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walked contrary unto me; and that I ALSO have "walked contrary unto them, and HAVE BROUGHT 66 THEM INTO THE LAND OF THEIR ENEMIES; if "then their uncircumcifed hearts be HUMBLED, and "they then ACCEPT of the punishment of their iniquity then will I remember my covenant with Jacob, and alfo my covenant with Ifaac, and alfo my covenant with Abraham will I remember; and "I will remember the land. The land also shall be “left of them, and shall enjoy her fabbaths, while "fhe lieth defolate without them: and they fhall

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accept of the punishment of their iniquity: becaufe, "even because they defpifed my judgments, and "because their foul abhorred ftatutes. And yet "for all that, when they be in the land of their ene"mies, I will not caft them away, neither will I "abhor them, to deftroy them utterly, and to break 66 my covenant with them: for I AM JEHOVAH "THEIR GOD. But I will for their fakes remember "the covenant of their ancestors, whom I brought "forth out of the land of Egypt in the fight of the heathen, that I might be their God: I AM JE"HOVA." Levit. xxvi. 40-45.

How plain, how obvious, how reasonable, is this conduct which is required of them; how firm the path they have to tread; it is a path that was walked in by the greatly beloved Daniel fhortly before their deliverance from Babylon; and by walking in this path they will find it leads to a more glorious deliverance than that from the captivity in Babylon.

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The Jewish nation stand in no need of any form of prayer, to be compofed by man, to affift their minds with fuitable meditations. They are to take WORDS and return unto JEHOVAH, Hofea xiv. 2. A form of prayer or confeffion is here evidently referred to, but it is not a form of prayer or confeffion compofed by man, but prepared and given to them by JEHOVAH their God, by the hand of Mofes his fervant, and by his fervants the prophets; we have already quoted the WORDS thus recorded for their use by Mofes, the fervant of JEHOVAH; and if you turn to the 9th chapter of the Book of Daniel the prophet, you will perceive that he took "WORDS" with him; in his humiliation he made ufe of the form of prayer and confeffion prepared for his nation by the Lord God of Ifrael, by the hand of his fervant Moses; it may be of use to us Chriftians to note this prayer of Daniel. It may be bleffed to confirm us in that great truth, that the Lord God of Ifrael hath himself prepared the way in which he hath ordained that Ifrael fhall be restored to his long loft inheritance.

When Daniel prayed, his FACE as well as his HEART was towards Zion. When the prefidents and princes of Darius fought to find occafion against Daniel, concerning the kingdom, but could find no fault, inafmuch as he was faithful, neither was there any error or fault found in him, they came to this decifion, "We shall not find any occafion against this "Daniel, except we find it against him concerning "the LAW OF HIS GOD:"-they therefore "con"fulted together to establish a royal ftatute, and to

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"make a firm decree," that whofoever fhould afk a petition of any god or man for thirty days, fave of King Darius, fhould be caft into the den of lions; and King Darius figned the decree, according to the law of the Medes and Perfians, which altereth not. "Now when Daniel knew that the writing was figned, "he went into his houfe; and his windows being "OPEN in his chamber TOWARDS JERUSALEM,

(1 Kings viii. 29, 30. 35.-2 Chron. vi. 21.) he "kneeled upon his knees three times a day, and "prayed, and gave thanks before his God, as he "did aforetime." Dan. vi. 4-10. The fubfequent part of the chapter informs us of his deliverance from the lions, and what was the awful end of those who confpired against him. Daniel's heart and face being towards Zion, we behold him in chap. ix. ver. 3. feeking the Lord "by prayer and fupplications, with

fafting, and fackcloth, and ashes :" he proceeds in the path we have feen to be traced out by Mofes, the fervant of JEHOVAH, for he begins by giving glory unto JEHOVAH his God, by confeffing his FAITHFULNESS: "O JEHOVAH the great and "dreadful God, keeping the COVENANT and 66 mercy to them that LOVE HIM, and to them "that keep his COMMANDMENTS," ver. 4. He then proceeds ftep by step in the path traced out by Mofes, the fervant of JEHOVAH, to confefs the fins of his nation, and to acknowledge the righteoufnefs of God's judgments upon his nation, not only towards Jerufalem, and "the men of Judah," and "the in"habitants of Jerufalem," but alfo "unto all Ifrael

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that are near, and that are afar off, through all the "countries whither THOU haft DRIVEN them, "because of their trefpafs that they have trefpaffed "against THEE,” ver. 7.

Thus it is obfervable that Daniel in his humiliation treads in the steps traced out by Mofes, the fervant. of JEHOVAH, and acknowledges that great truth, that it was the act of GOD, the God of Ifrael, that they were under national adverfity for their fins, and that it was he that had DRIVEN and difperfed Ifrael into the countries. Yea it was fo, and he that SCATTERED Ifrael will gather him, and keep him, as a fhepherd doth his flock, Jere. xxxi. 10.

He not only acknowledges the juftice and righteoufnefs of his gracious God in thus afflicting them, but he also acknowledges that to them, their kings, their princes, and their fathers, belonged confufion of face, because they had finned against him, and cafts off all hope but in the mercy of JEHOVAH his God! ver. 8, 9.-In verfes 11 and 13, he refers to the Books of Mofes to prove that his denunciations against them were juft and true, and had been executed towards them; and then he intercedes that the Lord's anger and fury may be turned away from Jerufalem, the holy mountain, the city called by the name of JEHOVAH his God!. ver. 16-19.

Do the Jewish nation ftand in any need of the efforts of the Miffionary or London Societies, or of any fociety or individual of the Gentile nations, to urge them in these things? Is not the path in which they are to walk a plain path, obvious to every one who

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who will but look upon it? It is the Lord God of Ifrael, the creator of heaven and earth, and he alone who can search the heart, and he only who can TOUCH the hearts of any of his creatures, 1 Sam. x. 26. whether Jew or Gentile; but we of the Gentiles, as well as God's dear people Ifrael, can pray for this great good; and though we are not reftrained from praying for others as well as ourfelves in this way, yet it behoves us in the first place to look at home; for "the heart is deceitful above all things, "and defperately wicked: who can know it? I,

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JEHOVAH, search the heart, I try the reins, even "to give every man according to his ways, and ac"cording to the fruit of his doings. Jere. xvii. 9, 10. Chriftians, therefore, would be well employed in individually praying to the great fearcher of hearts, in the words of the fweet Pfalmift of Ifrael, "Search me, O God, and know my heart: try « me, and know my thoughts: and fee if there "be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way "everlasting." Pf. cxxxix. 23, 24." Hide thy face "from my fins, and blot out all my iniquities: "create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a "right fpirit within me.

Cast me not away from not thy holy fpirit from They will thus be well

thy prefence, and take "me." Pf. li. 9, 10, 11. employed; and as to God's dear ancient people Ifrael, he hath provided for them a Book of Lamentations, which none but one who is a Jew in heart can read with full effect! And in this Book of the Lamentations of Jeremiah, it is clearly fhewn to the Jewish

nation,

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