1. THE DESTRUCTION OF JERUSALEM.

[Illustration: The Destruction Of Jerusalem]

"If thou hadst known, even thou, at least in this thy day, the things
which belong unto thy peace! but now they are hid from thine eyes. For the
days shall come upon thee, that thine enemies shall cast a trench about
thee, and compass thee round, and keep thee in on every side, and shall
lay thee even with the ground, and thy children within thee; and they
shall not leave in thee one stone upon another; because thou knewest not
the time of thy visitation."(1)

From the crest of Olivet, Jesus looked upon Jerusalem. Fair and peaceful
was the scene spread out before Him. It was the season of the Passover,
and from all lands the children of Jacob had gathered there to celebrate
the great national festival. In the midst of gardens and vineyards, and
green slopes studded with pilgrims' tents, rose the terraced hills, the
stately palaces, and massive bulwarks of Israel's capital. The daughter of
Zion seemed in her pride to say, "I sit a queen, and shall see no sorrow;"
as lovely then, and deeming herself as secure in Heaven's favor, as when,
ages before, the royal minstrel sung, "Beautiful for situation, the joy of
the whole earth, is Mount Zion, ... the city of the great King."(2) In
full view were the magnificent buildings of the temple. The rays of the
setting sun lighted up the snowy whiteness of its marble walls, and
gleamed from golden gate and tower and pinnacle. "The perfection of
beauty" it stood, the pride of the Jewish nation. What child of Israel
could gaze upon the scene without a thrill of joy and admiration! But far
other thoughts occupied the mind of Jesus. "When He was come near, He
beheld the city, and wept over it."(3) Amid the universal rejoicing of the
triumphal entry, while palm branches waved, while glad hosannas awoke the
echoes of the hills, and thousands of voices declared Him king, the
world's Redeemer was overwhelmed with a sudden and mysterious sorrow. He,
the Son of God, the Promised One of Israel, whose power had conquered
death, and called its captives from the grave, was in tears, not of
ordinary grief, but of intense, irrepressible agony.

His tears were not for Himself, though He well knew whither His feet were
tending. Before Him lay Gethsemane, the scene of His approaching agony.
The sheep gate also was in sight, through which for centuries the victims
for sacrifice had been led, and