1842.] The Hope of Israel. 217 bloody seal to the covenant, abstain from certain meats, keep sabbath on Saturday, and he may go forth in all the pride of the Jews' prospects, and in the confidence of being an heir of Abraham with "certain which trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others." (See the parable of the Pharisee and publican, Luke xviii, 9.) If the convert should not himself live to go up to Jerusalem, and have dominion there, his children may; and their interests should not be neglected. Even the children of Edomites and of Egyptians were allowed to enter the congregation in the third generation; and that is one which soon comes on. Deut. xxiii, 3. "And when a stranger shall sojourn with thee, and will keep the passover to the Lord, let all his males be circumcisedand then let him come near and keep it, and he shall be as one born in the land," Exod. xii, 48. This seems to be the spirit of Judaism, a self-righteous doctrine, which lifts up itself against the cross of Christ in this world, and proffers to its followers a crown; a carnal doctrine, which counts the riches of faith too poor, and seizes on pottage with the appetite of Esau; which lightly esteems the blood of Christ, by which those are made nigh who were afar off; a doctrine that does not honor him who broke down the middle wall of partition, and introduced strangers and aliens into the commonwealth of Israel, making foreigners to become "fellow-citizens with the saints, and of the household of God," Eph. ii, 19; for it implies that Jesus our Lord would have done this, he would have made them fellowcitizens, of equal rights with the saints; but the Jews' promises are a main part of the wall not yet broken down; the Jews' promises still separate them, and make them an aristocracy in the church; make them lords, rather than fellow-citizens in Christendom. Judaism yields something to Christ, and something to his baptized church among the Gentiles; it does not mean to rob them; but it has something more, and, if any thing, better for the circumcised church. It allows the Gentiles to be "fellow-heirs and of the same body," but not exactly "partakers" of the same promises "in Christ by the gospel;" or, if of the same promises "in Christ," then the doctrine offers the Jews some promise out of Christ, which is not common to the Gentiles. Either the natural Jews have promises peculiar to themselves, or they have not. If they have not, we are all fellow-citizens on a level. If they have promises peculiar to themselves, as a nation, those promises are in Christ seemingly; which would destroy their Jewish peculiarity, and open them to all Christians alike; or those promises are not in Christ, and then a Christian will never envy them to a Jew, or to any other; but to his brethren, who cherish unchristian hopes for the Jews, he may exclaim with the apostle, "O foolish Galatians, (Judaizers,) who hath bewitched you, that ye should not obey the truth, before whose eyes Jesus Christ was evidently set forth crucified among you? Are ye so foolish? having begun in the spirit, are ye now made perfect by the flesh? Know ye, therefore, that they which are of faith, the same are the children of Abraham. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female; for ye are all one in Christ Jesus. And if ye be Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise,” Gal. iii. From the first promise in the Bible of bruising the serpent's head, to the last, "Behold, I come quickly," all the prophets testify of the restitution and of the glorious reign of Christ over his restored and chosen people, in a world without end, which is a world to come, "the land of the living and not of the dead;" and notwithstanding these prophecies were revealed to Jews, and are always understood by them to belong only to their nation; Christians know that the same is the gospel of the kingdom of our Lord Jesus Christ, preached unto all nations; and that it will be fulfilled, not to the natural Jews in this world, but unto all them that believe in the kingdom of heaven. The practical influence of the interpretation, which explains the law and the prophets in the light of the resurrection, is spiritual, personal, and strictly conformable to the discipline of our Father in heaven. His providence and his word agree to warn and to instruct us, that in this world his people "shall have tribulation;" neither a certain dwelling place, nor abiding crown, nor treasure that is secure against corruption and thieves, nor friend invincible to pain and death, nor hope of an eternal inheritance beneath the sun. Holy writ and daily experience unite to teach us, "The fashion of this world passeth away," 1 Cor. vii, 31. The faithful and true Witness assures us, "Heaven and earth shall pass away," Matt. xxiv, 35. And the Holy Spirit by the apostle demands, "Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be, in all holy conversation and godliness, looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat," 2 Pet. iii, 11, 12. The Scriptures give Israel hope in his death, that he shall live again; and hope of new heavens and a new earth, when these heavens and earth pass away: but they forbid, and experience forbids, any sure and abiding hope on this side of the grave; unless the promises to the Jews form an exception; and, if they do, we have no part in them; the exception extends not to us Gentiles, unless we, "having begun in the Spirit," are now ready to be "made perfect" by the circumcision of the flesh-which is foolishness. The holy soul loathes the doctrine of a temporal, carnal, earthly crown, the same which Satan in the temptation offered to Jesus our Lord. The holy soul loathes the doctrine of respect of persons, and of the circumcision. The holy soul turns away from the love of all this world can give, and delights in the testimony of Jesus, "the hope of Israel," and the love of heaven. In this view of divine revelation, we are ready to exclaim with Mary, "My soul doth magnify the Lord, and my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour," Luke i, 46; who extends to us his holy covenant, "the oath which he sware to our father Abraham, that he would grant unto us," says Zacharias, "that we, being delivered out of the hand of our enemies, might serve him without fear," Luke i, 73. In him is the hope of Israel; in him is the resurrection of the dead; in him is the promise to Abraham and his seed made free to all believers. In him is the law fulfilled; in him the prophecies centre; in him the Jews are to be gathered; in him the "chosen generation" are to be restored, when he swallows up death in victory. In him the partition wall is thrown down; the veil of the temple is rent; the veil of the flesh is taken away; mortality is swallowed up of life. In him his people are all one Israel, as the rays of the sun are one: the very least of them contains all the primitive colors, together with the magnetic and caloric properties common to the sun. In him is the faith of Israel, during all their journey through this wilderness of trial; in him they catch from Pisgah sometimes a distant view of the holy land; in him they go over Jordan dry shod; in him they come to their everlasting inheritance: "Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world." Think you it was never promised them, so long prepared? And to whom was it promised? To ISRAEL, who have the oracles of God, who keep the faith, who have crucified the flesh with its lusts, and are dead to this world; but, in the resurrection with Jesus, are gathered from their dispersions, and endowed with the promised inheritance of the holy land in eternal life, and in the holy city: "THE LORD IS THERE," which Abraham sought; the New Jerusalem which John saw, where God will tabernacle with men: "And he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God; and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes, and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain," Rev. xxi, 3, 4. This is "the hope of Israel :" is it not also a faithful interpretation of the Scripture doctrine of the return of the Jews? Surely, they shall inherit the holy land for ever. Child of Adam, "son of God," shun the example of profane Esau, who indulged his appetite at the price of his birthright. Lay hold of eternal life. Sanctify your body, and expect your birthright in the resurrection of the dead. Of this inheritance no earthly father, though a rich Jew, can endow his offspring; no base father, though a poor slave, can deprive them. All its heirs cry in the spirit unto God: "Doubtless, thou art our Father, though Abraham be ignorant of us, and Israel acknowledge us not," Isa. lxiii, 16. "And a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands, and cried with a loud voice, saying, Salvation to our God, which sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb. Amen blessing, and glory, and wisdom, and thanksgiving, and honor, and power, and might, be unto our God for ever and ever. Amen." Rev. vii, 9, 10, 12. New-York, December 18, 1841. H. D. W. 2317 058 |