Josephus computes the number destroyed by famine and the siege, to be 1,100,000, besides 99,209 made prisoners; the people being assembled from all parts to celebrate the passover. Indeed there is not a nation upon the earth that hath been exposed to so many massacres and persecutions.

Verse 68th: " And the Lord shall bring thee into Egypt again with ships; and there shall ye be sold unto your enemies, for bondmen and bond women,"

It appears from Josephus, that when Jerusalem was taken by Titus, of the captives who were above seventeen years of age, he sent many bound to the works in Egypt. Those under that age were sold; but so little care was taken of these captives, that 11,000 of them perished for want.-And we learn from Jerome, that after the last overthrow, by Adrian, many thousands of them were sold, and those who could not be sold, were transported into Egypt, and perished by shipwreck, by famine, or were massacred by the inhabitants.

Verse 63: "And ye shall be plucked from off the land whither thou goest to possess it."

They were plucked off their own land, when the ten tribes were carried into captivity by the king of Assyria, and when the other two tribes were carried away to Babylon, and other nations plant

ed in their stead; and when the Romans took away their place and nation. And, afterwards, when the emperor Adrian, had subdued the rebellious Jews, he published an edict forbidding them on pain of death, to set foot in Jerusalem, or even to approach the country round about it.-From that time to this, their country hath been in the possession of foreign lords and masters; few of the Jews dwelling in it, and those only of a low servile condition.

But they were not only to be plucked from off their own land, but dispersed into all nations.

Verse 64: "And the Lord shall scatter thee among all people, from one end of the earth unto the

other."

This hath been amply fulfilled since the great dispersion of the Jews by the Romams. What people indeed have been scattered so far and wide? They swarm in many parts of the east, are spread through most of the countries of Europe and Afriça; and there are families of them in the West Indies. They circulate through all parts where trade and money circulate.

But though they should be so dispersed, yet they should not be totally destroyed, but still subsist as a distinct people, as Moses foretold:

Levit. xxvi. 44: "And yet for all that, when they be in the land of their enemies, I will not cast them away, neither will I abhor them, to destroy them utterly, and to break my covenant with them."

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What a marvellous thing it is, that after so many wars, battles, and sieges; after so many fires, famines, and pestilences; after so many rebellions, massacres, and persecutions; after so many years of captivity, they are not destroyed utterly; and, though scattered among all nations, that they yet subsist as a distinct people!-Where is any thing comparable to this to be found in all the histories, and in all the nations under the sun?

Deut. xxviii. verse 65: "And among these nations shalt thou find no ease; neither shall the sole of thy foot have rest."

They have been so far from finding rest, that they have been banished from city to city, and from country to country.-We shall only mention their banishments in modern times. In the latter end of the 13th century, they were banished from England, by Edward the first; and were not permitted to return and settle, till Oliver Cromwell's time. In the 14th century they were banished from France, the seventh time, by Charles the sixth. In the 15th century they were banished from Spain, by Ferdinand and Isabella, when,

according to Mariana, 170,000 families left the kingdom. Most of them paid dearly to John the second, for a refuge in Portugal; but in a few years, were expelled thence by his successor Emanuel. And it is not many years since they were banished from Prague, by the queen of Bohemia.

Verse 29, 31, 33: "They should be oppressed and spoiled evermore; and their houses and vineyards, their oxen and asses, should be taken from them; and they should be only oppressed and crushed alway."

What frequent seizures have been made of their effects in almost all countries, instances of which are innumerable!-Daniel Rennels, vol. I. p. 79. says: "Henry III. always polled the Jews at every low ebb of his fortunes. One Abraham was forced to pay 700 marks for his redemption; Aaron, another Jew, protested that the king had taken from him, at times, 30,000 marks of silver, besides 200 marks of gold, which he had presented to the queen. And, in like manner, he used many other Jews. And when they were banished, in the reign of Edward I. their estates were confiscated, and immense sums thereby accrued to the crown.

Verse 32.

"Their sons and their daughters should be given unto another people."

And in several countries, in Spain and Portugal 'particularly, their children have been taken from them by order of the government, to be educated in the popish religion. The fourth council of Toledo ordered, that all their children should be taken from them, for fear they should partake of their errors; and that they should be shut up in monasteries, to be instructed in christian truths.

Verse 34.

"They should be mad for the sight of their eyes which they should see.”

And into what madness, fury, and desperation, have they been pushed by the cruel usage, extortions, and oppressions, which they have undergone. We will allege only two similar instances, one from ancient, and one from modern history. After the destruction of Jerusalem, by Titus, some of the worst of the Jews took refuge in the castle of Masada, where, being closely besieged by the Romans, they, at the persuasion of Eleazar, their leader, first murdered their wives and their children; then ten men were chosen by lot, to slay all the rest; this being done, one of the ten was chosen in like manner, to kill the other nine; which having executed, he set fire to the place, and stabbed himself. There were 960 who perished in this manner; M m