shall not be shut." (Isa. xlv. 1) "That saith to the deep, Be dry, and I will dry up thy rivers.” (Isa. xliv. 27.)

You see from all this that Cyrus was to take Babylon; that he was to go through the gates of brass; and that, in some way or other, not yet known, he was to pass through the river, the Euphrates, which, you remember, flowed through Babylon; and that the waters of that river would be dried up to make a way for him. All this is very wonderful, but all was exactly fulfilled. And now,

try to bear in mind the different prophecies we have read, and I will show you how the events they predicted so many years before, all came to pass.

It was in the reign of Belshazzar that Babylon was taken. The Medes and Persians came against it, with Cyrus at their head, and besieged it for a long time. You may suppose that it was no easy thing to get into such a city as Babylon was, with its immense walls, and great gates of brass. And Cyrus could not hope to take the city by means of famine; for there was enough food within it to last for years. So the people of Babylon made themselves quite easy, expecting that Cyrus and his army would soon grow tired, and go away from the walls. But could Cyrus do that? No; for God's word, many years before, had declared that Cyrus should take Babylon, and that those great gates

should be opened before him; and the word of God must stand. God had foretold the event; and he could bring about its accomplish

ment.

There is a prophecy I should like you to look at, which mentions the carelessness of the people of Babylon, and the manner in which many of them were engaged when the city was taken. "My heart panted; fearfulness affrighted me; the night of my pleasure hath he turned into fear unto me. Prepare the table; watch in the watch tower; eat, drink." (Isa. xxi. 4, 5.) Babylon was to be taken during a night of pleasure; and, if you read the account in Daniel v., you will find that so

it was.

And now, dear children, try to picture to yourselves what I am going to describe. You must suppose that you are now standing in the ancient city of Babylon. There is the grand palace of the king Belshazzar. It is night, and a great festival is going on within. A great number of the nobles and mighty men of the kingdom are assembled there, and they are all eating, and drinking, and making merry. Belshazzar is seated among them, and before him are a number of beautiful vessels of gold and silver, filled with wine, from which he and his company are drinking. And as they drink they praise their gods-their idol gods of gold, and silver, and brass, and wood, and stone. But look again at those

vessels-the bowls, and the basins,

and the cups. Do you know

whence they came, and for whom they were first made, and for what purpose? Those beautiful vessels once belonged to the holy temple at Jerusalem; and they were made by the direction of God himself, for his service-for the sacred uses of his house. But when Nebuchadnezzar took Jerusalem, and destroyed the temple, he preserved those sacred vessels, not because he had any respect to the worship of the true God, but on account of their beauty, perhaps, and their value. So he brought them to Babylon, and put them in the house of his idol. And now Belshazzar has just sent for them, that he may drink wine out of