Joel iii. 18. It shall come to pass in that day, that the moun- tains shall drop down new wine, and the hills shall flow loith milk, and all the rivers of Judah shall flow with waters, and a fountain shall come forth of the House of the Lord, and shall water the valley of Shittim.
THE return of the Jews to their own land at some future period seems to be predicted so plainly and so frequently, that no reasonable doubt can be enter- tained respecting it. As for their future conversion to the faith of Christ, that is absolutely certain. But previous to their final settlement in their own land, there will be a violent contest with them in Palestine : but their enemies will be defeated with great slaugh- ter : and after that will the long-wished-for period arrive, when all, both Jews and Gentiles, shall turn unto the Lord, and all " become one fold, under one Shepherd."
Had the metaphorical expressions " of the moun- tains dropping with new wine, and the hills flowing with milk " been used alone, we might have supposed that the prediction related only to temporal pro- sperity, and the restoration of Canaan to that measure of fertility which it possessed in the days of old : but " the fountain coming forth from the House of the Lord" must have a spiritual import; and conse- quently the whole passage must be understood as designating and describing the Millennial period.
From this sublime passage we shall take occasion to consider,
I. The blessings of that day —
The terms under which these blessings are set
forth, will lead us to notice,
1. Their richness and variety —
[There are no terms whatever that can give us a sublimer idea of the Gospel than these : its blessings are here represented as most reviving and comforting, most salubrious and nutritious, suited to every age, and every condition of the human race.