fortresses; and, defeating the Syrians in five pitched battles, drove them entirely out of the country. He purified the temple and restored the worship of Jehovah, after it had ceased for three years and a half. As the Syrians still held the fort which they had built, to overlook the temple, Judas fortified the mountain on which it stood, and surrounded it with a high wall and strong towers.

Antiochus, on his return from an unsuccessful expedition into Persia, hearing this, which he so little expected, was thrown into such a rage that he vowed to exterminate the Jews. Having commanded his charioteer to drive furiously, he was at first seized with a dreadful disorder in his bowels, and then thrown out and bruised. At last, unable to bear the motion even of a litter, he was compelled to stop, on the borders of Persia and Babylonia, where he expired, in great torments.

The war was still carried on between the Syrians and Jews; but Judas obtained an advantageous peace. The Syrians, having broken it, were defeated in five engagements, but, in the sixth, Judas was defeated and slain. His brother Jonathan, however, deprived the enemies of their triumph, and conducted the war with as much prudence and valour as his predecessor had displayed, till the treachery of Tryphon, a Syrian usurper, destroyed this second

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patrotic hero. Simon, another brother, now interposed for his country's rescue. He repaired all the fortresses; took Joppa and Gaza; and even drove the Syrians out of their fortress at Jerusalem. But he was, by his son-in-law, treacherously murdered.

He was succeeded by his son, Hyrcan, who added to the conquest of the remainder of Judea, and all Galilee, that of Samaria, of which he destroyed the capital. He took, in addition to the mitre of highpriest, the royal crown, and the author of the fourth book of Maccabees says he was not only priest and king, but prophet also. The Jews were now raised to higher prosperity than they had enjoyed since the captivity. The latter days of Hyrcan were embittered by the opposition of the Pharisees, a sect of zealots, who began to be of great importance. He was succeeded by Aristobulus, his eldest son, who conquered Iturea, and was, in his turn, followed by Alexander Jannæus, who conquered every thing but the superstitious enmity of the Pharisees, whom he crushed with great violence.

Though he left behind him two sons, Hyrcan and Aristobulus, he bequeathed the government to his widow, Alexandra, whom he advised to court the Pharisees. These, being in power, cruelly persecuted the Sadducees, who adhered to the letter of Scripture, in opposition to the traditions of the

elders. At her death, Alexandra left the crown to her eldest son, Hyrcan, who was the high-priest. A contest between him and his younger brother destroyed the liberties of their country. Antipater, a native of Idumæa, or Edom, which the Maccabees had compelled to adopt the Jewish religion, carried off Hyrcan into Arabia, under pretence of securing him from violence. Aretas, King of Arabia, brought back the deposed prince, but Aristobulus, while besieged in Jerusalem, applied to the Roman generals, who were at that time in the neighbourhood, for assistance. Both brothers then sent presents to Pompey, who was commander-in-chief of all the Roman forces in the East.

Pompey, under pretence of friendship to one of the parties, entered Judea and besieged Jerusalem, which he took, in the year 63 before Christ. The conqueror profaned the temple by entering into it, where he was astonished to find no image of a god. The Romans were, from this time, masters of Judea, as we find them, at the commencement of the New Testament. Crassus, their general, who was notorious for his thirst of gold, plundered the temple of money and sacred vessels, to the value of ten thousand Attic talents, or two millions sterling. He soon after perished in Parthia, in such a manner as naturally led the Jews to say that it was

a judgment from God, for the insult offered to his temple.

In the war between Julius Cæsar and Pompey, the Jews favoured the victorious Cæsar, who rewarded them so liberally that they scarcely felt the Roman yoke. But, on his death, Mark Antony quelled the disorders that arose among them, by seizing Jerusalem, in the year 37 before our Saviour was born. Herod, the son of Antipater, the Idumæan, having obtained the crown for himself, while pretending to plead with the Romans for one of the descendants of the Maccabees, put an end to that dynasty, and reigned without a rival.

He proved a splendid tyrant. To such an extent he adorned Jerusalem, and rebuilt the temple, that he is said to have surpassed Solomon. Herod restored Samaria, which the Maccabees had demolished. The horrid murders he committed on his own subjects, and even on the nearest of his relatives, make it manifest that he would not have scrupled to destroy the babes of Bethlehem, in hope of cutting off Jesus, who was born towards the close of this reign.

The history of the Jews now ceases to be that of the church of God. That portion of the history which elapsed from the close of the Old Testament to the beginning of the New, is so important that it

should be carefully studied: and it is so often the object of the prophecies that these cannot be understood by persons who are ignorant of this history. The first book of Maccabees, which ought to be torn out of the volume of inspired Scripture, should yet be carefully read, as a true and valuable record of the most interesting events. Josephus should, on this part of his history, be studied for the sake of these facts of which he is the chief witness.

BOOK II.

THE HISTORY OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH.

THE church under the New Testament, or from the birth of Christ to the present time, now claims our attention.

The importance of an historical knowledge of the Christian religion is demonstrated by the fact, that the Spirit of God inspired holy men to give us five books of narrative at the commencement of the New Testament.

CHAP. I. THE PERIOD WHICH ELAPSED FROM THE

BIRTH OF CHRIST TO THE REIGN OF CONSTANTINE.

SECT. 1.-The Apostolic Age.

Here, again, we may pass rapidly over that part