puniahed." When Jehovah thus wipea out Co-r for all the ail ver onrl thll g-nlrl that ie tho hlondgulUineaa of tho enemies of J nrlah in the wol'ld which tb,,y shnll givo 11s 11, by punieliing them with deetruotion for their re.nsom of their eonla they ahall not be oruoHics, while he exolts glorion1ly, ftne.lly, cleansed of the blood which they have shed;" and for ever hie people, he prove1 hi ■ e.leo, "For the a.gee of eternity shall hie BOveroignty over them ond hi ■ dwelling- dwellin,r-ple.ce be in Zion, e.fter that it Hh"ll ple.oo In Zion. The Hebrew interprAters, return th01'e in the days of the Messiah." with the exception of Abe.rbanel, understand (2) Some refer the paeaoge to millennial this pasBBge (I) llterolly; th1111 Kimchi: times. (3) Othel'B to the time of the con- "At that time (the day of the Lord), after enmme.tion of a.11 things. ThuH Kr,il, com- moking e.n end of the nations there, gree.t pRring Ezek. xlvii., Zech. xiv., Rev. xxi. ~oodnees shall e.corue to Ismel; " the BBme e.nd xxii., says," Thie paeaage does not teach 18 seen in the exposition of the le.st verse of the earthly glorification of Palestine, and the ohe.pter. Roshi BBys, "Even if I she.11 desolation of Egypt and ldnmaie., but that oles.nee them of the remaining transgression Judah e.nd Jerusalem a.re types of the king- which is in their hands, e.nd the evil-doing dom of God, whilst Egypt and Edom a.re which they he.ve done to me, the blood of types of the world-powers tbe.t a.re at enmity the children of J ude.h I will not cleanse against God; in other words, that thi" from them ; " e.lso in commenting on the description is not to be understood literally, same, Kimchi BBys, "For their silver e.nd but spiritually;" he had previously in- theix gold which they took I will cleanse timated that spiritual eenae, "For Zion or the nations, for lsrBOl also shall take from Jerusalem is, of course, not the ,Jerusalem them in the future, and they shall become of the earthly Palestine, but the sanctified their spoil ; but for their blood whioh they and glorified city of the living God, in he.ve shed I will not clOBnse them, but which the Lord will be eternally united life she.11 be for life-the life of those that with his redeemed, ae.nctifted, e.nd glorified shed it, or of their ohildren e.fter them; Ohuroh."
HOMILETICS. Vers. 1--8.-Deliveranu and destruction. The causal particle, with which the first verse of this chapter commences, connects it closely with the preceding. It not only introduces a further expla.na.tion, but confirms the statements there made. The cour8e of the predictions contained in the foregoing chapter embraced the outpouring of the Spirit a.t Pentecost; the establishment of the Christian Church; the great ea.ta.strophes and troubles that should succeed; the destruction of the holy city and the dispersion of its inhabitants, here ea.lied" the captivity of Judah and Jerusalem;" the deliver- ance of a remnant from those troubles-at e.11 events, the eternal salvation of the godly who cleaved to the Lord and hie service. Of the general promise, a. particular instance is given in the case of the Jews. But the promise to Judah a.nd Jerusalem is a pledge of the spiritual deliverance of his Church and people, a.s also of temporal deliverance when and whereeoever such may be required. I. DELIVERANCE OF THE PEOPLE OF GoD. 1. The relation in which Israel stood to God is symbolical of the relation in which God's people stand to him still. They are hill people; "my people," he is pleased to call them; "my heritage," he names them. They are his "peculiar treasure," and "the lot of his inheritance," as he elsewhere designates them. '!'heir land is his land. We thus see how dear God's people are to him, and what a deep interest he takes in their persons e.nd in their property-in fact, in all that concerns them. They ~re his for correction when that is needed ; they are his for protection from their enemies ; they are his to right their wrongs, and to take vengeance on their adversaries; they a.re his to preserve to them their possessions, and to punish all who trespass thereon, or expel them therefrom. He keeps them and all they have as in the hollow of his hand; and they are dear to him as the apple of his eye. 2. '!'his promise comprehends in itself a series; it is, indeed, instanced in a single case, yet it is not confined to it, but multiplies itself. Just a.s the Israelites were delivered out of the bondage of Egypt, and Jerusalem out of the ha.ads of Sennacherib in the roign of Hezekiah, and the Jews out of tbe captivity in Babylon, and other deliverances of the Jewish Church and peoplo took place before the advent of Messiah, so has the promise repeated itself in the many deliverances of God's peoplc since tnen. Espccially is it exemplified in the great deliverance from sin ancl Satan wreught ouc TRE noott OF JOEL. [crt, m. 1-21.