true, other inferior deities, which they worshipped; but Bel and Nebo were the great chiefs among their imaginary gods. The kings of Babylon had been a dreadful scourge to the surrounding nations. They had slaughtered their population; they had plundered their temples and their treasuries, and had carried all the wealth which they could thus collect to Babylon. And the glory of these conquests they ascribed to Bel and Nebo. When they were about engaging in some important military expedition, they invoked the aid and benediction of Bel and Nebo; and when their incursion into a neighboring nation had been successful, they crowded the temples of Bel and Nebo, and offered sacrifices of thanksgiving, and paid to these idols the most costly honors. At length, the king of Babylon invaded Judea. As he made war under the patronage of Bel and Nebo, the conclusion was, that, whenever he conquered, these idols of Babylon had proved too mighty for the god of the conquered people. When Jerusalem fell into the hands of the king of Babylon, these idolaters did not wish to believe the truth. They did not wish to believe that Israel were smitten for their sins against God. They loved darkness. They They exulted in the oppor

The

loved to believe a lie. tunity of blazing abroad, that now the idols of Babylon had proved too strong for the God of Israel. city called by his name was destroyed. The beautiful house built for his praise was burned with fire; and his people were carried into captivity. And now they devised honors for their favorite idol beyond all parallel. The king, the princes, and the people, all combine. 'Nebuchadnezzar the king made an image of gold, whose height was threescore cubits, and the breadth

thereof six cubits: he set it up in the plain of Dura, in the province of Babylon. Then Nebuchadnezzar the king sent to gather together the princes, the governors, and the captains, the judges, the treasurers, the counsellors, the sheriffs, and all the rulers of the provinces, to come to the dedication of the image which Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up.. Then the princes, the governors, and captains, the judges, the treasurers, the counsellors, the sheriffs, and all the rulers of the provinces, were gathered together unto the dedication of the image that Nebuchadezzar the king had set up; and they stood before the image that Nebuchadnezzar had set up. Then a herald cried aloud, To you it is commanded, O people, nations, and languages, that at what time ye hear the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, dulcimer, and all kinds of music, ye fall down, and worship the golden image that Nebuchadnezzar the king hath set up. And whoso falleth not down, and worshippeth, shall the same hour be cast into the midst of a burning, fiery furnace.' (Daniel iii. 1-6.) Such were the honors publicly given to Bel, after Jerusalem had fallen before the armies of Babylon. And the honors given to Nebo were scarcely inferior. Long ago, these idolaters had

heard the fame of the God of Israel the wonders wrought in Egypt, at the Red Sea, and in the wilderness. They had trembled in dread of the power of Jehovah. But now his worshippers are vanquished, and carried into captivity. His temple is destroyed; and the land called by his name is made a desolation. Their exultation is unbounded; and invention is tortured for methods to give demonstrations of their joy. And now the prophecy of Isaiah comes before them,

that Jehovah, the God of Israel, will accomplish the downfall of Babylon. 'Behold, I will stir up the Medes against them, which shall not regard silver; and as for gold, they shall not delight in it.' 'And Babylon, the glory of kingdoms, the beauty of the Chaldees' excellency, shall be as when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah. It shall never be inhabited, neither shall it be dwelt in from generation to generation: neither shall the Arabian pitch tent there; neither shall the shepherds make their fold there; but wild beasts of the desert shall lie there; and their houses shall be full of doleful creatures; and owls shall dwell there, and satyrs shall dance there. And the wild beasts of the islands shall cry in their desolate houses, and dragons in their pleasant palaces; and her time is near to come, and her days shall not be prolonged.' (Isaiah xiii. 17, 19-22.) In the forty-fifth chapter, the prophet goes into particulars, and gives specifications concerning the destruction of Babylon.

"1. Cyrus, the Persian, shall command the conquering enemy, (v. 1.)

"2. Cyrus, though a heathen, unacquainted with the true religion, is called to this great work by the God of Israel, (v. 4, 5.)

"3. God will open before him the two-leaved gates, and the gates shall not be shut,' (v. 1.)

"4. The treasures and hidden riches of Babylon shall be given to him,' (v. 3.)

"5. He shall 'let go the captive Jews.'

"6. Not for price nor reward;' that is, he shall

not demand a ransom, (v. 13.)

"7. He shall rebuild Jerusalem.

"8. And rebuild the temple,' (chap. xliv. 28.)

6

"But the Babylonian unbeliever demands, 'Where is Bel where is Nebo - while this destruction is coming on their favorite city? Where are those powerful gods of Babylon, that have dashed the nations in pieces before her conquering armies? Such an overthrow of Babylon is incredible, while she is upheld by Bel and Nebo.' The prophet replies, The Medes and Persians will pull down these senseless images, and break them to pieces, and put the metal of which they are composed on mules and pack-horses, and into carriages, and bear it away to Persia.' 'Bel boweth down, Nebo stoopeth; their idols were upon the beasts and upon the cattle your carriages were heavy loaden 1; they are a burden to the weary beast. They stoop, they bow down together; they could not deliver the burden, but themselves are gone into captivity.' (Isaiah xlvi. 1, 2.)"

The effect of this exposition on the mind of the gentleman who introduced the discussion I have not the means of knowing. The elucidation of the text is inserted here, with the hope that it may prove acceptable to the readers of the "Western Sketch-Book." 26*

EXPOSITION OF SCRIPTURE.

"And there are also many other things which Jesus did, the which, if they should be written every one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that should be written." (John xxi. 25.)

THE plain Christian reads this assertion of the apostle in much astonishment. No declaration in the New Testament appears to him more mysterious and strange; and, after reviewing it again and again, he finds himself utterly unable to form even a plausible conjecture of what the inspired writer intended. He could not mean to assert that if every one of the things which Jesus did in the presence of his disciples, before his death and after his resurrection, were committed to writing, the number and size of the books would be so great that there would not be in the world itself, or in the whole world, room enough to contain them; and yet this seems to be the direct import of the language employed. After many fruitless efforts to extract the apostle's meaning, he leaves the passage in despair, deeply regretting that, to his mind, “shadows, clouds, and darkness rest upon it."

Elsner, one of the most famous of European critics, explains this text as if the apostle had said, "If all the works that Jesus did were recorded, the unbelieving world would not admit them, so as to be moved by