SUNDAY READING.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXXIV, Issue 10413, 10 April 1897, Page 4 (Supplement)

SUNDAY READING.

PROPHESY AND EVENTS IN THE EAST. [SERMON BY THE REV. DK. IOWKSESDj. " Ye that are the Inril'e remembrancers, take ye no rest nud give Him no rest till He establish and till He make Jerusalem a praise in the earlh." -(Isaiah lxii, li-7, part of, It. V ). We have reached to-day the last Sunday in the ecclesiastical year, and our Church brings us back again to a certain definite (act, viz., that God has made a gracious promise over and over to His ancient; and still beloved people, Israel, nud that it has not yet been fulfilled. Every year we Church people have to look at that fact —there is no pettiuß away from it. The rubric ordains that, no matter how many. or how few be the Sundays after Trinity, yet the portion of Scripture appoiuted for the epistle which was read this morning before the Holy Communion must always he read on the Sunday next before Advent. That passage is Jeremiah xxiii. 5-8, and is one of the many prophecies coucerniug the final return of Israel and Jiidah to their own land. It does not refer to the return after tlie 70 years in Babylon, as is evident for three reasons: 1. It is called a return of Jndah and of Israel, whereas the return from Babylon was of judah alone. Israel has never returned from its earlier captivity; any Jew will tell you that. There were a few of the ten tribes who had left the confines of Israel and dwelt in Judah after the disruption in the days of Jeroboam; their descendants were carried into the Babylonish captivity, and they returned with the Jews, but the ten tribes who were carried away into Assyria have never come back ; and, therefore, when Jeremiah in this passage and other prophets in various places speak particularly of the return of Israel and Judah, we know that such prophecies have yet to be fulfilled. 2. We know it also because of the specific reference to " the North country and from all countries whither I had driven them." Babylon, Where the Jews were captive, lay due east of Palestine. Media, the exactly specified region of the captivity ot Israel, lay east of Babylon, but Jeremiah points clearly to the "North country." Now, Ezekiel, who lived at the same time aa Jeremiah, but was in the captivity himself, described at far greater length and more specificaljy the circumstances of the Grent Return in chapters xxxiv., xxxix. He, too, speaks of the North country and names the chief prince (Rosh) of Meshech and Tubal, names about which philologists have something to say; and considering that there are more Jews in Russia and Russian Poland than any other land, as well as observing the expression, "all other countries," we see that this passage has reference to their future return uot to the local captivity in and return from the neighbouring land on the east. 3. We know it also from the plain statement about the King to reign over them in their own land. When the Jews returned from Babylon they had uo King ; Zcrubbabel, the rightful heir to the throne, was only a civil governor — you recollect that Nehemiah mourns over this fact (ix., 36, 37) —and they have never had a King since that time, but have been ruled by other powers for twice I'2CO years, exactly as Daniel predicted, and as we have seen fulfilled. The reign of a king over the united nations of Israel and Judah is no spiritual prophecy, auy more Dhan the return is to be a spiritual thing—both are to be literally fulfilled. For a great many centuries, dating back from very early times, the Church has yearly placed the contemplation of this glorious fact side by side with our advent hope, as if to aay—which indeed is true—both events rest upon the same basis, the word of God; and on this foundation they stand or fall together. Now it is true of all promises and gifts of God, whether spiritual or temporal, that they are liuked to prayer; therefore, regarding this very eveut, the earlier prophet Isaiah cries out in the words of my text :— "Ye that are the Lord's remembrancers, take ye no rest, and give Him no rest till He establish, and till He make Jerusalem a praise in the earth." This is an appeal to praying men and women. In Isaiah xliii., 26, God says to such-" Put Me in remembrance," and those who iutercede with God for the fulfilment of His promises are called His remembrancers." It is a beautiful expression, for sinco all true prayers rest upon promises, the word is in itself an implied assurance of the answer! Another advantage of this subject being brought annually .before us in our Church service is that it may make Christian people see their Christian duty more plainly, and may lead them to study their Bibles more intelligently than many do. It is quite a common thiug for Bible readers calmly to ignore the Jews: to look upon them much as we look upon a mummy bandaged up in his case, an extraordinary and wonderfully interesting old thing who once lived, but who has passed away never to come into sight, or into the region ot practical things again. We also are only too apt readily to appropriate to ourselves the promises given to them, as if we Gentiles were their heirs! If we read our Bibles intelligently we shall see that in the case of the Jewish nation it is not death that we have to deal with, but suspended animation. God's dealings with Israel are .the great theme of history; by means of them He teaches us as we teach little children in our schools. They are the Object Lessons of the world. We Gentiles think a great deal of ourselves; we imagine that the world was made for us; Israel has had its day, we say, and now everything is for U3; some Uentile nations persecute the Jew, some hate, some despise him. But the strange people lives on persistently through it all, and the nations of the world shall yet learn this unpleasant and humiliating lesson, that they are but the dust of the balance in value compared to Israel; the rise and fall of European and Eastern Empires, are mere side issues, important only as they have had relationship with the central nation. That learned Christian Jew, Dr. Adolph Saphir, in his last book, puts it well in these words-" You Gentile believers!tninkyottmakeaf>reatconcession when you the Jews God's ancient people; they are Gode future people, they are God's everlasting people, they are God's only people." And this is perfectly true, for while God has a vheavenly people, His Church, He has never nationally recognised any other earthly people than Israel as His own; all other nations fall into their places and are over-ruled by God, raised up and in due time thrust aside, possessing no promise of supremacy or permanence, while both permanence and supremacy are pledged to Israel by God. Israel is what we see it to be because those prophecies in Deut. xxviii., and many another passage are being fulfilled, tne Jews are what they are because they rejected their Messiah. They are as I said just now an Object Lesson to declare God s truth. Then as regards the promiees made to the Jew which we appropriate. No transfer of property or buc cession to property is valid unless it bears » Government itau.p suitable to the

valuc'.of the property to be -* so, as it has been well observed, no „ ' '4 far of Jew si. promises to us Genti f of value either, because it i, wi t ho,,»." * authority of God's Word. Do ,2' my meaning as r? vrd 8 the n-omiw. £ P.uil and other New Testament *uS show us that we have it perfect right toS 1 promises made by God at any &£ ™ the I of His servants in any »j;o in Uay "5 ! that is application, we may apply' , ,]?™ freely to our own need., and circnmL" they are intended to be thus used but^ I have not this freedom in the way of" t ''' pretation, wo cannot take some promise, "i j future blessings and dory and nuietlv =« ? proprmte these by n spiritual interpretation 9 ,. % ! ' this k a religions thievery, a practice cl M too common with some people • iiothi ' simake us the children of the M promises are their own and though we can = -^? apply them spiritually to ourselves we can • ; # not rob the Jew of the literal interpS H ton o those things which area * a '' , shall be his heritage. One of the*! fe promises is brought before us to-div v* : viz. the return of the Jews to § I own laud; I preached to you on this subject ''"" just a year ago, and in the eleven Months - ; past events have ripened in a remarkable ?H way. !»me of you will remember that I 3Z then pointed out that since a great pronheti "''& cal epoch coucernini; Turkey's, rule over the > V Holy Land terminates next March we mi-h! ; ;: expect to see at that time if not a decisive l S event certainly the beginning of a course of *i events leading up to this longed for consara- ■ # million. What has happened since then* * Ihese awful Armenian massacres are gradn' ' '''■ ally (only too slowly) raisins the wrath of H Christendom against the abomination ° P desolation that still casts its accursed- M shadow over the Holy Laud and part ffe of Christendom; there will come a ' -'' moment when that righteous wrath can no 'I luuger be restrained—it may come any dav I The other day 1 came across the con. E of a letter written nearly 140 years ago and •" \ which appeared iu the Gentleman's Mam I zine" for the year 1759 (vol. 29, p. 633) . % After commenting upon Revelation xi. *' ■ ■* and showing, according to the ancient and *■ usual interpretation, that the. prophetic' term 42 mouths was really l'JtiO years, th« 3 writer goes ou to say, "We have (thus)the '? time the Turks will reign over the Jews' 1country and her city Jerusalem, viz., ifljj \ years, which, if we add to the year of Oat ■: Lord 63G, when Jerusalem was taken by the • '■■ Turks, we have the year of Our Lord lS96*t v-jft near or about which time the Jews will be '■ M re-instated in their own country and city ;S Jerusalem again, which will be at or about ■ ' 137 years hence, and that the Turki are the Gentiles mentioned in the above ' "• i quoted chapter and verse appears from their * having that country and city in possession & about 11'23 years, and will continue to possesj ' it till the Omnipotent God in His own time briugeth this prophecy to its full period." '■ We in this day see how accurately students •' of prophecy in the past recognised in the future the fulfilment of God's words. Now after these sentences written in 1759, the following extract from a London daily papei of a week or two back speaks for itself > "From Medina to the Hellespont there is a simmer of suppressed excitement .... and below the surface a dangerou! feeling of discontent. Everybody ii prepared for the worst. The doom ■'• that hangs over the Ottomau Empire it ', -x felt more strongly there than at Hawarttea. ' Out of earshot of the Turkish officials pious ; Moslems whisper ot the fate in storeforlslam, ■ ami tell one another that the time draws -■ nigh." At present Russia and France may be said really to uphold Turkey— the representative of the corrupt Greek - Church; France, "the eldest daughter" of the Roman Church, are responsible in the eyes of Europe for maintain, ing the odious state of things by Constantinople, but any day we may see in the telegrams that all has changed in this direction, The Armenian massacres un- ' doubtedly are leading up to one and onlj . one end, aud when Turkey falls then will \ dawn the longed-for day {or the Holy Land. In addition to what I have just mentioned ' may be recorded this remarkable fact. Last . '? year I pointed out to you that the establish- > ; ment of Israel in their own land as a neutral /■' state would be a wonderful solution of the '■}■■% Eastern question. I heard only a. few day) ago that negotiations for founding in Palestine. v; a political centre of the Jewish race and 'v ultimately granting them self-government in v /'■ the land of their fathers are actually in >j| progress, and may at any moment becomi :■;,; the question of the hour. When this takes i; 5 place, as in some form assuredly it will :•; * t before long, then the thread of Israel's history -:'. ■ will be taken up again, and greater ;>, ; I events that concern the whole world mil -; • thicken upon the horizon. I am not now ; . : referring to the Coming of our Lord for His ■<' Church (I. Thess. iv.)—that may come atanj ■ : ; moment; it is entirely independent of any ' j event in history or prophecy; but after : Israel's restoration events will rapidly occur, ■( of which prophecy speaks, that shall prepare >•" the wayforourSaviour's appearance with Hi! : Church, to reigu over converted Israel and t(jjiv earth. I could tell you more, had I time ttK|' day, of very great interest concerning the Jews themselves and the increased expect- <$:■ ancy that is shown in the Jewish mind and fi' words all over the world—expectancy for'" their Messiah King. In Galilee during the past year this feeling has taken a very striking building their hope upon two predictions in their ancient books, they are openly proclaiming the near approach of their Lord. I cannot dwell now upon the strange . particulars of this movement, but the Bible . student will notice this suggestive thought- R Isaiah ix. foretold thatbecause Galilee hadtirsl had the dishonour of being carried captive by the invader, there would be given to it the honour of being the first to have tin light of the Saviour's presence, which you know was fulfilled, as Christ first proclaimed the Gospel in Galilee. Perhaps in this, at ■ in so many other instances, we are to look for asecond fulfilment. Possibly the dwellers in Galilee are also to be the first to recognise the comtii!! again of the Light of tile World into their midst ? Anyhow, it is our duty, brothers and sisters, to pray for the speedy fulfilment of this blessed event. We have grievously failed, it that duty hitherto; let us make arnendl for past forgetfulness, and unceasingly intercede for Israel. The subject upon which 1 . have been speaking to-day will be regarded by men in two exactly opposite ways. Thl ' selfish, careless, and indifferent will go ou ai before, and not trouble themselves about the matter. Those, however, who know what if is to believe in the forgiveness of their sins, who love their Saviour and long for His appearing, will gladly recognise the signs which ■ herald His approach, and more fervently than \ ever will cry to the faithful covenant-keeping God to hasten the time when Jerusalem shall be, according to His promise, " a praise ii \ the earth." . -i