Glasgow weekly times. (Glasgow, Mo.) 1848-1861, 1848-11-09
The Holy City.
BY sEBA SMITH.
JERUSALEM AS 1T WAS. z


beloved of God" II has been sacked and
partially destroyed no less than seventeen
times. II has been The scene Of many
memorable seiges and battles by Jews, Ro.
mans, Saracens, and Christians. 1t was
the theatre of most Of the interesting and
all important events in The life Of our Sa-
vior. II witnessed his death and resurrec-
ton, and within its sacred enclosure are
still 10 be seen the holy sepulchre, the rock
of Calvary, Mount Zion, and David's
tomb. ~ H- OBJ
The original name of Jerusalem was Sa-
lem; and j, is supposed to have been found.
ed about the year 1923, by Mechisedeck,
IFS first king, who is mentioned in the four.
teenth chapter of Genesis. as br nging forth
bread and wine to Abraham, on his return
from successful pursuit after an enemy
About fifty years after this, Salem was ia
ken by the Jebusites, who gave il the name
Of Jerusalem, or the vision Of peace" and
built what is called the upper town, on
Mount Zion. The lower town still re-
NAMED in the possession Of the Israelites;
but they did not again become masters of
"the strong hold of Zion," till the time Of
David.
David, having reigned over Judah in
Hebron seven years and six months, went
up to jerusalem, vanquished the Jebusites,
and took possession of the strong hold Of
Zion, 10 which he gave the name of the
city of David. $50 David dwelt in the
fort, and built round about him from Milo
and inward" "Hiram, king of Tyre,
sent messengers to David, and cedar trees,
and carpenters, and masons, and they built
David house."
From this time Jerusalem became place
of importance, and rapidly increased in
population wealth and splendor; and in
The reign of Solomon, the son Of David, il
became one of the most noted and attrac-
tive cities in the world. The house which
Solomon built unto the Lord" and which
is so infinitely and deliberately described in
Scripture, was certainly one Of the most re.
markable and magnificent edifices ever con.
structed by man. Some idea of the i'm.
mense cos, of the structure may be oh.
tanned from the number Of men employed
upon it, TO say nothing of the richness of
The materials used. ........ ..
Thirty thousand men were set apart TO
procure cedars from Lebanon. Besides
these there were seventy thousand "that
bare burdens" and eighty thousand "hew-
ers in the mountains" With all his own
immense resources. aided by the rich king
of Tyre, it still required seven years for
Solomon to complete the temple. After.
wards, Solomon erected amost magnificent
palace for himself, which occupied thir-
teen years in building. He also embellished
the city with other splendid works, some
of the ruins of which remain to this day.
Five years after the death of Solomon, Je-
ruselem was plundered by one of the kings
of Egypt; and afterwards by Joash, king
of Israel. In the reign of Manassah il,
was sacked and partly destroyed by the
Assyrians. In the year 34I6, the city
was principally destroyed, and the magnih-
cent temple burnt by Nebuchadnezzar,
who carried the inhabitants into captivity
to Babylon, where they remained 70 years.
After their return TO JERUSALEM, the tenn
| pie was rebuilt by Zerrubbabel, Ezra and
Nehemiah, and the city again restored to
its former splendor. Subsequently. ii was
taken and sacked several times; and at last
the discussions among the inhabitants in,
duced them to look TO the Romans for aid,
who, under Pompey, took possession of the
city. Again it was taken by An,igonus,
but he was deposcd and put to death by
Herod the Great, during whose reign the
Savior, Jesus Christ was born.
The interesting and familiar history OF
jerusalem during the life of the Savior, j,
is not necessary TO dwell upon. Open the
| New Testament. and read in full from the
pen of inspiration. After the death OF
| Agrippa, grandson of Herod, Judea was
again reduced 10 Roman Province. and in
the reign of Vespasian, in the sixiy-ninlf
year OF the Christian era, the Jews revol,ed
and Titus, the son of Yespasian, was sem
with his army to subdue them. He invest
ed the city Of Jerusalem. which endured
one of the most remarkable seiges record
ed in history. II lasted about three months
| Il II II 4.