of the gospel, to a great height, so as to become a visible and eminent ensign, which the Gentiles, as well as the Jews, may discern; to whom they should repair by faith, and in whom they should put their trust.'

'The ancient Jewish ensign was a long pole, at the end of which was a kind of chafing-dish, made of iron bars, which held a fire, and the light, shape, &c. of which denoted the party to whom it belonged.' The brazen serpent was lifted up on an ensign, and to this our Lord compares his own 'lifting up' in consequence of which he will draw all men to him. In the motto, the prophet referred to a custom among the Israelites. That nation was divided into tribes, and each tribe had an appropriate standard, which was regulated by the blessing pronounced upon the sons of Jacob by that aged patriarch. When they went to war, the members of each tribe knew where was their peculiar location, by the ensign of their father, which was unfurled and floating in the air. To this, they gathered after the heat of the battle was over, and rejoiced in view of victory, or wept, because of being vanquished.*

In Gen. xlix, we have an account of the blessing wherewith Jacob blessed his sons before his death. From that account we may learn what was the ensign of each tribe. Commencing with Reuben, he pronounced a blessing upon each, in the order which follows, and in the words which we will now quote: 'Reuben, thou art my first-born, my might, and the beginning of my strength, the excellency of dignity,

*See Numbers ii. 2-25..

and the excellency of power; unstable as water, thou shalt not excel. Simeon and Levi are brethren; instruments of cruelty are in their habitations. Judah is a lion's whelp. Zebulon shall dwell at the haven of the sea; he shall be for an haven of ships. Issachar is a strong ass, crouching between two burdens. Dan shall be a serpent in the way, an adder in the path. Gad, a troop shall overcome him; but he shall overcome at last. Asher, his bread shall be fat, he shall yield royal dainties. Naphtali is a hind let loose. Joseph is a fruitful bough by the well, whose branches run over the wall. Benjamin shall raven as a wolf; in the morning he shall devour the prey, and at night he shall divide the spoil.'

It

Such were the words in which the aged patriarch pronounced his dying benediction upon his sons. is easily perceived what would be upon the ensign of each tribe. The tribe of Reuben would be represented by foaming waves of the sea; those of Simeon and Levi, by swords and spears; that of Judah, by a young lion; that of Zebulon, by ships reposing in harbor; that of Issachar, by an ass crouching between two burdens; that of Dan, by a serpent in the path; that of Gad, by troops contending for victory; that of Naphtali, by a deer in the attitude of running; that of Joseph, by a beautiful bough by the side of a well; that of Benjamin, by a ravenous wolf.

By that day' we are undoubtedly to understand the times of the Messiah. This was a common mode of speaking when the prophets looked forward to his reign.

After having spoken somewhat largely in reference to the meaning of the word ensign, little need be said

in reference to the application. Jesus himself seems to have had this very figure in his mind when in conversation with Nicodemus: 'As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up.'* And speaking of his death he said, 'I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me.'t Jesus has been lifted up as the Ensign of the people for nearly eighteen hundred years. Millions have flocked around him, and still they come, and all find rest. To him all must ultimately bow; for as certain as it is that Jesus has been lifted up, so certain is it that he will draw all men unto him.' Who can deny the lifting up? Why then deny the conclusion? 'Unto him shall the Gentiles seek, and his rest shall be glorious.'

Indeed, the very inscriptions upon the ensign must ultimately draw all nations to Jesus. They are like the following: 'Our Father;' 'God is love;' Life and immortality;' 'Saviour of the world;' 'Glory to God in the highest on earth, peace, and good will to men.'

The ensigns of men are designed to arouse to war, but this Ensign is an emblem of peace. Behold, the glories of the Messiah as presented in the rich imagery of the prophet: 'The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them. And the cow and the bear shall feed; their young ones shall lie down together: and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. And the sucking child shall play on the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put his hand

*John iii. 14.

↑ John xii. 32.

on the cockatrice's den. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain: for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea.'* But christians have not been content to rally around this Ensign. They have set up standards of their own; such as partial election; total depravity; endless misery, etc. Around these they have flocked, till they have imbibed the spirit of their own narrow views.

In conclusion, we trust we have rallied around the Ensign of the people, the Lord Jesus Christ. This has been unfurled by the Almighty. Around this all the nations of the earth will ultimately gather: for 'he shall judge among the nations, and shall rebuke many people, and they shall beat their swords into ploughshares, and their spears into pruning-hooks: nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.'

Isa. xi. 6-9,

XXVIII. EVERLASTING FATHER.

'For unto us a Child is born; unto us a Son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The Mighty God, The Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace.'

Isa. ix. 6.

ONLY one of these titles will claim our attention here, as the others will be found in their appropriate places. This is the only instance where this phrase presents itself. It is rendered by some, the Father of the everlasting age; i. e. of the Christian dispensation, which is to continue to the end of the world. Bishop Lowth gives that view. By some, it is rendered the Father of eternity. The Hebrew word here rendered everlasting in its general import "denotes beyond, further, or besides somewhat else. As a particle of time, yet, still, moreover, a long while, until, whilst, during the time that, all along, perpetually." It is used Isa. xlvii. 7, where it is rendered for ever. The words under consideration are rendered by the LXX, pater tou mellontos aionos, and in the Latin of the Biblia Sacra, referred to above, pater futuri seculi, the father of the future age; and admitting the passage to be genuine, this is what we take to be its true import.' A very good critic, remarking on the passage, says, 'As to the epithet Everlasting Father, we understand it to mean, that the prince described in the verse should be the perpetual guardian and friend of his people. The rendering Father of Eternity, which