judge of the propriety, or impropriety of spiritual interpretations, and may be easily made the dupes of ingenious speculation. Where incredulity witholds its assent, it has no reason to assign for discrediting the explanation. It discovers perhaps, some plausibility in the construction, and while it disbelives, it may know of no better interpretation.

Under such circumstances, any successful effort made to place, in a condensed form, historical information concerning nations and individuals that are made the subject of Scripture prophecy before the public, will serve in some measure to provide community with facilities for learning and understanding the purport of prophetic teachings, and enable each one to judge more rationally of the correctness of views advanced. It will also have a tendency to impart new interest to the perusal of the Sacred Scriptures, and furnish means for refuting chimerical interpretations.

It was the design of the author, in these Lectures, as far as they go, to provide such material for popular use, cherishing the pleasing hope, that he would thereby render some small service to liberal, rational Christianity.

The Lectures were originally prepared

without any reference to publication, and of course, without regard to the approbation or censure of criticism. The author has designedly guarded against embellishment and showy costume, and studied brevity, conciseness, and simplicty, in order to render the Lectures useful, rather than pleasing. The work, such as it is, at the earnest solicitation of numbers who attended the Lectures at the time they were delivered, is presented to a generous and liberal public, in the anticipation that it may be instrumental in promoting a knowledge of the revealed truth of Heaven; and in substantiating the evidence of Divine Inspiration.

2

LECTURE I.

Jewish Prophecy a proof of the Divinity of the Scriptures-The subjects embraced in the prophecies of Daniel-Interpretations adopted-Delusive anticipations--The Time defined for the complete fulfilment of Daniel's Prophecies.

I WILL SHEW THEE THAT WHICH IS NOTED IN THE SCRIPTURE OF TRUTH.

Daniel, 10: 21.

THE fulfilment of Jewish prophecy is one of the strongest proofs furnished in evidence of the Divine authenticity of the Scriptures. It seals with the signet of Heaven the truth of the testimony therein contained. It made the prophetical record a sacred relic to the Hebrew nation. It was a monument of God's special regard

for the children of Israel-of his providential interference in their behalf, of the care and protection he exercised over them; and served to render them the more attached to their religious institutions assumed to be established by the authority of Jehovah -more devoted to that form of government adopted by their fathers.

It made the early Christians confident of the truths of the gospel, and was successfully appealed to by the apostles in supporting the claims of Jesus of Nazareth to the title of Messiah-and in converting both Jews and Gentiles to the recognition of the principles of the gospel.

In modern times, it is a witness adduced. to prove the Divine origin of the Jewish and Christian systems-and to confirm the truth of the doctrines taught in the Old and New Testament Scriptures, which no cavilling sophistry can gainsay—no ingenious scepticism can resist―no philosophizing reason can overthrow.

The wise acquaint themselves with hu