PRELIMINARY ILLUSTRATION OF THE PROPHECY OF EZEKIEL. THE rapid succession of great events which have taken place, within these few years past, before the face of the Christian world, and the regular progress of those particular events which were ordained to guide the views and expectations of the Christian church in its last generation, have suddenly brought us to the period of THAT PRIMARY EVENT, which remained next for expectation, at the conclusion of the “Christian's Survey" of the periods of time; and with a celerity of occurrence, which must penetrate with amazement and awe even the most sanguine expectants of the fulfilment of Prophecies. The "NEXT primary event," affecting the SECULAR interests of nations, which the light of Prophecy at that time revealed to our discernment, and which reason, guided by faith, then directed us to expect concerning THE GREAT POWER newly risen out of the body of nations which had composed the fourth and last, or ROMAN EMPIRE, was-the proximate and sudden fall of THAT NEW POWER, notwithstanding the flourishing and foranidable condition in which He was then seep to subsist. This was propounded, not through any presumptuous pretension to foresee or detect future contingencies, but merely by reasoning justly, and by sound induction, from the facts within our own immediate experience, to the words of Divine Prophecy; which assured us, that whenever the GREAT POWER, foreshown to be the LAST TYRANT of the church, should have manifested his arrival in the world by the marks prophetically affixed to him, the church might be confidently assured, that the duration of his tyranny would be short, and his catastrophe signal and disastrous. Upon re "The Christian's Survey." cognising, therefore, the actual occurrence of events which answered minutely to the signs foreshown in this particular, the infe rence of a proximate overthrow of the new Power was no more than a simple exercise of reason and of faith. The same exercise continued, gave origin to the first sketch of the present tract, soon after the armies of FRANCE commenced their entrance into the territories of RUSSIA; and the rectitude of that inference is now fully proved, by the stupendous scene which it has pleased THE ALMIGHTY RULER OF THE WORLD to reveal, in the sudden reverse, and signal overthrow, of the fortunes of that NEW POWER, immediately consequent upon his great and formidable. enterprise directed against THE RUSSIAN EMPIRE. Yet it was upon the ground of this particular inference; viz. of the speedy downfall of that Power, that an unwise critic, who assumed the office of pronouncing definitive judgment against "THE CHRISTIAN'S SURVEY," founded his censure of the argument maintained in that work. The proposition,→→→ that the vigorous and powerful tyranny, which he then beheld afflicting the Christian nations, would SUDDENLY and SHORTLY FALL, and that its fall was the NEXT PRIMARY EVENT in SECULAR affairs which Christians were to believe and to expect, was to him foolishness, the dreams of " a mere vision"ary," so long as THE TYRANT himself con tinued to move in the zenith of his domination. "The Empire which he has erected "(said this rash censor) is described as "great; and yet, for our comfort, we are ❝taught to consider it as now expiring?' "Notwithstanding the victories of the "French, this Revealer of Secrets assures "us, (though we are sorry to say no such "appearances arise as to give us confidence "in the fact), that they are rapidly advan"cing to a state of final and complete exhaus"tion*" And he concludes the temerity of his judgment, by a strain of most unseemly and ominous raillery. That "there should come in the last days "SCOFFERS," was one of the earliest warnings recorded by the Apostles, for guarding and sustaining the faith of the last genera tion of believers. And it was our Saviour's pointed injunction, to the slow of heart to believe what the Prophets have spoken,-“Judge "not according to appearance, (i. e. ac"cording to common and sensible appear 66 ance); but judge a right judgment :" that is, "You, who are called upon to walk by "faith and not merely by sight, do you judge according to the rule and nature of "the evidence which is revealed to guide "you, however it may seem to be opposed "by common and sensible appearances." I exhort all similar adventurers in this awful and sacred argument, to look well upon the scene which the circumstances of THE CHRISTIAN WORLD now actually present to their experience, before they hazard a denial of facts which will shortly extort their acquiescence; and, in a time thus por tentous and full of mystery, to lay to heart the "woe" which our Lord denounced |