which was given forth of old, "As He hath declared unto his servants the prophets." Rev.x. 1—7.

The mystery to be disclosed upon the opening of the book is very clearly intimated by the prophet Isaia i. ch. xxix. It was to be hut a very little while before Lebanon should be tured into a fruitful field-before the curse should be taken from the land; and the people of promise be restored thereto in blrssing, that the deaf would hear the words of the book.

The God of Israel is found a covenant-keeping God. Not another people in their place, whether Jews or Gentiles, but the very children of promise that were lost have been found. The manifestation of the sons of God has taken place, ver. 22, 23, "Therefore thus saith the Lord, who redeemed Abraham, concerning the house of Jacob, Jacob shall not now be ashamed, neither shall his face now wax pale; but when he seeth his children, the work of my hands, in the midst of him, they shall sanctify my name, and sanctify the Holy One of Jacob, and shall fear the God of Israel:"

The preceding part also of Is. xxix. is remarkably connected with our subject The woful case, to which the city where David dwelt, would be subjected, is described. The Assyrians encamped against it round about:

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they were allowed to proceed no furThe Babylonians were permitted to lay siege against her with a mount, and they prevailed, to the taking the city, and the removing therefrom the strength and beauty of the Jewish people. But this did not end their sufferings: After the seventy years' captivity, their enemies were powerful round about—yea, the words were literally fu filled in the city herself, "And I will raise forts against thee" And at length, by the power of the Romans, the threatening was accomplished," And thou shalt be brought down;" and since then the predictions respecting the deep degradation of Jerusalem have been abundantly verified. And thou shalt speak out of the ground, and thy speech shall be low out of the dust, and thy voice shall be as of one that hath a familiar spirit, out of the ground, and thy speech shall whisper out of the dust." The degrading mummery of the Holy Sepulchre seems here alluded to. When the inhabitants of Jerusalem had thus debased Christianity, the city fell into the hands of the Saracens, the children of Hagar, the stranger, of whom it is said, "Moreover the multitude of thy strangers shall be like small dust." The beating of them to small dust, might, in part, be accomplished by the Crusaders; but these did not retain the power. Next came the Turks"The multitude of the terrible ones," and they" shall be as chaff that passeth away—yea, it shall be at an instant, suddenly." The Lord will cleanse Jerusalem. "Thou shalt be visited of the Lord of Hosts with thunder, and with earthquake, and great noise, with storm, and tempest, and the flame of devouring tire." When Jerusalem