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46 country ; aud I will say to some of the brethren that I have been acquainted with in Alabama and Georgia, Carlisle, Sayers, Barron, Britton, What ley, and all the rest, Visit us if you can. May the good Lord be with all his people, and that to bless them with the blessings he bears to wards them. Dear Brethren and Sisters, I hope you will pray for your unworthy brother in affliction, trouble, and trials. I have only hinted at things—have left out many things that I thought I would write, but finding that I had not room, I have emitted them. MOSES POWELL. EDITO RIA L WM. L. BEEBE. (AT.. ‘ J. L. PffUINGTOX, ; Ed,tors - COVINGTON, GA. rTSARmsTtSeo! Remarks on Jer. iv. 7. Agreeable to the request of bro. S. W. Gresham Os this county, we proceed to give our views of the text before us. “ The lion is come up fr, ni his thick et, and the destroyer of the Gentiles is on his way ; he is gone forth trom his place to make thy land des olate, and thy cities shall be laid waste without an inhabitant.” These words were spoken by the prophet Jeremiah to the Jewish nation not long before Jehoiakim king of Judah was carried away by Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon. After the death of the good king Josiah, the course of the Jews was that of perpetual rebel lion; and for many years Jeremiah had spoken unto them, rising early and speaking, but they would not hearken unto him. In our text he prophesied of the evil that would come upon them for their inquities The Lord said, “ I wall bring evil from the north, and . great destruction.” Then commences our text. — The lion is came up from his thicket. The lion is a powerful animal, and is said to be the king of beasts, and when hungry he often remains concealed in some thicket so as to take his prey by surprise when ho goes forth for that purpose, An evident reference is here made to king Nebuchadnezzar.— His lion-like disposition, his pride and ambition caus. d 4 him to eome up from his thicket against Judah.— While he did it to gratify Mg hungry ambition, God's purpose was to punish the Jews for their iniquities. In tins instance the king of Baylon was God’s hand, Or sword to execute his will upon Judah, aud to bring about the seventy’ years captivity of the -Jews. God ‘ was in the movement to execute his purpose respect ing his people. By this we learn God’s absolute gov- j crument over the kings, and nations of the earth, to’ accomplish his will, and to bring about bis purpose. ; If it was so in ancient times, it is so now. Jehoiakim Jung of Judah had sworn allegiance to the king of Babylon, but renounced ids allegiance, ‘ which caused Nebuchadnezzar to go forth against; biui. The final result was he was carried a captive ; to Babylon. His son Jehoiakim ascended the throne • of Judah, but was soon after treated in a similar man in or by the king of Babylon. In a few years after ! £edck;nh, the last king of Judah’was carried into ; captivity by Nebuchadnezzar, and Jerusalem was also deatn ved, and the people carried away captive. I The Lord bn ught evil from the n irth upon Judah, on 1 great destruction, as was foretold. A id the dsfpo'jir of the Gsniilcs is on his is ay — SOUTHERN BAPTIST MESSENGER. In the fourth year of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah as follows: — 1 herefore thus saith the Lord of Hosts, because ye have not heard my words, behold, I will send and take all the families of the north, saith the Lord, and Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, my servant, and will bring them against this land and against the inhabitants thereof, and against all these nations round about, and will utterly destroy them, and make them an astonishment, and an hissing, and perpetual desolations. Moreover, I will take from them the voice of mirth, and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom, and the voice of the bride, the sound of the millstones, and the light of the candle. And this whole land shall be a desolation and an astonish ment; and these nations shall serve the king of Bab ylon seventy years.” Chap. xxv. B—II. From t.he fourth year of king Jehoiakim the date of the seventy years captivity commences. Compare Jer. xxv. 11, with 2 Chron. xxxvi. 21—23. From this date the seventy years expired 536 years before Christ, the year Cyrus took Babylon, and issued a decree for such of the Jew s as chose, throughout Ins dominions to return to their own land. Nebuchadnezzar can with propriety be called the destroyer of the Gentiles, for soon after the conquest of Judah, he destroyed the surrounding nations who i had solicited the Jews in a confederacy against him. These were the Ammonites, Moabites, Edomites, Ara bians, the Sidonians, Tyr'a is and Philistines, and the Egyptians also he did not spare, as they were foremost in action and intrigue against him. This had been foretold by the prophets, and was therefore ; embraced in the counsel and purpose of Jehovah. — I We can discover the Sovereignty of Jehovah relative | to the th rfcceu years seige of Tyre by Nebuchadnezzar, • and what was promised him and his army as a re ■ j ward for their long toil and patience in the seige.— > *. ‘ Son of man, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, caus -! ed his army to serve a great service against Tyrus, 1 1 (Tyre,) every head was made bald, and every shoul •; der was peeled: yet had he no wages, nor bis army > j for Tyrus, for the service that he had served against j it: therefore thus saith the Lord God, I will give the j land of Egypt unto Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, j and ho shall take her multitude, and take her prey', I and it shall be the wages of his army, j have given I the land of Egypt for his labor, where with he served i against it, because they wrought for me, saith the j Lord.” Eze. xxix. IS—2O. | He is gone forth from his place to make thy land ! desolate, and thy cities shall he laid waste, without on ’ inhabitant. It appears that Nebuchadnezzar was not satisfied at the only partial manner in which his pur poses against the Jews were executed. lie sent . Nebuzaradan, the captain of his guard, with an army |of Chaldeans against Jerusalem. The temple and ‘city were burnt to the ground, and all the walls de ! molished. The vessels of bras j, silver and gold which I were left iliere, and all the treasure . f the temple, ; the palace, and houses of the nobles were taken for ; spoil, and of the people there were none left but the • poor of the land. This was about a month after the ; city was taken. j The king of Babylon made Cedal'ab, a Jew ofdir , t'action, governor of tlie poor pcapTofefl in the land. . lie was a generous and an u .suspecting man, and j was anxious to promote the well being of the people, ifind to reconcile them to the Babylonian government. ..- . 0 i Bat after the Babylonian army was withdrawn, Ish ; motel, of the royal fan:Ay, and others with him who j had Rod, returncM. and conspired against Gedaliah ! and took his life, ambniordered some of the Chaldeans, and again left the country for fear of the The Babylonian captain soon came to avenge the death of (shmael and the Chaldeans, but the country was so thin of irihabitans in consequence of the seces sion to Egypt when Jeremiah was-carried there, that lie found but few whom he sent into captivity beyond the Euphrates. Thus was the long predicted depo pulation of the land completed, the cities laid wast* agreeable to the word of the Lord. Jer. xxxvii. to xli. xiiii. and lii. We have briefly given our views of the text, and of its fulfilment relative to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, the l-ion spoken of, the destroyer of the Gw* tiles, and of the captivity of the Jews in Babylon. But it is also worthy of notice that this same liondike king, with all lii.s pride and ambition, was also hum bled, and compelled to acknowledge,the God of Ileav* en. Be had a dream, which Daniel interpreted in reference to his being removed from his kingly gov ernment, and made to eat grass as oxen for seven years, it says, “All this came upon the king Nebu chadnezzar. At the end of twelve months he walked in the palace of the kingdom of--Babylon. The king spake and said, is hot this great Babylon, that I have built for the house of the kingdom by the might of my power, and for the Honor of my majesty? While th# Word was in the king’s month, there tell a voice from heaven, saying, 0 king Nebuchadnezzar to thee it is spoken ; the kingdom is departed from thee : and they shall drive thee from men, and thy dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field: they shall make thee to eat grass as oxen, and seven times shall past over thee, until thou know that the Most High ruleffc ru the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever A# will.” Dan iv. 28—32. This was till fulfilled upefs Nebuchadnezzar. The overthrow of Babylon with the circumstance* attending it, l>y Cyrus, king of Persia, and the res toration of the Jews, from captivity, were all definite* ly predicted, and had its exact fulfilment. All this is teachable and instructive to the lovers and friend* of Scripture prophecy. Some reflections are profitable in a consideration of the subject before us. God’s universal and absolute dominion over all the kingdoms, nations and govern ments of the earth, is clearly expressed and sustain* ed. While the great and mighty men of the earth are actuated by a proud ambitious spirit in their course, yet God often makes use of them as the rod of his anger, as lie did the Yssyriau of old, (Isa. x. 5,) to correct his people, and to execute his purpose of wrath, while they in their turn are overthrown and destroyed. God has purposed to bumble the pride of man, and to forever silence and cripple the aspiring ambition of men. The Lord says by the prophet* “Shall the axe boast itself against him that heweth therewith ? or shall the saw magnify itself againsl him that sbaketh it ? as if the rod should, shake itself against them that lift it up, or as if the staff should lift up itself, as if it were no wood.” Isa. x. 15. Though these words were spoken relative to the kir g of Assyria, yet it will apply in more instances than i ne. Sucli a severe rebuke upon the pride and wick edness of men la astounding, while it abases human nature and exalts the Creator of the Universe, and if a source of comfort, strength and support to tht church of 0 d', viewing ass she <h os that aH things work together for good to them that love God, and are the called according to bis purpose. And w hile the saints have their sinful dispositions crippled by the chastising hand of Go 1, and are made to bow peaceably to his mild Sceptre, they are led to kiss tho rod of correction, and pray God lor sustaining grace.