TEHILLIM 85

10 Mercy and truth are met together; righteousness and peace have kissed each other.

"Blessed be the Lord God of Israel; for he visits and redeems his people, and raises up a horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David; as he spake by the mouth of his holy prophets which have been from the begining of the age απ͂ αιωνοζ that we should be saved from our enemies, and from the hand of all that hate us; to perform the mercy promised to our fathers, and to remember his holy covenant; the oath which he sware to our father Abraham, that he would grant unto us, that we, being delivered out of the hand of our enemies, might serve him without fear in holiness and righteousness before him, all the days of our life"—Luke 1:68.

What a beautiful comment is this upon the Abrahamic Covenant; how forcibly it exhibits the national blessedness to come upon the hereditary seed of Abraham through the Christ.

But not exclusively upon them; but upon all other nations through him also; for

"In thee and in thy seed, shall all the nations of the earth be blessed:"

therefore, it came to pass, when the birth of Jesus had occurred, that his mission was proclaimed by a multitude of the heavenly host, saying,

"Glory in the highest places to God, and over the earth peace, and good will among men."

Here, then, is peace to Israel, and peace to all other nations, promised and confirmed by oath to Abraham, David, and their seed, when Christ shall sit upon David's throne as the result of

"mercy and truth meeting together, and righteousness and peace embracing each other."

When Abraham rises from the dead, and becomes the patriarch, or chief father, of a believing and righteous world, the multitude of its nations will become "his seed" as well as Israel, and the saints, the kings and lords of all.

This is Moses' doctrine of a future state, amplified by all the prophets. Their oracles were its depository; and until Peter visited the house of Cornelius, these covenanted promises were supposed to be confined to Israelites alone. It was not conceived possible, that men of other nations would be associated with Messiah in the government of the Jewish nation and the Gentiles.

The promises of the holy covenant had not assumed the form of a message of invitation to aliens from the Commonwealth of Israel. The Jews were exclusively invited by Jesus, and by the apostles for several years after his ascension. They went about explaining the purpose of God, which was full of goodness and glory for Israel; and inviting them to partake in it with endless life and honour. This was evangelizing the promises, or setting before them the hope.

They were called upon to become heirs of that hope by embracing it, and becoming obedient to the commands of Jesus. It was therefore styled "the hope of their calling," by faith in which, says an apostle, we are saved.

...peace and glory to the Jewish nation, and of contemporary blessedness to all other nations; when, as one dominion, they shall exist under the government of Christ, and of his called, chosen and faithful "brethren and companions" when he shall sit and rule as a priest upon David's throne: which promises were covenanted to Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and David, and their seed; and confirmed by the death and resurrection of Christ: it is these confirmed and covenanted promises

evangelized, or circulated among men in a proclamation,

in which Jews first and afterwards Gentiles who believe said promises and recognise the claims of Jesus to be that Christ as he is described in Moses, and the Prophets, are invited to copartnership with him in said covenanted kingdom and glory, on condition of becoming the subjects of repentance and remission of sins in his name.

Herald of the Kingdom and Age to Come, April 1857

It is sufficient to believe the testimony concerning Christ—that he was the Word made flesh—that according to this flesh, he was the seed of David—that he came down from heaven—that he learned obedience by the things that he suffered, and that because of his obedience, he was highly exalted, and that he will come the second time unto the salvation of all who obey him. These are the fruit-producing facts of the case.

They are all of them mentally-inducive elements of reverence, love, obedience, hope, and comfort. But when we are asked to sanction some definition of "how" (as a matter of literal, scientific, metaphysical process) this day-spring from on high hath visited us, we are at once in the region of the incomprehensible and impracticable; for not only can we not know, but even if we could, it would be of no practical value.

It is not the comprehension of divine modes, but the doing of His will that commends us to God. We cannot know the divine modes. When He works, it is sufficient we believe that He works. It is bootless to trouble ourselves as to the "how." This is true in things natural; how much more in things spiritual.

We believe He made heaven and earth; we know not how. By His Spirit truly, but this does not define the process which is incomprehensible to man. We believe He will raise the dead; we know not how; and it is useless to trouble ourselves with the question. We see, we feel, we live; we know not how, though some think they know.

The Christadelphian, Nov 1875