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active part in the defence of their country. The civil government of Jerusalem was given to Ananus, the high-priest, and Joseph-ben-Gorion; while five persons, some of them priests, were intrusted with military commands in as many provinces. One of these was Josephus, the renowned historian of the war, to whom was confided the command in Galilee and Gamala. All these employed every exertion to prepare for the fearful struggle which they saw to be approaching. They had no time to lose for when the news of the revolt of the Jews, and the defeat of Cestius, arrived at Rome, the emperor (Nero) sent Vespasian into Syria, to take the conduct of the war. He arrived early in the year 67 A.D.; and having spent some time in collecting his forces, he found that he had at his disposal 60,000 men, including two legions, which his son Titus had brought from Alexandria, and auxiliary forces from the neighboring kings.

The Roman general did not immediately march to Jerusalem. His plan was to subdue all the provinces, and the districts that covered the metropolis, reserving the city itself for the final and crowning conquest. Referring to Josephus for a full account of his operations, we proceed to observe, that having well nigh accomplished the first part of his object, the growing trouble of the Roman empire made him very anxious, at the commencement of the year 69, to bring the war to a speedy conclusion. He therefore hastened to complete the work that remained to be done, before leading his army to Jerusalem; and having secured all the region around the city, so as to cut off the communication between it and the provinces, he was about to undertake the siege, when the news of the death of Nero, and the successive intelligence of the revolution which rapidly followed, induced him to defer his design for a while, till he should learn the ultimate result. He heard first of the accession of Galba, and soon after of his murder: a shorter interval elapsed between the news of the accession and murder of Otho, the succeeding emperor. The ensuing elevation of Vitellius, by the German legions, filled Vespasian and his army with indignation: and the latter held a council, in which they determined to invest their own general with the imperial purple. They did so. This act of the army of Palestine was received with general approbation The year 70 was chiefly occupied by the emperor in establishing his authority, by himself and his generals, in Syria, Egypt, and Rome. He was at Alexandria when he received the news that his cause had triumphed at Rome, and that Vitellius had been slain; on which he prepared to embark for Italy, sending his son Titus to Palestine to prosecute the long-suspended siege of Jerusalem. It was now time for those Christians and

other peaceable persons who still remained in Jerusalem to escape from the devoted city; and they neglected not to avail themselves of this last opportunity which was offered.

The pause in the operations of the Romans had worked badly for the Jews, as Vespasian had sagaciously foreseen ; while the interval of rest had invigorated the Roman soldiers, and enlarged their resources for future action. The increased and murderous rage of factions had, in the meanwhile, weakened the Jews, and diminished their resources; and such had been its operation, that at this time Jerusalem, "the holy city," had become, in the strong language of Josephus, "the nest of all uncleanness, a horrid den of robbers, and a hateful cave of murderers." The direful abominations and horrors of that place were such, in his opinion, that if the Romans had not been commissioned by God to destroy it, its overthrow might have been expected from some such direct manifestation of the Divine indignation as that which overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah.

(To be continued.)

God is in History.

D'AUBIGNE.

In these days, history can no longer be that dead letter of facts to recording which the majority of the earlier historians confined themselves. It is felt that, as in man's nature, so in his history, there are two elements-matter and spirit. Our great writers, unwilling to restrict themselves to the production of a simple recital, which would have been but a barren chronicle, have sought for some principle of life to animate the materials of the past.

Some have borrowed such a principle from the rules of art; they have aimed at the simplicity, truth, and picturesque of description; and have endeavored to make their narratives live by the interest of the events themselves.

Others have sought in philosophy the spirit which should fecundate their labors. With incidents they have intermingled reflections,-instructions,-political and philosophical truths, and have thus enlivened their recitals with a moral which they have elicited from them, or ideas they have been able to associate with them.

Both these methods are, doubtless, useful, and should be employed within certain limits. But there is another source whence we must above all seek for the ability to enter into the understanding, the mind, and the life of past ages;-and this is Religion. History must live by that principle of life which is proper to it, and that life is God. He must be ac

knowledged and proclaimed in history;-and the course of events must be displayed as the annals of the government of a Supreme Disposer.

I have descended into the lists to which the recitals of our historians attracted me. I have there seen the actions of men and of nations developing themselves with power, and encountering in hostile collision ;-I have heard I know not what clangour of arms;-but no where has my attention been directed to the majestic aspect of the Judge who presides over the struggle.

And yet there is a principle of movement emanating from God himself in all the changes among nations. God looks upon that wide stage on which the generations of men successively meet and struggle. He is there, it is true, an invisible God; but if the profaner multitude pass before Him without noticing Him, because He is "a God that hideth himself," thoughtful spirits, and such as feel their need of the principle of their being, seek him with the more carnestness, and are not satisfied until they lie prostrate at his feet. And their search is richly rewarded, For, from the heights to which they are obliged to climb to meet their God,-the world's history, instead of offering, as to the ignorant crowd, a confused chaos, appears a majestic temple, which the invisible hand of God erects, and which rises to His glory above the rock of humanity.

Shall we not acknowledge the hand of God in those great men, or in those mighty nations which arise, come forth, as it were, from the dust of the earth, and give a new impulse, a new form, or a new destiny to human affairs? Shall we not acknowledge His hand in those heroes who spring up among men at appointed times; who display activity and energy beyond the ordinary limits of human strength: and around whom individuals and nations gather, as if to a mystorious and superior power? Who launched them into the expanse of ages, like comets of vast extent and flaming trains, appearing at long intervals, to scatter among the superstitious tribes of men anticipations of plenty and joyor of calamities and terror? Who, but God himself? Alexander would seek his origin in the abodes of the Divinity. And in the most irreligious age there is no eminent glory but is seen in some way or other seeking to connect itself with the idea of divine interposition.

And those revolutions which, in their progress, precipitate dynasties and nations to the dust, those heaps of ruin which we meet with in the sands of the desert, those majestic remains which the field of human history offers to our reflec tion, do they not testify aloud to the truth that God is in History? Gibbon, seated on the ancient Capitol, and con

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templating its noble ruins, acknowledged the intervention of a superior destiny. He saw, he felt its presence; wherever his eye turned it met him; that shadow of a mysterious power re-appeared from behind every ruin; and he conceived the project of depicting its operation in the disorganization, the decline, and the corruption of that power of Rome which had enslaved the nations. Shall not that mighty hand which this man of admirable genius, but who had not bowed the knee to Jesus Christ, discerned among the scattered monuments of Romulus and of Marcus Aurelius,-the busts of Cicero, and Virgil,-Trajan's trophies, and Pompey's horses, be confessed by us as the hand of our God? (To be continued.)

Love.

POLLOK.

Hail, holy Love! thou word that sums all bliss, Gives and receives all bliss, fullest when most Thou givest! spring-head of all felicity, Deepest when most is drawn! emblem of God! O'erflowing most when greatest numbers drink! Essence that binds the uncreated Three, Chain that unites creation to its Lord, Centre to which all being gravitates, Eternal, ever growing, happy Love! Enduring all, hoping, forgiving all; Instead of law, fulfilling every law; Entirely blest, because thou seek'st no more, Hopest not, nor fear'st; but on the present liv'st, And hold'st perfection smiling in thine arms. Mysterious, infinite, exhaustless Love! On earth mysterious, and mysterious still In heaven! sweet chord that harmonizes all The harps of Paradise! the spring, the well, That fills the bowl and banquet of the sky. Hail, Love first Love, thou word that sums all bliss! The sparkling cream of all time's blessedness, The silken down of happiness complete ! Discerner of the ripest grapes of joy, She gathereth, and selecteth with her hand, All finest relishes, all fairest sights, All rarest odors, all divinest sounds, All thoughts, all feelings dearest to the soul; And brings the holy mixture home, and fills The heart with all superlatives of bliss.

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Was it, alone, for sculptured tower,

For pinnacles, in pride austere, Approaching to their final hour,

For which the Saviour shed the tear?

Far deeper ills his thought recalls
Than shatter'd turrets, crumbling walls.

The spoil, the ruin, last and worst,

Before his cloudless vision spread! He saw the spot, of heaven accurs'd! Wrath resting on that people's head Who heard his warnings with disdain, Who had so many prophets slain ! The pitying voice his heart reveals!

He cries, with Israel full in view, "Even as a hen her brood conceals,

"How often had I gather'd you! "But death you love, and truth you hate, "And now, your house is desolate !"

He heard the imprecation dire,

"On us, and ours, thine anger spend !" He knew that hope must soon expire, Vengeance in crushing weight descend! The Besom of Destruction sweep! And therefore did the Saviour weep!

The Dying Girl.

MISS JEWSBURY.

My mother! look not on me now,
With that sad earnest eye;
Blame me not, mother-blame not thou

My heart's last wish to die!

I cannot wrestle with the strife
I once had heart to bear;
And if I yield a youthful life,
Full hath it been of care.

Nay, weep not!-on my brow is set
The age of grief-not years;
Its furrows thou may'st wildly wet,

But ne'er wash out with tears;
And could'st thou see my weary heart—
Too weary even to sigh-

Oh! mother, mother! thou would'st start,
And say ""T were best to die!"

I know 't is summer on the earth,-
I hear the pleasant tune

Of waters in their chiming mirth-
I feel the breath of June:

The roses through my lattice look-
The bee sails singing by-

The peasant takes his pruning hook,—
Yet, mother, let me die!

There's nothing in this time of flowers
That hath a voice for me;

The whispering leaves, the sunny hours,
The young, the glad, the free-
There's nothing but thy own deep love,

And that will live on high;

Then, mother, when my heart's above,
Kind mother!-let me die!

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Jerusalem ;*

ITS HISTORY FROM THE TIME OF CHRIST,

AND ITS PRESENT CONDITION.

THE war which ended in the destruction of Jerusalem and the subversion of the Jewish nation, first broke out in the year 66 A.D., and terminated in 71 A.D. Its origin may be distinctly traced to the oppressive and insulting measures of Gessius Florus, the procurator of Judea, who was unquestionably the worst Roman governor the Jews ever had. He received his appointment from the emperor Nero in the year 65. This man was not the first tyrannical, cruel, or avaricious governor which the Jews had received from Rome; but none were so tyrannical and cruel in principle, nor any so insatiably avaricious as Florus. There were no means whatever at which he scrupled in order to fill his coffers. As one instance, we may mention, that the robbers which for some years greatly abounded in Judea, well understood that they might carry on their depredations with perfect impunity, provided they gave the governor a share of their plunder. The consequence was, that they rapidly increased in numbers and daring. From this and other causes, the condition of the people became so miserable, and life and property so insecure, that great numbers emigrated to foreign countries, being no longer able to endure the miseries they suffered at home. When Florus saw that he had made himself thoroughly detested, and that the Jews were likely to complain against him to his superiors, he adopted the deep and atrocious policy of driving them to revolt, that their cries for justice might be drowned in the clash of arms—that in their greater crimes his own might be forgotten. In this he but too well succeeded. But to lay the entire blame of the war on the procurator, would be to take a very superficial view of the transactions of this eventful time. The cause lay far deeper-it lay in the condition and state of feeling of the Jewish nation, which afforded the governor suitable materials on which to operate: and if these had not existed, his attempt probably would not have been made, or, if made, would have proved abortive.

Even in the time of Christ, the Jews were highly dissatisfied with their condition under the Romans; so that they even doubted whether their submission were not in itself unlawful, and whether the assertion of their independence were not a duty, the neglect of which involved a want of due reliance upon Him who had been their Strong Deliverer of old; but

PICTORIAL BIBLE; Charles Knight and Co., London.-A work abounding with information valuable to all Christians.

With our next will be presented a very beautiful view of Jerusalem, taken from Light's Travels.

upon the whole, they were disposed for the present to wait a little, not more from expediency, than because they doubted that the time for exertion was fully come until the ardently expected Messiah should appear, to lead them on to victory and independence. They did not however wait very patiently. Their expectations were well known to the Romans; and their eagerness made them but too ready to listen to the dreamers, false prophets and pretended Messiahs, who promised them great things. This and other causes led to partial disturbances and insurrections from time to time; so that upon the whole the Jews were looked upon as bad and turbulent subjects by the Romans, who fully returned upon. them the dislike with which they were themselves regarded. The measures of Florus did but kindle into a general blaze the fire which had smouldered long, and which had thrown forth a brief and partial flame more than once before.

In whatever point of view the condition of the Jews be at this time regarded, it is exceedingly difficult to see any thing that is not painful and distressing. The nation was divided into parties which regarded one another with implacable hatred and bitterness, that often broke forth into acts of murderous violence. Perhaps the history of no country offers a parallel to the party violence which at this time raged in Judea. It was the duty of the procurator to have kept this party spirit under, or at least to have prevented its more violent excesses; but in the contentions of the people he found a ready means of enriching himself, by levying contributions on, and accepting bribes from, the adverse parties in turn. He therefore rather sought to foment than to allay their differences-particularly when it became his policy to drive the nation into open revolt. He looked on with pleasure to see the Jews themselves working the destruction which he desired to bring upon them. The people generally were fretful and turbulent, ready to give heed to any delusion, and to act upon it. There was no order, no peace. Even the chief priests formed themselves into a faction, opposed, on the one hand, to the inferior priests, and on the other to the principal laymen. The former found adherents among the people; and from words the two factions often proceeded to blows and the throwing of stones; while the inferior clergy, finding the tithes on which they lived taken violently away by the servants of their superiors, were compelled to resist, in order to preserve the means of subsistence. The land was also overrun by robbers and murderers. The former, often acting in powerful bands, devastated the country with fire and sword; while the latter, who arose in the time of Felix (53—60 a.d.), and were never after extirpated, were regular assassins. They were called Sicarii, from the short dagger (sica) which

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