particulars of the siege are all related by Josephus, and form a detail of miseries that admit not of exaggeration; and which he repeatedly declares, in terms that entirely accord with the language of prophecy, are altogether unequalled in the history of the world.-No general description can give a just idea of calamities the most terrible that ever nation suffered. The Jews had assembled in their city from all the surrounding country, to keep the feast of unleavened bread. It was crowded with inhabitants when they were all imprisoned within its walls. The passover, which was commemorative of their first great deliverance, had collected them for their last signal destruction. Before any external enemy appeared, the fiercest dissensions prevailed; the blood of thousands was shed by their brethren; they destroyed and burned, in their frenzy, their common provisions for the siege; they were destitute of any regular government, and divided into three factions. On the extirpation of one of these, each of the others contended for the mastery. The most ferocious and frantic the robbers or zealots, as they were indiscriminately called-prevailed at last. They entered the temple, under the pretence of offering sacrifices, and carried concealed weapons for the purpose of assassination. They slew the priests at the very altar; and their blood, instead of that of the victims for sacrifice, flowed around it. They afterwards rejected all terms of peace with the enemy; none was suffered to escape from the city; every house was entered, every article of subsistence was pillaged, and the most wanton barbarities were committed. Nothing could restrain their fury. Wherever there was the appearance or scent of food, the human bloodhounds tracked it out; and though a general famine raged around, though they were trampling on the dead, and though the habitations of the living were converted into charnel-houses, nothing could intimidate, or appal, or satisfy, or shock them, till Mary, the daughter of Eleazar, a lady once rich and noble, displayed to them and offered them all her remaining food, the scent of which had attracted them in their search the bitterest morsel that ever mother or mortal tasted-the remnant of her half-eaten suckling! Sixty thousand Roman soldiers unremittingly besieged them; they encompassed Jerusalem with a wall, and hemmed them in on every side; they brought down their high and fenced walls to the ground; they slaughtered the slaughterers; they spared not the people; they burned the temple, in defiance of the commands, the threats, and the resistance of the general. With it the last hope of all the Jews was extinguished. They raised, at the sight, an universal but an expiring cry of sorrow and despair. Ten thousand were there slain, and six thousand victims were enveloped in its blaze. The whole city, full of the famished, dying, and of the murdered dead, presented no picture but that of despair, no scene but that of horror. The aqueducts and the city sewers were crowded, as the last refuge of the hopeless. Two thousand were found dead there, and many were dragged from thence and slain. The Roman soldiers put all indiscriminately to death, and ceased not till they became faint, and weary, and overpowered with the work of destruction. But they only sheathed the sword to light the torch. They set fire to the city in various places. The flames spread everywhere, and were checked but for a moment by the red streamlets in every street. Jerusalem became heaps, and the mountain of the house as the high places of the forest. Within the circuit of eight miles, in the space of five months-foes and famine, pillage and pestilence within -a triple wall around, and besieged every moment from without-eleven hundred thousand human beings perished, though the tale of each of them was a tragedy. Was there ever so concentrated a mass of misery? Could any prophecy be more faithfully and awfully fulfilled? The prospect of his own crucifixion, when Jesus was on his way to Calvary, was not more clearly before him, and seemed to affect him less, than the fate of Jerusalem. How full of tenderness, and fraught with truth, was the sympathetic response of the condoling sufferer, to the wailings and lamentations of the women who followed him, when he turned unto them and beheld the city, which some of them might yet see wrapt in flames and drenched in blood, and said, 'Daughters of Jerusalem, weep not for me, but weep for yourselves and for your children. For, behold, the days are coming, in the which they will say, Blessed are the barren, and the wombs that never bare, and the paps which never gave suck. Then shall they begin to say to the mountains, Fall on us; and to the hills, Cover us. For if they do these things in the green tree, what shall be done in the dry?' No impostor ever betrayed such feelings as a man, nor predicted events so unlikely, astonishing, and true, as an attestation of a divine commission. Jesus revealed the very judgments of God; for such the instrument by whom it was accomplished interpreted the capture and destruction of Jerusalem, acknowledging that his own power would otherwise have been ineffectual. When eulogized for the victory, Titus disclaimed the praise, affirming that he was only the instrument of executing the sentence of the Divine justice. And their own historian asserts, in conformity with every declaration of Scripture upon the subject, that the iniquities of the Jews were as unparalleled as their punishment. "All these prophecies, of which we have been reviewing the accomplishment, were delivered in a time of perfect peace when the Jews retained their own laws, and enjoyed the protection, as they ere subject to the authority of the Roman empire, then in the zenith of its power. The wonder xcited in the minds of his disciples at the strength and stability of the temple, drew forth from esus the announcement of its speedy and utter ruin. He foretold the appearance of false Christs nd pretended prophets,—the wars and rumours of wars,—the famines, and pestilences, and earthuakes, and fearful sights that were to ensue, the persecution of his disciples, the apostasy of many, -the propagation of the gospel,—the sign that should warn his disciples to flee from approaching in, the encompassing and enclosing of Jerusalem,-the grievous affliction of the tender sex,e unequalled miseries of all, the entire destruction of the city, the shortening of their sufferings, at still some might be saved; and that all this dread crowd of events, which might well have cupied the progress of ages, was to pass away within the limits of a single generation. None but e who discerns futurity could have foretold and described all these things; and their complete id literal fulfilment shows them to be indubitably the revelation of God. "But the prophecies also mark minuter facts, if possible more unlikely to have happened. Jerulem was to be ploughed over as a field-to be laid even with the ground; of the temple one stone was ot to be left upon another; the Jews were to be few in number; to be led captive into all nations; be sold for slaves, and none would buy them. And each of these predictions was strictly verified. tus commanded the whole city and temple to be razed from the foundation. The soldiers were ot then disobedient to their general. Avarice combined with duty and resentment; the altar, the mple, the walls, and the city, were overthrown from the base, in search of the treasures which e Jews, beset on every hand by plunderers, had concealed and buried during the siege. Three wers and the remnant of a wall alone stood, the monument and memorial of Jerusalem; and the y was afterwards ploughed over by Terentius Rufus. In the siege, and the previous and subsetent destruction of the cities and villages of Judea, according to the specified enumeration of sephus, about one million three hundred thousand suffered death. Ninety-seven thousand were 1 into captivity. They were sold for slaves, and were so despised and disesteemed, that many mained unpurchased. And their conquerors were so prodigal of their lives, that, in honour of e birth-day of Domitian, two thousand five hundred of them were placed, in savage sport, to conad with wild beasts, and otherwise to be put to death. "But the miseries of their race were not then at a close. There was a curse on the land, that th scathed it-a judgment on the people, that hath scattered them throughout the world. The ophecies are as clear as the facts are visible." ¶ "But in those days, after that tribulation, the sun shall be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, 25 And the stars of heaven shall fall, and the powers that are in heaven shall be shaken. 26 *And then shall they see the Son of man coming in the clouds with great power and glory. 27 And then shall he send his angels, and shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from the uttermost part of the earth to the uttermost part of heaven. u Dan. vii. 10; Zeph. i. 15; Matt. xxiv. 29; Luke xxi. 25. ≈ Dan. vii. 13, 14; Matt. xvi. 27, xxiv. 30; Chap. xiv. 62; Acts i. 11; 1 Thess. iv. 16; 2 Thess. i. 7, 10; Rev. i. 7. These verses seem to point at Christ's second coming, to judge the world; the disciples, in their estion, had confounded the destruction of Jerusalem and the end of the world (Matt. xiv. 3), ich was built upon a mistake, as if the temple must needs stand as long as the world stands; s mistake Christ rectifies, and shows that the end of the world in those days those other days u inquire about, the day of Christ's coming, and the day of judgment, shall be after that tribuion, and not coincident with it. Let those who live to see the Jewish nation destroyed, take ed of thinking that, because the Son of man doth not visibly come in the clouds then, he will ver so come; no, he will come after that. And here he foretells, The final dissolution of the present frame and fabric of the world; even of that part of it which ms least liable to change the upper part, the purer and more refined part. The sun shall be rkened, and the moon shall no more give her light; for they shall be quite outshone by the ry of the Son of man. Isa. xxiv. 23. The stars of heaven, that from the beginning had kept eir place and regular motion, shall fall as leaves in autumn; and the powers that are in heaven, - heavenly bodies, the fixed stars, shall be shaken. The visible appearance of the Lord Jesus, to whom the judgment of that day shall be committed r. 26),—Then shall they see the Son of man coming in the clouds. Probably he will come over at very place where he sat when he said this; for the clouds are in the lower region of the air. Y y He shall come with great power and glory, such as will be suited to the errand on which he comes Every eye shall then see him. The gathering together of all the elect to him (ver. 27),-He shall send his angels and gather together his elect to him, to meet him in the air. 1 Thess. iv. 17. They shall be fetched from one end of the world to the other, so that none shall be missing from that general assembly; they shall be fetched from the uttermost parts of the earth, most remote from the place where Christ's tribunal shall be set, and shall be brought to the uttermost part of heaven; so sure, so swift, so easy, shall their conveyance be, that there shall none of them miscarry, though they were to be brought from the uttermost part of the earth one way, to the uttermost part of the heaven another way. A faithful Israelite shall be carried safely, though it were from the utmost border of the land of bondage to the utmost border of the land of promise. 28 'Now learn a parable of the fig-tree; When her branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that the summer is near: 29 So ye in like manner, when ye shall see these things come to pass, know that it is nigh, even at the doors. 30 Verily I say unto you, that this generation shall not pass, till all these things be done. 31 Heaven and earth shall pass away but my words shall not pass away. 32 But of that day and that hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels which are in heaven. neither the Son, but the Father. 33 Take ye heed, watch and pray: for ye know not when the time is. 34 For the Son of man is as a man taking a far journey, who left his house, and gave authority to his servants, and to every man his work, and commanded the porter to watch. 35 Watch ye therefore for ye know not when the master of the house cometh, at even, or at midnight, or at the cock crowing, or in the morning: 36 Lest coming suddenly he find you sleeping. 37 And what I say unto you I say unto all, Watch. C b y Matt. xxiv. 32; Luke xxi. 29. 2 Isa. xl. 8. a Matt. xxiv. 42; xxv. 13; Luke xii. 40, xxi. 34; Rom. xiii. 11; 1 Thess. v. 6. b Matt. xxiv. 45, xxv. 14. c Matt. xxiv. 42, 44. We have here the application of this prophetical sermon; now learn to look forward in a right nanner. As to the destruction of Jerusalem, expect it to come very shortly; as when the branch of he fig-tree becomes soft, and the leaves sprout forth, ye expect that summer will come shortly Ver. 28. When second causes begin to work, ye expect their effects in their proper order and time 30, when ye see these things come to pass-when ye see the Jewish nation embroiled in wars, dis tracted by false Christs and prophets, and drawing upon them the displeasure of the Romans especially when ye see them persecuting you for your Master's sake, and thereby standing to what they did when they put him to death, and repeating it, and so filling up the measure of their iniquity, then say that their ruin is nigh, even at the door, and provide for yourselves accordingly The disciples themselves were, indeed, all of them, except John, taken away from the evil to come but the next generation, whom they were to train up, would live to see it; and by these instructions which Christ left behind him, would be kept from sharing it. This generation that is now rising up, shall not all be worn off before all these things come to pass which I have told you of, relating to Jerusalem, and they shall begin to take effect now shortly; and as this destruction is near and within ken, so it is sure. The decree is gone forth, it is a consummation determined. Dan. ix. 27 Christ doth not speak these things, merely to frighten them; no, they are the declarations of God's ixed purpose. Heaven and earth shall pass away, at the end of time, but my words shall not pas: away (ver. 31), not one of these predictions shall fail of a punctual accomplishment. As to the end of the world, do not inquire when it will come, for it is not a question fit to be asked, for of that day and that hour knoweth no man-it is a thing at a great distance he exact time is fixed in the counsel of God, but is not revealed by any word of God ither to men on earth, or to angels in heaven; the angels shall have timely notice to prepare o attend in that day, and it shall be published, when it comes to the children of men, with sound of trumpet; but, at present, men and angels are kept in the dark concerning the precise ime of it, that they may both attend to their proper services in the present day. But it follows Neither the Son. Is there any thing which the Son is ignorant of? We read, indeed, of a book which was sealed, till the Lamb opened the seals; but did not he know what was in it, before the seals were opened? Was not he privy to the writing of it? There were those in the primitive times, who taught, from this text, that there were some things that Christ, as a man, was ignorant of. They said, "It was no more absurd to say so, than to say that his human soul suffered grief and fear;" and many of the orthodox fathers approved of this. Some would evade it, by saying that Christ spoke this in a way of prudential economy, to divert the disciples from farther inquiry: but to this one of the ancients answers:-" It is not fit to speak too nicely in this matter." "It is certain," says Archbishop Tillotson, "that Christ, as God, could not be ignorant of any thing; but the divine wisdom which dwelt in our Saviour did communicate itself to his human soul, according to the divine pleasure, so that his human nature might sometimes not know some things; therefore Christ is said to grow in wisdom (Luke ii. 52), which he could not be said to do, if the human nature of Christ did necessarily know all things, by virtue of its union with the Divinity." Dr Lightfoot explains it thus,-"Christ calls himself the Son, as Messiah. Now the Messiah, as such, was the Father's servant (Isa. xliii. 1), sent and deputed by him, and as such a one he refers himself often to his Father's will and command, and owns he did nothing of himself (John v. 19); in like manner he might be said to know nothing of himself. The revelation of Jesus Christ was what God gave unto him." Rev. i. 1. He thinks, therefore, that we are to distinguish between those excellencies and perfections of his, which resulted from the personal union between the divine and human nature, and those which flowed from the anointing of the Spirit. From the former flowed the infinite dignity of his person, and his perfect freedom from all sin; but from the latter flowed his power of working miracles, and his foreknowledge of things to come. What, therefore, saith he, was to be revealed by him to his Church, he was pleased to take, not from the union of the human nature with the divine, but from the revelation of the Spirit, by which he yet knew not this, but the Father only knows it; that is, God only, the Deity; for (as Archbishop Tillotson explains it) it is not used here personally, in distinction from the Son and the Holy Ghost, but, as the Father is the Fountain of Deity. "As to both, your duty is to watch and pray. Therefore the time is kept a secret, that you may be engaged to stand always upon your guard (ver. 33),-Take ye heed of every thing that would indispose you for your Master's coming, and would render your accounts perplexed, and your spirits so too; watch for his coming, that it may not at any time be a surprise to you, and pray for that grace which is necessary to qualify you for it; for ye know not when the time is, and you are concerned to be ready for that every day, which may come any day." This he illustrates, in the close, by a parable. 1. Our Master is gone away, and has left us something in trust, in charge, which we must give account of. Ver. 34. He is as a man taking a far journey; for he is gone to be away a great while, he has left his house on earth, and left his servants in their offices; giving authority to some, who are to be overseers, and work to others, who are to be labourers. They that have authority given them, in that had work assigned them, for those that have the greatest power have the most business; and to them to whom he gave work, he gave some sort of authority, to do that work. And when he took his last leave, he appointed the porter to watch, to be sure to be ready to open to him at his return; and, in the meantime, to take care to whom he opened his gates-not to thieves and robbers, but only to his Master's friends and servants. Thus our Lord Jesus, when he ascended on high left something for all his servants to do, expecting they should all do him service in his absence, and be ready to receive him at his return. All are appointed to work, and some authorised to rule. 2. We ought to be always upon our watch, in expectation of his return. Vers. 35-37. Our Lord will come, and will come as the Master of the house, to take account of his servants, of their work, and of the improvement they have made. We know not when he will come; and he has very wisely kept us at uncertainty, that we might be always ready. We know not when he will come, just at what precise time; the Master of the house perhaps will come at even, at nine at night; or it may be at midnight, or at cock-crowing (at three in the morning), or perhaps not till six. This is applicable to his coming to us in particular, at our death, as well as to the general judgment. Our present life is a night, a dark night, compared with the other life; we know not in which watch of the night our Master will come, whether in the days of youth, or middle age, or old age; but as soon as we are born, we begin to die, and therefore, as soon as we are capable of expecting any thing, we must expect death. Our great care must be, that, whenever our Lord comes, he do not find us sleeping, secure in ourselves, off our guard, indulging ourselves in ease and sloth, mindless of our work and duty, and thoughtless of our Lord's coming; ready to say, He will not come, and unready to meet him. His coming will indeed be coming suddenly; it will be a great surprise and terror to those that are careless, and asleep, it will come upon them as a thief in the night. It is therefore the indispensable duty of all Christ's disciples to watch, to be awake, and keep awake. What I say unto you four, (ver. 4), I say unto all the twelve, or rather what I say to you twelve, I say unto all my disciples and followers; what I say unto you of this generation, I say to all that shall believe in me, through your word, in every age, Watch, watch-expect my second coming, prepare for it, that you may be found in peace, without spot, and blameless. CHAPTER XIV. woman. 1 Conspiracy against Christ. 3 Precious ointment is poured on his head by a 10 Judas selleth his Master for money. 12 Christ himself foretelleth how he shall be betrayed by one of his disciples: 22 after the passover prepared, and eaten, instituteth his supper: 26 declareth aforehand the flight of all his disciples, and Peter's denial. 43 Judas betrayeth him with a kiss. 46 He is apprehended in the garden, 55 falsely accused, and impiously condemned of the Jews' council: 65 shamefully abused by them: 66 and thrice denied of Peter. AFTER "two days was the feast of the passover, and of unleavened bread: b and the chief priests and the scribes sought how they might take him a Matt. xxvi. 2; Luke xxii. 1; John xi. 55, xiii. 1. And he sought how he might con b Matt. xxvi. 6; John xii. 1. 3; Luke vii. 37. [ Or, pure nard, c Deut. xv. 11. d Matt. xxvi. 14; Luke xxii. 3, 4. We have here instances of the kindness of Christ's friends, and the provision made of respect and honour for him. Some friends he had, even in and about Jerusalem, that loved him, and never thought they could do enough for him, among whom, though Israel be not gathered, he is, and will be glorious. Here was one friend, that was so kind as to invite him to sup with him; and he was so kind as to accept the invitation. Ver. 3. Though he had a prospect of his death approaching, yet he did not abandon himself to a melancholy retirement from all company, but conversed as freely with his friends as usual. Here was another friend, that was so kind as to anoint his head with very precious ointment as he sat at meat. This was an extraordinary piece of respect paid him by a good woman that thought nothing too good to bestow upon Christ, and to do him honour. Now the Scripture was fulfilled, "When the king sitteth at his table, my spikenard sendeth forth the smell thereof," Cant. i. 12. Let us anoint Christ as our Beloved-kiss him with a kiss of affection; and anoint him as our Sovereign-kiss him with a kiss of allegiance. Did he pour out his soul unto death for us, and shall we think any box of ointment too precious to pour out upon him? It is observable that she took care to pour it all out upon Christ's head; she brake the box (so we read it); but because it was an alabaster box, not easily broken, nor was it necessary that it should be broken, to get out |