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CHAPTER XX.

JERUSALEM.

JERUSALEM, THE CAPITAL OF THE WORLD.

"And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the Lord's house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it. . . .

"FOR OUT OF ZION SHALL GO FORTH THE LAW, AND the WORD OF THE LORD FROM JERUSALEM.

"And he shall judge among the nations, and shall rebuke many people and they shall beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks: nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more."-Isaiah 2:2-4.

Awake, to See and to Do.

"Awake, awake, stand up, O Jerusalem, which hast drunk at the hand of the LORD the cup of his fury; thou hast drunken the dregs of the cup of trembling, and wrung them out. . . .

"Awake, awake; put on thy strength, O Zion; put on thy beautiful garments, O Jerusalem, the holy city: for henceforth there shall no more come into thee the uncircumcised and the unclean.

"Shake thyself from the dust; arise, and sit down, O Jerusalem: loose thyself from the bands of thy neck, O captive daughter of Zion.

"Fear not; for thou shalt not be ashamed; either be thou confounded; for thou shalt not be put to shame; for thou shalt forget the shame of thy youth, and shalt not remember the reproach of thy widowhood any more.

"For the mountains shall depart, and the hills be removed; but my kindness shall not depart from thee, neither shall the covenant of my peace be removed, said the LORD that hath mercy on thee."

Security and Blessings.

"O thou afflicted, tossed with tempests, and not comforted! be bold, I will lay thy stones with fair colors, and lay thy foundations with sapphires.

"And I will make thy windows of agates, and thy gates of carbuncles, and all thy borders of pleasant stones.

"And all thy children shall be taught of the LORD; and great shall be the peace of thy children.

"In righteousness shalt thou be established; thou shalt be far from oppression; for thou shalt not fear; and from terror, for it shall not come near thee.

"NO WEAPON THAT IS FORMED AGAINST THEE SHALL PROSPER; AND EVERY TONGUE THAT SHALL RISE AGAINST THEE IN JUDGMENT THOU SHALT CONDEMN. THIS IS THE HERITAGE OF THE SERVANTS OF THE LORD, AND THEIR RIGHTEOUSNESS IS OF ME. .. ."-Isaiah 51 17; 52: 1, 2; 54: 4, 10, 11-14, 17.

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Strangers Shall Build Thy Walls.

"And the sons of strangers shall build up thy walls, and their kings shall minister unto thee: for in my wrath I smote thee, but in my favor have I had mercy on thee.

"Therefore thy gates shall be open continually; they shall not be shut day or night; that men may bring unto thee the forces of the Gentiles, and that their kings may be brought.

"FOR THE NATION AND KINGDOM THAT WILL NOT SERVE THEE SHALL PERISH; YEA, THOSE NATIONS SHALL BE UTTERLY WASTED."-Isaiah 60: 10-12.

Here notice that it is ordered that "the sons of strangers" shall build up the walls of Jerusalem. Now this is divine ordinance to be attended to at the proper time. And that time is now near at hand. A movement has been started for the rebuilding of cities and towns in France by American money and enterprise. This movement is laudable and well meant, but if this enterprise should exhaust our resources to such an extent that America will be unable to do her duty toward Jerusalem and the Holy Land, which is now being cleared of Gentile possession and domination, then a great opportunity will be lost. France is a wealthy nation, and after restoration of peace, she will soon recuperate. Let us again look at the particulars of

Uncle Sam's Commission.

in this respect. "I have raised him up in righteousness, and I will direct ALL HIS WAYS:

"He shall build my city, and he shall let go my captives, not for price nor reward, saith the LORD of Hosts."

The things

Notice: "SAITH THE LORD OF HOSTS." ordained, demanded, are proclaimed by none other than the living God, the Lord of Lords and King of Kings, the Supreme Ruler of the Universe. And it behooves us to attend to His ordinances and decrees first of all.

Restoration of Jerusalem and Palestine.

Great blessings and happiness, such as have not been enjoyed on this earth since the fall in Paradise, are connected with the restoration of the Holy Land, both spiritually and economically, by all nations of the earth.

Writing of the restoration of the children of Israel, the Apostle Paul reminds the Romans: "Now if the fall of them (the Israelites) be the riches of the world, and the diminishing of them be the riches of the Gentiles; HOW MUCH MORE THEIR FULLNESS. . . .'

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For if the casting away of them be the reconciling of the world, WHAT SHALL THE RECEIVING OF THEM BE, BUT LIFE FROM THE DEAD? ...

"For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery (lest ye should be wise in your own conceits) that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in."

"And so Israel shall be saved, as it is written: there shall come out of Zion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob:

"For this is my covenant unto them, when I shall take away. their sins."-Romans 11.

Turning to Jeremiah, the Prophet, we read: "Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will raise unto David a righteous Branch, and a King shall reign and prosper.

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"AND SHALL EXECUTE JUDGMENT AND JUSTICE IN THE EARTH.

"In His days Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell safely: and this is His name, whereby He shall be called, THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS."-Jer. 23: 5, 6.

And again: "For there shall be a day that the watchman upon the Mount of Ephraim shall cry:

"Arise ye, and let us go up to ZION unto the LORD our GOD. "For thus saith the LORD: Sing with gladness for Jacob, and shout among the chief of the nations: Praise ye, praise ye, and say: "O LORD, save thy people, the remnant of Israel.

"Behold, I will bring them from the north country, and gather them from the coasts of the earth, and with them the blind and the lame, the woman with child and her that travaileth with child together. A great company shall return thither. . . ."

A Proclamation.

"Hear the word of the LORD, O ye nations, and declare it in the isles afar off, and say:

"He that scattered Israel will gather him and keep him, as a shepherd does his flock.

"For the LORD hath redeemed Jacob, and ransomed him from the hand of him that was stronger than he.

"Therefore they shall come and sing in the height of Zion, and shall flow together to the goodness of the LORD. . . . And I will satiate the soul of the priests with fatness, and my people shall be satisfied with my goodness, saith the Lord."*

A City to the Lord.

"Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that the city shall be built to the LORD from the Tower of Hananeel unto the gate of the corner.

"And the measuring line shall yet go forth over against it upon the hill Gareb, and shall compass about Goath.

"And the whole valley of the dead bodies, and of the ashes, and all the fields unto the brook of Kidron, unto the corner of the horse-gate toward the east, SHALL BE HOLY UNTO THE LORD; it shall not be plucked up nor thrown down any more forever. Jer. 31: 38-40.

Here we notice that the boundary lines of the CITY OF THE LORD, Jerusalem, shall be extended, and that places before unclean shall be sanctified and embraced. Both the valley of dead bodies, where corpses were burned, and Gareb, the abode of lepers, and Goath (Golgatha, Calvary), shall constitute parts of the new rebuilt city.

What pleasure, what opprtunity, for all to contribute to the rebuilding of the CITY OF THE LORD! For to have a stone in its walls, or a golden nail in the temple, or a window-pane in its sanctuary, will be to have a name inscribed in that City forever.

This general goodwill and voluntary contributions towards the restoration of Jerusalem and the Holy Land, is implied figuratively in Isaiah 60: 16, 17: Thou shalt also suck the milk of the Gentiles, and shalt suck the breasts of kings; and thou shalt know that I the LORD am thy Saviour and thy Redeemer, the Mighty One in Jacob. For brass I will bring gold, and for iron I will bring silver and for wood brass, and for stones iron: I will also make thy officers peace, and thine exactors righteousness."

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So then a glorious ERA is approaching. May we all be prepared and ready to enter into it; and for it and in it do our “bit.' The New Covenant.

"Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will make a NEW COVENANT with the House of Israel, and with the House

*Is not this a remarkable way for the LORD GOD to express Himself? That the people shall be satisfied with His goodness. Are we, really, satisfied with His goodness? Hasn't the Lord been good to us?

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