shall be as the light of the sun, and the light of the sun sevenfold, as the light of seven daysa."
In opening the passage to your view, I shall be led to speak of,
I. The state to which the Jews shall, in due season, be restored —
The Jews will, at a future season, be restored to God—
[Of this, no man who believes the Scriptures can entertain a doubt. The passage before us, even if it stood alone, would be amply sufficient to warrant our expectation of this event. But it is one of many : for the prophets all, with one voice, agree in declaring that God has not finally cast off his people ; but that they shall return to him, and enjoy under their Messiah a state of prosperity far exceeding any thing that they ever experienced since they became a nation. That that event is spoken of in the passage before us, will be evi- dent to any one who will consult the context. Read it from the sixth verse. The persons spoken of are both Judah and Israel : " I will strengthen the House of Judah, and I will save the House of Joseph." It was the former only that were brought from Babylon : and therefore the prophecy must relate to a period yet future, even to the return of the whole nation from their present dispersion. " The Lord will hiss for them," as men in Eastern countries are wont to do when they would collect their beesb; and " they shall come from Egypt and Assyria," and from all countries whither they have been driven, " unto the land of Gilead and Lebanon," where they shall increase as rapidly as they did in former times ; insomuch that " place shall not be found for them to dwell in c." This circumstance, which is considered by many as an objection to the literal interpretation of those prophecies which speak of their return to their own land, instead of being an objection to such an interpretation, is actually contemplated in the pro- phecy, and specifically predicted. In their present dispersion, they seem as if they were cast off: but, though scattered over the face of the globe, they are only " soivn" there, as seed which the husbandman casts over his field, with a view to reap, and gather it to greater advantage at a future period d. Their return will be a season of most sublime joy, both to them and their children e: and the interpositions of God in their behalf will be as visible and as effectual as those which
a Isai. xxx. 26. b Isai. v. 26. and vii. 18. with ver. 8.
c ver. 10. d ver. 9. e ver. 7.