And he said, Thou shalt no more rejoice, O thou oppressed virgin, daughter of Zidon: arise, pass over to Chittim there also shalt thou have no rest.

Behold, the land of the, Chaldeans; this people was not till the Assyrian founded it for them that dwell in the wilderness: they set up the towers thereof, they raised up the palaces thereof; and he brought it to ruin. Howl, ye ships of Tarshish: for your strength is laid

waste.

And it shall come to pass, after the end of seventy years, that the LORD will visit Tyre, and she shall turn to her hire, and shall commit abomination with all the kingdoms of the world upon the face of the earth.

And her merchandise and her hire shall be holiness to the LORD: it shall not be treasured nor laid up; for her merchandise shall be for them that dwell before the LORD, to eat sufficiently, and for durable clothing.

II. Thy rowers have brought thee into great waters: the east wind hath broken thee in the midst of the seas.

Thy riches, and thy fairs, thy merchandise, thy mariners, and thy pilots, thy calkers, and the occupiers of thy merchandise, and all thy men of war that are in thee, and in all thy company which is in the midst of thee, shall fall into the midst of the seas in the days of thy ruin.

The suburbs shall shake at the sound of the thy pilots.

cry of

And all that handle the oar, the mariners, and all the pilots of the sea, shall come down from their ships, they shall stand upon the land; and shall cause their voice to be heard against thee, and shall cry bitterly, and shall cast up dust upon their heads, they shall wallow

themselves in the ashes:

And they shall make themselves utterly bald for thee, and gird them with sackcloth, and they shall weep for thee with bitterness of heart, and bitter wailing.

And

And in their wailing they shall take up a lamentation for thee, and lament over thee, saying, What city is like Tyrus, like the destroyed in the midst of the sea? When thy wares went forth out of the seas, thou filledst many people; thou didst enrich the kings of the earth with the multitude of thy riches and of thy merchandise.

In the time when thou shalt be broken by the seas in the depths of the waters, thy merchandise and all thy company in the midst of thee shall fall.

All the inhabitants of the Isles shall be astonished at thee, and their kings shall be sore afraid, they shall be troubled in their countenance.

The merchants among the people shall hiss at thee: thou shalt be a terror, and never shall be

any more.

ANNOTATIONS AND REFLECTIONS.

From the first of these predictions we understand, that it was foreknown to the ALMIGHTY that Tyre would provoke Divine Justice to inflict another heavy judgment upon it, and that he ordained Chittim, which is Macedonia, to be the instrument of Divine vengeance. The second extract describes all the commercial and maritime world as grieved and astonished at her fate, and greatly alarmed for their own. Let us now enquire after Alexander's proceedings in respect to this kingdom.

The Tyrians, hearing of the rapid success of the Grecian conqueror, were desirous of securing the friendship of this mighty monarch, for which purpose they sent ambassadors to him with provisions for his army; but he insisted on their submitting to him as their master, on which they denied him admittance into their city. He then resolved to besiege it; and at length, with great skill and labour, accomplished the conquest of old Tyre, and afterwards burnt new Tyre to the ground, and de

stroyed

stroyed or enslaved all its inhabitants. Eight thousand he slew in battle, two thousand of those whom he took prisoners he caused to be crucified; the rest, to the number of thirty thousand, were sold for slaves. Some had, before the siege, sent their wives and children to Carthage for safety; and some were preserved by the Sidonians, who conveyed them away privately in ships. These were very heavy judgments, but from the prophetic writings we learn that they were deservedly inflicted; for the remembrance of the former misfortunes which had befallen Tyre, was obliterated by a series of prosperity, and the inhabitants once more regarded her as the queen of cities: pride, luxury, avarice, licentiousness, and impiety, again ruled their actions; they again confided in their own strength and power, forgetful of the AMLIGHTY, who had before humbled them in the dust.

The following extract from the prophecy of Ezekiel gives a lively idea of the magnificence and importance of this famous city.

SECTION LXXXVII.

PART OF THE PROPHECY OF EZEKIEL CONCERNING TYRE.

From Ezekiel, Chap. xxvii.

O THOU that art situate at the entry of the sea, which art a merchant of the people for many isles; Thus saith the LORD GOD; O Tyrus, thou hast said, I am of perfect beauty.

Thy borders are in the midst of the seas, thy builders have perfected thy beauty.

They have made all thy ship boards of fir-trees of Senir: they have taken cedars from Lebanon to make masts for thee.

Of

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 merchants: 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 Britian 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 the globe, and the produce of her land is sought by distant nations. Her pride, like that of Tyre, has fre

of

quently