promise had been made, the patriarch was called upon to lift his eyes, and look from the place where he was standing, northward, southward, eastward, and westward; and God said unto him-"All the land which thou seest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed for ever." And, on another occasion, very expressly,— "Unto thy seed have I given this land, from the river of Egypt unto the great river, the river Euphrates." 2 This promise is laid down still more clearly in the Book OF EXODUS, where God declared to Israel, "I will set thy bounds from the Red Sea even unto the Sea of the Philistines, and from the Desert unto the River." And so again, in DEUTERONOMY, "Every place whereon the soles of your feet shall tread shall be yours, from the Wilderness and Lebanon, from the River, the River Euphrates, even unto the Uttermost Sea shall your coast be." 4 The extent of this promise seems to me to cover THE WHOLE VAST PENINSULA OF ARABIA.5 Indeed, I think, a careful perusal of the limits of the land of

1 Gen. xiii. 14, 15.

3 Exod. xxiii. 31.

2 Gen. xv. 18.

4 Deut. xi. 24.

5 Rule a line from the northern point of the district of Lebanon to the southern point of that of Sinai, and draw a perpendicular to it. You will then find that the SEA of OMAN is "the Uttermost Sea." And again, start from the River Euphrates, and draw a perpendicular from the average line of its course, and the RED SEA is "the Uttermost Sea." Thus the whole peninsula of Arabia will be included. (See Interpretations of Prophecy, by Major Scott Phillips.)

Israel (as they shall be) which are given in the fortyseventh chapter of EZEKIEL will show, with clearness, that this will be the true extent of Israel's territory. But be it as it may; the promises of God to Israel in their obvious meaning have reference to an actual and perpetual possession of the land. Now the time has not yet been when the children of Israel enjoyed an actual possession even from the Euphrates to the Mediterranean ; except, perhaps, for a brief period during the days of Solomon, of whom it is said, "he reigned over all the kings from the river even unto the land of the Philistines and to the border of Egypt;"1 but even in that prosperous day we do not read that Israel enjoyed such absolute possession as the promises would lead us to expect. Moreover, the strongest and most enlarged predictions as to Israel's inheritance have reference to a period which shall have its dawn when the twelve tribes, dispersed among the nations, shall have been gathered, and "the times of the Gentiles" "fulfilled.” This period is yet to come.

We will establish this position by reference to a few passages from the PROPHETS, passages which certainly forbid if any language can forbid -a construction which is not strictly literal. Hear now first what is written by ISAIAH: "It shall come to pass in that day, 1 2 Chron. ix. 26.

that the Lord shall set His hand again the second time to recover the remnant of His people, which shall be left, from Assyria, and from Egypt, and from Pathros, and from Cush, and from Elam, and from Shinar, and from Hamath, and from the Islands of the Sea. And He shall set up an ensign for the nations, and shall assemble the outcasts of Israel, and gather the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth." But what is that day which is here referred to as the period when this second recovery shall take place? Certainly it is not a day which has yet dawned upon the sons of men, for in that day, the Prophet says, "The wolf shall dwell with the lamb; and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them.

. . . And the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea."

Observe JEREMIAH's language: "Hear the word of the Lord, O ye nations, and declare it in the isles afar off, and say, He that scattered Israel will gather him and keep him as a shepherd doth his flock; for the Lord hath redeemed Jacob, and ransomed him from the hand of him that was stronger than he. Therefore, they shall come and sing in the heights of Zion, and shall flow together to the goodness of the Lord, for wheat, and 1 Isaiah xi.

;

see also ch. xviii., xxxiii., and li.

for wine, and for oil, and for the young of the flock and of the herd: and their soul shall be as a watered garden, and they shall not sorrow any more at all."1 Surely Israel has never thus been gathered hitherto. Her tribes still sorrow as they have been wont for many centuries. This gathering, therefore, must be future.

Refer, also, to EZEKIEL. From the thirty-sixth chapter to the end of the prophecy, we find this subject only brought before us. It occupies thirteen chapters. In the course of these we cannot fail to note the unmistakable language which the Lord uses-"I will take you from among the heathen, and gather you out of all countries, and will bring you unto your own land. Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye shall be clean. . . . . A new heart also will I give you, and ye shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers; and ye shall be My people, and I will be your God.” 2 "Behold, O My people, I will open your graves, and cause you to come up out of your graves, and bring you into the land of Israel.3 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 1 Jer. xxxi. 10-12, 37-40; xxxiii. 7–26.

....

2 Ezek. xxxvi. 24-28.

3 Ezek. xxxvii. 12-14.

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. . . . . 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." 1

Surely these predictions have not yet received accomplishment. But the WORD OF GOD IS TRUE, and Israel's day for restoration WILL arrive.

3

We might refer to other passages in EZEKIEL, or quote from HoSEA,2 JOEL, AMOS, MICAH,5 ZEPHANIAH,® ZECHARIAH, or MALACHI. The last two mentioned prophesied after the return from Babylon, wherefore their testimony is peculiarly conclusive. Let us dwell for an instant on their words.

ZECHARIAH says, "I will strengthen the house of Judah and I will save the house of Joseph, and I will bring them again to place them, for I will have mercy upon them, and they shall be as though I had not cast them off. . . . . They shall remember Me in far countries, and they shall live with their children, and turn again. I will bring them again also out of the land of Egypt, and

1 Ezek. xxxvii. 21-28.

3 Joel iii. 16, 17.

5 Micah iii. 12; iv. 1, 2.

2 Hosea iii. 4, 5.

4 Amos ix. 11-15.

• Zeph. iii. 14-20.