root that speaks of being in the front. Jehush, "He shall gather," too, is an old name, (see chap. i. 35, and vii. 10)— this tribe being remarkable for clinging to past associations, as we find once more in Eliphelet, "My God delivers," occurring in chap. iii. 6, 8.

Ulam's sons, who are illustrious in the use of the bow, are the last spoken of. Now, it is specially to be observed that they are descendants of Jonathan, and that it is recorded of

Jonathan

"From the blood of the slain, from the fat of the mighty,

The bow of Jonathan turned not back."-2 SAM. i. 22.

Our attention is more fully directed in the Hebrew to" The Bow," which, being of steel, required to be bent by the foot being placed on it. These men are descendants of this great archer, and are themselves all noted for their skill in "treading the bow," (ver. 40), np 77-worthy descendants of him of whom David sang-worthy offspring of Jonathan the mighty archer.

"The bow of noble Jonathan

Great battles won;

His arrows in the mighty fed,
With slaughter red."

How interesting to discover some traces of David's lamentation having taken hold of the minds of Israel! It was on the occasion of Jonathan's death that the song of David over Saul and Jonathan was penned; and the introduction to it, in 2 Sam. i. 18, records, "Also he bade them teach the children of Judah the use of the bow." Benjamin, at all events, did learn " The Bow," whether or not Judah complied with the counsel of their king. And here, in one of our latest glimpses of Benjamin, we see their mighty men emulating Jonathan as archers. May we not suppose that that song of the Sweet Singer was often sung in the tents of Israel? When the men of Benjamin, in the days of Ezra and Nehemiah (the time when this genealogical record was drawn up), heard of their ancestors' skill and fame in the use of the bow, would they not revert also to David's song? Jonathan's name would be often in their mouths, Jonathan's character often before their eyes, Jonathan's faith much in their thoughts-all the more that the altered circumstances of returned exiles might give new point to the refrain of the memorable song of lamentation over Jonathan,

"How are the mighty fallen!

And the weapons of war perished!"

O Jonathan, thou didst not live in vain! Thou didst not

die forgotten! Israel to his latest hour shall think of thee; and by thee men shall learn true nobility; and in thee shall they see that saying fulfilled, "He that humbleth himself shall be exalted"-exalted even now on earth, exalted fully when the day of God has come, with all its resuscitation of past memories, and all its eternal recompence.

One other remark is suggested by the last of the names occurring in this list, which is itself the last of the genealogical records of the twelve tribes. This last name is Eliphelet,* My God delivers." Is it not a fit name wherewith to close these notices of the families of Israel? For what is the hope of the awakened sinner? It is "My God delivers!” What is the hope of the saint? It lies here, "My God delivers!" What is the hope of Israel in his present state, a people scattered and peeled? It lies here, "My God delivers!" What is the Church's hope in prospect of the dark days of the last tribulation? It is in this, "My God delivers!" What is earth's hope, the hope of Creation “made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who subjected the same?" Here it is; "My God delivers!" Yes, Eliphelet! Eliphelet! is our watchword, as we look upward for a coming Lord and coming glory. "Come forth out of thy royal chambers, O Prince of all the kings of the earth. Put on the visible robes of thy imperial majesty; take up that unlimited sceptre which thy Almighty Father hath bequeathed thee. For now the voice of Thy Bride calls Thee, and all creatures sigh to be redeemed."

Let this be our watchword evermore, "Eliphelet!" My God delivered me from going down to the pit, for He found a ransom; my God has delivered me from every death, and doth deliver (2 Cor. i. 10); my God will soon deliver me from every evil work, and preserve me unto His heavenly kingdom (2 Tim. iv. 18). "I have thought on it many a time," says Richard Baxter,† "as a small emblem of that day, when I have seen a prevailing army drawing towards the towns and castles of the enemy; oh, with what glad hearts do all the poor prisoners within hear the news, and behold their approach! How do they run up to their prison windows, and thence behold with joy! How glad are they at the roaring report of the cannon, which is the enemy's terror! How do they clap each

* The name Pelatiah (Ezek. xi. 13) is synonymous with Eliphelet, being "Jehovah delivers." Hengstenberg remarks that there is special allusion to the signification of his name when in Ezek. xi. 13 this man suddenly dies. It is q.d. Jehovah the deliverer has forsaken Israel.

+"Saint's Rest," Part I., ch. v., sect. 1.

other on the back, and cry, Deliverance! deliverance!' while, in the meantime, the late insulting, scorning, cruel enemies, begin to speak them fair, and beg their favour!—but all in vain; for they are not at the disposal of the prisoners, but of the general. Oh! when the conquering Son of the Tribe of Judah shall appear with all the hosts of heaven, what a change will the sight of His appearance work both with the world and with the saints!" Come, then, thou true Eliphelet, come quickly!

ART. II.-JEWISH THOUGHTS ON THE TIMES OF MESSIAH.* (Continued from page 150.)

EZEKIEL XX. 33—" As I live, saith the Lord God, with a wighty hand, and with a stretched-out arm, and with fury poured out, will I rule over you: and I will bring you out from the people, and I will gather you out of the countries wherein you are scattered; .. and I will bring you into the wilderness of the people, and there will I plead with you face to face; and I will purge out from among you the rebels, and them that transgress against me; . . . . and they shall not enter into the land of Israel: and ye shall know that I am the Lord. And in mine holy mountain, in the mountain of the height of Israel, there shall all the house of Israel serve me," &c. And when Ezekiel says, " And with fury poured out will I rule over you," while Isaiah declares (liv. 7) " for a small moment have I forsaken thee; but with great mercies will I gather thee," Isaiah means, that when Israel shall turn to the Lord, then will their redemption take place in great mercy and loving-kindness, even though the times fixed by the Lord had not yet arrived. Ezekiel, on the other hand, speaks only of what will take place if Israel does not repent in full sorrow of heart to the Lord. In that case, the redemption will not come till the appointed time, and with fury poured out-an event to which all the prophecies of Ezekiel refer. The above verses, however, can apply only to the one redemption, which is further proved by the words "there shall all the house of Israel serve me;" for in the second return from captivity only 42,360 Israelites returned to Palestine, (Ezra ii. 64.)

Again, chap. xxxiv. 22—“I will save my flock, and they shall be no more a prey. And I will set up one shepherd over them, and he shall feed them, even my servant

* Our readers will keep in mind that this article is from an unconverted Jew. His name was not exactly given in our last. It should be Katzenellenbogen.— EDITOR.

VOL. XIII.

David.

And I will make with them a covenant of peace, and will cause the evil beasts to cease out of the land. . . . And they shall no more be a prey unto the heathen, neither bear the shame of the heathen any more." No portion of this has yet been fulfilled.

Chap. xxxv. contains the prophecy on Edom and Mount Seir Thou shalt be desolate, O mount Seir, and all Idumea ;" but Mount Seir shall not remain a perpetual desolation, for, according to Obadiah, the house of Jacob shall have it for a possession.

Chap. xxxvi. 8-"But ye, O mountains of Israel, ye shall shoot forth your branches, and yield your fruit unto my people of Israel, for they are ready to come," (which R. Aba regards as the most visible proof of redemption.) Therefore those that compiled the prayers, placed the prayer for the fertility of the land before that for their redemption. "And I will multiply men upon you, neither will I cause to hear in thee the shame of the heathen any more." This, too, has not yet been fulfilled.

Chap. xxxvii. speaks of the resurrection from the dead, ver. 11-"Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel: behold, they say, Our bones are dried, and our hope is lost: we are cut off for our parts. Therefore prophecy and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord God, Behold, O my people, I will open your graves, and cause you to come out of your graves, and bring you into the land of Israel; and ye shall know that I am the Lord, when I have opened your graves, O my people, and brought you up out of your graves, and I shall put my spirit in you, and ye shall live; and I shall place you in your own land: then shall ye know that I the Lord have spoken it, and performed it, saith the Lord.”

We may infer from this objection, and from the two signs which the Lord gave to Ezekiel, that by the words, "our bones are dried," Israel expresses its unbelief in the resurrection. They further imply a doubt whether the ten tribes which had been dispersed would ever reunite with Israel. Without which the dominion of David would be but temporary, nor could the temple continue in glory for ever. Now, as the dominion of David had declined since the time when Ahijah the prophet rent the mantle into twelve pieces, and gave ten pieces to Jeroboam, as a sign that the unity of Israel was rent, so the children of Israel now exclaim, "Our hope is lost; we are cut off." In order to remove these doubts, the Lord gave Ezekiel two symbolical signs, viz., their unbelief in the resurrection by the resuscitation of the skeleton-their unbelief in the reunion of the ten tribes by the uniting of the two sticks, of which we

have an account in the same chapter. Moreover, thou son of man, take thee one stick, and write upon it, For Judah, and for the children of Israel his companions: then take another stick, and write upon it, For Joseph, the stick of Ephraim, and for all the house of Israel his companions: and join them one to another into one stick; and they shall become one in thine hand. And when the children of thy people speak to thee, saying, Wilt thou not shew us what thou meanest by these? say unto them, Thus saith the Lord God, Behold, I will take the stick of Joseph, which is in the hand of Ephraim, and the tribes of Israel his fellows, and will put them with him, even with the stick of Judah, and make them one stick, and they shall be one in mine hand. And the sticks whereon thou writest shall be in thine hand before their eyes. And say unto them, Thus saith the Lord God, Behold, I will take the children of Israel from among the heathen, whither they be gone, and will gather them on every side, and bring them unto their own land: and I will make them one nation in the land upon the mountains of Israel; and one king shall be king to them all; and they shall be no more two nations, neither shall they be divided into two kingdoms any more at all. . . And David my servant shall be king over them; and they all shall have one shepherd: they shall also walk in my judgments, and observe my statutes, and do them. And they shall dwell in the land, . . . they and their children, and their children's children, for ever: and my servant David shall be their prince for ever. And I will set my sanctuary in the midst of them for evermore. . . . And the heathen shall know that I the Lord do sanctify Israel, when my sanctuary shall be in the midst of them for evermore." This is the most assured prediction of the third temple, and of the future perpetual reign of David.

• . . .

Chap. xxxviii. contains the prophecy against Gog, the chief prince of Rosh, Meshech, and Tubal. "I will turn thee back" (make thee mad) "and put hooks into thy jaws, and I will bring thee forth, and all thine army, horses and horsemen, all of them clothed with all sorts of armour, even a great company with bucklers and shields, all of them handling swords." We must compare this with the prophecy against Gog, which is reiterated in the following chapter, (xxxix.,) which particularly says, "And will cause thee to come up from the north parts, and will bring thee upon the mountains of Israel," which agrees with the xii., xiii., xiv. of Zechariah, with this difference, that while they speak of the "besieged city of Jerusalem," Ezekiel alludes to the "mountains of Israel, which have long been desolate," but now "brought back from the sword."