walls, nor indeed in getting together auxiliaries, while the advantage will be on their side who gave them such opportunity of delay: but that the Jews are vexed to pieces every day by their civil wars and dissentions, and are under greater miseries than, if they were once taken, could be inflicted on them by us. Whether, therefore, any one hath regard to what is for our safety, he ought to suffer these Jews to destroy one another; or whether he hath regard to the greater glory of the action, we ought by no means to meddle with these men, now they are afflicted with a distemper at home; for should we now conquer them, it would be said, the conquest was not owing to our bravery, but to their sedition."*

The commanders having acquiesced in the prudence of this advice, the Roman legions remained quiet, only cutting off and destroying all those who attempted to leave the city, or who were driven out by their more powerful countrymen; nor can we imagine any situation more dreadful than that of the conscientious, however mistaken Jews, at this period, if in fact any such were then remaining in the city.

Vespasian himself, however, began now to think of investing Jerusalem, and therefore, drew his troops out of their garrisons and was preparing for the siege, when he received news from Rome of the assassination of Nero; and the death of that tyrant being followed in rapid succession by those of Galba, Otho, and Vitellius, the choice of the Roman legions at length fell upon Vespasian himself; who, after securing Egypt, went to Rome to assume the purple, sending his son Titus back to Judea, upon whom he devolved the future conduct of the Jewish war.†

* Jos. iv. 91, 92.

Jos. iv. 103-120. See a very neat account of the siege and subsequent dispersion of the Jews, in Jolliffe's Sixth Letter from Palestine. An absurd interpretation of our sacred oracles, famous throughout all the east, gave an additional weight and credit to that

But such was the judicial blindness of the Jews, that nothing could awaken them to a sense of their danger; and, therefore, so far from employing the temporary departure of the Roman generals to heal their own divisions, and prepare for their defence, a new sedition sprung up in the country; for Simon of Gerasa, a son of Giora, at the head of a strong band of partisans, rose up in opposition to John of Gischala, and involved the inhabitants in multiplied calamities.*

At length the fiatt of Jehovah went forth, and Titus,

same opinion. The prophecies by which it was foretold that the chief and deliverer of nations should arise in Judea, were applied to Vespasian. Tacitus has fallen into that mistake, not to be won dered at in him. But what we cannot help being surprised at is, that a worshipper and priest of the true God, the historian Josephus, should have made so shameful an abuse of the Scriptures. "Blind, says M. Bossuet, blind indeed, so to give away the hopes of Jacob and of Judah to strangers, by seeking in Vespasian the son of Abraham and of David, and ascribing to an idolatrous prince the title of him whose light was to convert the Gentiles from idolatry." Crevier, v. 211.

Jos. iv. 103-111. 121–126.

+ Who can omit to contrast the state of this once beloved, but now almost forsaken and abandoned race, at the siege of Jerusalem in the reign of Zedekiah, melancholy as even that was, (see p. 264) with the much greater alienation from their God, at this final breaking up of their state and polity; this irrecoverable overthrow of their throne and their altars! Then amidst all the horrors of the siege and the alarm of the enemy, and even the denunciations of the wrath of God, there was still the full presence of Jehovah, the pardoning, premising God,—and the promise of restoration;-then there still existed a holy Jeremiah and other prophets, who were known to hold intercourse with God; and though not believed, though despised and even ill treated by the unbelieving king, many, no doubt, of the people derived comfort from their revelations, and stayed themselves upon their God. But now all was a blank-the voice of prophecy had closed for more than four hundred years-there was no oracle to which recourse could be had-the priests had become as bad as

accompanied by Agrippa,* drew near and enclosed the city, and after a protracted siege of several months, accompanied with scenes of misery and distress without parallel, and supernatural signs and wonders,† Jerusalem fell a prey, not less to intestine fury and madness, than to the arms of the Roman foe: and even the temple and holy house itself was reduced to ashes, contrary to the wish and intention of Titus; but, as Josephus himself says, "by means of a Roman soldier, who, without staying for orders, and without any concern or dread upon him, but hurried on by a certain. divine fury, set fire to one of the golden windows."+ And of the same opinion was Titus himself, when he exclaimed on beholding the remains of the massive towers and walls, "God has been our conductor in this war, it is God who has driven the Jews from these fortresses, against which all the strength

the people-the Idumæan princes had become half paganized-and the whole nation (except those few into whose hearts the light of the everlasting Gospel had shone) were sunk into the most abominable sensuality and brutality; exhibiting to an astonished world,-even to their pagan enemies,-a wonderful instance how low, how desperately low, and depraved, and brutalized, a nation may become, who, having forsaken God, are by him, in righteous judgment, given up to their own hearts' lusts. Such a spectacle as was never exhibited before or since, till the French revolution displayed its horrors! What child is there who would not rather endure the reproof of an affectionate parent, than be for ever deprived of his advice and assistance?—and who cannot distinguish between the comparative comfort of being reproached by a steady and faithful friend, and the feeling of utter despair, occasioned by being finally deprived of his advice and assistance, especially of that friend's all-powerful, allwise, and friendly arm. Lam. iv. 12.

* Crev. vi. 195. Tac. Hist. v. 4.

+ See an account of these extraordinary prodigies in Jos. iv. 218. confirmed by Tacitus, Hist. v. 13.

of man and of our engines could not have availed. It is not I who have conquered, I am only the instrument of divine vengeance.'

*

Jesus Christ had declared to his disciples, when they pointed out to him the glory and beauty of the temple, that the days should come in the which there should not be left one stone upon another, that should not be thrown down.t And this was literally fulfilled, when Titus, immediately after his victory, ordered every thing to be entirely demolished, except the three towers before mentioned, and the western wall, which he reserved for the benefit of the troops that were to remain there: all else, walls, fortifications, temple, and every other building were laid even with the ground, and s destroyed, that no mark remained of that spot having beer inhabited. The Romans used generally, on these occasions,

* Crevier, vi. 245. See also Bp. Chandler's Defence of Christianity, vol. i. 358. If any evidence were wanting to confirm tha fact, it would be found in the circumstance, that the destruction the city and temple arose exclusively from the factions overpowerits the few who were moderate; and thus, by refusing to submit to the Romans, who sought not their destruction but only their submission these latter were at last compelled to destroy them for the credit their own arms, which after all would nevertheless have been ta nished and soiled, if God had not alike decreed and executed his ow purposes. As we have already seen (p. 294.) that although the Babylonians were used by Jehovah, as his instruments for the pr pose of destroying Jerusalem the first time, and executing the judgment of God against his rebellious people; yet he afterwards overthrew that mighty empire to the uttermost, for having treate them with cruelty; (Zech. i. 15. Jer. 1. 11.) is it too much to suppose. that the entire subversion of the colossal government of Rome, was also occasioned by the part which she took, in the second and fina destruction of Jerusalem? Ezra, vi. 11, 13. and Bp. Newton, disser. viii. sect. 2.

+ Matt. xxiv. 2. Luke, xxi. 6.

to plough up the places. The oldest Jewish writers, quoted by Scaliger, say they did so with respect to Jerusalem.*

Agrippa had gone to Rome to congratulate Galba on his accession, who was assassinated before his arrival:† but had evidently returned before the siege, at which he was present with a large body of troops. His kingdom was exempt from the punishment inflicted upon the other Jews, on account of his fidelity to the Romans;§ but whether he administered its affairs himself, or by deputy, and resided at Rome, appears uncertain, as all we hear further of him is, that Josephus submitted his history to his inspection, apparently at Rome, and wrote two letters to him authenticating its accuracy, and that he was dead when Josephus wrote his book against Apion.

Besides the territories of Agrippa, the little town and territory of Emmaus was exempted from severity, in which

* Crevier, vi. 249. Keith, 74,

Comment en un plomb vil l'or pur s'est-il changé ?
Quel est dans ce lieu saint ce pontife égorgé ?
Pleure, Jérusalem, pleure, cité perfide,
Des prophètes divins malheureuse homicide:
De son amour pour toi ton Dieu s'est dépouillé;
Ton encens à ses yeux est un encens souille.

Où menez-vous ces enfans et ces femines?

Le Seigneur a détruit la reine des cités :
Ses prêtres sont captifs, ses rois sont rejetés!
Dieu ne veut plus qu'on vienne à ses solemnités :
Temple, reverse-toi; cèdres, jetez des flammes.
Jérusalem, objet de ma douleur,

Quelle main en un jour t'a ravi tous tes charmes ?
Qui changera mes yeux en deux sources de larmes

Pour pleurer ton malheur?

RACINE.

Therefore shall Zion for your sake be plowed as a field, and Jerusalem shall become heaps, and the mountain of the house as the high places of the forest. Micah, iii. 12.