DAYS."To this last captivity of his people by the romans, and its desolating effect, which for its long duration he calls "perpetual desolations," the prophetic psalmist alludes in the seventy fourth Psalm.-"O God, why bast thou cast us off FOR EVER?-why doth thine anger smoke against the sheep of thy pasture? Remember thy congregation, which thou hast purchased of old. We see not our signs," the tokens of the divine favor formerly vouchsafed us." There is no more any prophet, neither is there among us any that knoweth HOW LONG." This circumstance distinguishes this latter from the seventy years captivity, the end of which was accurately foreknown, from a literal prophecy of Jeremiah. (xxix. 10.) But in this captivity, the condition of this people is most unfortunate, and melancholy in the extreme. They are not only forsaken of their peculiar glory the spirit of prophecy, but are even bereaved of common apprehension, when they apply their minds to the interpretation of the prophecies already delivered; in which their

*The roman captivity, or INDIGNATION, is to continue.

But their understand

own unreasonable unbelief, and present condition, in consequence of it, are so very frequently, fully, and clearly revealed; that he that runs may read, and understand. (Heb. ii. 2.) These scriptures of the prophets nevertheless, are constantly read in the daily service of their synagogues, and have been so ever since the time of our Saviour, at which period they were in common use, and were not unfrequently expounded to them by himself, with the appropriate conclusion, "This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears, (Luke iv. 21.) ings are overclouded by a spirit of fanaticism and mysticism, and they have been until this day, still addicted with a blind devotion, to the same groundless traditions and senseless rabbinical fables, which misled their fathers, that "they knew not the day of their visitation." St. Paul, (as it appears, not without reason,) strongly warned the converted jews and early christians in general, to beware of this frequent source of heresy and apostacy ; and let the church of Rome look to it, how she hath taken the good counsel.

This state of invincible prejudice against christianity, in which the jews have so pertinaciously continued, is wonderfully set before their eyes by their own prophets, in a variety of very striking similitudes; which have been pointed out to them by our Lord and his apostles, and many able writers in this controversy, but still without effect. The time for the

opening of the blind eyes, it seems, is not yet arrived. "The Lord bath poured out upon

you

the SPIRIT OF DEEP SLEEP, and hath closed your eyes," says Isaiah, "the prophets* and your rulers, the scers, bath he covered. And the vision of all is become unto you as the words of a book that is sealed, which men deliver to one that is learned, saying read this I pray thee; and he saith, I cannot, for it is sealed. And the book is delivered to him that is not learned, sayand he saith I am

ing, read this I pray thee;

not learned," (Isa. xix. 10.)

Thus the learned

amongst the jews reject the christian expositions of prophecy through prejudice, which is judicially confirmed and strengthened, till it be

*It appears from 1 Cor, xiv. 5, that expounders, or preachers, were called prophets, in a large sense.

M

comes a spiritual blindness; while the unlearned will hearken to no reason, through as blind a dependance upon others, whom they account better judges than themselves.

It is evident that this is equally and exactly the case also with the church of Rome, but in a still more censurable manner; in as much as our Saviour and his apostles have unitedly pressed upon all christians a diligent searching of the scriptures, and declared that no dependance is to be placed upon any pretended infal"Lo! lible guide which should at times say, here is Christ, or lo! there." Yet the scriptures have been with-held from the people, because they were not allowed to be compe tent judges of what the church had previously determined to be christian truth, and they might be in danger of falling into heresy; or rather, "lest they should see with their eyes, and bear with their ears, and be converted" from the dangerous errors of popery. "Wherefore the Lord said, forasmuch as this people draw near me with their mouth, and with their | lips do bonour me, but have removed their heart

far from me, and their fear toward me is taught by the PRECEPT OF MEN,"-by traditions and legends preferred before sacred scripture, both in the practice and by the doctrine of the jewish and romish churches," therefore, behold, I will proceed to do a marvellous work and a wonder: for the wisdom of their wisemen shall perish, and the understanding of their prudent men shall be bid* "

At the time when our Saviour appeared, the predisposing causes of unbelief in the jewish people, arising from philosophy falsely so called, and other motives of a corrupt nature, had been a long time in operation. So that in this state of spiritual torpor which the prophet has described, the preaching of our i Lord, and his apostles after him had but little effect upon them; and when they could neither confute nor gainsay his arguments, they derided him. From this spirit of slumber

* Isaiah xxix. 14; 2 Cor, iv. 2, 3, 4.

In imitation of this unsuccessful example, it has been a laboured point with modern infidels, to set up ridicule as the test of truth, and to substitute scoffing and blasphemy in the place of argument.