Jeremiah prophesied for about forty-three years before the destruction of Jerusalem; and during several years after that calamitous event, which took place 588 years before the birth of Christ. After the destruction of Jerusalem, Jeremiah followed those Jews who retired into Egypt. There he continued to reprove them on account of their idolatry, and sealed the truth of his ministry by the blood of martyrdom, the Jews having stoned him. In the treatment which Jeremiah received from his countrymen, we perceive the rooted enmity of the unrenewed mind of man against the righteous authority of God.

The book of Jeremiah is divided into fifty-two chapters, containing four collections of prophecies; but they are not arranged in chronological order.

They have been placed in the following order by a learned translator of the book of Jeremiah.

I. Prophecies delivered in the reign of Josiah, ch. i.-xii.

II. Prophecies delivered in the reign of Jehoiakim, ch. xiii.—xx. xxii. xxxv. xxxvi. xlv.—xlviii. xlix. 1–33.

III. Prophecies delivered in the reign of Zedekiah, ch. xxi. xxiv. xxvii.—xxxiv. xxxvii.-xxxix. xliv. 34-39. 1. li.

IV. Prophecies delivered under the government of Gedaliah, from the taking of Jerusalem to the retreat of the people into Egypt; and those which Jeremiah delivered to the Jews in that country, ch. xl.-xliv.

The fifty-second chapter is supposed to have been added by Ezra, as an introduction to the book of Lamentations.

The prophecies of Jeremiah relate to three principal points:

1. To admonish the Jews of the certain and approaching destruction of their glorious temple, on account of its pollution by their idolatries; and of the wasting of their country, as a punishment for their apostacy and wickedness.

2. To invite the people to repentance by the promises of divine forgiveness, and of deliverance from Babylon, at the expiration of seventy years.

3. To comfort the pious with renewed assurances of the advent of Messiah, and the blessings of his kingdom. The most remarkable things related in the book of Jeremiah are,

1. The series of persecutions and sufferings which the prophet endured in the faithful discharge of his ministry, as the messenger of God; on account of which, and of the affecting nature of some of his writings, Jeremiah has been called the Weeping prophet.

2. The instructive character under which the Messiah was foretold-the Righteous Branch, and the LORD our Righteousness, ch. xxiii. 5, 6.

3. The spiritual and eternal blessings of the Lord's covenant, to be communicated to the church, as the fruits of the righteousness and sacrifice of Christ, ch. xxxi. 31-36. xxxiii. 8. 14-16.

The Lamentations are the mournful elegies which Jeremiah composed on beholding the city and temple of Jerusalem lying in heaps of ruins. These poems are remarkable both for the plan on which they are written,

and for the subjects which they commemorate. The Lamentations consist of five chapters, each having twentytwo stanzas or verses, beginning with the several letters of the Hebrew alphabet in their proper order: the third chapter having sixty-six verses, has three verses together commencing with the several letters in order.

The subject of these Lamentations is the various dreadful calamities of the Jews, through the unfeeling brutality of the Babylonian soldiers; but they are understood to predict the still greater miseries which were brought upon the Jews when the city and temple were finally destroyed by the Roman soldiers, the severer judgment of Heaven on account of their crucifying Lord of glory."

References in Lamentations.

Ch. ii. 2. iii. 33.

Matt. xi. 23.

Heb. xii, 10.

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EZEKIEL.

Ezekiel was of the sacerdotal race, and among the first captives who were carried to Babylon. He prophesied during the early part of the captivity, commencing his ministry about 590 years before the birth of Christ. The design of his prophecies was the instruction of the captives; for the first multitude who had been carried to Babylon, seeing no appearance of Jerusalem being destroyed, as Jeremiah had foretold, deplored their condition in having submitted to the Chaldeans. Ezekiel, therefore, was raised up to exercise his ministry.

1. In confirming the truth of what Jeremiah had declared, by new predictions concerning the certain and speedy destruction of Jerusalem, on account of the confinued idolatry and wickedness of the people.

2. To comfort the pious among the captive Jews, with the assurance of their future restoration, and of the divine judgments upon their cruel oppressors.

3. To foreshow the flourishing and happy state of the church in the times of the Messiah.

The book of Ezekiel is divided into forty eight chap ters, containing four principal sections.

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Section I. Relates the call of Ezekiel, and his prophetical commission, ch. i.—iii. 21.

Sec. II. Contains various predictions of approaching judgments upon the Jews, on account of their idolatry and wickedness, ch. iii. 22.-xxiv.

Sec. III. Records the threatenings of heavy judgments upon the several surrounding nations, that were enemies and oppressors of the Jews, ch. xxv.-xxxii.

Sec. IV. Describes the future restoration of the Jews, with their spiritual prosperity, especially under the reign of Messiah, and the destruction of their enemies, ch. xxxiii.-xlviii.

Among the most remarkable things recorded by the prophet Ezekiel, are his instructive visions; of which two especially have never failed to attract the attention of pious students of this book.

1. The vision of the resurrection of dry bones, assuring the restoration of the people of Israel, ch. xxxvii.

2. The vision of the holy waters, representing the spiritual blessings conveyed by the gospel in its advancing progress through all nations. See ch. xlvii. compared

with Rev. ch. xxii.

Daniel was but a youth (in years) when he was carried among the first captives to Babylon; and he prophesied during the captivity, until after Cyrus succeeded to the throne of his uncle Darius, a period of more than seventy years. Daniel was a person of extraordinary sanctity and wisdom, with which God endowed him, qualifying him to be an eminent instrument in accomplishing the designs of his all-wise providence. His

predictions are the most extraordinary and comprehensive of all that are found in the prophetical writings; for they include the general history of the world, as well as that of the church of God under the Jewish and Christian dispensations, from the period in which he lived to the final consummation of all things; and he alone, of all the prophets, foretold the exact time when the Messiah should appear and finish the great work of human redemption.

The book of Daniel is divided into twelve chapters, and contains two principal sections; the former historical, and the latter prophetical.

Section I. Relates various circumstances in the history of Daniel and the Jews under several kings of Babylon, th. i.—vi.

Sec. II. Contains several prophecies concerning the future condition of the Jews and of the surrounding nations, the coming of the Messiah, and the design of his mission" to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness:" the conversion of the Jews to Christ, and the general resurrection of the dead, ch. vii.—xii.

In the book of Daniel there are several things truly remarkable; among which are,

J. The extraordinary piety, integrity, and wisdom of Daniel and his three companions.

2. The miraculous preservation of the three pious Hebrews when cast into the burning, fiery furnace.

3. The madness of Nebuchadnezzar, sent as a judgment from God on account of his pride; in which he was driven from the society of men to feed upon the grass with the beasts of the field.

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4. The prediction of four universal empires, the rise and fall of which Daniel describes, and the division of the last, which was the Roman, into ten kingdoms.

5. The riotous feasting of Belshazzar, and his daring impiety in drinking to the praise of his idols in the golden vessels which had been pillaged from the temple of God at Jerusalem.

6. The threatening vision from God, against the guilty