The fourth prophecy commences at verse 16th. chap. xxivth. and is continued to verse 6th of chap. xxvi. in which, the prophet meant to inform us first, of the restoration of the nation: and by the manner which he ushers it in, seems, as if he said, I see it, but not now; I view it, but it is not near; not near; "From the uttermost parts of the earth." Towards the end of the world, in the latter days, the nations will say, "We have heard songs, glory to the righteous." To the righteous nation, and the true Messiah. But if ye ask me, (says he) when this will be, I cannot tell ye; for I say, "It is a secret with me: it is a secret with me;" agreeable to what Moses said, (Deut. xxxvi. 34.) and as was said to Daniel, (xii. 9.) But, (proceeds the prophet) this I will inform you of, that before the redemption and salvation will take place, great trouble and afflictions will befal the nation; for, first, "Wo is me, the plunderers plunder," Meaning those who destroyed the nation, and the land, of promise: but these will again be destroyed by others, as was the case of the Babylonians, the Persians, the

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Greeks, and the Romans; and therefore, he observes,

observes, "Yea the plunderers, in succession, continue their cruel depredations." And he farther informs us, secondly, that those who were any ways instrumental in the destruction of the nation, will all receive their due reward, as he says, verse 17th. "The terror, the pit, and the snare, are upon thee, O inhabitant of the land: And it shall be, that whoso fleeth from terror, he shall fall into the pit; and whoso escapeth from the pit, he shall be taken in the snare." And all this (he observes) will be, by the immediate interposition of Divine Providence. "For the flood gates from on high are opened; and the foundations of the earth tremble. The land is griev ously broken; the land is utterly shattered to pieces; the land is violently moved out of her place; the land reeleth to and fro like a drunkard, and shall be removed like a lodge for a night; for her iniquity lieth heavy upon her; and she shall fall and rise no more." The prophet, in these verses, points to the destruction of the four monarchies; for by the land being greviously broken, the Babylonian empire is typified; and by its being utterly shattered to pieces, the Persian empire

is delineated; and by its being violently moved' out of its plače, the Grecian empire is denoted and by the land reeling to and fro, &c. the Roman empire is depicted and whose iniquity is so heavy, that she is doomed to fall, and rise no more. He also informs us, thirdly, that at the time of the redemption, "God will summon on high the host that is on high; and on earth the kings of the earth: And they shall be gathered together, who are bound in the pit, and closely im prisoned in prison: and after many days" they shall be visited. And the moon shall be confounded, and the sun shall be ashamed: for the LORD of hosts shall reign, on Mount Zion, and in Jerusalem: and before his! antients shall be glory." By the sublime figurative language in these verses, the prophet informs us of, the great and extraordinary revolution that is to take place in the world' at the restoration of the Jews, who are now as prisoners bound in the prison of captivity: and who are to be visited, after many days, and gathered together: when all false worship, whether of the heavenly bodies, heroes, or dead

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dead men, is wholly to cease: because the LORD alone will be King over all the earth; agreeable to what the prophet Isaiah says, chap. ii. verse 17, 18. "And the pride of man shall bow down; and the height of mortals shall be humbled ; and the LORD alone shall be exalted in that day: and the idols shall totally disappear, when they shall all go into caverns, &c." But, before his antients shall be glory; that is, the antients of his people Israel, and not the antients of any other people.

The prophet, having thus prophecied the future restoration of the nation, the punishment of their enemies, and the total subversion of all false worship, breaks out in rapturous exclamation, "O LORD! thou art my God: I will exalt thee: I will praise thy name: for thou hast effected wonderful things; counsels. of old time, promises immutably true." Ing this verse, the prophet praises God for the accomplishment of the prophecies foretold by the prophets; and which he emphatically calls, "counsels of old time," because it is a long, long time, since they have been de livered; but nevertheless, they are "promises immutably

immutably true." He then descends to the particulars contained in those prophecies. The first of which is, the punishment of the enemies of the Jews as in verse 2d. "For thou hast made the city an heap: the strong fortified citadel, a ruin the palace of the proud ones, that it shall be no more a city; that it shall never be built up again." And, as those which remain of the nations will by those things be brought to the true faith, he observes, verse 3d. "Therefore shall the fierce people glorify thee: the city of the formidable nations shall fear thee." Those who have been so fierce and cruel to the nation, will then glorify and praise the LORD; for they will then not only see the accomplishment of their own punishment, as foretold, but will also find, that the preservation of the Jewish nation, during so long and dreadful a captivity, was fully verified, as predicted by the prophets. "For thou hast been a defence to the needy in his distress; a refuge from the storm; a shadow from the heat: when the blast of the formidable rages like a winter storm." In this verse, the prophet shews, that notwithstanding all the furious rage of the most powerful nations was

directed