raise up the true Prophet. While Simon lived, Judah had peace, every man cultivated his own field, the land was productive, and there was fruit in the vine. The elders exercised authority and preserved good order, and the condition of the citizens was greatly improved. "What shall I say of John Hyrcanus, his son and successor? Thou wilt see him thyself, Helon, in all his majesty; and wert thou, Myron, to see him, thou wouldst never jest again at Israel's expense. While we were enduring in Egypt the cruelty of the abandoned Ptolemy Physcon, and the men of science and eminence in the arts were flying from the country, Israel was happy under its wise and heroic prince. If the oppression of the Syrians was felt for a short time, Hyrcanus soon shook it off, and himself conquered the Syrian cities, Madeba, Samega, and others. He next humbled the Samaritans, and removed that offence of every Jew, the temple on mount Gerizim. He gave the Idumeans their choice, to expatriate themselves, or to receive circumcision, and thus united the seed of Esau with the poste ity of Jacob. He has built the castle of Baris in the holy city. He is distinguished, above all the princes and fathers of Israel, by uniting in himself the threefold office which the Messiah is to bear, king, leader and high-priest. At this moment he has just annihilated the power of the Samaritans by the conquest of their capital. "To such a pitch of glory and to such hopes has Jehovah exalted his people; to him be the praise! He setteth us up on high. Since the days of Abraham, no period has occurred in which Israel was so free and so pure. Great was indeed the splendor of the reign of Solomon; nor can we now boast that silver and gold are like the stones of the street - but in his days neither sovereign nor people were strict in the observance of the law. Now, what zeal, what earnestness for the law is manifested! Our fathers in those days were little better in this respect that the Hellenists in our own. "I praise my God that he has permitted me to behold the glory of his people, and to feast my thoughts with the con templation of it, though I am not permitted to dwell with my brethren in the Land of Promise, under the sceptre of Hyrcanus. How important the present condition of Israel is, may be judged from the long preparations by which it has been brought about, and the difficulties which opposed and retarded it. Had not the Lord been on our side, Had not the Lord been on our side, When men rose up against us, Then they had swallowed us up alive, When their wrath was kindled against us ; The waters had overwhelmed us, And the proud waters had gone over our soul, The stream had gone over our soul. Blessed be the Lord! He hath not given us a prey to their teeth, Our soul is escaped, as a bird out of the snare of the fowler. Our help is in the name of Jehovah; He made heaven and earth-Ps, exxiv. "The time therefore cannot be remote, when all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in the seed of Abraham and the son of David. The sins which are still found in Israel alone prevent his immediate appearance. As soon as they repent, and keep but one Sabbath as they ought, the expectation of Israel will come. For thus has Isaiah prophesied ; ‘Thus saith the Lord; my salvation is near and my righteousness is about to be revealed. Blessed is the man that doeth this, and the son of man that layeth hold on it, that keepeth the Sabbath free from pollution, and restraineth his hand from doing any evil.* He that is promised shall come and that speedily. Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee! The Gentiles shall come to thy light, and kings to the brightness of thy rising.' In this hope, I conclude my narrative, which, long as it has been, is too short for the subject, with that psalm, so full of thankfulness and hope: * Isaiah lvi. 2. + Isaiah lx, 1. Praise ye the Lord for it is good to sing praises to our God; For it is pleasant, and praise is comely. Jehovah doth build up Jerusalem, He gathereth together the outcasts of Israel; And bindeth up their wounds. He calleth them all by their names. The Lord lifteth up the oppressed. He casteth the wicked down to the ground. He giveth rain upon the earth, He maketh grass to grow upon the mountains, And to the young ravens when they cry, He delighteth not in the strength of the horse, Praise the Lord, O Jerusalem! For he hath strengthened the bars of thy gates, He filleth thee with the finest of the wheat. He showeth his word unto Jacob, "Amen!" exclaimed Helon; " Amen !" responded Elisama; and even Myron repeated "Amen!" THE way from Raphia to Gaza was travelled with very different feelings by the several members of our party. Helon, as he proceeded, was constantly looking to the right, towards the hills of Judah, which rose black and dark in the starry night, to the eastward of the road which they travelled along the coast. His feelings grew more intense with every glance; passages from the Psalms and the Prophets perpetually rose to his lips; and all the fatigues of the journey over the stony and sandy soil were forgotten in the reflection, that every step brought him nearer to the Promised Land. The history of his people passed in review before his mind, and his imagination applied everything around him to cherish the illusion. Instead of a caravan of Phoenician traders, he seemed to be in the pastoral encampments of Abraham; with Moses and the children of Israel in the wilderness; in the caravan of the queen Sheba, when she came to visit Solomon; or amongst the exiles returning with Zerubbabel, to rebuild the ruined sanctuary. Elisama was seated on his horse, his mind full of the glory of Israel which was about to be revealed; in the midst of the bitterness against the heathen, which was become a necessary excitement to his aged heart, and the inward ill-will which he harbored against Myron, he rejoiced in the triumph which he had gained over him by his narrative, which had been so complete, as to force the Greek, at last, to assent to the praises of Israel. With these feelings they came late at night to Gaza. Elisama, while the tents were erecting, paid the conductor of the caravan the sum agreed upon for the journey. As he intended, according to the ancient custom of his people, to make the journey of the passover on foot, he had already bargained with some one in the caravan for the purchase of the horses. They reposed for some hours, and rose again before the dawn. The caravan still lay buried in profound slumber. By the time the camels were loaded and themselves ready to depart, the morning began to dawn, and a singular spectacle was unfolded by it. The camels were crouching in a wide circle around the baggage, the horses, and merchandise; and their long necks and little heads rose like towers above a wall. The men had encamped around fires or in tents. Most of the fires had burnt out, only here and there dying embers occasionally shot a flame, which feebly illuminated the singular groups around. Within the great circle all was still, save that the watchmen with their long staves were going their rounds, and calling their watchword in the stillness of the hour. In the distance were heard the hoarse sounds of the waves, breaking on the shore. On the other side of the camp was Gaza with its towers and ruins; and the fiery glow of morning was lightening up the scene of the fearful accomplishment of the word of prophecy. Gaza, once so populous, magnificent, and strong, when she committed the shameful outrage on Samson, had no longer any gates at the spot where the mighty hero once lifted them up, and placed them on the hill opposite to Hebron.* Jeremiah had taken the wine-cup of fury from the hand of Jehovah, to cause the nations to drink of it to whom the Lord had sent him, and Gaza was amongst them, that they might reel and be mad because of the sword that he sent amongst them. The shepherd of Tekoah had foretold this in yet plainer language: Thus saith Jehovah, Three transgressions of Gaza have I passed unnoticed, And I will send a fire on the walls of Gaza, Which shall devour the palaces thereof. Amos i. 6, 7. Zephaniah had said, “ Gaza shall be forsaken;" and las of all Zechariah§ had declared, *Judg. xvi. 1-3. + Jer. xlvii. + Zeph. ii. 4. Zech. ix. 5. |