Ifaiah foretold the Destruction of the Kingdom of Ifrael, with the fet time of it, Within threescore and five years fhall Ephraim be broken that it be not a people, Ifai. vii. 8. The Defolation foretold by him of Babylon is attested by Eye-witnesses to be fulfill'd in all Particulars, chap. xiii. 19. prophefied of Cyrus by Name, Two hundred and ten Years before the Accomplishment of his Prophecy; and foretold the Rebuilding of the Temple, an Hundred and forty Years before it was demolished. The expreffions defcribing his Conquefts are fo plain and full, that, as St. Jerom hobferves, the Hiftory of Cyrus, by Xenophon, is an admirable Comment upon this Prophecy of Isaiah, That faith of Cyrus, He is my shepherd, and fhall perform all my pleasure, even saying to Jerufalem, Thou shalt be built, and to the temple, Thy foundation fhall be laid. Thus faith the Lord, to his anointed, to Cyrus, whofe right hand I have holden, to fubdue nations before him: And I will loofe the loins of kings, to open before him the twoleaved gates, and the gates fhall not be shut. I will go before thee, and make the crooked places ftraight. I will break in pieces the gates of brass, and cut in funder the bars of iron, and I will give thee the treafu es of darknefs, and hidden riches of fecret places. He fall build my city, and he fhall let go my captives, not for price nor reward, faith the Lord of hofts, Ifa. xliv. 28. and xlv. I, 2, 3, 13. And this Cyrus himself, tho' an Heathen Prince, was fo fenfible of, that he acknowledged it in his Proclamation which he put forth for the Building the Temple: Thus faith Cyrus king of Perfia, All the kingdoms of the earth hath the Lord God of heaven given me, and he hath charged me to build him an house in Jerufalem, which is in Judah, 2 Chron. xxxvi. 23. Ezra i. 2. And the circumstances of the Birth, Education and Advancement of Cyrus, were fo far from f Raumol's Travels, chap. 7. Hieron. ad Ifai. c. 44. Jofeph. Antiq. l. 11. c. I. i k having any thing in them, that looked towards the fulfilling thefe Prophecies, that they all feemed extreamly to make against it, and did thereby wonderfully manifeft the Divine Wisdom and Power in the Prophecies, and in the Accomplishment of them. For "there is no Hiftorian, (fays Sir W. Raleigh, speak"ing of the Conqueft of Babylon,) who was either "prefent at this Victory of Cyrus, or that received "the Report from others truly, as it was, that could "better leave the fame to Pofterity, after it hap"pen'd, than Efay hath done in many places of his "Prophecies, which were written Two hundred "Years, before any thing attempted. And the fame Prophet who foretold the Empire of Cyrus the Perfian, foretold likewife, That the Kingdom of the Chaldeans fhould be destroyed by the Medes, Ifa. xiii. 17. And it was prophefied by Jeremiah, that it should be destroyed by the Kings of the Medes, Jer. li. 11, 28. And this is the more remarkable, becaufe tho' Darius Medus conquer'd Babylon, yet he dying foon after, and Cyrus, fucceeding him, the Fame of Cyrus, who was, at the taking of Babylon, but General of his Army, fo obfcured the Name and Memory of Darius, that Hiftorians have taken no notice of him; though he is found mention'd by the Scholiaft, upon Ariftophanes, who fays, that a Darius, who was before him, who was Father of Xerxes, gave Name to the Pieces of Coin call'd Aagayoi, who must be Darius Medus. So much better were Transactions known to the Prophets beforehand, than to Hiftorians afterwards. The Judgments which were to befal divers other Nations, were also foretold by Ifaiah, and defcribed by particular Circumstances: He prophefied of the Overthrow of Tyre by Alexander the Great; From the land of Chittim it is revealed to them, Ifa. xxiii. 1. The Land of Chittim is See Sir W. Raleigh, l. 3. c. 2. §. 2. Ma L. 3. Part I. c. 3. §. 5. Macedonia, 1 Mac. i. 1. viii. 5. And Isaiah exprefly calls Tyre an Island, ver. 2, 6. and therefore must mean that Tyre which was taken by Alexander; tho' it were not yet built, but rofe out of the Ruines of Tyre on the Continent, which Nebuchadnezzar destroyed, according to Ezekiel's Prophecy. The Destruction of Nineveh was foretold by the Prophet Nabum, an Hundred and fifteen Years before-hand. m The Prophet Jeremiah foretold the Conquests of Nebuchadnezzar, and the Captivity of the Jews by him, in fo remarkable and folemn a manner, that it was notorious to all the neighbouring Nations: For, according to the Custom of delivering Prophecies by fome visible Signs, as well as in Words, he fent Bonds and Yokes to the king of Edom, and to the king of Moab, and to the king of the Ammonites, and to the king of Tyrus, and to the king of Zidon, by the hand of the meffengers which came to Jerufalem (from these several Kings) unto Zedekiah king of Judah; and foretold, That all thefe nations should ferve Nebuchadnezzar, and his fon, and his fons fon, Jer. xxvii. 3, 7. And the Jews put him in Prifon, for this Prophecy; where he was kept, when Nebuchadnezzar took the City, and fet him at liberty. And when the Chaldeans had raised the Siege, by reafon of Pharaoh's Army, which was coming to the Relief of Jerufalem; Jeremiah told the Jews, That Pharaoh's Army fhould return into Egypt, without effecting any thing; and that the Chaldeans fhould come again, and take the City, and burn it with fire, Jer.xxxvii.5. He likewife prophefied against Egypt, which the Jews made their Refuge and Sanctuary; and pointed out the very Place where Nebuchadnezzar would pitch his Tent, by taking great Stones, and hiding them in the Clay, at the entry of Pharaoh's Houfe Tahpanhes, in the fight of the Men of Judah; declaring, That his throne fhould be fet upon thofe ftones, and he should spread his royal pavilion over them, Jer. xliii. 9, 10. And the accomplishment of his Prophecy concerning Pharaoh, chap. xliv. 30. is to be feen in Herodotus. The Prophet Jeremiah was oppofed and contradicted by feveral Falfe Prophets, who prophefied deceitful and flattering Delufions to the People, perfuading them, that no evil fhould come upon them; of whom Jeremiah foretold, That Hananiah fhould die that fame Year in which he vented his falfe Prophecies, chap. xxviii. 16, 17. and, That Ahab the Son of Kolaiah, and Zedechiah the Son of Maafeiah, should be taken Captive by Nebuchadnezzar, and flain in the fight of the People of Judah, and roasted in the fire, chap. xxix. 21, 22. And thus diftinctly foretelling the Time and Manner of the Death of thofe Falfe Prophets, he vindicated his own Prophecies, which were at first so unwillingly believed, beyond all contradiction. But that which seemed most strange, and was most objected against in the Prophecies of Jeremiah, was his Prophecy concerning the Death of Žedechiah; for in this, He and Ezekiel were thought to contradict each other. Jeremiah prophefied in Jerufalem, at the fame time when Ezekiel prophefied in Babylon, and concerning the fame things; and Jeremiah's Prophecy was fent to the Captives in Babylon, and Ezekiel's to the Inhabitants of Jerufalem. But Jeremiah faid, Thine eyes fhall behold the eyes of the king of Babylon, and he fhall Speak with thee mouth to mouth, and thou shalt go to Babylon. Yet hear the word of the Lord, O Zedekiah king of Judah, Thus faith the Lord of thee, Thou shalt not die by the fword; but thou shalt die in peace and with the burnings of thy fathers, the former kings which were before thee, fo fhall they "Herodot. Euterp. c. 169. Jofeph. Antiq. 1. 1o. c. 10. Hieron. ad Ezek. c. 12. burn burn odours for thee; and they will lament thee, fay ing, Ah Lord! for I have pronounced the word, faith the Lord, Jer. xxxiv. 3, 4, 5. But Ezekiel prophefied in these words; I will bring him to Babylon, to the land of the Chaldeans: yet shall be not fee it though he fhall die there, Ezek. xii. 13. Now thefe two Prophets writing of the Captivity of Zedekiah, reckon up all the Circumstances of it between them, in fuch a manner, as that they were believed to contradict each other; and thereby the expectation and attention of the People was the more excited to observe the Fulfilling of their Prophecies. Jeremiah faid, That he fhould fee the King of Babylon, and be carried to Babylon: Ezekiel, That he should not fee Babylon. Jeremiah, That he fhould die in Peace, and be buried after the manner of his Ancestors: Ezekiel, That he should die at Babylon. And if we compare all this with the History, nothing ever was more punAtually fulfilled: For Zedekiah faw the King of Babylon, who commanded his Eyes to be put out, before he was brought to Babylon; and he died there, but died peaceably, and was fuffered to have the ufual Funeral Sólemnities, 2 Kings xxv. 6, 7. And therefore both Prophecies proved true in the Event, which feemed before to be inconfiftent. And fo critical an Exactnefs in every minute Circumstance, in Prophecies delivered by two Perfons, who were before thought to contradict each other, was fuch a conviction to the Jews, after they had feen them fo punctually fulfilled, in their Captivity, that they could no longer doubt, but that both were from God. Jeremiah foretold alfo, That the Kingdom of the Chaldeans fhould be destroyed, and that the Jews fhould be restored, after a Captivity of Seventy Years: These nations fhall ferve the king of Babylon Seventy years: And it shall come to pass, when feventy years are accomplished, that I will punish the king of Babylon, and that nation, faith the Lord, for their iniquity, and the P land |