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SMERDIS THE MAGIAN.

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ped by the Egyptians, insulting the priests of this false divinity. This animal god is thought to be alluded to in Jeremiah, xlvi. 15, which the Greek version renders, Why did Apis flee from thee? Thy chosen bull, why did not he stand? Because the Lord made him weak, and thy multitude was weak and fell." Cambyses ordered many Persians to be put to death without cause; among whom was his brother Smerdis. He took two of his sisters to be his wives, one of whom he killed, and he committed a variety of other cruel and extravagant actions.

In Persia, one of the Magi personated the murdered Smerdis, and assumed the sovereignty. Cambyses hastened homewards to crush the pretender, but while on his march, was mortally wounded by his scymitar in mounting his horse, and died at Ecbatana, a small town in Syria, not the capital of Media.

The usurper did not reign more than about half a year. He was slain by seven conspirators of noble rank, one of whom, Darius Hystaspes, succeeded to the empire by agreement with his confederates, who became chief princes of the empire. Soon after his accession the Babylonians revolted; but the city was captured, after being besieged for a year and a half, when it was taken by a stratagem. Zopyrus, having pretended to join the Babylonians in revenge against Darius, betrayed the city to his master. The proud city of Babylon suffered much at this period; in consequence of its revolt, the walls were considerably lowered. Previous to this siege the Jews had been warned to flee from Babylon, Zech. ii. 6—7 :

Flee from the land of the north, saith the Lord:
For I have spread you abroad

As the four winds of the heaven, saith the Lord.
Deliver thyself, O Zion,

That dwellest with the daughter of Babylon.

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DARIUS HYSTASPES.

CHAPTER XIV.

THE BUILDING OF THE TEMPLE RESUMED THE PROPHECIES OF HAGGAI-THE EARLY PROPHECIES

OF ZECHARIAH.

In the second year of Darius Hystaspes the work of building the temple at Jerusalem was resumed. This great work had been at a stand for more than ten years, the people having sunk into a state of apathy, so as to neglect the rebuilding of the temple, though they improved their own habitations, and now dwelt in " ceiled houses," buildings more elegantly finished, and more completely fitted than those constructed on their first arrival. But the Lord will not allow his people to remain careless, when it is time for them to be up, and to be doing. They rebuilt on the site the city had formerly occupied, which is still partly covered by modern Jerusalem, the mosque of Omar being on the spot where the temple stood.

It is recorded that the Jews were aroused in the first instance by a dispensation of Providence. The harvest and vintage failed. Prophets were raised up to declare the will of the Lord. This was B.C. 520. Haggai then called upon them, ch. i. 5—8:

Consider your ways,

Ye have sown much-and bring in little;
Ye eat-but ye have not enough;

Ye drink-but ye are not filled with drink;

Ye clothe you-but there is none warm;

And he that earneth wages-earneth wages to put it into

a bag with holes.

Thus saith the Lord of hosts;

Consider your ways.

Go up to the mountain, and bring wood,

And build the house; and I will take pleasure in it,

And I will be glorified, saith the Lord.

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HAGGAI-THE BUILDING OF

The cause of their present affliction was stated.

Because of mine house that is waste,

And ye run every man unto his own house.

This was the first outpouring of the prophetic spirit in Jerusalem, since the return from captivity. As such it excited instant attention. Zerubbabel the prince, and Joshua the high priest, arose with the people, and the work again went forward. To encourage them, a remarkable prophecy was sent by Haggai, which reconciled them to proceed with the work, in the use of such means as the Lord saw fit to place at their disposal. It is thus paraphrased by a poet,

Whose is the gold that glitters in the mine?

And whose the silver? Are they not the Lord's ?
And lo! the cattle on a thousand hills,

And the broad earth with all her gushing springs,
Are they not His who made them?

O man! whose wrinkling labour is for heirs
Thou knowest not who, thou in thy mouldering bed
Umnourned, unchronicled of them shalt sleep;
Nor will they thank thee that thou didst bereave
Thy soul of good for them. Now thou mayest give
The famished, food; the prisoner, liberty;
Light to the darkened mind; to the lost soul,
A place in heaven. Take thou the privilege
With solemn gratitude. Speak as thou art
Upon earth's surface, gloriously exult

To be co-worker with the King of heaven.

Not only were the Jews reminded that the silver and the gold were the Lord's, it was promised that the glories of this house, though meanly thought of by them, should be greater than those of Solomon's temple, Haggai ii. 7-9 :

And I will shake all nations,

And the desire of all nations shall come:

And I will fill this house with glory, saith the Lord of hosts. The silver is mine, and the gold is mine,

Saith the Lord of hosts.

The glory of this latter house shall be greater than of the former,

Saith the Lord of hosts:

THE TEMPLE RESUMED.

And in this place will I give peace,

Saith the Lord of hosts.

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There can be no doubt of the direct reference here made to the Lord Jesus Christ, as the Desire of all nations, evidently in connexion with the promise to Abraham-that in his seed all nations should be blessed, Gen. xxii. 18.

The Jews enumerated five things in which this second temple was inferior to the first. The Shechinah, the ark of the covenant, Urim and Thummin, fire that came from heaven, and the Spirit of prophecy. These were glorious marks of the Divine favour; but they were all more than supplied by the presence of Him, in whom was the substance of all the excellences, of which these things had been but the types and shadows.

Haggai was not called to prophesy alone at this important juncture; Zechariah was raised up to speak still more fully of coming events. He began by an earnest exhortation to repentance, with a solemn reference to past times, Zech. i. 5, 6;

Your fathers, where are they?

And the prophets, do they live for ever?
But my words and my statutes,

Which I commanded my servants the prophets,

Did they not take hold of your fathers ?

And they returned and said,

Like as the Lord of hosts thought to do unto us,
According to our ways, and according to our doings,
So hath he dealt with us.

This presents a subject for serious inquiry; Where are OUR fathers? where are the prophets that preached to them? We inhabit the same country, perhaps the same towns, even the same houses; we pass along the same streets, trade in the same marts, till the same fields, worship beneath the same roofs; our life is spent on the same spots, and similar to theirs, excepting in some mere changes of outward circumstances. But WHERE ARE THEY? When they died, there was not