and afterwards Bishop of Bristol. The principle of prophetic evidence has since been elucidated with eminent ability by the late Dr Lyall, Dean of Canterbury, and fresh light has been thrown on the fulfilment of special predictions by the abundant diligence of Dr Keith; but the work of Newton is not superseded. Until its appearance the field was poorly occupied, and in many departments he has left little to be done by his successors.

Dr Newton was born at Lichfield, January 1, 1704; and died at London, February 14, 1782.

Prophecies regarding the Desolation of Judea.

The desolation of Judea is another memorable instance of the truth of prophecy. It was foretold so long ago as by Moses (Lev. xxvi. 33)-"I will scatter you among the heathen, and will draw out a sword after you; and your land shall be desolate, and your cities waste." It was foretold again by Isaiah, the prophet speaking, as prophets often do, of things future as present (chap. i. 7-9)-"Your country is desolate, your cities are burnt with fire; your land, strangers devour it in your presence, and it is desolate, as overthrown by strangers. And the daughter of Zion is left as a cottage in a vineyard, as a lodge in a garden of cucumbers, as a besieged city."

The same thing is expressed or implied in other places; and hath not the state of Judea now for many ages been exactly answerable to this description? That a country should be depopulated and desolated by the incursions and depredations of foreign armies is nothing wonderful; but that it should lie so many ages in this miserable condition is more than man could foresee, and could be revealed only by God. A celebrated French writer, in his History of the Crusades, pretends to exhibit a true picture of Palestine, and he says, that then "it was just what it is at present, the worst of all the

inhabited countries of Asia. It is almost wholly covered with parched rocks, in which there is not one line of soil. If this small territory were cultivated, it might not improperly be compared to Switzerland." But there is no need of citing authorities to prove that the land is forsaken of its inhabitants, is uncultivated, unfruitful, and desolate; for the enemies of our religion make this very thing an objection to the truth of our religion. They say that so barren and wretched a country could never have been a land flowing with milk and honey, nor have supplied and maintained such multitudes as it is represented to have done in Scripture. But they do not see or consider, that hereby the prophecies are fulfilled; so that it is rather an evidence for the truth of our religion, than any argument against it.

The country was formerly a good country, if we may believe the concurrent testimony of those who should best know it, the people who inhabited it. Aristeas, and Josephus too, speak largely in commendation of its fruitfulness; and though something may be allowed to national prejudices, yet they would hardly have had the confidence to assert a thing which all the world could easily contradict and disprove. Nay, there are even heathen authors who bear testimony to the fruitfulness of the land: though we presume, that after the Babylonish captivity it never recovered to be again what it was before. Strabo describes, indeed, the country about Jerusalem as rocky and barren, but he commends other parts, particularly about Jordan and Jericho. Hecatæus, quoted by Josephus, giveth it the character of one of the best and most fertile countries. Tacitus saith, that it raineth seldom, the soil is fruitful, fruits abound as with us, and besides them the balsam and palm-trees. And notwithstanding the long desolation of the land, there are still visible such marks and tokens of fruitfulness, as may convince any man that it once deserved the character which is given of it in Scripture. I

FORMER FERTILITY OF PALESTINE.

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would only refer the reader to two learned and ingenious travellers of our own nation, Mr Maundrell and Dr Shaw; and he will fully be satisfied of the truth of what is here asserted.

The former says, that "all along this day's travel (March 25) from Kane Leban to Beer, and also as far as we could see around, the country discovered a quite different face from what it had before, presenting nothing to the view in most places but naked rocks, mountains, and precipices. At sight of which, pilgrims are apt to be much astonished and baulked in their expectations, finding that country in such an inhospitable condition, concerning whose pleasantness and plenty they had before formed in their minds such high ideas from the description given of it in the Word of God, insomuch that it almost startles their faith when they reflect how it could be possible for a land like this to supply food for so prodigious a number of inhabitants as are said to have been polled in the twelve tribes at one time, the sum given in by Joab (2 Sam. xxiv.) amounting to no less than thirteen hundred thousand fighting men, besides women and children. But it is certain that any man, who is not a little biassed to infidelity before, may see, as he passes along, arguments enough to support his faith against such scruples. For it is obvious for any one to observe, that these rocks and hills must have been anciently covered with earth, and cultivated, and made to contribute to the maintenance of the inhabitants, no less than if the country had been all plain; nay, perhaps much more, forasmuch as such a mountainous and uneven surface affords a larger space of ground for cultivation than this country would amount to, if it were all reduced to a perfect level. For the husbanding of these mountains, their manner was to gather up the stones, and place them in several lines along the sides of the hills in form of a wall. By such borders they supported the mould from tumbling or being washed down, and formed many beds. of excellent soil, rising gradually one above another, from the

bottom to the top of the mountains. Of this form of culture you see evident footsteps wherever you go in all the mountains of Palestine. Thus the very rocks were made fruitful. And perhaps there is no spot of ground in this whole land, that was not formerly improved to the production of something or other ministering to the sustenance of human life. For than the plain countries nothing can be more fruitful, whether for the production of corn or cattle, and consequently of milk. The hills, though improper for all cattle except goats, yet being disposed into such beds as are before described, served very well to bear corn, melons, gourds, cucumbers, and such like garden stuff, which makes the principal food of these countries for several months in the year. The most rocky parts of all, which could not well be adjusted in that manner for the production of corn, might yet serve for the plantation of vines and olive trees, which delight to extract, the one its fatness, the other its sprightly juice, chiefly out of such dry and flinty places. And the great plain joining to the Dead Sea, which, by reason of its saltness, might be thought unserviceable both for cattle, corn, olives, and vines, had yet its proper usefulness for the nourishment of bees, and for the fabric of honey, of which Josephus gives us his testimony, De Bell. Jud. lib. 5, cap. 4. And I have reason to believe it, because when I was there I perceived in many places a smell of honey and wax, as strong as if one had been in an apiary. Why, then, might not this country very well maintain the vast number of its inhabitants, being in every part so productive of either milk, corn, wine, oil, or honey, which are the principal food of these eastern nations-the constitution of their bodies, and the nature of their clime, inclining them to a more abstemious diet than we use in England and other colder regions?"

The other asserts, that "the Holy Land, were it as well peopled and cultivated as in former times, would still be more fruitful than the very best part of the coast of Syria and

SHAW'S TESTIMONY.

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Phoenice. For the soil itself is generally much richer, and, all things considered, yields a more preferable crop. Thus, the cotton that is gathered in the plains of Ramah, Esdraelon, and Zebulun, is in greater esteem than what is cultivated near Sidon and Tripoli; neither is it possible for pulse, wheat, or any sort of grain, to be more excellent than what is commonly sold at Jerusalem. The barrenness, or scarcity rather, which some authors may either ignorantly or maliciously complain of, does not proceed from the incapacity or natural unfruitfulness of the country, but from the want of inhabitants, and the great aversion there is to labour and industry in those few who possess it. There are, besides, such perpetual discords and depredations among the petty princes, who share this fine country, that allowing it was better peopled, yet there would be small encouragement to sow, when it was uncertain who should gather in the harvest. Otherwise, the land is a good land, and still capable of affording its neighbours the like supplies of corn and oil, which it is known to have done in the time of Solomon. The parts, particularly about Jerusalem, being described to be rocky and mountainous, have been therefore supposed to be barren and unfruitful. Yet granting this conclusion, which is far from being just, a kingdom is not to be denominated barren or unfruitful from one part of it only, but from the whole. Nay, further, the blessing that was given to Judah was not of the same kind with the blessing of Asher or of Issachar, that his bread should be fat, or his land should be pleasant, but that his eyes should be red with wine, and his teeth should be white with milk (Gen. xlix. 12). Moses also maketh milk and honey (the chief dainties and subsistence of the earlier ages, as they continue to be of the Bedoween Arabs) to be the glory of all lands: all which productions are either actually enjoyed, or at least might be, by proper care and application. The plenty of wine alone is wanting at present; yet, from the goodness of that little which is still made at