no
house, no entering in.... The Lord of Hosts hath purposed it, to stain
the pride of glory, and bring to contempt all the honorable of the
earth." The inhabitants of the city who sought escape from death were
compelled to take refuge in the colonies at Cyprus, Carthage, and
Tartessus in Spain. The destruction of Tyre has been complete. There are
no remains of its former grandeur; its palaces are indistinguishable
ruins. Its traffic was transferred to Carthage. Yet how strong must have
been a city which took Nebuchadnezzar thirteen years to subdue! It arose
from its ashes, but was reduced again by Alexander.

Isaiah condenses his judgment in reference to the other wicked nations
of his time in a few rapid, vigorous, and comprehensive clauses.
"Behold, Jehovah emptieth the earth, and layeth it waste, and scattereth
its inhabitants. And it happeneth, as to the people, so to the priest;
as to the servant, so to the master; as to the maid, so to her mistress;
as to the buyer, so to the seller; as to the lender, so to the
borrower; as to the creditor, so to the debtor. The earth has become
wicked among its inhabitants, therefore hath the curse devoured the
earth, and they who dwelt in it make expiation." We observe that these
severe calamities are not uttered in wrath. They are not maledictions;
they are simply divine revelations to the gifted prophet, or logical
deductions which the inspired statesman declares from incontrovertible
facts. In this latter sense, all profound observations on the tendency
of passing events partake of the nature of prophecy. A sage is
necessarily a prophet. Men even prophesy rain or heat or cold from
natural phenomena, and their predictions often come to pass. Much more
to be relied on is the prophetic wisdom which is seen among great
thinkers and writers, like Burke, Webster, and Carlyle, since they rely
on the operation of unchanging laws, both moral and physical. When a
nation is wholly given over to lying and cheating in trade, or to
hypocritical observances in religion, or to practical atheism, or to
gross superstitions, or abominable dissoluteness in morals, or to the
rule of feeble kings controlled by hypocritical priests and harlots, is
it presumptuous to predict the consequences? Is it difficult to predict
the ultimate effect on a nation of overwhelming standing armies eating
up the resources of kings, or of the general prevalence of luxury,
effeminacy, and vice?

Isaiah having decl