Transcribed from the [1878] (second) Hatchards edition byDavid Price,
OR,
HOPE FOR JERUSALEM.
AN ADDRESS
BY THE
REV. E. HOARE, M.A.
Vicar of Trinity;Tunbridge Wells, and Hon. Canon of Canterbury.
[SECONDEDITION.]
LONDON:
HATCHARDS, PICCADILLY.
TUNBRIDGE WELLS:
HENRY S. COLBRAN, 9, CALVERLEY ROAD,
NEAR THE TOWN HALL.
We meet to-day under a sense ofprofound thanksgiving. With the rest of the nation we havebeen praying for a righteous peace; and now we trust that throughGod’s great, and abounding, mercy, such a peace has beensecured. In all probability very few persons are altogethersatisfied. There are very few who would not wish to havesome of the conditions changed. But in the midst of so manyconflicting interests it was not to be expected that any onenation should have its own way in every point; so that we have tobe most heartily thankful to God that the Congress has dispersedwithout a conflict; that England is not involved in war; and thatEurope is free to devote its energies to the extension ofcommerce, and the promotion of goodwill amongst mankind. May God bless the peace that has been established, and enable hispeople in a thankful spirit to avail themselves of it for thecirculation of his Word, the spread of his Gospel, the promotionof his kingdom, and the glory of his name!
But thanksgiving is not the only duty of the day, for the twotreaties now concluded involve consequences of such p. 4greatimportance that they ought to awaken in all our minds the deepestinterest, and the most earnest expectation. To the studentof the Prophetic Scriptures they assume an importance altogetherunequalled by any event in modern history; I might almost say; byany event since the Siege of Jerusalem. We are taught inmany places of Scripture that the people of God will not be takenby surprise by the great events of the latter days; but thatthere will be certain predicted signs which may be understoodbeforehand by those who study them. Thus in Matthew xxiv.our Lord teaches us that there will be such signs as willindicate the nearness of his return as distinctly as the buddingof the fig tree assures us of the approach of summer. Whenwe see the fig tree budding in spring we know that summer is athand, and so when we see these predicted signs we are to concludewithout a doubt that the great deliverance is near. Nor arewe to wait until the signs are fully developed, or have passedinto the region of history, but we are to look out for theirbeginnings, as our Lord said, “when these things begin tocome to pass then look up, and lift up your heads, for yourredemption draweth nigh.” Now I cannot help believingthat the conclusion of these two treaties is at all eventsamongst the beginnings. I believe that the fig tree isbeginning to bud, and that, if it be, it is high time for us tobe looking out for the summer. Let us endeavour then toconsider, first, what we actually see; and secondly, what we mayanticipate as the not improbable consequence of the great eventsthat have taken place.
Do we not see the