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roical Epiftles were once held raises the astonishment of a more refined age. They exhibit fome elegant images, and fome mufical lines: but in general they want paffion and nature, are strangely flat and profaic, and are intermixed with the coarfeft vulgarities of idea, fentiment, and expreffion. His Barons Wars and other historical pieces are dull creeping narratives, with a great deal of the fame faults, and none of the excellencies, which ought to diftinguish fuch compofitions. His "Nimphidia" is light and airy, and poffeffes the features of true poetry.' P. 262.

It is most probable that Drayton intended to derive his quaint title from the Greek oxios, happy or rich; but fome jingle feems alfo intended between onion and axiov.

This volume is an elegant and acceptable prefent to the public; and it will afford us pleasure to fee the publication of the fecond, which is to extend from the beginning of the reign of James I. to modern times.

The Divine Origin of Prophecy illuftrated and defended in a Courfe of Sermons preached before the University of Oxford, in the Year MDCCC. at the Lecture founded by John Bampton, M. A. &c. By the Rev. George Richards, M. A. &c. 8vo. 6s. Boards. Rivingtons. 1800.

THE fubject felected by this lecturer is of the highest importance: it is one which, in the prefent times, cannot too much occupy the attention of Chriftians, and which will often perplext he ingenuity of the infidel. Few, indeed, of this latter defcription will give themselves the trouble of examining the prophetical writings with true critical attention, though the study of them is connected with the most important facts in the hiftory of mankind. Yet if fuch are contented with the flippancy of their own wit inftead of the folidity of their own arguments, with vague declamations on heathen oracles and on Chriftian and Jewish prieftcraft, the ferious Chriftian will feel himself fortified in his religious hopes by the teftimony of prophefy; inftructed and in the best way amufed by fuch researches into the hiftory of the paft, and fuch profpects of the events of future ages; and, above all, his mind will be elevated by the animated views which this ftudy gives him of the fuperintendence of Providence, and the moral government of the world.

• When the followers of Chrift are required to affign a reafonable caufe for their belief in the infpiration of the prophets, they will not, it is prefumed, appear either precipitate or injudicious in their decifion, if they reply in the following terms. Being con

vinced of the public appearance of the feveral parts of the facred volume prior to the respective occurrences illuftrative of the predictions, and perceiving an exact and striking coincidence between the prophecies and the events in which they were completed, we felt an earnest defire of knowing, whether this coincidence might not be the effect of impofture, of human fagacity, of enthusiasm, or of chance. Profecuting our researches for this purpose, we have discovered that the prophets revealed events of the most diftant times, that they frequently defcribed the minute circumftances attending thofe events, that fome of the peculiarities predicted were unexampled in the age of the prophets, and that the predictions thus circumftantially detailed were very numerous :-that the occurrences foretold were often in the highest degree extraordinary or improbable, and fometimes even directly oppofite to thofe, which, to a mere human fpeculator, muft have appeared likely to take place :-that the fubjects of the predictions were frequently hoftile, and fometimes inevitably ruinous to the worldly intereft of the prophets; and, therefore, fuch as it is not conceiv able that an impoftor would have felected:-that the diftinguishing characteristics of the prophets, and of their predictions, are peculiarly adapted to the defign for which prophecy uniformly professed to have been given; and that the prophets, if uninfpired, appear to have been morally incapable of perfevering uninterruptedly through fo long a period, in the profecution of fo complicated a defign, and of maintaining, with fuch nicety of difcrimination, the propriety of the feveral parts:--that the conduct of the prophets, as recorded in the Old Teftament, is inexplicable upon any principles of human policy, and can only be reasonably accounted for upon the prefumption of a divine agency :-that the means which they employed, and the fublime object which they pursued, toge ther with the circumftances attending the opening and the final clofe of their fuppofed intercourse with the Deity, are peculiarly calculated to ftrengthen and confirm us in our belief of their real infpiration--and, laftly, that in cafting our eyes over the feveral parts of the human race, we difcover the exact completion of many clear and important predictions, in the prefent condition of a great portion of the inhabitants of the globe. We confider all thefe circumftances, taken collectively, as exhibiting an accumu lation of evidence, which amounts to a moral certainty; we are utterly unable to refufe it our unequivocal and abfolute affent; andwe therefore acknowledge the divine infpiration of the facred. prophets.' P. 341.

In the above extract is an outline of the plan purfued by the lecturer in thefe difcourfes, which he has filled up with great judgement. Throughout, indeed, the chief fubjects of prophefy are brought forward in a manner both to entertain and inftruct the reader. In the firft, difcourfe the fubject is

introduced with fome general remarks on the nature of prophefy, and our inquiries are then limited to the following points.

That the events foretold were frequently remote, were defcribed with minutenefs, were fometimes novel, and were very

numerous :

That in the age of the refpective prophets, by whom they were predicted, they must have appeared often improbable, and fometimes the exact reverfe of what might have been reafonably expected:

That, in numerous inftances, the fubjects of the predictions were peculiarly unfavourable to the worldly views of the prophets, and the contrary to thofe, which, it is reasonable to fuppofe, impoftors would have chofen :

← That there is a propriety and confiftency in all the parts of prophecy, conftituting one great and harmonious fcheme, which it feems morally impoffible that the prophets could have imparted to it, if they had not been really infpired :

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That the general conduct of the prophets is inexplicable upon human principles, and can only be fatisfactorily accounted for by an acknowledgment of their infpiration :

And lastly, That from the means which they employed, and the end which they purfued, from the circumftances attending the origin and termination of facred prophecy, and from the prefent fituation of a confiderable portion of mankind, affording a fenfible demonftration of the prescience of the ancient prophets, a ftrong prefumptive argument may be derived in favour of their pretenfions to a divine revelation.' P. 39.

In the fecond difcourfe predicted events are examined with refpect to their diftance from the time at which they were foretold, the minute refemblance of their features, and their exact coincidence with prophetical defcription. These points are judiciously illuftrated in the cafes of Jofias, Cyrus, our Saviour, Babylon, Nineveh, Tyre, Egypt, the Arabians, &c. &c. and the diftinction is ably drawn between the conjectures of poetry or foothfaying, and the certainty and accuracy of infpiration. Thus Seneca might, from the discoveries of his times, conjecture that a few miles on the immenfe tract of waters which bounded the empire on the weft would not for ever be the limits of navigation; and the augur who determined the duration of the Roman government to twelve centuries, from the twelve vultures feen by Romulus, was reftricted to the number twelve from an antecedent event. He was led to a remote æra in his conjectures from the floufithing ftate of the empire in his time. He reafoned, from the.

ufual events of empires, that the duration of that of his own country could not differ widely from other governments, and that its fall would be nearly as far diftant from its greatest fplendor as its fplendor was from the origin of the Roman city. Hence, as he lived feven hundred years from the time of Romulus; and as an age, or hundred years, was a period of time in common ufe with the Romans, he could not take a lefs æra than a hundred years for each vulture; and confequently the twelve hundred years brought him, in round numbers, to that time which might be a fair conjecture for the future duration of the empire. But how widely different is this fpecies of calculation from facred prophefy. By the heathen augur a naked event only is foretold.

Had a variety of the minute and diftinguishing peculiarities which characterise it, been predicted, there would have been that wonderful difplay of prefcience which, it may juftly be contended, can only proceed from the immediate revelation of the Deity. Were it now declared, at what precife period the celebrity of America will commence; what will be the diftinguishing marks of her greatness; what particular countries fhe will fubdue during her profperity, and to what individual nation fhe will in turn fubmit, when fhe declines or had it been fignified by the Roman tragedian in what age the new hemifphere would be disclosed, what kingdom would render itself illustrious by the discovery, what would be the most remarkable features of the new-found continent, and what the confequences to Europe of fo vaft an acceffion of territory and riches-or, again, had the heathen prieft fpecified the particular nations of the world who were to be the conquerors of Rome; had he described their language, their perfons, their manners, and their arms; had he traced the gradations of their conquefts, and marked out the peculiar changes of fociety which should take place at the fall of the empire:-in all these instances, by fuch a minute difcrimination of the attending circumftances, the philofopher, the poet, and the augur, would have advanced far beyond the limits of the human understanding, and might not unjustly, perhaps, have been brought into competition with the favoured prophets of the Moft High.' P. 58.

The third difcourfe fhows that the events predicted were of fuch a nature as to lie entirely out of the reach of the natural forefight of man. The proofs are taken from our Saviour's prophesy of the deftruction of the temple in the life-time of fome who heard him; the peculiar fates of Babylon and Nineveh, Egyt and the Arabs; and the character of the papat authority, whofe fall will throw an additional light on the facred fcriptures. What could render it probable that Egypt, the mother of arts and literature, fhould be the bafeft of na

tions that the fituation of Babylon fhould only be known from its being the abode of different wild beatis? and that. Nineveh, a city fcarcely inferior in fize to itfelf, fhould be totally loft to pofterity? Thefe, and fimilar predictions, appeared in direct oppofition to exifting facts at the date of their de livery, to the reasonable expectations of man, and the regular order of natural occurrences.

The fourth difcourfe embraces the ftate of the Jews; and,! in doing this, the preacher humanely remarks, that it is impoffible not to admit fuch fentiments and deferiptions as mufti give pain to that unfortunate nation, Let it not, however, be fuppofed that this duty is performed without a confiderable degree of reluctance. No fincere Chriftian can wantonly wound the feelings or aggravate the miferies of an afflicted people. Perfecution, whatever form it may affume, is utterly irreconcileable with the pure and gentle fpirit of our religion.' With this amiable fentiment the inquiry is conducted; and our preacher anticipates with pleasure the time when this original people of God fhall be re-admitted into their earthly Canaan, reftored to his favour, and finally accomplish one of the laft in the long train of wonderful predictions which have been delivered by their prophets.

The object of the fifth difcourfe is to demonftrate that thefe predictions are generally unfavourable, in the highcft degree, to the interested defigns of impoftors and fycophants. Danicl pronounces very unwelcome truths to a royal ear; another, prophet expofes his life to the rage of Jeroboam: Elijah, Jeremiah, Ifaiah, all appear to be far removed from the contracted views of human policy, from the artifices and obje&si of interested pretenders.

The fixth difcourfe prefents to us the confifiency of facred prophefy.

The spirit of prophefy first displayed itself at the introduction. of fin: it clofed its heavenly career when the power of fn was broken in the triumphant establishment of Chrifinity. The tem¬" poral events which it pourtrayed, the achievements of celebrated monarchs, and the revolutions of mighty empires, were all more immediately concerned in favouring the progrefs of Revelation. The falfe pretenders to infpiration may in vain lay claim to this incontrovertible teftimony of an over-ruling influence. The predic-. tions of the Pagan oracles were independent of each other, and utterly incapable of uniting in one grand and connected fyftem. Sacred prophefy alone combines its feveral parts in one perfect whole. The merciful spirit of redemption breathes through every page of the prophets, and imparts the fame beauty and harmonious agreement to their numerous writings, which natural law and CRIT. REV. VOL. XXX. September, 1800.,

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