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yards; while they themselves are more honourably occupied in the service of God," but YE shall be named the Priests of the Lord; and men shall call you the Ministers of our God." The Lord "shall cause them that come of Jacob to take root; Israel shall blossom and bud, and fill the face of the world with fruit." Is. xxvii. 6. "And

it shall come to pass when ye be multiplied and increased in the land, in those days, saith the Lord, they shall say no more, THE ARK of the covenant of the Lord; neither shall it come to mind, neither shall they remember it, neither shall they visit it, neither shall that be done any more. At that time they shall call Jerusalem THE THRONE of the Lord, and all nations shall be gathered unto it, to the name of the Lord, to Jerusalem; neither shall they walk any more after the imagination of their evil hearts.' Jer. iii. 16, 17. That this is at the period of the Millennium, the last sentence sufficiently indicates. It is also connected immediately with the res toration both of Israel and of Judah, (ver. 18.) the context having been already considered. "And thou, O tower of the flock, the stronghold of the daughter of Zion, unto thee shall it come, even the FIRST dominion, THE KING DOM shall come to the daughter of Jerusalem." Mic. iv. 8. This also is at the future restoration of Israel and Judah, when the Lord shall "assemble her that halteth," and "gather her that is driven out." ver. 6, 7. "In that day shall the Lord of Hosts be for a crown of glory, and for a diadem of beauty unto the residue of his people."* Is. xxviii. 5.

• Much of the difficulty which many experience in believing that these sublime and gracious promises shall really be accomplished, arises from their estimating God's designs concerning the future by present appearances, and from their always viewing the predictions with reference to human probability. But it ought to be remembered, that if "the Lord has spoken good concerning Israel," that what He has promised he is able also to perform. It is charged as an aggravated part of the provocation in the wilderness that they "tempted God, and limited the Holy One of Israel," Ps. lxxviii. 41.

SECTION VIII.

JERUSALEM REBUILT AND ENLARGED.

PART of the provision made for the long-dispersed, outcast, and despised Israel, is the rebuilding of Jerusalem, the capital, and formerly the glory of their land. "Thus saith the Lord, Again there shall be heard in this place, which ye say shall be desolate without man and without beast, even in the cities of Judah, and in the streets of Jerusalem, (that are desolate without man, and without inhabitant, and without beast,) the voice of joy and the voice of gladness; the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride; the voice of them that shall say, Praise the Lord of Hosts." Jer. xxxiii, 10, 11. That this promise refers to future times is evident from its being when the Lord will cause both "the captivity of Judah and the captivity of Israel to return." ver. 7; and "in those days shall Judah be saved, and Jerusalem shall dwell safely; and this is the name wherewith she shall be called, THE Lord our RightEOUSNESS." ver. 16. Such descriptions of the safety and holiness of Jerusalem cannot apply to any part of her previous history, but refer decidedly to the period of the Mil

lennium.

A similar prediction concerning the rebuilding of Jerusalem, is given by Jeremiah, although "the City" is not expressly named: "Thus saith the Lord, Behold, I will bring again the captivity of Jacob's tents, and have mercy on his dwelling places; and the city shall be builded upon her own heap, and the palace shall remain after the manner thereof. And out of them shall proceed thanksgiving, and the voice of them that make merry; and I will multiply them, and they shall not be few; I will also glorify them, and they shall not be small. Their children also shall be as aforetime, and their congregation shall be established before me, and I will punish all that oppress them. And their nobles shall be of themselves, and their GOVERNOR shall proceed from the midst of them; and I will cause him to draw near, and he shall approach unto me; for who is this that engaged his heart to approach unto me? saith the Lord." Jer. xxx. 18-21. This refers clearly to

the future restoration of Israel. The felicity and increase described, cannot apply to their return from Babylon; while its connection with the destruction and overthrow of all their enemies carries forward our views to the commencement of the Millennium as the period to which it relates: "All they that devour thee shall be devoured; and all thine adversaries, every one of them, shall go into captivity." ver. 16.

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The city shall not only be rebuilt, but Prophecy signifi cantly points to its occupation of the same site on which it formerly stood. In the above prediction it is marked with emphasis, "And the City shall be builded upon her own heap." The same thing is declared by Zechariah : "And Jerusalem shall be inhabited again in her own place, even in Jerusalem." Zech. xii. 6. This is repeated by the same prophet in another chapter, which contains some additional circumstances of interest: And the Lord shall be King over all the earth; in that day shall there be one Lord and his name one. All the land shall be turned as a plain from Geba to Rimmon south of Jerusalem; and it [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." Zech. xiv. 9-11. The futurity of the fulfilment of this prediction is alike evident from its close and commencement. It refers to the time when "the Lord shall be king over all the earth," when our prayer shall be answered, "Thy kingdom come." There shall then be "o more utter destruction;" but Jerusalem being rebuilt, "shall be safely inhabited," and this re-erection will be "in her place." It is not so obvious where "the king's wine-presses" formerly were, although we apprehend they may have been without the city; and if so, that this is an intimation of the future enlargement of Jerusalem. But the point to which we at present direct attention is to the circumstance of a portion of the land being "turned into a plain." This is to be from "Geba to Rimmon." The former was a city situated in the tribe of Benjamin; it was built by Asa, king of Judah, and was one of the "thirteen cities given to the sons of Aaron." There were

two Rimmons, the one in the tribe of Zebulun, on the northern boundary of Palestine; the other in the tribe of Simeon, on the border of Edom. The prophecy distinguishes these, and refers to the latter as "south of Jerusalem." There is, therefore, no reason to doubt that the prediction is to be understood literally; although the changereferred to be of a miraculous nature.

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That the city is to be greatly enlarged is evident from the following prediction: "Behold the days come, saith the Lord, that the city shall be built to the Lord from the tower of Hananeel unto the gate of the corner. And the measuring line shall yet go forth over against it upon the hill Gareb, and shall compass about to Goath. And the whole valley of the dead bodies, and of the ashes, and all the fields unto the brook of Kidron, unto the corner of the horse-gate toward the east, shall be holy unto the Lord; it shall not be plucked up nor thrown down any more for ever.' Jer. xxxi. 38-40. The city shall not only "be built" to all its former dimensions, but a considerable enlargement is evidently described. The precise extent of this, however, it is difficult to ascertain, as we nowhere else find mention made of either Gareb or Goath. But the line by which Jerusalem is measured going "forth over against" the one, and compassing "about unto" the other, it may be inferred they were at some distance from the city. But it shall include what evidently formed no part of the city formerly, "the whole valley of the dead bodies, [near to Golgotha, and supposed by some to be so called from the bodies of malefactors being exposed or interred there,] and of the ashes [supposed to be from the ashes of the sacrifices thrown there] and all the fields unto the brook of Kidron," or Cedron, which runs south-eastward, along the east side of Jerusalem, through the valley of Jehoshaphat, also called the valley of the son of Hinnom. Without pretending to determine its precise limits, it is sufficient to prove its future enlargement, that the city is then to embrace within its bounds what formerly were the adjoining" fields."

It shall then be remarkable, not merely for its enlarged accommodation, but eminent for its holiness: "Thus saith the Lord, I am returned unto Zion, and will dwell in the midst of Jerusalem, and Jerusalem shall be called a City

of Truth; and the mountain of the Lord of Hosts, The Holy Mountain. Thus saith the Lord of Hosts, there shall yet old men and old women dwell in the streets of Jerusalem, and every man with his staff in his hand for very age. And the streets of the city shall be full of boys and girls playing in the streets thereof. Thus saith the Lord of Hosts, If it be marvellous in the eyes of the remnant of this people in these days, should it also be marvellous in mine eyes? saith the Lord of Hosts." Zech. viii, 3-6. Some of these characteristics Jerusalem has never yet possessed, and the prediction has internal evidence of its referring to the holy and happy Millennial Day; and is subsequent to the restoration of both "the house of Judah and the house of Israel;" (ver. 13.) and after the Lord had "scattered" the inhabitants of" Jerusalem" with a "whirlwind among all the nations whom they knew not." (vii. 7, 14.)

In another prediction, universally referred to the Millennial period, the Lord thus promises : "Behold I create Jerusalem a rejoicing, and her people a joy. And I will rejoice in Jerusalem, and joy in my people: and the voice of weeping shall be no more heard in her, nor the voice of erying.... And they shall build houses and inhabit them; and they shall plant vineyards, and eat the fruit of them." Is. lxv. 18-21. "And I will restore thy judges as at the first," saith the Lord," and thy counsellors as at the beginning: Afterward thou shalt be called, The City of Righteousness, The Faithful City." Is. i. 26.

SECTION IX.

THE WHOLE EARTH BLESSED IN ISRAEL'S

RESTORATION.

IN again bringing His ancient people to the Land of Promise, the Lord will eminently promote his own glory, while their restoration will be attended with the most blessed effects to all the earth. His promise is, "I will make them, and the places round about my hill a blessing, and I will cause the shower to come down in his season; there

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