first of these is thought to be Hosea the son of Beeri, and therefore his prophecy, or the word of the Lord by him, is called the beginning of the word of the Lord. Hos. 1: 2. "The beginning of the word of the Lord by Hosea ;" that is, the first part of that which is written in books of prophecy. He prophesied in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah, and in the days of Jeroboam, the son of Joash, king of Israel. There were many other witnesses for God raised up about the same time to commit their prophecies to writing-Isaiah, Amos, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, and probably some others and so from that time forward God continued a succession of writing prophets.

This was a great dispensation of Providence, and a great advance made in the work of redemption, which will appear if we consider that the main business of the prophets was to point out Christ and his redemption. They were all forerunners of the great Prophet. The great end of the spirit of prophecy being given them was, that they might give testimony to Jesus Christ, the great Redeemer, who was to come. Therefore the testimony of Jesus and the spirit of prophecy are spoken of as the same thing. Rev. 19:10. "And I fell at his feet to worship him: and he said unto me, See thou do it not: I am thy fellow-servant, and of thy brethren that have the testimony of Jesus: worship God: for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy." And therefore we find that the main thing that most of the prophets insist upon, is Christ and his redemption, and the glorious times of the Gospel. And though many other things were spoken of in their prophecies, yet they seem to be only as introductory to their prophe

cy of these great things. Whatever they predict, here their prophecies commonly terminate.

These prophets, inspired by the Spirit of Christ, wrote chiefly to prepare the way for his coming, and to exhibit the glory that should follow. And in what an exalted strain do they all speak of those things! Many other things they speak of in men's usual language. But when they enter upon this subject, what a joyful, heavenly sublimity is there in their language! Some of them are very particular and full in their predictions of these things, and above all, the prophet Isaiah, who is therefore deservedly called the evangelical prophet. He seems to teach the glorious doctrines of the Gospel almost as plainly as the apostles did. The apostle Paul therefore takes notice that the prophet Esaias is very bold, Rom. 10: 20; that is, as the word is used in the New Testament, very plain; so 2 Cor. 3: 12; we use great plainness of speech, or boldness, as in the margin.

How plainly and fully does the prophet Isaiah describe the manner and circumstances, the nature and end, of the sufferings and sacrifice of Christ, in the 53d chapter of his prophecy. There is scarcely a chapter in the New Testament itself more full! And how much, and in what an exalted strain does the same prophet speak from time to time, of the glorious benefits of Christ, the unspeakable blessings which shall redound to his church through his redemption! Jesus Christ, of whom this prophet spoke so much, once appeared to him in the form of human nature, the nature he should afterwards take upon him. Isa. 6: 1. "I saw also the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple," &c. This was Christ, as we are express

ly told in the New Testament. John, 12: 39-41. And if we consider the abundant prophecies of this and the other prophets, what a great increase is there of gospel light! How plentiful are the revelations and prophecies of Christ, compared with what they were in the first period of the Old Testament, from Adam to Noah; or in the second, from Noah to Abraham; or to what they were before Moses, or in the times of Moses, Joshua, and the Judges! This dispensation was also a glorious advance of the work of redemption by the great additions made to the canon of Scripture. Great part of the Old Testament was written now from the days of Uzziah to the captivity into Babylon. And how excellent are those portions of it! What a precious treasure have those prophets committed to the church of God, tending greatly to confirm the Gospel of Christ! and which has been of great comfort and benefit to God's church in all ages since, and doubtless will be to the end of the world.

CHAPTER VI.

FROM THE BABYLONISH CAPTIVITY TO THE COM

ING OF CHRIST.

I. BEFORE I enter upon particulars, I would observe three things wherein this period, embracing

nearly six hundred years, is distinguished from the preceding.

:

1. Though we have no account of a great part of this period in the Scripture history, yet the events of it are more the subject of Scripture prophecy than any of the preceding periods. There are two ways wherein the Scriptures give account of the events by which the work of redemption is carried onhistory, and prophecy and in one or the other of these ways we have in the Scriptures an account how the work of redemption is carried on from the beginning to the end. Though the Scriptures do not contain the proper history of the whole, yet the whole chain of great events by which this work is carried on from its commencement to its completion, is found either in history or prophecy. And it is to be observed, that where the Scripture is wanting in one of these ways, it is made up in the other. Where Scripture history fails, there prophecy takes place; so that the account is still carried on, and the chain is not broken, till we come to the very last link of it in the consummation of all things.

And accordingly it is observable of this space of time, that though it is so much less the subject of Scripture history than most of the preceding periods, (there being above four hundred years, of which the Scriptures give us no history,) yet its events are more the subject of prophecy, than those of all the preceding periods together. Most of those remarkable prophecies of the book of Daniel, and most of those in Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel, against Babylon, Tyrus, Egypt, and many other nations, were fulfilled in this period.

Hence the reason why the Scriptures give us no

history of so great a part of this time, is not that the events were not so important, or less worthy of notice, than those of the foregoing periods; for they were great and remarkable. But there are several reasons which may be given for it. One is, that it was the will of God that the spirit of prophecy should cease in this period, (for reasons that may be given hereafter;) so that there were no prophets to write the history of these times; and therefore God designing this, took care that the great events of this period should not be without mention in his word. It is observable that the writing prophets in Israel, were raised up at the latter end of the foregoing period, and at the beginning of this; for the time was now approaching, when, the spirit of prophecy having ceased, there was to be no inspired history, and therefore no other Scripture account but what was given in prophecy.

Another reason for the suspension of inspired history may be, that God in his providence took care that there should be authentic and full accounts of the events of this period preserved in profane histo

ry. It is very worthy of notice, that with respect to the events of the five preceding periods, of which the Scriptures give the history, profane history is silent, or gives us but very imperfect accounts. There are many fabulous and uncertain accounts of things that happened before: but the commencement of authentic profane history is judged to be about a hundred years before Nebuchadnezzar's time. The learned Greeks and Romans used to call the ages before that, the fabulous age; the times after it, the historical age. And from about that time to the coming of Christ we have undoubted