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of his eyes shall he judge, nor according to the hearing of the ears shall he reprove; but with righteousness shall he judge the poor, and with equity shall he work conviction on the meek of the earth. And he shall smite the earth with the blast of his mouth; and with the breath of his lips shall he slay the wicked one; and righteousness shall be the girdle of his loins, and faithfulness the cincture of his reins. Then shall the wolf take up his abode with the lamb and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf, and the young lion, and the fatling shall come together, and a little child shall lead them. And the heifer, and the she bear shall feed together. Together shall their young ones lie down. And the lion shall eat straw like the exAnd the suckling shall play upon the hole of the asp; and upon the den of the basilisk shall the new weaned child lay his hand. They shall not hurt, nor destroy in my holy mountain. For the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the depth of the sea. And it shall come to pass in that day, the root of Jesse which standeth for an ensign to the people, unto him shall the nations repair, and his resting place shall be glorious."

As the scion here spoken of is said to spring from the root of Jesse, it looks as if it were intended to intimate, that the tree itself would be cut down, or that the power of David's Family would be for some time extinct ; but that it would revive in the latter days.'

The same Prince is again mentioned, chap. xxxii. 1, 3, where the people are described to be both virtuous, and flourishing, and to continue to be so.

"Behold a King shall reign in righteousness, and Princes shall rule with equity; and the man shall be a covert from the storm, as a refuge from the flood, as canals of waters in a dry place, as the shadow of a great rock in a land of fainting with heat; and him the eyes of those that see shall regard, and the ears of them tha thear shall hearken,- -till the spirit from on high be poured out upon us, and the wilderness become a fruitful field, and the fruitful field be esteemed a forest; and judgment shall dwell in the wilderness, and in the fruitful field shall reside righteousness, and the

work of righteousness shall be peace, and the effect of righteousness perpetual quiet, and security. And my people shall dwell in a peaceful mansion, and in habitations secure, and in resting places undisturbed."

The same Prophet chap. Ixii. 1, speaks of a person under the title of " God's Servant," of a meek disposition, raised up by God to enlighten the world, even the Gentile part of it; to bring prisoners out of their confinement, and to open their eyes; alluding probably, to the custom too common in the East; of sealing up the eyes, by sewing or fastening together the eyelids, of persons, and then imprisoning them for life. It is doubted however whether the Prophet meant, or had in view, in this passage, the Messiah, or his own nation.

"Behold my servant whom I will uphold, mine elect in whom my soul delighteth; I will make my spirit rest upon him, and he shall publish judgment to the nations. He shall not cry aloud, nor raise a clamour, nor cause his voice to be heard in the publick places. The bruised reed shall he not break, and the dimly burning flax he shall not quench. He shall publish judgment so as to establish it perfectly. His force shall not be abated, nor broken, until he has firmly seated judgment in the Earth, and the distant nations shall earnestly wait for his Law.

Thus saith the Lord, even Jehovah, who created the Heavens, and stretched them out; who spread abroad the Earth, and the produce thereof, who giveth breath to the people upon it, and spirit to them that tread thereon. I the Lord have called thee for a righteous purpose, and I will take hold of thy hand, and I will preserve thee; and I will give thee for a covenant to the people for a light to the nations; to open the eyes of the blind, to bring the captive out of confinement, and from the dungeon those that dwell in darkness. · Í am Jehovah, that is my name, and my glory will I not give to another, nor my praise to the graven images. The former predictions, lo! they are come to pass, and new events I now declare. Before they spring forth behold I make them known unto you.' See also chap.

xlix. 1, 12, and chap. liv. 3, 5.

In the 3d chapter of Hosea, verses 4 and 5; it is

said by the Prophet, that "the sons of Israel shall abide many days without a King, and without a Prince, and without sacrifice, and without a statue, and without an Ephod, and without Teraphim. Afterward

shall the sons of Israel return, and shall seek the Lord their God, and DAVID their King, and shall fear the Lord, and his goodness in the latter days."

Micah ch. v. 2, speaks of the Messiah thus, "And thou Bethlehem Ephratah, art thou too little to be among the leaders of Judah? Out of thee shall come forth unto me, him who is to be ruler in Israel; and his goings forth have been from of old, from the days of hidden ages. Therefore will he (God) deliver them up, until the time when she that bringeth forth, hath brought forth and until the residue of their brethren shall return together with the Sons of Israel. And he shall stand and feed his flock, in the strength of the Lord, in the majesty of the name of the Lord his God, and they shall abide, for now shall he be great unto the ends of the earth, and he shall be Peace."

Jeremiah also speaks of the restoration of the Israelites under a Prince of the family of David, chap. xxiii. 5, 8.

"Behold the days are coming, saith the Lord, that I will raise up unto David a righteous branch, and a King shall reign, and act wisely, and shall execute justice, and judgment in the Earth. In his days Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell in security, and this is the name by which Jehovah shall call him, OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS." [Heb.] The same is mentioned chap. xxx. 8, 9. "And it shall be in that day, saith the Lord of Hosts, I will break his yoke from off his neck, and his bands will I burst asunder, and strangers shall no more exaet service of him; but they shall serve the Lord their God, and DAVID their King, whom I will raise up for [or to] them.The voice of joy, and the voice of mirth, the voice of the bridegroom, and the voice of the Bride, the voice of them that say, Praise ye the Lord of Hosts, for the Lord is gracious, for his mercy endureth forever of them that bring praise to the house of the Lord. Thus saith the Lord of Hosts, yet again shall there be in this place that is desolate [Jerusalem and

Palestine,] without man and beast, and in all the cities thereof, an habitation of shepherds folding sheep, in the cities of the hill country, and in the cities of the plain, and in the cities of the south, and in the land of Benjamin, and in the environs of Jerusalem.- -Behold the days come, saith the Lord, that I will perform the good thing which I have spoken concerning the house of Israel, and concerning the house of Judah. In those days, and at that time [He that readeth, let him observe.] I will cause to grow up of the line of David a branch of righteousness, and he shall execute judgment and justice in the earth. In those days Judah shall be saved, and Jerusalem shall dwell securely, and this is he whom Jehovah shall call OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS,' [Heb.] Surely thus saith the Lord, there shall not be a failure in the line of David, of one to sit upon the throne of the house of Israel, neither shall there be a failure in the line of the Priests, the Levites, of one to offer before me burnt offerings, and to perform sacrifice continually." See ch. xxxiii. 14. In this place, the perpetuity of the tribe of Levi, as well as that of the house of David, is foretold.

Cotemporary with Jeremiah was Ezechiel. He likewise describes this happy state of the Israelites under a king of the name of David, chap. xxxiv. 22.

"Therefore will I save my flock, and they shall no more be a prey and I will judge between cattle, and cattle, and 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, and I will make with them a covenant of Peace, and will cause the evil beasts to cease out of the land; and they shall dwell safely in the wilderness, and sleep in the woods; and I will make them, and the places round about my hili a blessing. And I will cause the shower to come down in the season. There shall be showers of blessing; and the tree of the field shall yield her fruit ; and the earth shall yield her increase; and they shall be safe in their land; and shall know that I am the Lord." In another passage this Prophet says, that the two

nations, Israel and Judah, shall have one King, aud. that this King shall be named DAVID, who shall reign forever, chap. xxxvii. 21, 28. "Say unto them, thus saith the Lord God, 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 DaVID my servant shall be King over them, and there shall be one shepherd. They shall also walk in my judgments, and observe my statutes and do them. And they shall dwell in the land that I have given unto Jacob my servant, wherein your Fathers have dwelt, and they shall dwell therein, even they, and their children, and their children's children forever. And my servant DAVID shall be their Prince forever. 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, and 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.

The natural construction of this seems to be this, "that a descendant of David, called by that name should reign over the Israelites forever."

In the very circumstantial description which Ezechiel gives of the state of the Israelites in their own country, yet expected by the Jews, he speaks of the Prince, and the portion assigned him, chap. xlv. 78. And in his description of the temple service, he more-over speaks of the gate, by which the prince is to enter into it. See chap. xlvi. 1, 2.

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