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by the destruction that came upon Jerusalem; and the Angel further said, that for the faithfulness of his heart, it had been the will of the Almighty to shew him the "brightness of her glory, and the comliness of her beauty," and that therefore he had been commanded to go into a field where there was no buildings, that he might see the greatness and beauty of the city, as much as his eyes were capable of seeing, and to hear as much as his ears could comprehend.

Esdras was greatly consoled by the mercy and goodness of God towards him, and slept that night in the same field as he was commanded to do.

THE HISTORY OF TOBIT.

Tobit, the subject of this history, was a descendant from the tribe of Nephthali, and was one of those persons who were carried away captive by Enemessan, king of the Assyrians, from Nephthali in Galilee, the place of his inheritence and residence.

Tobit from his youth had been a man of the most exemplary piety and goodness of heart; and

had attended strictly to every minutia of the reli gion of his forefathers, as commanded by Moses; both before his captivity, and ever after that misfortune, as well as the nature of his situation would allow. But above all was he memorable, for his humane and charitable disposition, and for the alms which he distributed amongst his fellow captives, and those requiring his friendly assistance. His observance of the ceremonies of his religion were the more extraordinary, as nearly all the rest of the captives, and even his own brethren of his father's house, had sacrificed unto the heifer Baal. But Tobit alone, of all his family, preserved his mind pure and free from idolatory, and invariably followed the commands of God; and for this propriety of conduct, and his regular discharge of his duties to his Creator, he was indebted to the good counsel and excellent instructions of his father's mother Debora, who had carefully brought him up from infancy, he having been left an orphan to her care and management, and faithfully had she discharged the duty of a parent to him, by the attention she had paid to make him a good and pious man.

When arrived at manhood, he married a woman named Anna, of his own kindred, and had one child only, a son called Tobias; he was thus happily circumstanced, when by the chance of war, he

and all his country became captive to the king of Assyria, who carried them all to Nineve. When arrived at this place of their destination, all his brethren and friends eat without the least restraint with the Gentiles of whatever was offered them, not appearing in the least to regret or regard it as a misfortune. But Tobit, regular, correct, and just in all his actions, could not bring himself to do any thing contrary to the precepts which had been early instilled into his heart and mind by his prudent grandmother; and therefore abstained from every improper indulgence of appetite, but with all this, his behaviour was ever gentle and modest, and he was regarded and highly spoken of by all, so much so, that in consequence of the propriety of his manners and unassuming humility, he attracted the observation of king Enemessar, who thereupon gave him great encouragement; and God giving a blessing to Tobit, he found favor in the eyes of that prince, and so well did he think of him, that although a captive in a strange land, he appointed him to be his purveyor.

Soon after this honourable appointment, Tobit went into Media, and there left in trust with Gabeel, the brother of Gabrias, at Mages, a city of Media, ten talents of silver. After the death of Enemessar, his son Sennacherib succeeded him in the kingdom, and during his reign, so violent a

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