The Mt. Sterling advocate. (Mt. Sterling, Ky.) 1890-current, 1903-07-01

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this was called "the city of David
David and Solomon never lived on
the western hill now called Zion
but in the limited area of 900 by
424 feet now covered by the South
ern end of the Haram. And under
this Haram floor must be found the
sepulchers of David. The walls
that Nehemiah restored embraced
only the temple hill and Ophel
south of the "city of David" The
city of Jerusalem gradually spread
over the valleys and covered mod
ern Zion, but this latter hill is never
called Zion in the Bible. Zion was
where the ark of God rested. 1t
was divine designation of the
dwelling place of Jehovah. After
the ark was removed to the temple
on Moriah, the term Zion Is never
applied to any other spot in Jeru-
salem. Morlah and Ophel were
always the heart Of Jerusalem.
A learned and devout civil en-
gineer, Mr.. S. Beswick, of Penn
sylvania, who worked assiduously
and long on the problem in Jerusa-
lem, has proven indisputably that
Nehemiah confined his work to
Ophel and Moriah; and to him
the world Is indebted for the iden-
tification of the walls, towers, gates
and pools mentioned in the third
and twelfth chapters of Nehemiah.
At the beginning of the Chris
tian era, city of unrivaled splendor
had extended itself over the vari-
Gus hills and valleys. A system of
cyclopean walls and gigantic towers
that amazed the world, encompass
ed it on every side. On the terrace
ed summit of Moriah-the Mount
Zion of the Psalms and Prophets
there shone the splendor of series
of temples-twice the size of Solo
mons rising ON quadrangular
platforms, one above the other, the
shining series being crowned by
the lofty central building, the
Holy of Holes, whose gold and
marble screened from unpriestly
eye the Sakhra-the venerable altar
of Melchizedeck, Abraham, Isaac
and David. No Jew could think of
the "holy city" without intensified
emotions of pride, patriotism and
piety. The very name thrilled the
Hebrew heart in every land, and
the actual vision of its unrivaled
beauty and glory, and monuments
of such history as no other nation
ever had or can have, shook the
souls of Hebrew pilgrims with
fervid passion that could find no
adequate expression even in David's
Psalms of Zion.
Jesus had Hebrew heart. He
knew the city's inevitable doom.
No wonder, then, when all this
transplendent scene broke upon the
troubled vision Of the Christ at the
descent of the Mount of Olives.
with irrepressible tears he cried
aloud in pain and grief for the i'm
pending woe and ruin that met his
prophetic gaze.-Luke 10: 41-44.
This pathetic wall of anguish was
wrung from the Saviour's lips on
Sunday morning, Ayril 2, A. d. 30.
On Tuesday he finished his public
ministry. and on his way from the
temple he answered the inquiry of
his disciples concerning the de-
struction of temple and city. Luke
81: 5 SO, A little later the same
day as he sat on the Mount of
Olives and was gazing down upon
the fated city, four disciples came
to him with questions that drew
from him the transcendent discour-
Sc of comprehensive eschatology in
Matthew "a and % with which
every believer in the great Teach
er ought to be familiar.
This letter closes here to give
you an opportunity to read again
those clear and inspiring prophe-
cies. IL you do not promptly turn
to the twenty-frst chapter of Luke
and the twenty-fourth and twenty
fifth of Matthew and reverently
read, the inference that you are
more interested in my letters than
in the teachings of Christ, might
be perfectly natural.