Isaiah 17:1-3

Damascus was the chief city of Syria; and in how many instances the Assyrians distressed the Church of God, the Old Testament history hath largely recorded. It is most instructive to observe, as we prosecute the annals of the Church, how the Lord raiseth up one nation, and putteth down another, as those nations are made instrumental to humble or to raise Israel's glory. In the mean time, the Lord preserveth the Church, as his handful of people, in the midst of all, through the earth. Rise or fall who may among the nations, yet Jacob, the Lord's portion, continueth the same. Micah 5:5.