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4. Can any one believe that the following predictions from Isaiah, Zachariah, and Malachi, have yet been accomplished?

"Enlarge the place of thy tent, and let them stretch forth the curtains of thine habitations: spare not, lengthen thy cords, and strengthen thy stakes: for thou shalt break forth on the right hand and on the left; and thy seed shall inherit the Gentiles, and make the desolate cities to be inhabited. Fear not; for thou shalt not be ashamed: neither be thou confounded; for thou shalt not be put to shame: for thou shalt forget the shame of thy youth, and shalt not remember the reproach of thy widowhood any more. For thy Maker is thine husband; the Lord of hosts is his name, and thy Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel; the God of the whole earth shall he be called. For the Lord hath called thee as a woman forsaken and grieved in spirit, and a wife of youth, when thou wast refused, saith thy God. For a small moment have I forsaken thee; but with great mercies will I gather thee. In a little wrath I hid my face from thee for a moment; but with everlasting kindness will I have mercy on thee, saith the Lord thy Redeemer. For this is as the waters of Noah unto me: for as I have sworn that the waters of Noah should no more go over the earth; so have I sworn that I would not be wroth with thee, nor rebuke 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." Isa. liv. "Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee. For, behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the people: but the Lord shall arise upon thee, and his glory shall be seen upon thee. And the Gentiles shall come to thy light, and kings to the brightness of thy rising. Lift up thine eyes round about, and see: all they gather themselves together, they come to thee: thy sons shall come from far, and thy daughters shall be nursed at thy side. Then thou shalt see, and flow together, and thine heart shall fear, and be enlarged; because the abundance of the sea shall be converted unto thee, the forces of the Gentiles shall come unto thee. The multitude of camels shall cover thee, and the dromedaries of Midian and Ephah; all they from Sheba shall come: they shall bring gold and incense; and they shall show forth the praises of the Lord. All the flocks of Kedar shall be gathered together unto thee, the rams of Nebaioth shall minister unto thee: they shall come up with acceptance on mine altar, and I will glorify the house of my glory. Who are these that fly as a cloud, and as the doves to their windows? Surely the isles shall wait for me, and the ships of Tarshish first, to bring thy sons from far, their silver and their gold with them, unto the name of the Lord thy God, and to the Holy One of Israel, because he hath glorified thee. And the sons of strangers shall build up thy walls, and their kings shall minister unto thee: for in my wrath I smote thee, but in my favor have I had mercy on thee. Therefore thy gates shall be open continually: they shall not be shut day nor night; that men may bring unto thee the forces of the Gentiles, and that their kings may be brought. For the nation and kingdom

that will not serve thee shall perish; yea, these nations shall be utterly wasted. The glory of Lebanon shall come unto thee, the fir-tree, the pine tree, and the box together, to beautify the place of my sanctuary; and I will make the place of my feet glorious. The sons also of them that afflicted thee shall come bending unto thee; and all they that despised thee shall bow themselves down at the soles of thy feet; and they shall call thee, The city of the Lord, The Zior of the Holy One of Israel. Whereas thou hast been forsaken and hated, so that no man went through thee, I will make thee an eternal excellency, a joy of many generations. Thou shalt also suck the milk of the Gentiles, and shalt suck the breasts of kings: and thou shalt know that I the Lord am thy Saviour and thy Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob." Isai. lx.

"And the Gentiles shall see thy righteousness, and all kings thy glory: and thou shalt be called by a new name, which the mouth of the Lord shall name. Thou shalt also be a crown of glory in the hand of the Lord, and a royal diadem in the hand of thy God. Thou shalt no more be termed Forsaken: neither shall thy land any more be termed Desolate; but thou shalt be called Hephzibah, and thy land Beulah: for the Lord delighteth in thee, and thy land shall be married. For as a young man marrieth a virgin, so shall thy sons marry thee: and as the bridegroom rejoiceth over the bride, so shall thy God rejoice over thee." Isai. lxii.

"For, behold, I create new heavens, and a new earth: and the former shall not be remembered, nor come into mind. But be ye glad and rejoice forever in that which I create: for, behold, I create Jerusalem a rejoicing, and her people a joy. And I will rejoice in Jerusalem, and joy in my people: and the voice of weeping shall be no more heard in her, nor the voice of crying. There shall be no more hence an infant of days, nor an old man that hath not filled his days: for the child shall die an hundred years old; but the sinner, being an hundred years old, shall be accursed. And they shall build houses, and inhabit them; and they shall plant vineyards, and eat the fruit of them. They shall not build, and another inhabit; they shall not plant, and another eat: for as the days of a tree are the days of my people, and mine elect shall long enjoy the work of their hands. They shall not labor in vain, nor bring forth for trouble: for they are the seed of the blessed of the Lord, and their offspring with them. And it shall come to pass, that before they call, I will answer: and whiles they are yet speaking, I will hear. The wolf and the lamb shall feed together, and the lion shall eat straw like the bullock: and dust shall be the serpent's meat. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain, saith the Lord." Isai. lxv.

"Rejoice ye with Jerusalem, and be glad with her, all ye that love her: rejoice for joy with her, all ye that mourn for her: that ye may suck, and be satisfied with the breasts of her consolations; that ye may milk out, and be delighted with the abundance of her glory. For thus saith the Lord, Behold, I will extend peace to her like a river, and the glory of the Gentiles like a flowing stream: then shall ye suck, ye shall be borne upon her sides. and be dandled upon her knees. And they shall bring all your brethren for an offering unto the Lord, out of all nations, upon horses, and in chariots, and in litters, and upon mules,

and upon swift beasts, to my holy mountain Jerusalem, saith the Lord, as the children of Israel bring an offering in a clean vessel into the house of the Lord. And I will also take of them for priests and for Levites, saith the Lord. For as the new heavens and the new earth, which I will make, shall remain before me, saith the Lord, so shall your seed and your name remain. And it shall come to pass, that from one new moon to another, and from one Sabbath to another, shall all flesh come to worship before me, saith the Lord. And they shall go forth, and look upon the carcases of the men that have transgressed against me; for their worm shall not die, neither shall their fire be quenched; and they shall be an abhorring unto all flesh." Isai. lxvi.

"And the Lord shall be king over all the earth: in that day shall there be one Lord, and his name one. And it shall come to pass, that every one that is left of all the nations which came against Jerusalem, shall even go up from year to year to worship the King, the Lord of hosts, and to keep the feast of the tabernacles. And it shall be, that whoso will not come up of all the families of the earth unto Jerusalem to worship the King, the Lord of hosts, even upon them shall be no rain. And if the family of Egypt go not up, and come not, that have no rain, there shall be the plague wherewith the Lord will smite the heathen, that come not up to keep the feast of tabernacles. This shall be the punishment of Egypt, and the punishment of all the nations that come not up to keep the feast of tabernacles. In that day shall there be upon the bells of the horses, HOLINESS UNTO THE LORD; and the pots in the Lord's house shall be like the bowls before the altar. Yea, every pot in Jerusalem, and in Judah, shall be Holiness unto the Lord of hosts: and all they that sacrifice shall come and take of them, and seethe therein: and in that day there shall be no more the Canaanite in the house of the Lord of hosts." Zech. xiv.

"For from the rising of the sun even unto the going down of the same, my name shall be great among the Gentiles; and in every place incense shall be offered unto my name, and a pure offering: for my name shall be great among the heathen, saith the Lord of hosts."Malachi i. 11.

Have these promises been fulfilled? If not, how can they be fulfilled, if so be, the world comes to an end next year? Do not all these predictions and prophecies intimate the continuance of the present conditions of human nature as respects the continuance of the system of nature? A. C.

FAMILY CULTURE.

CONVERSATIONS AT THE CARLTON HOUSE.-No. XXXI.

Olympas. Our Lord stood up to read, and sat down to teach. He returned the book to the minister of the synagogue, and tendered his comments to the audience. All seem delighted with his comments; but the question, "Is not this Joseph's son," seems to change the topic

and lead to a serious issue. Why, Thomas, did our Lord stand up to read, and sit down to teach?

Thomas. Men rise in honor of each other, and standing up to read God's Book is in good keeping with that idea. No greater honor can be done the Bible in a public assembly than to stand up and read it. Eliza. And why not stand up and listen to it?

Robert. I heard of one congregation who always stood up while the regular readings of the scriptures was going on; and they were the most pious congregation in all the country.

Olympas. It was a very striking proof of their piety. I have no doubt it would promote the piety of every congregation to stand up, as the Jews did to hear Ezra the Scribe read from noon to even the words of God's law. What sort of reader and teacher was Jesus, think you, Reuben?

Reuben. He was the most popular reader and speaker in all Judea. Olympas. Where is your proof?

Reuben. God's Spirit is the spirit of wisdom, knowledge, and eloquence. Now this being admitted, my conclusion is evident: for we are told that "Jesus returned in the power of the spirit to Galilee."The consequence was, there went out a fame of him all round about. We are told that "he taught in their synagogues with universal applause," or, as in our common Testament, "And he taught in their synagogues, being glorified of all." Could it be otherwise when he returned into Galilee from his baptism in the power of the Spirit?

Eliza. His temptation, fasting, prayer, as well as his baptism, prepared the way of his fame.

Olympas. His mature age also helped much. Men always gain power at the expense of time, and lose power by gaining time. He was thirty years old, well educated by a pious mother, taught to read early, early taken to the temple and the synagogue, was baptized, received the Holy Spirit, and had spent much time in meditation, selfdiscipline and government, and was in his peculiar manner an orator and teacher never equalled. His enemies were constrained to say, "Never man spake like this man."

Thomas. But in Nazareth he had not the proper honor. A prophet never had equal honor in his own vicinity or amongst his relations.— They implied something very inacceptable to the Saviour in these words "Is not this Joseph's son?" What could it mean?

Olympus. What think you, Reuben?

Reuben. It was disparaging his humble birth. The carpenter's son! Whence has he all this learning and eloquence!

Thomas. Might it not indicate that as he lived amongst them, they

thought that they had claims upon his gifts and services above other cities.

Olympas. In either case there was an error of heart implied in the question. He was not to be despised or humbled because he was a carpenter's son; nor had they from mere propinquity or neighborhood relation, any good reason to expect from him spiritual or special favors. Envy, prejudice, or inordinate selfishness prompted the inquiry, and he disdained it. Which of them seem to be struck at William, in the response of the Saviour?

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William. His answer was, "You will surely say to me this proverb, Physician, heal thyself. What we heard you did in Capernaum, do here in thy own country." This, then, imports that they felt a liberty from citizenship to demand of him some display of his benignant power.

Olympus. He, however, repudiates the claim. Other qualifications than natural birth, or mere local residence, are necessary to qualify and prepare for spiritual blessings. He cites two striking cases from their own scriptures that taught a very different lesson-"Many widows were in Israel in the days of Elijah during the protracted drought of three years and six months, yet the Prophet was sent to a foreigner, a widow of Sarepta, to communicate his favors. Also, many lepers were in Israel in the days of Naaman the Syrian, but not one Israelite was cured, while the Syrian participated in the powers. of the Prophet.”

Olympas What, Eliza, was the effect of this speech?

Eliza. It was revealed what manner of spirit they were of; for instantly they were filled with wrath.

William. Their anger proved that they expected something in which they were disappointed.

Thomas. Their pride was mortified, and they evinced a total want of faith in him, else they could not have thrust him out of the city to a precipice with the intention of killing him.

William. In examining the map, as well as in reading the travels of some who have visited the Holy Land and Galilee, I find no trace of a precipice immediately adjoining Nazareth?

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Thomas. Modern travellers say that one mile and a half from the present city of Nazareth there is a very abrupt precipice; and it is most likely the town has been built more in the rear than formerly.From the narrative, however, I would rather conclude that Jesus was led out some distance from the synagogue, which itself was rather on an eminence, and probably a little out of town. Still the hill or upland

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