A Collection of Curious Travels and Voyages, Volume 1 · Part 3 · Chapter 4
CHAP. IV.
Of Mount Sion, and its Holy Places.
MOunt Sion, very famous in holy Scripture, hath round about it ſteep ſides, high Rocks, deep Ditches and Valleys, ſo that it is not eaſie to climb up to it, only on one ſide towards the North, where it buts upon the lower Town, ſo that the Caſtle and Town of David, ſituated on it, was very ſtrong, and almoſt Invincible, as you may read in the 48 Pſalm, verſ. 2. The joy of the whole earth is Mount Sion, on the ſides of the north, the City of the great King. God is known in her places for a refuge, for the Kings were aſſembled, &c. Seeing then that the Caſtle, and the upper Town Millo, vvas ſo vvell fortified vvith Tovvers and Walls that it vvas not eaſily to be taken, the Jebuſites (after that Canaan the vvhole Land of Promiſe, together vvith the Tovvn of Jeruſalem vvas taken) did defend themſelves in it againſt the vvhole force of Iſrael for a long time, although they often attempted to take it, and called the Tovvn of Jeruſalem after their Name Jebus, until the Kingly Prophet David came, vvho took it by force; and after he had rebuilt the upper Tovvn, and joined the Caſtle vvith it into one Building, and ſurrounded it vvith Walls, he called it after his ovvn Name, The City of David, and kept his Court there, and gave alſo Lodgings to his Hero's and Officers, vvhereof Ʋriah vvas one, vvho had his Lodgings near to the Kings Palace, vvherein the King vvalking on the Roof of his Houſe, ſavv the fair Bathſheba his Wife, and committed Adultery vvith her.
Theſe their Habitations, as they are ſtill built in theſe Days, have inſtead of Thatch or Tiles, plaiſter'd Roofs, ſo that one may walk on them, as you may ſee here, that King David walked on it. And alſo in the Second Chapter of the Book of Joſhua, where is ſaid, That when the Two Spies, ſent into the Land of Promiſe to Jericho, came into Rahab's Houſe, and the King ſent to ſearch after them, they went at her requeſt up to the Roof of the Houſe, where ſhe hid them with the Stalks of Flax, which ſhe had laid in order upon the Roof. But ſeeing there is nothing ſo ſtrong in in this World that is not tranſitory, therefore is alſo this Worldly Mount Zion, together with its ſtrong Building and Fortification (which was rather a Type of the true Rock in Zion, Chriſt our Lord, and his Heavenly Kingdom, and Holy Church that was built thereon) ſo ruined and deſolated, that the greateſt and higheſt part thereof before the Town, (except a Turkiſh Moſche, ſome Tile Houſes and a few Acres of it) lieth quite like a Deſart, covered with Rocks and Stones. So it is come to paſs, what Micah in his Third Chapter and the Twelfth Verſe predicted: Therefore ſhall Zion for your ſake be plowed as a field, and Jeruſalem ſhall become heaps, and the mountain of the houſe, as the high places of the foreſt. And Jeremiah in his Lamentations, Cap. 5. Verſe 18. ſaith, The mountain of Zion, which is deſolate, the foxes walk upon it. And Iſaiah in his Thirty ſecond Chapter, Verſe 14. The Palaces ſhall be forſaken, the multitude of the City ſhall be left, the forts and towers ſhall be dens for ever, a joy of wild aſſes, a paſture of flocks.
The great Caſtle of the Turks is ſituated at the top of the inward part of the Mount, towards the Weſt Side near the Fiſhgate, which is alſo newly built, and very well ſurrounded with Walls and Ditches: under the Gate are ſeveral great Guns to frighten the Chriſtians that come thither in great Flocks, chiefly againſt great Feaſts from all Nations, Armenians, Georgians, Abyſſins, Latinists, &c. for they fear that elſe the Town might be taken from them again.
Within the Fort near the Fiſhgate, is ſtill a ſtrong high Tower, built up with great Free-ſtone, which is quite black through Age: wherefore ſome ſay, that it did anciently belong to the Fort, and was built by one of the Kings of Juda.
So much I thought convenient to mention of Mount Zion, concerning other famous places that are to be ſeen upon and about it, I will only mention the chiefeſt thereof.
Firſt as you go out of the New Gate of Mount Zion, there is a long Street wherein on the Left Hand is an ancient Church, of the holy Apoſtle James the Greater, Brother of John, which Helena the Mother of Constantine the Emperor, as alſo many more, did build on the Market Place of the upper City where he was beheaded. The Armenians that have poſſeſſion thereof, did conduct us into it, ſhewed us the Building, and the place where the holy Apoſtle was beheaded with the Sword (as you read in the Acts of the Apoſtles, the 12th. Chapter) by Order of Herod Agrippa, to whom he was delivered out of ſpite, as a ſeditious perſon, by the High Prieſt Abiathar.
Then we came to the place of the Habitation of Hannas, whereto Chriſt our Lord was firſt of all brought a priſoner, and bound (or fetter'd) wherein was nothing obſervable, only a large Court, and in it an old Chapel, called the Angels, which we ſoon left, and went out of the Gate of Mount Zion, to the Habitation of Cayaphas, where we ſaw an Orange-tree planted in the place where the holy Apoſtle Peter did warm himſelf when he denied our Saviour the third time: further within a Chapel, called St. Salvators, where, in former Ages was the Place of the High Prieſt, where Chriſt was ſeverely accuſed by Cayaphas, and by his Servants mocked, ſpit upon, and beaten; wherein is an Altar, whereon the great Stone of the Grave ſtill lieth, that ſtopped the Door of the Sepulchre, which is very like unto the Rock of the Grave in its breaking. That the Habitation of the High Prieſt was in the upper City Joſephus does teſtifie in the Seventeenth Chapter of his Second Book of the Deſolation of Jeruſalem, where he ſaith thus: When the rebellious Jews, that had the lower Town in poſſeſſion with the Temple, did undertake to poſſeſs themſelves alſo of the upper Town, they did aſſault it with all might and power, and at laſt take it; then they drove out the Soldiers, which had the Chief Prieſts and Men in power with them, out of the upper Town, ſet the Habitation of Ananias the High Prieſt on fire and burnt it.
Before this on the top of the Mount, ſtands on the Plain a large Church, which the Franciſcan Monks had not long ago in poſſeſſion, and lived in it, wherefore their Father did call himſelf a Guardian of the holy Mount Zion. But after that the Turks did about Twenty years agon poſſeſs themſelves of it, and kept it to themſelves, and made a Mahumetan Moſche of it; the Monks were forced to flie, and take the Habitation where they now live inſtead thereof.
Of this Church or Moſche we ſaw only the outſide of the Habitation of Caiaphas, for no Chriſtian is allowed to go into it. It was built many years agon by Helena, Mother of Conſtantin the Emperor, as Nicephorus teſtifieth in the Thirtieth Chapter of his Eighth Book: wherein is alſo included the Habitation the Diſciples were locked up in for fear of the Jews: and alſo the paved Dining-Room (or Hall) wherein Chriſt with his Diſciples did eat the Paſsover; where he alſo waſhed their Feet, and ſent the Holy Ghoſt after his Aſcenſion to them: where alſo *James the Son of Alpheus, one of the Apoſtles, was uſually called James the L…ſs; but it was not he that was Elected firſt Biſhop of Jeruſalem, but James the Juſt, who was called the Lord's Brother, and was none of the Apoſtles.James the Leſſer was Elected Overſeer, and firſt Biſhop of Jeruſalem. In this Temple (which is above a thouſand paces diſtant from Golgotha, or the place of a Scull) was for ſome time kept the Stone-Pillar, whereto Chriſt our Lord and Saviour was tied and whipped. Near unto this, in the place of the Palace of Caiaphas, the ſame Queen Helena ordered a Church to be built for the Holy Apoſtle Peter, and many more, whereof mention is made at large in the above quoted place.
This Mount extendeth its ſelf towards the South, out before the City, and hath on the other ſide where it is higheſt, other higher ones about it, diſtinguiſhed with Ditches and Valleys, viz. towards the Weſt Mount Gihon, at the bottom whereof Solomon was anointed King by the Prieſt Zadock and the Prophet Nathan, as we read in the Firſt Chapter of thr Firſt Book of Kings: upon this at the top towards the Road of Bethlehem, lieth the Field of Blood, in their Language called Hakeldemas that was bought for 30 Silver Pieces; to bury the Pilgrims there, where you ſee ſtill to this day here and there large and deep holes, and one among the reſt very big one, wherein are ſtill to be ſeen ſeveral whole Bodies lying by one another.
A deep Valley ſeparates this Mount from Mount Zion, which beginneth at the Fiſh-gate, and goeth down to the Brook Cedron: in it is a Conduit by the upper Pool called Aſuia in the Third Chapter of Nehemiah, which is pretty large, yet without any Water) which receiveth its Water from the high Spring of Gihon, this was covered by King Hezekias, and laid down to the Town of David, as we read in the Second Book of Chronicles, Chap. 32. The holy Prophet Iſaiah, Chap. 7. Verſe 3. mentioneth it, when ſhe Lord ſaid to him; Go forth now to meet Ahaz, thou and Shear-jaſhub thy ſon, at the end of the conduit of the upper pool, in the path of the fullers field, &c. And in the Fourth Book of Kings, in the Eighteenth Chapter, Verſe Seventeen: The King of Aſſyria ſent a great hoſt againſt Jeruſalem, and when they were come up, they came and ſtood by the conduit of the upper pool, which is in the high way of the fullers field.
Before Mount Zion, towards the South, at the other ſide of the Rivulet Kidron lieth the Mount of Tranſgreſſion, in the Fourth Book of Kings, Chap. 23. called Maſhith: between this and Mount Olivet is a Valley, through which goeth down the Road by Bethania to Jericho, &c. This is higher and ſteeper than any hereabout. There you ſee ſtill ſome old Walls of the Habitation wherein the Concubines of Solomon did live, after whom the King ran in his old Age; and they did ſo poſſeſs him, that they turned his Heart from God Almighty after their Gods, and ſo he did that that did not pleaſe the Lord God, as you may read in the Firſt Book of Kings, Chap. 11. Verſe 4.
Underneath the Mount was the Valley Benhinnem, wherein the Kings of Jeruſalem did build a Temple to the Idol Moloch, and did worſhip him, viz. Solomon, Achaz, Manaſſeh, &c. whereof we read in ſeveral places in the Holy Scripture, Levit. xviii. 21. Thou ſhalt not let any of thy ſeed paſs through the fire to Moloch. And alſo Jerem. vii. 30. And they have ſet their abominations in the houſe which is called by my name to pollute it. And they have built the high places of Tophet, which is in the valley of the ſon of Hinnom, to burn their ſons and their daughters in the fire, which I commanded them not, neither came it into my heart, therefore behold, the days come, ſaith the Lord, that it ſhall no more be called Tophet, nor the valley of the ſon of Hinnom, but the valley of ſlaughter: for they ſhall bury in Tophet till there be no place. And alſo 2 Chron. xxviii. 2. Ahaz made molten images for Baalim, and burnt incenſe in the valley of the ſon of Hinnon, and burnt his children in the fire after the abominations of the Heathen. The holy Prophet Amos doth alſo make mention of theſe abominable Idolatries in his Fifth Chapter; which Luke in the Seventh Chapter, Verſe Forty third of the Acts doth thus explain: Ye took up the Tabernacle of Moloch, and the ſtar of your god Remphan, &c. which the holy Prophet calleth Sicchuth and Chiun: But the Heathen called them Jupiter and Saturn, the Devourer of Children, and ſo he is alſo painted. This Statue was hollow within, of caſt Braſs, whereinto they did put the Children, and burnt them alive, and did believe they ſerved God in it, as Abraham when he would ſacrifice his Son Iſaac: they had alſo Kettle Drums and other Muſical Inſtruments which they played on, that the Parents might not hear their Children cry: wherefore Chriſt gave unto Hell it ſelf, and its perpetual flames the Name of the Valley Benhinnon, calling it Gehenna: to give us warning and exhortation, that we hate falſe and abominable Idolatries, introduced contrary to his Command, worſe than the Devil himſelf.
Beſides this there is little elſe ſeen hereabout, only above on the ſteepneſs and higheſt part of the Mount many little Tents and Habitations, as if they hung at it, which in theſe times are not inhabited either by Turks nor Moors: in the Valley you ſee the Rivulet Kidron, where over they brought our Lord Chriſt bound as a Priſoner, from Mount Olivet: this proceedeth only from Rain Water near to the place Gethſemane▪ and runs without by the Town from South to Weſt. Beſide this Brook did King Aſa burn the Images of Priapus, as Joſias and Hezekiah the Idols of Baal, all Incenſes and Uncleanneſſes that are found in the Temple of the Lord.
Further towards the Eaſt, you ſee from the top of Mount Zion the Fountain and Pool of Siloah below in the Valley, called by Joſephus Tiropaean, which divideth this and the Temple Mount, and becometh to be very narrow between them, and extendeth it ſelf from the Rivulet Kidron towards the North to the place of Skulls, where it groweth ſo large again, that the lower Town of Jeruſalem (by Iſaiah in his Tenth, and Zacharias in his Ninth Chapter, called The daughter of Zion and Jeruſalem) was ſituated therein. Out of which near to the Gate of the Fountain of Siloha, which is now walled up) the way goeth up to the Gate of Zion into the upper Town, through which two our Lord Chriſt was brought a Priſoner to the Houſes of Hannas and Caiaphas.
This Valley hath been ſince the Deſolation ſo filled up, that no depth at all appeareth in our Days; but only without the Fountain Gate by the Fountain Siloah, that is very rich of water, where is ſtill the Pool wherein the Blind Man waſhed his Eyes (that were anointed with Clay and Spittle, St. John ix. 6.) according to the Command of our Lord, and did ſee.
Juſt by it are ſtill the two Hills whereof Joſephus maketh mention, with a very ſteep Cliff, very rocky on both ſides, one whereof towards the Eaſt (called the Rock of the Pidgeons) hath a great Cave, out of which the Fountain ſprings, and runs off immediately below through a Channel, that goeth ſo ſtrait and ſmooth through the Rock, as if it had been made on purpoſe.
Near to this Fountain and Gate of Siloha, ſtood the Tower of Siloha, that killed Eighteen Men, as we read in St. Luke, Chap. xiii.
Without between the Fountain and Stream of Kidron, they ſhew a great Mulberry-Tree, fenced in below, this ſtands in the place where the holy Prophet Iſaias was buried, whom the King Manaſſe ordered to be cut in pieces with a wooden Saw, as being an Heretick.
This may ſuffice of Mount Zion, its ſituation and ſome adjacent places.
As we went about, and came to one of the places, the Monks did ſhew the Pilgrims in each of them, the Number of the Years for the Pardons laid there by his Holineſs, as in ſome Seven Years and Seven Indulgences, but in ſome others, as in the place where the Holy Ghoſt was ſent, where Chriſt did eat the Paſsover with his Diſciples, and waſhed their Feet, and where he at ſeveral times appeared when the Doors were ſhut: and where alſo (as Nicephorus ſaith) the Virgin Mary, after the Reſurrection of Chriſt her dear Child, did dwell for Fourteeen Years, &c. full Abſolution and Indulgences from all Sins and Facts for ever.
Now that all thoſe that come there, may receive it more worthily, the Monks exhort them to kneel down before every of ſuch places, and to pray the Lord's Prayer, and Ave Maria with Devotion: and that when they have done ſo, they need not to doubt, but that they have fully received the Abſolution that was given for that place by his Holineſs. After they had thus prayed in ſeveral places, ſome of our Company rejoiced mightily, and confeſſed, that after it they were holy, and ſo innocent, that if they ſhould die then, they were ſecure, that their Soul ſhould go immediately out of their Mouth into Heaven, and eternal life. To this I anſwered them: That I expected Remiſſion of Sin no other ways but only in the Name, and for the Merits, of our Lord Jeſus Chriſt: and that I had not undertaken this Pilgrimage, as they did, to get any thing by it, as by a good Work: nor to viſit Stone and Wood to obtain Indulgence: or with opinion to come here nearer to Chriſt; becauſe all theſe things are directly contrary to Scripture. As the Lord himſelf ſaith: Time will come that you ſhall neither on this Mount nor at Jeruſalem worſhip the Father. And he alſo forewarneth us of theſe that ſay; Lo Chriſt is here, Chriſt is there, lo he is in the deſarts, he is in the Chamber: that we ſhould not believe them, nor go out, but rather confide on his promiſe, that he will be with us to the end of the World: and where two or three are met together in his Name that he will be in the middle of them. Wherefore our dear Lord Chriſt hath no need, becauſe he is himſelf preſent with them that believe in him, of any Vicegerent, that ſhould on Earth uſurp ſuch Power, and take ſuch Honor and Glory to himſelf, as to give Indulgence at his pleaſure: becauſe all theſe things belong only to God. When I ſaw that they did not much mind this my Diſcourſe, I let them alone in their Opinions, but yet I ſaw here and there all theſe places, and conſidered by my ſelf what our Lord Chriſt had, by his bitter Sufferings and Death, by his Glorious Reſurrection and Aſcenſion, procured us from his Heavenly Father. When the Pilgrims came to one of the above-mentioned places of Mount Zion, and had ſaid their Prayers, they went into it, and contemplated it, fell down again before it, and kiſſed it with great Submiſſion and Devotion; pulled out ſeveral pieces, viz. Beads and Roſaries turned of the Wood of the Trees of the Mount of Olives, ſome wrought Points, Laces, &c. tied together in Bundles, to touch the holy place with it; they alſo knocked off in ſome places (where they might) ſome ſmall Pieces, to take them along with them as conſecrated Sanctuaries, to diſtribute them amongſt their Friends at their Return.
All the while that they were thus buſie, I conſidered rather ſtanding behind, what our Lord and Saviour Jeſus Chriſt had ſuffered for us in theſe places, how he had humbled himſelf, and came down to us miſerable Sinners, to help us, and to extol us that were fallen, and to make us free of the heavy Burthen of our Sins: how he was led before the Seat of Judicature of Caiaphas, that we might not be led before the ſevere Judgment Seat of the Almighty God: that he ſuffered himſelf to be led captive and bound, to deliver us from the Bands of the Devil and Death, and to ſave us from the Jaws of Hell: and as Eſaias ſaith in his 53d. Chapter, Verſe 5. He was wounded for our tranſgreſſions, he was bruiſed for our iniquities, the chaſtiſement of our peace was upon him, and with his ſtripes we are healed. But that our dear Lord Chriſt was delivered to the High Prieſt, and Scribes, &c. for our ſakes, and that he was obedient to his Heavenly Father, unto Death, even the Death of the Croſs, to deliver us from the Curſe of God and eternal Death. And to make us certain, that he had procured theſe his unſpeakable Benefits and Heavenly Treaſures for us, and that we really ſhould be partakers thereof; before his paſſion he did inſtitute his holy Supper upon the Mount, in the large upper Room, wherein he doth not only communicate them to us, but giveth us alſo (if we receive the holy broken Bread, and the bleſſed Cup, with true Faith according to the Inſtitution) his real Body and Blood, to feed us to eternal Life: where we then ſhall ſit, with our Lord Chriſt, and all the elected ones (after this life) as Coheirs in the high upper Room of his Heavenly Father, at his Table, to eat and drink it with him anew. And that we might heartily comfort our ſelves with theſe his unſpeakable Benefits, he alſo after his Aſcenſion, ſent us on the Day of Pentecoſt his Holy Ghoſt, the Spirit of Truth, to incline our Hearts, to believe ſtedfaſtly all that he hath promiſed us in his holy Word and Sacraments. So the ſending of the Holy Ghoſt, which was long before predicted by the holy Prophets was fullfilled on this Mount: whereof we read in ſeveral places of the holy Scripture, viz. Joel ii. 28. And it ſhall come to paſs afterward that I will pour out my ſpirit upon all fleſh, &c. For on mount Zion, and in Jeruſalem, muſt be a Deliverance according to the promiſe of the Lord. And Iſaiah ii. 3. Come ye and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, &c. for out of Zion ſhall go forth the law and the word of the Lord from Jeruſalem. So that the Preaching of Chriſt's holy Goſpel, and his Kingdom did begin from Zion and Jeruſalem, and was afterwards ſpread abroad by his holy Apoſtles throughout the whole World.
Grant then, O our dear Lord Chriſt, unto us, thy Holy Ghoſt; that he may keep us in the Knowledge of thy holy Word, and that he may ſo ſtrengthen and comfort us in it, that we may freely and without any fear confeſs it before the Face of our Enemies and Adverſaries; and if they offend and proſecute us, that we may overcome our Croſſes and Perſecutions with patience, that thy Honor may be advanced, and our Conſtancy appear. Grant us alſo, that he may plant theſe thy Graces in our Hearts, that we may comfort our ſelves with the hope and expectation of thoſe Treaſures which thou haſt by thy Death and Paſſion merited and purchaſed for us. So that we may abide in thy Tabernacle, and dwell in thy holy Hill for ever. Amen. Pſalm xv. 1.