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Of the oaks of Bashan have they made thine oars; the company of the Assurites have made thy benches of ivory, brought out of the isles of Chittim.

Fine linen with broidered work from Egypt was that which thou spreadest forth to be thy sail; blue and purple from the isles of Elisha was that which covered thee.

The inhabitants of Zidon and Arvad were thy mariners: thy wise men, O Tyrus, that were in thee, were thy pilots.

The ancients of Gebal and the wise men thereof were in thee thy calkers: all the ships of the sea with their mariners were in thee to occupy thy merchandise.

They of Persia, and of Lud, and of Phut were in thine army, thy men of war: they hanged the shield and helmet in thee; they set forth thy comeliness.

The men of Arvad with thine army were upon thy walls round about, and the Gammadims were in thy towers; they hanged their shields upon thy walls round about: they have made thy beauty perfect.

Tarshish was thy merchant by reason of thy multitude of all kind of riches; with silver, iron, tin, and lead, they traded in thy fairs.

Javan, Tubal, and Meshach, they were thy merchants: they traded the persons of men and vessels of brass in thy market.

They of the house of Togarmah traded in thy fairs with horses, and horsemen, and mules.

The men of Dedan were thy merchants: many isles were the merchandise of thine hand: they brought thee for a present horns of ivory, and ebony.

Syria was thy merchant by reason of the multitude of the wares of thy making: they occupied in thy fairs with emeralds, purple, and broidered work, and fine linen, and coral, and agate.

Judah,

Judah, and the land of Israel, they were thy merchants: they traded in thy market wheat of Minnith, and Pannag, and honey, and oil, and balm.

Damascus was thy merchant in the multitude of the wares of thy making, for the multitude of all riches; in the wine of Helbon, and white wool.

Dan also and Javan going to and fro occupied in thy fairs: bright iron, cassia, and calamus, were in thy market.

Dedan was thy merchant in precious clothes for chariots.

Arabia, and all the princes of Kedar, they occupied with thee in lambs, and rams, and goats: in these were they thy merchants.

The merchants of Sheba and Raamah, they were thy merchant: they occupied in thy fairs with chief of all spices, and with all precious stones, and gold.

Haran, and Canneh, and Eden, the merchants of Sheba, Ashur and Chilmad, were thy merchants.

These were thy merchants in all sorts of things, in blue clothes, and broidered work, and in chests of rich apparel, bound with cords, and made of cedar among thy merchandise.

The ships of Tarshish did sing of thee in thy market; and thou wast replenished and made very glorious in the midst of the seas.

ANNOTATIONS AND REFLECTIONS.

What a strong resemblance does Great Britain bear to Tyre in many particulars. It is, like that, an island guarded by the ocean, and the acknowledged sovereign of the seas. Riches flow unto her from every quarter of the globe, and the produce of her land is sought by distant nations. Her pride, like that of Tyre, has frequently

quently provoked the LORD to send chastisements upon her; but hitherto she has not been totally abandoned to infidelity and vice. Many righteous have been found in her borders, for whose sake the Almighty has graciously averted his heavy judgments. O may the number of those faithful servants increase! may true religion flourish and abound! may the sabbaths of the LORD be properly observed! may the SAVIOUR of the world be duly honoured! may the rich exercise benevolence, and the poor act with integrity! may British youth of both sexes, and all conditions, impress upon their yet uncorrupted minds this important precept, that RIGHTEOUSNESS EXALTETH A NATION, BUT SIN 18 THE DESTRUCTION OF ANY PEOPLE; and may they regulate their lives accordingly! Then will the LORD not only spare our Tyre, but make us the GLORY OF NATIONS, A HOLY PEOPLE; and he will be near at hand to grant us all things necessary for our temporal and eternal welfare. Happy are the people who are in such a case, yea blessed are the people who have the LORD for their GOD.

SECTION LXXXVIII.

THE END OF THE PERSIAN, AND THE BEGINNING OF
THE GRECIAN EMPIRE.

AFTER Alexander had subdued Tyre, he marched to Jerusalem; the cause of his doing so was this. The Tyrians, being chiefly given to merchandise, were mostly supplied with provisions by their neighbours: and Ga. lilee, Samaria, and Judea, being the countries from whence they were principally furnished, Alexander, during the siege of Tyre, was obliged to apply to the same quarter, and therefore sent to require the inhabit

ants

ants of those places to submit to him. The Jews pleaded their oath of allegiance to Darius, which forbad their acknowledging a new master during his life; this exceedingly enraged the proud conqueror, and he resolv. ed to punish Jerusalem. In this distress Jaddua the high-priest who had then the immediate government of the people under the Persians, being in great perplexity, resolved to seek the LORD, and trust to his ALMIGHTY PROTECTION. Sacrifices and prayers were devoutly offered, and the LORD had compassion on his people; and directed Jaddua in the visions of the night to go out and meet the conqueror in his sacred robes, with all the priests in their proper habits, and the people in white garments which they did; and advancing to a place called Sapha (an eminence without Jerusalem) there waited the coming of Alexander, and on his approach met him in a solemn manner. He was struck with profound awe at the spectacle; and hastening forward, bowed down to Jaddua with a religious veneration, to the great surprize of those who attended him.

While all stood amazed, Parmenio, one of Alexander's generals, asked him how it came to pass that he, whom all adored, should pay such adoration to the Jewish highpriest; to which he answered, that he did not pay that adoration to him, but to the GOD whose priest he was. For that when he was in Macedonia, and was deliberating how he should carry on the war against Persia, and was in much doubt about the undertaking, he saw in a dream this very man, who encouraged him to lay aside all fear and diffidence, and pass boldly into Asia; promising him that Gon would be his guide, and give him the empire of the Persians. Therefore he was now confident he should succeed according to his desire: then turning to Jaddya, he kindly embraced him, and entered Jerusalem in a friendly manner, where he offered

sacrifices

sacrifices to GOD in the Temple; and Jaddua having shewn him the prophecies of Daniel, which predicted the overthrow of the Persian empire by a Grecian king, he went from thence with greater assurance of success, not doubting but he was the person meant by those prophecies*.

This account is a farther confirmation of the opinion which is justified by several passages in Holy Writ, that the great conquerors were by some means or other made acquainted with the prophecies relating to themselves, and with the existence and supremacy of the LORD GOD.

The Samaritans, encouraged by Alexander's treatment of the Jews, met him also with great pomp, and prayed that he would honour their city and temple, with his presence. He answered them kindly, but was not then at leisure, being on a hasty march into Egypt; and soon brought that country into subjection to him. Here he built a city, and called it, after his own name, ALEXANDRIA, and afterwards peopled it with colonies drawn from other places; among whom were many Jews: to these he gave great privileges, and allowed them the free use of their religion.

When Alexander had settled all his affairs in Egypt, he hasted toward the east to find out Darius. In his return towards Palestine, he learnt that Andronicus, a great favourite of his, whom he had made governor of Syria and Palestine, had been murdered by the Samaritans; who, rising in a tumult, had set fire to the house in which he was, and burnt him to death, on account, as is supposed, of their not having the same privileges granted to them as their enemies the Jews had. Alexander being exceedingly exasperated against the Samaritans, caused all who had any part in the murder to be

* See Dan. viii.

put

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