many were congregated, boldly declares the wrong done to the prophet by the evil-minded princes. "My lord the king, these men have done evil in all that they have done unto Jeremiah the prophet, whom they have caused to be thrown into the dungeon; for he will die upon the spot for hunger, when there is no longer any bread in the city." Stung with remorse, or pity overcoming his pusillanimity, Zedekiah ordered Ebed-melech to take thirty men from the by-standers, and raise Jeremiah from the dungeon before he should perish. The noble-hearted Ethiopian executed his commission with alacrity, and Jeremiah was soon placed in the court of the prison.

Ebed-melech neither sought nor expected a reward for this humane act. It was one of those generous impulses which sometimes prompt persons in humble life to relieve suffering or to avenge wrong, when men of higher station and more cultivated manners stand aloof, from indifference or policy. No voice heralded his deed through the streets of Jerusalem, for he was only an Ethiopian, but God looked down upon it with complacence. "Now the word of the Lord came unto remiah,

while he was shut up in the court of the prison, saying, Go and speak to Ebed-melech the Ethiopian, saying, Thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Behold, I will bring my words upon this city for evil, and not for good; and they shall be

accomplished in that day before thee. But I will deliver thee in that day, saith the Lord; and thou shalt not be given into the hand of the men of whom thou art afraid. For I will surely deliver thee, and thou shalt not fall by the sword, but thy life shall be for a prey unto thee; because thou hast put thy trust in me, saith the Lord."

With what joy would Jeremiah communicate this message, and how would his thanks ascend to heaven for such kindness to his benefactor!

It must have cost Zedekiah a struggle to ask aid of one whom he had so recently surrendered to the malice of his enemies, and whom he was even now unjustly detaining as a prisoner; but reduced to straits by the besieging army, he sought an interview with Jeremiah in a secret place at. the temple. By requesting such a conference, the unstable monarch tacitly confessed that he regarded Jeremiah as a prophet of Jehovah. He had already been told that the only safety for himself and his kingdom was in submitting to Nebuchadnezzar; but unwilling to take such a step, he wished to learn of the prophet if there was no alternative. Jeremia would not reply to the king until he had solemnly engaged not to put him to death, nor to deliver him into the hand of the men who were seeking his ruin. On this occasion the prophet had no special message for the king, and he was not bound to expose his life when there could be

little expectation that the risk would be of any avail.

Zedekiah hesitated to follow the counsel given anew by the prophet, to surrender himself and the city. He feared that the Chaldeans would deliver him up to the Jews who had already gone over to their side, and that he should be mocked by his former subjects. So men awakened to a sense of sin by the Holy Spirit, often hesitate to give up a darling lust to secure salvation. They fear, too, that their ungodly associates will mock" their seriousness; and so they sacrifice eternal life to a dread of ridicule.

Feeling, perhaps, that this would be his last opportunity to address the king, with a noble forgetfulness of personal injuries, Jeremiah pleads as if for his own life: Obey, I beseech thee, the voice of the Lord, which I speak unto thee; so shall it be well with thee, and thy soul shall live." How beautiful an exemplification of the spirit of the precept, "Do good to them that hate you, and pray for them that despitefully use you and persecute you!"

With characteristic fear of the princes, Zedekiah requested the prophet to reply to their inquiries respecting the object of the interview, "I presented my supplication before the king, that he would not cause me to return to Jonathan's house, to die there." The princes had no right to know all that

passed on that occasion. Jeremiah had undoubtedly again offered such a petition to the king. From the promise of Zedekiah to protect him, it is evident that the princes were still seeking his life, and he might well fear that they would not cease to importune the king to deliver him again into their hands.

After a siege of nearly a year and six months, Jerusalem, as already stated, was taken by the Chaldeans. Nebuchadnezzar had given command to Nebuzar-adan, the captain of the guard, to treat Jeremiah well, and let him go wherever he wished. The endeavors of the prophet to induce Zedekiah to continue his allegiance may have been known to the king of Babylon. Nor is it improbable that Daniel had also commended Jeremiah to the kindness of Nebuchadnezzar, or that the same favor would, at the prophet's request, be extended to Baruch and Ebed-melech, his two friends.

The princes of Babylon sent men to take Jeremiah out of the court of the prison. He was bound in chains, and carried with others to Ramah. He was soon set at liberty by the captain of the guard, who invited him to go to Babylon, where he should be well provided for; or if he preferred to stay in Judah, he might take up his residence wherever he pleased. If Jeremiah had any partiality for the Chaldeans, as his enemies pretended, he might now indulge it; for with this invitation,

and the favor of Daniel to recommend him at the court, he might reasonably anticipate wealth and honors in abundance. But he chose to remain in his own country, though only the poorest of the people were left. He poured forth his grief over the ruins of the city and temple in strains singularly tender, elegant, and varied in imagery. While listening to the deep wail, one can scarcely think with patience of the malicious charge, "This man seeketh not the welfare of this people, but their hurt," nor cease to wonder that such a spirit should brave the menaces of unbridled power maddened by pungent rebukes.

Nebuchadnezzar made Gedaliah the son of Ahikam governor of the land. To him the Jews were gathered who had been scattered in all the surrounding countries during the Chaldean invasion. Though the temple was destroyed, they continued to offer sacrifices, probably on the spot where it stood. In a few months Gedaliah was slain by a conspiracy. The remnant then went down to Egypt, against the remonstrances of Jeremiah, whom they took with them by force. How long after this he survived, we have no certain account. Some ancient writers affirm that at length the Jews, exasperated by his reproofs, put him to death; while others say that he returned to Judea or went to Babylon.

The author of the second book of Maccabees re