As a lion, Mic. v. 8. Having supremacy, Mic. iv. 8; Dan. ii. 35. And power, if exercised, Mic. v. 8. Judah's character, a lion, Gen. xlix. 9. Standard of Judah, Num. ii. 2; Ezek. i. 10; Rev. iv. 7. A lion, Israel restored. Victory of Israel, Mic. v. 9; Isa. xiv. 2; xxv. 8, 9, 10. Israel's defence cut off, Mic. v. 10, 11; Zech. ix. 10. Forbidden, Isa. xxx. 15–17. In order that they should trust in God, Isa. x. 20; xxvi. 1; Trusting now in the nations, e. g. naturalisation of Jews. Witchcrafts and soothsayers cut off, Mic. v. 12. Forbidden, Deut. xviii. 10, 11. That they should look to Messiah, Deut. xviii. 15. Trusted in nevertheless, 1 Sam. xxviii. 7; Isa. viii. 19. Groves and idols cut off, Mic. v. 13, 14. Commanded to be destroyed, Ex. xxxiv. 13. Enemies of God and of Israel destroyed, Mic. v. 15. That the Bethlehemite may be the ruler in Israel. [The above notes, as our readers will perceive, are more calculated for study than for general or cursory reading. We purpose, D.V., inserting similar notes in our periodical from time to time, believing that working out the context of a prediction has much to do with its elucidation; e. g., the birth of our Lord in Bethlehem is closely connected in the prophet with a mighty deliverance to be wrought by Him for Israel at a time yet future, and to which it was a necessary preliminary.-E. Q. J. of Pr.] Reviews. The Theological and Literary Journal. Edited by D. N. LORD. Nos. 37, 38, 39, 40. WE have formerly quoted largely from this able journal, and we should have done so again, but the above Numbers have just come to hand, and our space is almost filled. We do not think it needful to enter into any discussion on the remarks made on ourselves at page 525. We wish to give an extract upon the much-disputed passage in the 24th of Matthew, "This generation shall not pass," &c. In another part of this Number the reader will find another view of the pas sage; but we confess a leaning to that given in the following extract : "This prediction is indisputably then a prediction of the personal coming of the Son of man in glory, to judge the nations, and establish His kingdom on the earth. "Christ now, in the last division of His discourse, assures His disciples of the certainty of these events, and gives a further answer to the question respecting the sign of His coming, and the end of the age, by a comparison of the signals He had already foreshewn of His coming, with the prognostics which the budding of the fig tree in the spring furnishes of the approach of summer. "But learn a similitude from the fig-tree. When now its branch becomes tender and puts forth leaves, ye know that summer is near. So also when when ye see all these (events), ye may know that (this) is near, at the doors. Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass away, until all these (events) take place. The heaven and the earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away' (ver. 32-35). As the budding of the fig-tree is an infallible signal of the approach of summer, so the occurrence of the events He had foreshewn as to precede His coming in the clouds, would be a signal of the approach of that coming. That it is His coming of which those events are to be prognostics, is seen from the statement by Luke, that it is the kingdom of God which those occurrences are to indicate to be near. 'So also ye, when ye see these events taking place, may know that the kingdom of God is near' (chap. xxi. 31). What then are those events that were to be signs of Christ's coming, and yet were to come into existence before the generation whom He addressed passed away, while His coming itself was not to take place till a long period after? "The seeming incompatibilities of these predictions have perplexed commentators greatly, and led many of them to deny that the advent here foreshewn is a personal one, and treat it as a mere figure or representative of the act of providence by which the Romans were permitted or employed to destroy Jerusalem, and drive the nation into exile. No such expedient, however, violating the language, and subverting the prophecy, is requisite. The predictions are wholly consistent with each other, and were literally verified, before the generation had passed away that was in life when they were spoken. The events referred to were those Christ had predicted that were to precede the time of His coming; not those, like the signs in the sun, moon, and stars, that were to be contemporary, or of the same period with it. This is seen from their being signals that it was near, as the buds of spring are signals of the approach of summer, not of its actual arrival. As a space of some length intervenes between the first unfolding of the buds and leaves in spring, and the arrival of summer, so a proportional space was to intervene between the occurrence of these preliminary events and the advent of Christ of which they were to be the prognostics and harbinger. What then were all those events which were to come into being before that generation passed away, and were to be signals of the approach of His advent? They were the rise of false Christs, the persecution of His disciples, the occurrence of wars, earthquakes, famines, and pestilences, alienations and apostasies among His professed followers, the invasion of Judea by the Romans, the distress of the nation, the siege and desolation of Jerusalem, and the captivity and dispersion of the survivors of the people among all nations: for these are the events, and all the great events, that He had foreshewn as to precede the time of His coming; and all these events actually took place during the life of that generation, and far the most significant of them to the Jewish people, namely, their captivity and dispersion in foreign lands, and the treading of their city by the Gentiles down to near the time of Christ's coming, were to be a continually present sign, that the remaining predictions of the prophecy were to have a like exact fulfilment. Events of all these classes, verifying this prediction, thus actually took place ere that generation passed; and that verification was not only consistent with the fact that some of those events, such as the captivity and dispersion of the Jews, the persecution of believers, and the prevalence of iniquity, continued through long periods after; but also with the long delay of Christ's coming. The prolongation of the Jewish dispersion presents no inconsistency with the fact that it commenced within a few years of the time when the prophecy was spoken. Nor is there any contradiction to its commencement in that age, or its prolongation, in the fact that Christ has not yet come. For the prophecy foreshews that His coming is not to take place till the period of the Jewish tribulation is ended; and that tribulation, it foreshews, is to be prolonged till the times of the Gentiles are finished. The prophecy itself thus contemplated the intervention of a long space between the commencement and the end of the Jewish dispersion. The coming of Christ, accordingly, was as near to the commencement of that dispersion, proportionally to the great events that were still to precede His advent, as summer is to the first buds of spring, proportionally to the events that intervene between those buds and the arrival of that season. "Christ apprises them, however, that notwithstanding these signs the time of His coming was to be unknown to men. "Yet of that day and hour no man knows, nor the angels of heaven, but my Father only. But as the days of Noe, so also shall the coming of the Son of man be. For as in the days of Noe before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, and they knew not till the flood came and took them all away; so also shall the coming of the Son of man be. Then two shall be in the field; one shall be taken, and one shall be left. Two shall be grinding in the mill; one shall be taken, and one shall be left," ver. 36-40. That both, believers and unbelievers, were thus to be left in uncertainty of the exact period of His coming, implies that a considerable time was to pass between the fulfilments of the prophecy that were to take place before the generation passed that was living when it was uttered, and His coming. And men were not only to be ignorant of the precise time when He was to come, but were to sink into utter thoughtlessness and indifference in respect to it, and devote themselves to the cares and pleasures of this life, as regardless of His approaching advent to judge them as though no such event had been revealed to them, and was impending. And how has this prediction, in both its parts, been verified! Those who from time to time have attempted to fix the day of His coming, have only shewn their ignorance and presumption: while not only the world at large, but the church generally, has sunk into an almost total disbelief of His speedy advent, and regards it with aversion. It is very generally denied, indeed, that the advent here foreshewn is a personal advent, and maintained that no coming of the Son of man is to take place, till a time arrives when the race is to be arrested in its multiplication, the work of redemption brought to a close, and the earth consigned to annihilation; and those who reject these portentous fictions, and believe and defend the teachings of this and the other prophecies respecting Christ's coming and kingdom, are often jeered as fanatics, and repelled with insults and scorn. A very slight knowledge, however, of the events in which they hold that this prophecy had its accomplishment would reveal to them their error, and silence their reproaches. No facts respecting the siege and capture of Jerusalem, in which they hold it had its fulfilment, are more notorious and indisputable, than that they did not occur suddenly and unexpectedly to the Jewish people. The Roman army entered Palestine about four years before the siege of the capital was begun, and in the mean time had conquered all the other chief cities and districts of the holy land. Jerusalem was the last to be assailed, and the approaches to it of the legions from the west, north, and east, were very gradual, and gave time to such of the inhabitants as wished to withdraw and retreat to a place of safety. Whatever the time may be, therefore, when the event denominated Christ's coming is to take place, it is certain that it cannot have been that of the approach of the Roman army to Jerusalem, and its siege and capture; as these events did not occur unexpectedly, nor suddenly, to the Jewish people. They were forewarned that it was to be attacked, and in continual expectation of it from the commencement of the war in A.D. 66, to its fall in A.D. 70." The Golden Lamp: An Exposition of the Tabernacle and its Services. By RIDLEY H. HERSCHELL, Author of "A Visit to my Fatherland," "Mystery of the Gentile Dispensation," &c. &c. London: James Nisbet & Co. 1858. THE Expositions here given us by Mr Herschell of the Tabernacle Service are exceedingly good. The volume is a useful one. In the chapter on the Day of Atonement he thus writes: "Yes, the entrance into the holiest of all, the approach to the ark of the covenant, and the mercy-seat, shall be superseded by something more glorious and blessed, so that an Israelite shall not need to think any more' of the ark of the covenant. The material ark, the mercy-seat made of gold, and the mysterious cloud, shall all disappear, and the Israelitish heart shall then be drawn up into a higher communion and enjoyment. That which was only faintly foreshadowed in the ark, and in the whole of the service connected with the holiest of all, shall then be realised by a union and fellowship with God Himself. One more passage I refer to, which is also remarkable, in the latter part of the prophecies of Ezekiel (chap. xl.-xliv.), where he speaks of a future glory that has not yet been enjoyed by Israel. Never had such a temple existed, never had such services existed, as are described there. It is remarkable, that when the prophet Ezekiel describes this future glory of the festivities of Israel, he does not mention the day of atonement, important as that day was in the whole of the economy of Israel. When the prophet speaks of that future glory, he mentions only these two feasts, the feast of tabernacles and the passover; the one a commemoration of national deliverance, the other a feast of joy, commemorative of that tabernacle which the Lord Himself had raised up for them, to shelter them from the storm and from the tempest. Then the Lord Himself shall be, as it were, unto them a pillar of cloud by day and of fire by night, as described in the fourth chapter of the prophecies of Isaiah. The reason is plain why the other feasts are not mentioned. The feast of weeks is not mentioned, because it was commemorative of the giving of the law. The new covenant shall then have been established with the house of Judah and with the house of Israel, and the law be written in their hearts, and consequently they will not need any further communication of the law. The feast of trumpets, which was preparatory, to rouse up the mind of Israel, to remind them of their standing before Sinai, when they felt their need of a Mediator, and the sound of the trumpet alarmed them, and they felt that they could not hear the voice of God; this will not be required, because they will have come unto Zion, the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem. The day of atonement will not be required any more, because that everlasting righteous ness brought in by the Mediator of the better covenant shall then be enjoyed by them, and they shall know what it is to realise entire and perfect satisfacVOL. X. U tion, the remission of all their sins; being 'justified by faith,' they will enjoy 'peace with God, through the Lord Jesus Christ."" Of the Jewish Day of Atonement he thus writes: "As I think it may be interesting to some of my readers to know how the day of atonement is kept by the Jews at the present day, I will give a short sketch of their services on the occasion. "No sacrifices are offered by the Jews on this occasion. There is, however, a conviction of the necessity of a sacrifice; and, guided by some rabbinical tradition, they kill, on the day before the day of atonement, a fowl, or a cock, upon whose head confession is made; and the expressions made use of are those from the book of Job, chapter xxxiii., from the 22d verse: 'Yea, his soul draweth near unto the grave, and his life to the destroyers. If there be a messenger with him, an interpreter, one among a thousand, to shew unto man his uprightness: then he is gracious unto him, and saith, Deliver him from going down to the pit: I have found a ransom.' This is repeated when this cock is killed as a ransom. Then there is the meeting together on the eve of the day of atonement, when prayers are made and confession. Some have a custom, before this regular service begins, of allowing a friend to beat them very gently with a leather strap, as an expiation for the sins which may have required stripes. There are also confessions made for sins that require special offerings. The time is one, among the devout Jews, of a very solemn and impressive character. There is a feeling, as if now their doom were fixed for the coming year, whether for life or death; and as if everything that is to befall them were sealed on that day. Throughout the day of atonement, the time is spent in the synagogue, in offering the prayers, supplications, and confessions, some of which I shall now present to you. In the following passage a description is given of what the elders had to do in preparing the mind of the high priest for the solemn service in which he had to engage. 'The wise elders who sat at the gate joined him, and said unto him, Read aloud the portion of the law on the morning of the ninth day. He was placed at the east gate, where the beautiful sacrifices of the day were caused to pass in his presence, and then they spoke to him, and exhorted him,' &c. ' And when the elders exhorted him, his tears flowed, and his flesh trembled because he was suspected; they also turned aside and wept sore. If he was a man of erudition, he lectured on both the written and oral law, of which those who attended him read unto him till midnight, to keep him awake.' Then a description is given of his appearance, of his garments, and so on, and after this follow the confessions which he had to make upon the head of the sacrifice which he had killed for himself. And the priests, and the people, who stood in the court, when they heard the glorious, and tremendous, and ineffable name proceed from the mouth of the high priest, with sanctity and purity they kneeled and prostrated themselves, falling on their faces, and said, 'Blessed be the name of His glorious Majesty for ever and ever.' This ineffable name is supposed to consist of forty-two letters; it is only comprehended by the most profound and learned of the cabalists, and it is supposed that this ineffable name produced all that was great and glorious and blessed among them in those times, and that the High Priest alone could pronounce it, and that once a-year. In the false stories which are current concerning our Saviour and His miracles, it is supposed that He, by some means or other, got hold of this ineffable name of Jehovah, and by it performed the miracles. Another prayer (all these are repeated as devotional exercises on that day) gives this description -The perfect nation conducted the faithful messenger to his house, that is the high priest. The nation rejoiced when they heard the good tidings, that the piece of wool dyed crimson, which was sent with the scape-goat, had become white.' They have a tradition, that a piece of |