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I am the Lord, and there is none else,
There is no God beside me :

I girded thee, though thou hast not known me:
That they may know from the rising of the sun,
And from the west, that there is none beside me.
I am the Lord, and there is none else.

I form the light, and create darkness:
I make peace, and create evil:

I the Lord do all these things.

obtain.

Here is stated the means by which Babylon should be taken; Cyrus, also, is expressly mentioned by name, with his extensive conquests, and the wealth he should At that time, Sardis and Babylon were the most wealthy cities in the world. Brerewood calculated that the wealth, stated by Pliny to have been taken by Cyrus in Asia, amounted to the vast sum of one hundred and twenty-six millions of pounds sterling. But especially the appeal to Cyrus is to be remarked: “That thou mayest know that I, the Lord, -Which call thee by thy name,-Am the God of Israel." Comparing this prophecy with the success which crowned his undertakings, and the conquests he achieved, Cyrus would feel he had only performed a duty, to which he had been Divinely appointed long before his birth; therefore he was earnest to discharge the duties that still remained to be done. He acknowledges, in his decree, that Jehovah had given him all the kingdoms of the earth. The last verse testifies against the Magian errors, which we shall have to notice in another place.

The question has been asked, Did Cyrus really know and acknowledge Jehovah as the holy Lord and God? There is not quite the same weight of evidence as in the case of Nebuchadnezzar, still there is much to strengthen the supposition, while there is nothing in his character to gainsay it. He was educated in the strict observance of truth; in religion, a worshipper of one God, after a system derived from the patriarchs; he obeyed the commands of the Most High to let his people go free; and died with many

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circumstances which, resting upon the accounts of heathen writers, may be supposed not to be clearly given, yet which indicate a humility of spirit, very different from that of the generality of heathen conquerors. He directed that his body should not be deposited in gold or silver, nor any sumptuous monument reared for him; but that his remains should be committed to the ground without delay. He was buried at Passagardo, in Persia, where Alexander visited his tomb, and, after offering funeral honours, caused it to be opened. The mighty conqueror found not the treasures he expected, but only a shield, two bows, and a scymitar, with the inscription, "O man, whoever thou art, and whenever thou comest, for come I know thou wilt, I am Cyrus, the founder of the Persian empire. Envy me not the little earth that covers my body." How should Cyrus know of the coming of Alexander? Hales replies, "Very easily, by Daniel having communicated to him the vision of the goat, and that respecting the mighty king," Dan xi. 1-4. How remarkable, that Nebuchadnezzar, the powerful lord who led the Jews into captivity, and Cyrus, the mighty conqueror who decreed their return, should both be brought to acknowledge the sovereignty of JEHOVAH, and that there should be reason to believe they found peace at the last! Truly, the Lord is the rewarder of those employed as his instruments, who acknowledge HIM as the Author of their success, and that they were raised up only to perform his pleasure. It is important to consider, that all the nations that aided in the captivity and dispersion of the Jews, at this period, and five hundred years later, have perished from the earth; others have taken their place. But it is not so with the Persians, that government still remains a kingly power to the present day; the Persians were the restorers of the Jews to their own land!

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THE RETURN OF THE JEWS

CHAPTER XI.

THE RETURN OF THE FIRST DIVISION OF THE JEWS TO THEIR OWN LAND, UNDER ZERUBBABEL-THE FOUNDATION OF THE TEMPLE LAID.

THE Lord not only inclined the heart of Cyrus to let his people go free, but also inclined a number of the people to accept the offered deliverance. This was by Divine interposition, for the land of Judah then offered small inducement to return and settle there. The inclination to remain in Chaldea, would be promoted by the favour then possessed by Daniel, and the power, court favour, and luxuries enjoyed by the more wealthy among the Jews. The leading forth the children of Israel from Babylon may be considered, in some respects, more remarkable as a manifestation of Divine power over the hearts of men, than their going forth from Egypt. Josephus speaks of the ten tribes as remaining beyond the Euphrates, and as so exceedingly increased in his day, that their numbers could hardly be computed. This, doubtless, was overruled for good at the time; and thus witnesses to the truth of Scripture prophecy, keeping up the expectation of a Saviour, were diffused among the nations of the East. The book of Esther shows, that the Jews were numerous throughout the empire, and that "many of the people of the land became Jews," Esth. viii. 17. But where are they now? Some districts are yet inhabited by Jews, though in an ignorant and degraded state, as recent travellers relate; but many have become incorporated with the nations around them. This, and the continually falling away of the Jews in Europe to the people among whom they dwell, tend to show how clearly it is by the order

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THE RETURN OF THE JEWS

ing of the Divine will, that Israel still “dwells alone as a nation among the nations;" nothing but that keeps them from the fate which their conquerors have experienced, of being lost among other nations, and from being altogether "mingled among the heathen and learning their works," Psa. cvi. 35.

The Jews themselves have a proverbial saying, that only "the bran returned to Jerusalem, while the fine flour remained at Babylon." How often is it to be lamented, that those best able to forward the work of the Lord are the least willing to engage in his service! Of the twenty-four courses of the priests, only four returned to Jerusalem. Yet there were many Jews who would use the words of Psalm cxlvii. 1—3:

Praise ye the Lord:

For it is good to sing praises unto our God;
For it is pleasant; and praise is comely.
The Lord doth build up Jerusalem:

He gathereth together the outcasts of Israel.
He healeth the broken in heart,

And bindeth up their wounds.

Among them were some of all ranks, including the chief of the fathers of Judah and Benjamin; but it is evident they were not in possession of much of this world's goods, for about fifty thousand people had only about fourteen hundred horses, mules, and camels, with six thousand seven hundred and twenty asses; and much of the little that they carried from Babylon was the freewill offering of those about them.

The return from captivity was by degrees; there were two principal divisions, but many would also return in small companies. The list of those who formed the first company is given in Ezra ii. It was led by Zerubbabel, the son of Sealthiel, the son of Jeconiah. This prince of the royal blood is called by his Babylonian name, Shashbazzar, in the book of Ezra; but his Jewish name is recorded in Haggai and Zechariah. Cyrus appointed him to be the leader, and restored to him the vessels of precious metals which

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