by captivity, and by Spoil many days. (ver. 32,
33.) If it may be faid of Antiochus, that he
corrupted many by flatteries, by rewards and
promises, to forfake the holy covenant, and to
conform to the religion of the Greeks; but the
people who knew their God, the Maccabees and
their affociates, were ftrong, and did exploits :
Yet it cannot fo properly be faid of the Mac-
cabees, or any of the devout Jews of their time,
that they did inftruct many, and make many
profelytes to their religion; neither did the per-
fecution, which Antiochus raifed against the
Jews, continue many days, or years according to
the prophetic ftile, for it lafted only a few years.
All these things are much more truly applica-"
ble to the Chriftian Jews: for now the daily
facrifice was taken away, the temple was given.
to defolation, and the Chriftian church had
fucceeded in the place of the Jewish, the new
covenant in the room of the old. And fuch as
do wickedly against the covenant, fhall he corrupt
by flatteries; He, that is the
power before.de-
fcribed, who took away the daily facrifice, and
placed the abomination of defolation: nor is fuch
a change of number unfrequent in the Hebrew
lan-

(2) Sunt qui putent hic prophetam afpicere ad Chriftianos, quos impii idolatræ conati fue

runt ab initio nafcentis ecclefiæ feducere blanditiis. Potiffimé autem fæviit tyrannorum perse

language. There are fome, faith an (2) old 'commentator, who think that the prophet here had refpect to the Chriftians, whom the wicked idolaters endevored from the beginning ⚫ of the rifing church to feduce by flatteries: but ⚫ the perfecution of tyrants raged chiefly against ⚫ the apostles, and holy teachers.' The Roman magiftrates and officers, it is very well known, made ufe of the most alluring promises, as well as of the most terrible threatnings, to prevail upon the primitive Chriftians to renounce their religion, and offer incenfe to the ftatues of the emperors and images of the gods. Many were induced to comply with the temptation, and apoftatized from the faith, as we learn particularly from the famous (3) epiftle of Pliny to Trajan: but the true Chriftians, the people who knew their God were strong, remained firm to their religion, and gave the most illuftrious proofs of the most heroic patience and fortitude. may too with the stricteft truth and propriety be faid of the primitive Chriftians, that being difperfed every where, and preaching the gofpel in all the parts of the Roman empire, they inftructed many, and gained a great number

It

of profelytes to their religion: yet they fell by. the fword, and by flame, by captivity, and by spoil many days; for they were expofed to the malice and fury of ten general perfecutions, and fuffered all manner of injuries, afflictions, and tortures with little intermiffion for the space of three hundred years.

After these violent perfecutions the church obtained fome reft and relaxation. Now when they fhall fall, they shall be holpen with a little help; but many fhall cleave to them with flatteries. And fome of them of understanding shall fall, to try them, and to purge, and to make them white, even to the time of the end; because it is yet for a time appointed. (ver. 34, 35.) Here Porphyry hath many followers, befides Grotius; and he (4) fuppofeth that by the little help was meant Mattathias of Modin, who rebelled against the generals of Antiochus, and endevored to preferve the worthip of the true God. It is called a little help, faith he, because Mattathias was flain in battle; and afterwards his fon Judas, who was called Maccabæus, fell in fight; and his other brethren were deceived by the fraud of

(4) Parvulum auxilium, Mattathiam fignificari arbitratur Porphyrius de vico Modin; qui adversùm duces Antiochi rebellavit, et cultum veri Dei fer

vare conatus eft. Parvum autem, inquit, auxilium vocat, quia occifus eft in prælio Mattathias; et poftea Judas filius ejus, qui vocabatur Maccabæus, pugnans

cecidit ;

of their adverfaries. But this is not an exact or just representation of the cafe. Mattathias (5) was not flain in battle, but died of old age. His fon Judas Maccabæus feveral times vanquifhed the generals of Antiochus, recovered the holy city, cleanfed the fanctuary, restored the public worship of God, and not only furvived Antiochus fome years, but also received the good news of the dethroning and murdering of his fon. His brother Jonathan was made high priest, and his brother Simon fovran prince of the Jews; and both thefe dignities, the highpriesthood and the fovranty, defcended to Simon's fon, and continued united in the family for feveral generations. That therefore could not be deemed a little help, which prevailed and triumphed over all the power and malice of the enemy, and established the Jewish religion and government upon a firmer bafis than before; fo far were they from falling again into a state of perfecution, as the next verse intimates that they should. It may be concluded then, that Porphyry was mistaken in the fenfe of this paffage. The Jewish doctors feem to have come nearer the

cecidit; et cæteri fratres ejus adverfariorum fraude decepti funt. Hieron. Col. 1130.

(5) For thefe particulars the

M 2

two books of Maccabees, Jofephus, Ufher, Prideaux, &c must be confulted.

(6) Hebræ

the mark for fome of them, as Jerome (6) affirms, understood these things of the emperors Severus and Antoninus, who much loved the Jews; and others, of the emperor Julian, who pretended to love the Jews, and promised to facrifice in their temple. But the most natural way of interpretation is to follow the course and series of events. The church had now labored under long and fevere perfecutions from the civil power. They had fallen by the fword, and by flame, by captivity, and by jpoil many days. The tenth and last general perfecution was begun (7) by Diocletian: it raged, tho' not at all times equally, ten years; and was fuppreffed entirely by Conftantine, the first Roman emperor, as it is univerfally known, who made open profeffion of Christianity; and then the church was no longer perfecuted, but was protected and favored by the civil power. But ftill this is called only a little help; because though it added much to the temporal prosperity,