afterwards. "God is not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent hath he said, and will he not do it? or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good?" (See Num. xxiii. 19.)

"Also the Strength of Israel will not lie, nor repent; for he is not a man, that he should repent." (1 Sam. xv. 19.)

But what light it casts upon this mystery! That God should have cast off one nation only for a time that he might bless the whole Gentile world, consisting of a multitude of nations-for this is what he certainly means when he says, "but rather through their fall, salvation is come unto the Gentiles." But how long? Only "until" the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled. Paul says, "Blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in." Luke (xxi. 24,) says, "Jerusalem shall be trodden down until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled." We must particularly mark the word "until," which cannot signify any thing else but a limit and end to this present dispensation to us Gentiles.

What, then, it may be asked, will become of the Gentiles at the end of this their Gospel dispensation? It is answered, those that are wise and faithful in this dispensation, and who know the day and time of their merciful visitation, will be

led and go forth by the light into and under Israel in the Shechinah Glory, when it is made manifest -those who are unfaithful and unwise, and have not given good heed to the word of God and his prophets, will not know the day of their visitation, neither where it ends, will be condemned and be cut off by the Shechinah Glory, when it comes as the Name (or Power) of the Lord from far, burning with anger, and the burden thereof heavy; his lips full of indignation, and his tongue as a devouring fire, &c. (See Isaiah xxx. 27-30.)

Those amongst the Gentiles who are unwise, and do not understand this mystery which Paul "would not that we should be ignorant of," (Rom. xi. 25,) viz. that God hath chosen the literal Israel as the alone medium of manifestation of the Shechinah Glory will oppose and fight against Israel, and will be cut off.

The Prophets are all of them so clear and plain, that God has chosen the Jew as the medium or recipient of his Glory, that to deny it evidently evinces our ignorance of their declarations.

I will, for the sake of those who have not carefully examined this subject, quote a few of their testimonies, viz.

Isaiah says, in xlvi. 12, 13: "Hearken unto me, ye stout-hearted, that are far from righteousness: I bring near my righteousness; it shall not be

far off, and my salvation shall not tarry; and I will place salvation in Zion for Israel my Glory."

And in a succeeding chapter, (Is. xlviii. 11,) he says, "For mine own sake, even for mine own sake, will I do it; for how should my name be polluted? and I will not give my glory to another." I will admit that before I studied this passage in its connection with the previous part of the chapter, I too hastily thought the words "I will not give my glory to another" had reference to another God; but if we read this verse in connection with the three preceding verses, it will satisfy any candid, honest mind that God had not reference to another God, but to another nation, or people, or recipient of his great name and glory. We will now begin with the 8th verse.

"Yea, thou heardest not; yea, thou knewest not; yea, from that time that thine ear was not opened: for I knew that thou wouldest deal very treacherously, and wast called a transgressor from the womb. For my name's sake I will defer mine anger, and for my praise will I refrain for thee, that I cut thee not off. Behold I have refined thee, but not with silver; I have chosen thee in the furnace of affliction."

Now I will appeal to any intelligent, candid mind, if the above words have not reference to

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God's literal Israel as a recipient and medium of his glory, "for his name's sake" and "for his praise," and not to God himself? If this is granted, it is all I ask, and I will again quote the 11th verse and my point is established, and, I think, the mind and will of God obtained: "For mine own sake, even for mine own sake, will I do it: for how should my name be polluted ? and I will not give my glory to another;" and the Scripture testimony is abundant to prove that God chose Israel as the recipient and medium as a people to put his Great Name* in, and Mount Zion at Jerusalem as the place for the people—not in its fallen, unredeemed, corrupt condition, but redeemed and purified, as the Word of God, by his prophet Isaiah (i. 27) declares: "Zion shall be redeemed with judgment, and her converts with righteousness;" but still it is the same place and the same Zion and Jerusalem.

Again, Paul, speaking of the literal Israel, and his kinsmen according to the flesh, says: "Who are Israelites; to whom pertaineth (or belongs) the adoption and the glory." (Rom. ix. 3, 4.)

And I think Paul has reference to this Glory in Rom. iii. 1, 2, under the word Oracle; for he gives the disciple of Christ every thing that could

* See 1 Sam. xii. 22; and Ezek. xxxvi. 22, 23.

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possibly belong to him under this dispensation, saying, "He is not a Jew, which is one outwardly; neither is that circumcision, which is outward in the flesh but he is a Jew, who is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter; whose praise is not of men, but of God." (Rom. ii. 28, 29.) But, like a good workman, that needeth not be ashamed, he well knew that this dispensation did not end then. He knew that when Jesus said, "He only came to the lost sheep of the house of Israel,” he had no reference to the Gentiles after the Gospel was handed to us by Peter through Cornelius. In fact, Jesus thus saying has reference only to the Jews before the Gospel was opened to the Gentiles; and so Paul's expression above mentioned only has reference to us Gentiles,* before the door of mercy is again opened to the Jews by the second coming of the Messiah. For Paul proceeds straight forward, and asks: "What advantage then hath the Jew, and what profit is there of circumcision?" He answers, "Much every way; chiefly, because that unto them were committed the oracles of God." Now this word "oracles" has reference to their being the immediate communicants of his Shechinah Glory from between the Cherubims upon the Mercy Seat; as Paul says,

* For Paul well knew the fulness of the Jew will be the greater riches of the world.