north, inaugurated to avert or disturb the settlement of the Jews in their own land. We read in the 38th and 39th of Ezekiel, that the land of Gog and Magog, Rosh and Tubal-Russia beyond all dispute, as all commentators say is to make an effort to take possession of the East; and that some land called Tarshish, with its ships-and with the "young lions thereof," is to resist the eruption of the northern host into the sunny plains of the East; and with the aid of the Jews to repel and triumph over them. This leads to the inquiry Who is this Tarshish? We find it employed in its literal sense as the place to which Jonah fled; but we discover no place existing now of which such attributes and acts can be predicated as those that are here assigned to Tarshish. The inference therefore of Mr Chamberlain, established by many quotations from the word of God, seems correct. This Tarshish of prophecy is none other than Great Britain. The name Tartessus was originally given to a town close to Gibraltar. Gibraltar has played a conspicuous part in the past history of our country since we had it; and the loss of it, as every one knows, is the loss of the key of the Mediterranean. This does not help us, however, to the conclusion we think correct. Tarshish is described by Ezekiel as a place of gold, and of iron and tin, and of purple, and of linen, and of blue, and the work of cunning workmen. This nation, so far as we have proceeded, must be an island; secondly, mercantile, having innumerable fleets; thirdly, it must be a manu

facturing country, creating textile fabrics, and working in exquisite dyes of all kinds; it must also be a mining place, having gold and silver, and tin and iron; for these are the words employed by the sacred writer; and lastly, it is to have a leading mark of its identity, as laid down in Ezekiel; "with the young lions thereof." It is a habit in Scripture to describe a country by its symbols. Thus, for instance, we have the eagle as the representative of Rome; the bee of Assyria; the crocodile of Egypt; the goat of Macedon; the three frogs the symbols of France; and here we have the lions the symbols of England. If we combine all these elements, we shall find in them much reason for identifying our own land as the land of glorious promises, a nation charged with a grand mission; and therefore prosperous and powerful to the end, having a destiny to fulfil, and a service to render unprecedented in the history of nations that have passed away. Therefore, if this restoration of the Jews is to be at the end of this present Christian economy; if, as Mr Chamberlain thinks, it "cannot be earlier than 1864, and may be much later; if the country that is to lend its ships, its wealth, its influence, and all its vast territorial power, in obedience to God, to carry back the sons of Zion to their home, and to reinstate them in the midst of Jerusalem, be our own beloved land, a maritime, a manufacturing land, a land of ships, a land of textile fabrics, a land of iron, tin, gold, and silver, then the conclusion is clear, as it is gratifying-WE SHALL NOT GO

DOWN IN THE CATASTROPHE OF NATIONS. WE SHALL COME UP AT THE END, STRONG, PROSPEROUS, AND

GREAT. Whilst the whole continent of Europe, and everything on it, gives token of trouble, whether we look to Russia, still coveting Constantinople because the gate to the East; or France, seeking accessions to her territory and the Mediterranean for a French lake; or to Austria, Prussia, Hungary, and Italy; we feel the elements and heavings of an earthquake that will shake Europe to its central depths. It is a glorious hope that our country is reserved in mercy, not in merit, for a grand mission, spared to the end a manufacturing, a mercantile, a rich, a prosperous, and, we trust, a God-fearing land, like "the harpers on the glassy sea," lifting up their anthem peal of praise to God, when the nations of the earth are smitten and scattered as by the four winds of heaven. Our country separated from the ten kingdoms of the Papacy at the glorious Reformation, as we have seen; and whilst the great continental nations that belong to Babylon, or to decem-regal Europe, are being judged, our country, never having rejoined them, remains exempt from their punishment. She may be chastened; she too richly deserves it; and what daughter is she whom the mother chasteneth not? She will suffer, but it is that she may be purified; she will feel the breath of the tempest that sweeps past; she will taste the pressure of the tribulation that overtakes continental Europe; but on these two grounds, first, because she left the fore-doomed apostasy at the

great Reformation; secondly, because we are reserved in prophecy for the very last day, in full force, as the Tarshish of Scripture, to lend our greatness and our resources to carry the children of Zion home; our country's sun will brighten like the shining light; and her glory will not fade till it melt into the splendour of millennial day. If thus safe, shall we cease to care about anything that may contribute to its strength, its safety, or its protection? Not at all. There is no real though seeming contradiction or inconsistency. If it be an ascertained and demonstrable fact that our country is not to fall, and that any hostile army that may light upon its shores must be triumphantly beaten back, had we not better burn our navy, and disband our troops, and put an end to raising of volunteers, assured that all is perfectly safe? Such would be the logic of fools, not the inference of Christians. Because believers were chosen before the foundation of the world to heaven, it does not follow that therefore they are not to believe, therefore they are not to pray, therefore they are not to watch. Because God takes care of us, it is not the less our duty to take care of ourselves. The decree of God and the duty of man are not antagonistic. It is because "he works in us "that we are to "work out our salvation" with fear and with trembling. Fatalism is folly. To quote prophecy, which tells us our destiny, as the guide of our duties, is absurd. I appeal to prophecy for what will cheer, and brighten, and encourage; I appeal to precepts, for what is our

duty devolving upon us at every time and in every place. That nation that will not try to defend itself is not worthy of being defended. And therefore what our country is now doing, strengthening its army and navy, and raising volunteers, is the duty prescribed by common sense, and the resources warranted in God's holy word. If our country is thus to endure, what becomes us? Because God is so good, and has reserved for us so grand a destiny, let us as a nation pray to be more worthy of His favour. Let us aid schools and missions at home and abroad; let us rise with Christianity into all heights, descend with it into all depths; let us summon every creature to the acceptance of the Saviour, and proclaim the glad tidings of salvation over all the earth; and make our country increasingly what, with all its faults, we trust and thank God, it seems to become more and more-a model nation to the rest of the nations of the earth. I am not ignorant of her sins; I see countless faults; I am not insensible to the black shadows that lie upon the edge of its brightest lights; but in estimating its position we must compare it with other lands. Let us humbly and yet fairly compare it with France, or Austria, or Spain, and we shall find it is not comparison, but absolute contrast. What has made our country so great? An open Bible in our own Saxon tongue. It is the word of God in England's heart that is the true but too often forgotten secret of the splendour and the stability of the crown on England's brow-it is that open Bible in that poor