5 The hvidences of the Í ruth, &c. Vol. Ì flratus fpeaks of a great Earthquake that happened in Crete in the time of filaudius, and in feveral other places, as Smyrna,` Chios, Samos, &c. not long before the Deftruëtion of yerufalem Tacites (peaks of one_in A/ a t the fame time. And tho' thefe were a agreater diftance, »in t otI t Signs which our Saviour mentions ; yet the Jews could not but Aar' th m; be- caufe feveral of the Nation were difperfed into fome of thofe places. Thirdly, Fearful Sights and Signs from Heaven. So Sr. Luke Chap, ar: ver. II. There flail be fearful Sights, and g--at Signs from Heaven. fofephus gives us a clear Comment upon this, Bell, fud. Lib. 7. flays he, " This .' . wretched People believed Impoftors and Counterfeits,but thofe great Signe i0 and Prodigies which did forerun their Defolation, they neither minded, " nor believed. A little before their Deftruâion (he tells us) there hung over their City a fiery Sword, which continued for a Year together. A little before their Rebellion againft the Romans, there appeared a Comet, which lhined fo clear in the Temple, and about the Altar, as if it had been day. And the fame day a Heifer that was led to be Sacrificed brought forth a Lamb in the middle of the Temple. TheEaftern Gate of the Temple, which was of maffy Brafs, and very heavy, and could fcarce be !hut by the ftrengrh of twenty Men, and was conftantly made fart with ftrong Locks, and Bars, flew open at midnight; which when it was told to the Meniftrate, and he came to fee it, they could fcaree get ftrength enough to the, One Even= ing, not long before their Defolation, there were fern in the Air Chariots and Armies hovering over the City. At the Feaft of Pentecoft, the Priefts going one night into the Temple, according to their Cuftom, firft heard a smile, and afterward a fudden voice, faying, Let us go hence. And which was very terrible, one 5efus a plain Country Man, four Years before any troubles began, when the City was in a deep peace, came up to Jerufalem; and upon one of their Feflivals, began to cryout with a loud voice, A voice from the Eafi, a voicefrom the Well, a voice from the four winds, a voice again!¢ Jerufalem and the Temple, a voice agairill Bridegrooms and Brides, a voice againfl the People, And thus he went about crying day and night ; and be- ing feized on by the Megiftrates, and punifh'd, and tortur'd, he would not give over, but Hill went crying about, Wo, WO, to Jerufalem ; and thus he continued for SevenYears and Five Months together, and was neither weary nor hoarfe until the City was Befieged, and then he was quiet ; but one time went up upon the Walls, and cryed with a loud voice, Wo, wo to the City, and the Temple, and the People, and added, Wo alfo to my felf; and im- mediately was !truck dead by a ftone out of a Crofs-Bow. Were not thefe fearful Sights, and great Signs from Heaven ? And thefe we have all related by one of the molt prudent Hiftorians, who lived at that very time, and that very place; and he fays, that many were alive when he Wrote, and could atteft all this. Ver. 8. All thefe are the beginnings of Sorrows. The Scripture uCually com- pares the greateft Sufferingsand Affli&ions to the pains of a Woman in travail, to which our Saviour here alludes, and Pays, Thefe were but the firft Pangs, scathing to thofeThrows which Ihould cone at loft. r Thefe are Three of the Signs fore running the Deftruftion o ferufalens, which were Predi&ed by our Saviour. There are yet. Fivemote, which 1 rcfcrve fer my next Difcourfe on this Subjet. ; all bud ay, sa3 ,zaiùn .. a,,, .,.. _ r,.3id bnc rus aril 7:dr gr oqu ,male ,pdiss: !si is o= i , t . or .sorb Iliad ríoàrlw zanime ratan garla aoaarai d aida mot :.4t e,.; , rn uli ;o aelucD' ads zs ,an Alf i .modi eivasheq of nofleaao ;loo] earn, tmal a,.i a lab nr if trw ëirIT ,a,o ,s' ai of uog vsvilt 11ac1` ylC ..1,, 1 hit, g) -i,,e sa eds yd l,anoli gun boy iq c ,;t ea'flogA ,d s fl SERa
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