place at the right hand of God-and send down the Spirit upon his followers :-that the gospel should be first preached in Jerusalem-multitudes converted to the faith-great persecutions endured by those who embraced it-the Jews rejected and the church called by a new name:-that the gospel should be generally opposed by the kings and governors of the world -yet after some time they should become favourable, and give it encouragement:-that the Gentile nations should be enlightened and called:-that every soul should submit to Messiah-those who reject him being confounded-and those who embrace him being protected:-that he should finally be the judge of the world-destroy death-and crown his faithful people with everlasting joy :-that all these things should be predicted of some one person, several hundreds, or even some thousand years asunder from each other; and that they shall all receive accomplishment in Jesus Christ, without any one exempt case, and in no other person: if under such circumstances, Jesus Christ were not the person intended in the divine councils, and the Messiah, whom all the prophets were inspired to predict, it would be the greatest of miracles. Prophecy would be of no use. All evidence would be rendered precarious, mankind left to roam at large, without any satisfactory guide to direct their steps in pursuit of truth and salvation. We may then say, with unshaken confidence, in the words of Philip to Nathaniel; We have found him of whom Moses in the law, and the prophets did write, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.

But, if we turn from these prophecies, to those which more immediately respect the condition of the Christian church in these latter days, we shall find they also are extremely remarkable, and absolutely conclusive for the divine authority of the SacredWritings.

Nebuchadnezzar, invaded the land of Israel about 600 years before the birth of Christ, and carried into captivity a considerable number of the inhabitants of the country. Among others, led captive, were Daniel and his three companions, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. In the second year of his reign, he had a remarkable dream, which made a strong impression upon his mind, but which he was not able to recollect. He sent for all the wise men of Babylon, and, however unreasonable the injunction, insisted, that they should make known his dream, together with the interpretation thereof, upon pain of death. After some time, the king's determination was revealed unto Daniel. He requested a little respite might be allowed him, before the decree should be put into execution. This being granted, he went to his three religious companions, and desired them to join with him in fasting and prayer, to intreat the Lord to discover unto him the king's dream, and its interpretation. The Lord was intreated by Daniel and his three friends, and the whole matter from first to last, was revealed unto him, to the full satisfaction, and even astonishment of the king. Dan. ii. 1—45. The king was so affected with the wonderful manifestation of his inmost thoughts, that he was quite overcome, forgot his own dignity, and fell into an act of idolatry. Dan. ii. 46-49.

The dream is so distinct, the interpretation of it so satisfactory, and the whole so perfectly conformable to the history of the world, as far as the several ages have hitherto proceeded, that no thoughtful man can help being exceedingly struck with the accuracy of the divine foreknowledge.

The dream itself was the figure of an image in the form of a man, made principally of metal, but yet the metal was of different kinds. The head was of gold. This was an emblematical representation of Nebuchadnezzar, and the Babylonian empire over

which he presided. The breast and the arms of the image were of silver. This was an emblematical representation of the empire of Persia, which was to subvert and succeed the Babylonian. Nebuchadnez

zar was, at that time, the most powerful monarch in all the earth, and made Babylon, the capital of his kingdom, the wonder of the world. Within sixty years, however, the empire was overturned, and Babylon itself was taken by Cyrus the great, afterwards king of Persia. The belly and thighs of the image were of brass. This represented a third empire which was to succeed the Babylonian and Persian. Accordingly, about 200 years after the establishment of the Persian empire, Alexander, king of Macedonia, a small state in the upper part of Greece, marched against Darius, king of Persia, defeated him in three pitched battles, and totally subverted the second of the four empires. The Grecian then became the third. The fourth was represented by legs of iron, and feet part of iron and part of clay. This is the Roman; for it was these people, who subdued the four successors of Alexander, and reduced their kingdoms into Roman provinces, and particularly Greece and Macedonia, which were subdued by them 130 years after the conquest of Persia by Alexander the great, and 200 years before the birth of Christ. The Roman empire then was the fourth and the last. It was represented in this image by iron legs, and feet of iron and clay. "Thou sawest," says Daniel to the king, "till that a stone was cut out without hands, which smote the image upon his feet, that were of iron and clay, and brake them to pieces. Then was the iron, the clay, the brass, the silver, and the gold, broken to pieces together, and became like the chaff of the summer threshing floors; and the wind carried them away, that no place was found for them; and the stone, that

smote the image, became a great mountain, and filled the whole earth.”

The four empires were all to be destroyed, and a fifth was to succeed, which was to be different from all that had gone before it. The fourth too was to be unlike the three former in several respects. The image had iron legs. This implied, that the empire, represented by them, was to be more powerful than any of those which had preceded it. But then the feet and toes of the image were part of iron and part of clay. This was to denote, that the latter ages of the Roman empire were partly strong and partly weak, The ten toes too, upon the feet of the image, were designed to represent ten kingdoms into which the Roman empire was to be divided, just as the two feet of a human creature are split into ten ramifications. This is expressed by the prophet in the manner following: Whereas thou sawest the feet and the toes, part of potter's clay and part of iron; the kingdom shall be divided; but there shall be in it of the strength of the iron; forasmuch as thou sawest the iron mixed with miry clay; so the kingdom shall be partly strong and partly broken. And whereas thou sawest irou mixed with miry clay, they shall mingle themselves with the seed of men, but they shall not cleave one to another, even as iron is not mixed with clay." The meaning of which seems to be, the rulers of the ten kingdoms, into which the Roman empire will be divided, shall form marriages, alliances, and contracts one with another, from time to time, for supporting each others interests; but none of their schemes and alliances for obtaining universal empire shall stand. They shall be broken and come to nought. No universal empire shall ever exist upon earth again, till the spiritual empire of Jesus Christ, over the hearts, minds, souls, consciences, and lives of men takes place. Jesus shall be an universal monarch, and the only universal monarch, who shall ever exist again.

It is not, however, expressly asserted in the prophecy before us, that the Roman empire should be split into ten kingdoms. It is only said, the kingdom shall be divided. But though it is not inserted in so many words, it is strongly intimated by the ten toes of the two feet of the image. And the whole is more fully explained in Daniel's vision, recorded in the seventh chapter, where the beast, which is symbolical of the Roman empire, is represented with ten horns, as here the image with ten toes. And, indeed, it is necessary to the full understanding of this dream of Nebuchadnezzar, that we should compare it with the vision of Daniel, which signifies the same thing under different images, with some additional circumstances. This vision of Daniel was near fifty years after the dream of Nebuchadnezzar. Dan. vii. 1-8.

After this, the prophet had a representation of the everlasting Father of the universe, with his eternal Son, the blessed Jesus, passing sentence upon the little horn in these verses. A horn is a symbolical representation of government, power, dominion. The government signified by this little horn was to be utterly destroyed, and Jesus is to erect his universal empire upon the ruins of it. Daniel vii. 9-14. This is the same glorious and universal kingdom of Messiah, which is described in Nebuchadnezzar's dream. Compare Dan. ii. 35-44.

When Daniel had beheld the judgment of the little horn, he did not understand the meaning of it. He was, therefore, greatly troubled, and very desirous of knowing what the whole signified. After a little time, he took courage, and went up to one of the glorious beings, who stood by, to inquire. Whereupon the happy spirit, that was in the train of Messiah, laid open to Daniel the outlines of the whole history of the corruptions of the Christian churchtheir rise their progress their amazing enormity