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from the Psalms. That they involve difficulties, none will deny; but what great system is without difficulties to our finite judgments?—and if the astronomer, the metaphysician, the theologian, all confess the existence of great difficulties in the arrangement of actual phenomena, material or mental, how can we expect the distant outline of future events to be clear and legible to our eye?-Some of the difficulties here arise from one source, some from others, but there is one point which I do not remember to have seen noticed by any writer on prophecy within my own narrow range of reading; viz: that three periods are foretold in Scripture, so similar that the account of one may be easily mistaken for a description of the others. There are three distinct sieges of Jerusalem after the death of our Saviour; one, already accomplished by Titus and his Romans, foretold by our Lord, Luke xxi. and the parallel passages of Matthew and Mark; a second, yet future, to be accomplished by "all nations," Zech. xiv. evidently after the restoration of the Jews, and before the Millennium; and a third by "the nations-Gog and Magog" at the close of the Thousand Years, Rev. xx. 9. and Isaiah. xxix. Thus each dispensation, the Jewish, the Christian and the Millennial, ends, as the Jewish kingdom had done before them, with a siege of “the holy city." Probably some of the difficulties which have been started by objectors, have arisen from confusing these foretold sieges together. The first may be partly a type of all, but there is a great difference in their results. The Roman assault was successful, as history has long ago informed us the second will be partially so, for we read in Zech. xiv. 2. that "the city shall be taken,"

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though the Lord himself shall come to the Mount of Olives, v. 3, 4. to fight against and overthrow the triumphant enemy; the third siege will be totally unsuccessful, for we find in John's vision Rev. xx. 9. that while they "compassed the camp of the saints about and the beloved city, fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them." So long therefore, as we confine our attention to one only of these great catastrophes, difficulties will arise in reading the predictions which relate to each; but by separating the various sieges from each other, many dark passages become clear.

Before commencing the study of the Millennial Psalms, I would recommend my readers to peruse attentively the 21st chapter of Luke, and the 20th of Revelation, as one continuous whole. They form an outline chart of future events; the former chapter comes down to the Second Advent of the Lord,-the latter commences there, and goes on to the final consummation. The general and various prophecies yet unfulfilled, both of the Old and New Testament, are like a dissected map of the future, scattered around us in disorder;-passages mournful, terrible, glorious, are all mingled together;— -we find each beautiful in itself, but unconnected with the rest. These two chapters resemble the skeleton plan by which we are guided to put the many parts together, till every one fits into its respective place, and the details afforded by each piece fill up and illustrate the outline sketch of the whole.

In some future pages of these Notes, I hope to bring forward at length such of these beautiful fragments as are found in the Book of Psalms, and to endeavour to show how they fit in to the general scheme of unfulfilled prophecy.

I cannot better conclude, than in the words of that admirable prelate, with whom we began this paper. In the same Sermon before quoted, he says,-" Christ is personated sometimes as a Priest, sometimes as a King, sometimes as a Conqueror; and in those Psalms in which He is introduced as a Conqueror, the resemblance is very remarkable between this Conqueror in the Book of Psalms, and the warrior on the white horse in the Book of Revelation, who goes forth with a crown on His head, and a bow in His hand, conquering and to conquer. And the conquest in the Psalms is followed, like the conquest in the Revelation, by the marriage of the Conqueror. These are circumstances which, to any one versed in the prophetic style, prove beyond a doubt that the mystical Conqueror is the same personage in both. * * * David's complaints against his enemies are Messiah's complaints, first of the unbelieving Jews, then of the heathen persecutors, and the apostate faction in latter ages-David's sufferings are the Messiah's sufferings, David's penitential supplications are the supplications of Messiah in agony, under the burden of the imputed guilt of man. David's songs of triumph and thanksgiving are Messiah's songs of triumph and thanksgiving for His victory over sin, and death, and hell. In a word, there is not a page in this Book of Psalms, in which the pious reader will not find his Saviour, if he reads with a view of finding Him and it was but a just encomium that came from the pen of one of the early Fathers,—that it is a complete system of Divinity for the use and edification of the common people of the Christian Church."

X. Q.

NOTES TO THE CHRISTIAN YEAR.

No. IV.

THIRD SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY.

SPIRITS of light there are, sent forth to bear
Their high commission with untiring wing;
Courage, or comfort to salvation's heir,
Fresh from the presence of the Almighty King.

But when they hover near, or when they go
Carrying earth's tidings to their own bright home
To us is unrevealed; and did we know,
Our heart's frail fealty would surely roam.

Too soon would Gabriel's radiant vision glide
Between the soul, and her Eternal light;
Or some created excellence divide
The uncreate from our enfeebled sight.

Thou seest me O God!* and other eye

I dare not pleasure—and I will not shun.†
Who for some twinkling star would search the sky,
Amid the blazing of the noontide sun?

* Gen. xvi. 13.

"We cannot pass our guardian angel's bound,

Resigned or sullen, he will hear our sighs."-CH. YEAR.

FRINGES AND PHYLACTERIES.

A RECENT Occurrence has turned public attention in some measure to these distinguishing badges of Hebrew worship. When we say public, we do not of course mean the class who care nothing for any mode of worship, nor that order of more serious people who would spiritualize into an abstract idea Noah's Ark, Solomon's Temple, and the very stones of Zion's wall: but among the Israelites in this country, and among those who love them because they are Israelites, a strong feeling has been called forth by the misrepresentation made, as it would seem, in a local journal of something that lately took place at Hertford, and which, supposing it to have been as reported, accompanied with jokes and laughter, would have been sufficient to kindle in every Jewish bosom the glow of indignation, and on every Christian cheek the blush of shame. We are, however, persuaded that nothing could be farther from the purpose of the excellent individual, than to hold up to ridicule anything held sacred by our Hebrew brethren, even if not satisfactorily traceable to a divine command; and whatever question may exist with respect to the literal meaning of those passages on which they ground the use of the phylacteries, no one who holds the Bible sacred can look upon the fringe otherwise than as an ordinance so distinctly instituted by the Most High, so emphati

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