4

David, who put garrisons throughout all Edom;' thus too was accomplished the remarkable prediction of Balaam. In the reign of Solomon, the Edomites rebelled, but without success ; for, in the reign of Jehoshaphat, Edom was still governed by a Jewish viceroy.3 About 892 B.C. Edom made another effort to regain its independence, and so far succeeded that it was never again entirely subject to its rival; and in the reign of Ahaz it had not only thrown off the yoke, but had assumed the offensive, invading Judah and carrying away captives. From the time of their first inhospitality towards the Israelites until the latter had recovered their independence, the Edomites appear to have exercised towards them the most implacable hostility; and when Israel itself was invaded by the Chaldeans, the Edomites did not scruple to lend their aid to the enemy, and exulted in the destruction of their rival.6

For this malicious spirit Edom was visited with a severe retribution. The prophet Isaiah foretold that it should exchange its human inhabitants for wild beasts, and that weeds should grow in its palaces and fortresses; and several of the

(1) 2 Sam. viii. 14. And he put garrisons in Edom; throughout all Edom put he garrisons, and all they of Edom became David's servants.

(2) Numb. xxiv. 18. And Edom shall be a possession, Seir also shall be a possession for his enemies; and Israel shall do valiantly.

(3) 1 Kings xxii. 47. There was then no king in Edom; a deputy was king. (4) 2 Kings viii. 20-22. In his days Edom revolted from under the hand of Judah, and made a king over themselves. So Joram went over to Zair, and all the chariots with him and he rose by night, and smote the Edomites which compassed him about, and the captains of the chariots: and the people fled into their tents. Yet Edom revolted from under the hand of Judah unto this day.

(5) 2 Chron. xxviii. 17. For again the Edomites had come and smitten Judah, and carried away captives.

(6) Obad. 11, 12. In the day that thou stoodest on the other side, in the day that the strangers carried away captive his forces, and foreigners entered into his gates, and cast lots upon Jerusalem, even thou wast as one of them. But thou shouldest not have looked on the day of thy brother in the day that he became a stranger; neither shouldest thou have rejoiced over the children of Judah in the day of their destruction; neither shouldest thou have spoken proudly in the day of distress,

(7) Isa. xxxiv. 5, 11-15. For my sword shall be bathed in heaven: behold, it shall come down upon Idumea, and upon the people of my curse, to judgment But the cormorant and the bittern shall possess it; the owl also and the raven shall dwell in it: and he shall stretch out upon it the line of confusion, and the stones of emptiness. They shall call the nobles thereof to the kingdom, but none shall be there, and all her princes shall be nothing. And thorns shall come up in

other prophets denounced on it the most terrific visitations of Divine justice, which have been most wonderfully fulfilled.' Petra, in particular, which from its solid structure might seem almost to defy decay, was doomed to undergo the most miserable reverse. After the subversion of Judea, the Edomites obtained possession of the south of Palestine, but their own country was invaded by the Nabatheans (the descendants of the eldest son of Ishmael2) who expelled the inhabitants, and having taken, among other towns, Petra, settled in the district called from that city Arabia Petræa. The invaders remained for a long while a powerful nation, and, when Jerusalem was besieged by Titus, were called in to the defence of the temple; but they gave themselves up to the pillage and murder of the more opulent of the citizens, and retired before the siege had actually commenced.

After this event no mention of the Idumeans as a nation occurs in history. The ruins of Petra were first made known to Europe by Burckhardt in 1812; a deep valley, called Wady Mousa, extends from east to west, and is watered by a small stream which was anciently confined to its bed by masonry. The first intimation that the traveller is near the site of a great city is afforded by a countless multitude of tombs ornamented with columns and other carvings, but all cut out of the solid rock. The valley soon contracts into a narrow ravine formed by precipitous cliffs, where the screaming of birds of prey, which are very numerous, is almost appalling, and the luxuriant weeds render the road almost impassable.3 Across the entrance of this ravine stretches a bridge of one arch, and about two miles further on is a temple richly carved and in a wonderful state of preservation. Beyond the temple

her palaces, nettles and brambles in the fortresses thereof: and it shall be an habitation of dragons, and a court for owls. The wild beasts of the desert shall also meet with the wild beasts of the island, and the satyr shall cry to his fellow; the screech owl also shall rest there, and find for herself a place of rest. There shall the great owl make her nest, and lay, and hatch, and gather under her shadow : there shall the vultures also be gathered, every one with her mate.

(1) Jer. xlix. 17. Also Edom shall be a desolation: every one that goeth by it shall be astonished, and shall hiss at all the plagues thereof.- -Obadiah.

(2) Gen. xxv. 13. The firstborn of Ishmael, Nebajoth.

(3) Isa. xxxiv. 11, 13. The cormorant and the bittern shall possess it: the owl also and the raven shall dwell in it. . . . . . And thorns shall come up in her palaces, nettles and brambles in the fortresses thereof.

the valley again contracts into a pass like the first, which leads to a theatre capable of containing 3,000 spectators. The ruins of the city here burst on the view in their full grandeur, shut in on the opposite side by barren craggy precipices, from which numerous ravines branch out in all directions. The sides of the mountains, covered with an endless variety of tombs and private dwellings, present the most astonishing scene that a traveller can behold,' while the believer in Divine Revelation discovers, in the desolation and perpetual ruin around him, evidence of the truth of Prophecy not less convincing than that afforded by the most stupendous miracle.

PHILADELPHIA, one of the seven churches of Asia, is situated about twenty or thirty miles south-east of Sardis, at the foot of Mount Tmolus. This city was built by Attalus Philadelphus, king of Pergamos, and from him it received its name. It was formerly the second city of Lydia, and when Christianity extended, the inhabitants early embraced the Gospel, and it became one of the churches favourably distinguished by the apostle among the seven. He praises it as that which kept the word of God and denied not His name. An impression rested on the minds of the people, (derived perhaps from a peculiar interpretation of the prophecy pronounced by the apostle,) that their city never had been and never would be

(1) Rev. iii. 8--10. I know thy works: behold, I have set before thee an open door, and no man can shut it: for thou hast a little strength, and hast kept my word, and hast not denied my name. Behold, I will make them of the synagogue of Satan, which say they are Jews, and are not, but do lie; behold, I will make

taken. When, therefore, the Mahometans inflicted ruin and desolation on other Christian communities, the inhabitants of Philadelphia regarded them with contempt. Trusting in the strength of their fortifications, they held out against the Turks longer than any other city of Asia Minor, Philadelphia not being taken until 1390.

In the following passage, Gibbon affords remarkable evidence of the fulfilment of the prophecy respecting Philadelphia, "I will keep thee from the hour of temptation.' "At a distance from the sea, forgotten by the emperor, encompassed on all sides by the Turks, her valiant citizens defended their religion and freedom above fourscore years; and at length capitulated with the proudest of the Ottomans, in 1390. Among the Greek colonies and churches of Asia, Philadelphia is still erect, a column in a scene of ruins.”

The modern name of Philadelphia is Ala-Shaehr, "the high town." It was formerly a city of great strength, having had three walls towards the plain, the innermost of which is yet standing, though, from being in many places broken down and decayed, it no longer serves as a protection. The approach to the city is extremely beautiful; but the passage through the streets is most unpleasant, owing to their filthy condition. The city was anciently built on the sides of several hills; and the ruins which are yet in existence consist for the most part of unhewn stone, massed and cemented together with fragments of old buildings. Many of them are of immense size, and among them are not a few which are said to be the remains of Christian churches. One in particular is pointed out as the Church of the Revelations, and is said to have been dedicated to St. John. All that now exists of this structure is a high stone wall, having the remains of a brick arch at the top, and some pillars, on the sides of which are inscriptions, together with some architectural ornaments and figures of saints. This is undoubtedly a fabric of ancient date, and was probably the earliest Christian church in Philadelphia; but it seems to have been far too splendid to be the work of the despised and desti

them to come and worship before thy feet, and to know that I have loved thee. Because thou hast kept the word of my patience, I also will keep thee from the hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth.