This knowledge was yet further increased in the days of Cyrus, who giving freedom to the captives to return to their own native country, gave this confession; “Thus saith Cyrus the king of Persia, All the kingdoms of the earth hath the Lord God of heaven given unto me, and hath commanded me, that a house be built to him in Jerusalem, which is in Judah. Whosoever therefore of you, that are of his people, let the Lord his God be with him, and let him pass up to Jerusalem, and let him build the house of the Lord God of Israel; for he only is God that is in Jerusalem.” (Ezra i.) Time will not suffer me to treat the points of this confession, neither yet did I for that purpose adduce the history; but only to let us see, how constantly God kept his promise in increasing his people, and in augmenting his true knowledge beyond men’s expectation, when both they that were the seed of Abraham, and the religion which they professed, appeared utterly to have been extinguished. I say, he brought freedom out of bondage, light out of darkness, and life out of death. I am not ignorant, that the building of the temple, and the reparation of the walls of Jerusalem, were long stayed, so that the work had many enemies; but the hand of God so prevailed in the end, that a decree was made by Darius, (by him I suppose that succeeded to Cambyses,) not only that all things necessary for the building of the temple, and for the sacrifices that were to be burnt there, should be ministered upon the king’s charges; but also, that “whosoever should hinder that work, or change that decree, that a tree should be taken out of his house, and that he should be hanged thereupon; yea, that his house should be made a dunghill,” (Ezra vi.); and thereto he added a prayer, saying, “The God of heaven, who hath placed his name there, root out every king and people, (O that kings and nations would understand!) that shall put his hand, either to change or to hurt this house of God that is in Jerusalem.” And so, in despite of satan, was the temple built, the walls repaired, and the city inhabited; and in the most desperate dangers it was preserved, until the promised Messiah, the glory of the second temple, came, manifested himself to the world, suffered and rose again, according to the scriptures; and so, by sending forth his gospel from Jerusalem, replenished the earth with the true knowledge of God; and so did God in perfection increase the nation, and the spiritual seed of Abraham.