whole scene, and a spectator of all its horrors,

and its crimes.

"He that dasheth in pieces is come up ;-keep the munition, watch the way, make thy loins strong, fortify, thy power mightily!

. « The chariots shall rage in the streets; they shall jostle one against another in the broad way; they shall seem like torches; they shall run like lightning!

"The noise of a whip, and the noise of the rattling wheels, and of the prancing horses, and of the jumping chariots!

"The horseman lifteth up both the bright sword, and the glittering spear; and there is a multitude of slain, and a great number of carcases; and there is none end of their corpses, and they stimble upon their corpses 100

"Draw thee waters for the siege, fortify the strong holds; go into the clay, and tread the

mortar !

"Take ye the spoil of silver, take ye the spoil of gold; for there is none end of the store, and glory out of all the pleasant furniture !

"And Huzzab shall be led away captive, and

shall be brought up, and her maids shall lead her as with the voice of doves, tabering upon their breasts!

"She is empty, and void, and waste; and the heart melteth, and the knees smite together. And all they that look upon thee, shall flee from thee, and shall say Nineveh is laid waste, who will bemoan her?

"There is no healing of thy bruise, thy wound is incurable, all that hear the bruit of thee, shall clap the hands over thee, for upon whom hath not thy wickedness passed continually ?”

Thus, though the Lord ordained the Assyrians "for judgment," and the "mighty God established them for correction," he approved not of their wrath, neither of their cruelty to Israel. and Judah, but only permitted it for a time, for the chastisement and discipline of his people.

The two armies of the confederate princes `enriched themselves with the spoil of the once magnificent Nineveh; and Cyaxares prosecuting his victories, made himself master of all the cities of Assyria, excepting Babylon and Chaldea, I

which went to Nabopolassar as his portion of the

conquest.

Nineveh was left, according to her doom, in utter desolation; as it is written, "I will destroy Assyria, and make Nineveh a desolation, and dry like a wilderness. And flocks shall lie down in the midst of her, all the beasts of the nations; both the cormorant and the bittern shall lodge in the upper lintels of it-their voice shall sing in the windows desolation shall be in the thresholds for he shall uncover the cedar work." "The former elegance and luxury of her palaces, is here beautifully alluded to even in their destruction."* "This is the rejoicing city which dwelt carelessly that said in her heart I am, and there is none beside ;-how is she became a desolation a place for beasts to lie down in! -every one that passeth by her shall hiss and his head."

wag

These prophecies which were delivered in the reign of Sennacherib, have been fulfilled in all their depth of desolation, probably three thousand

• Scott.

years ago: for even in the second century of the Christian era, not a single vestige remained to ascertain the spot which this unrivalled city once occupied; and its actual situation has long been a subject of doubt and uncertainty.

The cruel oppression and tyranny of her princes to the captive children of Israel and Judah, and the idolatry, luxury, intemperance, and licentiousness of her inhabitants, were the fatal causes of her ruin; and so far as such crimes and vices prevail either among nations or individuals, so certain will be their destruction, if not in this world, in that which is to come. As virtue is not only the chief good, but the chief security for happiness, so this can be built only upon the foundation of divine truth, and spring from principles of religious faith and holy obedience to the precepts of Christ. Let us, therefore, covet these best gifts, and put our trust in Jehovah, who, whatever he may allot to the wicked, will be the portion and refuge of his own people both in time, and in eternity.

CHAPTER IV.

"Had they maintained allegiance firm and sure,
"And kept the faith immaculate and pure,

"The twelve bright standards of the tribes unfurled,
Had bid defiance to the warring world."

THE splendid successes of Nabopolassar, in conjunction with his allies the Medes, rendered him so formidable in the eyes of the eastern world, that Necho, king of Egypt, thought it necessary to devise means to circumscribe a power which seemed to aim at universal empire.

Accordingly, he marched with a great army towards the Euphrates, and as, in his progress he passed through the dominions of Judah, Josiah the king, attempted, probably as a vassal of the Assyrian monarch, to impede his march, and