for their preservation to their destruction." And again; "The multitude of those who perished exceeded all the destructions that man or God ever brought upon the world." The great mass of the nation was gathered within the city. They were divided into contending factions, who fought with the fury of fiends against each other. Famine did its slow but fearful work, so that women were known to eat their own children. And while those within were thus the prey of famine and of each other, those who attempted to escape were taken by the Roman soldiers and nailed on crosses, some one way, some another, as it were in jest, around the outside of the walls, till so great was the number, that room was wanting for crosses, and crosses for bodies. As Titus beheld the dead bodies that had been thrown from the walls into the valleys, "he lifted up his hands to heaven, and called God to witness that this was not his doing." These were "the days of vengeance;" and it is computed by Josephus that upwards of one million three hundred thousand persons perished in the siege of Jerusalem alone. And not only so, but, when the city was taken, it was, contrary to the wish of Titus, devoted to utter destruction; and the prophecy of Christ, that not one stone of the Temple should be left upon another, was literally fulfilled.

Of the other prophecies I have not time to speak ; but the Jews were carried into captivity among all nations, and their condition from that time till now has been a standing and wonderful attestation of the truth of the prophetic record, while their present condition is an evident preparation for the fulfilment of those still more wonderful prophecies which now stand like

the bow of promise, overarching the future. According to that expression of the prophet, so wonderfully accurate, they have been sifted among all nations; yet have they, of all ancient people similarly situated, alone preserved their identity, and now seem to be preparing for that restoration which shall not only be to them the fulfilment of the prophecies, but shall be as life from the dead to the Gentile nations.

Thus, whether we look at the prophecies that related to events before the time of Christ, or to those relating to him, or to those which he uttered, or to the present state of the Jews, and indeed of the world, as indicating a complete fulfilment of the prophecies, we shall see the fullest reason to believe that "the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man, but that holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost."

I will only add, as a beautiful instance of the consistency of all Scripture, that the magnificent pictures of the prophets, respecting a state of future blessedness on earth, are just such as would be realized by the entire prevalence of Christianity, and by nothing else. These pictures are not drawn at random, or in general terms. They are precise and definite. They represent a state of peace, and purity, and love—of high social enjoyment, and of universal prosperity. And it is only by the prevalence of Christianity that such a state of things can be realized. Let this become universally prevalent, not in its form only, but in its spirit, and then nation would no more lift up sword against nation, neither would they learn war any more; then the wolf also would dwell with the lamb,

and the leopard lie down with the kid; then would the wilderness and solitary place be glad for them, and the desert rejoice; then, instead of the thorn would come up the fir-tree, and instead of the brier would come up the myrtle-tree; then would the inhabitants of the rock sing, and shout from the top of the mountains; the people would be all righteous, and inherit the land forever.

IT has been my wish to present, in this course of lectures, as I was able, the positive argument for Christianity. I commenced the course with an invitation to the audience to go with me round about our Zion, and tell the towers thereof. Those towers are not yet all told. To some of the most common and effective topics of argument I have yet scarcely referred, and I ought, in logical order, to proceed at once to the consideration of them. This I have thought of doing, and of omitting to say any thing upon the objections against Christianity. If the time would admit of it, I should be pleased to devote at least a lecture to the consideration of these; for, while there are objections which are unworthy of an answer, while there are persons, who make them, who would be no nearer becoming Christians if their objections were all removed, - there are objections, the force of which I think may be removed, that weigh heavily upon some who are sincerely inquiring for the truth. To every such individual I would give my hand. I would make any effort to relieve him. I know what it is to wade in

the deep waters of doubt, and the blessedness of finding what seems to me to be the rock. For the sake of such I would gladly dwell upon this point at length; but as that is now out of the question, I will make a few observations on the subject of objections generally, and then go on with the argument.

And here, if I may be permitted to drop a word in a more familiar way in the ear of the candid and practical inquirer, referring to my own experience, I would say, that I have found great benefit in being willing- a lesson which we are all slow to learn-to wait. It has not unfrequently occurred that I have stood in such an attitude (perhaps for months or years together) to a certain objection as to see no way of evading it, till, at length, light would break in, and I could see with perfect distinctness that there was nothing in it. Are there not many here who have unexpectedly met with something which has removed, in a moment, objections which have lain with weight upon their minds for years? I well remember when it seemed to me that there was a direct contradiction between Paul and James, on the subject of faith and works. It seemed so to Luther, and, because he could not reconcile them, and was unwilling to wait, he rejected the Epistle of James, calling it a strawy Epistle. I can now see that Paul and James, not only do not contradict each other, but harmonize perfectly. I have sometimes compared the path of a sincere inquirer to a road that winds among the hills. Who has not seen the hills, perhaps the high mountains, closing down upon such a road so as to render it apparently impossible he should proceed; and who has not been surprised, when he reached the proper point to see it,