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eousness shall arise with healing in his wings, scattering the darkness of superstition and sin. He "shall arise, and have mercy upon Zion, for the time to favor her, yea, the set time is come."

Moreover, we are inclined to the opinion, that the promise of the Redeemer in Luke xxi, 20, is parallel to that contained in Romans xi, 25, and that both may refer, as the latter undoubtedly does, to the conversion of the Jews to the Christian faith. "Blindness in part hath happened to Israel." Now it is impossible for any calamities to befall any people more fearful than those implied in spiritual blindness. It is the greatest curse of God, it is the heaviest blow of his wrath. All external sufferings, temporal afflictions, and political slaveries, are as nothing compared with the awful consequences of judicial, spiritual blindness. Men may pass through a furnace of fire to a participation of an inheritance with the saints in light. But to be forsaken of God, and left to wander in darkness and error; such calamities are eternally surrounded with an impenetrable cloud of mysterious terror. This has been the condition of the Jews for centuries. And as the soul is infinitely more valuable than the body; as the concerns of eternity appear in transcendent grandeur, contrasted with those of time; so the future restoration of the Jews shall exceed, in sublimity, every literal gathering, and justify the most glorious descriptions of happiness and prosperity, in which the most evangelical prophet may have indulged. "And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, There shall come out of Zion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob; for this is my covenant unto them, when I shall take away their sins." "O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and know. ledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out !"

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One word more in reference to the calamities of the Jews. They fell upon the descendants of those who rejected the Messiah. His cruel persecutors and murderers said, "His blood be upon us and our children." Were they exclusively of the tribe of Judah who "received him not?" This will not be maintained. All the tribes were then as one, and all were virtually engaged in the outrages against Christ and Christianity. Consequently, the whole body of Israelites have suffered the calamities foretold by the Messiah. If the ten tribes had nothing to do with the crimes of their brethren-if they did not par. ticipate in their moral rebellion-then it were unjust that they should have passed through so many centuries of national degradation and spiritual blindness. But this has been their fate. The inference, therefore, is, that they were equally guilty. But this could not be the case unless there had been a union of the tribes in the land of Judea; and this union could not be possible except there had been a general return of all the tribes to their own land after the Babylonish captivity. Hence it will be seen how much depends upon the correct interpretation of prophecy. If we have not a clear understanding of the whole case, and do not admit the literal gathering of the Old Testament as already past, we are driven to an impeachment of the divine justice in his administration of the affairs of men.

The only additional objection which we shall notice is in substance, that inasmuch as the prophets declare that after the literal return the

children of Israel shall possess their land" for ever," and their inheritance for an "everlasting possession," that literal return cannot have taken place, because the Jews have been dispossessed for centuries.

Bickersteth (who by the way is a strenuous advocate of the literal gathering) says, in his "Practical Guide to the Prophecies," that "it is not quite clear that the term for ever,' annexed to promises, necessarily implies perpetuity." Here is candor, but it destroys the objection. But we may go a step farther, and affirm, that the term " for ever," applied to temporal possessions or blessings, cannot mean eternal endurance. The Levitical priesthood and statutes were to endure for ever, and the Abrahamic covenant gave the faithful patriarch's descendants the land of Canaan for ever. In reference to the former it is argued in the Epistle to the Hebrews that they were of a temporary character, and were intentionally done away under the gospel dispensation. In reference to the latter, it is known to every reader of the Scriptures and Jewish history that the Israelites did not possess it for ever; that they were expelled several times, and for a number of years. If, therefore, the promise was absolute, it has sig. nally failed, and the design of God was frustrated. But it is more reasonable to adopt another mode of explanation, and limit the sense of the expressions, as they are evidently designed to be. The words "for ever," and "everlasting," have the same sense in the predic tions of a literal return, and probably as a general rule when the terms are used by way of accommodation, and restrictedly, they mean to the end of the dispensation in which they are given, or with which they are immediately connected. The illustration of the word "eternal," given by Cruden, is so explicit and so applicable to the subject before us, that we cannot forbear quoting it. He says, “The words eternal, everlasting, for ever, are sometimes taken for a long time, and are not always to be understood strictly. For example, it is said, Gen. xvii, 8, I will give to thee and thy seed the land of Canaan for an everlasting possession.' And in chap. xiii, 15, I will give it to thee and to thy seed for ever;' that is, for a long space of time. And in Gen. xlix, 26, we find everlasting hills, so called, to denote their antiquity, stability, and duration; and this expression is used to show the long continuance and durableness of Joseph's blessings. God promises a throne to David, an eternal kingdom, a posterity that will never be extinguished; that is, that his and his son's empire will be of a very long duration, 2 Sam. vii, 16; 1 Chron. xvii, 14; that it will be even eternal, if hereby the kingdom of the Messiah be understood. Thus-Thou shalt be our guide from this time forth, even for ever; that is, during our whole life. And in many other places of Scripture, and in particular when the word 'for ever' is applied to the Jewish rites and privileges, it commonly signifies no more than during the standing of that commonwealth, or until the coming of the Messiah." Exod. xii, 14, 17; Num. x, 8. These, and similar words and phrases, must be used in a limited sense, as will be obvious to the objector, if he will bear in mind that, when God threatens to punish Israel for his sins, he declares, by the prophet Hosea, "I will no more have mercy upon the house of Israel;" and again, "I will love them no more," Hos. i, 6, and ix, 15.

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It may be observed, however, that in a great number of those places where the terms under consideration are employed, reference is made to the spiritual blessings of the gospel dispensation, which shall be bestowed upon the believing Israelites when they shall lay aside their hostility to Christ, and embrace our holy religion. These blessings extend to a future state of existence, and there is no danger of stretch. ing the promises of the new covenant beyond the measure of their duration. In the better country, the New Jerusalem, the heavenly city, there are unceasing joys. "In thy presence is fulness of joy, at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore." It is to this eternal inheritance, which is "incorruptible, undefiled, and that fadeth not away," that the prophets frequently refer when they use the terms "for ever," and "everlasting," with respect to future blessings to be conferred on the Israel of God. If this interpretation be rejected by the literalist, he must take the alternative of inconsistency and absurdity.

A few remarks may not be out of place here in reference to the present condition and prospects of the Jewish people. We hear that they are rapidly increasing in the Holy Land by emigration, and that great preparations are making in many parts of Europe and Asia for the reoccupation of Judea by the Jews. It has, therefore, been sug gested that passing occurrences contradict our theory, and that the Jews after all may return to their own land. We have watched these movements with a jealous eye, and no person can be more sensitively alive to what is passing in the eastern world, particularly with reference to the Jews. They who imagine that the present commotions of the old world, and the revolutions of empires, will result in the literal restoration of the Jews to their own land, and their national pre-eminence, will before many years have elapsed discover their mistake. The serious reader of prophecy and attentive observer of the signs of the times will however perceive the arm of the Lord stretched forth for the accomplishment of many glorious prophecies respecting the Jews. The blessed Redeemer, who wept over Jerusalem for her obstinacy and infidelity, still views with pity and compassion the blindness of heart and moral degradation which encompass the mind of the Jew. But their persevering rejection of our Messiah has been augmented in its virulence by the practices of those nations among whom they have dwelt. Mohammedanism admits the existence of Jesus Christ of the New Testament. Thousands of Jews have all along lived in Mohammedan countries; but from the painful exhibitions of religion which they have there wit. nessed, they must have turned away in disgust who had the least feeling of attachment to the law and the prophets. They must infinitely prefer their own system of religion. Popery professes to be the only conservator of Christianity. It says, "I believe in God the Father, Creator of heaven and earth; and in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Ghost, born of the Virgin Mary." But popery, with all its profession, and notwith. standing it possesses much of the truth, is, nevertheless, a fountain of corruption, from which has gurgled abundant streams of filthy superstition and poisonous effervescence. Thousands of Jews have long been residents in popish countries, and to those whose minds were in

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the least enlightened by the Mosaic code, there must have been a thousand reasons for rejecting Christianity in the wretched practices of deluded papists. Add to this, Mohammedanism and popery have always been intolerant. Popery has delighted in persecution, and rejoices to revel in the blood of non-conformity. This is its essence, and it remains unchanged and unchangeable. But the strong arm of our God is uplifted to destroy these systems of superstition and sin. The spread of the gospel, and the progress of science, shall accompany the shaking of the nations. "And a highway shall be there, and a way, and it shall be called the way of holiness; the unclean shall not pass over it; but it shall be for those; the wayfaring men, though fools, shall not err therein." The unsettled state of affairs in Egypt, Syria, India, China, and in many other kingdoms, portends the approach of that period when "the man of sin" shall be destroyedwhen they who took the sword shall perish by the sword-when every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low; and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places plain." "Behold, the Lord God will come with strong hand, and his arm shall rule for him." The poor wandering Jew has witnessed the desolating influence of polytheistic error, for its pathways have been reddened by the blood of his kindred. Shall it be always so? No. Their shackles must be loosed. While God is shaking the nations politically, the Christian church must multiply her agents of mercy. With the facilities for printing and circulating the Holy Scriptures, which characterize this age, the moral power of the church is increased; and it will be seen that, with regard to the Jew as well as the Greek, "he shall know the truth, and the truth shall make him free."

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While the agitations exist of which we have been speaking, many Jews may emigrate to Palestine, supposing thereby to avoid political trouble. Chiefly, however, the motive for so doing will be the preva lent expectation of the Messiah. This fatal error lays at the foundation of their notions respecting a literal restoration. The Mosaic and prophetic writings abound with promises of his appearance in Judea. They believe the predicted Messiah has not appeared, and that when he shall be revealed, they, as a nation, will be in possession of the land of their fathers. It is not surprising, then, that many should now proceed thither, especially as it is known that multitudes of Jews declare that, if the Messiah does not soon appear, they shall cease to look for him-their expectations will be destroyed-their hopes blasted. In this, then, we have a satisfactory reason for the present movement among the Jews. But this is not all :-the professed friends of the Jew have, in this respect, been his enemy. As far as we have been able to ascertain, every leading advocate of the society for "promoting Christianity among the Jews," maintains, without equivoca tion, the literal gathering. The Jew is, therefore, furnished with an argument for his opposition to Christianity; for his rabbis have taught him to associate the possession of Judea with the advent of the Messiah. This opinion of Christian teachers and commentators has been widely circulated, as such, among almost every class of Jews, in every country, by Jews who have embraced Christianity, particularly by the celebrated and eccentric Joseph Wolff. Under these circum

stances it is surprising, not that many Jews should be journeying to Palestine, but that there should not have been many thousands more long ago inspired with a desire to see the land of miracles, and occupy a few acres of its soil. And the writer would not conceal his painful conviction that there must be a revolution of sentiment on the subject under consideration before any extensive work will be achieved in Christianizing the descendants of Israel. It behooves every one engaged in that field of labor to disentangle, himself from the "vain philosophy" of rabbinical talmudists; "not giving heed to Jewish fables, and commandments of men that turn from the truth."

We cannot conclude without again earnestly calling attention to the claims of the Jews to our benevolent and Christian exertions. "My heart's desire and prayer to God is, that Israel may be saved." Can we think of their situation without emotions of desire that they may be saved from their dire apostasy? They must and will reject with disdain the paganism, Mohammedanism, and popery, of which they have seen and felt so much-they will be disappointed in their expectations of a local Messiah. If, then, the Christian church shall not exert herself more vigorously, what will become of these Israel. ites? Is there not reason to believe that rabid and merciless infidelity will make a prey of them?-that the united efforts of the votaries of an infidel philosophy, existing in England, France, and Germany, will swallow them up, or protract the period of their deliverance? Let us awake, arise, and build the temple of the Lord. To every speaker on a missionary platform we would say, "Remember the lost sheep of the house of Israel!" To use the words of Faber, "It is no less our interest as politicians, than our duty as Christians, to endeavor, each according to our opportunity and measure, to promote the conversion of the house of Judah." In conclusion, we entreat the prayers of all Christians in behalf of God's ancient people. Surely we can all unite in thus supplicating the throne of grace,- -"Have mercy upon all Jews, Turks, infidels, and heretics, and take from them all ignorance, hardness of heart, and contempt of thy word; and so fetch them home, blessed Lord, to thy flock, that they may be saved among the remnant of the true Israelites, and be made one fold, under one Shepherd, Jesus Christ our Lord."

REVIEWS.

For the Methodist Magazine and Quarterly Review.

1. The African Slave Trade. BY THOMAS FOWELL BUXTON, Esq. 2. The African Slave Trade. By THOMAS FOWELL BUXTON, ESQ. Remedy. London: John Murray, Albemarle-street, 1840.

London, 1839.

Part II. The

IN the name of THOMAS FOWELL BUXTON resides a "tower of strength." By reason of his enlightened philanthropy and high moral worth, he is justly regarded as the individual among British statesmen on whom the mantle of Wilberforce has fallen;-an honor which he has merited by his zeal and exertions for the suppression of the slave trade and for the civilization of Africa; not only in his public capa

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