If any of thine be driven out unto the out-most parts of heaven This part of the prophecy has been fulfilled; they have been thus driven away. From thence will the Lord gather thee Not the widest and most distant dispersion of any of thy tribes shall cause them to be finally lost.
But God, upon the before-mentioned condition, will so order it that you shall in the most material instances recover your ancient state. Nehemiah pleads this promise in his prayer for the restoration of Jerusalem, Nehemiah 1:8-9. And it was in part fulfilled when Cyrus issued a proclamation throughout all his kingdom, that all the Jews might return, if they pleased, into their own land, Ezra 1:1-5. But the promise is generally considered as having a further view; and as respecting their restoration to their own country in the latter days, after this their long and last dispersion. The Jews themselves apply it to their present condition, being of opinion that God hath appointed a time for their deliverance, and that if they repent he will shorten the days of their banishment. But, as we have just observed, they must also believe in Jesus of Nazareth, as the true Messiah, before they be restored.