OCR Text |
Show aa iain Daas Nite: i A dt (i sieeteceeeetecsinn 55% 5 x matinee Lhefecond Booke of thefir{}: part * anio cis os Cuarrd8.y.6, Cuar.28.§.6. being withall affifted bya {trong Fleet, -was yet feauen moneths ere hecould make way into the City. Wherefore,if the taging of the Seawas able to cat ry awaythat where. sppoinement;inade bonds andyokes,one of which he wore about his. own neck,others setaliesrhiefiue Kihgs,of Siomiaali Ammon, Tyreand Zidon, by shofe Meflengers with Alexander laboured to couera thelue; with much moreviolence could it overturn which cameto vilit Zedechizsimaking themknow,that if hey 8 the'Kings ofjdaabode -inthe obedience of Babylow,chey fhould then poffelfeandenioy theitown Counttiessif and as it were confime, the worke of Naé uchodonofor , who laid his foundations ja the bottome of the deep; ftriuing as it were,tofill the emptybellyof this Cormorant,wher- not,they (hould affaredly perifh by thefivord, byfireyand by peftilence. Ace He alfo fore-roldthemthatthofe Veffels, which asiyet-remainedin Lerufalem; {ould as the Macedonian did onlyftop the throatof it. Euery man knowes, Godcouldh ane furthered the accomplifhment of his ownethreats,againft this place (though it had not pleafed himto vie,either miracle,or fiach ofhis more immediate weapons,as are Earth. quakes,and the like)by making at leaft the Seas calme,& adding the fauourable concur. rence of all fecond helps. But {oit pleafeth himof centimes, in chaftifing thepride of» Exek29. lofeph.Antiq. Ludhte.c.7- man,to vie the hand of man;euen the hand of man ft1 ining,as mayfeem, againftall ref. {tance of nature and fortune.So inthis exceffiue labour of the Chaldxans > Emery head was made bald,and enery(boulder was made bare, Yet Nabuchodonofor would not giue ouet till he was mafter of the Towne. Whenhe wasentred vponthis defperate feruice; whetherit werefo,that fome loffes receiued,fomemutiny in his Army,or (whichis moft likely; andfo Lofephus reports it) fome glorious rumours of the Egyptians,gaue courage tohis euill willers « seAviatim nounced his fubiection,& beganto hopeforthe contraryof that which quicklyfel teout. Bor Nabuchodonofer gaue him noleifare todoe much hurt : but wick part of his Army marcheddireétly into ludzea;where theamazed king made folittle refit tance(the tians hauingleft him,asit were in a dream)that he entred lerufalem, & layed Egyp-.9 handson Jehoizkim : whomhefirft bound & determined to {endto Babylon, but changing counfell, he caufed him to be flaine in the place, and gaue himthe Sepulchreofan Affe,to be deuouredby beafts and rauenous birds,according to the former Prophecies: leaving in his place, Jehoiakém or Lechonizs his fonne ; Whom, afterthreemoneths andtendaie s, Nabuchodoxofor remoued,and fent prifonerto Babylon, with Ezekiel,M ardochaeusand Io» fedechthe high Prieft. The mother of /echonias » together with his feruants; Eunuchs, and all the ableft men, and beft Artificers of the Land 3 Werealfothen carryed away Captiues. This lechonizs, following the counfell of Jere ay the Prophet, made‘no tefiftance, butfubmitted himfelfe to the Kings will : wherein he both pleafed God, and xg did that which wasbeft for himfelfe thous le prefentit might feeme otherwile, to fuchas confidered the cuill chat befell him,rather than the greater euill that hethereby auoided. This onely particular act of is recorded ; which was good. Butit feems thar he was partaker, at leaft of his Fathers faults; if not an inftigator : which was the caufe, that his fubmitting himfelfe to Gods pleafure did not preferue his Eftate : forfo we reade in generallwords,: hat he dtdenill in the fight of the Lord, according to all that hi Father bad done, In his ftead Nabuchedonefar cftablithed Mathania his Vnclein thekingdomeof luda, & called him Zedechias,which is as much to fay,as the suftice of Ged. For 49 likeas Necoking of Egypt, had formerly difplaced leboabaz, after his Father Jofies was flainejand fetvp ehorakém,the fonofanother mother; fo Wabuchodonofar flew Jebaiakim, whodepended onthe Egyptians,and carrying his fon Jechonizs Prifonerto Babel,gauc the Kingdome to this Zedechizs, that was whole Brother tothat lehoahaz, whom Neo tooke with him into himfirft to read it to the Captive Tewes, and Babin aud calt it into Euphrates, pronouncin g thefe words: ae MigstZedan: tf aan oe i :ue Ffrom the exill that'I will bring upon her. Th area wy onic preter a oe : pe he vy thought to haue beene in way of vi eter ie ie ihe ein oe pee t uinke, hathe had fome {uite thereto make,W" re allthe bordering Princes fentMett e aaitrns ee quict cougtes 6 S cubcontented i Sno ate ¢ engers to him, inciting him(as it {eeimes) it e : Gi aef Hies,tromwhichsercmy dehorted both himand them, ‘The Prophet,by © appoint app? inthefecond Moneth. Afterthis, when Zedechias had wauered long enough between Faith and Paffion 5 im the eighth yearof-his Reigne he practifed more ferioufly againft Nabuchodonofor, with his Neighbours the Edemites, Ammonites, Moabites,T,qiaEs, and others that vere promifedngreat aides of the: Egyptians : in confidence of W hofe refiz ftance, hedeterminedofhake ofthe Babylowian yoke: Heteofwhen Nabuchodondfor had 2° knowledge; he marched withhis Armyin the dead of Winter, toward deri alem, and belieged it,Jeremy perlwaded Zedechias to render theCityand himfelfe: buteae con fident of ithehelp¢ from!zeypt, and being pérfvadedby his Counfellors,an fale ro- plits, that it wasivnpoflible that the Kingdome of luda fhouldbe ernie Vres the ; comming ofsilo.(according tothe prophecyof /acab, he defpifedthe ot 5,08 Leremy, Gen.4g.10, and imprifoned him. For Zeremyhadtold the King thatthe Gityfhould be taken' and ter,s..0- 34: burnt; that the King fhould notefcape, butbe taken Prifoner,:and brought to the pre fenceof Nabuchedonofor sthathe thould not perifh bythe fword, but being carryed to Zabel, die his naturall deatli. lerufalem, being the following -yeare furrourided by Nabuchadonofors Ariy <the 3°King of Egypt, PharaoHophra, accordiiig to Ieremp( Herodoths calleth him, 4pries-en- re tedtheborderiof Zade;withhis Army, to fuccour Zedechias, ofwhofe revolt hehad beeriethe principall Author. But Zeremy gaue the YeiwesFaithfull counfell, willing them Rottohaieany trutt inthe firccours of Evypt :forhe:affured them, thatthey thould re tummeagainie,and in nofortrelicue thems:Andit -fellout accordingly. For. when;the Chaldeans remoued from férufalemsto encounter the Egyptians, thefe vaunting, Patrons abatidoned their enterprifey and taking\Gaz«in their, way. homeward, returned into E&7pt,asifthey had already:done enough3Jeauing the poore people of Ierufalemtotheir deftined miferies. ( i fr _Tathemeane whilethe Jews, who} in theirfirft extremity,had manumifed their .He- ut, az Army, repent them of their Charity : and thinking all had beeneat an end held counfelled ‘Zedechiasto verider hiwifelfé vnto them ;affuring him ofhis owne life, and 1er39! Tn thefirft yeareofZedechias, Ieremy {aw and expoundedthe Vifionoftheripeand abyion,whic book or {crole-he gaue to Sheraia, when he went with the king Zeaenes ofthe Temple,and give an tnd to all thefé troubles. But Jerémyin ftead of his ingedden Yoke wore a Coller ofyron: and infigne that ~4maniahad giuetva'deceitfull and falfe lopeto thepedplestic fore-told chedeath of this cold Prophetswhich feized vpon him them perforce to their former flauery:: Burthe Chaldéesbeing returned to thefiege,the rer.345 Prophet Jeremy 3 When ‘the State of Jernfalem began now to grow to extremity; he Would remaine affured to the kings of Chaldza, 8 Babylon,to vifit Natuchodonofarwilling 49 manner, after twvoryeares; God would breake the ftrength of Babel, atid tne yoke which he layed on all Nations : reftore Techonias, andall the Zewess withthe Veffels and riches by thebetter to encouragerhemto fight; did now vponthe breaking vp of the cha/de:, Egypt.FromZedechias he required anoathfor' B a pe saragl stance > deremny wrote ina bookeall the euill that fhould fall vpon | alfo rrauailéafterthe reftyandat lengththey fhould beteftoredagaine. 1 Thefame yeare Avania,che fale Prophet,tookeoff the woodden Chaine,which seremy wore, mfigne ofthe Captiuity of thedewes, and brake in Maimeing > that,im like 49 rem Bond-men (as Gods Law requited'atthe yeareof /wbile) and made them noeae pay his faithfull obedience,which Zedechias gaue him,and called the liuing God to witneffe in the fame, that rotten Grapes, the one fignitying thofe Iudxans that were carried away captiue, the other thofe that ftayed,and were deftroyed. 553 ofthe Hiftorie ofthe World. the fafery ofthe Citys if he would fodoe:: But his obftinate heart conducted him to that wretched endwhichhis hegleé&r of God, and his infidelity and periuryshad proui5° ded for him; ‘ Three andtwenty Moneths(as fonie doe reckon it) or according to Jofephus eighteens toy. 353 so the Babylonian Army lay before Jer#falem,and heldit exceeding ftraightly befieged.For they bult Forts againft it vound about, ox (as P. Martyr hath it) extraxerunt contra cams tur. xingt 15.1; 7m ligneam per circuiiem : Theyfarroinded the City with woodden Towers , {oas the be- fieged could neither fally out, nor receive into theiCity any fupply of men orvitals. Jofephes reports ; that they ouer-topped the! Walls , with high Towres raifed Lofep mtuy ¥pon Mounts; frony which they did fobeat vpon the-Walk with their Engines, that 4ib,ro.cap.rry | the defendants wete compelled to forfake their ftations. Now. although it-were fo, that the befiegedalfo raifed Coimnter-buildings, likewnto thefe, yerthe great King of Babel, who commandedall the Regions there-abonts; and had the Woods and Bauer Hhh tor |