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because they be replenished from the east, and are soothsayers like the Philistines, and they please themselves in the children of strangers. Their land also is full of silver and gold, neither is there any end of their treasures; their land is also full of horses, neither is there any end of their chariots: their land also is full of idols; they worship the work of their own hands, that which their own fingers have made"

In the third chapter it would seem that the prophets of old were accustomed to clamour against the corruptions of the state, as well as the church, and were not unlike the "seditious and blasphemous" reformers of the present day in some respects, for instance, Isaiah is made to say,

"As for my people, children are their oppressors, and women rule over them. O my people, they which lead thee cause thee to err, and destroy the way of thy paths. The Lord standeth up to plead, and standeth to judge the people. The Lord will enter into judg ment with the ancients of his people, and the princes thereof: for ye have eaten up the vineyard; the spoil of the poor is in your houses. What mean ye that ye beat my people to pieces, aud grind the faces of the poor? saith the Lord God of hosts."

Again, we find him in the character of a modern methodist preacher, who is as ready to send people to hell for their dress as for their manners, particularly the fair sex.

"Moreover the Lord saith, Because the daughters of Zion are haughty, and walk with stretched forth necks and wanton eyes, walking and mincing as they go, and making a tinkling with their feet: Therefore the Lord will smite with a scab the crown of the head of the daughters of Zion, and the Lord will discover their secret parts. In that day the Lord will take away the bravery of their tinkling ornaments about their feet, and their cauls, and their round tires like the moon, The chains, and the bracelets, and the mufflers, The bonnets, and the ornaments of the legs, and the headbands, and the tablets, and the earrings, The rings, and nose jewels, The changeable suits of apparel, and the mantles, and the wimples, and the crisping pius, The glasses, and the fine linen, and the hoods, and the vails. And it shall come to pass, that instead of sweet smell there shall be stink; and instead of a girdle a rent; and instead of well set hair baldness; and instead of a stomacher a girding of sackcloth; and burning instead of beauty."

From the latter part of the fifth chapter, it appears evident' that it was written after the Jews had been led away captive. I mean to contend as I proceed, that the book of Isaiah was fabricated during that captivity, and that the crafty Jews presented the book to Cyrus as an old book, in which his reign and success had been foretold, and at the same time made it say, that Cyrus was to be the person to restore the Jews from their bondage. Cyrus was caught in the trap, and I doubt not but that if any one would twist or fabricate a prophecy to

point out, that the Emperor Alexander, of Russia, was to be the instrument of the second restoration, as expected by fanaticism, that the fanatic would bend his mind and his means to try to accomplish it.-The following is the extract from the fifth chapter:

"Therefore my people are gone into captivity, because they have no knowledge and their honourable men are famished, and their multitude dried up with thirst. Therefore bell hath enlarged herself, and opened her mouth without measure: and their glory, and their multitude, and their pomp, and he that rejoiceth, shall descend into it. And the mean man shall be brought down, and the mighty man shall be humbled, and the eyes of the lofty shall be humbled: But the Lord of hosts shall be exalted in judgment, and God that is holy shall be sanctified in righteousness. Then shall the lambs feed after their manner, and the waste places of the fat ones shall strangers eat. Woe unto them that draw iniquity with cords of vanity, and sin as it were with a cart rope: That say, Let him make speed, and hasten his work, that we may see it: and let the counsel of the Holy One of Israel draw nigh and come, that we may know it! Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter! Woe unto them that are wise in their own eyes, and prudent in their own sight! Woe unto them that are mighty to drink wine, and men of strength to mingle strong drink: Which justify the wicked for 1eward, and take away the righteousness of the righteous from him! Therefore as the fire devoureth the stubble, and the flame consumeth the chaff, so their root shall be as rottenness, and their blossom shall go up as dust: because they have cast away the law of the Lord of hosts, and despised the word of the Holy One of Israel. Therefore is the anger of the Lord kindled against his people, and he hath stretched forth his hand against them, and hath smitten them: and the hills did tremble, and their carcases were torn in the midst of the streets. For all this his anger is not turned away, but his hand is stretched out still. And he will lift up an ensign to the nations from far, and will hiss unto them from the end of the earth: and, behold, they shall come with speed swiftly: None shall be weary nor stumble among them; none shall slumber nor sleep; neither shall the girdle of their loins be loosed, nor the latchet of their shoes be broken : Whose arrows are sharp, and all their bows bent, their horses' hoofs shall be counted like flint, and their wheels like a whirlwind: Their roaring shall be like a lion, they shall roar like young lions: yea, they shall roar, and lay hold of the prey, and shall carry it away safe, and none shall deliver it. And in that day they shall roar against them. like the roaring of the sea: and if one look unto the land, behold darkness and sorrow, and the light is darkened in the heavens thereof." (To be continued.)

Printed by JANE CARLILE, 55, Fleet Street.

The Republican.

No. 6, Vol. 4.] LONDON, FRIDAY, OCT. 6, 1820. [PRICE 6D.

A NATIONAL SERMON TO BE READ BEFORE OR AFTER MR. HUNT'S NATIONAL PRAYER, AS THE SPIRIT MAY MOVE.

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And thou, profane wicked prince of Israel, whose day is come, when inquiry shall have an end, Thus saith the Lord God; Remove the diadem, and take off the crown: this shall not be the same: exalt him that is low, and abase him that is high, I will overturn, overturn, overturn, it: and it shall be no more, until he come whose right it is; and I will give it him.-Ezekiel, Chap. 21st. verses 25, 26, and 27.

In taking into consideration the above portion of the word of God, and as a faithful though humble minister of that holy word, I shall feel it my duty, and a duty particularly due to you at this moment, to enquire, whether certain prophetic parts of the Bible do not relate to passing events; in this nation more particular. It is evident, my beloved friends, that as far as the Bible can be the word of God, that word must have a distinct meaning, purpose, and application: therefore, I shall appeal to your feelings, whether these words of God which must be admitted to have universal application, whether, I say, they do truly and literally apply as forebodings to certain persons in this country.

As a matter of respect, and as a proof of my loyalty, I shall first lay before you such passages in this Holy Word, this most Gracious Revelation, as to me appear applicable to our Huge and Mighty Sovereign. I use the term huge, because (as Job says) he covereth his face with his fatness, and maketh collops of fat on his flanks. He is not, my friends, like the pigmy monarchs of old, or of other countries, our King as nobly graces a throne, as a water closet, or chamber pot: for a love of wine, mirth, and jollity, he exceeds Bacchus of old: when dressed as a warrior, or a modern hussar, Vol. IV. No. 6.

Printed by JANE CARLILE, 55, Fleet Street.

with wig, whiskers, and mustachoes, Mars looks not so fierce, nor can a modern Venus suppress her sighs and desires when she views him: when our Sovereign embarks on the ocean, Neptune himself shrinks from a competition, and becomes jealous of his rival; the most veteran and hardy tar cannot cope with him over the bowl of grog, nor can the porpoise surpass him in bulk, comeliness, and graceful motion. Such are the transcendant acquirements of our Prince-such his blandishments-such his vis. But oh! my friends, my heart palpitates, when I contemplate the holy words of God, with the bare surmise that they may relate to our Gracious Sovereign. Listen to the following quotation from the book of that patient and much persecuted man Job.

'His bones are full of the sin of his youth, which shall lie down with him in the dust.

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Though wickedness be sweet in his mouth, though he hide it under his tongue;

Though he spare it, and forsake it not; but keep it still within bis mouth:

Yet his meat in his bowels is turned, it is the gall of asps within him.

He hath swallowed down riches, and he shall vomit them up again: God shall cast them out of his belly.

He shall suck the poison of asps: the viper's tongue shall slay

' him.

He shall not see the rivers, the floods, the brooks, of honey and butter.'

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Because he hath oppressed and hath forsaken the poor; because he hath violently taken away an house which he builded not;

Surely he shall not feel quietness in his belly, he shall not save of that which he desired.

• There shall none of his meat be left; therefore shall no man look for his goods.

In the fulness of his sufficiency he shall be in straits: every hand of the wicked shall come upon him.

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When he is about to fill his belly, God shall cast the fury of his

⚫ wrath upon him, and shall rain it upon him while he is eating. 'He shall flee from the iron weapon, and the bow of steel shall strike him through.

'It is drawn, and cometh out of the body; yea, the glittering sword 'cometh out of his gall: terrors are upon him.

'Ali darkness shall be hid in his secret places: a fire not blown 'shall consume him; it shall go ill with him that is left in his tabernacle.

The heaven shall reveal his iniquity; and the earth shall rise up 'against him.

'The increase of his house shall depart, and his goods shall flow away in the day of his wrath.

The steps of his strength shall be straitened, and his own counsel 'shall cast him down.

For he is cast into a net by his own feet, and he walketh upon

a snare.

'The gin shall take him by the heel, and the

against him.

shall prevail

The snare is laid for him in the ground, and a trap for him in the way.

Terrors shall make him afraid on every side, and shall drive him 'to his feet.

'His strength shall be hungerbitten, and destruction shall be ready at his side.

It shall devour the strength of his skin: even the firstborn of ' death shall devour his strength.

"His confidence shall be rooted out of his tabernacle, and it shall ⚫ bring him to the king of terrors.

It shall dwell in his tabernacle, because it is none of his: brimstone shall be scattered upon his habitation.

'His roots shall be dried up beneath, and above shall his branch be cut off.

His remembrance shall perish from the earth, and he shall have

no name in the street.

He shall be driven from light into darkness, and chased out of 'the world.

He shall neither have son nor nephew among his people, nor any ' remaining in his dwellings.

They that come after him shall be astonied at his day, as they 'that went before were affrighted.'

What, my friends, are we to think of these terrible words, if God made that good man Job address them to our Prince? They are dreadful, they are almost true, no I mean treason. But as it is wicked in us to say to God, What doest thou? or what meanest thou? so my Jewish or Christian friends, let us trust in the Lord, and quietly let him do to our Prince as to him seemeth good.

I also find the prophets full of similar denunciations, so that I tremble whilst I read! For instance Habbakuk says:

"Woe unto him that giveth his neighbour drink, that puttest thy bottle to him, and makest him drunken also, that thou mayest look on their nakedness!

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Ye have plowed wickedness, ye have reapel iniquity; ye have

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