sent inhabitants are only a few poor wretches harbouring themselves in the vaults, and subsisting chiefly upon fishing, who seem to be preserved in this place by divine providence, as a visible argument how God has fulfilled his word concerning Tyre, viz. that "it should be as the top of a rock, a place for fishers to dry their nets on.

Such hath been the fate of this city, once the most famous in the world for trade and commerce. But trade is a fluctuating thing: it passed from Tyre to Alexandria, from Alexandria to Venice, from Venice to Antwerp, from Antwerp to Amsterdam and London, the English rivalling the Dutch, as the French are now rivalling both. All nations almost are wisely applying themselves to trade; and it behoves those who are in possession of it, to take the greatest care that they do not lose it. It is a plant of tender growth, and requires sun, and soil, and fine seasons, to make it thrive and flourish. It will not grow like the palm-tree, which with the more weight and pressure rises the more. Liberty is a friend to that, as that is a friend to liberty. But the greatest enemy to both is licen→ tiousness, which tramples upon all law and lawful authority, encourages riots and tumults, promotes drunkenness and debauchery, sticks at nothing to supply its extravagance, practices every act of illicit gain, ruins credit, ruins trade, and will in the end ruin liberty itself. Neither kingdoms nor commonwealths, neither public companies nor private persons, can long carry on a beneficial flourishing trade without virtue, and what virtue teacheth, sobriety, industry, frugality, modesty, honesty, punctuality,' humanity, charity, the love of our country, and the fear of God. The prophets will inform us how the Tyrians lost it; and the like causes will always produce the like effects. (Isa. xxiii. 8, 9:) "Who hath taken this counsel against Tyre, the crowning city, whose merchants are princes, whose traffickers are the honourable of the earth? The Lord of hosts hath purposed it, to stain the pride of all glory, and to bring into contempt all the honourable of the (Ezek. xxvii. 3, 4:) "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." (xxviii. 5, &c. :) "By thy great wisdom, and by thy traffick hast thou increased thy riches, and thy heart is lifted up because of thy riches. By the multitude of thy merchandise they have filled the midst of thee with violence, and thou hast sinned; therefore will I cast thee as profane out of the mountain of God. Thine heart was lifted up because of thy beauty, thou hast corrupted thy wisdom by reason of thy brightness. Thou has defiled thy sanctuaries by the multitude of thine iniquities, by the iniquity of thy traffick; therefore will I bring

forth a fire from the midst of thee, it shall devour thee, and I will bring thee to ashes upon the earth, in the sight of all them that behold thee. All they that know thee among the people, shall be astonished at thee; thou shalt be a terror, and never shalt thou be any more."

XII.-1

-THE PROPHECIES CONCERNING EGYPT.

EGYPT is one of the first and most famous countries that we

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read of in history. In the Hebrew Scriptures it is called Mizraim and the land of Ham, having been first inhabited after the deluge by Noah's youngest son, Ham or Hammon, and by his son Mizraim. The name of Egypt is of more uncertain derivation. It appears that the river was so called in Homer's time; and from thence, as Hesychius imagines, the name might be derived to the country. Others more probably conceive that the meaning of the name2 Egyptus is ala_Cuphti, the land of Cuphti, as it was formerly called by the Egyptians themselves and their neighbours the Arabians. All agree in this, that the kingdom of Egypt was very ancient; but some have carried this antiquity to an extravagant and fabulous height, their dynasties being utterly irreconcileable to reason and history both, and no ways to be solved or credited but by supposing that they extend beyond the deluge, and that they contain the catalogues of several contemporary, as well as of some successive kings and kingdoms. It is certain, that in the days of Joseph, if not before those in the days of Abraham, it was a great and flourishing kingdom. There are monuments of its greatness yet remaining to the surprise and astonishment of all posterity, of which as we know not the time of their erection, so in all probability we shall never know the time of their destruction.

This country was also celebrated for its wisdom, no less than for its antiquity. It was, as I may call it, the great academy of the earlier ages. Hither the wits and sages of Greece and other countries repaired, and imbibed their learning at this fountain. It is mentioned to the commendation of Moses, (Acts vii. 22,) that he "was learned in all the wisdom of the Egyptians" and the highest character given of Solomon's

1 Hom. Odys. xiv. 257, 258. Πεμπταῖοι δ' Αἴγυπτον ἐϋβ εἴτην εκόμεσθα Στῆσα δ ̓ ἐν Αἰγύπτῳ ποταμῷ νέας ἀμφιε λίσσας.

Quinto-die autem ad Ægyptum pulchreflu

entem venimus:

Statui vero in Egypto fluvio naves remis utrinque-agitatas.

Hesychius: Αἴγυπτος, ὁ Νεῖλος δ ποτα μὸς ἀφ ̓ οὗ καὶ ἡ χώρα ἀπὸ τῶν νεωτέρων Αἴγυπτος ἐκλήθη. Egyptus, Nilus fluvius ; a quo ipsa regio recentioribus appellata est Egyptus.

2 Mede's Works, b. 1, disc. 50, p. 281. Hoffmanni Lexicon, &c.

wisdom, (1 Kings iv. 30,) is that it "excelled the wisdom of all the children of the east country, and all the wisdom of Egypt." But with this wisdom, and this greatness, it was early corrupted; and was as much the parent of superstition, as it was the mistress of learning; and the one as well as the other were from thence propagated and diffused over other countries. It was indeed the grand corrupter of the world, the source of polytheism and idolatry to several of the eastern, and to most of the more western nations; and degenerated at last to such monstrous and beastly worship, that we shall scarcely find a parallel in all history.

However, this was the country where the children of Israel were in a manner born and bred; and it must be said they were much perverted by their education, and retained a fondness for the idols of Egypt ever afterwards. Several of Moses's laws and institutions were plainly calculated to wean them from, and to guard them against, the manners and customs of the Egyptians. But still in their hearts and affections they were much inclined to return into Egypt. Even Solomon married his wife from thence. And upon all occasions they courted the friendship and alliance of Egypt rather than of any of the neighbouring powers. Which prejudice of theirs was the more extraordinary, as the Egyptians generally treated them very injuriously. They oppressed them with most cruel servitude in Egypt. They gave them leave to depart, and then pursued them as fugitives. Shishak king of Egypt came up against Jerusalem, (1 Kings xiv. 25, 26,) and plundered it. And in all their leagues and alliances Egypt was to them as "a broken reed," (Isa. xxxvi. 6,) "whereon if a man lean, it will go into his hand and pierce it." Upon all these accounts we might reasonably expect that Egypt would be the subject of several prophecies, and we shall not be deceived in our expectation.

It is remarkable that the prophecies uttered against any city or country, often carry the inscription of the burden of that city or country. The prophecies against Nineveh, Babylon, and Tyre, were inscribed, (Nahum i. 1,) "the burden of Nineveh;" (Isa. xiii. 1,) "the burden of Babylon;" and (Isa. xxiii. 1,) "the burden of Tyre:" and so here likewise, (Isa. xix. 1,) the prophecies against Egypt have the title of the burden of Egypt." And by burden is commonly understood a threatening burdensome prophecy, big with ruin and destruction, which like a dead weight is hung upon a city or country to sink it. But the word in the original is of more general import and signification. Sometimes it signifies a prophecy at large: as the prophecies of Habakkuk and Malachi are entitled "the burden which Habakkuk the prophet did see," and "the burden of the word

of the Lord to Israel by Malachi :" and it is rendered a vision or prophecy in the Septuagint and other ancient versions. Sometimes it signifies a prophecy of good as well as of evil: as it was said of the false prophets who prophesied peace when there was no peace, (Lament. ii. 14,) "Thy prophets have seen vain and foolish things for thee, they have seen for thee false burdens ;" and Zachariah's prophecy of the restoration and triumphs of the Jews in the latter days is entitled, (Zech. xii. 1,) "the burden of the word of the Lord for Israel." Sometimes it is translated a prophecy, where there is no prophecy, but only some grave moral sayings or sentences, as, (Prov. xxx. 1,) "the words of Agur the son of Jakeh, even the prophecy ;" and again, (Prov. xxxi. 1,) "the words of King Lemuel, the prophecy that his mother taught him." We may farther observe that the word is used of the author of the prophecy, as well as of the subject of it; and there is "the burden of the Lord," and "the burden of the word of the Lord," as well as "the burden of Babylon," and "the burden of Egypt." We may be certain, too, that this title was affixed to the prophecies by the prophets themselves, and not by the scribes who collected their writings afterwards, because it appears from Jeremiah, (xxiii. 33, &c.) that the scoffers and infidels of his time made a jest and derision of it; and therefore they are forbidden to mention it any more as being a term of ambiguous signification; and instead of inquiring, "What is the burden of the Lord," they are commanded to say, "What hath the Lord answered? and what hath the Lord spoken ?" The word in the original is derived from a verb that signifies to take up, to lift up, to bring forth, and the like; and the proper meaning of it is any weighty important matter or sentence, which ought not to lie neglected, but is worthy of being carried in the memory, and deserves to be lifted up and uttered with emphasis. Such, eminently such, are all these prophecies, and those relating to Egypt as well as the rest. For they comprise the principal revolutions of that kingdom from the times of the prophets to this day.

I. The first great revolution, that we shall mention, was the conquest of this kingdom by Nebuchadnezzar, which was particularly foretold by Jeremiah and Ezekiel. These two prophets have both employed several sections or chapters upon this occasion. Jeremiah was carried into Egypt, and there foretold (chap. xliii.) the conquest of Egypt by Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon: and some of his prophecies are entitled, (xlvi. 13,) "The word that the Lord spake to Jeremiah the prophet, how Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon should come and smite the land of Egypt." Ezekiel also declares, (xxx. 10, 11,) "Thus saith the Lord God, I will also make the multitude of NUD a Nun tulit, attulit, protulit, &c. Buxtorf.

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Egypt to cease by the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon: He and his people with him, the terrible of the nations, shall be brought to destroy the land; and they shall draw their swords against Egypt, and fill the land with the slain ;" and the conquest of this kingdom was promised to Nebuchadnezzar as a reward for his services against Tyre, which after a long siege he took and destroyed, but was disappointed of the spoil, as was observed in the foregoing dissertation, (Ezek. xxix. 18, 19:) "Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon caused his army to serve a great service against Tyrus: every head was made bald, and every shoulder was peeled: yet had he no wages, nor his army, for Tyrus, for the service that he had served against it. Therefore thus saith the Lord God, Behold, I will give the land of Egypt unto Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and he shall take her multitude, and take her spoil, and take her prey, and it shall be the wages for his army."

Now for this early transaction we have the testimonies of Megasthenes and Berosus, two heathen historians, who lived about 300 years before Christ, one of whom affirms expressly that Nebuchadnezzar conquered the greatest part of Africa, and the other affirms it in effect, in saying that when Nebuchadnezzar heard of the death of his father, having settled his affairs in Egypt, and committed the captives whom he took in Egypt to the care of some of his friends, to bring them after him, he hasted directly to Babylon. If neither Herodotus nor Diodorus Siculus have recorded this transaction, what Scaliger said of one of them may be very justly applied to both, that those Egyptian priests, who informed them of the Egyptian affairs, taught them only those things which made for the honour of their nation; other particulars of their idleness, servitude, and the tribute which they paid to the Chaldæans, they concealed. Josephus, we may presume, had good authorities, and was supported by earlier historians, when he asserted, that Nebuchadnezzar having subdued Cœle-Syria, waged war against the Am

4 Καταστρέψασθαι γὰρ αὐτόν φησὶ Λιβύης τὴν πολλήν Eum enim vastasse dicit magnam Libyæ partem. Megasthenes apud Joseph. Antig. 1. 10, c. 11, § 1. Αισθόμενος δε μετ' ου πολυν χρονον την του πατρος τελευτην Ναβουχοδονοσορου, και καταστήσας τα κατα την Αιγυπτον πραγματα, κ. τ. λ. Ne buchodonosorus vero, non multo post patris morte cognita, rebusque in Ægypto ordinatis, &c. Berosus, ibid. Vid. etiam Eusebii. Præp. Evangel. L. 9, c. 40 et 41.

5 Quod perspicue indicatur Jeremiæ, id Herodotus ignoravit: quia sacerdotes illi Ægyptii, qui ei sciscitanti de rebus Ægyptiacis respondebant, ea, quæ ad laudem gentis faciebant, tantum docuerunt; cætera quæ ad illorum ignaviam, servitutem et tributa,

6.

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quæ Chaldæis pendebant, tacuerunt.' Scalig. in Fragm. p. 11.

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Στρατεύει ὁ αὐτὸς [Ναβουχοδονόσος ρος] ἐπὶ τὴν Κοίλην Συρίαν· καὶ κατασχὼν αὐτὴν, ἐπολέμησε καὶ ̓Αμμανίτας καὶ Μωαβί τας. Ποιησάμενος δὲ ὑπήκοα ταῦτα τὰ ἔθνη, ἐνέβαλεν εἰς τὴν Αἴγυπτον καταστρεψόμενος αὐτὴν, καὶ τὸν μὲν τότε βασιλέα κτείνει καταστήσας δὲ ἕτερον, κ. τ. λ. Exercitum ipse eduxit in Coelen-Syriam; eaque occupata, et Ammanitis et Moabitis bellum intulit. Istis autem gentibus in potestatem suam reductis, impetum fecit in Egyptum, ut ipsam debellaret, ac regem quidem qui tunc regnabat, occidit; alio vero constituto, &c. Joseph. Antiq. 1. 10, c. 9, § 7.