The central Presbyterian. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1856-1908, 1879-09-03

rious storms of persecution have burst
upon their heads, and ragged pitiIessly for
centuries; through eighteen hundred
years they have been tossed to and fro
among strangers, without a common gov
eminent to bind them together; and yet
they remain distinct and peculiar people
The usual tendency of water is to mix
with water The Niagara river rushes
with impetuous torrent, from beneath the
Falls, but soon is lost in lake Ontario
The mightiest rivers disappear when they
flow into the ocean Yet the Gulf Stream,
with current more rapid than the Mis-
sissippi, and a volume a thousand times
greater than the Amazon, flows steadily
and surely, through a bed of water for
more than three thousand miles. Cold
currents come down from the north, and
press againstit; hugeicebergs drift athwart
its channel and impede its waters storms
burst in fury across its path, lashing the
pillows into wild commotion; but from its
source in the Gulf of Mexico to its mouth
in the Arctic Ocean, it preserves its dis
tinctive character, refusing to ming with
the surrounding waters and be lost. So
this peculiar people, in spite Of storm and
tempest, keeps its course, without those
social and political barriers, that are usu-
ally necessary to separate existence;
and preserves its distinctive Characters
ties, refusing to mix with the surrounding
nations.
II. THE EXPLANATION OF THIS sINGU-
LAR PHENOMENON. The historian and the
philosopher can discover several circum-
stances conspiringto produce this remark
able history for instance, the hatred of
other races tended to keep them isolated,
and their own intense bigotry and national
pride gave them vitality But little re-
Election shows us that we must look
higher for our solution, as these very cir
cumstances are unusual, and need to be
accounted for The only explanation is
found in the Word of God, which foretells
these things with the clearness of history.
1t is written in Deut. xviii: 64-67,
"The Lord shall scatter thee among all
people, from the one end of the earth
even unto the other. And among these
nations thou shalt find no ease, neither
shall the sole of thy foot have rest; but
the Lord shall give thee there trembling
heart, and failing of eyes, and sorrow Of
mind; and thy life shall hang in doubt
before thee; and thou shalt fear day and
night, and shalt have no assurance Of thy
life. In the morning thou shalt say would
God it were even, and at even thou shalt
say, would God it were morning for the
fear of thine heart And this prophecy
is often repeated: Lev. XVI: 33, Deut.
": q, Jer XIV: 9, Eek. xii Is, &c.
At the same time was clearly revealed
the purpose of God, that they should not
be entirely cut off, nor disappear by
blending with other nations. Yet for
all that I will not cast them away, Meth
er will l abhor them to destroy them ut
terly." Lev. XVI: A. "Yet I will not
utterly cut thee off, or leave thee wholly
UNPUBLISHED" Jer. XVI: %. "The chill
dren Of Israel shall abide many days
without king, and without prince, and
without sacrifice, and without an image,
and without an ephod, and without ter
aphim. Afterward shall the children of
Israel return, and seek the Lord their
God, and David their king; and shall
fear the Lord and his goodness in the lat
ter days" Hosea iii: 4, 5.
Who that considers these things can
doubt the divine origin of the Scriptures,
which thus foretell the end from the be-
ginning?
And what Christian, seeing how the
Lord hath made all things work together
for the accomplishment of his purposes
concerning this people, can doubt his
watchful control of earthly matters?
J. M. R.