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joyed her, and for very Rapture at the Expectation thereof, had indulged himfelt highly in Feafting and Revelling, even beyond his ordinary Cuftom, the Fumes of the Wine, whereof he had drank to Excefs, getting into his Head, lulled him into a found Sleep, from which he was never to awake, till his guilty and blafphemous Soul launched into a dreadful Eternity.

In fhort, that couragious Heroine, the fair Judith, whom he intended to have defiled, and made a Prey to his filthy Luft, being left alone in hisTent, and taking Advantage of his Intoxication, became a fufficient Inftrument, in the Hands of that God whom he had impioufly fet at Defiance, to chastise his audacious Blafphemy, and contemptuous Violation of the First Commandment; by fevering that haughty Head from his Body, with his own Falchion, which he had dared to exalt against the Moft High. Such was the miferable End of this infolent Blafphemer, which was followed by the fhameful Defeat of his numerous Army, by that Handful of Jews, whom he had fo highly contemned; and the hanging up his lifeless Head upon the Walls of Be thulia, to become the Gazingflock and Maygame of all the People of Ifrael.

Another Inftance, full as remarkable, and indeed rather more of the Divine Vengeance, upon the Breakers of this Law, was, in the Perfon of Heliodor us, Treasurer to Seleucus Philopater, King of Syria, who being fent by that Monarch, upon an In-. formation from a traiterous Jew, of the immense. Treasure that was lodged in the Temple of Jerufalem, to fetch away that facred Depofitum, and being accompanied by a numerous Guard for that Purpofe, when all Intreaties and Remonftrances availed nothing, to prevent fo facrilegious an Artempt, was miraculously oppofed by Heaven itfelt,

which undertook the Defence of that awful Place. For, behold, juft as he was forcing his Way into the Treafury, there appeared to them the Figure of an high-mettled Steed, richly caparifoned, whereon was mounted a Man in compleat Armour, all of Gold, which, rearing up, ftruck at Heliodorus fiercely with his Fore-feet; and at the fame Time were feen two young Men, of exquifite Beauty, who ftanding on each Side of the Treasurer, lafhed him feverely with Whips, till he fell speechiefs to the Ground.

Thus was this audacious Prophaner of God's -holy Temple, and Affronter of the Majefty of Heaven, though attended by a numerous Train of Guards, chaftifed in the moft exemplary Manner, and reduced to a moft miferable Condition, without its being in the Power of any of them, either to prevent it, or afford him any Affiftance; but, caft to the Ground, fpeechlefs, and without any Sign of Life, he lay a wretched Object to behold, and manifeft Inftance of the Divine Power, without any Poffibility of Relief, till the venerable High Prieft, good Onias, whofe earneft Representations he had before defpifed, was prevailed on to become his Interceffor with that GOD, whom he had fo heinously infuited, for Pardon and Mercy. Nor did the King himself, who had ordered this Sacrilege to be committed, and who, notwithstanding this miraculous Difappointment, was inclinable ftill to perfift in his impious Defign, had he not been diffwaded from it by his Treasurer, efcape with Impunity.

In effect, as his Inclination to perfevere in the fame Wickedness, not deterred from it, by fuch vifible Marks of the divine Displeasure, as had been manifefted on Heliodorus, confiderably aggravated his Guilt, and fhewed a Difpofition to op

pofe

pofe even Heaven itself, the Almighty made the very Man, whom he had commanded to plunder the Temple, his Inftrument to execute his Vengeance, for that execrable Attempt, upon the Head of that wicked Prince who had ordered it. Accordingly, that Traytor, taking Advantage of the Abfence of the two next Heirs to the Crown, (one of whom, Demetrius, the King's Son, had been fent to Rome as an Hoftage, in lieu of Antiochus Epiphanes, younger Brother to Seleucus, who had refided there in that Capacity thirteen Years, but was now wanted at Home, though not yet arrived ;) that Traytor He liodorus, we fay, taking Advantage of this their Abfence, imagined he might eafily make ufe of this commodious Interval, to fet up for himself; and this he did by poisoning his Mafter, Seleucus Philopater, and feizing upon his Crown; which, however, he did not ufurp long, being driven from it by the Kings Eumenes and Attalus, who feated Antiochus Epiphanes upon it. Such was the Iffue and Reward. of that intended Sacrilege, and unjust Rapine, both in the Treasurer who endeavoured to execute it, and the Tyrant who commanded it; both being made memorable Examples of that Divine Indig nation, which hangs continually over the Heads of all those who dare audaciously prophane the Temple of the Most High, and by fo doing, fhew themfelves notorioufly guilty of breaking the First Commandment.

The next Inftance we fhall produce of the dreadful Confequences of tranfgreffing this facred Law, fhall be in the Perfon of Antiochus Epiphanes beforementioned, Brother and Succeffor to Seleucus Philopater, whom he alfo followed in his facrilegious Attempts, and miferable End This outragious and most execrable Tyrant, who became a no less remarkable Monument of the Divine Vengeance than the foregoing, not taking Warning by

the

the Punishment that befel his Brother and Predeceffor; nor yet by the miraculous Chaftifement of Heliodorus, and the most exemplary Proof of that fupernatural Power, which perpetually watched over the Prefervation of the holy Temple, and the true Religion; but treading exactly in the fame execrable Steps, and even furpaffing his Brother in all Manner of Impiety and Wickedness, refolved. to wreak his Vengeance on the Jews, who had not in any wife offended him.

But, as nothing is more eafy than to make a Handle of any Thing, when one is refolved upon quar. relling, fo this execrable Tyrant, the lively and genuine Type of Antichrift, having been falfly inform ed, that Judea had revolted against him, for which there was no other Foundation, than that Jason, who had wickedly fupplanted his Brother, the good High Prieft Onias, and was himself undermined in his Turn, by his equally wicked Brother Menelaus, had raised a Body of Forces to difpoffefs him. of his Office, wherewith he had made himself Mafter of Jerufalem, all but the Caftle: This execrable Tyrant then, we fay, having been thus falfly. informed, as alfo that the Jews, upon a flying Report of his Death,, whilft he was employed about his War in Egypt, and being greatly exalperated thereat, without vouchfafing to enquire whether. thefe Rumours were true, or not, resolved to turn his Arms against them, and, if poffible, to exterminate the whole Nation.

Accordingly he invaded Judea with a diabolical Fury, laid Siege to Jerufalem, took it by Storm, and with unparalleled Barbarity, abandoned it for three Days to the Rage of his Soldiers, whom he had before commanded to give no Quarter to Young or Old, Man or Woman; infomuch that there fell by the Sword no less than Fourfcore Thoufand, of

al

all Ages and Sexes; befides Forty Thousand that were taken Prifoners, and an equal Number that were fold for Slaves. However, not fatified even with this unprecedented Inhumanity, nor yet with his impious Prophanation of the Temple, by entring into the Holy of Holies; nor with adding Sacrilege to Prophanation, by carrying away the golden Altar whereon they offered Frankincenfe, with the Table of Shew-Bread, the Candlestick of Seven Branches, and all the facred Veffels and Utenfils, likewife of the fame precious Metal, which had been the Gift of divers Monarchs; this Monfter of Cruelty, we fay, not fatisfied with all these, and without having any fresh Occafion of Offence given him, refolved to make the innocent Jews feel once more, the dreadful Effects of his merciless Dispo fition.

What induced him to this was, his being highly exafperated at having been forced much against his Will, by the Interpofition of the Romans his Conquerors, to defift from his intended Reduction of the Kingdom of Egypt, which he had almoft wholly over-run, and whereof he thought himself fure. His natural wicked Temper, therefore, being greatly imbittered by this mortifying Difappointment, this impious and inhuman Tyrant, at his Return from that Kingdom, being to march through Paleftine, difpatched Apollonius, one of the chief Noblemen of his Court, and, as it appears, a proper Inftrument for fuch an abominable Matter, at the Head of Twenty two Thousand Men, with Orders to deftroy all the Men, and fet to Sale all the Women and Children.

The inhuman Apollonius having received this Command, and being fufficiently inclined of him. felf punctually to execute it, that the poor inno cent Victims, not being upon their Guard, might

neither

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