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Transcribed from the 1880 Robert Banks edition by David Price, email ccx074@pglaf.org

LONDON: PRINTED BY ROBERT BANKS, RACQUET COURT, FLEET STREET, E.C.

[Picture: Book cover]



THE LOST TEN TRIBES, AND 1882.

BY REV. JOSEPH WILD, D.D., PASTOR OF UNION CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH, BROOKLYN, N.Y.

LONDON: ROBERT BANKS, RACQUET COURT, FLEET STREET. E.C. 1880.

[Picture: Great seal of the United States]

This device of the great Seal was adopted by act of the Continental Congress, on June 20th, 1782, and re-adopted by the New Congress, September 15th, 1789. The act provided for an obverse and a reverse, as set forth in this plate; the reverse is not used. This is a plate of the first and original Seal, which, by use, has been worn out. The one now in use is the second; it differs from the first that, by an accident, seven arrows were left out of the eagle's talon.

BY THE SAME AUTHOR.

Price 2s., post free 2s. 3d., THE FUTURE OF ISRAEL AND JUDAH. WITH A PORTRAIT OF DR. WILD.

PHILO-ISRAEL says:—"We recommend most strongly that all our friends should obtain the book. Once in their hands, we know they will read it to the end."

LONDON: ROBERT BANKS, RACQUET COURT, FLEET STREET.



PREFACE.

The following Discourses are presented to the public in book form, agreeable to the request of numerous friends. I have selected twenty from one hundred and thirty which I have given to my own congregation during the past three years. I have tried to have them lean one against another, to the end that the argument might be continuous and somewhat complete. The reader will remember, however, that the vast subject of which they treat, cannot be fairly and completely presented in such a volume as this. Also, it should be borne in mind that the language, style, and structure, are sermonic. Pulpit literature, in these things, is peculiar and distinctively characteristic.

When I first entered the ministry, I made up my mind that I would try and thoroughly understand the Scriptures. I soon found that a large portion was of a prophetic nature. I set to work according to the usual method, but to my sorrow I soon discovered that the method and rules in general use for Scripture exegesis, among what they called orthodox authors, were very defective and unsatisfactory. The fact was forced upon me that the true method, or key of interpretation, was not in use. I was always persuaded that the Bible was a unit, and that the principles contained in such a unit were beautifully related; and because of such a faith, I wondered more and more as I grew older why we had not a better key of interpretation. Men spiritualised at random, without any kind of rule, except their own fancy. In this manner they expounded the material history of the Old Testament. The whole arrangement was a Babel.

I had faintly discerned that the Scriptures made a distinction between the House of Israel and the House of Judah, and that the prophecies belonging to one could not, in fairness, be applied to the other; and that some prophecies applied to both. It always seemed strange to me, that the people which God said He had chosen for Himself, should not be known. The Jews were always known, but where was "Israel, His inheritance?" Again, I could see no point in the Lord swearing so positively about David's seed and throne lasting to the end of time. Taking them in a typical sense, they were about the poorest types that could have been selected, because of the shortness of their existence, according to the general mode of interpretation. Just at this point of my experience I came across a book, entitled "Our Israelitish Origin," by the late John Wilson, the reading of which confirmed me in my convictions, and aided me to a better knowledge of the good Book of Providence.

After some twenty years of experience, I began to teach the principles of interpretation embodied in these discourses. Some three years ago I began to give a series of sermons on the Ten Lost Tribes. I soon found my own congregation, as well as the public, were interested and profited with the same, as was manifest from the large and constant attendance thereon. By personal interviews and letters, I have been gratified to learn that many have been savingly and truly converted to God through these Discourses. Especially has this been the case with those who were infidel in faith and action towards God and His Word. I have received hundreds of letters thanking me that the key of interpretation presented had made the Bible an interesting and easily understood book. The interest created gave rise to numerous requests for copies of my sermons. The notice by the public press now and again intensified the interest and increased the demand. To meet this desire I made arrangements with the editor and proprietor of a weekly paper called the Champion to publish my evening Discourses. At once the arrangement was found to be profitable to him, agreeable to me and admirably suited to the public. So for more than a year the Champion has been my faithful messenger on this line, and will continue to be. It is a weekly paper, published at 132, Nassau Street, New York; price one dollar per year. I am not personally interested more than this. With its politics and other matter I have nothing to do; but for the sermonic matter I hold myself responsible. I feel free to express my pleasure in the wonderful increase of its circulation. I am glad it goes all over the States, the Dominion of Canada, and is in goodly demand in Great Britain.

After I had been preaching on this subject for some time, I made, fortunately, the acquaintance of a name-sake of mine, Mr. Joseph Wild, of Bay Ridge, near Brooklyn. On this subject I found him remarkably well posted. He had lots of books, pamphlets, papers, and maps on the matter, any or all of which he gave me liberty to use. Through him my attention was called to the valuable writings of our English brethren on this point, Edward Hine, Rev. Mr. Glover, M.A., Rev. Mr. Grimaldi, M.A., Philo-Israel, and a host of others, whose writings have helped me very much. Our English friends have now a vast store of this kind of literature; while, so far as I know, we have no home production. This is one reason I feel satisfied in sending forth this volume.

For years I have been greatly interested in Pyramidology, in the teachings of the Great Pyramid at Gizeh in Egypt. Twenty years ago I had confidence to lecture frequently on the subject, and a few years since it was in my mind to publish a small work on it. The necessity of such work was wisely and competently taken out of my hands, however, by the appearance of a book entitled, "The Stone Miracle," by Rev. Dr. Seiss, of Philadelphia. This is a book admirably suited to beginners on this line of study. And if one wants to go further and be specially informed on Pyramidology, why let them get "Our Inheritance in the Great Pyramid," a work by Professor Piazzi Smyth, Astronomer-Royal of Scotland. To this man God has given a fine mind and a large heart for a special place and work. But what pleases me above all, is that this Pyramid, being the Lord's Pillar, and His Witness, should so finely tally with the Scriptures and Providence; that the teachings of this monument are in harmony with the principles of interpretation, as applied to the prophecies in these Discourses.

By several small engravings I have sought to aid the mind of the reader through the eye. In the Royal Arms of England there is considerable of history; the position of the lions, unicorn, crown, and indeed all connected with it is significantly expressive. In these things, the accidental grouping, so far as man was concerned, were as much under Divine supervision as the blundering of the Jews in the crucifying of Jesus. So, Divinely considered, they Divinely reveal. We know not the mind of our fathers in the matter of selecting and composing the items that make up the great seal, but we know the mind of Providence.

The plate of the ragged old stone, called Jacob's pillow, is not very distinct, but it is the best we could do. As it is, it will aid the reader in forming a better idea. The stone in shape is an oblong square, about 32 inches long, 13 broad, and 11 inches deep. At each end is an iron ring, much worn and rusted. It is a bluish steel-like colour, mixed with some veins of red. It has been in its present resting place 583 years.

The main idea I wish to convey in this book, is that God is conducting His Providence through His ancient chosen people, Israel, whom I believe are found in the Saxon race. And His throne on earth, through which flow the purposes of Providence, is David's throne, which I believe to be at present the English throne. Queen Victoria (and God bless her) I believe to be of David's seed. The United States fulfils the role of the Tribe of Manasseh. Therefore, to understand the prophecies, Providence, and the present movement of nations, as well as the future lot and destiny of each, we must read the Scriptures in this light. God has made the children of Israel and throne of David His executive, in time, on earth. They are His executive for civilisation, evangelisation, order, and conquest. Through them God will conquer the world to an universal peace. As Moses was to God, so is Israel. Moses being a Divine executor, was to the people a god—so is Israel to all mankind. Spiritual Israel will come through literal Israel.

I have expressed myself freely, and shall cheerfully grant reviewers, critics, and readers, the same privilege. I send forth this book with a pure desire that it may do good. Amen, so mote it be.

JOSEPH WILD.

Brooklyn, May 1st, 1879.



KEY DISTINCTIONS. DISCOURSE I.

"We have a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts. Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the Scripture is of any private interpretation."—2 Peter i. 19, 20.

I am about to give you a few Discourses on Prophecy, and in doing so I desire, in the first place, to point out to you a few very important distinctions included in the prophecies. Suppose the Bible to be a great palace, with its royalty, royal children, servants, and subjects. You desire to go through it and view it intelligently, and to understand all about its inhabitants and laws of government; now to do so, you must have keys, and you must learn who is who, their place, authority, and work. If not so qualified, you could not pass from room to room, and you might confound the King with some servant, and visitors might be mistaken for the children of the household. Thus your ideas would be considerably mixed; you would be guilty of talking about the King, when you really meant some servant, and of prophesying for the royal children in the name of the visitors. The years would come and go, but events would not happen as you had prophesied. Each generation would take your report and follow in your footsteps, thus confusion and disappointment would keep pace with the passing generations.

What is here made a matter of supposition, has been a solemn fact on the line of human experience. Men have studied the Bible and Providence in this ignorant and confused way. Theologians have thrown aside all restraints, and well-defined limitations and distinctions of the Bible in their assumed liberty of expounding and spiritualising the same. No matter to them that there is a God-revealed distinction between Judah and Israel, Manasseh and Ephraim, Samaritans and Gentiles, and the throne of David and the throne of the heathen. Writers and speakers are guilty of using the words Judah and Israel in a synonymous sense, though the words stand for different people, history, and prophecies, soon after the descendants of Jacob settled in Palestine. To aid you in seeing this historical confusion and folly, let me call your attention to them separately.



JUDAH.

What does this word stand for in the Bible? In the first place it is the name of the fourth son of Jacob. In the second place it was the name of his direct descendants or Tribe. In the third place it became the name of the portion of the country occupied by this Tribe in the Promised Land. In the fourth place it became the name of a kingdom and government; this fourth name included the Tribe of Benjamin and their territory. In the fifth place it became the name of the whole country of Palestine, and is now often so used. To-day this word stands for those we call Jews, who, as they allow among themselves, represent and only include Judah and Levi.

On the death of Solomon the country and Tribes finally separated into two Houses, kingdoms, and governments. Nine Tribes went with Jeroboam, and three with Rehoboam—namely, Judah, Levi, and Benjamin. The nine-tribed House was called Israel, the three-tribed House Judah. This separation was about 975 B.C. (1 Kings xii.). From that day to this these two Houses have never been united; but they are to be, as scores of statements to that effect are in the good Book (Hosea i. 11). About 580 B.C. the House of Judah was taken captive into Babylon, remaining 70 years, then they returned to their own land and remained till the year of our Lord 70, when Jerusalem was destroyed and they were scattered.

Prophecies referring to the Jews are numerous and in striking contrast to those that refer to Israel. 1. The Jews were to be a scattered people. 2. A specially persecuted people. 3. To be without a nationality. 4. To be without government. 5. Not to be owners of landed property, though they will have money, until toward the latter days. 6. They were to be a proverb. 7. They were to be few in number. 8. They are to retain a special type of features. 9. They were to be repeatedly robbed. 10. They were to reject Christ. 11. To retain the Mosaic service till returned to their own land. 12. They are to keep their name, and many such distinctions, none of which should be applied to Israel. All these things have been and are fulfilled, or fulfilling, and though men are wonderfully given to spiritualising, few, if any, venture to spiritualise Judah's curses. Men and ministers calling themselves Gentiles, are rude enough to spiritualise the blessings of Judah, and stealing them, apply them to themselves.



ISRAEL.

1. A name given to Jacob after wrestling with the Angel. 2. A term applied sometimes to all the descendants of Jacob. 3. In a spiritual sense, those who believe in Christ. 4. A name that covered and included the nine Tribes which went with Jeroboam and formed the kingdom of Israel. They remained a distinct kingdom, and till now a nationality. From 975 to 725 B.C. they had some 19 kings. They were finally carried captive into Assyria by Shalmanezer (2 Kings xvii.). From that captivity they have never returned; as a body they never can, only representatives, as stated in Jer. iii. 14, "One of a city, and two of a family."

Now prophecy points out that it was Israel that was to be lost for a while, and come to light in the latter day. They are known in the Scriptures in contradistinction from others by such terms as the following: "All Israel," "All the House of Israel wholly," "The House of Israel," "Men of Israel," and God calls them His "Servants, Witnesses, Chosen People, Inheritance, and Seed." The lot, course, and providential portion of this people are very marked from any other, especially from the Jew, with whom they are so often confounded. The history of the two peoples have been wide apart and as different as they well could be.

1. They were to be lost. 2. They were to be divorced from the Mosaic law. 3. They were to lose their name. 4. They were to lose their language. 5. They were to possess the isles of the sea, coasts of the earth, waste and desolate places, to inherit the portion of the Gentiles, their seed, land, and cities. 6. They are to be great and successful colonisers. 7. Before them other people are to die out. 8. They are to be a head nation. 9. To be a company of nations. 10. To be great in war on land or sea. 11. To be lenders of money. 12. To have a monarchy. 13. To be keepers of the Sabbath. 14. To have David's throne and seed ruling over them. 15. They are to possess Palestine, and invite their brethren of Judah to return. And thus I might repeat some sixty positive marks and distinctions setting forth Israel; and yet men wilfully persist in confounding them with the Jews, or looking for this great and favoured people of the Lord among the lowest of human kind, Indians, Africans, and so on.



SAMARITANS.

The Samaritans were not Jews or Israelites, strictly speaking. They of course became Jewish in their customs and worship. Originally they were Assyrians. When the nine Tribes were carried captive, they were brought and put in their place. "And the King of Assyria brought men from Babylon and from Cuthah, and from Ava, and from Hamath, and from Sepharvaim, and placed them in the cities of Samaria, instead of the children of Israel" (2 Kings xvii. 24). The Jews and the Samaritans never wholly mixed; one was always distasteful to the other. They never were taken captive, and to this day they live in and about Mount Scychar, numbering between three and four hundreds.



BENJAMIN.

The Tribe of Benjamin has a singular and special place in the history of Israel and Judah. Neither the Old or New Testament can be well understood unless one understands the place of this Tribe in Providence. They were always counted one of the Ten Tribes, and reckoned with them in the prophetic visions. They were only loaned to Judah about 800 years. Read 1 Kings xi. They were to be a light for David in Jerusalem. God, foreseeing that the Jews would reject Christ, kept back this one Tribe to be in readiness to receive Him, and so they did. At the destruction of Jerusalem they escaped, and after centuries of wanderings turn up as the proud and haughty Normans. Finally they unite with the other Tribes under William the Conqueror. A proper insight into the work and mission of Benjamin will greatly aid one in interpreting the New Testament. He was set apart as a missionary Tribe, and at once set to work to spread the Gospel of Jesus. Most of the disciples were Benjaminites. Then, after 800 years of fellowship with Judah, they were cut loose and sent after their brethren of the House of Israel. It was needful that the Lion and the Unicorn should unite.



MANASSEH AND EPHRAIM.

The history of these two representative characters is worth your careful study. The whole of the circumstances of Jacob blessing them must be accepted as Divinely directed. Manasseh was to be a great people, and so I believe he is. In the United States I find this promise literally fulfilled. This is the Key to the settlement of this land; to the agitations of the Pilgrims and Puritans in England. The mission, work, and place of the United States may be found in the prophecies relating to this Tribe. Let anyone examine the great seal of the United States, and study its design, and surprise will fill the mind that facts, Providence, and prophecies do so wonderfully agree. Take the obverse side. Here you have an eagle with outstretched wings; the bird is perfect, not double headed and deformed, as in other cases where the eagle has been or is the national bird. The striped escutcheon on its breast, in its beak a scroll, inscribed with a motto, "E pluribus Unum"—one out of many, as Manasseh was, and as the country is building up a grand nationality and oneness out of all nations nearly. Over the head of the eagle there is a glory—the parting of clouds by light; in the opening appear 13 stars, forming a constellation argent, on an azure field. In the dexter or right talon is an olive branch, a symbol of peace; in the sinister or left talon is a bundle of 13 arrows. But it is on the reverse side of the great seal that we have a wonder. Here we have an unfinished Pyramid; a portion of the top is gone, exactly the same as the Great Pyramid in Egypt is at this day—anticipating this very day (Isa. xix. 19): "In that day shall there be an altar to the Lord. And it shall be for a sign and for a witness unto the Lord of hosts in the land of Egypt." Now it is somewhat singular that the Congress of 1782 should have adopted so remarkable a sign, one that would witness to God and tell of their origin. The reverse side is the under side, and shows from whence the nation came, and on what it is built. In the zenith—that is, above the top of the Pyramid—is a triangle surrounded by a glory; and in the centre is an all-seeing eye. Over the eye we have Annuit Coeptis, which means, "He prospers our beginning." On the base of the Pyramid we have in letters, 1776, and underneath the following motto—"Novus ordo seclorum," meaning a "New era in the ages." The suggestion of the items upon the great seal was from Sir John Prestwich, Bart., an Englishman. He gave the suggestions to the American Minister, John Adams, and thus the same were conveyed to Congress and adopted.

We have in the facts of the great seal a series of coincidents that connect this country with the Tribe of Manasseh. When the Tribes marched, Benjamin, Ephraim, and Manasseh went together on the West side of the ark, for their homes were Westward. On their battalion banner was the figure of a youth, denoting activity, with the motto, "The cloud of Jehovah rest on them, even when they go forth out of the camp." Here we have the origin of the cloud on the seal. And when we remember that Manasseh was brought up at the foot of the Pyramid, and could see it from his palace home at Memphis, then we get a cue to the figure of the Pyramid on the seal. {23}



PYRAMID.

The Pyramid is a wonderful witness for God and His people. This building in Egypt has stood for 4,000 years; finished and complete, it stood for about 3,000 before anybody ventured to find a way into it. Then, at a great cost of men, money, and time, a way was forced in by an Arab chief. There surely is something remarkable that the only thing found in it should be a stone trough, and more singular to my mind, that the Ark of the Covenant and this stone trough should be of equal capacity; and the laver in which the priest washed his feet in the temple was exactly of the same size. And Solomon's molten sea contained just as much water as would fill the King's Chamber in which this trough was found. Can any man know these things and believe them to be accidental? Verily not. They do most assuredly pledge a God and Providence.



EPHRAIM.

This word is not only the name of Joseph's son and the Tribe, but it is used quite frequently in a generic sense, and stands for the Ten Tribes and Manasseh. To Reuben by birthright was the lead politically, but it was taken from him and given to Joseph, and so to Ephraim. From Judah came the Chief Ruler—that is, Christ; but the birthright was Joseph's (1 Chron. v. 1).



THRONE OF DAVID.

To this throne God pledged under oath a perpetuity. Also He pledged that some one of David's seed should always be on it. The throne and seed are pledged an unconditional existence. This being so, it follows that they must be now in existence, and that finally all thrones will be swallowed up by this one. Queen Victoria is of David, and the English throne is David's. Hence all the promises and prophecies referring to David's throne may be found on this line. For prophecy not being of private interpretation such facts may be proven.



GENTILES.

The word Gentile generally embraces all those nations and people outside of the Twelve Tribes. Keeping these few distinctions in mind, you will be enabled to read the Bible interestingly and with the proper understanding. Prophetic evidence is a strong kind of proof. Study the Word on this line and you will find Providence and history lending glorious confirmation to the same.



ISRAEL AND THE GATES. DISCOURSE II.

ISRAEL—HOW THE GATES OF HIS ENEMIES ARE TO BE GIVEN HIM—BY THIS SIGN LOST ISRAEL MAY BE KNOWN—THE GIVING WILL CORRESPOND TO THE MULTIPLYING—THE PROMISE, IN THIS DAY, IS RAPIDLY FULFILLING—ENGLAND, DISRAELI AND "TANCRED," AND RUSSIA.

"That in blessing I will bless thee; and in multiplying, I will multiply thy seed as the stars of heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea-shore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies."—Gen. xxii. 17.

Under a Divine oath was this prophetic promise made to Abraham. At the time it was given Abraham had, by command, offered his only son Isaac, which offering, to all human appearance, would leave the old patriarch again childless; but his faith staggered not, for human incompetence does not circumscribe the bounds of Divine sufficience. The God who commanded Abraham to offer, recalled the command at a certain stage of the fulfilment, counting the faith of Abraham for righteousness. In Abraham's faith Isaac was really sacrificed; hence the Divine approval: "By Myself have I sworn, saith the Lord; for because thou hast done this thing, and hast not withheld thy son, thine only son, that in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea-shore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies." An oath with men in this day does not mean much in the way of confirmation, but not so with God's oath. An oath ought to be sacred, and should be the end of doubt and strife. God made a promise to Abraham, and because He could swear by no greater, He sware by Himself. And Abraham lived to see the promise begin to fulfil, and to-day the heirs of Abraham may look and see the same promise fulfilling, for, as Paul says in Heb. vi. 17: "Wherein God, willing more abundantly to show unto the heirs of promise the immutability of His counsel, confirmed it by an oath."

Who are the heirs of promise? For to them belong many and precious promises, both spiritual and temporal. Spiritually, they are to lead and be responsible for the evangelisation of the world. Temporally, they are to be a numerous seed, a powerful people. They are to occupy the ends of the earth, the uttermost parts of the earth, the coasts of the earth, the waste and the desolate places of the earth, the isles of the sea, the heathen, as an inheritance. They are to inherit the Gentiles, and make the desolate cities to be inhabited; they are to be the chief of nations; they are to be a company of nations; they are to be a great people; they are to possess the gates of their enemies. Surely such a people should be found, for all these things make it impossible for them to be hid in a corner. One cannot help saying with the Psalmist: "Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord; and the people whom He hath chosen for His own inheritance."

In the English Court of Chancery are vast sums of money, large fortunes waiting for heirs. The court frequently advertises for them, and many in every land respond and are eager to prove their claims; they are anxious to be known and accepted as the descendants and lawful heirs of certain testators. It is oftentimes difficult to establish their claims and prove satisfactorily their identity. The court demands that the evidences of heirship be very definite. In this they are right. But we venture to say that even the English Court of Chancery would not turn away a claimant who had all the distinct marks and abounding evidence of identity that mark and characterise the children of Abraham, especially so in the latter day, for then these characteristics are to be clearer and fuller.

The Jews are known; they have been known all down the centuries; they have not been able to hide themselves. In keeping with the Word of God they have fulfilled up to the present time the prophecies attaching to them. In all the world they are estimated to number some nine millions. The Jews include the children of Judah and Levi; these Two Tribes only. The Jews themselves consent to this statement, and allow that the descendants of Reuben, Simeon, Zebulun, Issachar, Dan, Gad, Asher, Naphtali, Joseph, and Benjamin, are lost, but not extinct. They are in the world, for God has not cast away His people for ever. If the Two Tribes give us nine millions, how many should we expect the Ten Tribes to furnish? Most certainly not less than forty-five millions. To the Ten Tribes the special promises of fruitfulness were given. To the Ten Tribes belong a greater portion of prophecy; and in the history of the world more is allotted to Israel than to Judah. Indeed, the world's history pivots on the Ten Lost Tribes.

I believe you know the God-revealed distinction between the words Israel and Judah. You know that they have a distinct history. Their place and work, promises and blessings, chastisements and rebukes, are as distinct and different as silver and gold.

The spiritual heirs of Abraham are all who are embraced in the saving and atoning covenant of grace in Christ. I do not say all who believe, for there will be more in heaven without faith than those with—namely, all those who have died before the years of responsibility, with many of the Pagan world who, never having heard of a Saviour, have therefore never denied Him. In a spiritual sense, they are children. I believe in this matter with Paul, who says, when writing to the Romans, chap. ii.: "There is no respect of persons with God; for as many as have sinned without law shall also perish without law, and as many as have sinned in the law shall be judged by the law. For when the Gentiles, which have not the law, do by nature the things contained in the law, these, having not the law, are a law unto themselves; which show the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and their thoughts the meanwhile accusing, or else excusing one another." Thus, under the law which governs the Pagan, I presume many will be saved and many lost, just as under the law of the Gospel. In Abraham all nations were to be blessed, spiritually. In this sense Abraham's seed embraces persons of every age, clime, and race.

But who are the seed of Abraham according to the flesh? We answer, the descendants of the Twelve Tribes. Now to the natural seed the Bible assigns a distinct work and place. This natural seed is divided in the Bible, the word Israel standing generally for the Ten Tribes, and Judah for Two Tribes. These divisions have separate paths appointed them to walk in through the centuries. "All the House of Israel wholly," "the whole House of Israel," "all the House of Israel," have a special work. The Ten Tribes are especially called in the Scriptures the seed of Abraham. Sometimes "My chosen," again "Mine inheritance," and "My servant." God, in referring to them in their scattered state, and of His gathering them together, says (Isa. xli. 8): "But thou, Israel, art My servant, Jacob, whom I have chosen; the seed of Abraham My friend—thou whom I have taken from the ends of the earth, and called thee from the chief men thereof, and said unto thee, Thou art My servant; I have chosen thee and not cast thee away." The Ten Tribes are sometimes designated by the word Jacob. If we once get a clear idea who the seed are, then we can search among the people of the earth to find them, because in the latter day they were to be so different from other people, and distinctly marked, we will have no great difficulty in finding them. Of the special marks, one was they were to possess the gates of their enemies. The multitudinous seed and other characteristics we will pass by for the present.

This seed were to possess the gates of their enemies; of this we are assured by the oath of God. The word gate here, you will admit, is used in a generic sense. It means a place of prominence, a position of strength, a strategetic point, as the entrance into a city. Remembering that in olden times the cities were walled around, the gate was an important point of defence; or, as the narrow entrance into a bay, like the entrance into New York Bay or port, the Narrows we call them. Here the cities of New York and Brooklyn could best and first be defended. Again, a gate in the general vernacular means any stronghold: a tower, an island, a mountain pass. Now, of this seed it is plainly stated that they shall possess the gates of their enemies.

The text would be very finely illustrated if we supposed that Mexico held Governor's Island, in the middle of our bay, and defiantly dictated to us doctrines of trade, politics, and religion. As arrogant and as impudent as this would seem, yet such is the case with this seed of Abraham and other nations. Believing that the Saxon race are the Ten Lost Tribes, it then follows that the English nation is the chief representative of these Tribes, and that they should be in possession of the gates of their enemies. Are they? We answer, yes. And every year confirms and makes more clear the answer. This you say is a theory. Grant it. You know that in science a theory is formed and then applied. If you form a theory about the tides or formation of the planets, or this world, your theory with others is applied to known facts to see if it will fit them, to see if it will account for them, and to see if it is in harmony with the same. Now science accepts that theory which applies best, that which accounts for facts the most reasonably, and harmonises the most naturally. Such theory is then the science of the day, and will be so accepted and so taught until it is supplanted by a better. Try, then, the theory I have advanced by these rules.

Take the Islands of Jersey and Guernsey in the English Channel, between England and France, nearer to the French shore than England; the inhabitants, being a majority of them French, speaking French. Yet when France was England's greatest and most dangerous enemy, England held then, as now, the gates of her enemies. Properly speaking, and adjudged by any human rule, they belong to France—as naturally as the island of Heligoland, at the month of the Elbe, belongs to Germany. Gibraltar, Malta, Cyprus, Suez Canal, Island of Perim in the Straits of Babelmandeb in the Red Sea, and Socotra, in the same sea; also Aden in the Red Sea, covering Arabia; Peshawur, the very entrance of or from India into Afghanistan. In and around the vast empire of India you have Bombay, Calcutta, Madras, with many similar strongholds; Rangoon, on the Irawady river, commanding and even menacing Burmah. The vast empire of China is carefully guarded and held in check by such gates as Singapore, Malacca, Penang, Hong Kong and Cowloon. Sarawak in Borneo, and Labuan off the coasts, are such gates. Africa is being gradually gobbled up; her strongholds and vast areas of country are falling into the hands of England; the coasts are fast coming under British rule. Recently England has come into possession of three gates—namely, the island of Socotra, near the Red Sea, the island of Cyprus in the Mediterranean, and the Sublime Porte, the lofty gateway, Constantinople. And it is now rumoured that England is negotiating with Portugal for Delogoa Bay in South-eastern Africa; price, three million dollars. But this people are not satisfied with all these gates. They want—and they will get what they want in a very short time, thank Heaven; not what they deserve!—they want the famous Khyber Pass. This pass is a narrow road between mountain rocks that rise over two thousand feet at the lowest point. It is some twenty-eight miles long, while for twenty-two miles the average width is only 150 feet. The Eastern end the English already hold, called the Peshawur Pass.

Afghanistan is a country in Asia. It is about the size of England, 460 miles from North to South, and 430 from East to West. On the North it is bounded by Turkestan, East by India, South by Beloochistan, and West by Persia. The population numbers about 7,000,000. They are as wild as the country is broken and irregular. They are chiefly agriculturists. The country is rich in minerals and timber. In time past they have seldom been at peace, being very generally at war among themselves. Afghan is a Persian word, and means that which is wrapped around—no doubt having reference to the mountain chain that hems in the whole land. The people themselves, however, name their country Vilayet, which means the land of our ancestors. They claim that in their country lived Adam and his children, also Noah and his. They say they had in their possession once the ark of the covenant, but they have lost it. While it was with them, if they took it into battle, victory was sure to be theirs. At the present time they have Noah's ark. It is embedded in the ground, with a portion protruding out, which pilgrims to the top of Dera Ismael Khan—that is, the sacred mountain of Israel—are permitted to see and touch. Many have supposed the Afghans to be the Ten Lost Tribes. It has been the folly of many of the learned, in time past, to hunt for, and actually expect to find, the chosen of God in some out-of-the-way place; to find them few, poor, and deluded—the poorer, the fewer, and the more wretched, the better. Hence, the wild Indians of the continent, the bushmen of Africa, the aborigines of Australia, the Laplanders of the North, and many such have been chosen of men—though not of God.

The Afghan country, no doubt, once had intercourse with Palestine. During Solomon's reign many Jews left the land as merchants. Solomon built store cities in Hamath, Tadmor in the wilderness, and many others. These store cities were on the great highway which he made through the desert, so as to bring the trade of Dedan and Sheba to Jerusalem. That Hebrew names are given to the mountains, places, rivers, and persons, no one can deny; but such does not prove them to be the Lost Tribes—it shows away back Jewish influence and intercourse. They do not speak the Hebrew, but two languages called the Pukhtu and Pushtu. In either language there are few, if any, traces of the Hebrew. No doubt the Lost Tribes, after being scattered into Central Asia, when taken captive about 725 B.C., wandered, some of them into Afghan, and probably for a time settled there, and gave names to the country. The Afghans themselves went into the country from India, and as the Tribes moved Westward they left the Afghans in possession.

The Afghan country comes now into great importance because it is on the highway of the march of Israelitish civilisation and progress. England wants it; and I predict she shall get it. Russia wants it, and at present seems to have the upper hand; but Russia or England, or the world, can avail nothing against the purposes of Jehovah. The gates are promised to Israel, therefore she will get them. The English have already an army of 35,000 men in the Peshawur Valley. Russia is gathering a force, and ere long the two countries will be brought face to face. The end of the whole muddle will be that England will take charge of Afghan. Thirty-three years ago Disraeli wrote his novel called "Tancred." In this novel he makes the Queen of England the Empress of India, and one of her favourite officers is made Earl Beaconsfield; so far fancy has become fact. But in that same novel the future of the present strife has been set forth. It has been very finely put by the London Spectator:—

"There is a story going about, founded, we believe, on good authority, that when some one quoted 'Tancred,' two or three months ago, in Lord Beaconsfield's presence, the Prime Minister remarked: 'Ah! I perceive you have been reading "Tancred." That is a work to which I refer more and more every year—not for amusement, but for instruction.' And if anyone will take the trouble just now to refresh his memory of 'Tancred,' he will see how much Lord Beaconsfield has borrowed from it in relation to his policy. Turn, for instance, to this passage: 'If I were an Arab in race as well as in religion,' said Tancred, 'I would not pass my life in schemes to govern mere mountain tribes.' 'I'll tell you,' said the Emir, springing from his divan, and flinging the tube of his nargileh to the other end of the tent, 'the game is in our own hands if we have energy. There is a combination which would entirely change the whole face of the world and bring back empire to the East. Though you are not the brother to the Queen of the English, you are, nevertheless, a great English prince, and the Queen will listen to what you say, especially if you talk to her as you talk to me, and say such fine things in such a beautiful voice. Nobody ever opened my mind like you. You will magnetise the Queen as you have magnetised me. Go back to England and arrange this. You see, gloss over it as they may, one thing is clear, it is finished with England . . . Let the Queen of the English collect a great fleet, let her stow away all her treasure, bullion, plate, and precious arms; be accompanied by all her court and chief people, and transfer the seat of her empire from London to Delhi. There she will find an immense empire ready-made, a first-rate army, and a large revenue. In the meantime I will arrange with Mehemet Ali. He shall have Bagdad and Mesopotamia, and pour the Bedouin cavalry into Persia. I will take care of Syria and Asia Minor. The only way to manage the Afghans is by Persia and by the Arabs. We will acknowledge the Empress of India as our suzerain, and secure for her the Levantine coast. If she like, she shall have Alexandria, as she now has Malta. It could be arranged. Your Queen is young. She has an avenir. Aberdeen and Sir Robert Peel will never give her this advice; their habits are formed. They are too old, two ruses. But you see! the greatest empire that ever existed; besides which she gets rid of the embarrassment of her chambers! and quite practicable! For the only difficult part, the conquest of India, which baffled Alexander, is all done.' Who can avoid seeing that Lord Beaconsfield has been quite recently referring to this passage—'not,' as he said, 'for amusement, but for instruction?' These are all the ideas of his recent policy in germ—especially the treatment of the British Empire as having its centre of gravity in the far East—the use of the Indian Army for conquest to be made in Western Asia—the acquisition of the Levantine coast for Great Britain—the active alliance between the British power and the Mohammedan power—and last, not least, the getting rid, to a great extent at least, by the help of Indian leverage, of 'the embarrassment of the chambers.' For the last eight months, at least, English policy has evidently been borrowed from 'Tancred.' The monarch, for anything we know, has been 'magnetised.' The Cabinet assuredly have. Lord Derby and Lord Carnarvon have been treated much as the Emir in 'Tancred' would have treated 'Aberdeen and Sir Robert Peel'—thrown aside as two 'ruses.'"

England has indeed adopted an Oriental policy, and forward she must go to execute Jehovah's purpose. Russia is preparing on a gigantic scale. In Prussia the most flourishing branch of trade among the Germans at present is the manufacturing of arms for Russia. Though the late war be over, still Russia is buying ships, and fitting them out in this country. She feels bitterly her defeat through English diplomacy: England taking Cyprus, assuming protection over Asiatic Turkey, and making Russia yield back to Turkey 30,700 geographical miles which was contained in the original Treaty of San Stefano. The following from the Government organ of Russia will give you some idea of her chagrin.

The St. Petersburg Golos says that the Treaty of Berlin has produced an almost crushing impression on the Russian public. "It is felt that Russia has not attained her object; that she has been deceived by her friends, and that she has foolishly helped her enemies with her victories . . . What is the reason of our failure? One-half per cent. of our population have perished in the war, hundreds of millions have been expended, and yet the Eastern Question is not solved and the Treaty of Berlin is merely a truce. The last war has clearly shown all our national peculiarities as well as our moral and material strength . . . All the military requirements which depended on the inbred qualities of the Russian soldier were brilliantly carried out; but where knowledge and preparation were demanded we were not equal to the task. It was probably for this reason that we felt so much hurt on reading of the boldness of Lord Beaconsfield, who doubtless reckoned on the superior culture of Englishmen to that of Russians. All classes of Russian society are responsible for this. We do not estimate culture and knowledge at their true value. Most of us say that mental work does not bring money, and that culture is a means of corruption . . . In Western Europe, on the other hand, people have arrived by hard experience at the conviction that intelligence, capacity, culture, and energy, bring men to the front, and give them peace at home and power abroad. It is the knowledge of how to make the best possible use of their energy and abilities that has enabled the English to derive success from our victories and sacrifices. May this be a lesson to us."

But enough; one knows the end ere they begin, for the Word of God is true. We do not argue that the English are so much smarter than other people; no, but we account for their success because they are the executive nation of Divine Providence. It falls to the lot of those who do not believe this theory to account for their success without allowing them to be smarter.



ISRAEL AND TERRITORY. DISCOURSE III.

PROMISES TO ISRAEL—MATERIAL NATURE—LOCATION OF THE TRIBES IN CHRIST'S DAY—GOD'S PROVIDENCE—BRITISH AND AMERICAN RULE—LIFE FROM THE DEAD—TEACHING THE NATIONS PEACEFUL ARBITRATION—ENGLAND AND RUSSIA—AFGHANISTAN FALLS TO ANGLO-ISRAEL—GOD'S POLITICAL GEOGRAPHY—ANGLO-SAXON EVANGELISATION—RUSSIA OPPOSING IT—BRITISH AND RUSSIAN OUTPOSTS IN CONTACT—WAIL OF JUDAH—EARTH'S GIRDLE.

"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."—Isa. liv. 2, 3.

In the writings of the prophets the feminine gender is often used when speaking of the House of Israel, and the masculine when denoting the House of Judah. Quite frequently Israel is spoken of as a divorced woman, as being cast off, and as being barren. Judah remaining faithful to the throne of David and the temple service, and abiding in the land much longer than Israel, is presented as one married. So you will understand Jeremiah iii. 8, when he says: "And I saw, when for all the causes whereby backsliding Israel committed adultery I had put her away, and given her a bill of divorce." Again, Isaiah l. 1: "Thus saith the Lord, Where is the bill of your mother's divorcement whom I have put away?" Yet, though Israel was divorced, forsaken, cast off, and desolate, she was to have more children than married Judah. So the verse preceding the text says: "Sing, O barren, thou that didst not bear; break forth into singing, and cry aloud thou that didst not travail with child; for more are the children of the desolate than the children of the married wife, saith the Lord." Then come the words of the text bidding her enlarge the place of her tent, or dwelling-place, to stretch forth her curtains, so as to cover over the new-gotten habitations. To spare not—that is, to be not tardy, or slow—in lengthening out her cords—that is, her influence—and strengthen her stakes—that is, her authority; but to break forth on every hand where there is an opening, and inherit the seed of the Gentiles, and make the languishing and poverty-stricken cities of the nations to be inhabited; in this conquest to go on and fear not.

These exhortations are given, and promises are made to Israel after she had left Palestine. No one can say truthfully that they have yet been fulfilled in no degree or sense, unless they find such fulfilment in the conquests of the Saxon race. These predictions cannot apply to the Jews, for they are few, nationless, and without a government. Touching the past history of both Judah and Israel in Palestine, we shall find it to be barren of victories, territory, acquisition, and number, in comparison to other nations. They have never occupied the land given to Abraham in fulness. In Solomon's time they bare rule only over a part of it. The Gentiles and heathens have occupied it more and longer than the sons of Abraham. But what failed to be accomplished in the past, is held grandly in reserve for this day, the next few years. God will remember His promise to Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and David. He will remember it to fulfil it, in spite of hell or earth.

We have been blind and guilty in the past, unconscious of our origin, and as a natural consequence, ignorant of our place and special work. In interpreting the Word of God we have been lavish in spiritualising, and greedy in materialising, overlooking the fact that nine-tenths of the Old Testament is a material history about one people, and that through them God's special providence was to flow to all other nations; and the New Testament plants the life and prosperity of the Gentile world upon the course and progress of Israel. God said to Abraham, "In thee shall all the families of the earth be blessed:" and more, "and in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed." Israel, being scattered and cast off, became a blessing to the world. They gave to the surrounding nations the only true idea of God, for in their lowest condition and idolatry they preserved the name and knowledge of Jehovah, and Christ sent His disciples after them through one of their own Tribe—namely, Benjamin—telling them not to go into the way of the Gentiles, nor into the cities of the Samaritans, "but go rather to the lost sheep of the House of Israel." To these sheep Christ declares He was sent. Where were these sheep? They were scattered about in Central Asia—in Scriptural language in Cappadocia, Galatia, Pamphylia, Lydia, Bithynia, and round about Illyricum. From these very regions came the Saxons: from here they spread abroad North and West, being the most Christian of any people on the face of the earth then, as well as now. Their reception of the Gospel gave them power over the surrounding nations, to whom they were, as it had been foretold, witnesses for Jesus and providence in a very special manner. What then, we say with Paul, will be the blessing of Israel—recognized and fully restored to God's favour? If so much good was carried and bestowed upon the Gentile nations because Israel was scattered, how much, and what are the blessings in store for those nations when Israel and Judah be restored? Paul compares it to a resurrection—like as when the barrenness and desolation of a Winter is supplanted by the fruits and beauties of Summer. "If the casting away of them be the reconciling of the world, what shall the receiving of them be, but life from the dead?" (Rom. xi. 15).

It is reasonable to suppose that this world is subject to the providence of God. Such a supposition is grandly sustained by the laws and operations of nature without, and the experience and intuitions of the mind within; and I believe this providence to be all-comprehensive, bounding, and cognising all things, past, present, and future, both small and great; claiming the ages for its measure, the universe for the field of its operations, and the Infinite as the source of power. "The Lord Jehovah reigns, let the earth rejoice." Let me persuade you to thoroughly believe in the precision, the intimacy, and the completeness of this providence. This doctrine we need to fully learn and accept. "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth," and it is He "who hath measured the waters in the hollow of His hand, and meted out heaven with a span, and comprehended the dust of the earth in a measure, and weighed the mountains in scales, and the hills in a balance." Aye, and more, yet closer still does this providence approach us in our affairs. "By Him kings reign and princes decree judgment. He bringeth the princes to nothing; He maketh the judges of the earth as vanity." Even closer yet, for without His permission a sparrow cannot fall to the ground; and so intimate is He with us, that He knoweth the number of the hairs of the head. Now all this kind of Bible instruction is intended to teach the nearness of God to us, and His interest and intimacy with nations and nature. Let us not think for a moment that nations can rush to war and be outside this circle of providence. Let us study to know God's mind, His plans and purposes with the nations; for rest satisfied that His plan will finally be accepted by men and nations, and His purposes will prevail. Kings may plan, diplomatists may diplomatise, scientists may analyse, theologians may teach and preach their isms, and politicians may make platforms and construct rings, yet none, nor all combined, can stay the hand of God. "He doeth according to His will in the armies of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth." He can initiate, permit, modify, and destroy. Once we truly recognise the sovereignty of God over us, conceit will lie dead at the feet of humility.

The Church at large has but a slender hold upon this great doctrine. They look upon the great movement of wars and strife, rising and falling of nations, as looks the country stranger upon a railway engine the first time, the whirling wheels, the steam and smoke and burnished boiler rivet his attention so completely, that he sees not the driver in his car. So men are dazed with the show of pomp of courts and councils, with the harangues of legislators and march of regiments, that they discern not the master hand behind that directs all. "Verily, Thou art a God that hidest Thyself." No, no, friends; English bravery, nor American ingenuity will not account for all that England has done on the line of victories, and the marvellous and rapid growth of these United States. As God said long ago through Moses, so He could say to-day—for heavenly counsel was given to the children of Israel on entering the Promised Land, with a design of suppressing their pride and enabling them to form a correct idea of their success in driving the strong and greater nations of Canaanites and Philistines—"Speak not thou in thine heart, after that the Lord thy God hath cast them out from before thee saying: For my righteousness the Lord hath brought me in to possess this land; but for the wickedness of these nations the Lord doth drive them out from before thee. Not for thy righteousness, or the uprightness of thine heart, dost thou go to possess the land, but for the wickedness of those nations the Lord thy God doth drive them out from before thee, that He may perform the word which the Lord sware unto thy fathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Understand, therefore, that the Lord thy God giveth thee not this good land to possess it for thy righteousness, for thou art a stiff-necked people" (Deut. ix. 4).

By the same rule and for the very same reason that Israel conquered Palestine, does England go on from conquest to conquest. And because God remembered to perform His promises made to the patriarchs upon their seed, America was opened for the Puritans, who are without doubt the descendants and representatives of Manasseh, of whom God said "he should be a people, a great people."

The rule of England and America over other people, is to be as life from the dead—that is, whatsoever country England conquers and rules, it is better for the people, and the country, and the world. They give to the people a liberty that they would not have given to themselves; they develop the resources of the country as never before, and by trade and commerce bless the people and cause them to be a blessing unto others. And better still, they make known to the conquered ones, in due time, the riches of faith in Christ. So we have no hesitation in saying, a thing patent to every unprejudiced observer, that the aborigines of the conquered colonies of Great Britain are treated better by their conquerors than they ever treated themselves. The Africans, in the conquered colonies of Africa, are better off under British rule than those colonies or portions unconquered are. The hosts of India enjoy more, fare better in every grace and virtue in all that goes to adorn and develop mankind, under the British government and protection than they ever did or would under self-government. So the French, Germans, Italians, Russians, Spaniards, and the numerous progeny of emigrants to this country, fare better in every way with Manasseh, than they did in their own lands. Of course, both in England's rule and America's, there are many defects; but taking all in all, the good will out-weigh the bad; and more so as the years roll on.

True, an arbitrary purpose and an individualism is seen on the surface, yet under it all there is the hand of God. The farmer is free as to what he sows, but the Divine, without interfering with his freedom, regulates the harvest to plenty or famine. The Saxon people, England and America, stand in a new light to the world by the teachings of the Bible. Being Israel or the Ten Lost Tribes, they become at once the chosen agents of God for the glorious purpose of evangelising the whole world, and finally, by reducing the whole earth to the plane of universal liberty and peace.

It was necessary that these two nations should first be taught the art of mediation, for the ends of peace; that they should learn and show to the world that national disputes and grievances can be settled without an appeal to the sword. Hence we have, and what is much better, the world has, Geneva and Alabama and the fish bounty treaty of Canada and the United States. Not all the press did on either side, nor all the carping and blustering of individuals, could prevent the happy consummation of both these treaties. To God be praise, for they are prophetic harbingers of a better day coming.

No hand nor power, nor combination of powers, can stop the onward march of Israel to her God-ordained goal. Her future is to spread on the right hand and on the left. Island after island, colony after colony, will fall into her hands for mutual benefit. Russia may contest this march, and will, for she is as much the appointed agent of contest from Heaven as England is to advance. In a few years she will try to take the place of England among the nations, as she has just done in Afghan. Russia promised, no doubt, that she would and could protect the Ameer against England, but the bargain was outside of the aims of Providence, hence it could not be sustained. It is ordained of Heaven that Afghan fall into the hands of England, if England be Israel.

Against this fate-like division of the world Russia is going to contend and fight whenever she gets a chance. It would pay Russia and many other countries to read that "When the Most High divided to the nations their inheritance, when He separated the sons of Adam, He set the bounds of the people according to the children of Israel" (Deut. xxxii. 8). These bounds God will maintain wherever they run; whatever country they cut in two, no matter, the earth must finally conform to this Divine geography. This purpose is strongly set forth by Isaiah xliv. 7: "And who, as I, shall call and shall declare it, and set it in order for Me, since I appointed the ancient people? and the things that are coming and shall come." This same sturdy fact is taught by Paul when speaking to the Athenians, telling them that God "hath made of one blood all nations of men to dwell on the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitations." National destinies are not so much things of chance, or prizes for the sword, as many think. God promised to David, when both Israel and Judah were prosperously settled in Palestine under David's reign, that He would appoint a place for His people Israel, and plant them there, and they should not be moved, neither should the wicked afflict them, as aforetime (2 Sam. vii. 10.) This promise God has kept. He has given them the British Isles, where none can afflict them, as they were wont to do when Israel was scattered in Asia and Europe. God has found Manasseh a home in this land of blessings and rich acres.

England, by a necessity, was forced to find new countries to provide for her multiplying population. Then she is forced to enter other nations as a missionary. She, with Manasseh, is chiefly responsible for the evangelisation of the world, and of course they are at work all over the world, for England and the United States send out more missionaries than all the world beside. Russia needs no land for colonisation, for now her inhabitants number only thirty-four to the square mile, while England numbers 889. If we take in all the territory under Russia and England, even then England has more to the square mile than Russia. Russia comprises about 8,000,000 square miles, and England, with her late additions, leaving out the United States, numbers about 9,000,000. Joining Ephraim and Manasseh together, they own one-fourth of the whole world—namely, about 13,000,000 square miles; the whole earth numbers 51,340,800 square miles. Besides, Russia is not a missionary country. She neither sends any, nor accepts any, being at present the only nation closed to missionary operation and toleration. The past few years Russia has gained rapidly in territorial power. With the conquest of Bokhara and portions of Turkestan, or Independent Tartary, she has added some 800,000 square miles.

At the beginning of the last century the Russian advance forts were 2,500 miles distant from those of England. At the close of the century the distance was 2,000. Then in 1810 it was reduced to 1,000. And since 1855 it has been reduced to 400. And now, of course, they want it reduced to nothing by getting control of Afghan.

How wonderfully clear are the fulfilling events of the prophecy. This king of the North is to become a strong king, who, when Israel and Judah are settled in Palestine, will have spirit and power to attack them. So he is ripening, growing, and gathering power ready. Russia now comprises nine crowns, eight of which are crowns of conquest. Russia's one grand desire is to possess Palestine, especially Jerusalem. The Crimean war was waged for rights and extended privileges in this holy city. To-day Russian pilgrims swarm thither by the thousands every year. A few years ago she built outside the Jaffa gate what she called an hospice, which was designed to be nothing more nor less than a fort. It is in a position commanding the whole city, and is a place of great strength. Often she has tried to possess the city and land. By-and-bye she will be permitted by Providence to pour her troops into this "land of unwalled villages," and when having nearly achieved the ambitious plan of ages, and nearly realised her one great national idea, she will perish, to rise no more, "on the mountains of Israel." Her history is set forth by Ezekiel xxxviii. and xxxix. chapters.

Palestine and Jerusalem have borne undeniable evidence for prophecy and Providence. The whole land and the Book have been wonderfully agreed during the past eighteen centuries. How significant and telling the wailings and lamentations of the devout Jews, who crowd under the walls of the mosque of Omar, the site of the ancient temple. Here, each returning Sabbath, groups of Jews may be heard dolefully crying: "Ali bene, Ali bene; bene bethka; bekarob, bimheira, bimheira; beyamenue, bekarob," which, being interpreted, means, "Lord build, Lord build; build Thy house speedily, in haste, in haste; even in our day build Thy house speedily." Yes, mourning brethren of Judah, the time is coming when the house shall be built and the voice of wailing no more heard in the streets.

Can any student or inquirer after the truth fail to see that in our day a prophecy is being fulfilled? Can any one shut their eyes to the wonderful fact that Israel is breaking forth on the left and on the right? God has long ago said that Israel were the people of His inheritance, and that Jacob was the lot of His inheritance, or His girdle, or cord, as the word lot means. Then, if you turn your attention to Great Britain and her colonies, including Manasseh, you will see this girdle or measuring line around the earth. Let me aid you by pointing the same out for you. Look at the Eastern hemisphere circle, enclosing the Gentile nations. Begin with Great Britain; pass on to the Channel Islands, Gibraltar, Malta, Cyprus, West Coast African Colonies, St. Helena, Cape Colonies, Mauritius, Seychelles, Perim, Aden, Ceylon, India, Burmah, Straits Settlements, Labuan, Australian Colonies, Hong Kong, and the Dominion of Canada. In the Western hemisphere commence the circle with Canada and United States, Fiji Islands, New Zealand, Falkland Islands, British Guiana, British Honduras, West India Islands, and Newfoundland. Do we not plainly see that Israel is possessing "the isles of the sea," "coasts of the earth," "waste and desolate places?" These things are not hid in a corner; they proclaim the intentions of God, an over-ruling Providence; and who and where the Lost Tribes are. A miracle and prophecy are fulfilling before our eyes.



ISRAEL AND POPULATION. DISCOURSE IV.

PROPHETIC LATTER DAYS—OUR BEARINGS IN THE AGES—UNWISE IMPATIENCE—ISRAEL TO BE ALWAYS A NATION—HER EMPIRE—HISTORIC CAREER OF AND FUTURE OF ENGLAND, AMERICA, AND JUDAH—RELATIVE INCREASE OF POPULATION—THE INFIDEL SAXON—JEWISH, BRITISH, AND AMERICAN INTERESTS ONE—A FULL END OF ALL NATIONS BUT ISRAEL—FAMINE HENCEFORTH ONLY FOR THE HEATHEN—ARBITRATION TO BE ENFORCED BY ISRAEL—AMERICAN ABSORBTION—STARTLING FIGURES OF FUTURE POPULATION—THE BALANCE OF POWER.

"Yet the number of the children of Israel shall be as the sand of the sea, which cannot be measured or numbered; and it shall come to pass that in the place where it was said unto them, Ye are not My people, there it shall be said unto them, Ye are the sons of the living God."—Hosea i. 10.

A period of time is frequently referred to in the Scriptures as being the "latter days." It is, therefore, very important for the prophetic student, and the Church of Christ at large, that the time of days spoken of should be known. For connected with these days are a number of prophecies waiting fulfilment, and they are of such a nature that their fulfilment may easily be discerned. In breadth and scope they cover much territory and include many people. They cannot be hid in a corner, for the parts are so numerous and the interests so great. The fulfilment of these prophecies will make a radical and fundamental change in Church and State.

I take it for granted we are now entering into the time of the latter days—a time that precedes by a natural consequence the millennium. It is, therefore, unwise on the part of any person to claim that Christ may come any day, and that His millennial reign may be begun at any moment. It is but fair that we should carefully consider our bearings in the circle of Providence and our position in the ages. The story and work of redemption are grand, full of interest and thrilling incidents; still we must take things in their order. Some stories we read are very fascinating. The plot culminates, the characters and incidents converge toward and centre in the hero. At such a point we are often carried away with our sympathy for the hero; we become anxious for him, and desires to know the issues, and so are tempted to skip a few pages and get at the end unwisely and unlawfully. Thus I think many are carried away by a loving desire for the millennium; they become anxious for the return of the Hero of redemption; they skip a few pages of Providence, and come to the end too soon.

These days are preparative, and in such a preparative stage we are warranted to look for the fulfilment of certain prophecies; for prophecies, indeed, of such a nature and character that no Bible student need be mistaken as to the time, place, and conditions of fulfilment. We have called your attention to one of these prophecies, and pointed out to you how the same was literally fulfilling before the eyes of all. God, in olden times, made promises to Abraham, the patriarchs, and their seed. These promises were nothing more nor less than prophecies. He attested the same by His own oath. He called to witness the sun, moon, stars, sea, night, day, the seasons, seedtime and harvest. These He called His ordinances. These ordinances may depart from before Him, but the seed of Israel should not cease to be a nation. They were not only to be a nation, but a company of nations. To this end, in the latter days, they were to come in possession of the isles of the sea, the coasts of the earth, waste and desolate places; to inherit the seed of the Gentiles, and cause their desolate cities to be filled. They were to possess and rule over the heathen. In the latter days they were to possess Edom and Esau—that is, Turkey—and so come in possession of their own land, Palestine. Now I call you to witness, and ask you if these things are so? Before your eyes, before mine, before the eyes of all the world, God is fulfilling His promises made to the fathers.

The very exceptions to the sweeping and comprehensive possessions of the seed of Jacob are pyramidal witnesses to the same. The House of Judah was to become homeless, without a nation and without a government, after they left Palestine; but to be a people known by the race feature, and by their unwavering adherence, attachment, and fidelity to the Mosaic worship. This exception all can see, and none can truthfully deny. They have had money and men enough to buy and rule a nation, but as yet they have none. Their talent, their ability, and their money, have been the chief factor in the rule, prosperity, and greatness of many nations in the past as well as now. And the second conception is not less grand and conclusive. Let any one inquire what was to be the portion of the Tribe of Manasseh, and they will find that Manasseh was to be a distinct people, a great people; for so said the dying patriarch Jacob. Now such a people, a great people, we hold Manasseh to be at this day in the people of the United States. Some sixty colonies England has overrun, established, or conquered, and she is busy at work yet conquering and gathering in. But is it not remarkable that she has never lost one of the many save the United States? Will any one give an earthly reason for this marvellous exception? I presume no one can. There is, however, a Divine reason. Moses, when giving his prophetic benediction to the Tribes of Israel, gives us an insight into this question. Speaking of Joseph and the wonderful blessing in store for his sons Ephraim and Manasseh, he says: "His glory is like the firstling of his bullock, and his horns are like the horns of unicorns; and with them he shall push the people together to the ends of the earth; and they are the ten thousands of Ephraim, and they are the thousands of Manasseh" (Deut, xxxiii. 17). And further light is thrown on this subject when we notice what Isaiah says in the forty-ninth chapter. The children of Israel, when settled in some Isles, would lose a portion of themselves, and still the "children which thou shalt have after thou hast lost the other, shall say again in thine ears, The place is too strait for me, give place to me that I may dwell." The simple and natural interpretation of such a passage is, that the Isles referred to were the British Isles. The children lost refer to Manasseh, the Pilgrims, and Puritans who came from England. And the cry for more room after they have left, shall lead England to look for lands in which to colonise her surplus population, all of which she has done and is doing.

Surely in these things there is something more than chance. Yes, there is a divine purpose fulfilled. Seeing, then, that God will put the land into Israel's hand, there will run another blessing parallel with this—namely, a peculiar increase of the seed, or children of Israel, so that they may occupy and control these lands. These two prophecies are to be fulfilling on a parallel line at the same time. Are they so fulfilling? We answer, Yes; and the answer all the world may verify, for the facts are of such a nature that if they are not so fulfilling it can be very easily disproved.

The prophet tells us in the text that the children of Israel are to be numerous—to be numerous in an extraordinary degree—so much so that it shall appear partly miraculous when such increase is compared to other people or judged by the common methods of reasoning. Hosea had three children; the first a son. He called him Jezreel. This son was set for a witness that God would cause to cease the House of Israel in Palestine—that Israel should cease to be a nation for a time. This idea Isaiah points out under the type of an abandoned wife. God styles Himself the Husband of Israel, and that He had given the wife a bill of divorcement. Thus the two prophets agree, and history ratifies both.

Hosea's second child he calls Lo-Ruhamah. She was set for a witness that God would take away His mercy from the House of Israel for a time, and that God would utterly take them away out of the land. So He did; for a few years after this we find the children of Israel were carried captive into Assyria by Shalmaneser, and the Assyrians were brought and put in their place. And from these Assyrians, who were planted in the cities and country left by the children of Israel, we get the Samaritans, who were, as you see, not Jews nor Israelites by generation—they were manufactured Jews only. "And the Lord removed Israel out of His sight, as He had said by all His servants the prophets. So was Israel carried away out of their own land to Assyria unto this day" (2 Kings xvii. 23). During this captivity, which is even in force till now, barren Israel, the divorced one, was to have more children than the married one—namely, Judah.

We find that the third child born to Hosea is called Lo-ammi, meaning, "Ye are not My people." This child pro-figured the casting out of the Jews; that they would refuse to accept God in Christ, and He therefore would reject them. Thus the Jews became wanderers from their own land. And the land rests in desolation, enjoying her Sabbath of rest, while her sons and daughters are being chastised and trained for their return.

The time will come when God will call Israel to Him, and have mercy upon her, when the divorced one shall be restored to her husband. "And it shall be at that day, saith the Lord, that thou shalt call Me Ishi, and shalt call me no more Baali" (Hos. ii. 16). Now Ishi means husband, and Baali stands for Lord. Saxons have been looked upon as being infidels by the rest of the world. The Mohammedans and Buddhists never reckoned the Saxons as being the sons of God; and Catholic Europe and Greek Russia have looked upon England as infidel and heretical. And the Saxons themselves never went so far in their knowledge as to know who they were, their origin and work. But the prophet says: "It shall come to pass that in the place where it was said unto them, Ye are not My people, there it shall be said unto them, Ye are the sons of the living God." And the time will come when Lo-Ruhamah shall become Ru-hamah, which means to have obtained mercy. And Lo-Ammi shall become Ammi, which means that this is My people. And Jezreel, which was a sign of dispersion, shall be the sign of gathering. "Then shall the children of Judah and the children of Israel be gathered together, and appoint themselves one head, and they shall come up out of the land; for great shall be the day of Jezreel." Then the Jews (Ammi) will call the Saxons their sister, long lost, but found at last. The Saxons (Ru-hamah) will call the Jews their brother, those whom in the past they have hated and persecuted; and thought themselves far removed from Jewish blood. Now they both will acknowledge a common generation, and Abraham their father. And one with his eyes half open can see this part of the prophecy fulfilling. The Jews, England, and United States, from this and henceforth, are one in interest, policy, and destiny.

These being the latter days, let us look for the signs of the multiplying of the seed so that they be as the sea sands God promised to Abraham, saying: "That in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of heaven and as the sand which is upon the sea-shore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies" (Gen. xxii. 17). Old Jacob foretold that Joseph would be a fruitful bough, whose branches would run over the wall—that is, colonise. This increase is to be seen in two ways. Let me direct your attention to one of these ways, in a special manner, because it is so singular and unique, so distinct and discernable. In Jeremiah xxx. 10, 11, we find a remarkable statement: "Fear not, O Israel, for I am with thee, saith the Lord, to save thee. Though I make a full end of all nations whither I have scattered thee, yet will I not make a full end of thee; but I will correct thee in measure, and will not leave thee altogether unpunished." That Israel has been punished and corrected no one will deny who is acquainted with her history and sojourn from the time she was carried captive to this day. But has the other part of the saying been fulfilled? We answer, Yes—as the law of colonisation has progressed. The Ancient Britons are no more; Saxon Israel has entirely supplanted them, just as Manasseh in the United States is supplanting the aborigines or Indians. They perish and disappear like snow before the rising sun. Not all we can do on the line of legislation, philanthropy, and religion, is sufficient to stay the ravages of this long-ago declared decree of Heaven. Go to Canada, and you find they are perishing; in Newfoundland they are entirely gone, and in every other province they are fast disappearing, save such as are saved by incorporation, by marriage, and salt stayed by the power of Christianity; but both these remedies are only temporal—they perish in spite of all in the heated atmosphere of Israel's civilisation. Some few tribes may hold their own and seem to increase, but such does not invalidate the evidence of the decree. For they have perished in such numbers, and so uniformly, when in contact with Israel, that history proclaims the decree fulfilled.

The native inhabitants of Van Dieman, called Tasmanians, have entirely become extinct. The Maories of New Zealand are rapidly diminishing. Fifty years ago they were 200,000 strong; now only about 50,000. In a few more years they will be gone. The same is true in all the other Australian provinces. The same is true of many isles of the sea, also of the African colonies. In these things, so exceptional, we can surely say, with the magicians of old who contended against Moses, "This is the finger of God." Thus we see Israel increasing, by the law of diminution going on among the Gentiles. Israel in the latter day was to be blessed with plenty in the orchards, stall, and field: "For I will lay no more famine upon you, saith the Lord." The past year we learn that some 10,000,000 of Chinese perished in famine. India, in one part, has been greatly reduced in number by the same scourge. This country will be partly protected from the operation of this law—for no doubt a large portion are from Abraham. "But unto the sons of the concubines, which Abraham had, Abraham gave gifts, and sent them away from Isaac his son, while he yet lived, Eastward, unto the East country" (Gen. xxv. 6). This same scourge does not follow the colonising of other nations. It did not follow Spain, nor the Dutch, nor France.

If you turn to the prophets, you will soon learn how they are to increase in the latter days—not by a comparison on the line of diminution only, but in and from themselves. "Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will sow the House of Israel and the House of Judah with the seed of man and beast" (Jer. xxxi. 27). Have these days come? We again say, Yes; and these kind of prophecies are being fulfilled in this day in so special a manner as to make certain the times we live in. Through Israel, Judah, and Manasseh, the earth is to find the equilibrium of peace. The Jews will furnish the money, for in the increasing ascendancy, and multiplying power, and authority of England and America, the Jews will draw closer to them and invest more and more their money with them, because of greater security and profit. The balance of power and even compulsion will be in the hands of England and America, to force arbitration on disputing nations, and they will do so, having set the precedents themselves in the Alabama and fish treaties. At present, many will refuse this idea, and point to the famous Monroe doctrine. Now that doctrine has had its time, nearly; and it has served a good purpose for the country. The mercantile growth, and general producing power of this country, will cause us to abandon our selfish protection policy; for of all other people on the face of the earth we will want free trade; for we will have the greatest surplus of mercantile and agricultural productions, and in a short time our very position and ability will push away all competitors. Once our mercantile and agricultural interests are cast in other nations, we will then have an interest in their wars and peace, and will be led to interfere.

The chief way in which the balance of power will fall into English and American hands is in the fulfilling of the blessings of the text: the multiplying of this people, first by natural increase, and second by incorporation and absorption. Look at this law of absorption; how vigorous and sure! If you turn into a field of grass fowls, pigs, horses, and cows, you get chicken-meat, pork, horseflesh, and beef. The individualism in each creature absorbs and converts the same field of grass into themselves. So into this country are coming people of every nation and race, but the individualism of Manasseh will in due time make them all Manassehites. The children of the Russians, Poles, Spanish, and so on, become American in taste, manners, and sympathies. They are being grafted into the tree of Manasseh.

But look at the law of increase naturally. Take the population of several countries as given in the last census, and carefully note the relative increase, and how long it takes each nation to double its number. Russia, eighty-six millions, doubles every 100 years; Germany, forty-two millions, doubles every 100 years; Turkey, forty-seven millions, doubles every 550 years; Austria, thirty-seven millions, doubles every 100 years; France, thirty-six millions, doubles every 140 years; Great Britain, thirty-three millions, doubles every 55 years; United States, forty millions, doubles every 25 years; Italy, twenty-seven millions, doubles every 125 years; Egypt, seventeen millions, doubles every 150 years; Spain, sixteen millions, doubles every 112 years; English colonies, ten millions, doubles every 25 years. Now make a calculation for 100 years, from 1878 to 1978, and see how these countries stand in population and their relative position. Russia will have one hundred and seventy-two millions; Germany, eighty-four; Turkey, fifty-six; Austria, seventy-four; France, fifty-nine; Great Britain, one hundred and thirty-seven; Italy, forty-one; Egypt, twenty-nine; Spain, twenty-eight; United States, six hundred and forty; and the English colonies, one hundred and sixty—and that is not reckoning the natives in the colonies, only the descendants of the English. Of course, in a country like India, the natives will be a considerable number, and they might properly be reckoned in with the colonial items, and so swell the number of Israel's power.

Now these figures show a wonderful conclusion. In simple language, we find that in 1978, the English-speaking race, or Israelites, will number 937 millions, while all of Russia, Germany, Turkey, Austria, France, Italy, Egypt, and Spain, will only number 543 millions. Where then, we ask, will be the balance of power? And why should this certain law come into operation at this time, if it be not the blessing foretold by the prophets? And can we not see that these are the latter days, and that God is fulfilling His promises to Israel?

The blood of Abraham and the faith of Abraham have been wonderfully preserved and projected down through the centuries with telling effect. And on this line the Darwinian theory of election is very true, for the survival of the fittest is the proclaimed law of Heaven. There is power in land possession and there is power in number, and if these two factors maintain their force for one hundred years, then we infer of certainty that the sceptre of rule and destiny of the world will be in the hands of Israel, unless the laws of nature are reversed, and the promises of God fail. The Word of God cannot fail or return unto Him void; it must accomplish that whereunto He sent it and prosper in things designed, or as Jeremiah xxiii. 20 says: "The anger of the Lord shall not return until He has executed and till He has performed the thoughts of His heart; in the latter days ye shall consider it perfectly."



ISRAEL AND LANGUAGE. DISCOURSE V.

LATTER DAY PROPHETIC PROMISES—TIME OF ISRAEL'S REVIVAL—PYRAMID TESTIMONY—BRITISH ISLAND POPULATION IN 1882—AFFINITY BETWEEN ENGLISH AND HEBREW—CELL OF THE HONEYBEE—ORIGIN OF LANGUAGE—LION OF LANGUAGES—FOREIGN TESTIMONY—ALL TONGUES INDIGENOUS BUT ENGLISH—THE PRE-MILLENNIAL TOKENS.

"For then will I turn to the people a pure language, that they may all call upon the name of the Lord, to serve Him with one consent."—Zephaniah iii. 9.

In the last two discourses we called your attention to two prophecies that are now fulfilling; they are on parallel lines of time and territory. The first had reference to the rapid accumulation of the lands of the earth by Israel. Accepting the Anglo-Saxons as being the children and descendants of Jacob, it naturally follows that the prophetic blessings and promises made to Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and their heirs, should find a fulfilment in these, the latter days, and that such fulfilment should be found in the English nation, among the Jews, and in the United States. It is easy to see and believe that the curses prophetically pronounced on Judah and Israel have been fulfilled, especially on the House of Judah. The promises to the House of Israel are now being grandly realised. England is in possession of the isles of the sea, the coasts of the earth, the waste and desolate places, the heathen is her inheritance, and she is inheriting the seed of the Gentiles, and causing their desolate cities to be inhabited. From the taking of Jamaica, by General Penn, in 1655, to the peaceful cession of Cyprus, the course of this little island nation has been onward and upward. And if her conquests and progress are not amenable to prophecy, for an interpretation, then the wonder is still greater. The facts are with us, and must be accounted for some way. The second had reference to the multitudinous seed of Israel in the latter days. Till two hundred years ago the Anglo-Saxons were not in this respect distinct from other races; indeed, for centuries they were distinct rather for their weakness in multiplying power and number. Many other races have exceeded them in this particular. But no sooner do we come abreast of the latter day time than we find the laws of centuries changed. In thermal science it is an axiom that heat expands all bodies, and of course that cold contracts them. But to this general rule there is one beautiful and benevolent exception: it is in water; for if we start with water at thirty-two degrees, we find the remarkable phenomenon of cold expanding all below thirty-two, and heat expanding all above. If we take water at 212 degrees and withdraw it from the heat, it will continue to contract till we reach thirty-two; then the law is reversed, and the water expands. Now the reversion of this law, at this particular point, is wonderfully expressive of Divine forethought and benevolence. By such a change ice is made to float in water, and so save our lakes, streams, and wells from being frozen solid. As this exception is to thermal science, so is the law of reproduction to Israel in this day. This people, who have been behind other races, now, at an appointed time, step to the front. The law seems to be reversed, and that too for a benevolent purpose—for the very purpose that they might be able to fulfil the mission assigned them in these last days, to occupy the new lands and evangelise the world. One prophecy seems to call for the other, for what would be the use of the lands without the people, or the people without the lands? It is an amazing fact that Queen Victoria should bear rule over one-third of the population of the whole earth, and that Israel, including Manasseh, should own one-fourth of the land.

But this amazing fact is made reasonable when we accept the Queen as being of the seed of David, and an heir to the promises attaching to David's throne, and when we accept the Anglo-Saxons as being the Ten Lost Tribes of Israel. Then prophecy, Providence, and facts, are a trinity—they are one sublime whole. God, speaking through Moses, said He would punish to reform Israel for seven times—and seven times prophetically understood, means 2,520 years. If we allow that Israel were carried captive in the year 725 before Christ, then Israel would come into freedom, or be reformed, about 1795; because if we add 725 to 1,795, we get 2,520. Up to this point they were to be robbed of their children and to be few in number (see Lev. xxvi. 22). In the year 1795 Israel were to be relieved from these curses; and about this time this special law of reproduction came into operation; or, if we take the lamentations of Hosea vi. 1-3: "Come and let us return unto the Lord, for He hath torn, and He will heal us; He hath smitten, and He will bind us up; after two days will He revive us; in the third day He will raise us up, and we shall live in His sight. Then shall we know if we follow on to know the Lord. His going forth is prepared as the morning, and He shall come unto us as the rain, as the latter and former rain unto the earth." By this passage, our day and the special providences of this period are mournfully and graphically referred to. Here a day stands for a thousand years, "for a day with the Lord is as a thousand years;" so that when two thousand years should have passed by, Ephraim, who stands for Israel, was to be revived and blessed with fruitfulness sometime during the third day, or thousand years. In ancient time a day was counted when it had a majority—that is, when it had passed the half. The prophet here says we were to be revived, or raised up, on the third day. So, if you again take these three thousand-year days, you will find that two of them are to be completely passed, and during the third we were to be raised. The number we have given, 2,520, exactly meets the interpretation—2,000 complete, and 520 make a majority for the third day by the twenty over the half. These prophetic figures tally well with the existing state of things. About the beginning of this century England assumed to lead the world. It is a remarkable coincidence that, in the last century, the question of how to multiply the population was a subject of debate and legislation in the British Parliament. But what legislation failed to do, God in His providence did at the appointed time.

It is a curious fact, and well worth noticing, that the famous witness of the Lord of hosts in Egypt, the Great Pyramid, forecasts what the number of Israel and Judah would be in the year 1882. As Israel is symbolised in the Grand Gallery, it is found that the cubic contents of the same, in inches, is about 36,000,000; thus by some this is interpreted to mean that inches stand for individuals, and if so, then England proper will have this number in 1880. Whether this is a true interpretation or not, we all know that these figures will be about right. The Queen's Chamber of the Pyramid symbolises the number and condition of the Jews.

From these two prophecies, so sublimely fulfilling, let me invite your attention to another that is now maturing. It, too, is parallel with the other two. We refer to the peculiar growth, power, and progress of the English language. After Israel went into captivity, they were to lose their language and take or form another. "For with stammering lips and another tongue will He speak to this people" (Isa. xxviii. 11). We will all agree that the English language is not the Hebrew; and if we are Israelites, then indeed God is speaking to us in another tongue, for few of us read His Word in Hebrew. It is read to the millions in the English; hence the millions hear God speak to them in another tongue than that of Hebrew. Between the English and Hebrew languages there is an intimate relation, especially back a few years, before the English had grown so much. The Hebrew was a very limited language; not numbering more than 7,000 words. The English is now said to number about 80,000. The most lavish writer does not use over 10,000; the common average is about 3,000. In the English we have not less than 1,000 Hebrew roots. This, comparing the languages a few years back, is a large percentage. In names of persons and places the Hebrew is very prominent in England.

I take it for a fact that language is of Divine origin. Men have written on the origin of language from every standpoint; the majority of them trying to account for its existence without allowing so noble a source. The first man, Adam, I believe, could talk as easily and naturally as he could see, and hear, and taste. Speech was a part of his endowment. There is nothing more wonderful in a man talking than a bird singing, save that speech is a higher order of utterance. Dumb nature performs marvels every day as mighty and wonderful as man's talking. The honey-bee builds its cells, ignorant of the fact that such construction is the solution of a problem which had troubled men for centuries to solve. At what point shall certain lines meet so as to give the most room with the least material and have the greatest strength in the building? This problem is said to have been worked out by a Mr. McLaughland, a noted Scotch mathematician, who arrived at his conclusion by laborious and careful fluxionary calculation. To his surprise, and to the surprise of the world, such lines and such a building were found in the common bee cell. Now I hold that the same Creator who gave to the bee the mathematical instinct could endow man with the instinct of speech. Even to animal instinct we find a certain variation and permitted latitude in what is called adaptive instinct. So in man we find this same instinct of adaptation in a higher sense. The instinct comes into play when we suppose a number of persons separated from others, each living in different quarters of the globe. In such a condition, though of the same language when first separated, they would not remain so long—that is, in the primitive state of society. Thus, among the tribes of Africa, at this day, languages are widening and varying from a once common centre. So Israel in captivity would lose the Hebrew gradually. The language of the people among whom they settled was the Sanskrit, from which a score of languages have come—the German, French, and Italian, Saxon and others. The Saxon of to-day, compared with the Saxon of 2,000 years ago, is very different; so much so that for us to learn and speak it would be equal to learning a new language. Thus the English language is a thing of growth. In the year 1362 the Saxon was made the court language of England. From that time onward its growth has been wonderful.

The prophetic outlines and Divine place of this language may be seen in the germal foundations, which give unto it such vigour, tenacity, and capabilities of expansion. All the features of this language go to show that it is destined to be the medium of a world's intercourse, and that it very suitably belongs to Israel, in whose hand will be the destiny of the world. It is the lion of languages. It will grow anywhere, and by reason of its tenacity when once it gets a foothold it abides. It is peculiarly suited to the humanities of every race, clime, and condition; there is no limit to its expansive adaptability. It is in a special manner voracious in the destruction of other languages; wherever it goes, it sounds the death-knell of all the rest.