but only so to reveal them, that, when they shall have occurred, we may know them to have been fore- ordained by him, and to have fulfilled his eternal counsels. The chapter before us is altogether a de- scription of that event. As for any tiling which took place at the return of the Jews from Babylon, or even in the apostolic age, it is altogether out of the question, as a fulfilment of this prophecy. It is agreed, on all hands, that the events here predicted remain to be accomplished. And what those events are, I will endeavour more fully to explain.
Let us consider then,
I. To what these words refer —
Good men, especially in later ages, have been so fond of spiritualizing the Scriptures, that they have, in many instances, totally overlooked their primary meaning. The chapter before us, for instance, they have applied to the Gentile Church, and have almost entirely lost sight of the Jews as comprehended in it. And I cannot but think, that the grievous neglect of which the Christian Church has been guilty, in relation to the welfare of the Jews, is very greatly to be attributed to ministers themselves, who have either kept out of sight the prophecies altogether, or interpreted them in an erroneous way. The chapter before us relates to the Jews ; nor can any person with an unprejudiced mind put any other sense upon it.
Hear St. Paul's explanation of it —
[To understand it aright, we must take into our view the two last verses of the preceding chapter: "The Redeemer shall come to Zion, and unto them that turn from transgres- sion in Jacob, saith the Lord. As for me, this is my covenant with them, saith the Lord." To whom now do these words refer ? Consult the Apostle, when citing them, in his Epistle to the Romans3: "I would not have you ignorant of this mystery,'' says he, "that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in. And so all Israel shall be saved : as it is icritten, There shall come out of Zion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from lacob : for this is my covenant unto them, when T shall take
a Rom. xi. 25—28.