Letter to the Editor

Dear Brother,-It has only just now been my privilege to look over the 17th part of Present Testimony, and with reference to "No. 23 of that part, I venture to offer the following observations:-In the book of Revelations, which has been my study and delight for many years, I remarked the difficulty which occurs at the close of the book. But I have also found the difficulty entirely removed by placing ten verses in parenthesis-i.e., from the seventh of the twentieth chapter to the first of the twenty-first inclusive, I have long since marked these verses in my book as a " post-millennial parenthesis."-I believe the remaining part of the twenty-first and the whole of the twenty. second chapters to be purely millennial.-I had still some little difficulty respecting the fifth verse of the twenty-first chapter, which appears at first sight out of place, but nothing can be out of place in God's word, and I now see it quite otherwise, this verse (5), as I judge, contains prophecy-not action,-a proclamation made, it may be at the close of the coming age when symptoms of the falling away or final apostasy may " exhibit themselves," and then the promise, seventh verse, " Whosoever overcometh," comes in course suitably to the faithful of the earthly family. This is not a repetition of a similar promise to the seven churches; for here it would appear still more out of place, nor can it be understood as addressed to those who have passed into the new heavens or new earth: for what can there be to overcome there where "dwelleth righteousness;" (2 Peter 3:13)? That the future action (ver. 5) is spoken of in the present tense involves no difficulty,- for very many passages show that such is the style of the Spirit in the prophets; and in the second Psalm the future action is even spoken of in the past tense, " I have set," sixth verse. I may not be rightly dividing the word, but I am looking to the Lord for more light, and in the meantime that the saints may be daily living more in the power of future things. Waiting and longing first of all for Jesus, the " Son from heaven," is my humble desire.
I am truly yours in the Lord, J. M.
Letter to the Editor
Dear Sir.-At the request of a friend I have been led to examine the Greek version of Psa. 110 ver. 3. I have since pursued a similar investigation in several other languages, the result you may like to notice.
I would, however, remark in the first place, that whereas our authorized English version presents the most accurate rendering of the Hebrew in this passage (as in many other cases), it is capable of very great improvement by a mere change of punctuation, i.e. by placing a colon or full stop at "holiness," and no stop afterward till the end of the verse. And this will be seen to approach very near to the sense of the prayer-book version, which is as follows:-" In the day of thy power shall the people offer Thee freewill offerings with an holy worship, the dew of Thy birth is of the womb of the morning." The next is Luther's, " Upon Thy victory shall Thy people willingly offer to Thee in holy and glorious apparel. Thy children shall be born to Thee as the dew from the morning." The French in Ostervald's edition, " Thy people shall be a willing people in the day when Thou shalt collect Thine army with sacred pomp, Thy posterity shall be as the dew which is produced from the womb of the morning." In the three following versions, viz., the Septuagint, Syriac, and old Latin (probably the Vulgate), it will be seen the variations are chiefly caused by the ambiguity of the two words Inv, which, without points, may be read "with Thee" instead of " Thy people," and ילרדּ which also without points and with the insertion of י before the last syllable means "I begat thee" instead of "thy youth." Thus Sept. "With Thee is dominion in the day of Thy power, in the splendor of Thy saints, I begat Thee from the womb before the morning star." Syriac, "With Thee there shall be glory in the day of power, in the beauties of holiness." From the womb, from the East (or of old), I begat thee a male child. The word rendered "male child" answers to the Hebrew טל (tal), dew. The English reader will recognize the sound in Talitha kumi, Damsel, arise. The Latin is a close version of the Septuagint. It may be added, that if the punctuation of the Syriac is to be regarded, which, however, is very doubtful, that version favors the stop placed as in our English Bibles, i.e., a colon at "morning."