Elijah the Tishbite. Miscellaneous Writings of C. H. Mackintosh, vol. VMackintosh, Charles Henry
Religion
Elijah the Tishbite. Miscellaneous Writings of C. H. Mackintosh, vol. V
Mackintosh, Charles Henry
Theology
We cannot attempt to go fully into this glorious subject here; indeed,
to refer to it at all is a digression from our present line. But we
deem it needful just to say thus much, in order that the reader may
fully see that psalm lxvii. refers to Israel; and, seeing this, the
whole truth will flow into his soul, that the conversion of the
nations stands connected with Israel, and not with the Church. It is
through Israel, and not through the Church, that God will yet bless
the nations. It is His eternal purpose that the seed of Abraham, His
friend, shall yet be pre-eminent in the earth, and that all nations
shall be blessed in and through them. "Thus saith the Lord of Hosts,
In those days it shall come to pass, that ten men shall take hold,
_out of all languages of the nations_, even shall take hold of _the
skirt of him that is a Jew_, saying, _We_ will go _with you_; for we
have heard that God is with you" (Zech. viii. 23).
It would be an easy and a delightful task to prove from the New
Testament, that, previous to the restoration and blessing of Israel,
and therefore previous to the conversion of the nations, the true
Church of God, the body of Christ, shall have been taken up to be for
ever with the Lord, in the full and ineffable communion of the
Father's house; so that the Church will not be God's agency in the
conversion of the Jews as a nation, any more than in that of the
Gentiles. But we do not desire at this time to do more than establish
the two points above stated, which we deem of importance.
LANDMARKS AND STUMBLINGBLOCKS
"Thou shalt not remove thy neighbor's landmark, which they
of old have set in thine inheritance" (Deut. xix. 14).
"Take up the stumblingblock out of the way of My people"
(Isa. lvii. 14).
What tender care, what gracious considerateness, breathe in the above
passages! The ancient landmarks were not to be removed; but the
stumblingblocks were to be taken up. The inheritance of God's people
was to stand entire and unchanged, while the stumblingblocks were to
be sedulously removed out of their pathway. Such was the grace and
care of God for His people! The portion which God had given to each
was to be enjoyed, while, at the same time, the path in which each was
called to walk should be kept free from every occasion of stumbling.
Now, judging from recent communications, we believe we are called upon
to give attention to the spirit of those ancient enactments. Some of
our friends have, in their letters to us, opened their minds very
freely as to their spiritual condition. They have told us of their
doubts and fears, their difficulties and dangers, their conflicts and
exercises. We are truly grateful for such confidence; and it is our
earnest desire to be used of God to help our readers by pointing out
the landmarks which He, by His Spirit, has set up, and thus remove the
stumblingblocks which the enemy diligently flings in their path.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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