A history of the work of redemption. Containing the outlines of a body of…

The return out of captivity was a remarkable dispensation of Providence. It was remarkable, that the heart of a Heathen prince, as Cyrus was, should be so inclined to favour such a design as he did, not only in giving the people liberty to return, and rebuild the city and temple, but in giving charge that they should be helped with silver and gold, and with goods, and with beasts, as we read in Ezra, i.4. And afterwards God wonderfully inclined the heart of Darius to further the building of the house of God with his own tribute money, and by commanding their bitter enemies, the Samaritans, who had been striving to hinder them to help them without fail, by furnishing them with all that they needed in order to it, and to supply them day by day; making a decree, that whosoever failed of it, timber should be pulled down out of his house, and he hanged thereon, and his house made a dunghill; as we have an account in the 6th chapter of Ezra. And after this God inclined the heart of Artaxerxes, another king of Persia, to promote the work of restoring the state of the Jews, by his ample commission to Ezra, which we have an account of in the 7th chapter of Ezra; helping them abundantly with silver and gold of his own bounty, and offering more, as should be needful, out of the King's treasure-house, and commanding his treasurers beyond the river Euphrates to give more, as should be needed, unto an hundred talents of silver, and an hundred measures of wheat, an hundred baths of wine, and an hundred baths of oil, and salt, without prescribing how much; and giving leave to establish magistrates in the land; and freeing the priests of •oll, tribute, and custom, and other things, which render this decree and commission by Artaxerxes the most full and ample in the Jews favour of any that, at any time, had been given for the restoring of Jerusalem: And therefore, in Daniel's prophecy, this is called A decree for restoring and building Jerusalem; and hence the seventy weeks are dated.

The return out of captivity was a remarkable dispensation of Providence. It was remarkable, that the heart of a Heathen prince, as Cyrus was, should be so inclined to favour such a design as he did, not only in giving the people liberty to return, and rebuild the city and temple, but in giving charge that they should be helped with silver and gold, and with goods, and with beasts, as we read in Ezra, i.4