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in Egypt: but so little care was taken of these captives, that eleven thousand of them perished for want. There is every probability, though the historian does not mention the fact, that they were conveyed to Egypt in ships, as the Romans had then a fleet in the Mediterranean. The market was so overstocked, that there were no purchasers, and they were sold for the merest trifle.

4. It is, moreover, predicted in this wonderful prophecy of Moses, that the Jews should be extirpated from their own land, and dispersed among all nations. And ye shall be plucked from off the land whither thou goest to possess it. And the Lord shall scatter thee among all people, from one end of the earth, even unto the other. How remarkably this has been fulfilled, is known to all. The ten tribes were first carried away from their own land, by the king of Assyria; and next, the two other tribes were carried captive to Babylon; and, finally, when the Romans took away their place and nation, their disper sion was complete.

Afterwards Adrian forbade the Jews, by a public edict, to set foot in Jerusalem, on pain of death; or even to approach the country round it. In the time of Tertullian and Jerome, they were prohibited from entering into Judea. And from that day to this, the number of Jews in the holy land has been

very small. They are still exiles from their own land, and are found scattered through almost every country on the globe.

5. But it is foretold, that notwithstanding their dispersion, they should not be totally destroyed, but should exist still, as a distinct people. And yet for all that, when they be in the land of their enemies, I will not cast them away, neither will I abhor them, to destroy them utterly, and to break my covenant with them. "What a marvellous thing is this," says bishop Newton, that after so many wars, battles, and sieges; after so many rebellions, massacres, and persecutions; after so many years of captivity, slavery, and misery; they are not destroyed utterly, and though scattered among all people, yet subsist a distinct people by themselves! where is any thing like this to be found in all the histories, and in all the nations under the sun?”

The prophecy goes on to declare, that they should be, every where, in an uneasy condition; and should not rest long in any one place. And amongst these nations shalt thou find no ease, neither shall the sole of thy foot have rest. How exactly this has been verified in the case of this unhappy people, even unto this day, is known to all. There is scarcely a country in Europe, from which they have not been banished at one time or another. To say nothing of many previous scenes of bloodshed and banishment, of the

most shocking kind, through which great multitudes of this devoted people passed, in Germany, France, and Spain, in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, eight hundred thousand Jews are said, by the Spanish historian, to have been banished from Spain by Ferdinand and Isabella. And how often, when tolerated by government, they have suffered by the tumults of the people, it is impossible

to enumerate.

The prophet declares, that they should be oppressed and crushed alway; that their sons and their daughters should be given to another people; that they should be mad for the sight of their eyes, which they should see. Nothing has been more common in all the countries where the Jews have resided, than to fine, fleece, and oppress them at will; and in Spain and Portugal, their children have been taken from them by order of the government, to be educated in the Popish religion. The instances, also, in which their oppressions have driven them to madness and desperation, are too numerous to be here stated in detail.

6. Finally, it is foretold by Moses, that they should become an astonishment, a proverb, and a by-word, among all nations; and that their plagues should be wonderful, even great plagues and of long continuance. In every country the Jews are hated and despised. They have been literally a proverb and a byword. Mohammedans, Heathens, and Chris

tians, however they differ in other things, have been agreed in vilifying, abusing, and persecuting the Jews. Surely the judgments visited on this peculiar people, have been wonderful and of long continuance. For nearly eighteen hundred years, they have been in this miserable state of banishment, dispersion, and persecution.

What nation," says the distinguished writer already quoted, hath subsisted as a distinct people in their own country so long as these have done in their dispersion into all countries? And what a standing miracle is this exhibited to the view and observation of the whole world!"

"Here are instances of prophecies delivered above three thousand years ago, and yet, as we see, fulfilling in the world at this very time; and what stronger proofs can we desire of the divine legation of Moses? How these instances may affect others, I know not, but for myself, I must acknowledge, they not only convince, but amaze and astonish me beyond expression."

The prophecies in the Old Testament concerning Nineveh, Babylon, Tyre, and Egypt, are highly deserving our attention; not only because they are expressed in the plainest language, but because the fulfilment of them has not been confined to one age, but has continued for thousands of years, and is as remarkable at this time as in any former pe

riod; but the narrow limits which we have prescribed to ourselves, forbid us entering on this subject.

The prophecy of Isaiah respecting Cyrus by name, two hundred years before he was born, is very clear, and no less remarkable. That saith of Cyrus, he is my shepherd, and shall perform all my pleasure, even saying to Jerusalem, thou shalt be built, and to the temple, thy foundation shall be laid. Thus saith the Lord to Cyrus his anointed, to Cyrus whose right hand I have holden, to subdue nations before him, and I will loose the loins of kings to open before him the two-leaved gates, that shall not be shut. I will go before thee und make the crooked places straight; I will break in pieces the gates of brass, and will cut in sunder the bars of iron, and I will give thee the treasures of darkness, and hidden riches of secret places, that thou mayest know, that I, the Lord, which call thee by thy name, am the God of Israel. For Jacob, my servant's sake, and Israel, mine elect, I have even called thee by thy name, I have surnamed thee, though thou hast not known me.'

It may be safely affirmed, however, that the more closely these prophecies are compared with subsequent events-events altogether improbable in themselves, and of a truly extraordinary character-the more

Isa. xliv. xlv.

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