These impieties and oppressions aroused the heroic spirit of Judas Maccabeus, the son of Mattathias, of the priestly line of Asmonæus, whence the family are often called Asmonæans. Judas, with about nine others, had escaped slaughter in Jerusalem, and, with his father and his four brethren, John, Simon, Eleazar, and Jonathan, had retired to their native town, Modin, in the tribe of Dan. The officers coming to this place to compel the people to idolatry, Mattathias resisted them, and, with his own hand, slew the first apostate Jew that approached the heathen altar, together with the king's officer Apelles, and pulled down the altar.-(Compare Dan. xi. 32, 33.) He then assembled a band of faithful Jews in the mountainous country, and maintained a guerilla warfare against the idolatrous Syrians and apostate Jews. He died about B.C. 166, and was succeeded in his command by his son Judas, who gained over the forces of Antiochus the splendid victories recounted in the first book of the Maccabees. He recovered the temple, repaired and purified it, restored the worship of God, established the feast of the dedication (mentioned John x. 22), and rebuilt Jerusalem out of its ruins, B.C. 165. Antiochus meanwhile finding his treasures failing, made war with the Persians, for the purpose of plundering their country, but was disgracefully defeated; and, returning with rage to destroy Maccabeus and his adherents, he was smitten with an incurable plague in the midst of his journey, his chariot was overthrown, and he was sorely bruised, and forced to be confined to his bed in a little town on the road, where he lay languishing under foul ulcers of body, and sharp terrors of mind, till he died, B.C. 164. It may be observed, that such a sort of death hath befallen many perse cutors both in former and later times.-(Compare Dan. xi. 34-45.)

Antiochus Epiphanes was succeeded in his kingdom by his son Antiochus Eupator, a child nine years of age, whose affairs were under the management of Lysias, regent of Syria. This governor, joining with the Idumeans and other neighbouring nations to destroy the Jews, Judas marched into Idumea and subjugated it; he also made a league with the Romans, but was soon afterwards slain in battle by Bacchides, B.C. 161. His command devolved upon his brother Jonathan, who, with his brethren, being of the race of Aaron, officiated both as highpriests and civil governors. Demetrius Soter, meanwhile, had succeeded his father Seleucus Philopater in the kingdom of Syria, which had been assumed by Seleucus, after the extinction of the family of Antiochus. Jonathan renewed the treaty with the Romans, made a league with Alexander, the son of

Antiochus Epiphanes, and with the Lacedæmonians, and was treacherously slain, B.C. 144, at Ptolemais, by Tryphon, a predatory usurper of the kingdom of Syria, on behalf of the infant son of Alexander Balas.

SIMON, the Sagacious, and last of the noble brotherhood, with his sons Judas and Matthias, being murdered by Ptolemy, his son-in-law,

JOHN HYRCANUS, another of his sons, succeeded to the highpriesthood and government of Judea, B.C. 135. At first he made a disadvantageous peace with Syria; but on the accession of Demetrius Nicator, B.C. 130, he shook off the yoke, and maintained his independence, while successive confusions and revolutions were taking place in the succession to the throne of Syria. He extended his dominions, took Shechem, and destroyed the schismatic temple on Mount Gerizim. He also conquered the Idumeans, compelled them to embrace the Jewish religion, B.C. 129, renewed his father's league with the Romans on more favourable terms, and sent his sons Aristobulus and Antigonus, utterly to destroy Samaria, B.c. 109. He died B.C. 107, and was succeeded by his son Aristobulus, who assumed the title and insignia of a king, but died within a year, and was succeeded by his brother Alexander Jannæus, who subdued the Philistines, and compelled them to become proselytes, burnt Gaza, their capital, B.C. 97, and subjugated the Moabites, Ammonites, and part of the Arabians. He also became connected with the war between Cleopatra, queen of Egypt, and her expelled son Ptolemy Lathyrus, who had succeeded Ptolemy Physcon, but suffered the loss of nearly all his army from the attacks of Lathyrus. He was also afterwards overthrown by Obodas, and again by Aretas, kings of Arabia, and died, after a turbulent reign of twenty-seven years, B.C. 79. After his death the government was wisely administered by his widow Alexandra, until her death, B.C. 70. Aristobulus then, aided by the Sadducees, contended for the high-priesthood against Hyrcanus and the party of the Pharisees, and deposed him after he had reigned three months. Aretas, king of Arabia, espousing the cause of Hyrcanus, besieged Aristobulus in the temple. Meanwhile, about B.C. 83, the Syrians, weary of the wars among the Seleucidæ for the dominion, had expelled them all, and submitted themselves to Tigrones, king of Armenia, son-in-law of Mithridates, king of Pontus, which two powerful monarchs now growing powerful in Asia, and having commenced hostilities against the Romans, Pompey the Great was at last sent to terminate the war. He being in the neighbourhood of Judea, Aristobulus applied to him for aid. Pompey, however, decided

in favour of Hyrcanus, and placed him in command of Judea, but would not allow him the regal dignity, and made Judea tributary to Rome, B.C. 63. Pompey intruded into the most holy place, and Crassus afterwards plundered the temple of ten thousand talents of silver for the expenses of his Parthian expedition, B.C. 54. Antipater, a subtle Idumean, was made governor of Judea B.C. 47, though Hyrcanus retained the pontificate. After Antipater's death, his son Herod the Great, by favour of Mark Antony, and by means of much bloodshed, obtained the government B.C. 40, and was confirmed king of Judea and the parts adjacent by Augustus, B.C. 30. His reign was most cruel and tyrannical, but in some respects able and glorious; and he greatly repaired and beautified the temple, nearly rebuilding the whole edifice, with prodigious cost and splendour, as it is described by Josephus. It was built of large stones, each twenty-five cubits long, twelve cubits broad, and eight in thickness, which the disciples desired our Saviour to take notice of, saying, “Master, see what manner of stones and what buildings are here!"Mark xiii. 1, 2.

Herod the Great, after putting most of his own family to death, died himself by a dreadful complication of diseases. He had a slow fever, an asthma, and an ulcer in his bowels, which bred worms; he languished under extreme pain and torment till he expired, in the seventieth year of his age, and thus seemed to have been smitten of God in a signal and terrible manner for his cruelty, and the multiplied iniquities of his whole life. This was within a year after the birth of Christ, the promised Shiloh. At this time all the known parts of the world were subdued to the Romans, and the nations were in peace; then the Prince of Peace came into the world, and was born at Bethlehem.

Thus we have seen, though Canaan was the land promised by God to the descendants of faithful Abraham, yet, in consequence of their grievous sins, their stubborn disobedience, and their abominable idolatries, their possession of it was always precarious, and often was it absolutely wrested from them. Brief, indeed, were the periods when it could be said that every man sat peacefully beneath his own vine and fig-tree. Assyrians, Babylonians, and Persians, on the one side, and Egyptians on the other, and subsequently the Macedonians and the Romans, there was but little cessation of "the battle of the warrior, with confused noise and garments rolled in blood," until the Saviour's advent. Then, indeed,

"No war, or battle's sound,

Was heard the world around.

The idle spear and shield were high up hung;

The hooked chariot stood,

Unstained with hostile blood;

The trumpet spake not to the armed throng;

And kings sat still with awful eye,

As if they surely knew their sovereign Lord was by."

EXERCISES.

By whom was the government of Judea administered after the death of Nehemiah? For what purpose did Alexander the Great march into Judea? How, and by whom was he met? What did the Jews request of him? Where did he go upon leaving Judea? How far did he push his conquests? Of what did he die? Where? What became of his dominions after his death? Under whose power did the Jews then fall? How were they treated during his reign? By whom was he succeeded? What of his reign? To whom did the Jews submit themselves after they had been greatly persecuted by the Ptolemies? How did he act? By whom was he succeeded? What great efforts did he make to raise money due to the Romans? What became of him? By whom was he succeeded? How did Antiochus Epiphanes act towards Jerusalem? In what manner did Apollonius, his general, take and treat Jerusalem? What effect had these impieties and oppressions upon the Jews? Who was Mattathias? What were some of his exploits? How many sons had he? Which of them took command after his father's death? Mention some of the great and good deeds he did in his reign? What was the end of Antiochus Epiphanes? By whom was he succeeded? By whom was Judas Maccabeus slain? Upon whom then did the command devolve? What of his reign? By whom was he slain? Where? What of Simon? What of John Hyrcanus? By whom was he succeeded? By whom was Aristobulus succeeded? What success had he? How long did he reign? By whom was the government administered after his death? Who next contended for the high-priesthood? By whom was the dispute settled? How did Pompey profane the temple? By whom was it afterwards plundered? Who was then made governor of Judea ? By whom was he succeeded? What was the character of his reign? In what manner did he rebuild the temple? How did he treat his own family? What manner of death did he die? How long was that after the birth of our Lord and Saviour? To whom were all the known parts of the world then in subjection? Why was it that Canaan, that good land,-land of promise-was almost constantly the scene of war and bloodshed? What should we learn from all this?

CHAPTER XXII.

A PROPHETICAL CONNECTION BETWEEN THE OLD AND NEW

TESTAMENTS.

This chapter will contain a few of the plainest prophecies found in the Old Testament that relate to the person, offices, and glories of our Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ, and are ful

filled in the New.

The first of these is to be found in Gen. iii.

15, where God said to the serpent, "I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel." For the fulfilment of which, see Gal. iv. 4, and 1 John iii. 8-" The Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil." This, in the language of prophecy, is called "bruising the serpent's head.' The next plain prophecy of Christ we have in Gen. xviii. 18, and xxii. 18, where God informs Abraham that in him and in his seed "shall all the nations of the earth be blessed." For the fulfilment of this prophecy, see Gal. iii. 16" Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises madehe saith, To thy seed, which is Christ." The same promise was also given to Isaac, the son of Abraham, Gen. xxvi. 4; and to Jacob, his grandson, Gen. xxviii. 14,—“ In thee, and in thy seed, shall all nations be blessed." Jacob, in his dying address to his son Judah, in Gen. xlix. 10, predicted that "The sceptre (or tribe, as the word signifies,) shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto him shall the gathering of the people be." Shiloh signifies, one that is sent, which is the frequent character of Christ, that he was sent by the Father,—John x. 36, &c. (Besides, the Jews themselves own that it signifies the Messiah.)

In Deut. xviii. 15, 18, we find MOSES prophesied concerning Christ, saying, "The LORD thy God will raise up unto thee a Prophet from the midst of thee, of thy brethren, like unto me: unto him shall you hearken.' When Stephen the martyr was put to death for the sake of Christ, he applies these words unto him.-Acts vii. 37.

DAVID was the next eminent prophet that spake plainly of Christ. In his book of Psalms, he describes His incarnation, His various offices of prophet, priest, and king. In regard to Christ's coming into the world to preach the truth of God for the salvation of men, it is stated in Ps. xl. 6-8, "Sacrifice and offering thou didst not desire; mine ears hast thou opened. Then said I, Lo, I come in the volume of the book it is written of me, Í delight to do thy will, O my God. I have preached righteousness in the great congregation: I have declared thy faithfulness and thy salvation," &c. The first part of this Psalm is expressly applied to Christ, Heb. x. 5, where, instead of the words, "Mine ears hast thou opened," it is expressed by the apostle, "A body hast thou prepared me;" and then he shews how Christ made himself a perfect and effectual sacrifice, instead of all the imperfect sacrifices under the law.

Christ's triumph, as he entered into Jerusalem, is foretold in