persons referred to. "All that are incensed against Him shall be ashamed." "They shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them." No wonder, for "He is King of kings, and Lord of lords." Here is the doom of those who oppose the spread of the gospel. "For the nations and kingdoms that will not serve Thee shall perish." Blessed be God, persecution is not a national crime; we are allowed to cooperate in endeavouring to spread the gospel of Christ, and are bold to believe that He will send out His light and His truth principally from this country. But this will not screen you as individuals. No; whoever you are who are His enemies, He will say of you, "Bring them out, and slay them before My face." "All," whether high or low, the moral as well as the profligate. "All that are incensed against Him shall be ashamed." There may be many of those, but though hand join in hand, yet shall not the wicked go unpunished. The multitude therefore will not afford any alleviation to their misery. Thus "the way of transgressors is hard," even here, and leads down to the chambers of eternal death. But there is a Saviour able and willing to save the chief of sinners, and who will in no wise cast out any who come unto Him. "For sinners Jesus died; 41 VI. THE SEED OF ISRAEL. (Preached on Sunday Evening, September 21st, 1845.) In the Lord shall all the seed of Israel be justifil, and shall glory.ISAIAH xlv. 25. You will remember that not long ago I preached on the two verses immediately preceding this verse, and that I then had occasion, in closing, briefly to refer to our text. In bringing it now more specially before your attention, I shall endeavour to ascertain, first, who are the heirs of this promise; secondly, what is the substance of this promise; and third, what is the privilege here announced. I. WHO ARE THE SUBJECTS OF THIS PROMISE? "All the seed of Israel." Israel means Jacob, and you know how he obtained the name; you know how he was knighted on the field of battle. He had to meet his incensed brother Esau, who came forth with a determination to slay him, accompanied by four hundred men. Jacob did all he could to produce a reconciliation. He sent him a present, and "a man's gift makes way for him," and "a soft answer turneth away wrath"; but when he had done all, he depended on God for success, and therefore said, "O Lord, I beseech Thee, deliver me from the hand of my brother, from the hand of Esau." "And Jacob was left alone, and there wrestled a man with him until the breaking of the day. And when he saw that he prevailed not against him, he touched the hollow of his thigh; and the hollow of Jacob's thigh was out of joint as he wrestled with him." Few would have continued wrestling upon one leg, but he did, and this gave rise to a proverbial expression, that "a wrestling Jacob will come off a prevailing Israel." "And he said unto him, What is thy name? And he said Jacob. And he said, thy name shall be called no more Jacob but Israel, that is, a prince of God, for as a prince hast thou power with God and with men, and hast prevailed." "The seed of Israel" may be viewed under two aspects. First, as Jews, as being the natural descendants of Jacob. They always were very far from being the people of God, unless by a national alliance and covenant. We see them under Moses, under Joshua, and under the kings of Israel; we see them during the Babylonish captivity, and in the days of our Saviour. "He came to His own, and His own received Him not; but to as many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God"; "but with wicked hands they crucified and slew Him." Yet the twelve Apostles were Jews-the seventy disciples were Jews-the first churches, with few exceptions, were Jews; and the period will come when the veil shall be taken from their hearts. "They shall turn unto the Lord and look upon Him whom they have pierced." It is matter of dispute as to their return to their own country, but there is no dispute as to their return to Christianity; and so it is said, "Israel shall be saved in the Lord with an everlasting salvation." But there is another aspect under which we may view Israel; and observe the distinction which the Saviour makes when speaking of Nathaniel: "Behold," says He, "an Israelite indeed, in whom there is no guile." In speaking of him as "an Israelite," He distinguishes him from other nations, and by calling him "an Israelite indeed," He distinguishes him from his own nation. You will also remember the language of the Apostle, where he says, "All are not Israel that are of Israel." All along there were some who were partakers of faith and humility. These were peculiarly the Israel of God, and the ground of their being so called, was not their natural relationship to Jacob, but their spiritual relationship; for from the beginning he was "not a Jew who was one outwardly, neither was that circumcision which was outward in the flesh: but he is a Jew which is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit and not in the letter, whose praise is not of men, but of God." Therefore if your hearts are circumcised, if you are renewed in the spirit of your minds, though you are Gentiles by nature, you are "the Israel of God"; you are "the true circumcision, who worship God in the Spirit, who rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh." "If ye are Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise." But who of this "seed of Israel" are entitled to the promise? Why, all of them. "In the Lord shall all the seed of Israel be justified and shall glory." 66 The expression seems to imply number. Though the righteous have always been few compared to the wicked around them, yet collectively considered, and when gathered out of all nations and tongues, they will be accounted as a number which no man can number." We are told, therefore, that the Captain of their salvation is leading many sons unto glory. We are assured that He will "see of the travail of His soul and be satisfied," and no little will satisfy the benevolence of His heart, and lead Him to say, "enough are saved; more need not be redeemed; I am satisfied." But if the expression does not imply number, it expressed impartiality. "As many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God," whatever distinctions may prevail among them. "And in the Lord shall all the seed of Israel be justified, and shall glory"-the rich, the poor, the high, the low, the bond, the free, for there is no difference here as to country, condition or complexion. No, the salvation which Paul called "so great salvation," Jude calls." the common salvation," and all here are upon a level, as we are taught expressly in the Lord's Supper, where all eat the same bread, and drink the same wine, where there is no better wine for the rich than for the poor, for the master than for the servant, for the prince than for the peasant. All believers are "one in Christ Jesus." "All the seed of Israel" have one Father, they are all included in the same eternal purpose, all redeemed by the same precious blood, all justified by the same grace, all destined to the same "glory, honour, immortality, and eternal life." Therefore you should love them all and never be ashamed to hold communion with those with whom He holds communion. Children differ in age, in size, in strength, and in feature, but they form one and the same family. Before the time of harvest the wheat grows in various places, and is separated by hedges and by walls, but when it is reaped it is carried home, and gathered into the same garner, while no inquiry is made whether it grew in this enclosure or in that. II. But we hasten to lay open, in the second place, THE SUBSTANCE OF THIS PROMISE. "In the Lord shall all the seed of Israel be justified, and shall glory." Observe the dignity of the Benefactor, the relation upon which this blessedness is founded, and the nature of the privilege itself. Let us briefly review each of these, considering first, the dignity of the Benefactor. "In the Lord shall all the seed of Israel be justified and shall glory." Who is the person here spoken of? This is a very important inquiry, and the reason is, because of the name here given-"The Lord." Wherever you see this word in capitals in the Bible, you are apprized of the word Jehovah in the original. This name therefore is applied to Him; for it would be very easy to prove that He is the person spoken of in the preceding verse; that it is of Him it is said, "Surely shall one say, in the Lord have I righteousness and strength.' Then it is declared that "all that are incensed against Him shall be ashamed." you would make even Jesus Christ to be God? not make Him to be so; I find Him to be so. necessary He should be so, for without this there be an all sufficiency of worth to expiate our offences; or of merit in His blood to obtain for us the dispensation of the Spirit, or of love in His heart, or of power in His arm. All through from the beginning to the end, we must be able to say, "My Lord and my God." Why, then, No, I do And it is could not Observe, secondly, the rélation upon which the blessedness depends: "In the Lord." Now, we find much of this is said in Scripture. In the preceding verse, it is written, "In the Lord have I righteousness and strength." Hence says the Apostle, "If any man be in Christ he is a new creature." Hence he says, "We are blessed with all spiritual blessings in Christ Jesus." And hence the expression of his own desire, “ that I may win Christ and be found in Him." There is, therefore, an union between Him and all His people, a virtual, a visible, a vital union. A virtual, which existed before the world began ; a vital, when they are enabled to receive and embrace Him by faith; and a visible one when they join His Church, and make a profession of His name. You will find this connection with Him is necessary. It shows us that He is not only the source of blessedness, but that in this state alone we can enjoy it; we can only be made partakers of it by being in Him. You know a refuge is a place of safety, you know you can only be secure by being in it. The ark preserved Noah and his family, but had they been out of it when the rain descended they would have perished along with the unbelieving world; but "the Lord shut him in," and therefore he was preserved. So must it be with regard to us. The branches, to use our Saviour's figure, draw the sap from the vine to render them fruitful. But |