God, in his providential dealings with this people, was providing for his church. At this present time the Israel of God must be sought for, as far as we can discern, among believing Gentiles; but it appears that at a future period, when" the times of the Gentiles shall be fulfilled," the natural Israel will again sustain the character of God's people upon earth; and although a remnant among the Gentiles be not extinct, yet the restored family of Abraham will, perhaps, be the great object of divine interference, in those last ages which touch upon the season of the second advent. "The natural Israel" does not, indeed, coincide exactly with "the Israel of God," to whom the everlasting promises are made; yet, as has been before observed, by far the greater part of the oracles of God connect the history of redemption with the history of this people; so that, in all our future inquiries, we must keep in view the history and predicted destinies of Israel and Judah. When we read the account of the Exodus from Egypt, the miraculous passage of the desert, with all its incidents, and the establishment of the theocracy in the land of Canaan, let us remember we read not merely the wonders of old time, or the precedents of what Almighty power can do; but we behold, in types and shadows, a pattern of spiritual things, and of a greater deliverance hereafter, which will place the faithful family in possession of the rest that remaineth for the people of God. "Now all these things," says the apostle, happened unto them for ensamples; and they are written for our admonition upon whom the ends of the world are come." For the reference, however, that any thing in this part of * 1 Cor. x. 11. the Scripture may have to the concerns of the second advent, we shall wait the showing of the sacred writers themselves. To constitute a type, I am of opinion we should have scriptural authority, expressed or implied, that the event referred to is intended as a prophetical symbol of what shall be hereafter. SECTION I. The Song of Moses on the miraculous Passage of the Red Sea. I SHALL now call the reader's attention to the Song of Moses, composed on occasion of the miraculous passage of the Red Sea.* This inspired song we shall find intermingles with the theme of thanksgiving for the late mercy received; an anticipation of glorious displays of power that terminate in the coming of the promised Redeemer, and the everlasting possession of Canaan. This divine poem, which I shall attempt to give from the original, like most others of these sacred hymns, is of the amœbæan or responsive kind; and it is of material consequence, to our proper understanding of the theme, to mark distinctly the different responses that are made. A first and second semichorus, with an occasional full chorus, seems to be the most natural distribution for us to follow; and the sense of the verses will, for the most part, point out where the divisions are to be made. * Exod. xv. 1. First Semichorus. 1. I will sing unto Jehovah, for he hath triumphed gloriously; ' The horse and his rider hath he thrown into the sea: This is my God, and for him I will prepare an habitation;⚫ The Elohim of my fathers, and him will I extol. 3. Jehovah is mighty in conflict, Jehovah is his name. First Semichorus. 4. He cast the chariots of Pharaoh and his host into the sea; He drowned his chosen captains in the sea of Suph." 5. The billows covered them." They sank into the deep as a stone. Second Semichorus. 6. Thy right hand, O Jehovah! is glorious in strength; First Semichorus. 8. When by the breath of thy mouth the waters were heaped together, The waves stood like a mass, The billows were congealed in the midst of the sea; 9. The enemy said, "I will pursue, I will overtake, I will seize the prey, I will glut my vengeance, 1 I will draw my sword, my hand shall lay hold upon them:" 10. Thou didst blow with thy breath, the sea covered them, They sank as lead in the mighty waters. Second Semichorus. 11. Who among the gods shall be' like unto thee, O Jehovah, Who shall be' like unto thee, glorified in thy sanctuary? proclaim thee,'' acting won Terrible the songs of praise drously; 12. Thou stretchest forth thine hand, the earth swalloweth them up. First Semichorus. 13. Thou shalt lead in thy tender love this people whom thou hast redeemed, Thou shalt guide them in thy strength towards the habitation of thy sanctuary. 14. The nations shall hear and be afraid, Pangs shall seize upon the inhabitants of Palestine: 15. Then shall the chiefs of Edom be confounded, Second Semichorus. Through the greatness of thine arm, they shall be still as a stone, Until thy people have passed over-O, Jehovah, Until the people whom thou hast purchased have passed over. 17. Thou wilt bring them, and plant them in the mountain of thine inheritance, The place which thou, O Jehovah, hast made for thee to dwell in; The sanctuary which thy hands, O Lord, have prepared. Full Chorus. 18. Jehovah shall be king, for ever and ever. The testimony of this inspired song to the fact of a second advent, may not appear to my readers to be very strong; and yet, I think, the final chorus can be considered as anticipating nothing else than that reign of Jehovah, which is still the theme of unaccomplished prophecy. This is the first mention we have found of kingly power, as ascribed to God, over the children of men ; but, in the subsequent Scriptures, the allusion is very frequent ; always, however, I believe, when men in the flesh are the subjects considered, in reference to the rule and authority of the Redeemer that is to come. He took to himself, indeed, no royal state or authority at his first coming; but, as we shall see hereafter, many oracles ascribe to him this character at his second coming. With these Scriptures, I consider this before us to be parallel: and if I |