18. And I will requite a first and second time' their iniquity and

their sin,

Because they have defiled my land with the vileness of their odious practices,

And their abominations have overspread mine heritage.

19. O Jehovah, my strength and my fortress,

And my refuge in the day of distress;

To thee shall the nations come from the ends of the earth,
And shall say, Truly, our fathers possessed falsehood;
A vanity, nothing was there among them profitable!

20. Shall man make Elohim for himself?

But they are no Elohim!'

21. Wherefore, behold, at that time I will be their instructor; I will make known unto them my hand and my power, And they shall know that my name is Jehovah.

-A prophecy, very similar to what we have seen before, predicting the restoration of Israel, after the severe punishment of their sins; and the conversion of all the nations of the earth. Again:

CHAPTER XXIII.

3. But I will gather the remnant of my flock,

From all the countries whither I have driven them;

And I will bring them back to their own fold,

And they shall be fruitful, and shall multiply.

4. And I will raise up shepherds over them, who shall feed them;

So that they shall not fear any more, nor be dismayed,

Nor shall they be visited, saith Jehovah.

5. Behold, the days come, saith Jehovah,

That I will raise up unto David a righteous shoot.

1 Rather " HORSLEY.

once and again."—

2

Or,

"when they themselves are not Elohim,"

Ay, a king shall reign, and shall flourish,

And shall execute judgment and justice on the earth.

6. In his days Judah shall be saved,

And Israel shall dwell in security;

And this is the name whereby he shall be called,
JEHOVAH OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS.

7. Wherefore, behold, the days are coming, saith Jehovah,
When they shall no more say, As Jehovah liveth,

Who brought up the children of Israel from the land of
Egypt:

8. But, as Jehovah liveth, who brought up,

And who caused the seed of the house of Israel to come
From the north country, and from all the countries whither
I had driven them,

That they might dwell in their own land.

To this reign, according to Dr. Blaney, we are to refer the prophecy of the forty-sixth chapter, which concludes with a similar assurance of final restitution to the children of Israel: :

CHAPTER XLVI.

27. But fear thou not, O my servant Jacob;
Neither be thou dismayed, O Israel;

For, behold, I will bring thee safe from afar,
And thy seed from the land of their captivity;

And Jacob shall again be at rest,

And he shall be secure, and none shall make him afraid.

28. Fear thou not, O my servant Jacob,

Saith Jehovah, for I will be with thee;

For I will make a full end of all the nations,

Whither I have driven thee;

Yet of thee I will not make a full end,

But I will correct thee with measured chastisement,

And will not make thee altogether desolate,

SECTION IV.

Remarks on the Thirtieth and Thirty-first Chapters.

We now proceed to examine the prophecies of Jeremiah, which were written in the reign of Zedekiah, the last of the kings of Judah, who commenced his reign in the year 599 before Christ. Among these, the prophecy contained in the thirtieth and thirty-first chapter, will demand our particular attention.

2. Thus hath Jehovah, the Elohim of Israel, spoken, saying, Write thee all the words that I have spoken to thee in a book. 3. For, behold, the days are coming, saith Jehovah, when I will reverse the captivity of my people, Israel and Judah, saith Jehovah; and I will bring them back to the land which I gave to their fathers, and they shall possess it. 4. And these are the words which Jehovah hath spoken concerning Israel, and concerning Judah.

5. Surely thus saith Jehovah :

A voice of trembling have we heard,

There is terror, and no peace.

6. Ask ye now, and see,

"Can a male bring forth?

Wherefore have I seen every man,

His hands upon his loins, as a woman in travail,

And all faces changed into paleness?

7. Alas! for that day is great,

So that none is like it;

And a time of distress is it unto Jacob,

But he shall be saved out of it:

8. And it shall be in that day,

Hath Jehovah Sabaoth said;

I will break HIS yoke from off thy neck,

And HIS bands will I burst asunder,

And strangers shall no more exact service of him.

9. But they shall serve Jehovah their Elohim,

Even David their king, whom I will raise up for them.

That the spiritual "David," " the beloved" of the Father, is here meant, I think is clear, from a comparison of other Scriptures. The promised King of Israel is frequently represented to be the Messiah. "King of Israel" is his peculiar designation; "a shoot from the root of Jesse," that is to reign. There are Scriptures, again, that as positively assert, that "Jehovah," that "the Elohim of Israel," is to be King. The conclusion is obvious. Jehovah, the Elohim of Israel, and the spiritual David, their future King, is the same person; the incarnate Son of God. The prophecy proceeds:

10. Therefore, fear thou not,

O my servant Jacob, saith Jehovah;
And be not thou dismayed, O Israel;

For, behold, I will bring thee safe from afar,
Even thy seed from the land of their captivity;

And Jacob shall be at rest,

He shall also be secure, and none shall make him afraid.

11. For I will be with thee,

Saith Jehovah, to save thee;

For I will make a full end of all the nations,

Whither I have dispersed thee:

But I will not make a full end of thee,

But I will correct thee with measured chastisement,

And will not make thee altogether desolate.

12. Surely thus hath Jehovah said;

Thy bruise is desperate,

Thy wound is grievous:

13. There is none that lendeth a helping hand for thy cure;

No healing medicines are applied to thee.

14. All thy friends have forgotten thee,

They seek not after thee.

Surely with the stroke of an enemy have I smitten thee,
With a severe chastisement,

Because thy iniquity is great,

Thy offences are numerous.

15. Why criest thou because of thy bruise?

Thy suffering is without remedy:

Because thy iniquity is great,

Thy offences are numerous,

Have I done these things unto thee.

16. Yet, notwithstanding, all they that devour thee shall be

devoured,

Even all thine enemies, they shall go into captivity;

And they that spoil thee shall become a spoil,

And all they that plunder thee will I give up to plunder.

17. For I will restore soundness to thee,

And of thy wounds will I heal thee, saith Jehovah.

When they call thee "Outcast,"

"Zion, she whom no one careth for."

18. Thus hath Jehovah said;

Behold, I will reverse the captivity of Jacob's tents,
And will have compassion on his dwelling places:

And the city shall be builded on its heap,

And the palace shall be restored according to its design:

19. And from them shall issue forth thanksgiving,

And the voice of them that rejoice.

And I will multiply them, and they shall not be diminished; And I will raise them to honour, and they shall not fall into

contempt.