many nations subjugated during the former reign. Ships brought home the richest productions of foreign lands; and, as a consequence, "silver became as stones, and cedar trees as the sycamores." The city became renowned for its commercial enterprise, its boundless wealth, and the splendour of its court. The wisdom of Solomon became famous over the earth (2 Chr. ix. 1-12, 20-27). But the highest glory of Jerusalem, even the acme of her splendour, was her religious service, her prophets, her priests, her now perfected worship, her solemn festivals, and her "land known in her palaces for a refuge." "The gold, however, soon became dim." The partition of the kingdom on the accession of Rehoboam was peculiarly calamitous to Jerusalem. The revolt of the ten tribes led to a new seat of government, to rival altars at Dan and Bethel, and to a spurious temple and priesthood. "The city of David" became thenceforth the capital only of Judah and "little Benjamin," and these tribes alone came up to her solemn convocation (1 Ki. xii. 25-31). In the meantime Solomon had not long gone down to the grave when a tide of irreligion and profligacy flowed over the land (1 Ki. xiv. 22-24; 2 Chr. xii. 1). The tribes entered on that career that ended in the Babylonish captivity. Repeated defection was followed by repeated judgments, and the heaviest ever fell on the capital. In the reign of Rehoboam it was captured by Shishak, king of Egypt (2 Chr. xii. 9); in the reign of Jehoram, by the Philistines and Arabians (2 Chr. xxi. 16, 17); in the reign of Joash, by the Syrians (2 Chr. xxiv. 23); in the reign of Amaziah, by the ten tribes (2 Chr. xxv. 23, 24); and in each of these the temple and city were pillaged, and the spoils carried away. Endeavours frequently made to extirpate idolatry were at the best but partially successful. The high places were often crowded while the temple of Jehovah was deserted; and in the days of Ahaz, while its doors were shut up and its worship discontinued, altars to strange gods were erected in every corner of Jerusalem (2 Chr. xxviii. 24, 25). Among the good kings of Judah, Hezekiah gave the fairest promise, in these ages, of reclaiming the nation and introducing a better era to the holy city. At the very commencement of his reign, recalling the impious acts of his predecessor, he opened, repaired, and cleansed the temple, reinstated the priests, and revived the sacred service, (2 Chr. xxix.) He proclaimed a passover through Judah, and through the territories of the other tribes (2 Chr. xxx. 5). Besides Judah and Benjamin, many from Asher, Manasseh, and Zebulun humbled themselves and came to Jerusalem (2 Chr. xxx. 11). The solemnity was attended by a great revival of religion. It seemed as if, after the lapse of 250 years, the days of Solomon had again returned to the "city of God;" and at no previous period had there been seen so much zeal for the extirpation of idolatry. Penitence and piety began greatly to prevail; and in token of the complacency with which God regarded the national reformation, the army of Sennacherib, that came up to besiege Jerusalem, was cut down by a destroying angel (Isa. xxxvii. 36). But this goodness was only as the "morning cloud." Manasseh succeeding to the throne, overturned all that his father had done (2 Chr. the reign of Jehoiakim, and fifty-two after the destruction of the city. xxxiii. 3-7). Josiah succeeding next, exerted himself for the repression of idolatry, and was the last of Judah's kings who "did that which In the edict published by Cyrus the greatest was right in the sight of the Lord." His encouragement was given to the exiles to return successors again opened up anew the flood-to Jerusalem and build the temple (Ezra i. 1-4). gates of iniquity, and filled up the cup of Jerusalem's sin. She now came down wonderfully, because she remembered not her latter end. After the death of Josiah, Necho, king of Egypt, entered the city with a victorious army, and imposed an annual tribute upon the people, but did not subject it to plunder (2 Chr. xxxvi. 3). A few years later it was taken by Nebuchadnezzar, who plundered the temple and carried off a part of the consecrated things, but left the buildings of the temple and city uninjured (2 Chr. xxxvi. 10). Not long after it was again captured by the army of Babylon, and yet further despoiled of its treasures, while many of its best subjects were carried into captivity. At length the final stroke was inflicted. The king of Babylon, exasperated at the faithlessness of Zedekiah, returned to Jerusalem with a numerous army, and laid siege to it. The inhabitants were reduced to the last extremity by famine. After an obstinate defence, the city was taken, the walls were razed to the foundation, the palaces were burned to the ground, the temple was ransacked, and all quarter was refused to the people. Terrible was the accompanying carnage. "They slew the young men with the sword, in the house of their sanctuary, and had no compassion upon young man or maiden, old man, or him that stooped for age," (2 Chr. xxxvi.) King Zedekiah was seized in attempting to flee; and being carried before his conqueror, was doomed to see his children put to death, then to be deprived of his eyesight, and then bound in chains and carried away captive to Babylon (Jer. xxxix. 4-7). Multitudes of his subjects that had escaped the sword were sharers of the same fate. This heavy calamity took place 416 years after the dedication of the temple, and 588 before the birth of Christ (2 Chr. xxxvi. 17-20). With a people less patriotic Jerusalem would now have been a blank. But it was not thus with her in the midst of her widowhood. Sitting in her ashes, she was cherished by her children with the fondest regard. While the weeping prophet was lamenting at home over the city sitting solitary that had been full of people (Lam. 1. 1), the captives on the banks of the Euphrates wept when they remembered Zion, and held the memory of Jerusalem as their chief joy, (Ps. cxxxvii.) They were knit to their now desolated capital by hope as well as by memory. Isaiah had foretold that Cyrus would say to Jerusalem, "Thou shalt be built; and to the temple, Thy foundation shall be laid" (Isa. xliv. 28). Jeremiah had predicted that the captivity would last seventy years (Jer. xxix. 10). The people cherished these predictions with the fondest anticipation; and at length the promised conqueror having subjugated Babylon, realized their hopes seventy years after the captivity, which took place in While the great majority of the captives declined to quit the homes and possessions they had gained in the land of their exile, many welcomed with joy the proclamation. Upwards of 42,000, with Zerubbabel at their head, besides servants, proceeded homewards (Ezra ii. 64, 65). Along with them were returned the consecrated vessels that had been carried away from the temple (Ezra i. 7-11). The first object sought by the returning exiles was Jerusalem lying in ruins. The first spot in the ruins was the site of the temple, and the first work to which they put their hand was the erection of a temporary altar for burnt offerings (Ezra iii. 2). Preparatory to the building of the temple, they provided Phoenician workmen and cedar trees from Lebanon, as had been done by Solomon. The laying of the foundation was witnessed with very different feelings by different classes of the people. To the younger it was a season of joy, which they expressed by shouts of exultation; to the older, who could look back to the greater glory of the former temple, it was a season of sorrow, which they marked by weeping and lamentation (Ezra iii. 8-13). In proceeding with the work, they were called to encounter violent opposition from the Samaritans, whose overtures of co-operation had been wisely rejected. They were first impeded and then entirely interrupted in the prosecution of their undertaking, by these adversaries of Judah (Ezra iv. 4, 5, 24); and it was not till the reign of Darius, and the twentieth year from the laying of the foundation, that the edifice was completed (Ezra vi. 13-22). Sixty years after the consecration, Ezra returned with a new colony of captives, bearing with him an edict of Artaxerxes, similar to that entrusted by Cyrus to Zerubbabel. Arrived in Jerusalem, he deposited in the temple valuable donations of silver and gold. For the maintenance of the temple worship, he was invested with the power of making large drafts upon the public treasury; and to encourage the priests and Levites to settle in Jerusalem, he had the power of exempting them from the payment of custom and tribute (Ezra vii. 21-24; viii. 24-35). But while the exertions of Ezra were attended with great benefit to the people, and with a very manifest revival of religion (Ezra ix., x.), still the houses and inhabitants of Jerusalem were few in number, and the walls were lying level with the ground. Nehemiah reached Jerusalem twelve or thirteen years after Ezra. A man of consummate sagacity and burning patriotism, he bore with him a new embassy to his countrymen. Zerubbabel and Ezra had been authorized to build the temple, and take charge of the temple service. Nehemiah was commissioned to build and fortify the city (Neh. ii. 1-8). Soon as this undertaking was commenced, heathen enemies again en to defend their lives. Ptolemy observed this, and chose that day to make an assault, and was admitted to the city without opposition. Having become master of Jerusalem and Judea, he carried many of the inhabitants captive into Egypt, and appointed 30,000 to military service. In the year 170 B.C. Antiochus Epiphanes marched against Jerusalem, for the purpose of taking revenge against the Jews for disrespect shown toward him. Laying siege, and taking the city by force, he slew in three days 40,000, and sold an equal number as slaves to the neighbouring nations. He forced his way into the temple, and even into the holy of holies. To heighten the indignity, he sacrificed a sow on the altar of burnt deavoured to thwart them by insults, by malicious insinuations, and by threatenings of a hostile attack (Neh. ii. 19; iv. 1-12; vi. 6, 7). But, inspirited by Nehemiah, they carried forward the work with great energy; and, arranged in separate divisions, they applied themselves to separate por tions of the wall. The labourers built with their swords girded on, ready for the hostile combat. The walls and fortifications thus "reared in troublous times" were at length happily finished (Neh. iii.; iv. 13, 23). The city was thenceforth committed to a regular governor and guard (Neh. vii. 1-3); to people it, a draft was made by lot of a tenth part of the rural population (Neh. vii. 4; xi. 1, 2). The regular services of the temple were re-offering. He next plundered the temple, and established (Neh. xii.); and after the example of Ezra, the heathen females who were married to Israelites were put out of the city (Neh. xiii. 23, 31). Thus was Jerusalem a second time walled and fortified. It did not possess the grandeur of the ancient city, but the children of the captivity were comforted by this, that to that city would come "the desire of all nations," and that he would "fill that house with his glory." Here the curtain drops over the Old Testament history of Jerusalem, about|lution. The worship of Jehovah was discon430 B.C. In the silence of inspired historians for a succession of ages, Josephus and other profane authors mention some incidents respecting the city which are worthy of record. The following is related, and is not incredible in connection with the city of God. In the victorious career of Alexander the Great, after subjugating Tyre and Gaza, he set out with his army to Jerusalem, (332 B.C.) The inhabitants were thrown into the utmost consternation, and the more so that they had previously refused submission on the ground that they were bound by oath to the Persian king. In this emergency, Jaddua, the high priest, threw himself and his people on the protection of God. Divinely directed in a vision, he attired himself in his pontifical robes, and accompanied by the priests in their proper habits, and the people in white garments, he set out to meet the conqueror when he was approaching the city. As soon as Alexander saw the procession he was struck with profound awe, and hastening forward, he bowed down and saluted the high priest with veneration. He explained to his attendants that ere he entered on his conquests he had seen in a dream that very person in that very habit, and had received from him the assurance that he would conquer Asia. The city was in consequence spared, and favoured with peculiar immunities. After the death of Alexander, Ptolemy of Egypt having reduced Syria under his sway, marched upon Jerusalem, whose inhabitants refused submission, and again for this reason that they were pledged by oath to another governor. The city being strongly fortified might have held out against him. The inhabitants, however, reckoned it a desecration of their law to labour on the Sabbath-day, or even carried off the altar of incense, the table for the shewbread, the golden candlestick, and other utensils, all of gold, to the value of 1,800 talents. Not satisfied with this, the same monarch, two years after, sent his general, Apollonius, still further to desolate and pillage the city. The inhabitants were given up anew to slaughter. The houses were sacked and demolished; streets flowed with blood. The sanctuary was defiled with all manner of pol tinued, and the temple was consecrated to Jupiter Olympius. This disgusting profanity and persecution led to the revolt of the Maccabees, who, 163 B.C., gained possession of the city. By them it was repaired; the temple purified, utensils provided for the sacred service, and the worship of Jehovah was again established, (Maccabees, books i. and ii.) Jerusalem, under this patriotic family, attained an independence unknown since the Babylonish captivity, and again it began to be governed by its own princes. In the year 63 B. C. Jerusalem fell before the Roman arms. The people were at the time torn asunder by internal divisions. One faction admitted Pompey and his army into the city, while another retired to the temple and refused to submit. A siege of the resisting faction was the consequence. In the third month a breach was made, and the temple was taken. The army rushed in, and put 12,000 Jews to the sword. Many of the priests were at the time officiating at the altar, and, refusing to leave their places, had their own blood mingled with their sacrifices. It is noticeable that on that very day when the people fell under the Roman army, they were keeping their anniversary fast in commemoration of the conquest of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar. Under the sway of the Romans Jerusalem progressed in external greatness. Herod the Great-he who was king of the Jews at the birth of Christ (Matt. ii. 1)—cruel and licentious in his disposition, was at the same time an enthusiastic admirer of architecture, and sought to immortalize his name by the splendour of his buildings. He erected for himself a palace on mount Zion. Pandering to the pleasures of his Roman patrons, he erected in the city a theatre and amphitheatre; and, on the other hand, in order to gain the affections of the Jews, he rebuilt the temple on a scale of extraordinary magnificence. It was that temple to which the Jews looked with so much vanity when they scornfully addressed Jesus-"Forty and six years was this temple in building." During the reign of Herod-Agrippa-that Herod who put James, the brother of John, to death-the buildings of the city were extending on the north beyond the walls, and to afford these a defence he founded a new wall to surround Bezetha, which, as Josephus imagined, had it been completed according to the original design, would have rendered the city entirely impregnable. It was while under the Roman government that the day of Jerusalem's visitation came. "One greater than Solomon" was there, often mingling with its inhabitants. Many of the places in and around the city were hallowed in connection with the ministry of Jesus-the temple, the pool of Siloam, the pool of Bethesda, the brook Kedron, the garden of Gethsemane, the mount of Olives, and mount Calvary. Within its walls his prophetic voice was often raised, and in its streets were performed some of his most stupendous miracles: but all to no purpose. In that age of enormous wickedness, iniquity reached its highest magnitude in Jerusalem. All orders of the inhabitants seemed determined to make religion nothing else than grimace and ostentation. The priests converted the sacred temple into a market-place, the rabbis and doctors made their devotions at the corners of the streets. The high priesthood was sold to the highest bidder, or conferred on some favourite of the ruler. The entire people were filled with spiritual pride and torn into religious factions. In profligacy and abandonment it held a bad pre-eminence above all other cities of Israel, and, taking into account its religious privileges, above all other cities of the world. He who "". was despised and rejected of men" had his bitterest enemies among the citizens of Jerusalem. Its Jewish rulers plotted against his life; its high priest condemned him of blasphemy; its Roman governor recorded against him the sentence of death; its inhabitants raised the infatuated cry, Crucify him! crucify him!" and in his death it became the scene of the blackest deed that ever stained this guilty earth. Josephus, although he had been a disciple of Jesus, could not have penned a passage more striking and applicable than that which follows. "I cannot forbear," says he, "declaring my opinion, though the declaration fills me with great emotion, that had the Romans delayed to come against those wretches, the city would either have been engulfed by an earthquake, overwhelmed by a deluge, or destroyed by fire from heaven, for that generation was far more enormously wicked than those who suffered these calamities."-Josephus, Wars, book v., ch. xiii., sect. 6. From the commencement of the Roman rule Jerusalem was frequently subjected to arrogance and cruelty, arising sometimes from the tyranny of the governors and sometimes from the insubordination of the governed. The destruction under Titus was probably the most terrible that was ever experienced by any city under heaven. It was in the year A.D. 71, thirty-seven years after the crucifixion of our Lord, that this Roman general, with a numerous army, laid siege to the city. He arrived and commenced his operations during the passover, and therefore while the city was unusually crowded. Famine soon began to rage. Pestilence followed, and produced the most fearful havoc. The city, after a desperate resistance, was taken; the streets flowed with blood; the lanes were choked up with the slain; the city and temple were wrapt in one conflagration, and the buildings were razed to their foundations. In the course of a few months myriads perished, and the prediction of our Lord was accomplished: One stone shall not be left upon another that shall not be thrown down." In the reign of Adrian the city was partly rebuilt under the name of Ælia. After being transformed into a pagan city, Helena, the mother of Constantine, overthrew its monuments of idolatry, and erected over the supposed site of the sepulchre of Christ a magnificent church, which included as many of the scenes of our Saviour's sufferings as superstition and tradition could conveniently crowd into one spot. (See CALVARY.) The emperor Julian, in the true spirit of an apostate, designing to give the lie to prophecy, assembled the Jews at Jerusalem, and endeavoured in vain to rebuild the temple. According to some narrators, in this attempt he was frustrated by an earthquake, and fiery eruptions from the earth, which totally destroyed the work, consumed the materials which had been collected, and killed a great number of the workmen. (See Warburton's Julian.) Jerusalem continued in the power of the eastern emperors till the reign of the caliph Omar, the third in succession from Mohammed, who reduced it under his subjection. This Omar was afterwards assassinated in Jerusalem in 643. The Saracens continued masters of Jerusalem till the year 1099, when it was taken by the crusaders under Godfrey of Bouillon. They founded a new kingdom, of which Jerusalem was the capital, and which lasted eighty-eight years, under nine kings. At last this kingdom was utterly ruined by Saladin; and though the Christians once more obtained possession of the city, they were again obliged to relinquish it. In 1217 the Saracens were expelled by the Turks, who have ever since continued in possession of it. Seventeen times has Jerusalem been taken and pillaged; millions of men have been slaughtered within its walls. The site of Jerusalem is an elevated promontory or tongue of land, which in its highest point is 2,600 feet above the Mediterranean, and is connected with a general table |