and delivered them into the hands of spoilers, until he had cast them out of his sight. For he rent Israel from the house of David; and they made Jeroboam the son of Nebat king: and Jeroboam drove Israel from following the Lord, and made them sin a great sin. For the children of Israel walked in all the sins of Jeroboam which he did; they departed not from them. Until the Lord removed Israel out of his sight, as he had said by all his servants the prophets. So was Israel carried away out of their own land to Assyria unto this day."

The supremacy of Judah was broken, B. C. 677, in the days of Manasseh, king of Judah. 2 Chron. xxxiii. 9-11. "So Manasseh made Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem to err, and to do worse than the heathen, whom the Lord had destroyed before the children of Israel. And the Lord spake to Manasseh, and to his people; but they would not hearken. Wherefore the Lord brought upon them the captains of the host of the king of Assyria, which took Manasseh among the thorns, and bound him with fetters, and carried him to Babylon." This was the first time the whole house of Israel was entirely broken. Judah had previously been afflicted, and Israel remained independent-Israel had been in bondage, and Judah remained independent. But at the time of Manasseh's captivity, Israel had also been broken, that it was no more a people; and Judah also went into captivity. Manasseh repented, and was reprieved and restored as a tributary to his kingdom. From that time, the house of David never regained its independence. Kings, however, of the house of David, ' continued to reign on David's throne in Jerusalem, as tributaries to Assyria and Babylon, until the captivity of Zedekiah, king of Judah. 2 Kings xxiv. 18-20; and xxv. 1-10. "Zedekiah was twenty and one years old when he began to reign; and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem. And his mother's name Hamutal, the daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah: And he did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord, according to all that Jehoiakim had done. For through the anger of the Lord it came to pass in Jerusalem and Judah,

was

until he had cast them out from his presence, that Zedekiah rebelled against the king of Babylon. And it came to pass, in the ninth year of his reign, in the tenth month, in the tenth day of the month, that Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, came, he and all his host, against Jerusalem, and pitched against it; and they built forts against it round about. And the city was besieged unto the eleventh year of king Zedekiah. And on the ninth day of the fourth month the famine prevailed in the city, and there was no bread for the people of the land. And the city was broken up, and all the men of war fled by night, by the way of the gate between two walls, which is by the king's garden: (now the Chaldees were against the city round about :) and the king went the way toward the plain. And the army of the Chaldees pursued after the king, and overtook him in the plains of Jericho and all his army were scattered from him. So they took the king, and brought him up to the king of Babylon, to Riblah; and they gave judgment upon him. And they slew the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes, and put out the eyes of Zedekiah, and bound him with fetters of brass, and carried him to Babylon. And in the fifth month, on the seventh day of the month, (which is the nineteenth year of king Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon,) came Ñebuzaradan, captain of the guard, a servant of the king of Babylon, unto Jerusalem: and he burnt the house of the Lord, and the king's house, and all the houses of Jerusalem, and every great man's house burnt he with fire. And all the army of the Chaldees, that were with the captain of the guard, brake down the walls of Jerusalem round about."

This ended the temporal dynasty of David's house. When Nebuchadnezzar came up and besieged Jerusalem, and took it, God, by the mouth of Ezekiel, pronounced its doom. Ezek. xxi. 25—27. "And thou, profane, wicked prince of Israel, whose day is come, when iniquity shall have an end; thus saith the Lord God, REMOVE THE DIADEM, AND TAKE OFF THE CROWN; this shall not be the same: exalt him

that is low, abase him that is high. I WILL OVERTURN, OVERTURN, OVERTURN IT; AND IT SHALL BE NO MORE UNTIL HE COME WHOSE RIGHT IT IS ; AND I WILL GIVE IT HIM."

It was under this doom Zedekiah was carried away to Babylon and since then, no king of David's house has reigned in Jerusalem. The kingdom was subverted under Hezekiah, by the hand of Nebuchadnezzar, B. C. 588. The cause of it was God's indignation at their sins. It was on this account that God gave his people into the hand of the Assyrians, and is thus declared by Jehovah, Isa. x. 5—7: “O Assyrian, the rod of mine anger; AND THE STAFF IN THEIR HAND IS MINE INDIGNATION. I will send him against an hypocritical nation, and against the people of my wrath will I give him a charge, to take the spoil, and to take the prey, and to tread them down as the mire of the streets. Howbeit, he meaneth not so. But it is in his heart to destroy and cut off nations not a few." Had it not been for God's INDIGNATION, the Assyrian and Chaldean could not have prevailed against Israel.

Under the Medo-Persians, the government of Israel was restored, but as a tributary government. See Neh. ix. 32-37.

We learn from this passage, that from the times of the kings of Assyria to that day, Israel had been in a state of suffering; and that they were then servants to the kings who were over them. Those kings had dominion over their bodies, and over their cattle, and they were distressed at the pleasure of those kings.

Yet

This sentiment was uttered when the kings of Persia had, at their own expense, ordered the temple at Jerusalem to be rebuilt, the worship of God restored and maintained, and had granted an order of protection_to the Jews in the enjoyment of all their privileges. they were servants in their own land. And they ever after remained tributary to, or dependent on some one of the great Gentile nations, except when in a state of actual rebellion against their enemies to throw off the yoke.

When Christ was born, even David's royal house went up to Bethlehem to be taxed. When he was crucified, the Jews acknowledged no king but Cesar. That they have never regained their liberty since then, is too notorious to need remark.

The Church, whether Jewish or Christian, still in bondage.

The Christian church is equally in bondage with the Jews. True, Christians have equal privileges with others in the various governments where they live; but they have no political and civil government of their own. Daniel and his companions in Babylon, were exalted to political power next the king; still they were in bondage. When the king made an image, and called on all his subjects to worship it, they could refuse to do so, to be sure, but only on condition that they should go into the burning fiery furnace. They did refuse, and went into the fire. Thus, the Christian is at liberty to obey the law of God in preference to human laws. But life, limb, liberty or property, must pay for his temerity. As long as we, as Christians, can go along with those laws, they are not felt; but let them but come in collision with our conscience and the laws of God, and the iron enters the soul. All Christians are, as Nehemiah was, (under the kings and governments where they reside,) servants;-they have dominion over our bodies and property. If it be said, in our own government, Christians have a controling influence in consequence of the elective franchise, and can model the government as they please through the ballot-box; it is answeredtrue, if they could out-vote the world, and were united among themselves-neither of which is true. They are but a moiety of the people. If all Christians could be gathered in one body, they might become independent of the world; but this is not the case; they are scattered all over the earth-"The power of the holy people is "scattered." Dan. xii. 7. And until Michael begins his reign, they will never be delivered from their dispersion. They must be in political bon

dage until then. But the Son will then make them free, and they "shall be free indeed." The Jews, when this sentiment was uttered by the Savior, resented it, saying, "We be Abraham's seed, and were never in bondage to any man! And how sayest thou, the Son shall make you free?" So, in all probability, will many American Christians scorn the thought in the same way. But it is true, nevertheless. It was on this principle that Christ directed Peter to take a fish, find a piece of money in his mouth, and give it to Cesar's tax-gatherer "Lest we should offend them." So should all Christians be good and peaceable subjects of the governments under which they live, so far as they can with a good conscience. When they cannot do that, then do as did the worthies in Babylon, obey God, and suffer the human penalty.

Our Sovereign is the rightful heir of all the kingdoms of the world, but is now an exile, and his dominion is in the hand of the usurper. But he will come, and in due time bind the strong man, and cast him out, and then he will spoil his goods, and take possession of his house.

III. THE RESTORATION OF THE KINGDOM ITS HEIRS

AND SUBJECTS.

The identity of the kingdom is found, as under our first head, in-1. The territorial dominion being the land of promise. 2. The heirs and subjects being an elect people, of Abraham's family. 3. The royalty of the kingdom is in the house of David—and the government of Divine origin. 4. The capital, Jerusalem.

When it is restored, therefore, we must find all these marks in the kingdom.

1. The territory will be the land of promise-the land God promised to "Abraham and his seed." The territory of David's dominion was from the river of Egypt, to the great river, the river Euphrates. But there is another promise-Abraham is the father of many nations and in him and his seed, all the families of the earth are to be blessed. "The promise that he should