the representative color of Jehovah, the Father (Ezek. 1: 26, and 10: 1). Sapphire stone.

Scarlet is a brilliant dye, used for rich apparel (see 2 Sam. 1:24), also denoting sins, as also is crimson, which is a deeper dye, made of a mixture of red and yellow as in the passage of Isa. I: 18, "Come now and let us reason together, saith the Lord, though your sins be as scarlet they shall be as white as snow, though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool." How does this come about? Simply by scarlet being the representative color of Jesus Christ, the Son, whose vesture was dipped in blood (see Isa. 63: 2, and Rev. 19:13), our great High Priest who came to offer up the last great sacrifice of Himself, not only for the sins of His people Israel, but for the sins of the whole world (see Heb. 9: 28 and 10: 12-14). He also is called the Lion of the Tribe of Judah, the Redeemer, Emmanuel, the Rock. Every onc knows that the national color of the British army is red, to distinguish it from that of other nations, which, then, is the symbolic color of the second person in the Blessed Trinity, or of Him who is the great Captain of our salvation, the Lord of Hosts. Scarlet is also an emblem of honor (see Dan. 5:16). Now, if we take blue and mix it with scarlet we find the color purple to be the result. We have here in this color an emblem of regal dignity. times much in request amongst eastern nations, especially by the Babylonians, also it is mentioned in Acts 16:14. The robes of royalty and distinction were of purple, and hence the grossness of the insult and mockery of the Jews, when, at the time of the crucifixion, they put upon our Savior "the purple robe" (Mark 15:17). We have already seen that blue is the representative color of the Father, and is worn by our sailors, called "bluejackets," and is also conspicuous in the flag we are studying, on which ground lies the harp, or stringed argent for Ireland.

It was in ancient

We may observe also that the "white" in the robe of righteousness and the "blue and scarlet" in the tabernacle (Ex. 25:4) are each made to appear on our banners. The white indicates purity, the blue suggests to the mind "the paths of the sea" over which Israel came, or the sky-tints denote heaven's protection. Blue, according to Jewish tradition, was to be the color of the New Jerusalem, which the Rabbis taught will be built of sapphires and miraculously raised in the air. When the Seventy Elders of Israel saw God, "under his feet was a plinth of sapphire, and as it were the body of heaven in its clearness." Ezekiel also saw the likeness of the Throne as the appearance of a sapphire-stone. According to the Targum, the tables of the Law were made of sapphire.

This flag called the "Union Jack," of British fame, is a combination of three (a trinity of) Crosses. When King James I. of England came to the throne in 1603 A. D., all the tribes of Jacob were united in his government. The Cross of St. George represented England, and that of St. Andrew represented Scotland, after which was added that of St. Patrick for Ireland. "Jack" corresponds to Jacobus in Latin, and Jacob in Hebrew. Hence "Union Jack" is simply Union Jacob. The doctrine of the Trinity is the great theme of the Bible, and this "Union Jack" has a trinity of colors, white, blue and red, similarly arranged to the red, white and blue of the American flag. The "field," or margin, of St. George's Cross was white, St. Andrew's was blue, and the red diagonal Cross of St. Patrick is shown over the white Cross of the Scotch banner. St. George's Cross was also red. Britain's colonies are in every sea under the blue dome of heaven. The red Crosses of St. George and St. Patrick remind us of Calvary, of blood, thus of death, life, energy. The "sticks" or beams of the cross united indicate

the union of Judah and Israel, which are foretold to be united as "one stick" in the hand of the Lord (Ezek. 37: 19).

The red Cross of St. George is superimposed on a Roman ten to indicate that Christianity was to cover the ten-tribed kingdom of Israel. In this "Union Jack" we may discover four pyramids, each with its base outward and with the apex toward the center, and having two faces visible. The camp of Israel was also divided into four parts, having a common center in the Tabernacle, over which rested the "cloud of glory," or of fire, being red. This same form of pyramid, with two faces, more distinctly appears in the great seal of the United States.

It is placed at the upper corner of the banner, near the flagstaff, to indicate its importance, and, viewed as a whole, it has all the appearance of a star of the first magnitude, spangled with rays, beaming upon the earth; and here, again, we seem to read the story of the Bright and Morning Star, or the Guide of the wise men to the Christ in Bethlehem. This Star, like the one great Star, composed, as it is, of a group of thirteen smaller ones, on the American banner, and the blazing star on the helmet of the British soldiery, remind us of the promised Star of Jacob. Here, also, we have displayed the fact of our fall into the idolatry of sunworship, or, as we may say, star-worship, that old Assyrian plague, and one pre-Christian and Phallic symbol in Britain. The ray-points are a double trinity reminding us of the Chariot of the Sun, its glittering wheels, and the inscribing of the solemn procession as seen in the circle at Stonehenge. The present form of the Greek Cross presents the same spangling rays, the center of a wheel.

The never-to-be-forgotten story of Jacob blessing the two sons of Joseph, Ephraim and Manasseh, the most conspicuous of the ten tribes, is now fulfilled in act as well as

word. The words of the dying patriarch in national and spiritual blessings are literally accomplished in our prosperity. And his act of crossing his arms in pronouncing his blessings gives us the literal sign of the Cross, now wrought into the famous Union Jack. Though here are a trinity of crosses, yet there is but one-the Cross of Christ. It is not a little remarkable that the crosses appeared on the British banner at the very time the foretold blessings were realized in national wealth and greatness. The crossing of one's arms as in the attitude assumed by Jacob, exactly represents the Cross of St. Andrew. And this, in the sacred trio, constitutes the central one, representing Scotland, and the only one represented in white, each of the others being of red color. The white light of the Gospel, which is a perfect blending of ali colors, was thus received in a figure, while the sons of Joseph were bowed under the cross (Gen. 48: 14, R. V. margin).

The public recognition, on the national banner, of such events in Jacob's life, who "guided his hands wittingly," are truly remarkable. Surely God has given a banner to them that fear him, that the truth of God may therein be displayed. "When the enemy shall come in like a flood, the Spirit of the Lord shall lift up a standard against him," even our standard of Israel.

THE SEAL OF THE UNITED STATES.

Although the symbolisms used by our American government, historically, appear to have been derived from England, they have a Hebrew complexion, and very naturally the attentive student of the Bible might suppose that the device on the seal originated from purely Hebrew ideas. The obverse and reverse sides constitute together, as we