Excerpt from Middlebury College: A Baccalaureate Discourse, Delivered at Middlebury, Vermont We Shall not attempt to penetrate the obscurity in which some of this language is involved, nor to trace its geographical and historical relations. That part of the prophecy, chosen for our text, though highly figurative, is easily explained. Some one is represented in the character of a watchman. It was the duty of this official in olden time, not only to guard the city and protect property and persons by night, but to proclaim the divisions of time as they passed, and to announce the joyful approach of morning. The prophet Isaiah was not only the instructor and guide, but the appointed guardian of his people. He is here referred to under the figure of a watchman. The particular occasion on which this prophecy was uttered, we cannot determine with cer tainty, but it was obviously a period, when the Israelites had just passed, or were then passing, through severe national trials andcalamities, which are represented in the figure by the darkness of night. The prophet as watchman is supposed to understand the origin, the magnitude and probable duration of these calam ities, and therefore a voice, doubtless representing many voices, calls to him and inquires, What of the night P and in the earnestness of desire to know the truth, and to know it speedily the question is repeated What of the night? Has midnight passed? Is the morning light approaching Relieved of meta phor the questioner asks, Are there severer calamities yet to come? Or may we hope soon to enjoy a period of repose and prosperity? To their great joy and delight, the watchman replies - The morning cometh. Trials are passed, peace and prosperity are at hand. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.