FAITH STRENGTHENED.

earth, so have I sworn that I would not be wroth

with thee. For the mountains shall depart and the
hills be removed; but my kindness shall not depart
from thee, neither shall the covenant of my peace be
removed, saith the Lord that hath mercy on thee.”
Thus we find, ibid chap. lxii. 8, 9, c< The Lord hath
sworn by His right hand, and by the arm of His
strength: Surely, I will no more give thy corn to
be food for thine enemies, and the sons of the strangers
shall no more drink thy wine for which thou hast
laboured. But those that gather it shall eat it and
praise the Lord, and they that have brought it together
shall drink it in the courts of my holiness.” Sec also
Jeremiah xxxi. 35, 36, 37, “ Thus saith the Lord, who
giveth the sun for a light by day, and the ordinances of
the moon, and of the stars as a light by night, who
divideth the sea when the waves thereof roar: The Lord
of Hosts is His name. If those ordinances depart from
before me, saith the Lord, then the seed of Israel shall
also cease from being a nation before me for ever.
Thus saith the Lord, If the heavens above can be mea
sured, and the foundations of the earth searched out
beneath, I will also cast off the seed of Israel for all
that they have done, saith the Lord.” When our oppo
nent takes into consideration all these passages, how can
he maintain that the Almighty has cast off and disowned
Israel, and will no more vouchsafe to His people a re
demption from this captivity? Surely the restoration
will at last take place; then His anger will no more
visit us, 'then His loving-kindness and His covenant
of peace will no more be drawn from us, then lie
will no more cast us away, and no more deprive us of
establishment as a nation. Our past sins will then no
longer be remembered, but He will graciously pardon
all our former errors and transgressions. For Jeremiah
L
 2 FAITH
has, in the above prophecy, expressly announced in the
name of the Lord, 44 I will pardon their sins, and re
member their iniquity no more.” Neither can the
argument be founded on the words occurring in 2 Kings
xvii. 20, u And the Lord rejected all the seed of Israel,
and afflicted them, and He gave them into the hands of
spoilers, until He cast them out of His sight.” This
rejection and casting away is only a temporary punish
ment limited to the period of the captivity, but is not
final and perpetual; consequently it is not a dissolu
tion of the ancient covenant. See, on this, Leviticus
xxvi. 44, 44 And yet for all that, when they be in the
land of their enemies I will not cast them away, nor will
I abhor them to destroy them utterly, and to break my
covenant with them, for I am the Lord their God.”
The periods for their removal are fixed by the Almighty,
and only known to Him, who, by means of frequent
chastisements, desires to remove from them all that is
unbecoming and objectionable. See Isaiah i. 25, 44 And I
will turn my hand upon thee, and purely purge thy dross,
and remove all the base metal; and I will restore thy
judges as at first, and thy counsellors as at the begin ning;
afterwards thou slialt be called the City of Right eousness,
the faithful city/’ Similar to this prophecy are the
words of Ezekiel xxii. 15, 44 And I will scatter thee
among the heathen, and disperse them in the coun tries,
and will consume thy filthiness out of thee.” All this
tends to prove the object of our exile as solely to purify
us, to rid us of inherent imperfections, and to free us
from the pollution of our sins. Hence the pro phet, with a
view to our ultimate purification, says, in Lamentations iv.
22, 44 Thy iniquity, 0 daughter of Zion, is ended; He
shall no more cause thee to be a captive.” Now, we will
show that no argument can be established against us,
from the words of Jeremiah
 FAITH 14

xv. 1, 44 And the Lord said unto me, Though Moses and
Samuel stood before me, yet my mind would not be
toward this people; cast them out of my sight, and let
them go forth.”
These words were addressed to Jeremiah after the
Lord had charged him thrice not to intercede on behalf
of Judah and Benjamin, that they might be led into
captivity like the other ten tribes. For the Lord had
said to Jeremiah, chap. vii. 15 16, “And I will cast
you out of my sight as I have cast out all your brethren,
even the whole seed of Ephraim: therefore, pray not
thou for this people, neither lift up a cry or prayer for
them, neither make intercession to me, for I will not
hear thee.” Now the Lord explained to him the reason
why He would not listen to his intercessions, and he
says (in verse 17, 18), 44 Seest thou not what they do in
the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem?
The children gather wood, and the fathers kindle the
fire, and the women knead their dough, to make cakes
for the queen of heaven, and pour out drink offerings
unto other Gods that they may provoke me to anger.”
In the same book, chap. xi. 11, lie says, 44 Therefore,
thus saith the Lord, Behold, I will bring evil upon them,
from which they shall not be able to escape; and though
they shall cry unto me I will not hearken unto them.”
Also here the reason is pointed out why the Almighty
would refuse to grant his prayer (ibid v. 13), we find,
44 For according to the number of thy cities were thy

Gods, 0 Judah,” etc. And in the same chapter we

have a second warning of the Almighty that Jeremiah
should not intercede (Ibid. v. 14), 44 Therefore, pray not
for this people, nor offer up a cry or supplication for
them, for I will not hearken in the time that they cry
unto me in their trouble.” For how could the Almighty
he favourable to a petition for mercy while they con-
L2
 14 FAITH
tinued in the sin which caused the infliction: nor could
impenitent sinners find grace with Him. Hence the
words, Ibid., “ And they shall cry unto me, but I will
not hear them.” The imminent evil relates to sword,
pestilence, and famine. See chap, xiv., “For through
the sword, pestilence, and famine, I destroy them.”
When, therefore, Jeremiah perceived that the prayer
for the house of Judah was in vain, he prayed
(chap. xiv. 7), “0 Lord, though our iniquities testify
against us, do it for thy name’s sake.” The prophet
then concludes with the words, “We arc called by Thy
name; therefore, forsake us not.” Upon this follows the
reply of the Almighty: “ Thus saith the Lord unto this
people, Thus have they loved to wander, they have not
refrained their feet, wherefore the Lord doth not accept
them; He will now remember their iniquity and visit
their sins.” Hereby is meant—Since the Jews have
mistrusted me, and have preferred to seek their pro tection
among the Egyptians and the Assyrians, in order to
escape the danger of adversaries, and since the Jews have
not refrained from following profitless objects, I will
remove them and render them the captives of their enemies.
But, before I shall lead them into exile, 1 will remember their
iniquity by famine, and visit their sin by the sword and
by pestilence.
After having acquainted the prophet that his people
had no hope of deliverance from the evils decreed upon
them, the third injunction was given to Jeremiah not to
offer up a supplication for the deliverance of the people
(see Ibid. chap. xiv. 11, 12), “ Then said the Lord unto
me, Pray not for this people for their good; when they
fast I will not hear their cry, and when they offer burnt
offering and an oblation, 1 will not accept them, but I
will consume them by the sword, and by the famine, and
by the pestilence.” Here again, allusion is solely made
 FAITH 1
4
to their prayers coming from an impenitent heart, and
offered up during their perseverance in wickedness.
The present passage reminds us of the one in Isaiah
i. 15, 16, “ And when ye spread forth your hands, I
will hide mine eyes from you; yea, when ye make many
prayers I will not hear; your hands are full of blood;
make you clean; put away the evil of your doings from
before mine eyes; cease to do evil.” The verses we have
quoted demonstrate that favourable reception of prayers
is only denied so long as those evil deeds continue which
bring the punishment to pass, but the supplications
meet with grace when the supplicant renounces his sinful
conduct. The pious prophet Jeremiah seeing, then, that
his influence was insufficient among the unfortunate
transgressors^ppealed once more to the Almighty not to
reject them and not to abhor them, for the sake of His
holy name, since the Lord had been acknowledged on
earth as the God of Israel. He prayed also to the
Almighty not to suffer Jerusalem, known as the seat of
the glory of the Lord, to be reviled; moreover, not to
break His covenant made with the Israelites when he
brought them out of Egypt. Hence, he says in Jeremiah,
xiv. 21, u Do not abhor us for Thy name's sake, do not
disgrace the throne of Thy glory; remember us, and
break not Thy covenant with us.” Thereupon the Lord
replies, that the prayer of Jeremiah would not avail to
rescue the Israelites from the calamities of the evil
ordained for them on account of their iniquities; and
even if Moses and Samuel, who were superior prophets,
were to raise their voice in the behalf of the trans
gressors, to avert the punishment of the sword, pestilence,
and famine, their prayer wil not avail. To this Divine
resolve these words refer—44 Cast them out of my sight
(presence), and let them go forth And it shall come
to pass, if they say unto thee, Whither shall we go forth?
150 F^ITH STRENGTHENED.

then thou slialt tell them, Thus saith the Lord: Such as
are for death, to death; and such as are for the sword,
to the sword; and such as are for the famine, to the
famine; and such as are for the captivity, to the cap
tivity.” So that all instigators to sin -will meet with the
fatal sentence assigned for them, while those who have
been betrayed into sin will have to go into captivity,”
and save nothing but their lives. For the Lord desireth
not to exterminate them altogether. See Jeremiah v.
18, “ And even in those days I will not make an end of
you.” Nor were the prayers of Moses of any avail when
the Israelites first sinned in worshipping the golden
calf, nor on their giving way to the insinuations of the
spies sent from the desert to search the Land of Promise;
also when the instigators of sin were punished with
death, and the survivors who had yielded to the bad
example were visited with the merited punishment.
The intercession on behalf of the transgressors would
have proved fruitless unless the instigators had been first
removed by sword, pestilence, and famine. But as soon
as the necessary chastisement would be inflicted, and
the remaining sinners would have expiated their sins by
the miseries attending the exile, He will graciously
receive them at the epoch of the restoration, and although
they should not then be purified entirely from their
sins, He will have compassion on them for the sake of
His name, as is said in 1 Samuel xii. 22, “ For the Lord
will not forsake His people on account of His great
name, since the Lord has vouchsafed to make you His
people.” The same is said in Isaiah xlviii. 9, 10, 11,
“ 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 refine thee, but not with silver. I have chosen
thee in the furnace of affliction. For mine own sake,
even for mine own sake, will 1 do it, for why should my
 FAITH 15

name be polluted, and I will not give my glory unto

another.” The re-establishment of the Holy City is an
inducement to exalt us as His own people. See Isaiah
lxii. 1, “ For Zion’s sake, I will not delay, and for
Jerusalem’s sake I will not rest, until her righteousness
shall go forth like a bright light, and her salvation like
a brilliant flame.” Nor will the Almighty ever be
unmindful of the covenant made with our ancestors.
See Leviticus xxvi. 44, “And even in the land of their
enemies I will not reject them, nor rebuke them to con
sume them, and to destroy my covenant with them, for I
am the Lord their God.” This promise was subse
quently repeated in the prophecy of Ezekiel xvi. 60,
“ And I will remember my covenant made with thee in
the days of tjiy youth, and I will establish unto thee an
everlasting covenant.” Again, ibid. ver. 62, “ And I
will establish my covenant with thee, and thou shalt
know that I am the Lord, in order that thou mayest
remember me, and feel shame; but thou shalt open thy
mouth no more on account of any degradation of thine,
while I shall forgive thee for all thou hast done, saith the
Lord.” This last quotation clearly shews, that, although
we have rebelled in the eyes of the Lord, he, neverthe
less, will grant us forgiveness for His own sake, and for
the sake of His covenant.
The promised favour will not be 'withheld from us,
and we shall have passed through all our ordeals; we
shall, at the appointed time, be planted again on our soil
enjoying the perfect favour of the Almighty, and He
will fulfil the promise given in Jeremiah xxxii. 41,
“And I shall rejoice over them to do good unto them,
and I will in truth plant them in their land, with all iny
heart and with all my soul.” We have thus had an
opportunity to demonstrate that the threatened evils
will finally be counterbalanced and replaced by benefits.
 15 FAITH

CHAPTER XXVIII.

JeremiAH xxxi. 15, “Thus saith the Lord, A voice is

heard in Ramah, lamentation and bitter weeping,
Rachael is weeping for her children, refusing to be com
forted on account of her children, because they are not
to be found.”
The Christians adduce this passage as a prophecy
relating to their creed, and as if Jeremiah had here
predicted the slaying of the children in Bethlehem,
decreed by King Herod. For that king is said to have
learnt that in Bethlehem of Judah a child had been born
that was intended to be in future a king of the Jews,
and as he could not ascertain who the future pretender
was and where to be found, he ordered all the children
under the age of two years, in and about Bethlehem, to
be massacred. To this event the words quoted above
refer, as the reader will find by examining Matthew ii.
Refutation.—We have, on a former occasion, shown
that the Christians support the doctrine of their religion
by sentences dissevered from their contexts and con
nection, without regard to the concurrence of the entire
paragraph from which their quotations are taken. If,
according to their suppositions, Rachel, was weeping for
the ruthless slaughter committed among the children of
Bethlehem Judah, the question arises, why was not
Leah represented as the grieving mother, since it was
from her that those victims of the tyranny of Herod
were descended ? Another question arises: what con
nection has the bereavement there spoken of with the con
soling promises given by the Lord? (Jer.xxxi. 17), “And
they shall return from the land of their enemy, and the
children shall return to the boundary.” The follow
ing explanation of the passage will, however, produce
 FAITH 15

conviction : — The prophet speaks here allegorically.

The children alluded to here are the ten tribes in exile.
These ten tribes are comprised under the designation of
Ephraim (the tribe descended from Rachel); therefore
she is weeping for her children who are banished from
their country by the kings of Assyria. The ten tribes
were called Ephraim, because their first king, after
their defection from the king of Judah, was Jeroboam,
the son of Nebat, from the tribe of Ephraim. This is
confirmed by the prediction in Jeremiah vii. 15, “And
I shall cast you away from my presence, as I have cast
away all your brethren, the whole seed of Ephraim.”
The last Hebrew word in the verse cited in the
beginning of this chapter (Jer. xxxi. 15), is ijytf which,
in reality, dpes not mean they are not (to be found);
but he (oi’ it, is not to be found), because the singular
relates here to the word Dp (people), which is implied;
for when the tribes of Judah and Benjamin returned
from the Babylonian captivity, the ten tribes did not
return with them, nor was the place of their settlement
fully known; for this reason the whole number of the
missing children (or people) is expressed in the singular.
Alluding to the restoration of the whole people in the
days of the Messiah, the prophet Jeremiah continues, in
the name of God (ibid. xxxi. 16, 17), “ Refrain thy
voice from weeping, and thine eyes from tears, for thy
work shall be rewarded, saith the Lord. And they
shall come again from the land of their enemies. And
there is hope in thine end, saith the Lord, that thy chil
dren shall come again to their own border.” These verses,
which are all connected with one another, give the most
intelligible proof that the prophet did not allude to the
death of the children of his people, but to their disper sion.
By this interpretation we can make sense of the 18th
verse of the same chapter, “ 1 have heard
 15 FAITH

Ephraim lonely bemoaning himself thus: Thou hast

chastised me, yea, I was chastised as a young bullock
untrained to the yoke.” Again, ibid. ver. 20, “ Is
Ephraim my dear son, is he my darling child ” ? And
again, ibid. ver. 21, “ Set thee up waymarks, make unto
thee high heaps, set thine heart towards the highway,
even the way towards which thou wentest; turn again,
O Virgin of Israel, turn again towards thy cities.”
These words refer to the return of the captives of
Israel. The ultimate and complete return of the tribes
of Israel was also predicted by Ezekiel xxxvii. 19,
u Thus saith the Lord God, 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.” This chapter points
out the gathering of the ten tribes, and their re-union
with the tribes of Judah and Benjamin, as also their sub
ordination under one king in the days of the Messiah.
We have already, in a formei’ part of this work, noticed
that the restoration of the ten tribes was not intended
to happen at the return from the captivity of Babylon,
and that altogether only 42,000 went back to the Holy
Land.
Certain Christians have asserted that the name of
Israel, mentioned in particular parts of Scripture which
relate to the restoration, is restricted to the ten tribes;
but this is not true, for it is written, that Israel shall be
remembered by the tribe of Judah. See chap. xxx. 18,
“And I shall bring back the captivity of Jacob’s tents;”
and in the same book, chap, xxiii. 6, we find, “ In his
days shall Judah be saved and Israel shall dwell in
safety.” Amos ii., speaks first of the three transgres
sions of Israel, and then of those of Judah, meaning
by those of Israel, the ten tribes. But when the name,
 FAITH 15
Israel, alone occurs, it includes also the two tribes of
Judah and Benjamin, it being the collective name of
the whole people.

CHAPTER XXIX.

JeremiAH xxxi. 31, “ Behold the days come, and I will

make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with
the house of Judah.” The Christians assert that the
prophet Jeremiah here foretold the giving of a new law
for the people of Israel—viz., the Gospel of Jesus of
Nazareth.
Refutation.—Scripture does not allude here to the
substitution of a new law for the old one, but merely
the making of a new covenant, a covenant independent
of the law. Thus we find in the history of Pliineas
(Numbers xv. 12), “ Behold 1 give him my covenant
of peace.” The covenant thus made could not possibly
mean the emission of a new law intended for Pliineas
alone. In Leviticus xxvi. 42, we meet with a like men
tion of a covenant, “And I shall remember my covenant
with Jacob, my covenant with Isaac, and also my
covenant with Abraham will I remember,” etc. Prom
this mode of expression, nobody would venture to infer
that the Almighty gave a special law to each of the
patriarchs. Covenants also are made between man and
man. Thus we find, in Genesis xxi. 32, “ They two
[Abraham and Abimelech] made a covenant with each
other.” Returning now to the true sense of the verse
at the head of this chapter, we find that the Almighty
has reserved for Israel the bestowal of a new covenant
of protection when they shall be restored to their land,
a covenant which, unlike the former one, will never be
dissolved. On that account the prophecy continues (in
156 FAITII STRENGTHENED.

Jeremiah xxxi. 31 and following verses), that the

future covenant will not be according “ to the cove
nant I made with their fathers in the day that I
took them by the hand to bring them out of the
land of Egypt, which covenant they broke,” etc. After
this introduction, the prophet proceeds, “ But this
shall be the covenant that I will make with the
house of Israel; I will put my law in their inward
parts, and write it in their hearts, and will be their God,
and they shall be my people.” These quotations suffice
to show, that the Almighty had not intended to issue a
new law, but to impress His ancient divine law on their
hearts, that it never should be forgotten throughout all
time. The reader, on referring to chap, xix., will find
that we demonstrated there the perpetuity of the divine
law as it was given on Sinai; consequently the promul
gation of a new law supplanting the former cannot
possibly take place.

CHAPTER XXX.

HoseA ii. 11, “ And I will cause all her mirth to cease,
her feast days, her new moons, and her Sabbaths,
and all her solemn festivals.” From this passage the
Christians argued, that, on the coming of Jesus Christ,
the dispensation of the laws for keeping Sabbaths, new
moons, and festivals, was revoked, and the Lord found
no more any pleasure in Israel’s observance of those
days; as was declared in Isaiah i. 14,“ Your new moons
and your appointed seasons my soul hateth.”
Refutation.—The prophet here merely announces that
during the severe adversities resulting from the exile, the
rejoicing formerly attendant on the festive seasons, will
cease, and affliction come in its stead. This may be
seen on referring to the accompanying verses, and is
 FAITH 15

confirmed by the subsequent events. After the desola

tion of the temple, when the Israelites were prevented
from the due observance of their religion, the obligation
of the Sabbath and the enjoyments of the festivals
were forgotten. See Lamentations ii. 6, “ The Lord
has caused the solemn days and the Sabbaths to be for
gotten in Zion,” which took place because “ He hath
increased to the daughter of Judah, mourning and
lamentation.” Had it been the intention of the
prophets Isaiah and Hosea to predict the cessation of
the Sabbaths and festivals, how could they and later
prophets so emphatically urge the strict observance of
these solemn days? See for instance, Isaiah lvi: Nor
does it follow from the expression, “ Your new moons
and your appointed festivals my soul hateth,” that the
Almighty was weary of the sacred observances, and
desired to have them abrogated; but it is obvious, that
the evil-doers of that period assembled at the sanctuary
for idolatrous purposes. Their celebration of the Sab
baths and festivals could not be acceptable while they
worshipped idols, and not the true, Divine Being, as
appears from the context of the first chapter of Isaiah.
Were the Christian interpretation true, that the abo
lition of the sacred days is expressed in the first chapter
of Isaiah why then, does the very same book conclude
with the following prophecy which is to be fulfilled at
the coming of the Messiah? “And it shall come to
pass that from one Sabbath to another, and from one
new moon to another, all flesh shall come to bow down
before Me, saith the Lord.” In like manner, Zecha riah
prophesied in the last chapter of his book, ver. 16, “
And it shall come to pass, that every one who is left of
all the nations which came up against Jerusalem, shall
even go up from year to year to worship the King, the
Lord of Hosts, and to keep the feast of tabernacles.”
 1 FAITH
This shows that the festivals are to continue even at the
time of the Messiah, when not only the Jews, but also
the Gentiles then in existence, will solemnly observe the
days of Holy Convocation, We have, moreover, to refer
the reader to the nineteenth chapter of this work, where
we remarked that even Jesus and his disciples held the
Sabbath holy, and that, only several centuries after his
death, a pope ordered the first day of the week instead
of the seventh to be kept as the day of rest. Thus we
prove that this innovation runs counter to the very
doctrines inculcated by Jesus.

CHAPTER XXXI.

Amos ii. 6, “ Thus saith the Lord, For three transgres sions
of Israel, and for four I will not turn away the punishment
thereof ; because they sold the righteous and the poor
for the value of a pair of shoes?’
Some Christian writers have attributed this prophecy
to the fate of Jesus, who was sold for thirty pieces of
silver; and they have asserted that the fourth trans
gression being the sale of their righteous One will never
be pardoned to Israel, and the consequence of this sin
has been our present captivity.
Refutation.—The interpretation betrays a want of
due appreciation of the connecting sentences, and the
parallel sayings by other prophets. The above verse
means, that a casual concurrence of the three crimes—
idolatry, incest, and homicide—was not the primary
cause of Israel’s expulsion from the Holy Land, but the
chief cause was the universal depravity that prevailed
throughout the nation, of which the mercenary leaders of
the people gave the iniquitous example. The prophet
Amos says, therefore (chap. v. 12), “ They persecute
the just, they take a bribe, and oppress the poor in the
 FAITH 15
gate.” The word pHtf (righteous) used there has no
reference to the man who leads a godly life, but only to
the man whose cause is unimpeachable before the tri
bunal of justice, and in whose favour the sentence of the
judges ought to be given. The word here is of
the same signification as in Exodus xxiii. 8, where it
is said, that the bribe given to the judge, “ perverteth
the words of the righteous.” The expression, “ for they
oppress the needy for a pair of shoes,” means, that the
judge, for the most insignificant bribe, turns the scale of
justice, and deprives the poor hapless man of his right,
by pronouncing in favour of the guilty who offers the
bribe. The prophet also inveighs against rich sinners.
Amos viii. 4, “ Hear this, 0 ye who swallow up the
needy, even to make the poor of the land to fail, saying,
When will the new moon be gone that we may sell the
corn, and the Sabbath that we may set forth wheat,
making the ephah small and the shekel great, and falsify
ing the balances of deceit: that we may buy the poor
for ourselves, and the needy for a pair of shoes, yea, and
sell the refuse of the wheat?” This passage is, in word
ing and sense, closely related to that of chap, ii., and
both convey the idea of an iniquitous proceeding in
buying and selling. We notice, in the above quo
tation, that thenew moon was then more strictly
observed, and ordinary pursuits were suspended, and,
judging from the admonitions of the prophets, it
would appear that theyindulged in convivial and
social entertainments. Compare with this 1 Sam. xx. 5,
beginning with “ To-morrow is new moon,” and the
second book of Kings ii. 4, “ Why goest thou to-day to
him [to the prophet], since it is neither new moon, nor
Sabbath;” as the injustice described in the Book of
Amos relates merely to the mercenary conduct of the
superiors in legal decisions, and to the grovelling dispo
 I FAITH
sition of buyers and sellers in their several dealings, it
must be deemed utterly futile to construe those words of
Amos as alluding to the history of their Saviour. Be
sides, if the prophet had intended to make any allusion
to Jesus, he ought to have ascribed the transgression to
the tribes of Judah and Benjamin, who alone resided in
the Iloly Land in the days of Jesus, while the ten tribes
were scattered among their enemies, and could take no
part whatever in the proceedings agaihst Jesus.
Nor can it be asserted that the expression, “ And for
the fourth transgression will not turn aside the punish
ment thereof,” conveys the announcement, that Israel
will never be pardoned for the sale of Jesus, for we find
the very same mode of expression applied to the trans
gressions of Damascus, Gaza, Tyre, Edom, etc., who
had no concern whatever in the sale of Jesus. When
we read Scripture with proper attention we arrive at the
very opposite conviction to the opinion of the Chris
tians respecting our eternal condemnation. See, for in
stance, the following passages: Psalm exxx. 8, u And
He will redeem Israel from all their sins.” Jeremiah
xxxiii. 8, “ And I will cleanse them from all their ini
quities which they committed against me, and I will
pardon all their iniquities with which they sinned and
rebelled against me.” In the same book (chap. 1. 20)
we read, “ In those days and at that time, saith the
Lord, the iniquity of Israel shall be sought for, and not
be seen; and the sins of Judah, and they shall not be
found; for I shall forgive all whom I shall cause to re
main.”

CHAPTER XXXIII.

Amos v. 2. “ The virgin of Israel is fallen : she shall no

more rise; she is forsaken upon her land ; there are none
 FAITH 16

to raise her up.” From this verse it has been argued,

that the downfall of Israel is determined for ever, that
our captivity will never terminate, and that we have no
chance of redemption.
Refutation.—It appears from other words of the same
prophet that this prediction does not relate to the per
petual condemnation of Israel; for he says, at the close
of his book (chap. ix. 14, 15), “ And I will bring back
the captivity of my people Israel, and they shall build
the waste cities, and inhabit them, and they shall plant
vineyards and drink the wine thereof, and they shall
also make gardens and gather fruit of them. And I
will plant them upon their land, and they shall no more
be rooted out of their land which I have given them,
saith the Lord thy God.” Since a contradiction in the
prophetic promises cannot be admitted, the above pas
sages can only be explained in the following manner.
The prophet, after having related the evils which await
Israel on account of their iniquitous conduct, reproaches
them in chap. iv. 6, of the same book, five successive times,
“ And ye have not returned unto me, saith the Lord.”
He continues, in the same chapter 12, “ Thus 1 will do
unto thee, 0 Israel! and because 1 will do this unto
thee, prepare to meet thy God, 0 Israel”! which implies,
penitence and good deeds; for then He will do good
unto thee and change thy sufferings into happiness, for
lie is thy God who dispenses evil and good according to
your doings.” In order to represent Him to the mind
as the universal Disposer of Events, the prophet goes on
to say (Ibid. iv. 13), “For lo! lie that formeth the
mountains, and creatcth the wind, and declarcth His
purposes unto man, that changes the morning into dark
ness, and treadeth upon the high places of the earth, the
Lord, the God of Hosts, is His name.’’ As Creator of
the world He is cognizant of everything, He is the
M
 1G2 FAITH STRENGTHENED.

Maintainer and Supporter of all things, the most dis

tant events lie inspects clearly; and lie, through His
. prophets, acquaints man with His designs. As He makes
light and darkness alternate for the benefit of His
creatures, He makes also the good and the evil to effect
His will among the children of men. Thus He is to be
worshipped under the name of God of Hosts as the
God of the whole Universe. Thus He does, as Supreme
Judge, dispose us to submit to His decrees; and
although we may occasionally suffer in consequence
of our errors and failings, we still feel that His protec-
sion extends over us in strict accordance with His
goodness. This idea is conveyed by the whole tenor of
the fourth chapter of the book of Amos, and forms an
appropriate introduction to chap. v. which begins thus,
“ Hear ye the word which I take up against you, even
a lamentation, 0 house of Israel! The virgin of Israel
is fallen ; she shall no more rise,” etc. He speaks here
of the virgin of Israel, and announces that the physical
energies of the people are exhausted by the tyranny of
strangers and by the loss of those sent into exile; their
own kings and rulers had no longer power to effect the
repentance required, and therefore a Divine intervention
was necessary to accomplish their restoration. The
prophet therefore, Ibid. v. 3, brings the sad message,—
“ For thus saith the Lord, The city that went out by a
thousand shall leave a hundred, and that ■which went
forth by a hundred shall leave ten to the house of
Israel.” According to the prophet, the calamities con
tingent on the fall of Israel would be fearful, for they
would be cast down by the sword, or decimated by
famine and pestilence, and only a small portion would
be spared for the captivity. Against such national
prostration the prophet points out the sole remedy, con
sisting in sincere repentance. The terrifying announce
 FAITII 1

ment of Israel’s destruction is, therefore, entirely miti

gated by the Divine counsel, Amos v. 4, “ Thus saith
the Lord unto Israel, Seek ye me, and ye shall live.”
It is well understood that the term to seek, means to
become penitent. Isaiah, in lv. G, 7, uses a similar
expression, a Seek ye the Lord, while he is yet to be
found.” He explains there his admonition by saying,
“ The wicked man shall leave his way, and the iniquitous
man his thoughts, and return unto the Lord, and He
will have compassion on him.” This shows that the
prophet Amos has not predicted the irretrievable ruin
of Israel, but that it may hope to obtain, through
penitence, its restoration and revival, as a nation.

CHAPTER XXXIII.

MiCAH v. 2, “ But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though

thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of
thee shall come forth unto me a ruler in Israel, whose
goings forth have been from everlasting.” This verse
has been designated by the Christians as confirming their
faith; and they assert that the prophet meant to say that
their Messiah would be born at Bethlehem, and they
declare that it is impossible for Israel to expect that the
Messiah will be born there, seeing that the city of
Bethlehem has already been destroyed.
Refutation.—For three reasons it is impossible to
vindicate this prophecy in favour of Jesus, setting aside
the numerous other unsubstantial arguments they allege
to prove that he was the true Messiah. First,—The
above scriptural passage has no special allusion to
him. The birth of Jesus in Bethlehem does not
entitle him to the claim of being the Messiah, for
hundreds and thousands of children were born at
Bethlehem, and that casualty did not constitute
M2
 16 FAITH
them Messiahs. Secondly,—We read there, “ From
thee shall come forth unto me a ruler.” Now, as to
Jesus of Nazareth, he was by no means a ruler. On
the contrary, the people ruled over him, as is evinced
by the mode of his death. Thirdly,—It is not said that
Bethlehem would be the birth-place of the Messiah, for
we find that the prophet adds there, “ And his going
forth shall be of olden times.” But the sense of the
verse is this: Thou Bethlehem, although one of the
minor localities among the cities of Judah, from thee a
man shall come forth (?. e., trace his descent back to
thee), who shall be a ruler in Israel, and that same man
will be the King Messiah who will be a descendant of
David who came from Bethlehem. See 1 Sam. xvii. 12,
where he is termed “ The son of an Eph rathite from
Bethlehem Judah.” The words “since olden
times,” relate to the great space of time
elapsed between the reign of David and the coming of
the Messiah. We must also call the attention of the reader
to the chapter preceding and the passages following the
verse on which we are treating, and it will then be
perceived that the whole prophecy is applied to the
terrific convul sions predicted to happen at the epoch
of the “latter days.” In connection with this prophecy
must be read the announcements of Ezekiel xxxviii. and
xxxix., and Zechariah xiv.: We must not be deterred
from the adoption of this interpretation by the frequent
recur rence in Amos iv. of the particle which, by its
significa tion “And now,” may be considered to indicate,
that the subject of the prophecy is close at hand, for
we frequently find the same HHV (now) is used merely to
make an event present to the imagination, which event
may, nevertheless, be exceedingly remote from its actual
fulfilment.
See, for instance,.Isaiah xliii. 19, “ Behold I am doing
 FAITH 1

a new tiling, now it shall spring forth.” This prophecy-

treated of an event to be fulfilled long after the time in
which the prophet lived, ibid. xlix. 19: “ For now thou
[0 land] art straightened, and without inhabitants, but
those who swallow thee up are yet far away.” See also
Ezekiel xxxix. 25, “ Now I shall bring back the cap
tivity of Jacob, and have mercy upon all the house of
Israel.” And ibid, xliii. 9, “ Now they shall remove
from me their lewdness and the carcasses of their kings.”
Thus we have also an allusion to the days of the Messiah
in Micah v. 4, u For now be shall be magnified to the
ends of the earth.” In the same sense must be viewed
the concluding words of chap. iv. (in the English ver
sion ver. I of chap, v.), “ Now gather thyself in troops,
0 daughter of troops, He hath laid siege against us.
With a rod they shall smite the cheek, even Him who is
the Judge of Israel.” The last words arc borne out by
Zechariah xiv. 2, “ And half of the city shall go into
captivity.” For then the judges and leaders of the
people will be exposed to the most mortifying humilia
tion, in order to purify the remnant of Israel by the
trials of persecution. See ibid. xiii. 9, “ And 1 shall
bring the third part into the fire, and I shall purify
them as silver is purified, and try them as gold is tried ?
etc.” Having now shown that the verse cited at the
commencement of the chapter must be interpreted in
connection with the preceding passages, we will discuss
it in relation to the subsequent verses. We have in
Micah v. 3, “ Therefore, lie will give them up until the
time that she who travaileth has given birth.” The
meaning of this verse is, that Israel, compared with a
woman in the pain of labour, shall suffer until the
period of the delivery (z. <?., redemption), and ultimately
obtain the looked-for consolation. In like terms, says
Jeremiah, in chap. xxx. 7, “ And it is a time of trouble
 16 FAITH
for Israel, and it shall be delivered therefrom.” Thus
says also Daniel in chap. xii. 1, of his book, 44 And it
shall be a time such as never had been since it became
a nation, and at this time thy people shall be rescued.”
The words in Micah v. 3, 44 And the remnant of his
brethren shall return with the children of Israel,” mean
the remnant of the brethren of the Messiah—viz., the
children of Judah and Benjamin who are scattered
among the nations, shall return to their own land,
together with the ten tribes of Israel. The word Sp hi
this verse has the same signification as Dp meaning
together with. In the same sense it occurs in Exodus
xxxv. 22, 44 And the men came together with the woman.’’
This prophecy of Micah is identical with that given in
Hosea ii., 44 And the children of Judah and the children of
Israel shall assemble together, and they shall make unto
them a chief, and go up from the land.” Returning again
to Micah v. 4, we further read, 44 And he shall stand and
feed in the strength of the Lord,’" etc. This must natu
rally be attributed to the King Messiah, who will be
endowed with extraordinary powers. Then 44 they
shall abide/’ which means they shall then continue in
the land in undisturbed peace. With this we compare
chap. iv. 4, 44 And every man shall abide under his vine
tree, and under his fig tree, and none shall make him
afraid,” for the awe of the Messiah shall prevail through
out the whole earth. The following words in Micah v. 5,
44 And this shall be the time of peace, when Ashur

(?. r., Assyria) shall come into our land,” arc equivalent
to the words in Zechariah ix. 13, 44 And he shall speak
of peace to the nations.” Ashur represents the enemy
who brought terror into our country: such enemies
shall, in the times of the Messiah, be utterly impotent.
44 We shall set up near him seven shepherds and eight

principal men.” The rendering of 44 by or near

 FAITH 1

him,” is justified by the occurrence of the same Hebrew

word in that verse in Numbers ii. 20, “ And near him,
or together with him, in the tribe of Manasseli.”
The words shepherds and principal men (or princes of
men) relate to the leaders who will be appointed by
the King Messiah. The numbers “ seven and eight
must be taken as indefinite signs of number, meaning
only many, as we find in Ecclesiates,<c Give a portion unto
seven and also unto eight.” The word shepherds (i. e.,
pastors) is synonymous with principal men (or, literally,
princes of men), and means therefore overseers of the
people. Micah, chap. v. 5, 6, continues, “ And they
shall lay waste the land of Asliur with the sword.”
The word (and they lay waste) occurs in the
same sense ifi Jeremiah xi. 1G, “And they shall break
his branches”; and Ibid. ii. 1G, “And they shall break
the crown of thy head.” Micah then speaks of the
land of Nimrod, which was Babel, as is clear from
Genesis x. 10, “ And the beginning of his kingdom
was Babel.” Thus the Messiah shall deliver us from
the Assyrians when they come into our land, and when
they break in upon our borders. The King Messiah will
rescue us from the power of arbitrary tyrants, so that
we shall no more be molested by invading enemies.
Asliur and Babel are selected by Micah as examples of
Israel’s enemies, because those two powers destroyed
the Holy Land. The prophet then gives the consolation,
Micah v. 7, “ And the remnant of Jacob shall be in the
midst of many nations as dew from the Lord, as the
showers upon the grass, that tarrieth not for man, nor
waiteth for the Son of Man.” This verse means that
those who escape the tyranny of the enemies shall be
placed under the special protection of the Almighty,
and no human power shall prevail against the remnant
of Israel. As the descent of dew is beyond human in
fluence, so Israel shall be beyond the reach of human
 16 FAITH
influence. The prophet then introduces a second com
parison and says, “ And the remnant of Jacob shall be
among the Gentiles in the midst of many people, as a
lion among the beasts of the forest.” Israel is thereby
compared with the most powerful creature unto which
all other animals are inferior, and therefore he resumes,
Micah v. 9, “ Thine hand shall be exalted above thine
adversaries, and all thine enemies shall be cut off.”
This prophecy is in connection with the following:
Micah v. 10, “ And I will cut off thy horses out of the
midst of thee, and I will destroy thy chariots, and I
will cut off the cities of thy land, and throw down all
thy strongholds.” For at that period Israel will attain
a supremacy which will render war needless, and all
hostile preparation will be superseded by universal
peace. Hence Zechariah says, chap. ii. 4, “And Jeru
salem shall be inhabited as a town without walls.”
The whole tendency of the prophecies we have now
treated on, shows evidently that unfulfilled events are
spoken of relating to the time of our Messiah when we
shall be gathered together to the Holy Land, and when,
after the overthrow of the opposing powers, universal
peace shall reign on earth. No man can argue that
those promises were fulfilled by Jesus of Nazareth, or
his disciples. For the founders of the Christian religion
passed their lives in unmitigated trouble, nor can it be
asserted that an allusion to the Eternal God is implied
by, “ And his coming forth is from ancient time from
the days of old.” We cannot possibly attribute to the
Infinite Being a “coining forth”; moreover, we shall
have occasion to show, from our refutation of the
Gospels, the total impropriety of giving Jesus the title
of God, and from what we have advanced hitherto, it is
quite evident that Jesus was just as far from being a
Messiah, as he was from being a Divinity.
 FAITH STRENGTHENED 169

CHAPTER XXXIV.

IIAGGAi ii. 9, “ The glory of this latter house shall be

greater than that of the former, saith the Lord of Hosts,
and in this place will I give peace, saith the Lord of
Hosts.” Christians have raised the question, In what
did the glory of the latter house consist, seeing that the
Jews, during the time of the first temple, were indepen
dent, and during that of the second temple they were
vassals of the Persians, Syrians, and Romans, the last
of whom ultimately destroyed the temple and banished
the Jews. They therefore interpret it to signify that the
existence of Jesus, during the time of the second temple,
constituted its glory.
Refutation.—The word *1^2 (glory) has two signifi cations.
In the first place, it means worldly distinction and
opulence. In this meaning, we find it in Genesis
xxxi. 1 : “ And from what belongeth unto our father,
he has gotten all this HDDH (wealth).” The same is
meant in Proverbs iii. 16, “ In his left hand are riches
and glory.” In the second sense, *TQ3 means the real
or spiritual distinction. For instance, in 1 Samuel iv. 21,
we have “ the glory hath departed from Israel.” See
also Psalm lxxxv. 9, “ That glory may dwell in our
land”; and Zechariah ii. 5, “And for glory I shall be
in the midst of her.” Some commentators have assigned
this second sense to the passage under consideration,
and they say that the superior glory of the second
temple consisted in the entire absence of idolatry; some
have said that the word relates to the first or fic
titious kind of glory, because Herod is said to have
decorated the temple in the most gorgeous style. But
such an interpretation is set aside by the non-fulfilment
of Haggai’s prophecy (chap. ii. 9), “ And in that place
 1 FAITH
will I give peace, saitli the Lord of Hosts.’’ For during
the existence of the second temple no peace reigned in
the land; but according to Daniel, “ the street and the
entrenchment were to be built amidst the troubles of the
times.” Much less can it be said that the glory of the
temple was reserved for the days of Herod, for from his
house contention never departed, and after his death suf
ferings never ceased with the Jews, until their final over
throw. Nor can we admit that the glory of the second temple
consisted in its longer duration—a point discussed in the
Talmud (Baba Batlira), for Scripture makes no mention
of the glory being attributable to the length of the time
during which the temple was constructed or lasted.
And even if the duration of the second temple had ex
ceeded by double the time that of the first temple, the
word glory could not have been assigned to this distinc
tion. Besides this, we must also notice that the peace
promised to reign in the latter times, did by no means
prevail during the existence of the second temple. The
real object of the prophecy under consideration is to
show, that the human labour displayed in rearing the
second temple was esteemed but insignificant by the
Almighty, for the prophet announces a complete change
of heaven and earth. See ibid. ii. G, “For thus saitli
the Lord of Hosts, There is one thing yet which is a
little matter with me, that I shake the heavens and the
earth, and the sea and the dry land.” Then also will
the prophecy be fulfilled, “ and the valuable things of
all nations shall come” (as contributions to the glory of
the house of God). Hitherto such an event has not
yet come to pass; but it will take place when all the
nations of the earth, who arc adverse to the Jews (and
who arc termed in Scripture, Gog and Magog), shall be
subjugated and pacified. Sec Ezekiel xxxviii. 19, 20,
“ In my jealousy, and in the fire of my wrath have 1