principal predictions contained in this book are the Chaldæan invasion, under the figurative representation of locusts; the destruction of Jerusalem by Titus; the blessings of the Gospel dispensation; the conversion and restoration of the Jews to their own land; the overthrow of the enemies of God; and the glorious state of the Christian church in the end of the world. The style of Joel is perspicuous and elegant, and his descriptions are remarkably animated and poetical.

Amos was contemporary with Hosea, and was by profession a herdsman. Tradition reports, that he was put to death by Uzziah, son of Amaziah, whose displeasure he incurred by the freedom with which he censured his vices. His prophecies relate chiefly to the kingdom of Israel; but he sometimes denounces judgment against the kingdom of Judah, and also against the people who bordered upon Palestine, the Syrians, Philistines, Tyrians, Edomites, Ammonites, and Moabites. He foretels in clear terms the calamities and captivity of the ten tribes, and at the same time declares that God will not utterly destroy his chosen people, but that he will, at some future period, restore them to more than their antient splendour and happiness in the kingdom of the Messiah. "Some writers, who

have

have adverted to the condition of Amos, have, with a minute affectation of criticism, pretended to discover a certain rudeness and vulgarity in his style; and even Jerome is of opinion that he is deficient in magnificence and sublimity, applying to him the words which St. Paul speaks of himself, that he was rude in speech, though not in knowledge (q); and his authority, says Bishop Lowth, has influenced many commentators to represent him as entirely rude, and void of elegance; whereas it requires but little attention to be convinced that he is not a whit behind the very chiefest of the prophets;' equal to the greatest in loftiness of sentiment, and scarcely inferior to any in the splendour of his diction, and in the elegance of his composition. Mr. Locke has observed, that his comparisons are chiefly drawn from lions and other animals, because he lived among and was conversant with such objects. But, indeed, the finest images and allusions, which adorn the poetical parts of Scripture, in general are drawn from scenes of nature, and from the grand objects that range in her walks; and true genius ever delights in considering these as the real sources of beauty and magnificence. Amos had the opportunities, and a mind inclined to contem

(4) 2 Cor. c. II. v. 6.

plate

plate the works of the Deity, and his descriptions of the Almighty are particularly sublime; indeed his whole work is animated with a very fine masculine eloquence (r)."

Many have been the conjectures concerning the age in which Obadiah lived. The most probable opinion seems to be, that he was contemporary with Jeremiah and Ezekiel, and that he delivered his prophecy about the year 585 before Christ, soon after the destruction of Jerusalem hy Nebuchadnezzar. This book, which consists of a single chapter, is written with great beauty and elegance, and contains predictions of the utter destruction of the Edomites, and of the future restoration and prosperity of the Jews.

Jonah was the son of Amittai, of the tribe of Zabulon, and was born at Gath-hepher in Galilee. He is generally considered as the most antient of the prophets, and is supposed to have lived about 840 years before Christ. The book of Jonah is chiefly narrative; he relates that he was commanded by God to go to Nineveh, and preach against the inhabitants of that capital of the Assyrian empire; that through fear of executing this commission he set sail for Tarshish, and that in his voyage thither, a tempest arising, he was (r) Gray.

cast

cast by the mariners into the sea, and swallowed by a large fish; that while in the belly of this fish, he prayed to God, and was, after three days and three nights, delivered out of it alive; that he then received a second command to go and preach against Nineveh, which he obeyed; that upon his threatening the destruction of the city within forty days, the king and people proclaimed a fast, and repented of their sins; and that upon this repentance, God suspended the sentence which he had ordered to be pronounced in his name (s). The last chapter gives an account of the murmuring of Jonah at this instance of divine mercy, and of the gentle and condescending manner, in which it pleased God to reprove the prophet for his unjust complaint. The style of Jonah is simple and perspicuous, and his prayer, in the second chapter, is strongly descriptive of the feelings of a pious mind under a severe trial of faith.

Micah was a native of Morasthi, a village in the southern part of Judæa, and is supposed to have prophesied about 750 years before Christ. He was commissioned to denounce the judg

ments

(s) Upon their repentance God deferred the execution of his judgment, till the increase of their iniquities made them ripe for destruction, about 150 years afterwards.-Lowth.

ments of God against both the kingdoms of Judah and Israel, for their idolatry, and wickedness. The principal predictions contained in this book are, the invasions of Shalmanezer and Sennacherib; the destruction of Samaria and of Jerusalem, mixed with consolatory promises of the deliverance of the Jews from the Babylonian captivity, and of the downfal of the power of their Assyrian and Babylonian oppressors; the cessation of prophecy in consequence of their continued deceitfulness and hypocrisy ; and desolation in a then distant period, still greater than that which was declared to be immediately impending. The birth of the Messiah at Bethlehem is also expressly foretold; and the Jews are directed to look to the establishment and extent of his kingdom, ás an unfailing source of comfort amidst general distress. The style of Micah is nervous, concise, and elegant, often elevated and poetical, but sometimes obscure from sudden transitions of subject; and the contrast of the neglected duties of justice, mercy, humility, and piety, with the punctilious observance of the ceremonial sacrifices, affords a beautiful example of the harmony which subsists between the Mosaic and Christian dispensations, and shews that the law partook, in some degree at least, of that spiritual nature, which more immediately characterizes the religion of Jesus.

Nahum