The report of the day of Jehovah is bitter, 15. That day is a day of wrath, A day of distress and anguish; A day of desolation and destruction, A day of clouds and of thick darkness, 16. A day of sounding' trumpets and of shouting: Against the fenced cities, And against the lofty towers. 17. And I will distress man, and they shall walk as the blind, Because they have sinned against Jehovah : And their blood shall be poured out as dust, 18. Moreover, their silver and their gold In the day of the anger of Jehovah. But by the fire of his jealousy shall the whole earth be devoured; For a full end, nay, a speedy one will he make, With all the inhabitants of the earth. CHAPTER II. 1. GATHER yourselves together and assemble, O nations, not desired, Ere the decree bring forth, the day pass over as chaff. 2. Ere the heat of the anger of Jehovah come upon you, Ere the day of the wrath of Jehovah come upon you. 3. Seek ye Jehovah, all ye meek of the earth, Who have wrought judgment, have sought righteousness, have sought meekness, It may be ye shall be protected in the day of Jehovah's anger. A particular specification of what will be the destinies of the several surrounding nations, and opponents of Israel, in the view of Israel's final establishment, then follows-with a description of their apostacy. But in the eighth verse of the third chapter we read:~ CHAPTER III. 8. YET wait for me, hath Jehovah said, Until the day that I rise up to the prey: For my decision is to gather the nations, to assemble the kingdoms, To pour out upon them mine indignation, all the heat of my wrath, 1 For by the fire of my jealousy shall all the earth be consumed. 9. Surely, then, will I turn to the nations a pure language, That they may all of them call upon Jehovah, and serve him with one consent. * 2 10. From beyond the rivers of Cush, My suppliants shall bring, as an offering, the daughter of my dispersed. This is clearly the event foretold in the eighteenth chapter of Isaiah; and it is remarkable, when compared with what has been observed on that passage, that the Targum has here," Beyond the rivers of INDIA :"3 and it 1 "I will cause them to have." Some, after a conjectural reading of Houbigant, render, "I will pour upon," &c. "With one shoulder." "The people who received the first light of the sun, according to the limited knowledge of the ancients, are said by Apuleius to be the Aru and Ethiopians, by which he clearly meant certain nations of India."-SIR WILLIAM JONES, who observes," that many monuments of antiquity seem to prove an early connexion between that country and Africa."- Discourse on the Hindus. And, again, in his eighth anniversary discourse, he observes: "It is very remarkable, as Mr. Bruce and Mr. Bryant have proved, that the Greeks gave the appellation of Indians, both to seems nearly certain, that the remains of the ten tribes are to be sought in this direction. Describing the inhabitants of the mountains that separate India from Persia, Sir William Jones speaks of numerous tribes of Afgháns, or Patans; he observes, "There is very solid ground for believing, that the Afgháns descended from the Jews; because they sometimes in confidence avow that unpopular origin, which in general they sedulously conceal, and which other Musulmans positively assert; because Hazaret, which appears to be the Asareth of ESDRAS, is one of their territories; and, principally, because their language is evidently a dialect of the Scriptural Chaldaick." 11. In that day thou shalt not be ashamed For all thy doings, wherein thou hast transgressed against me? For I will remove from the midst of thee the rejoicers in thy pride, ' And thou shalt no more exalt thyself against my holy hill: 12. And I will leave as a remnant,' in the midst of thee, a meek and destitute people, And they shall flee for shelter to the name of Jehovah. 13. The remnant of Israel shall not do iniquity, Neither shall they speak falsehood; Nor shall the tongue of deceit be found in their mouths; And they shall feed, and lie down, and none shall make them afraid. 14. Sing, O daughter of Zion; shout ye, O Israel; Be glad, and rejoice with all thine heart, O daughter of 15. Jehovah hath removed thy judgments, he hath turned aside thine enemies; The King of Israel, Jehovah'is' in the midst of thee, 16. In that day it shall be said to Jerusalem, Fear not; And to Zion, Let not thy hands be slack; Jehovah, thy Elohim, is in the midst of thee, the Mighty 17. He will rejoice over thee with gladness, he will renew his love,' He will exult over thee with singing. 18. The mourners in the solemn assembly will I remove out of thee, They shall be " removed," no longer to cause reproach. 19. Behold, I will do all for thy sake at that time; And I will save her that halted, and her that was driven out will I take again: And I will make them a praise and a name, 20. At that time 'when' I bring you again, And at the time when I assemble you, Surely, then, will I appoint you for a name, 1 See Archbishop Newcombe's note. SECTION II. Jeremiah, Chap. iii. 12. and following Verses. THE prophet Jeremiah was employed as an instrument of the prophetic Spirit, in the same reign as the former prophet. Dr. Blaney is of opinion, that the twelve first chapters contain the prophecies delivered in the reign of Josiah. In the third of these chapters, we find a prediction of the restoration of Israel, and of the subsequent glories of Messiah's kingdom. The oracle is addressed to the ten tribes, and, therefore, can have no reference to the return from Babylon. CHAPTER III. 12. RETURN, O revolted Israel, saith Jehovah, I will not look down upon you with a lowering brow; ' 1 For I am gracious, saith Jehovah, I will not keep displeasure in view for ever; 13. Only acknowledge thine iniquity, That thou hast rebelled against Jehovah, thy Elohim. 14. Return, O revolted children, saith Jehovah, For I will be a husband to you; And I will take you one out of a city, and two out of a tribe, 'Dr. Blaney, whose translation has been much followed in these extracts from Jeremiah. |