thyself in the Lord; and I will cause thee to ride upon high places of the earth, and feed thee with the heritage of Jacob thy father, for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it; for he that toucheth you toucheth the apple of Mine eye. Sing and rejoice, O daughter of Zion, for, lo, I come, and I will dwell in the midst of thee, saith the Lord. And many nations shall be joined to the Lord in that day, and shall be my people, and I will dwell in the midst of thee. Execute true judgment, and show mercy and compassions every man to his brother; and oppress not the widow, nor the fatherless, the stranger, nor the poor, and let none of you imagine evil against his brother in your heart. I have been jealous for Zion, saith the Lord of Hosts, with great jealousy; and I was jealous of her with great fury.

Thus saith the Lord, I am returned unto Zion, and will dwell in the midst of Jerusalem; and Jerusalem shal be called a city of truth; and the mountain of the Lord of Hosts, the holy mountain, and I will save My people from the east and west; and the inhabitants of one city shall go to another, saying, let us go speedily to pray before the Lord, and to seek the Lord of Hosts, and I will go also. Yea, many people and strong nations shall come to seek the Lord of Hosts in Jerusalem,

and to pray before the Lord. Thus saith the Lord of Hosts, in those days it shall come to pass, that ten men shall take hold out of all languages of the nations, even they shall take hold of the skirt of him that is a Jew, saying, we will go with you, for we have heard that God is with you.

And now, dear reader, we have followed the children of Israel from Abraham, journeying with them through all their childlike dependance on the guiding presence of the Lord their God, seeking no other protection nor wisdom but His, obedient to all His commands, and willing to do His will alone. To this time God refers, "When Israel was a child, then I loved him.' And what deep unchangeable love He displayed towards them when, like a compassionate father, He delivered these sons of His adoption out of Egypt, and brought them safely over the Red Sea on dry land into the wilderness of Shur; and we have seen how soon they forgot His merciful kindness, and wearied Him through all their forty years' journey through the wilderness with their continual murmurings and ingratitude; yet He bore with them, and fulfilled His promise, in bringing them at last into the land of Canaan, where, after a time, when they had got satiated with peace and plenty, they sought other gods, and forsook the Almighty. Yet still He bore

with them for years. Thus did He love them, that even after He had delivered them into the hands of enemies, when they cried unto Him, He listened to their cry and delivered them. But in process of time they wanted an earthly king to rule over them the same as the heathens had. God granted their request, but drew Himself to a further distance from them; yet He lovingly watched over them: He could not entirely give them up, His love was so deep and strong towards these adopted ones, saying, "How can I give thee up." And though He is silent towards them now, allowing them for a time to think themselves forsaken, yet He intends to return, and gather them from all quarters of the earth whither they are scattered, once more to exalt them in Jerusalem, and bless them once more in Zion with good things, feeding again on the rich abundance of the land of Canaan, which shall once more flow with milk and honey, and they shall eat once more of the grapes of Eschol. These future blessings which God foretells by His prophets shall come to pass.

Seeing, dear reader, the Jews are still watched over with a jealous eye by the Lord, though to all appearance they seem abandoned, let us be careful not to provoke the Almighty's wrath, which, most assuredly, will be turned against us if we continue

to despise and illtreat these poor outcasts, who are suffering for the sins of their forefathers. I often have trembled when people have spoken so bitterly against the Jews. For what are we better than they? Do we worship and reverence God with the same faithful devotedness as they do? Alas! no. Though the Sun of Righteousness has risen amongst these Gentile nations with healing in His wings, dispersing the black cloud of unbelief, yet it is sad to know that a large number, who, if not as in days gone by, actually worship wood and stone as their god, yet in their hearts they sin against Him far worse. For whilst with their mouth they acknowledge Him to be the God and Supreme Ruler, in their hearts they despise His commandments, and keep not His statutes; neither do they seek to do His will, but independently mark out a track of their own, and follow therein. So that this last state of living hypocrisy is worse than the former total blindness.

We are saved by grace alone; and it behoves us, dear reader, to approach God in humble contrition of heart. Remembering we are the Saviour's chosen Israelites, let us not grieve Him; or cause Him to mourn over our backslidings, or to regret He has adopted us, and suffered so much agony that we might be saved. We ought not

to cast one look, or say one word of ridicule or contempt at the Jews or our neighbours, for we are all full of sin, and unworthy to be called the sons of God. For it is only through the grace of our Lord we dare venture to draw nigh in prayer to the Most High, who, though fearful in majesty and wrath, yet hath respect to the lowly and contrite ones of the earth, yearning over us also with all the deep tenderness of a father's love, saying, when we grieve or displease Him by wandering from His paths, How shall I give thee up, child of My adoption? Then let all backsliders arise, and return to God, Who, for Jesus' sake, will have mercy, and abundantly pardon.

Let us, therefore, be more watchful, and strengthen the things which remain, remembering how we have heard, and hold fast and repent. For blessed are they that do His commandments, and keep His statutes, that they may have a right to the tree of life, and at last be permitted to enter the gates of the heavenly Canaan.