Проповеди и лекции

of Babylon's downfal, Cyrus fell upon the most extraordinary expedient of turning the liver Euphrates into another channel, which he eut for it, »rK] fto marching dry-*fthnd duwn the bed into the city ; and thence ascending through the gaies of the streeU: leading to the river^ which God bad promised to open unto him. 1100 THE KISOS OF THE £AST^ [£Kf. (and ihey were lef^ open in the confusion of the gttmX fca»l), he made a prey of it wholly, m it m written in the book of Diinie) the prophet. And iQ the tirst year of his reign in Dabylon, be issuedi bia decree for Uic rebuilding of the temple, as 19 rcrealed in the book of E^ra the fteribe: under, which decree, Jeriisftlen Nva* rebuilt; and rertain of the captives of BcuJREnin and Judah retamecl iiDto the land of their f^tb^rs, but the Ten Tribes returned not. Such Wfts the event, in the langtinge of which thiii and the following vial is written. Under thisi vial, the EiipbnitQa is represented as dried up, in order in |jre|>«re the way of eertuin kings fWnn the rifting of the sun ; »iid in the next vid, Ba- bylon ia destroyed, Now it is dilfgenily to be observed that Cyrus did not destroy Babylon, but beautified it for the chief seat of his empire, flia commission wa« to destroy her idolatrous, king and his idols, and to set the cmptireft of th^ Lord free, to go up nnd build the city and the temple. For thin end the river Euphrates dried up, *'and the ivro-leaved gateA opened fore him" [ Iso. xlv. I ); and for the same end we bc' lieve that the Euphrates is now drying up before, xhcse kingi^ from the rising of the »un, that ihuf.A may come up against the king who shall tben over Babylon, and dei&troy him, and set the cap- tives of the Lord free from under his yoke. Thta Bnbylon 13 the Westeni Roman Empire* witli ita ten papal kingdoms, which shall then have one king over them, the great pen^onal antichrist of the latter days, who shall exalt himself against all that is called God, saying, that he is God: he shall have God's people, both those according to I Vlt^' OE rni Ttw Tiif BKs. ! 107 the flesh ani3 those according to ihc spirit, under great booriaRe and oppression, 3rd shall be goxn^ onwardA in bis mud career against God and his anointed, and shall find the nations summon- ed and inspired of these three spirits of crit, all ready to mustt^r under hin eagle hanner, when the Lion of the tribe of Jndah i*h»ll come np from the ftwclling* of Jordan to the habitation of the fitrong:, brinfjing along with him th