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while under the power and within the dominions of Nebuchadnezzar; and the only captivity of Israel since that period, is that from which they are not yet recovered. And is their restoration to be considered less real, because it is future? The Lord will undoubtedly perform this His promise in their favour, and "gather them from the coasts of the earth." Nor can this restoration be confounded with their conversion, which is here predicted as an accompaniment. In coming from the coasts of the earth, "they shall come," saith the Lord, "with weeping; and with supplications will I lead them." ver. 9.

Ezekiel records a similar prophecy, "Therefore say, Thus saith the Lord God, I will even gather you from the people, and assemble you out of the countries where ye have been scattered, and I will give you the land of Israel." Ezek. xi. 17. To the same period, obviously, does this promise refer. It is the pledge of recovery, not from one land alone, as was that from Babylon, but of their rescue from "the countries" into which they have latterly "been scattered." And those who are so desirous of investing the Gentile church with the various promises given to Israel, will do well to observe, how this is secured to them. Addressing the Hebrew prophet, the Lord calls those to be thus gathered, "thy brethren, even thy brethren, the men of thy kindred," whom He had "cast far off heathen." ver. 15, 16. Nor is this to be explained as prethe among dicting merely their conversion, which the Lord immediately promises in addition; "I will put a new spirit within you, and will take the stony heart out of their flesh, and will give them an heart of flesh." ver. 19.

Again, "Thus saith the Lord God," by the same prophet, “Behold, I, even I, will both search my sheep and bring them out, as a shepherd seeketh out his flock, in the day that he is among his sheep that are scattered; so will I seek out my sheep, and will deliver them out of all places where they have been scattered in the cloudy and dark day; and I will bring them out from the people, and gather them from the countries, and will bring them to their own land, and feed them upon the mountains of Israel, by the rivers, and in all the inhabited places of the country. I will feed them in a good pasture, and upon the high mountains of Israel shall their fold be; there shall they lie in a

good fold, and in a fat pasture shall they feed, upon the mountains of Israel." Ezek. xxxiv. 11-14. These sheep, it is added, "6. are men' " and "they, even the house of Israel, are my people, saith the Lord." ver. 31, 30. That they are the literal Israel is also evident, as they are to be gathered "from the countries and brought to their own land," to the "mountains of Israel," and to "all the inhabited places of the country." ver. 13, 14. This restoration has not yet been enjoyed, for, after it "they shall no more be a prey to the heathen," "neither bear the shame of the heathen any more," "but they shall dwell safely, and none shall make them afraid." ver. 28-31.

Once more, by the same prophet, "Thus saith the Lord God, Now will I bring again the captivity of Jacob, and have mercy on the whole house of Israel, and will be jealous for my holy name; after that they have borne their shame, and all their trespasses whereby they have trespassed against me when they dwelt safely in their land, and none made them afraid. When I have brought them again from the people, and gathered them out of their enemies' lands, and am sanctified in them, in the sight of many nations; then shall they know that I am the Lord their God, which caused them to be led into captivity among the heathen: but I have gathered them unto their own land, and have left none of them any more there. Neither will I hide my face any more from them; for I have poured out my Spirit upon the house of Israel, saith the Lord God." Ezek. xxxix. 25-29. This clearly refers to the literal Israel, as it was they who "went into captivity for their iniquity," who were "led into captivity among the heathen;" and it is they only who remain yet to be gathered of their enemies' lands.... unto their own land." Neither is this the restoration from Babylon, for all Israel did not then return; but, when this promise is fulfilled, there is "left none of them any more there." It is also immediately subsequent to Israel's triumph over Gog, when they shall spoil those that spoiled them, and rob those that robbed them, saith the Lord." ver. 10. It is, consequently, still future, which is farther obvious from the Lord's gracious assurance, "neither will I hide my face any more from them."

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If these predictions do not prove the future restoration

of the literal Israel to the land of their fathers, it may certainly be asked, In what language could such a promise be made, that would not be equally liable to be misapplied, perverted, or discredited? We may as well deny the literal conversion as the literal restoration of Israel-most of the passages which assure us of the one, predicting also the other. If it was not a figurative dispersion they suffered, neither will it be a figurative restoration they shall enjoy. And if dispersion was a part of the punishment of their national transgression, so also will restoration be obtained when forgiven of the Lord, and will be connected with their national repentance. And how wonderfully has the Lord preserved the Jews for this display of His sovereignty and grace! Though scattered into every nation of Europe, and though many of them are possessed of immense wealth, they have not been allowed to become the proprietors of any soil. They have no inheritance in other lands, and they have always cherished a passionate desire to return to their own. Throughout their long captivity, they have thus been kept unsubjected to the influence of other local attachments, and in a state of constant readiness for migration; and recent movements among them render it highly probable that the time of their general departure is at hand. By the dispensations of His providence, the Lord is manifestly preparing the way for their return. In the plenitude of their uncontrouled power, earthly potentates may indeed combine, and, with a view to perpetuate their systems of iniquity, may create kingdoms at will, allot to them the territories they shall possess, and appoint the kings by whom they

* In the Jewish Expositor for January last, (a monthly periodical deserving of more general circulation, being entirely devoted to the best interests of Israel, and containing regularly the correspondence of the Jewish Missionaries.) there is an extract of a letter from Mr. Wolff, dated Cyprus, July 15, containing an account of 100 Jews, from Constantinople, having arrived at Jaffa, while Mr. W. was there, on their way to Jerusalem. It is added, "A friend, on whose judgment and veracity equal confidence may be placed, writing from Constantinople, more recently, says, that when he first arrived he heard of a great number of ships, hired by the Jews to convey them to Jerusalem. He found they were going in expectation of the near coming of their Messiah. He adds, that thousands of families were preparing to embark from all quarters." This statement was confirmed by another friend, writing from the south of Europe, under date, November 28.

shall be governed, without asking counsel of the Lord, or regulating their decisions by His "sure decree." In all their calculations, Israel may not be reckoned; in their disposal of territory, no portion may be assigned for their inheritance. But the God of Jacob "has purposed, and who shall disannul it?" "Zion shall be redeemed with judgments, and her converts with righteousness." "But ye, O mountains of Israel, ye shall shoot forth your branches, and yield your fruit to my people of Israel; for they are at hand to come." Is. i. 27. Ezek. xxxvi, 8.

SECTION IV.

RESTORATION OF THE KINGDOMS BOTH OF ISRAEL AND JUDAH.

IN the preceding Section, we have endeavoured to prove, from the contexts of the passages adduced, that their only legitimate application is to the literal house of Israel; and that the restoration they predict is yet future. Those now to be cited, are, however, more obviously so, as the class of predictions they contain are still less capable of being alienated from their proper objects. Their accommodation to the Gentile church is still less admissible, because, from the distinctions they make, it is rendered more apparent that they relate to the descendants of Abraham. By express mention of the kingdom of Israel or the Ten Tribes, distinguished from that of Judah or the Two Tribes,* their reference to the literal Israel is put beyond question; while the fact that the Ten Tribes have received no general restoration since these predictions were given, renders it equally manifest that the promised return to the Holy Land is still future. Under Ezra, a small portion of the Israelites returned from Babylon to their own land, when liberated by Cyrus. But those who went up were in all only about fifty thousand, (including above seven thousand servants, Ezra ii. 64, 65,) not a fifth of the whole, and these appear to

• Attention is forcibly called to this distinction in certain predictions which relate to the different circumstances in which they have so long been placed-Israel being outcast and Judah dispersed.

have been almost all, if not wholly, of the kingdom of Judah; the Two Tribes, Judah and Benjamin: (Ezra i. 6. iii. 9. iv. 1, 12.) while we are expressly told that "the nations whom the great and noble Asnapper brought over, and set in the cities of Samaria,” when the Israelites were carried into Assyria, still continued to occupy them. Ezra iv. 10. For at the time Samaria was taken by Shalmanezer, he “ carried Israel [the Ten Tribes] away into Assyria, and placed them in Halah, and in Habor, by the river of Gozan; and in the cities of the Medes....And the king of Assyria brought men from Babylon, and from Cuthah, and from Åva, and from Hamath, and from Sepharvaim, and placed them in the cities of Samaria instead of the children of Israel; and they possessed Samaria, and dwelt in the cities thereof." 2 Kings xvii. 6, 24. Of the captive Israelites, individuals would doubtless embrace opportunities of returning, but it is known with certainty that no general restoration of them has since taken place. The testimony of History proves, that, both in the first and fifth centuries of the Christian era, they were still in or near the places of their original settlement; but latterly they have disappeared from observation, and various conjectures are now entertained concerning their present situation and circumstances.* The Lord will, however, in His own time, bring them from their hiding place, as in the following predictions they are clearly distinguished from the kingdom of Judah, with whom they are to be restored and afterwards re-united.

With justice, therefore, in arguing the question, we might have assumed that those predictions which declare their combined restoration, 66 even the whole house of Israel," still remain unaccomplished. In addition to the evidence of this palpable fact, we will, however, as in the preceding

The features and customs of the American Indians have led many to believe them to be of Jewish extraction; and it was the opinion of Sir William Penn, that they were no other than the remnant of the Ten Tribes of Israel. Various authors have since adopted the same view; and a work entitled "The Hope of Israel" has lately been published, endeavouring to establish the fact. The work itself we have not yet seen; but if the numerous striking coincidences mentioned in its Introduction (as quoted in the Jewish Expositor for January last) have been satisfactorily ascertained, they may certainly be considered as forming "Presumptive Evidence that the Aborigines of the Western Hemisphere are the long-lost Ten Tribes of Israel."

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