had been the God of their fathers; the effect of a perverted heart. "Return, ye backsliding children, and I will heal your backslidings," says God, in a strain of most affectionate remembrance of his ancient people; "Behold! we come unto thee, for thou art the Lord our God!"* is the grateful reply of that enlightened and penitential nation; and it comes warm from the heart, like that of Nathaniel, (John i. 49) "Rabbi! thou art the Son of God!thou art the King of Israel!"

The preceding part of this third chapter of Jeremiah is remarkably pertinent to the general effect of the restoration of Israel. There, God's covenanted and sure mercies are repeated; which he declares shall be one day made good to them, as soon as they turn to him again. And that he will take one of a city, and two of a family;" that is, the comparatively slender remnant of that once nu

Jer. iii. 21. The penitential acknowledgments of converted Israel are continued, in the same beautiful strain, to the end of this chapter.

merous people, to replace them in the land of their fathers. And that he will give them at that time enlightened teachers, instead of the blind guides which had seduced them; and will effect thereby so entire and happy a change in their religious establishment and faith, that even the ark of the covenant of the Lord, formerly their distinguishing glory, and one of the principal signs of God's presence amongst them, shall not be remembered or mentioned any more;* but a more perfect system of religion shall then universally prevail, and Jerusalem shall become the centre of it, and the mother church to all nations, Verse 17, "At that time they shall call Jerusalem the THRONE OF THE LORD. And all the nations shall be gathered unto it, to the name of the Lord, (Christ) to Jerusalem, Neither shall they walk any more after the imagination of their evil heart."

Ezekiel is very copious upon the same sub"I will remember my covenant with

ject.

* They will have a better subject of glorying. Isa. xxvi, 1; 1 Cor. i, 23:-ii. 2.

thee in the days of thy youth, and I will establish unto thee an everlasting covenant. Then shalt thou remember thy ways, and be ashamed, when thou shalt receive thy sisters, thine elder and thy younger," the churches of the christian faith long ago established, and also those of the converted heathen, which are to come in previous to the conversion of the jews, and encrease the shame of their apostacy," and I will give them unto thee for daughters, BUT NOT BY THY COVENANT, -not according to the mosaic but the christian covenant.

To mention but one passage more, out of the abundance upon this subject, which we meet with in the prophets. In Ezekiel, (xxxvi. 23,) God says of Israel, that as they have been the occasion (by their shameless infidelities in time past, and by their stubborn disobedience in the age of the gospel, for which no good excuse can be pleaded,) that his great name has been profaned and as

* Ezekiel xvi. 61.

U

the casting of them off for so great a length of time, has given to bad minds an occasion to cast injurious reflections upon his mercy and truth, he will in the end, wipe off all these calumnies. He will make even this despised people the occasion of as signal glory and blessing to his name, in the sight of the world, by the signal mercy with which he will at that time "take them from the heathen, and gather them out of all countries, and bring them into their own land. Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you,”—(admitting them to christian baptism,)—" and ye shall be clean. A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you, and ye shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers. Then the heathen that are left round about you, shall know that I the Lord build the ruined places, and plant that that was desolate: I the Lord have spoken it, and I will do it. As the holy flock, as the flock of Jerusalem in her solemn feasts, so shall the waste cities be filled with flocks of men, and they shall know that I am the Lord,"

From the collected sense of all these pass ages laid together, I think it cannot be doubted that many of them are to be understood in the express and literal sense of the words. That the land of Judea, in old time given to the people of Israel for an inheritance, in the most remarkable manner, and with many prodigies that denoted the power of God to be exerted in their favor, will be restored to them in a manner equally distinguishable, by the accompaniments of divine mercy and omnipotence; and so as to vindicate the Supreme Ruler of the world from every reflection that has been cast upon him on their account.-It will probably be effected by some great act of Providence operating in favor of the jews, and making a happy and strong impression upon their awakening minds, of the mistaken sense of the prophecies, by which they have been prejudiced against christianity; and at the same time drying up the mystical Euphrates, and taking up the stumbling block,two great obstructions which have so long made the return of the jews be looked upon as an improbable chimera. The ancient