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Prophets and Kings
It lifts out of Satan’s influence those who have been deluded by his
deceptions, and places them within reach of the throne of God, the
throne encircled by the rainbow of promise. In Christ there is neither
Jew nor Greek, bond nor free.
In the years that followed the occupation of the Promised Land,
the beneficent designs of Jehovah for the salvation of the heathen were
almost wholly lost sight of, and it became necessary for Him to set
forth His plan anew. “All the ends of the world,” the psalmist was
inspired to sing, “shall remember and turn unto the Lord: and all the
kindreds of the nations shall worship before Thee.” “Princes shall
come out of Egypt; Ethiopia shall soon stretch out her hands unto
God.” “The heathen shall fear the name of the Lord, and all the kings
of the earth Thy glory.” “This shall be written for the generation to
come: and the people which shall be created shall praise the Lord. For
He hath looked down from the height of His sanctuary; from heaven
did the Lord behold the earth; to hear the groaning of the prisoner; to
loose those that are appointed to death; to declare the name of the Lord
in Zion, and His praise in Jerusalem; when the people are gathered
together, and the kingdoms, to serve the Lord.”
Psalm 22:27
;
68:31
;
Psalm 102:15, 18-22
.
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Had Israel been true to her trust, all the nations of earth would
have shared in her blessings. But the hearts of those to whom had
been entrusted a knowledge of saving truth, were untouched by the
needs of those around them. As God’s purpose was lost sight of, the
heathen came to be looked upon as beyond the pale of His mercy. The
light of truth was withheld, and darkness prevailed. The nations were
overspread with a veil of ignorance; the love of God was little known;
error and superstition flourished.
Such was the prospect that greeted Isaiah when he was called to
the prophetic mission; yet he was not discouraged, for ringing in his
ears was the triumphal chorus of the angels surrounding the throne of
God, “The whole earth is full of His glory.”
Isaiah 6:3
. And his faith
was strengthened by visions of glorious conquests by the church of
God, when “the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord, as the
waters cover the sea.”
Isaiah 11:9
. “The face of the covering cast over
all people, and the veil that is spread over all nations,” was finally to be
destroyed.
Isaiah 25:7
. The Spirit of God was to be poured out upon
all flesh. Those who hunger and thirst after righteousness were to be