way prosperous. " Thus : saith the Lord to 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, and the gates shall not be shut." And not only are the people and their general predicted, who should capture Babylon; but the very time is specified by Jeremiah ( xxv. 11. 12. ), in which the capture should take place: "And these nations shall serve the king of Babylon seventy years. And it shall come to pass when seventy years are accomplished, that I will punish the king of Babylon, and that nation, saith the Lord, for their iniquity, and the land of the Chaldeans, and will make it perpetual desolations." The very circumstances of Belshazzar's drunken feast; and of the surprise by which the city should be taken; and the road, viz. the bed of the river, by which Cyrus should enter, are all, as it were, painted by the prophets. Jeremiah (li. 39, 57) says. "In their heat I will make their feasts, and I will make them drunken that they may rejoice and sleep a perpetual sleep, and not wake, saith the Lord. And I will make drunk her princes, and her wise men, her captains and her rulers and her mighty men, and they shall sleep a perpetual sleep, and not wake, saith the king, whose name, is the lord of Hosts." The same prophet adds ( I. 24); "I have laid a snare for thee, and thou art also taken, O Babylon, and thou wast not aware; thou art found and also caught, because thou hast striven against the Lord." And again (1. 38), " a drought is upon her waters and they shall be dried up." And Isaiah (xliv. 27, 28 ) exhibits the entrance of Cyrus by the bed of the river, and his future kindness to the Jews, when he says; "Thus saith the Lord-that

saith to the deep be dry, and I will dry up thy rivers : 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." .. !

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Now the account which both Herodotus and Xenophon' give of the capture of Babylon, seems almost as if written to be a commentary upon these predictiNow Cyrus," says Herodotus", "was in doubt what he should do, when he perceived that, for so long a time, he accomplished nothing. But whether some one suggested this plan, or he devised it himself, he resolved to act thus. Having drawn up all his troops, and placed part of them where the river enters the city, and part where it flows out of the city, he ordered them to enter it, when the channel should be fordable. And having thus arranged and given orders to his troops, he proceeded with the unemployed part of his army to the lake and with respect to the river and the lake, he did such like things as the queen of the Babylonians had done, but in a contrary direction; for, turning the course of the river, he rendered its former channel fordable. And as soon as this was done, the Persians, who had been left for that purpose, manfully entered, with the water up to the middle of their thighs, through the channel of the Euphrates now turning in another direction. And now the Persians very unexpectedly were upon them. And, on account of the magnitude of the city, those who inhabited its extremities were captured, before the inhabitants of the middle parts were aware of their danger: But, since it was a festal season, they continued dancing, and giving themselves to revelry

y Herod. lib 1.

during this time, till they heard what had occurred. And in this manner was Babylon first captured.

But Xenophon's account is still more particular. "When Cyrus," says he "heard that there was in Babylon such a festival, that the Babylonians spent the whole night in revelry and drinking: as soon, therefore as it was dark, he took many of his men, and opened the canals towards the river. And as soon as this was done, the water flowed into the canals during the night, and hence the channel of the river through the city became fordable by men. As soon then as information was brought, that the channel was fordable, he thus addressed the generals both of horse and foot. This river, my friends, affords us a passage into the city: let us then enter the city with confidence, and fear nothing. Let us consider that they, against whom we now march, are the very men whom we conquered, when they were assisted by their allies, when on the watch, when sober, and drawn out in battle array: But now we march against them at a time when many of them are asleep, many drunk, and all are in disorder. And do you, Gadates and Gobryas, shew us the way; for you know it. And, as soon as we are within the city, proceed immediately to the palace. Upon this Gobryas replied; there will be no difficulty; for the gates of the palace are not shut, since the whole city, during the night, is given up to revelry. Then the Soldiers of Gobryas began to make a clamour, as if they were revellers, and proceeded as quickly as possible to the palace. But the party of Gobryas and Gadates find the gates shut; however they rush upon the guards, who were drinking till it was full light, and attack them. And now a

clamour and noise having arisen, and they, who were within, having perceived that a tumult had taken place, and the king having ordered to enquire what was the matter, and some having opened the gates to go out and see;-immediately Gadates' party, as soon as they saw the gates open, rush in; and following up and cutting down the others, who fled back again, they came to the king, and find him standing with his sword drawn: then the troops of Gadates and Gobryas, overcome him and his people, and they perish."

Now compare these two accounts from Herodotus and Xenophon, with the prophecies of Isaiah and Jeremiah, and how exactly do they correspond! Cyrus commands the united forces of the Medes and Persians, which besiege Babylon, they take the place by surprise, while the people are given up to drinking and revelry; and they enter by the bed of the river, which seemed a defence to the city. Now all these historical facts exactly agree with the predictions of the prophets, which had been delivered very many years before the events took place: For Isaiah prophecied respecting the downfall of Babylon, more than one hundred and sixty years before the event; and upwards of two hundred and fifty before the times of Herodotus, and near three hundred and fifty years before Xenophon: And Jeremiah predicted the fall of the city about fifty-six years before it took place; and lived upwards of one hundred and fifty years before Herodotus, and near two hundred and fifty before Xenophon.

Here then you see the truth of prophecy confirmed by historical evidence; and the vengeance of Almighty God upon a wicked and impious monarch. He vainly thought himself secure in the protection of his

Gods, and the strength of his fortifications: But the word of prophecy standeth sure, and often receives its accomplishment by the most unexpected means. When the time arrives, in which God's purposes are to be fulfilled; then is it that divine providence overrules the hearts of men, and the very course of nature, to serve and effect its designs. And, in the exact fulfilment of these prophecies, we see that the scriptures were given by inspiration of God, and contain within themselves full proof of their divine origin. And while they give full proof of their divine origin, they also afford awful lessons of divine vengeance upon the tyrant and the oppressor, the proud and the impious. God will not long permit his majesty to be insulted, or the liberties, property, and lives of men to be disregarded; but, in the punishment of the injurious and unjust, gives a lesson to succeeding generations, that they, who are in power, should learn to fear him, and to work righteousness, to do justice and to love mercy.