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Page 43
Among others, let the following prophecy of Isaiah (in which the
future security of Israel is compared to the security of the world
from a second deluge) be considered, and let any impartial person
say, whether the language does not necessarily lead those who
believe the Old Testament, to the expectation of a much more
durable state of Glory, and Happiness, than has, as yet, fallen to the
lot of the posterity of Abraham.
Is. 54, 7. �For a small moment have I forsaken thee, but with great
mercies will I gather thee. In a little wrath I hid my face from thee
for a moment, but with everlasting kindness will I have mercy on
thee, saith the Lord, thy Redeemer. For this is as the waters of
Noah unto me. For as I have sworn that the waters of Noah should
no more go over the earth, go have I sworn, that I would not be
wroth with thee, nor rebuke thee. For the mountains shall [or
�may�] depart, and the hills be removed, but my kindness shall not
depart from thee, neither shall the covenant of my peace be
removed, saith the Lord that hath mercy on thee.--All thy
children shall be taught of the Lord, and great shall be the peace of
thy children. In righteousness shalt thou be established. Thou shalt
be far from oppression, for thou shalt not fear; and from terror, for
it shall not come nigh thee. No weapon formed against thee, shall
prosper, and every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgment,
thou shalt condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the
Lord, and their righteousness is of me, saith the Lord.�
Here, as also in Moses, and other Prophets, an establishment in
righteousness is promised to the Israelites, such as shall secure
their future prosperity; and this promise has not yet been fulfilled.
The promise of future virtue as connected with their future
happiness, is also clearly expressed in Jer. ch. iii. 18.
Had the Jewish nation become extinct, or likely to become so, it
might, with some plausibility, have been said by Christians, that
the purposes of God concerning them were actually fulfilled, and,
therefore, that the words of the promise must have had some other
signification than that which was most obvious. But the Jews are as
much a distinct people as they ever were, and therefore seem
reserved for some future strange destination.
On the whole, it must be allowed, that the settlement of Israel in
the land of Canaan, foretold with such emphasis by the Prophets, is
a settlement which has not yet taken place, but may take place in
that period so frequently, and so emphatically, distinguished by the
title of �the latter days;� and therefore that whatever is said of
Jewish customs, or modes of worship in �the latter days?� is a
proof of the meant restoration of their ancient religious rites.
That the institutions of the Mosaic Law are to be continued on the
restoration of the Jews to their own land after their utter dispersion,
is asserted by Moses himself in one of the passages already quoted;
but is more clearly expressed by the subsequent Prophets. In some
of their prophecies, particular mention is made of the observance
of Jewish festivals, and of sacrifices; and in Ezechiel we find a
description of a magnificent Temple, which being closely
connected with his prophecy of the future happy state of the
Israelites in their own land, cannot be understood of any other than
a Temple which is then, according to the Hebrew Prophets, to be
reared with greater magnificence than ever. Mention is also made
of �the Glory of the Lord,� or that effulgent Shechinah which was
the symbol of the divine presence, filling this Temple, as it did that
of Solomon.
Ezech. xliii. 1, &c. �Afterward he brought me to the gate, even the
gate that looketh toward the East; and behold the glory of the Lord
came from the way of the East, and his voice was like the noise of
many waters, and the Earth shined with his Glory.--And the Glory
of the Lord came into the house by the way of the gate, whose
prospect is toward the East. So the Spirit took me up, and brought
me into the inner court, and behold the Glory of the Lord filled the
house.--And he said unto me, Son of man, the place of my
Throne, and the place of the soles of my feet, where I will dwell in
the midst of the children of Israel for ever, and my holy name shall
the house of Israel no more defile,� &c.
Towards the end of the same chapter we read an account of the
dedication of this new Temple by sacrifices; and particular
directions are given in the succeeding chapters for the Priests, and
for the Prince. If, therefore, there be any truth in these prophecies,
the Jews are not only to return to their own country, and to be
distinguished among the nations, but are to rebuild the Temple, and
to restore the ancient worship.
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