mer sea, and half of them toward the hinder sea: in summer and in winter shall it be. And the Lord shall be King over all the earth in that day there shall 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 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." Then, the promise will be fulfilled that God made to Abraham, that he would give to him all the land of Canaan, and to his seed for an everlasting possession. Then, the saints of the Most High will have taken the kingdom to possess it forever, even forever and ever. Then will the God of heaven have set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed; but which will break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and shall stand forever. And then upon mount Zion shall be deliverance, and there shall be holiness; and the house of Jacob shall possess their possessions. From the 12th to the 15th verses inclusive, is a prediction of "the PLAGUE wherewith the Lord will smite all the people that have fought against Jerusalem," when he shall "go forth. to fight against those nations," as is predicted in the 3d verse. "And this shall be the plague wherewith the Lord will smite all the people that have fought against Jerusalem; Their flesh shall consume away while they stand upon their feet, and their eyes shall consume in their holes, and their tongue shall consume away in their mouth. And it shall come to pass in that day, that a great tumult from the Lord shall be among them; and they shall lay hold every one on the hand of his neighbor, and his hand shall rise up against the hand of his neighbor. And Judah also shall fight at Jerusalem; and the wealth of all the heathen round about shall be gathered together, gold, and silver, and apparel, in great abundance. And so shall be the plague of the horse, of the mule, of the camel, and of the ass, and of all the beasts that shall be in these tents, as this plague. This plague, according to the prediction, is to fall alike on man and beast, and denotes a complete destruction of all those on whom it will fall, and all the wicked will be destroyed by it, for, according to the 16th verse every one that is left of all the nations will worship the Lord. And it shall come to pass, that every one that is left of all the nations which came against Jerusalem, shall even go up from year to year to worship the King, the Lord of hosts, and to keep the feast of tabernacles." That all the wicked will be thus destroyed by this plague, is further evident from verses 17-19: "And it shall be, that whoso will not come up of all the families of the earth unto Jerusalem to worship the King, the Lord of hosts, even upon them shall be no rain. And if the family of Egypt go not up, and come not, that have no rain; there shall be the plague, wherewith the Lord will smite the heathen that come not up to keep the feast of tabernacles. This shall be the punishment of Egypt, and the punishment of all the nations that come not up to keep the feast of tabernacles." As every one that is left will go up and worship the Lord of hosts, it follows that "whoso will not come up, "" and of whom it is said "there shall be the plague, &c., must be of the number of those whose eyes consumed away in their holes, were destroyed by that plague and were therefore not of those who were left, every one of whom it is said, will go up and worship the Lord of hosts. If every one who is left will worship the Lord, there can none be left, who will not worship him, and therefore the plague in the 18th verse, must be the same plague that is spoken of in the 12th verse, and which will be poured out when the Lord shall fight against those nations. 66 and When the wicked are thus destroyed, every one of all the nations which are left, worship the King, then holiness will fill the whole earth, as is described in the 20th and 21st verses. In that day shall there be upon the bells of the horses, HOLINESS UNTO THE LORD; and the pots in the Lord's house shall be like the bowls before the altar. Yea, every pot in Jerusalem and in Judah shall be holiness unto the Lord of hosts and all they that sacrifice shall come and take of them, and seethe therein and in that day there shall be no more the Canaanite in the house of the Lord of hosts." Then the covenant which God made with our father Abraham will be fulfilled, and his seed will dwell in the earth, restored to its Eden state, forever. AND THERE SHALL BE SIGNS IN THE SUN, AND IN THE MOON, AND IN THE STARS; AND UPON THE EARTH DISTRESS OF NATIONS, WITH PER ADVENT TRACTS, NO. II. BOSTON, DECEMBER 16, 1843. REASONS OF OUR HOPE. BY S. BLISS. "Be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear."-1 PET. iii. 15. BOSTON: PUBLISHED BY J. V. HIMES, No. 14 DEVONSHIRE STREET. One Sheet. Postage-under 100 miles, 1 cts. ; over 100, 2 cts. PLEXITY; THE SEA AND THE WAVES ROARING; MEN'S HEARTS FAILING THEM FOR FEAR. |