his own salvation. Rest not in mere head knowledge of prophetic
1. For one thing, I charge every reader of this address to remember the special blessing which God has promised to all who care for Israel. Whatever a sneering world may say, the Jews are a people "beloved for their fathers' sake." Of Jerusalem it is written, "They shall prosper, who love you" (Psalm 122:6). Of Israel it is written, "Blessed is he who blesses you, and cursed is he who curses you" (Num. 24:9). These promises are not yet exhausted. We see their fulfillment in the blessing granted to the Church of England since the day when the Jewish cause was first taken up. We see their fulfillment in the peculiar honor which God has put from time to time on individual Christians who have labored especially for the Jewish cause. Charles Simeon, Edward Bickersteth, Robert M'Cheyne, Haldane Stewart, and Dr. Marsh are striking examples of what I mean. Is there anyone that desires God's special blessing? Then let him labor in the cause of Israel, and he shall not fail to find it.
2. For another thing, I charge every reader of this address never to forget the close connection which Scripture reveals between the time of Israel's gathering — and the time of Christ's second advent to the world. In one Psalm it is expressly declared, "When the Lord shall build up Zion — He shall appear in His glory" (Psalm 102:16). Where is the true believer who does not long for that blessed day? Where is the true Christian who does not cry from the bottom of his heart, "May Your kingdom come"? Let all such work and give and pray, so that the Gospel may have free course in Israel. The time to favor Zion is closely bound up with the restitution of all things. Blessed indeed, is that work of which the completion shall usher in the second coming of the Lord!
3. Finally, I charge every reader of this address to make sure work of his own salvation. Rest not in mere head knowledge of prophetic subjects. Be not content with intellectual soundness in the faith. Give diligence to make your own calling and election sure. Seek to know that your repentance and faith are genuine and true. Seek to feel that you are one with Christ and Christ in you, and that you are washed,
sanctified, and justified. Then, whether the completion of God's promises to Israel are near or far off — your own portion will be sure. You will stand safely, when the kingdoms of this world are passing away. You will meet Christ without fear, when He comes the second time to Zion. You will join boldly in the song, "Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord." You will sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of God and go out no more.
The Reading Which is Blessed
"The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show his servants what must soon take place. He made it known by sending his angel to his servant John, who testifies to everything he saw — that is, the word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ. Blessed is the one who reads the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear it and take to heart what is written in it, because the time is near!" Revelation 1:1-3
We live in "troublous" and "perilous" times. It is many years since there has been so much in the aspect of public affairs to raise anxious thoughts as there is in the present day. We are always apt to exaggerate the importance of events that happen in our own days. I do not forget that. But I cannot retract what I have just written. I look around me at the things now going on in the Church and in the world. I look forward to the possible future. And as I look, I feel that I am justified in speaking of our times as "perilous" and "troublous." I appeal to the judgment of all who observe the history of their own times. "Is there not a cause?"
There are three heavy judgments which God can send upon a nation — the sword, the pestilence, and the famine. All these three have fallen heavily upon our country within the last few years. The Irish famine, the Russian war, the cholera, the cattle plague — have left marks on this country which cannot be erased. Surely these signs of the times deserve no common notice. They should make us say with Habakkuk, "I will stand upon my watch, and set upon my tower, and will watch to see what He will say unto me" (Hab. 2:1). They should make us cry with Daniel, "O my Lord, what shall be the end of these things?" (Daniel 12:8.)
But one thing, at all events, is clear — and that is the duty incumbent on Christians to search more diligently than ever the prophetic