Page images
PDF
EPUB

I WILL WIPE JERUSALEM AS A MAN WIPETH A DISH, WIPING IT, AND TURNING IT UPSIDE DOWN.-2 Kings xxi. 13.

Elia, so that its ancient name was entirely forgotten, was triumphantly displayed upon its walls. In 1187, until the days of Constantine, in whose reign the Jews Saladin, the sultan of Egypt, took it from the Chriswere again permitted to enter the Holy city once a tian croisades. In 1517, the Ottoman Turks took it year to wail over the ruins of their ancient sanctuary. from the Egyptians, and it still continues under the Constantine, and his mother Helena, had the honour Turkish dominion, trodden down of the Gentiles,' of restoring here the worship of the one living and (Lu xxi. 24, And they shall fall by the edge of the true God, about A.D. 326. About A.D. 362, Julian, the sword, and shall be led away captive into all nations: apostate emperor, to falsify our Saviour's prediction, and Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, encouraged the rebuilding of the city and temple; until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled.') In literal but fiery earthquakes stopped them. About A.D. fulfilment of our Lord's predictions.-See Sect. lxxxvi. 614, Cosrhoes II., king of Persia, took Jerusalem, and The JERUSALEM of sacred history is, in fact, no more. 90,000 of the Christian inhabitants were sacrificed to Not a vestige remains of the capital of David and the malice of the Jews, when every thing venerated by Solomon; not a monument of Jewish times is standthe Christians was demolished; but it was quickly re- ing. The very course of the walls is changed, and taken by Heraclius the Roman emperor, who returned the boundaries of the ancient city are become very the Jewish malice upon their own heads. In A.D. doubtful. The monks impose on the credulous, and 637, the Arabic Saracens, under the Caliph Omar, the make a gain of pretended sites for every thing that third in succession from Mahomet, seized on it. In superstitious minds make a merit, to weigh with 1077, the Seljukian Turks took it from them. In 1099, their good works as a right to salvation.-(Continued Godfrey of Boulogne, with his European croisades, Sect. xxiii.) wrested it from these, and the standard of the cross

BETHLEHEM.

The

BETHLEHEM (continued from p. 28.) At the servant kept his father's sheep, and there came a lion, eastern extremity of the town, like a citadel, stands and a bear, and took a lamb out of the flock: and I the convent of Saint Giovanni, which contains the went out after him, and smote him, and delivered it out church of the Nativity.' This convent is divided of his mouth: and when he arose against me, I caught among the Greek, Roman, and Armenian Christians, him by his beard, and smote him, and slew him.' to each of whom are assigned separate portions, as The church of the Nativity is a fine spacious buildwell for lodging as for places of worship; and who, ing, and the rows of Corinthian columns are substanon certain days, all perform their devotions at the tial masses of granite. This is called the upper altars which are erected over the most memorable church, and is in the form of a Latin cross; it conspots within these sacred walls. The monastery is tains nothing worthy of particular notice, except some said to have been built by the Empress Helena, over paintings of Scripture subjects, rude, and apparently the spot on which our blessed Saviour was born; she ancient; and a star in the floor, immediately under having previously swept away a heathen temple built that part of the heavens where the star of Bethlehem, in the time of Adrian in contempt of Christianity. it is said, became visible to the Wise Men, and is diExternally, it has less the appearance of an ecclesias-rectly above the grotto, or place of the Nativity, in the tical, than a defensive edifice. Its bold buttresses, church below. It is the church underground which and small grated windows, betoken a great regard to absorbs all interest, especially in minds possessing inward security; while its low and iron-bound portal, credulity enough to find the actual place of the nati too narrow to allow more than one person to pass at avity, amidst the paintings and gildings and lamps, time, seems intended to prevent the once daring cusin which the church of Rome has disguised the humtom of the Arabs, of riding into the interior of reli- ble realities which she professes to venerate. gious houses, for the purpose of violence and spolia- entrance to this grotto (as all such places are called) tion. The whole structure is of extreme solidity, and is by a flight of narrow steps cut in the rock; the appears capable of resisting all modes of assault short grotto is of small dimensions, about 30 feet long and of a vigorous cannonade. From the roof of the mo12 feet broad, not very lofty, and the roof is supported nastery is an extensive view of spots endeared to the by a single column. It receives no light from without, heart of the Christian. In the distance, eastward, are being also cut in the rock; but is illuminated by a the mountains of Moab, and the plains of Jordan; great number of suspended lamps, presented by vawhile southward is the hill of Tekoah, from which rious princes of Christendom; and there are several the surrounding wilderness takes its name, familiar good paintings by the first artists. The alleged scene as the scene of the pastoral life of the prophet Amos. of the nativity of the Redeemer is designated by a See i. ch. 1 ver, The words of Amos, who was among tawdry altar, above which massive silver lamps are the herdmen of TEKOA, which he saw concerning Israel kept continually burning. The precise spot where in the days of Uzziah king of Judah, and in the days of Immanuel, having laid aside his glory, first ap Jeroboam the son of Joash king of Israel, two years be-peared in human nature, is indicated by a circle of fore the earthquake.' (B.C. 786), And vii. ch. 14 ver., agate and jasper, surrounded with a silver glory, with Then answered Amos, and said to Amaziah, I was the following inscription:no prophet, neither was I a prophet's son; but I was an herdman, and a gatherer of sycamore fruit.'Beyond, and rather more towards the east, lies the wilderness of Engedi, to which David retreated for concealment from the pursuit of Saul.-See 1 Sa. xxiii. 29, And David went up from thence, and dwelt in strong holds at En-gedi;' and where the allied armies of the Amorites, Moabites, and others encamped, when they came forth against Jehoshaphat king of Judah. See 2 Ch. xx. 1, 2. It came to pass after this also, that the children of Moab, and the children of Ammon, and with them other beside the Ammonites, came against Jehoshaphat to battle. Then there came some that told Jehoshaphat, saying, There cometh a great multitude against thee from beyond the sea on this side Syria; and, behold, they be in Hazazon-tamar, which is En-gedi:' and nearer at hand, a little more to the south, is seen the spot (see p. 28) which tradition assigns as that wherein there were shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night." Many of the surrounding hills are thinly clothed with fig and olive trees, and here and there are traces of scanty corn growth. At the more distant parts of the picture, a brown and sterile appearance pervades the surface both of hill and plain, betokening that the hand of God is withdrawn for a season from the once luxuriantly productive soil. Among these hills, and in these valleys, the sweet Psalmist of Israel once tended his father's flock; and amid these scenes did the Almighty nerve the arm of his youthful servant, who said unto Saul, see 1 Sa. xvii. 34, .5, Thy

Hic de Virgine Maria Jesus Christus natus est.' In a crypt on one side, into which there is a descent of one or two steps, is exhibited a manger, entirely composed of white marble, retaining its supposed original form, upon which stand large silver candlesticks, with wax tapers constantly lighted. Immediately opposite is another altar, illuminated with lamps like the former, where, it is said, the wise men of the East sat, when they came to worship; and in another is an altar representing the table on which they of fered their gifts. Descending still further, by a winding passage of some length, (eut in the rock,) are two similar grottoes: one said to be that in which Herod caused the children of Bethlehem to be massacred; and the other, the cave in which St. Jerome is said to have made his Latin translation of the Bible. All this is only a miserable profanation, calculated to call up, in the truly devout Christian, mingled feelings of pity and indignation. A ceremony connected with the midnight mass of the Romish church at Christmas, as performed in the grotto of the nativity, is thus described by a member of that church: At midnight, at the hour of salvation, when, in all the Catholic churches in the world, the infant Jesus receives the homage of all faithful Christians, the reverend father warden opens the procession, and advances with slow step, his head bowed, and reverentially carrying in his arms the "infant Jesus" (or, as we should say, the idolatrous representation of him). On reaching the very spot of the nativity,

BUT JERUSALEM SHALL BE SAFELY INHABITED.-Zech. xiv. 11.

[37

I WILL SEND A FIRE UPON JUDAH, AND IT SHALL DEVOUR THE PALACES OF JERUSALEM.-Amos ii. 5.

THE WAY OF LIFE IS ABOVE TO THE WISE, THAT HE MAY DEPART FROM HELL BENEATH.-Prov. xv. 24.

the deacon, with deep devotion, chants the gospel. When he comes to the words, "and wrapped him in swaddling clothes," he receives the infant from the hands of the father warden, wraps him in swaddling clothes, lays him in a manger, falls on his knees and worships. (What? we ask.) At that moment,' continues Baron Geramb, the Romish narrator, 'there flashes into the soul something supernatural, I may venture to call it, judging from what I have witnessed-from what I myself have felt. Piety ceases to find a voice to express its gratitude, its love: it speaks only in the melting language of the eyes, in sighs and tears.' Those who know what it is to live in the habitual exercise of faith by the power of the Holy Ghost, will smile with pitying concern, at that morbid piety which displays itself in sighs and tears, amidst the childish stage-play of such a scene as this. The tendency of man's natural heart, is to walk by sight and not by faith; and to this corrupt tendency, the church of Rome ministers in all her externals. All these things suggest an idea of littleness utterly beneath the regard of simple christian faith, which absorbs the soul on the sacred site of BETHLEHEM. What a mighty influence for good has gone forth from this little spot upon the human race, both for time and for eternity! It is impossible to approach the place without a feeling of deep emotion,

springing out of those high and holy associations.
The legends and puerilities of monastic tradition
may safely be disregarded: it is enough to know that
this is BETHLEHEM, the city of David,' and where
David's greater Son, Jesus the Redeemer, Christ the
Saviour of the world, was born. For eighteen hun-
dred seasons the earth has now renewed her carpet
of verdure, and seen it again decay. Yet the skies
and fields, the rocks and the hills, and the valleys
around, remain unchanged; and are still the same
as when the glory of the Lord shone round about,
and the song of the multitude of the heavenly host
resounded among the hills, proclaiming Glory to
God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will
toward men.' This once highly privileged city now
presents a sad picture of filth, poverty, and ruinous
desolation; thus to remain while under the grasp of
Muhammedan dominion. But there is a day coming
and we think not far distant-when the glory so
long departed from the land shall return with re-
newed lustre, and gathered Israel, with the now dis-
persed of Judah, shall chant forth the promised
anthem, Blessed be he that cometh in the name of
the Lord.'-A Pastor's Visit,' pp. 225-.36.
GALILEE.-See An Historical Sketch,' &c., p. ix.
NAZARETH.-See Sect. 2, p. 14.

ADDENDA.

'ON THE VISIT OF THE MAGI,' p. 31.

When the Magi were come to Jerusalem, Herod, having privately sent for them, ηκρίβωσε παρ' αὐτῶν τὸν χρόνον τοῦ φαινομένου ἀστέρος (Mt. ii. 7); the answer to which inquiry would ascertain this time, or shew how long before their arrival the star had first been seen. Upon this information he proceeded in limiting the age of the children: it was, xara rov pórov ov ἠκρίβωσε παρὰ τῶν Μάγων (ibid. 16). The age of the children, therefore, had a certain relation to what we may call the age of the star; and, if the former could once be determined in either of its extreme limits, the latter would so far be determined also.

St. Matthew has defined this age by drò diéтovs Kai KаTOTEрa (ii. 16). The order was limited to children of two years old and under; that is, it was limited at one extreme, but not at the other; a child above two years old would be exempted from it, a child of two years old, or of any age less than that, would be included in it. Now it was a maxim among the Jews, that the son of a day was the son of a year: Unus dies in anno habetur pro anno integro. A ram, or any other animal, was considered bimus, or two years old, which was one year and thirty days old, or thirteen months old in all. (De Rat. Sacrif. i. 14.) On this principle, a child of thirteen months old would answer to the limit àrò diérovs as well as a child of full two years.

From the time of Zoroaster downwards to the age of christianity itself, the parts beyond the Euphrates -Persia, Bactria, or Parthia-had always been the chief seats of the Magian philosophy.

That the Magi in the present instance came, accordingly, from those regions, which are as much to the east of Judæa as Arabia, has been uniformly the tradition of the church.

naturally assisted in their researches after the Christ, and they were supernaturally admonished what to do when they had found him: it is not less credible that they were supernaturally instructed in the meaning of the star at first. In this case, though it had appeared at the incarnation, they would not set out until the birth.

But the truth appears to be this: The star, which had first been seen at the incarnation, was seen again at the birth of Christ; in the former instance to announce the beginning of this great mystery, in the latter to announce its consummation; the one, consequently, thirteen months, the other, four, before the time of their arrival at Jerusalem. No supposition is better adapted to explain the peculiarity of Herod's order, why the age of the children was not to exceed thirteen months, but might be any thing below that. He inquired about the age of the star solely with a view to the age of the Christ; and if the star had appeared once thirteen months, and a second time four months, before the arrival of the Magi, he would not be able to determine which intimated the real age of the Christ; and, therefore, by way of precaution, and little solicitous how many more innocent victims might be sacrificed to his cruel policy, he would naturally so frame his order as to take in children of every age, beginning from thirteen months old, indiscriminately.

Re

Every special dispensation of Providence must have a special purpose in view, and that, an adequate and satisfactory purpose. In this visit and adoration of the Magi, the unanimous concurrence of the christian world has long since discovered the first distinct intimation of that great mystery or secret, the communication of gospel privileges to the Gentiles. If the Magi, then, came from this part of the East, garded in this point of view, the advent of these strangers from the East becomes wonderfully enthey would be four months on the road; and, therenobled; they are no longer simple individuals, but fore, if the star had appeared thirteen months before the first fruits of the Gentile church; the manifestathey arrived at Jerusalem, it had appeared nine tion of Christ to them is the manifestation of a months before they set out. Hence, if they set out Redeemer; the adoration which they pay him is not at the time of the birth of Christ, the star must have mere homage, but religious worship. Nor is it less appeared at his incarnation. observable, that in all their leading steps, the econo'From their part in the transaction, it seems clear my of Divine grace with respect to the Gentiles, and that they acted throughout as instruments. They the economy of the same grace with respect to the knew, from some assurance or other, before their Jews, run parallel together. An angel announces arrival, that the Christ had actually been born, but the incarnation to the Virgin, and a star, whose mesthey did not know where: they came to Jerusalem, sage is as intelligible as that of an angel, announces in the expectation of finding, or of hearing of him it to the Gentiles: a similar angelic vision apprizes there; but they did not go to Bethlehem, until they the shepherds, and a second appearance of the star were sent. It is most reasonable to conclude, that apprizes the Magi, of the birth of the Christ: he is they were directed throughout by an express com- presented in the temple, and so far manifested to the mand from God: nor is a special revelation more Jews first; but he is made known to the Magi, and incompatible with the beginning, than with the so far revealed to the Gentiles also, directly after: he end of the same transaction. They were super-is preached to the Jews, for a certain time, by his * A sculptured image, in silver or gold, mother-of-pearl, palm or olive wood.-Comp. this idolatry with the second commandment, Ex. xx. 3-6: but which is not found in the catechisms of the Romish church.

38]

THE WISE SHALL INHERIT GLORY.-Prov. iii. 35.

GOD GIVETH WISDOM UNTO THE WISE, AND KNOWLEDGE TO THEM THAT KNOW UNDERSTANDING.-Dan. ii. 21.

EXODUS VII. And the LORD said unto Moses, See, I have made thee a god to Pharaoh: and Aaron thy 2 brother shall be thy prophet. Thou shalt speak all that I command thee: and Aaron thy brother shall speak unto Pharaoh, that he send the children of 3 Israel out of his land. And I will harden Pharaoh's heart, and multiply my signs and my wonders in the 4 land of Egypt. But Pharaoh shall not hearken unto you, that I may lay my hand upon Egypt, and bring forth mine armies, and my people the children of Israel, out of the land of Egypt by great judgments. 5 And the Egyptians shall know that I am the LORD, when I stretch forth mine hand upon Egypt, and bring out the children of Israel from among them. 6 And Moses and Aaron did as the LORD commanded 7 them, so did they. And Moses was fourscore years old, and Aaron fourscore and three years old, when they spake unto Pharaoh.

10

And the LORD spake unto Moses and unto Aaron, 9 saying, When Pharaoh shall speak unto you, saying, Shew a miracle for you: then thou shalt say unto Aaron, Take thy rod, and cast it before Pharaoh, and it shall become a serpent.

And Moses and Aaron went in unto Pharaoh, and they did so as the LORD had commanded: and Aaron cast down his rod before Pharaoh, and before his ser11 vants, and it became a serpent. Then Pharaoh also called the wise men and the sorcerers: now the magicians of Egypt, they also did in like manner with 12 their enchantments. For they cast down every man his rod, and they became serpents: but Aaron's rod 13 swallowed up their rods. And he hardened Pharaoh's heart, that he hearkened not unto them; as the LORD had said.

14

And the LORD said unto Moses, Pharaoh's heart is 15 hardened, he refuseth to let the people go. Get

thee unto Pharaoh in the morning; lo, he goeth out unto the water; and thou shalt stand by the river's brink against he come; and the rod which was turned 16 to a serpent shalt thou take in thine hand.

And

thou shalt say unto him, The LORD God of the Hebrews hath sent me unto thee, saying, Let my people go, that they may serve me in the wilderness: and, 17 behold, hitherto thou wouldest not hear. Thus saith the LORD, In this thou shalt know that I am the LORD: behold, I will smite with the rod that is in mine hand upon the waters which are in the river, and 18 they shall be turned to blood. And the fish that is in the river shall die, and the river shall stink; and the Egyptians shall lothe to drink of the water of the river.

19

And the LORD spake unto Moses, Say unto Aaron, Take thy rod, and stretch out thine hand upon the waters of Egypt, upon their streams, upon their rivers, and upon their ponds, and upon all their pools of water, that they may become blood; and that there may be blood throughout all the land of Egypt, 20 both in vessels of wood, and in vessels of stone.

And

Moses and Aaron did so, as the LORD commanded; and he lifted up the rod, and smote the waters that were in the river, in the sight of Pharaoh, and in the sight of his servants; and all the waters that 21 were in the river were turned to blood. And the fish that was in the river died; and the river stank, and the Egyptians could not drink of the water of the river: and there was blood throughout all the land of 22 Egypt. And the magicians of Egypt did so with their enchantments; and Pharaoh's heart was hardened, neither did he hearken unto them; as the LORD 23 had said. And Pharaoh turned and went into his 24 house, neither did he set his heart to this also. And all the Egyptians digged round about the river for water to drink; for they could not drink of the water 25 of the river. And seven days were fulfilled, after that the LORD had smitten the river.

EXODUS XX. And God spake all these words, say2 ing. I am the LORD thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of 3 bondage. Thou shalt have no other gods before me. 4 Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water 5 under the earth: thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of 6 them that hate me; and shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my command. 7ments. Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain; for the LORD will not hold him 8 guiltless that taketh his name in vain. Remember 9 the sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days shalt 10 thou labour, and do all thy work: but the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor

[blocks in formation]

18

And all the people saw the thunderings, and the lightnings, and the noise of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking: and when the people saw it, they 19 removed, and stood afar off. And they said unto Moses, Speak thou with us, and we will hear: but let 20 not God speak with us, lest we die. And Moses said unto the people, Fear not: for God is come to prove you, and that his fear may be before your faces, that 21 ye sin not. And the people stood afar off, and Moses drew near unto the thick darkness where God was.

22

And the LORD said unto Moses, Thus thou shalt say unto the children of Israel, Ye have seen that I have 23 talked with you from heaven. Ye shall not make with me gods of silver, neither shall ye make unto you gods of gold.

24

An altar of earth thou shalt make unto me, and shalt sacrifice thereon thy burnt offerings, and thy peace offerings, thy sheep, and thine oxen: in all places where I record my name I will come unto thee, and I 25 will bless thee. And if thou wilt make me an altar of stone, thou shalt not build it of hewn stone: for if thou lift up thy tool upon it, thou hast polluted it. 26 Neither shalt thou go up by steps unto mine altar, that thy nakedness be not discovered thereon

ISAIAH II. The word that Isaiah the son of Amoz 2 saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem. And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the LORD's house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; 3 and all nations shall flow unto it. And many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for out of Zion shall go forth the 4 law, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem. And he shall judge among the nations, and shall rebuke many people: and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks: nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither 5 shall they learn war any more. O house of Jacob, come ye, and let us walk in the light of the LORD.

6

Therefore thou hast forsaken thy people the house. of Jacob, because they be replenished from the east, and are soothsayers like the Philistines, and they 7 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, 8 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: 9 and the mean man boweth down, and the great man humbleth himself: therefore forgive them not.

10

Enter into the rock, and hide thee in the dust, for fear of the LORD, and for the glory of his majesty. 11 The lofty looks of man shall be humbled, and the haughtiness of men shall be bowed down, and the 12 LORD alone shall be exalted in that day. For the day of the LORD of hosts shall be upon every one that is proud and lofty, and upon every one that is lifted up; 13 and he shall be brought low: and upon all the cedars of Lebanon, that are high and lifted up, and upon all 14 the oaks of Bashan, and upon all the high mountains, 15 and upon all the hills that are lifted up, and upon 16 every high tower, and upon every fenced wall, and

upon all the ships of Tarshish, and upon all pleasant 17 pictures. And the loftiness of man shall be bowed down, and the haughtiness of men shall be made low: 18 and the LORD alone shall be exalted in that day. And 19 the idols he shall utterly abolish. And they shall go into the holes of the rocks, and into the caves of the earth, for fear of the LORD, and for the glory of his majesty, when he ariseth to shake terribly the earth. 20 In that day a man shall cast his idols of silver, and his idols of gold, which they made each one for himself to worship, to the moles and to the bats; to go into the clefts of the rocks, and into the tops of the ragged rocks, for fear of the LORD, and for the glory of his majesty, when he ariseth to shake terribly the earth. Cease ye from man, whose breath is in his nostrils: for wherein is he to be accounted of?

21

22

JEREMIAH III. They say, If a man put away his wife, and she go from him, and become another man's, shali he return unto her again? shall not that land be greatly polluted? but thou hast played the harlot with many lovers; yet return again to me, saith the LORD. 2 Lift up thine eyes unto the high places, and see where thou hast not been lien with. In the ways hast thou sat for them, as the Arabian in the wilderness; and thou hast polluted the land with thy whoredoms and 3 with thy wickedness. Therefore the showers have been withholden, and there hath been no latter rain; and thou hadst a whore's forehead, thou refusedst to 4 be ashamed. Wilt thou not from this time cry unto 5 me, My father, thou art the guide of my youth? Will he reserve his anger for ever? will he keep it to the end? Behold, thou hast spoken and done evil things as thou couldest.

G The LORD said also unto me in the days of Josiah the king, Hast thou seen that which backsliding Israel hath done? she is gone up upon every high mountain and under every green tree, and there hath played 7 the harlot. And I said after she had done all these things, Turn thou unto me. But she returned not. 8 And her treacherous sister Judah saw it. And I saw, when for all the causes whereby backsliding Israel committed adultery I had put her away, and given her a bill of divorce; yet her treacherous sister Judah 9 feared not, but went and played the harlot also. And it came to pass through the lightness of her whoredom, that she defiled the land, and committed adultery 10 with stones and with stocks. And yet for all this her treacherous sister Judah hath not turned unto me with her whole heart, but feignedly, saith the LORD. 11 And the LORD said unto me, The backsliding Israel hath justified herself more than treacherous Judah.

12

Go and proclaim these words toward the north, and say, Return, thou backsliding Israel, saith the LORD; and I will not cause mine anger to fall upon you: for I am merciful, saith the LORD, and I will not keep 13 anger for ever. Only acknowledge thine iniquity, that thou hast transgressed against the LORD thy God, and hast scattered thy ways to the strangers under every green tree, and ye have not obeyed my 14 voice, saith the LORD. Turn, O backsliding children, saith the LORD; for I am married unto you: and I will take you one of a city, and two of a family, and I 15 will bring you to Zion: and I will give you pastors according to mine heart, which shall feed you with 16 knowledge and understanding. And it shall come to pass, when ye be multiplied and increased in the land, in those days, saith the LORD, they shall say no more, The ark of the covenant of the LORD: neither shall it come to mind: neither shall they remember it; neither shall they visit it; neither shall that be done any 17 more. At that time they shall call Jerusalem the throne of the LORD; and all the nations shall be gathered unto it, to the name of the LORD, to Jerusalem: neither shall they walk any more after the 18 imagination of their evil heart. In those days the house of Judah shall walk with the house of Israel, and they shall come together out of the land of the north to the land that I have given for an inheritance 19 unto your fathers. But I said, How shall I put thee among the children, and give thee a pleasant land, a goodly heritage of the hosts of nations? and I said, Thou shalt call me, My father; and shalt not turn away from me.

20 Surely as a wife treacherously departeth from her husband, so have ye dealt treacherously with me, O 21 house of Israel, saith the LORD. A voice was heard upon the high places, weeping and supplications of the children of Israel: for they have perverted their way, and they have forgotten the LORD their God. 22 Return, ye backsliding children, and I will heal your backslidings. Behold, we come unto thee; for thou 23 art the LORD our God. Truly in vain is salvation hoped for from the hills, and from the multitude of mountains: truly in the LORD our God is the salva24 tion of Israel. For shame hath devoured the labour of our fathers from our youth; their flocks and their 25 herds, their sons and their daughters. We lie down in our shame, and our confusion covereth us: for we have sinned against the LORD our God, we and our fathers, from our youth even unto this day, and have not obeyed the voice of the LORD our God.

JEREMIAH XXXI. At the same time, saith the LORD, will I be the God of all the families of Israel, 2 and they shall be my people. Thus saith the LORD, The people which were left of the sword found grace in the wilderness; even Israel, when I went to cause 3 him to rest. The LORD hath appeared of old unto me, saying, Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love: therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn 4 thee. Again I will build thee, and thou shalt be

built, O virgin of Israel: thou shalt again be adorned with thy tabrets, and shalt go forth in the dances of 5 them that make merry. Thou shalt yet plant vines upon the mountains of Samaria: the planters shall 6 plant, and shall eat them as common things. For there shall be a day, that the watchmen upon the mount Ephraim shall cry, Arise ye, and let us go up 7 to Zion unto the LORD our God. For thus saith the LORD; Sing with gladness for Jacob, and shout among the chief of the nations: publish ye, praise ye, and say, O LORD, save thy people, the remnant of Israel. 8 Behold, I will bring them from the north country, and gather them from the coasts of the earth, and with them the blind and the lame, the woman with child and her that travaileth with child together: a 9 great company shall return thither. They shall come with weeping, and with supplications will I lead them: I will cause them to walk by the rivers of waters in a straight way, wherein they shall not stumble: for I am a father to Israel, and Ephraim is my firstborn.

10

Hear the word of the LORD, O ye nations, and declare it in the isles afar off, and say, He that scattered Israel will gather him, and keep him, as a shepherd 11 doth his flock. For the LORD hath redeemed Jacob, and ransomed him from the hand of him that was 12 stronger than he. Therefore they shall come and sing in the height of Zion, and shall flow together to the goodness of the LORD, for wheat, and for wine, and for oil, and for the young of the flock and of the herd: and their soul shall be as a watered garden; 13 and they shall not sorrow any more at all. Then shall the virgin rejoice in the dance, both young men and old together: for I will turn their mourning into joy, and will comfort them, and make them rejoice 14 from their sorrow. And I will satiate the soul of the priests with fatness, and my people shall be satisfied with my goodness, saith the LORD.

15

Thus saith the LORD; A voice was heard in Ramah, lamentation, and bitter weeping; Rahel weeping for her children refused to be comforted for her children, 16 because they were not. Thus saith the LORD; Refrain thy voice from weeping, and thine eyes from tears: for thy work shall be rewarded, saith the LORD; and they shall come again from the land of the enemy. 17 And there is hope in thine end, saith the LORD, that thy children shall come again to their own border.

18

I have surely heard Ephraim bemoaning himself thus; Thou hast chastised me, and I was chastised, as a bullock unaccustomed to the yoke: turn thou me, and I shall be turned; for thou art the LORD my God. 19 Surely after that I was turned, I repented; and after that I was instructed, I smote upon my thigh: I was ashamed, yea, even confounded, because I did bear the 20 reproach of my youth. Is Ephraim my dear son? is he pleasant child? for since I spake against him, I do earnestly remember him still: therefore my bowels are troubled for him; I will surely have mercy upon 21 him, saith the LORD. Set thee up waymarks, make thee high heaps: set thine heart toward the highway, even the way which thou wentest: turn again, O virgin of Israel, turn again to these thy cities.

22

How long wilt thou go about, O thou backsliding daughter? for the LORD hath created a new thing in 23 the earth, A woman shall compass a man. Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; As yet they shall use this speech in the land of Judah and in the cities thereof, when I shall bring again their captivity; The LORD bless thee, O habitation of justice, and moun24 tain of holiness. And there shall dwell in Judah. itself, and in all the cities thereof together, husband25 men, and they that go forth with flocks. For I have satiated the weary soul, and I have replenished every sorrowful soul. Upon this I awaked, and beheld; and my sleep was sweet unto me.

26

27

Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will sow the house of Israel and the house of Judah with 28 the seed of man, and with the seed of beast. And it shall come to pass, that like as I have watched over them, to pluck up, and to break down, and to throw down, and to destroy, and to afflict; so will I watch 29 over them, to build, and to plant, saith the LORD. In those days they shall say no more, The fathers have eaten a sour grape, and the children's teeth are set on 30 edge. But every one shall die for his own iniquity: every man that eateth the sour grape, his teeth shall be set on edge.

31

Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and 32 with the house of Judah: not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt; which my covenant they brake, although I 33 was an husband unto them, saith the LORD: but this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house [Continued see next page.

LEARN TO DO WELL; SEEK JUDGMENT, RELIEVE THE OPPRESSED, JUDGE THE FATHERless, plead FOR THE

WIDOW.-Isa. i. 17.

ON THE VISIT OF THE MAGI-(continued).

apostles, exclusively; at the end of this time he is preached also to the Gentiles; until at last, when every distinction had been levelled, both the Jew and the Gentile are made one, in the unity of a common faith in Christ.

'The case of Ezra proves it to have been possible that a person, setting out from the parts beyond the Euphrates, on a certain day in the first month, might arrive at Jerusalem exactly on the same day in the fifth month, of the Jewish year. Hence, if the Magi set out on the tenth of Nisan, U.C. 750, they might arrive in Jerusalem on the tenth of Lous, or Ab, the

fifth month afterwards. The tenth of Nisan, in that year, coincided with April 6; and, consequently, the tenth of Ab would coincide with August 2. April 6, in that year, was a Sunday, and August 2 was a Saturday. We may consider it probable, that in one week's time after this, consequently about August 9 or 10, the holy family would set out for Egypt; where they would, perhaps, arrive at the place of their abode, August 25 or 26. From this time to March 31. the date of the next Passover, the included term of days is as nearly as possible 215 in all.'-Greswell, vol. II. Diss. xviii. p. 135-147.

ON THE RETURN TO NAZARETH, Lu. ii. 39, p. 35.

This return to Nazareth, mentioned by Luke, al- tion, to have the fellowship, for a time, of her cousin though by both Greswell and Robinson placed along- Elizabeth-see Lu. i. 39-55, § 2, p. 11; and this she side of that recorded by Matthew, may have taken would again the more readily enjoy, as removing to place at a different time, and previous to the flight Bethlehem, than as remaining at Nazareth. It is into Egypt, and immediately after the visit to Jerusa- likely that they had but just returned to Bethlehem, lem, mentioned, Lu. ii. 22-38, § 4, p. 27. Joseph and when they were visited by the wise men from the East. Mary at first left Nazareth without, as it would appear, They were now, not in a shed for cattle, where, on any idea of permanently removing therefrom. They a previous occasion, they were found by the shep may have thought that a change of residence would herds. They were in a house oia, not karaλvua; be well-pleasing to the Lord, who had so pointed out and now, when they may have supposed themselves Bethlehem, as the place out of which the Governor of to be permanently settled in the place of Divine ap Israel was to come. Not having made any prepara-pointment, they receive orders to remove again, and tion for a permanent removal, when they left Naza- that in such haste, as that the departure is by night. reth on account of the taxing, it may have been Such frequent removal of the child Jesus to and fro requisite that they should now return at the earliest would greatly tend to bewilder those to whom an inopportunity for that purpose. If they had not re- quisition into the matter may have been appointed by solved upon a removal previously, still, it may be, Herod, after his being disappointed by the wise men; that after they had returned to Nazareth they would and may have tended to exasperate him under the see such a change to be desirable. It is not likely idea that the whole neighbourhood was in a conspithat Mary would be adverse to such a change: she had racy to deceive him, and save from his power the before made a still farther journey in the same direc- infant King of the Jews.' IN EGYPT,' pp. 34, .5. received the command to return into his own country. No reason is so likely as this to have produced his hesitation about taking up his abode again at Bethlehem, in the immediate neighbourhood of Archelaus, which seems to have been his first intention before he was admonished to retire to Nazareth. We may infer, then, that the return from Egypt, U.C. 751, was not earlier than March 31 in that year at least; to which time inclusive, from the end of August exclusive, are seven months, or two hundred and twelve days, a residence in duration, like that of the ark among the Philistines in the days of Samuel, (1 Sa. residence either of less than six months on the one vi. 1); which is a much more probable period than a hand, or of more than a year on the other.

OF THE RESIDENCE If the birth of our Lord took place at the beginning of April, U.C. 750, then it may be rendered presumptively certain that the Magi arrived in Jerusalem at the beginning of the following August; and, consequently, in all probability, that the flight into Egypt could not have been delayed much beyond the middle of the same month, and would thus happen in the mildest season of the year, when both the facilities of travel, and the means of subsistence in a strange land, were likely to be the greatest.

[ocr errors]

It is a singular fact, that in the year after his birth, when Christ the true Passover was absent in Egypt, there was, strictly speaking, no passover celebrated as usual in Judæa: a circumstance almost unexampled in the previous history of the Jews. The cause of this anomaly was the disturbances which ensued upon the death of Herod, and which, by the time of the arrival of the paschal day, had reached to such a height, that Archelaus was obliged to disof the sacrifices themselves.

perse the people, by force of arms, in the very midst

St. Matthew, by applying to this residence the text of Hosea, Out of Egypt have I called my son,' (ii. 15,) has shewn that the sojourning of the children of Israel there was in some respect or other typical of Egypt at the passover; and so it is manifest did the this of Christ. Now the Israelites came up from holy family, if they returned shortly after the death of Herod. The descent of the holy family into Egypt took place about the close of the summer; and so, I think, it may be proved, did the descent of the Israelites also.'-Greswell, vol. I. Diss. xii. p. 392-.4. HEROD,' p. 35.

'Now we may collect, I think, from Mt. ii. 22, .3, that it was not long after this occurrence, and, consequently, when the offensiveness and odium of the late severity were likely to be greatest, that Joseph

Herod the king. Judæa, where our Saviour was born, was a province of the Roman empire. It was taken about 63 years B.C., by Pompey, and placed under tribute. Herod received his appointment from the Romans, and had reigned at the time of the birth of Jesus 36 years. Though he was permitted to be called king, yet he was in all respects dependant on the Roman emperor.-He was commonly called Herod the Great, because he had distinguished himself in the wars with Antigonus, and his other enemies, and because he had evinced great talents, as well as great cruelties and crimes, in governing and defend ing his country; in repairing the temple; and in building and ornamenting the cities of his kingdom. -At this time Augustus was emperor of Rome. The world was at peace. HEROD was notorious for cruelty. Josephus calls him a man of great barbarity, and a slave to his passions. The facts of his reign prove that he was abundantly capable of this wickedness. The following will shew that this slaying of the infants was perfectly in accordance with his odious character. Aristobulus, brother of his wife Mariamne, was

THE WICKED IS RESERVED TO THE

murdered by his directions at eighteen years of age,
because the people of Jerusalem had evinced affection
towards hin. In the seventh year of his reign he put
to death Hyrcanus, grandfather of Mariamne, then
eighty years of age, and who had formerly saved
Herod's life; a man of a mild and peaceable disposi-
tion. His beloved and beautiful wife Mariamne,
whom he professed to idolize, had a public execu
tion, and her mother Alexandra followed soon after.
Alexander and Aristobulus, his two sons by Ma-
riamne, were strangled in prison by his orders, upon
groundless suspicion, as it seems, when they were at
man's estate, were married, and had children.
also caused his son Antipater to be slain about five
days before his death; and gave orders, when dying,
to shut up the chief persons among the Jews, whom
he commanded to be slain at his death, that every
family of the Jews might mourn; which happily was
not executed. Herod would think the massacre of
the infants but a small affair; and although Jo-
sephus does not particularly mention it, he seems to
hint at it when he says many slaughters followed
the prediction of the new king.-Ant. 1-17. c. 3.

DAY OF DESTRUCTION.-Job xxi. 30.

He

39

WOE UNTO THE WICKED! IT SHALL BE ILL WITH HIM:

FOR THE REWARD OF HIS HANDS SHALL BE GIVEN HIM.-Isa. iii. 11.

« PreviousContinue »