they were to preserve his name and cause in the earth. With all their sins, passions, and prejudices, they were peculiarly and admirably fitted for this purpose, and have remarkably accomplished it, and by the wonderful providence and wise appointment of God, they have handed down to us safe and entire the lively oracles, those treasures of everlasting wisdom, truth, and grace, which are the "salt of the earth," which have richly supplied it with all those glorious principles, which, by the blessing of the Spirit of God, not only prepare the individual for the service of God on earth, filling him with peace and joy, in believing, and sanctify and prepare him for the presence and enjoyment of God to all eternity; but have supplied and held forth the light, the truth, the justice, the purity, charity, and mercy that have dispelled the darkness of nations, broken the chains of slavery, unbound the prisoner, dissolved the yoke of tyranny, protected the poor and the weak, made them the special objects of attention and favour, and shed refinement, civilization and liberty, on the nations who have not shut their gates against their approach; and which, had they been universally received, would have banished crime and misery from the earth; for the same Most High still rules among the children of men, to shower down his blessings on the nations that fear his name. There is an everlasting and indissoluble connection between the honour of God, and the honour and happiness of men, which no power in earth or hell can ever coun

teract.

2. We see then, in the next place, by what means we shall most surely benefit our country, and the nations of the earth as such; namely, by the universal diffusion and maintenance of the religion of the Lord Jesus Christ. It is only when the Son doth make them free, that they shall be free indeed. "Ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free," is true of a nation or of a man only. It is that alone which can quicken the dead spirit, subdue and purify the selfish and corrupt and debasing passions of the national mind, and animate, while it sanctifies and

directs it to right ends, as well as that of the individual; and all other modes, a wide experience has demonstrated to be futile and vain. They then are the true patriots, the true philanthropists, who uphold, defend, and labour to spread, in all their undiminished riches and fulness, the principles of the everlasting gospel the doctrines and precepts, promises and threatenings of the word of God and not they who would banish it from all public institutions, exclude it from all seminaries and schools of youth-or so impoverish and enervate it, by abstracting all that is peculiar, in order to meet the conflicting views of various error, as to make it not even a skeleton, with the form and lineaments without the life, but a few disjointed fragments, scarcely indicating to what class of being they belonged. No, brethren, be assured, that under whatever fair names of liberty, liberality, candour, charity, and peace, they may come recommended to you-they are insulting to the God of truth and righteousness-they are the doings of Satan, transforming himself into an angel of light; and the principles of the word of God, and the lessons of his providence in all ages, teach that they will draw down the judgments of God, and cover with desolation and shame, the nations that act upon them. Guard against them then-resist them with all your might and influence. Pray that they may never be received into our beloved country. Beware how you lower the standard of truth, or dishonour, in any public acts, Christ's spotless Crown. Let me remind you, that all labours and efforts will be vain without the blessing of the Spirit of Godthe work is too great for man- "Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit, saith the Lord of hosts;" words, uttered when God encouraged his servant Zerubbabel, contemplating the vast difficulties that lay in the way of the restoration of Jerusalem, and the temple and worship of the true God, and surely much more necessary when "the field is the world." But that Almighty Spirit, who turned the hearts of the kings of Persia to the work, and it was speedily accomplished, till the servants of the Lord, in beholding

their completed work, could say, "Grace, grace," and "Blessed be the Lord God of our fathers, who hath put such a thing into the king's heart, to beautify the house of the Lord, which is at Jerusalem," has still the hearts of all men in his hand, and he turneth them whithersoever he will.

405

LECTURE XI.

FUTURE PROSPECTS OF THE JEWS-RESTORATION TO THEIR OWN LAND UNIVERSAL CONVERSION TO THE FAITH OF CHRIST.

BY THE REV. PATRICK FAIRBAIRN,

MINISTER OF BRIDGETON PARISH, GLASGOW.

Thou shalt no more be termed Forsaken; neither shall thy land any more be termed Desolate; but thou shalt be called Hephzi-bah, and thy land Beulah; for the Lord delighteth in thee, and thy land shall be married.-ISAIAH lxii. 4.

We have now arrived at a very interesting and important if I should say the most interesting and important subject of inquiry connected with the present series of lectures, I should not certainly exceed my own apprehension of its nature, though I do but the more deeply feel my own inadequacy to do it justice. If, however, a sincere and solemn conviction of the soundness of the views, which are now about to be unfolded, as fully authorized by the word of prophecy-if the frequent and not inattentive perusal of this word of prophecy itself, aided by the researches of those, who have brought the most of learning and sobriety of judgment to bear upon the subject, and guided by a simple desire to ascertain the outlines of coming events, as these have been traced by the Spirit of prophecy, who moved the holy men of old to speak the things, which were to be fulfilled in the latter days if these qualifications may bespeak a favourable audience, I may not hesitate to claim from you, in behalf of what is now to be advanced, a patient and attentive hearing. And may the Spirit himself grant, that our inquiry shall be so conducted, as

neither to add to, nor detract from the meaning, which he designed that portion of the prophetic volume, which is to pass under our present review, to convey to the church of Christ.

The subject on which we enter, embraces the future prospects of the Jews, and consequently leads us into that department of prophecy, which remains yet to be fulfilled. The very name of unfulfilled prophecy, we are aware, suggests to many persons the idea of a vague and shadowy region, where all is dim and uncertain, and nothing to be ascertained beyond the general character of certain events likely to befall the church or the world at large. We hold very different views, however, of the prophetic record, and hope to make it plain to you before we close, that there is at least one class of events yet to be fulfilled, which we may as certainly gather from the word of prophecy, as we can assure ourselves of any events which have already taken place, that they were the accomplishment of predictions, which at some former period stood in the rank of unfulfilled prophecy. In proceeding to make this out to your conviction, there is just one postulate, or principle of interpretation, which we need to lay down for our direction, while endeavouring to read out of the word of prophecy the future history of God's ancient people, and that so very reasonable, so readily commending itself to every intelligent mind, that no one, we think, can hesitate for a moment to assent to it. The principle we allude to is, that those portions of prophecy, which have already been fulfilled in the history of the Jewish people, are to be taken as our surest guide for determining the meaning of those other portions, which remain yet to be fulfilled-so that if in the one part the fulfilment that has taken place be unquestionably a literal one, we must look for a literal fulfilment in the other also; or if, through means of a figure, an event of a certain description was in the earlier part of it clearly predicted concerning them, by a change afterwards introduced into that figure, we are to look only for a corresponding