ters, passed over judgment and the love of God and warning his disciples against such principles, he exhorted them not to fear the displeasure of man, but to stand in awe of him who has power to cast into hell, as well as to kill the body.

Occurrences which, in a religious light, might appear unimportant, afforded occasion to this heavenly teacher, for the most important religious instruction. Thus, when one of the company desired him to interfere in the settlement of an inheritance, Jesus cautioned him, as well as the congregation in general, to "beware of covetousness;" and, in an impressive parable, represented the folly and final wretchedness of those who feel secure of happiness in the possession of earthly plenty, and are disposed to "eat, drink, and be merry," while they are not rich toward God."

Our Lord was now, it seems, on another circuit through Galilee; where, in one of the synagogues, he released from her affliction a woman who had been bowed together with her infirmity for eighteen years; after which, we are informed of his returning toward Jerusalem, teaching in the different cities and villages on the way.

Being at the table of one of the Pharisees, in the course of this journey, Jesus improved the season by the parable of the Wedding Supper; setting forth, under figures, the rich provision of the gospel, and representing the various success of his ministers in delivering the gracious invitation to sinners. On leaving the house, multitudes followed him; and the publicans and sinners drawing near to hear him, the self-righteous scribes and Pharisees murmured at his condescen

sion to these people. Our Lord defended his conduct on this occasion, in three parables, the last of which, called the parable of the Prodigal Son, is so very interesting and important, that we must not omit a brief sketch of its contents.

confession, to his injured parent, who received him with joy and feasting, while the elder brother, murmuring at his reception, refused to unite in the pleasure and festivity of the day.

This parable, which seems evidently to represent, in the person of the younger brother, the publicans and sinners, and in that of the elder, the scribes and Pharisees, contains also important instruction for us. In the younger brother we may see the sad fruits of sin and dissipation, both in a temporal and spiritual point of view, as well as the happy result of a return to God; while the disposition and conduct of the elder, still serve to mark the character of the selfrighteous, wherever they are found.

The parable of the unjust steward, which follows that of the prodigal, is intended to admonish us, so to use the possessions of this world (called "the mammon of unrighteousness") as to secure the friendship of the distressed, especially among the friends of Christ; in other words, to use these worldly things to the glory of God and the good of men. And in the next parable which comes under our notice, two characters are represented, in their different states, both in this world and in that beyond the grave.

This is the parable of the rich man and Lazarus the beggar: the former living in splendor and plenty, but forgetful of God and religion; the latter lying, an afflicted outcast, at the rich man's gate, but blessed with the favor of Heaven. Such was the state of things in this world; but greatly was it reversed in the other! The beggar dying,

was carried by the angels into Abraham's bosom," while, in hell, the rich man lifting up his eyes in torment, saw the blessedness of the once-afflicted Lazarus.

After just mentioning the healing of the ten men who were diseased with leprosy ; the parable of the importunate widow, which A certain man is represented as having was designed to encourage us to perseverance two sons; the younger of whom, having re-in, prayer; and that of the Pharisee and ceived his portion, went into a distant country, publican, showing the contrast between proud where he "wasted his substance with riotous self-righteousness and humble penitence, living." Reduced by poverty and famine we hasten on to the feast of the dedication, at to a state of wretchedness, he became a Jerusalem, where we find our Lord restoring keeper of swine, to a citizen of that country; to sight a man who had been blind from his but happily, in this situation, "he came to birth. himself," and took the resolution to try once This miracle, though attested in the clearmore the kindness of a father. Accordingly, est manner, had no effect toward removing he returned, with a humble and penitent the prejudice and enmity of the Pharisees.

It was wrought on the sabbath day, and pay attention is the resurrection of Lazathis, in their esteem, afforded some pretext rus. This man was the brother of Martha for opposition. They accused Jesus of and Mary, who have been already introduced profaning the sabbath, and cast the man to our notice. Of this little family (who (who had now become his disciple) out of resided in the town of Bethany), it is testithe synagogue. This opposition became fied, that they were all beloved of Jesus. still more violent, when Christ, in a discourse Yet Lazarus, though loved of his Lord, was held with the Jews, in the porch of the sick, and eventually died of his illness. In temple, declared, "I and my Father are the mean time a message from the two sisters one.", They even took up stones to stone had reached the Saviour, mentioning the "but he escaped out of their hands, sickness of his friend; but continuing some and went again beyond Jordan," where time where he was, he did not reach the many resorted to him, and believed on him. house of mourning till four days after the death and burial of Lazarus.

him ;

We must not omit to mention here, among other instances of his goodness, the gracious regard shown to helpless infancy, by the Redeemer; who, when some persons present brought young children to him, that they might share in his favor, "took them up in his arms, put his hands upon them, and blessed them." Then, departing thence, he went on to some other place which he had designed to visit.

In the way, he was accosted by a young ruler, who, in an earnest manner, desired to know what he should do to inherit eternal life. The result of the conversation showed, that this amiable youth, with all his morality, was incapable of renouncing the world for Christ, and Jesus improved the serious. occasion, by delivering a general caution against setting the heart on the perishing riches of this world; assuring his disciples, that those who had forsaken all for him, should, in some sense, be great gainers, even in this life; and that in the world to come, they should have life everlasting.

The next event to which we shall here

This circumstance, however, offered no difficulty to him who was "the Resurrection and the Life." Accompanied by a train of mourners, and the sisters of the deceased, with whom he wept on this occasion, he came to the sepulchre; and the stone which covered the mouth being removed, Jesus, after addressing his heavenly Father, "cried with a loud voice, Lazarus, come forth!" His word was attended with life-giving power : the grave resigned its prisoner; "and he that was dead came forth," bound with grave-clothes, and his head wrapped with a napkin. "Loose him," said Christ," and let him go.'

From that day forth, the Jews, convinced. of his miraculous power, but still cherishing their enmity against him, "took counsel together to put him to death." On this account "Jesus walked no more openly among the Jews," till the time appointed for his suffering; but went, with his disciples, into the country near the wilderness, to a city called Ephraim.

the way, Jesus was addressed by addressed by two blind have mercy on us!" The compassionate men (one of whom was known by the name Saviour restored their sight, and they folof Bartimeus, the son of Timeus), who cried lowed him with thankful hearts, glorying out to him, Jesus, thou son of David, God.

walls, and it again became the capital of a kingdom. The Christian monarchy of Jerusalem was of short duration.

to give thanks unto the name of the Lord;" and "there" also were "set thrones of judgment, the thrones of the house of David." (Psalm xlviii. 2, cxxii. 4, 5.) Jerusalem is situated near the Godfrey was succeeded by his brother Baldwin, centre of Palestine, among the mountains, about who died in 1118. In the year 1188, Saladin, thirty-seven miles from the Mediterranean Sea, sultan of the East, captured the city, which was and twenty-three from the River Jordan. The restored to the Latin princes by Saleh Ismael, most ancient name of this city was Salem (Gen. emir of Damascus, and fifty years afterward they xiv. 18); and it was afterward called Jebus, from lost it to the sultans of Egypt, who held it until one of the sons of Canaan (Josh. xviii. 28). Being 1382. Selim the Turkish sultan reduced Egypt a very strong position, it resisted many attempts and Syria, including Jerusalem, in 1517; and it of the Israelites to subdue it, until at length it was still continues under the Turkish dominion, reduced by David (2 Sam. v. 6-9), after which it" trodden down of the Gentiles," in literal fulfilreceived its present name, and was also called the ment of our Lord's prediction. City of David.

After its destruction by the Chaldæans, Jerusalem was rebuilt by the Jews on their return from the Babylonish captivity, about the year B. C. 536. They exerted themselves much in order to restore its former splendor; and Herod the Great expended vast sums in its embellishment. At length it was taken, A. D. 72, by the Romans under Titus, who ineffectually endeavored to save its celebrated temple; the foundations of which were ploughed up by the Roman soldiers. Thus, agreeably to the predictions of the prophets, "Zion was ploughed as a field, and Jerusalem became heaps" (Jer. xxvi. 18; Mic. iii. 12); and, conformably to the prophecy of Jesus Christ, not one stone was left upon another which was not thrown down (Matt. xxiv. 2). As, however, the Jews continued to return, the emperor Hadrian planted a Roman colony there, and erected a city on part of the former site of Jerusalem, which he called Elia Capitolina, and exerted himself to obliterate all traces both of Judaism and Christianity. But in the reign of Constantine, the first Christian emperor, it resumed its ancient name, which it has retained to the present day. Julian the apostate, who, after his father, succeeded to the throne of his uncle Constantine, endeavored to rebuild the temple; but his design (and that of the Jews whom he patronized) was frustrated, A.D. 363. An earthquake, a whirlwind, and a fiery eruption, compelled the workmen to abandon their design.

square

This city occupies an irregular between two miles and a half and three miles in circumference. The walls by which it is surrounded are flanked at irregular distances by square towers, and have battlements all around on their summits, with loop-holes for arrows or musketry close to the top. The walls appear to be about fifty feet in height, but are not surrounded by a ditch: within them are seen crowded dwellings, remarkable in no respect, except being terraced by flat roofs, and generally built of stone. The mosque of Omar is the most elegant edifice of the Turks in Jerusalem. It occupies the site of the great temple of Solomon, and is held in such profound veneration by the Mussulmans as to have become forbidden ground to any Jew or Christian, who, if detected entering its precincts, must either adopt the Mussulman faith or forfeit his life.

Two modern travellers, however (the late Mr. Burckhardt, and M. Badhia under the assumed name of Ali Bey), succeeded in obtaining a view of the interior of this building, in the garb of Moslems; and subsequently it was visited and examined in detail, four several times, by Dr. Richardson, whose skill as a physician had cured for him that extraordinary privilege. The proelevated platform or terrace upon which it stands is bounded by embankment-walls, and others of ancient construction, forming a level area of 795 feet in length by 750 feet in breadth. The church of the Holy Sepulchre is erected on the site of the magnificent ancient church which was destroyed by fire The subsequent history of Jerusalem may be some years ago: it has been rebuilt by various sects narrated in few words. In A. D. 613 it was taken of Christians, who have separate portions of the by Cosrhoes, king of Persia, who slew ninety building allotted to them for the performance of thousand of the inhabitants; and, to the utmost their respective services. The general plan of the of his power, demolished whatever the Christians former building is stated to have been preserved had venerated. In A. D. 627 the emperor Herac- with such exactness, that the descriptions of it lius defeated Cosrhoes, and Jerusalem was recov-given by former travellers are equally applicable to ered by the Greeks. The caliph Omar, the third in the modern edifice. succession from Mohammed, was its next con- Latin Christians, severally have their convents: The Greek, Armenian, and queror; A. D. 636 he captured it from the Chris- the principal is that of Saint Salvador, which is tians after a siege of four months; and it con-occupied by monks of the Franciscan order, who tinued under the caliphs of Bagdad until A. D. 868, hospitably entertain pilgrims of all Christian when it was taken by Ahmed, a Turkish sover-nations. It will accommodate about two hundred eign of Egypt. During the space of 220 years it persons, and is so completely enclosed by lofty was subject to several masters, Turkish and Sara- walls as to resemble a fortress. cenic; and in 1099 it was taken by the crusaders under Godfrey of Bouillon, when the standard of salem may be stated at 12,000; but it is conThe population ordinarily resident in Jeruthe cross was triumphantly displayed upon its siderably increased by the pilgrims who flock

while all his disciples and followers united in crying, "Hosanna to the son of David!"

In the crowd which gathered around Jesus in passing through Jericho, was a man by the name of Zaccheus, a chief man among The heart of Jesus, however, was far from When he the publicans, and rich. Being low of stature, being elated with this triumph. he ran before the multitude, and climbed a was come near, he beheld the city, and wept sycamore-tree, in order to have a sight of this over it!" He saw the approaching doom great prophet. He was not, however, con- of this devoted place, when God, in righteous cealed from the eye of Christ, who called indignation, would give it up to the power him down from the tree, and graciously de- of the Roman armies; and, in a prophecy diclared, that salvation had come to his house; rected to the city, he foretold that doom. while Zaccheus, under a divine influence, Having entered into the temple, and again professed his intention to give half his goods expelled the profane rabble of traders and to the poor, and his readiness to restore four-money-changers, who, it seems, had resumed fold to any person who might have been their seats, he healed the blind and the defrauded by his dealings. lame, who came to him there; though his wonderful works, and the shoutings of the Hosanna children in the temple, crying, to the Son of David," sorely displeased the chief priests and scribes, who sought to destroy him, and could not find what they might do; for all the people were very attentive to hear him."

Six days before the passover, Jesus came to Bethany,* where, being at supper in the house of Martha, with his disciples and Lazarus, Mary expressed her holy affection by pouring on his head an alabaster box of precious ointment, anointing his feet also, and wiping them with her hair; and this act Jesus declared was the anointing of his body to his approaching burial.

Having come to the Mount of Olives, he sent two of his disciples to procure a colt (the foal of an ass) on which, though never before ridden by man, he made his entry into the city of Jerusalem; thus fulfilling a prophecy respecting the Messiah, in Zech. ix. 9. In the mean time, the multitude that surrounded him .pread their garments in the way, and cutting branches from the trees, strewed them in the road, according to the usual custom of expressing joy, on the arrival of a great prince. Many also from Jerusalem met him with branches of palm-trees;

thither at certain seasons of the year, particularly at Easter, when they are crowded into the several

convents.

* BETHANY, as we are informed (John xi. 18), was "nigh unto Jerusalem, about fifteen furlongs off." The place is not mentioned, at least under this name, in the Old Testament; but it occurs several times in the Talmudical writings. It is situated to the east of the Mount of Olives, on the road to Jericho. Its situation is pleasant and somewhat romantic, being sheltered by the Mount of Olives on the north, and abounding with trees and long grass. It is now a poor village, inhabited by Arabs; and the cultivation of the adjacent soil is much neglected. It seems, however, about our Saviour's time to have enjoyed some kind of trade (perhaps in olives, figs, and dates, which abounded in this neighborhood), as the Jewish writers mention "the shops of Bethany," which were, as they inform us, destroyed three years before Jerusalem. Bethany is at present chiefly noticed on account of its mention in the gospels;

In the course of his public exercises, Jesus having addressed his heavenly Father, praying that God would glorify his own name, a voice from heaven declared, "I have both glorified it, and will glorify it again." This voice was mistaken by some for thunder others said an angel had spoken to him; but Jesus assured them that this voice had come, not on his account, but for their sakes, that they might profit by this divine testimony.

;

After many discourses and admonitions delivered to the scribes and Pharisees, who endeavored, but in vain, "to entangle him in his talk," as well as several parables, which we here pass over, we find our Lord, in

and in conseqence of which, it contains a full proportion of the sort of objects to which the attention of pilgrims is usually directed: these are the tomb of Lazarus, with the ruins of the house he is supposed to have occupied, and also the houses of his sisters, and of Simon the leper. That which is shown as the house of Lazarus is a ruin, the stones of which are very large, and of a solid and sombre cast of architecture, and which the Rev. V. Monroe ("Summer's Ramble in Syria," vol. i., p. 189) conjectures to have formed part of the convent built by Fulco, king of Jerusalem. Near these ruins is the alleged tomb of Lazarus, thus noticed by the same writer: "The exterior doorway of the tomb of Lazarus is formed artificially of stone-work; but the steep, narrow, and winding staircase which leads below is cut in the living rock, as well as the grave itself."

† It does not appear probable that this transaction, recorded so late in two of the evangelists, the same with that mentioned by John so early in the public ministry of Christ.