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From Heaven With Love
at least in this thy day, the things which belong unto thy peace!” The
Saviour left unsaid what might have been the condition of Jerusalem
had she accepted the help that God desired to give her—the gift of
His Son. Jerusalem might have stood forth in the pride of prosperity,
the queen of kingdoms, free in the strength of her God-given power,
no Roman banners waving from her walls. The Son of God saw
that she might have been liberated from bondage and established
as the mighty metropolis of the earth. From her walls the dove of
peace would have gone forth to all nations. She would have been
the world’s diadem of glory.
But the Saviour realized she now was under the Roman yoke,
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doomed to God’s retributive judgment: “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.”
Jesus saw the doomed city encompassed with armies, the be-
sieged inhabitants driven to starvation and death, mothers feeding on
the dead bodies of their children, and parents and children snatch-
ing the last morsel of food from one another—natural affection
destroyed by the gnawing pangs of hunger. He saw that the stub-
bornness of the Jews would lead them to refuse submission to the
invading armies. He beheld Calvary set with crosses as thickly as
forest trees. He saw the beautiful palaces destroyed, the temple in
ruins, and of its massive walls not one stone left on another, while
the city was plowed like a field.
As a tender father mourns over a wayward son, so Jesus wept
over the beloved city. How can I give thee up? How can I see
thee devoted to destruction? When the westering sun should pass
from sight, Jerusalem’s day of grace would be ended. While the
procession was halting on Olivet, it was not yet too late for Jerusalem
to repent. While the last rays of the setting sun were lingering on
temple, tower, and pinnacle, would not some good angel lead her
to the Saviour’s love? Beautiful, unholy city, that had stoned the
prophets and rejected the Son of God—her day of mercy was almost
spent!