words of my text, " Whereas thou hast been forsaken and hated ;" and so on.
Thus have I cited the whole preceding context, to shew, that it is all one continued address to the Jewish Church ; and that, from beginning to end, there is not one syllable that can warrant the application of it to the Christian Church. You will observe, that the Jewish Church is spoken of in terms not at all applicable to the Christian Church ; (for it is the Jewish, and not the Christian Church, of whom God says, " In my wrath I smote thee ; but in my favour have I had mercy on thee :) and you will further notice, that throughout the whole of it, the Gentiles and their kings are contrasted with the Jewish Church, to which they minister. And all this is the rather to be noticed, in order that you may see how little ground there is for that perversion of the passage which they are guilty of, who pass over the Jewish Church, and apply the whole of it to the Gentiles : and at the same time, that you may learn to read the Scriptures with an unprejudiced eye, and to expect the fulfilment of them according to their true import.]
Having ascertained the just application of the words before us, let us consider,
II. The glorious prospects which they hold forth —
The Jewish Church was forsaken and hated at the time of the Babylonish captivity : and still greater hatred and contempt has she endured since the de- gradation inflicted on her by the Romans. To have any connexion with her is judged a reproach, through- out the whole world b But there is a time
coming, when she shall be again honoured, both by God and man : yea, " she shall be made an eternal excellency, a joy of many generations." She shall be honoured,
1. In the number and dignity of her converts —
[Bold and beautiful are the figures here used by the prophet, for the purpose of describing this event. The whole Gentile world, together with their kings, are viewed as a nursing-mother, who administers to her infant offspring what God has given her for its support. In the first instance, they join the Jewish Church, as her children ; but, having done this, they themselves assume the office of a parent, accounting all that they possess as valuable only in proportion as it may
b See Lam. ii. 15, 16. sadly descriptive of the treatment to which they have been, and still are, subjected even in the Christian world.