their honour from him; and they are for ever fecured by him. No other nail will fupport them; but he is able to bear the ftrefs of all thofe concerns which by faith are hung upon him. Let us then truft in him ourselves, and be earnestly defirous that our offspring and their interest may be hung upon him alfo; that we may be able to fay in life and death, I know in whom I have believed, and am perfuaded he is able to keep what I have committed to him till that day.

"TH

CHA P. XXIII.

This chapter is a prophecy of the destruction of Tyre by Nebuchadnezzar, after a fiege of thirteen years; the inhabitants all fled to fea with their best effects, fo that there was only the naked city left, which he entirely destroyed; it was the most famous city for trade, merchandize, and naval ftrength, in the world. 1HE burden of Tyre. Howl, ye fhips of Tarfhifh, all trading fhips, especially thofe of Spain; for it is laid wafte, fo that there is no houfe, no entering in; no house of business or entertainment, no ships entering into the harbour: from the land of Chittim it is revealed to them; Greece and Italy have heard that it is 2 wafted. Be ftill, ye inhabitants of the ifle, or peninfula; thou whom the merchants of Zidon, that pafs over the fea, have replenished." And by great waters the feed of Sihor, the harveft of the river, [is] her revenue; and she is a mart of nations. Be thou afhamed, O Zidon: for the fea hath spoken, [even] the ftrength of the fea, faying, I travail not, nor bring forth children, neither do I nourish up young men, [nor] bring up virgins; even Sidon is depopulated by this event, and fends forth no more colonies, nor do any perfons come to fettle there. 5 As at the report concerning Egypt [fo] fhall they be forely pained at the report of Tyre; all Egypt fhall be aftonished at the downfall of Tyre, which Nebuchadnezzar fhall

3

4

Tyre was a colony of Sidon.

The products of Egypt, especially corn, were brought thither and carried to other nations by the Tyrians.

6 fhall quickly after conquer; this was to be his wages. Pafs ye over to Tarfhifh; howl, ye inhabitants of the ifle. 7 [Is] this your joyous [city,] whofe antiquity [is] of antient days? her own feet fhall carry her afar off to 8 fojourn; her inhabitants fhall fly from home. Who hath taken this counsel against Tyre, the crowning [city,] whose merchants [are] princes, whofe traffickers [are] 9 the honourable of the earth?? The LORD of hosts hath purposed it, to ftain the pride of all glory, [and] to bring into contempt all the honourable of the earth. 10 Pass through thy land as a river, O daughter of Tarfhifh; fo called becaufe enriched by its trade at fea; pafs thro' thy territories, to fave thyself in foreign countries, as. fwift as a river, for [there is] no more ftrength; thou 11 haft no power to refift the enemy. He, that is, God,

ftretched out his hand over the fea, he fhook the kingdoms the LORD hath given a commandment against the merchant [city,] to deftroy the strong holds thereof. 12 And he faid, Thou shalt no more rejoice, O thou oppreffed virgin, daughter of Zidon: arife, pass over to Chittim; there also thou shalt have no reft; the Sidonians fhall find no reft in the countries to which they flee." 13 Behold the land of the Chaldeans; this people was not, [till] the Affyrian founded it for them that dwell in the wilderness: they fet up the towers thereof, they raised up the palaces thereof; [and] he brought it to ruin." 14 Howl, ye fhips of Tarfhish, or Tarteffus, in Spain, a place which they much frequented: for your ftrength is laid wafte.

15 And

In the time of Joshua (ch. xix. 29) it was called, the strong city Tyre. Many heathen writers fpeak of it as very antient. P Tyre boasted of itself as the queen of cities; and its trade brought immenfe wealth to its inhabitants.

a Sidon was older than Tyre, and the mother of it; it is mentioned in Genefis, in Jacob's bleffing, and called Great Sidon, in Joshua xix. 28.

Some of them Nebuchadnezzar conquered, and their own colonies were in an unfettled ftate, when Tyre was destroyed.

8

Babylon was a place of no note or eminence at the time of this prophet; the people lived in tents till the Affyrians built that city for their reception; yet the Chaldeans, or Babylonians, fhould bring Tyre to ruin, tho' a ftrong, magnificent, and wealthy city.

15

t

And it fhall come to pass in that day, that Tyre fhall be forgotten seventy years, according to the days of one king, or family of kings, namely Nebuchadnezzar, bis fon and grandfon: after the end of feventy years shall Tyre fing as an harlot, that is, be restored and rebuilt. 16 Take an harp, go about the city, thou harlot that haft been forgotten; make sweet melody, fing many fongs, that thou mayeft be remembered; he shall endeavour to 17 allure others to traffick with her as before." And it shall come to pafs after the end of feventy years, that the LORD will vifit Tyre, and she shall turn to her hire, and shall commit fornication, that is, fhall traffick, with all the kingdoms of the world upon the face of the earth. 18 And her merchandife and her hire fhall be holiness to the LORD; fhe fhall make a better ufe of her wealth than before it fhall not be treasured nor laid up; for her merchandise fhall be for them that dwell before the LORD, to eat fufficiently, and for durable clothing; it fball be brought to Jerufalem for the use of the priests; a prophecy that many fhould be converted to the jewish religion, and which had probably a further reference to their embracing the gospel, as many of them did. We have an account in Acts xxi. 4. of fome difciples there, and Paul's interview with them; and we read in antient ecclefiaftical history of many converts, and fome martyrs there.

I.

REFLECTIONS.

EE here an inftance of the awful and melancholy change that may be brought on the most wealthy and powerful state. It is a thought that often occurs; yet there is none that is more neceffary to be attended to. The rich, populous, and flourishing city of Tyre was deftroyed, and its inhabitants forced to flee. This joyous city, full of mirth and diverfions, was overwhelmed with forrow and fadnefs.

Frobably when Cyrus delivered the Ifraelites, he releafed the Tyrians, and many of them fettled near the old city, which was then to return to her former ftate of profperity and traffick.

"A rich city may be compared to an harlot on that account; but perhaps here is an allufion to their lewdnefs, and debauchery, and their being killed in the arts of fraud and luxury.

fadness. We may learn hence the vanity of the world; and let those who live in wealth and splendour obferve how foon it may fink and wither, and they lofe their all, and be glad to fly any where for reft. Since wealth increases luxury and debauchery, we have need to be particularly watchful. But the principal ground of God's controverfy with Tyre was its pride, v. 9. Men are very apt to increase in pride as their fubftance increases; and therefore it is needful to . charge those who are rich in this world, that they be not high minded, nor truft in uncertain riches, fince this inftance fhows how foon they may make themselves wings and fly

away.

2. We learn how to employ our fubftance to the best advantage, namely, to confecrate it to God. Let the merchandize of the tradefman, and the hire of the labourer, be holiness to the Lord, devoted to him, and employed for him in works of piety and charity, in relieving the neceffitous, and fupporting and encouraging the gofpel. We fee by v. 18, that when it is treasured and laid up it is not holiness to the Lord; neither is it fo when it is extravagantly spent. As God gives us our fubftance, it becomes us to employ it for him, then it will turn to the best account. By being rich in good works, ready to distribute, and willing to communicate, we shall lay up in ftore a good foundation against the time to come.

CHA P. XXIV.

This chapter contains a general defcription of the miferies brought upon Ifrael and the neighbouring nations, first by Sennacherib, king of Affyria, and then by Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon.

1

B

EHOLD, the LORD maketh the earth empty, and maketh it waste, and turneth it upfide down, and scattereth abroad the inhabitants thereof; there shall be a general confufion, as at first when the earth was with2 out form. And it fhall be, as with the people, fo with the priest; as with the fervant, fo with his mafter; as with the maid, fo with her miftrefs; as with the buyer,

fo

fo with the feller; as with the lender, fo with the borrower; as with the taker of ufury, fo with the giver of ufury to him; there fhall be a general defolation, and all ranks and orders fhall be involved in the fame calamity. 3 The land fhall be utterly emptied, and utterly spoiled: 4 for the LORD hath spoken this word. The earth mourneth [and] fadeth away, the world languifheth [and] fadeth away, the haughty people of the earth do languish, who have most to lofe, and are leaft able 5 to bear fufferings. The earth alfo is defiled under the inhabitants thereof; because they have tranfgreffed the laws, changed, or neglected, the ordinance, broken the everlasting covenant, either the Mofaic law, or the 6 covenant with Noah. Therefore hath the curfe devoured the earth, and they that dwell therein are defolate by fire, fword, or peftilence: therefore the inhabitants of 7 the earth are burned, and few men left. The new wine mourneth, the vine languifheth, and is fpoiled by the 8 enemy, all the merry hearted do figh. The mirth of tabrets ceaseth, the noise of them that rejoice endeth, the 9 joy of the harp ceafeth. They shall not drink wine with

a fong; ftrong drink fhall be bitter to them that drink 10 it; they shall have no relish for their former delights. The city of confufion, either Samaria, or Jerufalem, is broken down every houfe is fhut up, that no man may come in; the inhabitants are all gone, either dead, or in II captivity. [There is] a crying for wine in the streets; 12 all joy is darkened, the mirth of the land is gone.

In

the city is left defolation, and the gate is fmitten with 13 deftruction; the enemy may enter when they pleafe. When thus it shall be in the midft of the land among the peo-. ple, [there shall be] as the fhaking of an olive tree, [and] as the gleaning grapes when the vintage is done. Nevertheless a remnant shall be left, and thefe fhall be 14 ferious and devout; They fhall lift up their voice, they

fhall fing for the majefty of the LORD, they fhall cry 15 aloud from the fea, over which they have fled. Wherefore glorify ye the LORD in the fires, in the greatest diftrefs and the heaviest afflictions, [even] the name of the LORD God of Ifrael in the ifles of the fea.

16 From