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than those in which the conduct of that very people, and their present unexampled condition, are described. "Behold," says their great Lawgiver, " all these "curses shall come upon thee, and shall

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pursue thee, because thou hearkenedst "not unto the voice of the Lord thy God; " and they shall be upon thee for a sign "and for a wonder, and upon thy seed " for ever. The Lord shall bring a na"tion against thee from far, from the end "of the earth, as swift as the eagle flieth

a nation whose tongue thou shalt not "understand: and he shall besiege thee "in all thy gates, until thy high and

fenced walls come down: and thou shalt "eat the fruit of thine own body, the "flesh of thy sons and thy daughters in "the siege, and in the straitness where"with thine enemies shall distress thee: "and ye shall be left few in number, "whereas ye were as the stars of heaven

"in multitude; and the Lord shall scatter "thee among all people, from the one "end of the earth, even unto the other: "and among these nations shalt thou "find no ease, neither shall the sole of

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thy foot have rest, but the Lord shall

give thee there a trembling heart, and failing of eyes, and sorrow of mind."

As a counterpart to this prophetic denunciation, which has been in every particular so awfully fulfilled, I shall quote, in conclusion, that beautiful passage from Isaiah, in which the prediction that has given rise to the preceding observations is contained, and which, proclaiming the advent of the Messiah, speaks, at the same time, of the loving kindness of his righteous and impartial reign. "Comfort ye, comfort ye, my people, "saith your God. Speak ye com"fortably to Jerusalem, and cry unto “her that her warfare is accomplished,

"that her iniquity is pardoned: for she "hath received of the Lord's hand dou

"ble for all her sins. The voice of "him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord-make

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straight in the desert a high way for our "God. Every valley shall be exalted, "and every mountain and hill shall be "made low and the crooked shall be "made straight, and the rough places

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plain. And the glory of the Lord shall

❝ be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together: for the mouth of the Lord hath

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spoken it. O Zion, that bringest good

tidings, get thee up into the high moun"tain: O Jerusalem, that bringest good

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tidings, lift up thy voice with strength: "lift it up, be not afraid; say unto the "cities of Judah, behold your God."

DISCOURSE III.

ON THE PREACHING OF JOHN.

MARK, i. 3, 4.

"The voice of one crying in the wilder

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ness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord,

"make his paths straight. John did

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baptize in the wilderness, and preach "the baptism of repentance, for the re"mission of sins."

In a former discourse I had occasion to make some observations on that system of Prophecy, which existed in its perfect the Jews alone, and was in

form among

* Preached in Advent.

corporated, indeed, with every rite and ceremony of that singular people. We are not, however, to suppose, that no rays of this benevolent light were scattered over the Gentile world, and that, amidst the deep darkness which hung over the nations, there were not prophetic intimations of something better to arrive. In this view, as incomplete in themselves, and as ready to give way to some system of greater perfection, the religious tenets, both of the Jews and of the Gentiles, are principally to be contemplated. The former originated immediately from divine inspiration, and were formed into a regular and harmonious scheme, the latter were the rude productions of human nature left to itself, or enlightened only by short and partial glimpses of divine truth,—yet both were the schools in which the infancy of the world was reared,-in both

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