no city to dwell in. Hungry and thirsty their soul fainted in them. Then they cried unto the Lord in their troubles and he delivered them out of their distresses. Psalm cvii. 2—6.

Thou shalt arise, and have mercy upon Zion: for the time is come, For thy servants take pleasure in her stones, and favour the dust thereof. So the heathen shall fear the name of the Lord and all the kings of earth thy glory. When the Lord shall build up Zion, he shall appear in his glory.....To declare the name of the Lord in Zion, and his praise in Jerusalem; when the people are gathered together and the kingdoms, to serve the Lord....The children of thy servants shall continue, and their seed shall be established before thee.

Psalm cii. 13, 16, 21, 22, 28.* The Lord doth build up Jerusalem; he gathereth together the outcasts of Israel. Psalm cxlvii. 2.

Let Israel rejoice in him that made him; let the children of Zion be joyful in their King. Psalm cxlix. 2.

Oh that the Salvation of Israel were come out of Zion! When the Lord bringeth back the captivity of his people, Jacob shall rejoice, and Israel shall be glad. Psalm xiv. 7.

* That the words of this Psalm do specially refer to Christ's Kingdom, is proved from the latter part of it, which has been quoted by St. Paul as far as the 27th verse and applied by this inspired apostle to Christ, Heb. i. 10-12.

The Lord shall reign for ever, even thy God, O Zion, unto all generations.

Psalm cxlvi. 10.

And it shall come to pass, when all these things are come upon thee, the blessing and the curse, which I have set before thee, and thou shalt call them to mind among all the nations, whither the Lord thy God hath driven thee, And shalt return unto the Lord thy God, &c. That then the Lord thy God will turn thy captivity, and have compassion upon thee, and will return and gather thee from all the nations, whither the Lord thy God hath scattered thee...... that thou mayest dwell in the land which the Lord sware unto thy fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give them. Deuteronomy xxx. 1, 2, 3, 20.

So shall ye know that I am the Lord your God dwelling in Zion, my holy mountain : then shall Jerusalem be holy, and there shall no strangers pass through her any more.... But Judah shall dwell for ever, and Jerusalem from generation to generation. For I will cleanse their blood that I have not cleansed; for the Lord dwelleth in Zion.

Joel iii, 17, 20, 21.

Behold, I will take the children of Israel from among the heathen, whither they be gone, and will gather them on every side, and bring them into their own land: And I will make them one nation in the land upon the mountains of Israel; and one king shall be

*

king to them all and they shall be no more two nations, neither shall they be divided into two kingdoms any more at all; Neither shall they defile themselves any more with their idols, nor with their detestable things, nor with any of their transgressions; but I will save them out of all their dwelling places wherein they have sinned, and will cleanse them so shall they be my people, and I will be their God.....and my servant David shall be their Prince for ever.† Moreover I will make a covenant of peace with them; it shall be an everlasting covenant with them; and I will place them, and multiply them, and will set my sanctuary in the midst of them for evermore. My tabernacle also shall be with them; yea, I will be their God, and they shall be my people. And the heathen shall know that I the Lord do sanctify Israel, when my sanctuary shall be in the midst of them for evermore.

Ezekiel xxxvii. 21-28. Therefore thus saith the Lord; Now will I

From these words it would appear that many of the Israelites after their dispersion among the nations would be mixed up with them and learn their idolatrous practices, according to the words of Psalm cvi. 35, 36. "But were mingled among the heathen, and learned their works and they served their idols; which were a snare unto them."

+ This confines the period of the fulfilment to the time of Messiah, the true David, inasmuch as David the successor of Saul was dead for four hundred years, when this prophecy was delivered.

E

...

bring again the captivity of Jacob, and have mercy upon the whole house of Israel, and will be jealous for my holy name;.. When I have brought them again from the people, and gathered them out of their enemies' land, 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, 27, 28, 29.

And they were scattered, because there is no shepherd; and they became meat for all the beasts of the field, when they were scattered. My sheep wandered through all the mountains, and upon every high hill; yea, my flock was scattered upon all the face of the earth, and none did search or seek after them.... For thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I even I, will both search my sheep and seek them out. As a shepherd seeketh out his flock in the day that he is among the 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 ga

This proves that the prophecy could not appertain to any restoration of the Jews that has hitherto taken place; it must therefore point to the restoration under the Messiah.

there 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, &c. Therefore will I save my flock, and they shall no more be a prey; and I will judge between cattle and cattle. And I will set up one shepherd over them and he shall feed them, even my servant David ;* he shall feed them, and he shall be their shepherd. And I the Lord will be their God, and my servant David a prince among them: I the Lord have spoken it.

Ezekiel xxxiv. 5, 6, 11, 12, 13, 22, 23, 24. Also, thou son of man, prophesy unto the mountains of Israel, and say, Ye mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Lord, Thus saith the Lord God, Because the enemy hath said against you, "Aha, even the ancient high places are ours in possession :"+ Therefore prophesy and say, Thus saith the Lord God; Because they have made you desolate. and swallowed you up on every side that ye might be a pos

* King David the son of Jesse was dead above four hun. dred years before Ezekiel wrote this prophecy, therefore Messiah the true David must here be meant; and consequently this one fact will confine the particulars of this prophecy to the time of the Messiah.

+ How truly indicative of the present day, when Jews and Christians are permitted to enter Jerusalem more upon sufferance than upon their real right.