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Seleucus, became the residence of his descendants'.

This sketch of the astonishing achievements of Alexander, is necessary to demonstrate the fulfilment of the Scriptures. Isaiah plainly pointed him out 300 years before his birth, under the character of " a great one," that should deliver the Egyptians from their oppressors.

We see in this chapter, that the destruction of Tyre, and the subversion of the Persian empire, were accomplished by Alexander, as they had been clearly foretold by the prophets of the Most High. Those parts of the sacred writings which refer to the former of these calamities, described, as we have pointed out, so accurately its attendant circumstances;-the pride and pomp of that island city, which claimed the sovereignty of the sea;-her presumptuous security on account of the strength of her ramparts; the multitude of her ships, and the abundance of her wealth;-the quarter from which her desolation should proceed, and the manner in which it should be effected;-the extent of that desolation, and the miseries that should follow-these, and many other circumstances connected with that event, are so accurate a fulfilment of the predictions of the Jewish prophets, that their writings seem to contain a X

VOL. II.

history rather than a prophecy of that memora

ble event.

The prince of Macedon, however, knew not, while engaged in this arduous enterprize, and seeking only to gratify his ambition and revenge, that he was fulfilling ancient prophecies, and accomplishing Divine judgments; that he was doing" what the hand and counsel of Jehovah had determined before to be done."

By the extension of Grecian power, way was made for the entrance and rapid diffusion of the Gospel throughout the cities and provinces, not only of European, but of Asiatic Greece. Thus while men pursue their private views, their schemes prove subordinate to his purpose, who sitteth upon the circle of the earth, and the inhabitants thereof are as grasshoppers."

The prophet Daniel's account of his vision, is: "While I was considering behold a he goat came from the west, on the face of the whole earth, and touched not the ground. The goat had a notable horn between his eyes, and he came to the ram that had two horns, and ran unto him in the fury of his power. And I saw him come close to the ram, and he was moved with choler against him, and smote the ram, and brake his two horns, and there was no power in the ram to stand before him; but he cast him to

the ground, and stamped upon him, and there was none that could deliver the ram out of his hand. Therefore the he goat waxed very great, and when he was strong, the great horn was broken; and for it came up four notable ones, towards the four winds of heaven."

We see in Archæalogia or Miscellaneous Tracts, relating to antiquity, vol. xiv. page 14, that in former times, Macedon and the adjacent countries abounded with goats, insomuch that they were made symbols, and are to be found upon many of the coins that were struck by the towns. In these parts of Greece, not only many of the towns in Macedon and Thrace employed the type, but the kingdom of Macedon itself, was represented also by a goat, with this peculiarity, that it had but one horn. The custom of representing the type and power of a country, under the form of a horned animal, is not peculiar to Macedon; Persia was represented by a ram.

Ammianius Marcellinus, informs us, lib. xix. cap. 1. That the king of Persia, when at the head of his army, wore a ram's head, made of gold and set with precious stones, instead of a diadem.

The vision of Daniel derives no inconsiderable illustration, as well as confirmation, from the account of these emblems in Macedon and Persia.

The angel Gabriel plainly informed Daniel: "The ram which thou sawest having two horns are the kings of Media and Persia; and the rough goat is the king of Grecia; and the great horn between his eyes is the first king. Now that being broken, whereas four stood up for it, four kingdoms shall stand up out of the nation, but not in his power."-Here is a prophecy so literally fufilled, that I do not see what the most obstinate incredulity can object to it. Alexander, by subduing all the Grecian states, became the first king of Grecia ; the extent of his conquests, and the rapidity of his success, are beautifully described by the goat coming on the face of the whole earth, and touching not the ground. The division of his empire among his officers, is exactly represented by four kingdoms standing up out of the nation, but not in his power.

'Each of the generals of Alexander obtained an extensive and powerful empire, but it neither contributed to the happiness of their lives, nor of the countries they possessed. Instead of this, they became a scene of horror and devastations; their new masters, not content with extirpating the families of Philip and Alexander, sought and effected each other's destruction by all the arts of dissimulation, fraud, and treachę

ry. Their sanguinary conflicts brought their own heads to the grave with blood, bequeathed to posterity unceasing hostilities, retaliations, and oppressions. Alas! what are the most extensive conquests! what the most splendid victories, but an occasion of exciting and calling into action, the most malignant of all the propensities which the human heart can possibly indulge.

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The kingdoms into which the empire of Alexander was divided, were attended with such a series of disastrous events, as signally contributed to their falling under the dominion of the Romans, to the further fulfilment of scriptural predictions. "All these historical facts," says Morell, are depicted in a series of exquisitely beautiful images, and in language the most energetic and sublime, by the prophet Daniel. How grateful is it to the truly pious mind, thus to be permitted, sometimes by the light of prophecy, to view the interior of the complicated machine of Providence!-to see how all the wheels of this mighty engine tend to the accomplishment of one grand design-and above all, to observe with what ease the greatest, as well as the minutest, parts of this vast machinery are regulated, and moved by an invincible, but Omnipotent hand."

We shall here introduce an observation of

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