These desultory remarks will now be closed with a "celebrated aphorism" which was quoted in the speech from which the motto was taken: "A fro

ward retention of custom is more baneful than innovation; and they who reverence too much old times, are not of the most service to the new."

HAVING given a detail of the fulfilment of the prophecy of the destruction of Jerusalem, some reflections may be proper on the prophecy itself, and on the principal event.

1. This prophecy was not a loose and general prediction, such as a man of extraordinary foresight might have made upon observing the character of the Jews, and the situation of Judea. It is too explicit and circumstantial to allow us to suppose that it was no more than a fortunate conjecture. Who but God himself, or one endowed by him, would dare to pronounce upon the fate of a nation in such unqualified and irrevocable terms? And not only so, but to declare that the generation then living should not have passed away till all these things should be accomplished! Even if no circumstances of the calamity had been pointed out, the mere intimation of the total overthrow of the Mosaick economy, with all its splendour, antiquity and veneration, could not have been imagined by an ordinary Jew; much

less that their temple, towards which they worshipped from all quarters of the globe-that temple where God himself was supposed to reside, should be laid level with the ground. This was a conception which a Jew dared not entertain, an event which he would not have dared to predict.

But our Saviour predicted events of this improbable character; and he impressed the expectation of them so forcibly on the minds of his disciples, that they were prepared to expect the catastrophe. Hence we find, in the epistles of the New-Testament, expressions unquestionably referring to this extraordinary expectation.

Second. If we consider the importance of this event to the cause of Christianity, we shall cease to wonder that it was made the subject of so solemn a prediction. The first Christians were Jews; and in every place where converts were made, some of them were of Jewish origin, Notwithstanding their reception of Jesus as the Messiah, they

retained a strong attachment to the Mosaick rituals, and to the seat of their forefathers' worship. Hence it is natural to suppose our Saviour's prediction and its accomplishment must have deeply interested the feelings of the Christian Jews at an early period. But the event was of great importance to the establishment of Christianity. It was the Jewish power that persecuted Christianity from its cradle, and nothing but the supernatural guardianship of Heaven prevented its being strangled at its birth. During the existence of the Jews as a nation, or while their ecclesiastical power was in exercise, they were in every place the inveterate enemies of the gospel.

But

when Jerusalem was overthrown, Christianity may be said to have erected its head in the world.

Third. The prophecy of the destruction of Jerusalem was of great importance in establishing our Saviour's claims as the Messiah. The event was often mentioned by him as the coming or appearance of the Son of man, and the fulfilment was an event by which it was to be known that he was indeed the Christ of God. The great cause why the Jews rejected him was, that he did not appear in pomp as a temporal prince, according to the expectations they had formed of the Messiah that God had promised. Instead of appearing as a mighty warriour, he was meek and lowly. All his encomiums were bestowed on qualities of mind the reverse of those which the Jews expected to see

exemplified in their Deliverer. They could not understand him when he intimated the sufferings which awaited himself, or them. When he went so far as to predict the utter demolition of their ecclesiastical polity and the ruin of their temple, nothing more was wanting to satisfy them, that he was either a madman or a blasphemer. On the truth of his predictions, therefore, the justice of his claims seem, in a great measure, to have rested. If the events took place according to his word, his claims as the Messiah were established. This then was the triumph of Christianity. It was an appeal to fact which was not to be resisted. The prediction is been fulfilled; God has vindicated the cause and the claims of his Son.

Fourth. The destruction of Jerusalem, and the present situation of the Jews, are circumstances of unspeakable importance in establishing the general truth of the Christian religion. If the Messiah, who was predicted in the Old Testament, has not appeared, how is it possible that one should ever arise to answer the description of the prophets? From the time of their dispersion, their scattered families were mingled, and their genealogies lost. The race of David, from which the Messiah was to spring, is as undistinguishable as any other race. Even their tribes are confounded, and the glory of Judah has perished with the rest. The expected Prince was suddenly to appear in his temple; but the temple is now

no more.

If then the Messiah is yet to come, how is he to be known?

The present circumstances of the Jews all over the world, which have continued 1800 years-circumstances so peculiar and unparalleled, seem to in dicate some great transgression, the effects if not the guilt of which are not wiped away. Compare their situation with that of any other people, and you find no parallel. They seem to be reserved to confirm the very gospel which they rejected, to testify to facts to which they would not listen, to keep uncorrupted those very prophecies which foretold their present fate, and to bear eternal witness to their authenticity.

What then was the great crime of this unhappy people? The sufferings of that generation among whom our Saviour appeared, would seem a fable in history, were they not so circumstantially related. Every thing in the history of the Jews points to a singular providence; a desolation has come upon them

which has no example, and which yet has no limits. Wretched people! What has been your crime? The traveller as he wanders over Palestine, and calls your history to remembrance, is lost in wonder till he ascends the hill where the Lord of glory was crucified by your fathers, the image of the cross bursts upon his fancy, and that fearful exclamation occurs to his mind, ་ HIS

BLOOD BE ON US AND ON OUR CHILDREN!" and thus the mistery is resolved, the judgments of Jehovah are vindicated.

From the fearful fate of a nation once so mighty, let us learn to bow down before that Providence which directs the destiny of empires. What has often been, may again be, and there is not a man on earth who is uninterested in the fate of the nation to which he belongs. If the Jews were punished for their treatment of a Saviour in whom they did not believe, what have those to expect who profess to believe in him, and still live in disobedience to his commands?

B.

GREAT exertions have been made in Great Britain to reform the penal code, or to abolish many of the sanguinary laws which have long existed in that country. For this humane purpose a variety of facts and arguments are exhibited in the Philanthropist, to shew the evil tendency

of the existing laws, and to prove that publick executions tend rather to multiply than to diminish capital offences.

By one writer it is stated, that the sanguinary laws of Great Britain "award death for no less than one hundred and sixty different offences." The same

writer states that five children were condemned to death at the Old Bailey, Feb. 16, 1814, for burglary and stealing; that the youngest was eight years old, and the oldest but twelve; that the next day five more were sentenced to transportation for stealing cheese from a shop, and the oldest of these was but fifteen. Upon these facts the writer reasons as follows :

"Facts like these are surely an indication that something is radically wrong. Notwithstanding the severity of our laws, the daily Newspapers are continually giving evidence of multiplied atrocities; and it is now high time to inquire, whether the system we have been pursuing, is the best that could be devised for the prevention of crime and the protection of society."

"Now if it can be proved, as it certainly may, that a vast proportion of the victims to our criminal laws, have, through the neglect of society, been suffered to be trained, from their very infancy, in crime, while by very simple and practicable arrangements they might have been initiated in virtue, it will be difficult to avoid the conclusion that they have been unjustly dealt with; and that a heavy responsibility rests upon those who, having the power to save, have neglected to exert it."

Another writer, to show the inutility of publick executions, and their deleterious influence, states a case that had recently occurred, of five persons who were hanged at the same time, for burglary, two of whom were

"The extraordinary circumstance of five men being executed at once, for one offence, attracted vast multitudes of people, of the lower order, from all parts of the country. To see five of their fellow creatures hanged was as good as a horse-race, a boxing-match, or a bull-baiting. If nothing was intended but to amuse the rabble, at a great loss of their time and a considerable expense, the design was undoubtedly effected. If a publick entertainment was not the object, it may be asked, what benefit has a single individual derived from beholding the destruction of these miserable victims ?"

He adds, "Perhaps that question may be answered by stating that many of the spectators, immediately afterwards got intoxicated; and some cried out to their companions, with a significant gesture in allusion to the mode of punishment, “It is but a ten minutes job!" If such be the sentiments excited on the very spot, it cannot be supposed to be more salutary at a distance; and notwithstanding the sacrifice of those five men, the people of Shropshire must still fasten their doors."

"If house-breakers should learn to think light of human life, and adopt the precaution of committing murder the next time they commit a robbery, since the danger of detection would be less and the punishment no greater, what will the inhabitants of the country have to thank for it, but