Text. "So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors." Matt. 24:33.
The end will come sometime; the Judgment will set; probation will close; Christ will return. God has promised it. We believe it. Do you? Why may it not be near? Somebody will live to see it. Why not we? Do you say that you see no signs of its coming? The people in the days of Noah saw no signs of the flood, and yet it was right upon them. Matt. 24:38, 39. So it will be in the last days. "There shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts, and saying, 'Where is the promise of his coming?' for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation." 2 Pet. 3:3, 4.
Reader, be careful that you do not fulfill this very prophecy yourself. Have you watched for the signs? Have you thought upon this subject? Do you know what the signs are to be? If they should come to pass, would you recognize them? Have you studied the Bible upon this point, or have you been so intent upon other matters that you have given this subject no thought? Or, if you have thought of it, has it been with anxiety and effort to ascertain the truth? God does not force men to see and believe his truth. His promise is to those who are watching, and searching, and praying. John 5:39.
The advent of Jesus is ignored and scoffed at by many. We warn you to be careful that that day does not come upon you unawares. In Dan. 2:31-44, God has given a prophetic outline of the history of the world, under the image of a man. Commencing with Babylon, there were to be four great kingdoms, Babylon, Medo-Persia, Grecia, and Rome, the last divided into ten parts. Then the end of the world should come. Please read that chapter. All admit that this prophecy is now fulfilled, except that part relating to the end. The great prophecy of the 2300 years of Dan. 8:14, pointing to the cleansing of the heavenly sanctuary, the work of the Judgment, also ends about this time. See Scott, Fletcher, and others upon this question. There are ten distinct chains of prophecy in the Bible, each one pointing to the end of time and the setting up of God's kingdom. It is now generally admitted that we are in the last link of each of them. Many ministers in all denominations are now preaching the end near. All classes are expecting some great revolution soon to occur, though they know not what it is to be. See Luke 21:25-32.
In answer to the question, "What shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world?" Matt. 24:3, Jesus says, "And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come." Matt. 24:14. He does not say that all nations shall believe the gospel, be converted by it, and have a thousand years' millennium before the end. No; it is simply to be preached to all nations for a witness against them. Then, not a thousand years after, shall the end come. Is this prophecy reliable? Do you believe the words of Jesus? Well, have they not been fulfilled? Do you not know that the whole world has the gospel preached to them to-day? There is not a nation that has it not. Listen to the following testimony upon this point: The editor of the Christian Union says, "The whole world has been ransacked and explored; there is not a corner on the globe where Christianity is unknown. The Bible has been translated into about three hundred languages. Every nation has now heard the gospel. The prophecy of Jesus is fulfilled. Will his promise now fail? No, never. Then the end is at hand.
Another fact has a strong bearing on this question. The light of God's truth commenced in Asia. Steadily it has been making its course westward, till, like the sun, it has gone around the world. Asia had it first; next, Africa stretched out her hands to God; then Greece and Italy were lighted up by the labors of Paul and his successors, and the heart of Europe was warmed by the great Reformation, in the days of Luther. It has shone across the waters of the Atlantic, and lightened up America. And now, quite across this continent, yea, among all the isles of the Pacific, this light is shining clearly. The end has been reached, the globe has been girdled, all nations have heard; God's appointed time has come,—the harvest of the Lord.
Again, it has been the faith of the church that at the close of the six thousand years the end would come. That the six thousand years are now just closing, is agreed by all. Of course no one can tell just the year when they end, but that it is not far from this time is evident. This strongly indicates that the end of the world is at hand.
As a definite sign of the end, and to show when the last generation has come, the Lord foretold that the sun and moon should be darkened, and that the stars should fall. This sign is made very prominent in the Bible, every time in the same order, with the same events following. See the following scriptures: "And I will show wonders in the heavens and in the earth, blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke. The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and terrible day of the Lord come." Joel 2:30, 31.
"Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken. And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven; and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.
"Now learn a parable of the fig-tree: When his branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves ye know that summer is nigh. So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors. Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled." Matt. 24:29-34.
"But in those days, after that tribulation, the sun shall be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars of heaven shall fall; and the powers that are in heaven shall be shaken. And then shall they see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with great power and glory. And then shall he send his angels, and shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from the uttermost part of earth to the uttermost part of heaven. Now learn a parable of the fig-tree: When her branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is near. So ye in like manner, when ye shall see these things come to pass, know that it is nigh, even at the doors. Verily I say unto you, that this generation shall not pass, till all these things be done." Mark 13:24-30.
"And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring; men's hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth; for the powers of heaven shall be shaken. And then shall they see the Son of man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh. And he spake to them a parable: Behold the fig-tree, and all the trees; when they now shoot forth, ye see and know of your own selves that summer is now nigh at hand. So likewise ye, when ye see these things come to pass, know ye that the kingdom of God is nigh at hand. Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass away, till all be fulfilled." Luke 21:25-32.
"And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood; and the stars of heaven fell unto the earth, even as a fig-tree casteth her untimely figs, when she is shaken of a mighty wind. And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together; and every mountain and island were moved out of their places. And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every freeman, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains; and said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb: for the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?" Rev. 6:12-17.
All three of these signs have been remarkably fulfilled. May 19, 1780, the sun was darkened137according to the prophecy. Beginning to grow dark about the middle of the forenoon, it became so dark at noon that persons could not see to read without lighting their lamps. The Legislature of Connecticut, being in session, had to adjourn; it was so dark that the fowls went to roost; cattle came lowing to the barn-yard; frogs began to peep; the night-hawks came out, and everything bore the appearance of, and was shrouded with, the gloom of night. The uncommon darkness lasted fourteen hours, or till after midnight. It could not have been an eclipse of the sun, as the moon was full, and a total eclipse lasts only about five minutes. Scientific men have never been able to give a reason for it. So remarkable was this day that Noah Webster has noticed it in his dictionary as "The Dark Day." See Explanatory and Pronouncing Vocabulary of Webster's Unabridged Dictionary. That night, though the moon had fulled the day before, was so dark that white paper could not be distinguished from the blackest velvet a few inches from the eyes. One writer says it was so dark that the darkness could be felt. The general impression was that it was a sign of the day of God, and that the Judgment was at hand.
Nov. 13, 1833, the stars fell. Thousands are now living who witnessed that remarkable shower. Prof. Olmstead, the celebrated astronomer of Yale College, says, "Those who were so fortunate as to witness the exhibition of shooting stars on the morning of Nov. 13, 1833, probably saw the greatest display of celestial fire-works that has ever been seen since the creation of the world." So remarkable was the falling of the stars that it is put down in books on physical geography, natural philosophy, and astronomy, as the most wonderful ever known. They fell thick and fast, like snow-flakes in a heavy storm. It looked as though the very heavens were raining balls of fire. This is just what the prophecy foretold. The Lord says, When you see these things, know that the end is near, even at the doors.
Modern spiritualism is another marked sign of the end. Many scriptures may be quoted plainly foretelling spiritualism, as the last sign just before the end. Here is one: "And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs come out of the mouth of the dragon, and out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet. For they are the spirits of devils, working miracles, which go forth unto the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty. Behold, I come as a thief." Rev. 16:13-15. When is this to be? When Jesus is about to come as a thief in the night, and when the battle of that great day of God Almighty is at hand. Then the prophet says the spirits of devils will go everywhere over the world, working miracles to deceive the people. To the same effect see Matt. 24:23-27; 1 Tim. 4:1-3; 2 Thess. 2:8-12. Spiritualism arose in 1848. In about a quarter of a century, it made 10,000,000 converts, and it is spreading with wonderful rapidity. It does work miracles. It performs wonders. It claims to be the work of spirits. The Bible says that these spirits are the spirits of devils, and that this work is a sign of the end at hand.
Wonderful storms by sea and land, and earthquakes are to be another sign of the end. See Luke 21:25; Rev. 11:18, 19; 16:17-21. Every observer must be aware that the last few years have been remarkable in this very respect. Of the frequency of earthquakes, the Christian Statesman, of July 17, 1879, says, "The continued occurrence and great severity of earthquakes has distinguished the period in which we are now living above all others since the records of such phenomena began to be generally observed." The New York Observer says, "There has been a perfect epidemic of sad disasters by storm and flood during the present summer." Look at the terrible fires, destructive floods, fearful storms of thunder and lightning, which have occurred in the last few years. These are only precursors of the wrath of God which is soon to destroy a guilty world.
Just before the end, the earth was to be morally corrupt, as in the days of the flood. See Matt. 24:37; Gen. 6:5, 12. That the world is becoming fearfully corrupt is testified on all hands. Says the Scientific American, "It is admitted by all parties that crimes of the most outrageous and unprecedented character abound through the country, and probably throughout the world, to a degree wholly unparalleled." Testimonies like these may be read from almost any paper. Lying, cheating, forgery, stealing, adultery, murder,—these are the order of the day, and rapidly increasing. Look at the corruption of our great cities. If God overthrew Sodom for its crimes, how much longer can he spare these wicked cities?
A spirit of war, and great preparations for war, were to be another sign of the end. See Rev. 11:18; Joel 3:9-15. Now look over the world. See the vast military camps. Not less than five millions of soldiers are in arms. See the wonderful preparations for war everywhere, the terrible weapons of destruction which are being formed. Says a secular paper, "From every quarter of the globe come rumors of wars or of warlike preparations." Again, "The nations are arming as if with a prophetic understanding that a terrible and portentous crisis is at hand." They are preparing for the battle of the great day.
Religiously, the professed church of Christ is in just the condition foretold in the Bible as another sign of the end near. "This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof; from such turn away." 2 Tim. 3:1-5. Particularly were love of money, love of pleasure, formality, etc., to be prevalent sins among those professing godliness. This was to be the condition of things. Alas, the picture is but too truly filled up. The old simplicity and the power of God have died out of the churches. They are asleep, dreaming of a temporal millennium. Their pastors are fattening on high salaries, and feasting with the ungodly, while they are mocking at the coming of the Lord. Matt. 24:42-51. Yet, all over the land, in every city, through the villages, out in the country, everywhere, is heard the solemn message of warning: "The Lord is coming; the Judgment is at hand; the day of wrath is near." For nearly forty years this solemn cry has been sounding through the land, though hated and disbelieved by the great mass, just as Jesus said it would be. See Matt. 24:37. I repeat my text: "So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors." "Can ye not discern the signs of the times?"
Reader, stop; open your eyes, and give attention. Look at this subject. We warn you, if you do not, you will soon repent of it. Are you ready? Are you reconciled to God? Are you prepared to meet your Judge? In the words of the apostle we warn you: "Beware therefore, lest that come upon you which is spoken of in the prophets: Behold, ye despisers, and wonder, and perish; for I work a work in your days, a work which ye shall in no wise believe, though a man declare it unto you." Acts 13:40, 41.
A Possible Danger.
The Boston correspondent of the Christian at Work, says:—
And now the Pilot, the principal Catholic paper, calmly gives notice that the course of things in the past must be now changed. Irish-American citizens, it says, have long enough been content with subordinate positions in political office. Hereafter they are to step to the front. Or, in other words, it serves notice that we are to have a Catholic mayor and Catholic rulers, which New York has so suffered from having. The day may be much nearer than optimists dream when the American people will wake to find that our country has been foreclosed and sold out to Rome while they slept. What curse is blighting any community or city of this country to-day that is not principally fostered and protected by adherents of the papacy? And is it not plain enough to most people that those who advertise themselves as atheists and unbelievers, and who ridicule the gospel and rail at the ministry of religion, rarely ever have any charges to bring against the Catholics? Rob't. G. Ingersoll does not hurl his anathemas against the confessional and its demoralizing influences, nor lash the Romish Church for obstructing progress. Why not? How comes it that none of his satire and invective and vituperation is directed against this one branch of the church which has ever been the authoress of corruptions that justify the title of "mother of harlots"? Look through the Index, or the Boston Investigator, two papers which verily gnash their teeth in hatred of other Christians, and you shall find no severe word against the Roman Catholics. From a moderate liberal to the most rampant atheist there is either omission or excuse of any outrageous conduct on the part of the Catholics. Their Archbishop Purcell may pocket millions from the earnings of the poor, intrusted to his keeping, and yet how mildly do daily newspapers discourse on the delinquency. Certainly the sleepless vigilance of that consummate machine in political strategy, the Papal Church, has under its control almost all sources of worldly power, which are yielding every year a little more to her claims.
Putting Off Repentance.
A HERMIT was conducted by an angel into a wood, where he saw an old man cutting down boughs to make up a burden. When it was large enough he tied it up, and attempted to lift it on his shoulder to carry it away; but finding it very heavy he laid it down, cut more wood and heaped it on, and then tried again to carry it off. This he repeated several times, always adding something to his load, after trying in vain to raise it from the ground. In the meantime, the hermit, astonished at the old man’s folly, desired the angel to explain what this meant. “You behold,” said he, “in the foolish old man an exact representation of those who, being made sensible of their sins, resolve to repent, but soon grow weary, and instead of lessening their burden, increase it every day. At each trial they find the task more difficult than before, and so put it off a little longer, in vain hoping that they will by-and-by be more able to accomplish it.
Thus they go on adding to the burden till it grows too heavy to be borne, and then in despair of God’s mercy, and with their sins unrepented of, they lie down and die. Turn again, my son, and behold the end of the old man whom thou sawest just now heaping up a load of boughs.” The hermit looked, and saw him in vain attempting to remove the pile, which was now accumulated far beyond his strength to raise. His feeble limbs tottered over his burden; the poor remains of his strength were fast ebbing away; the darkness of death was gathering around him; and after a convulsive and impotent attempt to lift the pile he fell down and expired.
How many who will read this article are in the condition of this foolish old man? They have resolved wiser things again and again, but the load is growing heavier and harder to lift every day. The sooner it is lifted the better.—Exchange.
Virtue Measured by Daily Conduct
THE power of a man's virtue should not be measured by his special efforts, but by his ordinary doing.
Planting Seed Too Deep.
You can bury the life out of good seed in good soil by planting the seed too deep; just as you can lose the gain of well-doing by over-doing, in almost every line of human endeavor.
Every farmer knows there is such a thing as killing seed by too deep planting; but not every farmer has good judgment—and is sure to exercise it—as to the amount of covering for each particular kind of seed sown by him. So as to the proper limits of all well-doing. Every man admits that there is a possibility of over-doing; but he is not sure to see his own danger in that line, in each case in hand for the hour.
At a recent meeting of prominent agriculturists it was declared, that "if covered too deep with compact soil no seed will germinate;" and that "there is good reason for the old rule, not to plant seeds more than five times their diameter in depth." Corn, wheat, barley, beans, clover, all were instanced, from actual experiment, as doing well with a light covering of soil, but as utterly failing of a crop when overloaded with the best of soil. And any fair comparison of notes from observing cultivators of mental and moral soil, would exhibit similar results in the sowing of the seeds of truth. The farmer's rule is a good one for the preacher, the teacher, the parent: "not to plant seeds more than five times their diameter in depth."
When a parent counsels a child, he does so with the thought that he is sowing seed which ought to show itself in a future harvest of good. His words are intended as germinal. He chooses them with a view to their reproductive power. If he points out to the child a mistake or a fault just committed, or a danger or an opportunity just ahead, he has good seed, which is well worth the planting. But if he buries that seed under multiplied words of comment, or of upbraiding, or of entreaty, the seed may be killed by its covering. A large share of all the seed sown by parents in the minds of their children is smothered to death by the mother-earth of the scolding, or of the needless repetitions and amplifications which follow it. And if any one will recall out of his own childhood's memories the lessons of truth which have been most abundantly reproductive in his life and conduct, he will be sure to see that they are the outgrowth of seeds which were not buried too deep with unnecessary words in their planting. They were left near enough to the mind's surface not to be beyond the influence of light and air from above. In all parental planting in the minds of children "there is good reason for the old rule, not to plant seeds more than five times their diameter in depth."
In the teacher's chair, in the Bible-class room, in the superintendent's desk, and in the pulpit, there is always a danger of over-heaping soil on the seed of truth. Too much comment may kill out the life of the text. To begin with, he who sows must have clearly in mind the distinction between the seed and the soil. "The seed is the word"—God's word, not man's thought about that word. That word needs to be handled as seed. It should be planted with judicious care, and not overheaped with soil of any sort. Soil is necessary. Planting below the surface, by the stimulating question, or a suggestive remark, or a helpful illustration, is better than broadcast sowing on the bare and hard earth. But, after all, the seed is the chief thing; not the soil. Yet there are teachers and superintendents and preachers who take one or two grains of good truth seed, and then devote themselves to shoveling earth upon it until the seed is buried out of sight and hope forever. The seed was good enough, but it was killed in the planting. In all attempts at planting the seed of God's word, in class, school, or congregation, "there is good reason for the old rule, not to plant seeds more than five times their diameter in depth."
Heaping soil on the seed is the great barrier to seed-growing in every field of human effort. Mistaking this soil-heaping for seed-planting is one of the commonest errors of those who long for mental and moral harvests, and fail of them. Many a house-keeper would have better servants if she planted more seeds, and piled up less soil over those she did plant, in her talks with her servants. Many a merchant, or manufacturer, or banker, or overseer of laborers, kills nine-tenths of the seeds of instruction he uses, by the useless words of fault-finding or of reproach which he heaps over his counsels to those who are under him. Many a man fails of permanently interesting a neighbor in his personal affairs because when he has planted the seeds of information about his case, he buries those seeds beyond hope of life, by his endless explanations and reasons for desiring help and sympathy. Many a person who recognizes his fault in a former interview with an acquaintance, and desires to make confession of it, buries the seed of apology and regret under such a mass of soil, in his new words about the original cause of misunderstanding, that the seed itself fails to germinate, while the soil-heap above it is a new barrier to free intercourse between the acquaintances. In all our sowing for a harvest in the hearts of any of our fellows, "there is good reason for the old rule, not to plant seeds more than five times their diameter in depth."
Not the covering soil, but the lightly covered seed, gives the hope of a harvest, in any planting. If we are to reap where we have sown, we must choose well our seed, must plant it wisely, and must resolutely refrain from crushing out its life by what we heap above it—merely because soil is abundant, and we enjoy shoveling.
This truth would admit of many more specific applications; but here is soil enough for this seed. Now let it germinate.—S. S. Times.
The Two Covenants.
By John Nevins Andrews
(Continued.)
THE law of the Lord is perfect. Ps. 19:7-11; 111:7, 8; 119:96; James 1:25; 2:8-12. It is God's great rule of right by which sin is shown. 1 John 3:4, 5; Rom. 3:19, 20; 7:12, 13. But the first covenant is declared by Paul not to have been faultless. Heb. 8:7. This is another palpable proof of a distinction between the moral law and the covenant which God entered into with Israel respecting it. Nor is this to be met by the statement that Paul pronounces the law itself to be faulty, and therefore the law and the covenant may be identical. For the law thus designated by Paul was not the ten commandments, but the Levitical law. And here are a few points out of many in proof of this assertion:—
1. This law was received under the Levitical priesthood. Heb. 7:11. But the ten commandments were received before that priesthood had been appointed. Compare Ex. 20 with Ex. 28.
2. This was a law relating to priesthood, tithes, and offerings. Heb. 7:5, 12, 28. But the ten commandments said nothing concerning this.
3. It was a law which required that the priesthood should be of the tribe of Levi, and which had to be changed in order to have a priest arise out of the tribe of Judah. Heb. 7:12-14. But the ten commandments had no precept that related to the subject, or that needed to be changed for that reason.
Finally, with one further proof of the distinction between the moral law and the first covenant, this point of the argument shall be closed. The first covenant having waxed old and vanished away, the new covenant is made by God in its place. Jer. 31:31-34; Heb. 8:8-13. And now observe the grand promise of the new covenant: "But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel: After those days, saith the Lord, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts." Jer. 31:33. It is therefore certain that the dissolution of the first139covenant is not the abrogation of the law of God. That which was the law of God in the days of Jeremiah, six hundred years before Christ, is the subject of this prediction. This law was not only to survive the dissolution of the first covenant, but it was to continue to exist under the new covenant, and to sustain even a more sacred relation to the people of God under the new, than under the old, covenant. Here the argument on this part of the subject is rested. It has been shown,
1. That the first, or old, covenant was not the law of God, but the contract between God and Israel concerning that law.
2. That the law of God is a covenant only in a secondary sense; viz., in that it constituted the condition of that agreement or contract by which God became a husband to Israel.
3. That when the old covenant vanishes away, the law of God remains in full force, and is ready to enter into the most sacred relations with the people of God under the new.
Let us now consider wherein the first covenant was faulty. It was not because it was so closely connected with the law of God; for the new, or better, covenant is even more intimately connected with the law of God than was the first, or old, covenant. The old covenant gave man the law of God upon tables of stone; but the new puts it in his heart. It was not because the law was faulty: for that is so perfect that even under the New Testament it is made the standard by which sin is shown. Ps. 19:7-11; Rom. 3:19, 20, 31; 1 John 3:4, 5. But Paul plainly intimates wherein the new covenant is better than the old one. It is "established upon better promises." Heb. 8:6. Then it follows that the first covenant was established upon promises not so well adapted to man's case; and this very fact is, of itself, a decisive proof that the first covenant was not simply the law of God, but a contract between God and his people. Let us now examine the nature of the promise upon which the first covenant was made. Jeremiah designates the first covenant as made when Israel came forth out of Egypt. And thus he has laid open this covenant, and the nature of that promise upon which it was established. Jer. 11:3, 4: "Thus saith the Lord God of Israel: Cursed be the man that obeyeth not the words of this covenant, which I commanded your fathers in the day that I brought them forth out of the land of Egypt, from the iron furnace, saying, Obey my voice, and do them, according to all which I command you; so shall ye be my people, and I will be your God." The promise of the Lord that he would be their God was upon condition that they obeyed his voice. Nay, the condition was even stronger than this: "Do them according to all which I command you; so shall ye be my people." But suppose they should fail to do this? Then the promise was forfeited. Surely, fallen man needs a better promise than this. It was just in God to require a man to live in exact conformity with his perfect law of right; but it was inevitable that man would forfeit his title to the promises of God. It is true that there were in the ceremonial law ordinances of divine service, and a worldly sanctuary connected with the first covenant. Heb. 9:1, 10. But these could not take away sins. They could only point forward to Christ. The promises of the first covenant were upon condition of obedience to God's perfect rule of right. But such promises were insufficient to meet the helpless condition of fallen man.
So the apostle says: "For if that first covenant had been faultless, then should no place have been sought for the second." Heb. 8:7. But because the people of Israel broke the covenant of the Lord, he justly finds fault with them, and seeks to give the place to a second and better covenant, established upon better promises. And hence it is, that God, by his prophet, gives the people of Israel to understand that they have forfeited the blessings of that covenant, and that the branches of their olive tree will be broken off. Jer. 11. And following this announcement, a few years later, is the cheering promise of a new covenant. Jer. 31:31-34. It was about 600 years before the birth of Christ that the new covenant was thus foretold. The apostle Paul makes the following expressive comment: "In that he saith, A new covenant, he hath made the first old. Now that which decayeth and waxeth old is ready to vanish away." Heb. 8:13. Thus it appears that the first covenant had in Jeremiah's time become old, and thenceforward, to its close, it was "ready to vanish away." And when our Lord came to do his work, he took away the first that he might "establish the second." Heb. 10:9. J. N. A.