gathered together in the valley below, to receive their doom from his mouth. A little farther northward is the gate of the temple. It is at present walled up, because the Turks here have a prophecy, that their destruction shall enter at that gate, the completion of which prediction they endeavour, by this means, to prevent. Below this gate, in the bottom of the valley, is a broad hard stone, discovering several impressions upon it, which you may fancy to be footsteps. These, the friars tell you, are prints made by our Blessed Saviour's feet, when, after his apprehension, he was hurried violently away to the tribunal of his blood-thirsty persecutors.

From hence, keeping still in the bottom of the valley, you come, in a few paces, to a place which they call the Sepulchre of the Blessed Virgin. It has a magnificent descent down into it of forty-seven stairs. On the right hand, as you go down, is the sepulchre of St. Anna, the mother, and on the left, that of St. Joseph, the husband, of the Blessed Virgin.

Having finished our visit to this place, we went up the hill toward the city. In the side of the ascent, we were shewn a broad stone, on which they say St. Stephen suffered martyrdom; and not far from it is a grot, into which they tell you the outrageous Jewish zealots cast his body, when they had satiated their fury upon him.-From hence we went immediately to St. Stephen's gate, so called from its vicinity to this place of the protomartyr's suffering; and so returned to our lodging.

The next morning we set out again, in order to see the sanctuaries, and other visitable places upon Mount Olivet. We went out at St. Stephen's gate; and erossing the valley of Jehosaphat, began immediately to ascend the mountain. Being got about two thirds of the way up, we came to certain grottos cut with intricate windings and caverns under ground. These are called the sepulchres of the prophets. A little higher up are twelve arched vaults under ground, standing side by side. These were built in memory of the twelve apostles, who are said to have compiled their creed in this place. Sixty paces higher, you come to the place where they say Christ uttered his prophecy concerning the final destruction of Jerusalem (Mat. xxiv. 2.): and a little on the right hand of this, is the place where they say he dictated a second time the Pater Noster to his disciples, (xi. 1, 2.). Somewhat higher is the cave of St. Pelagia; and as much more above that a pillar, signifying the place where an angel gave the Blessed Virgin three days' warning of her death. At the top of the hill you come to the place of our Blessed Lord's ascension. Here was anciently a large church, built in honor of that glorious triumph;

The earliest notice of this sepulchre as that of the Virgin, occurs in the writings of Adambamus, the Irish monk, who described it from the testimony of Asculfus, in the seventh century. Neither Eusebius, Epiphanius, nor Jerome mentions a syllable to authorize the tradition, which affords strong negative evidence that the sepulchre is of comparatively recent workmanship. Pococke thinks it probable that it was the sepulchre of Melisendis, queen of Jerusalem.

but all that now remains of it is only an octagonal cupola, about eight yards in diameter, standing, as they say, over the very place where were set the last footsteps of the Son of God here on earth. Within the cupola there is seen, in a hard stone, as they tell you, the print of one of his feet. Here was also that of the other foot some time since; but it has been removed from hence by the Turks, into the great mosque upon Mount Moriah. This chapel of the Ascension the Turks have the custody of, and use it for a mosque. There are many other holy places about Jerusalem, which the Turks pretend to have a veneration for, equally with the Christians; and, under that pretence, they take them into their own hands. But whether they do this out of real devotion, or for lucre's sake, and to the end that they may exact money from the Christians for admission into them, I will not determine.

About two furlongs from this place, northward, is the highest part of Mount Olivet; and upon that was anciently erected an high tower, in memory of that apparition of two angels to the Apostles, after our Blessed Lord's ascension (Acts i. 10, 11.), from which the tower itself had the name given it of Viri Galilæi ! This ancient monument remained till about two years since, when it was demolished by a Turk, who had bought the field in which it stood; but nevertheless, you have still, from the natural height of the place, a large prospect of Jerusalem, and the adjacent country, and of the Dead Sea, &c.

From this place we descended the mount again by another road. At about the midway down, they show you the place where Christ beheld the city, and wept over it (Luke xix, 41.). Near the bottom of the hill is a great stone upon which, you are told, the Blessed Virgin let fall her girdle after her assumption, in order to convince St. Thomas, who, they say, was troubled with a fit of his old incredulity upon this occasion. There is still to be seen a small winding channel upon the stone, which they will have to be the impression made by the girdle when it fell, and to be left for the conviction of all such as shall suspect the truth of their story of the assumption.

In

About twenty yards lower they shew you Gethsemane, an even plat of ground, not above fifty-seven yards square, lying between the foot of Mount Olivet and the brook Cedron. It is well planted with olive-trees, and those of so old a growth, that they are believed to be the same that stood here in our blessed Saviour's time. virtue of which persuasion, the olives, and olive stones, and oil which they produce, become an excellent commodity in Spain. But that these trees cannot be so ancient as is pretended, is evident from what Josephus testifies (de Bell. Jud. lib. vi. cap. 1.), and in other places, viz. that Titus, in his siege of Jerusalem, cut down all the trees within about one hundred furlongs of Jerusalem; and that the soldiers were forced to fetch wood so far for making their mounts when they assaulted the temple.

At the upper corner of the garden is a flat naked ledge of rock, reputed to be the place on which the Apostles Peter, James, and John, fell asleep during the agony of our Lord. And a few paces

antiquity and native country may claim a near relationship to the Sacred Writings. We have, however, at present, mainly to do with those which appear in that volume, which, of all other Holy Books, alone possesses indisputable claims to a heavenly Inspiration.

The first of these appellations, in the order of Scripture, is D (alehim), which properly denotes, the adorable Being, the God to be feared or worshipped. In a comparative sense it is applied to human beings; and may be rendered, worshipful, excellency.

~~]—Jehovah, (7) the Self Existent,† is a name altogether Divine; nor can it ever be given to another being. If any explanation be needed, let the testimony of John, in Rev. i. 4, suffice. "Who is, and who was, and who is to come"! From the record of Moses, Exod. iii. 15, he would seem to have made a special selection of this name (or at least of one radically the same) even to perpetuity:

"This is MY NAME for ever:

And this is My Memorial from generation to generation."

-Another Sacred title is, Almighty, Ilavтoкpar@p; for so is (shidi) often translated, which, perhaps, would more literally be, All Bountiful. This name appears to have been very early desecrated to purposes of idolatry (Deut. xxxii. 17; Ps. civ. 37; and Gen. xiv. 3, 8, 10.). The latter clause of ver. 3. in Exod. vi. should doubtless be read interrogatively. "But by my name Jehovah was I not

known?"

Kupios.]-The greek term Kupios, importing authority, lordship,|| has been commonly used for Jehovah : but unlike that essentially divine appellation, it is also applied to inferior beings. It is frequently a mere title of respect, like Sir in English, Matt. xxvii. 68; Acts. xvi. 30.

Oɛoç. Very different, however, is the meaning of Oɛos, which has ever been appropriated exclusively to what is Divine.§ It is worthy of recollection, tha the Sept. have usually rendered, Dalehim), when signifyingthe true God, by Orog in the singular number!¶

God. The word God (Germ. Gott, and Belg. Godt.) is pure Anglo-Saxon,** and among our ancestors signified not only the Divine

* Derived from the SS. Arabic, to adore, worship: "Cum sacro horrore ac veneratione coluit, adoravit." Wilmet. See also Scheidii Glossar. Arab. Lat. Manuale, p. 6. and Critica Biblica, vol. i, pp. 21-24.

Stockius and Parkhurst's Heb. Lex.; Flacii Clavis Script. Sac.; and Calmet's Bib. Encyclop.

Dr. Shuckford's Connect. of Sac. and Prof. Hist. . p. 400; Hodges and Ganganelli, cited and approved by Dimock.

11 "Hoc derivatur a kúpo sum." Mintert's Lex. Græc. Lat. in Nov. Test.; Stockius, pp. 659, 660. and Parkhurst's Gr. Lex. in voce.

"Ha dictus explerorumque sententia a OɛELV currere quia Deus virtute sua înfinita omnia percurrit." Schleusner, p. 761; but see Parkhorst, in voce.

Thus" they inculcate the grand point of God's unity, and at the same time did not deny a plurality of agents or persons in the Divine Nature." Parkhurst, voce OεOÇ.

** Calepini Dict. undecim Ling. p. 413, Barclay's Dictionary; Dr. A. Clarke's Notes on Gen. i. 1, and Crit. Bib. vol. i, p. 21.

Being, but also Good, as in their apprehension God and Good were correlative terms. They considered Him the Good Being: O that he were always thus represented and obeyed!

Sect 2.Attributes or Perfections."

Proclaiming His Name -What a sublime description is furnished by Exod. xxxiv. 5-7 when the Deity condescended to " proclaim' His own"Name"! How impressively are his sovereignty and equity here displayed: properties these, which summarily express, or imply, the main perfections of the Godhead!

Incomprehensible. Yet, with all the amplitude of Revelation," how little a portion is heard of Him" (Job xxvi. 14.). Among the prime characteristics+ of this Being, must be specially noted that of Incomprehensibility. How inadequate is finite, fully to understand infinity: and what reasons, consequently, are there for humble and hearty devotion!

Spirituality.That God is a Spirit (John iv. 24); incorporeal, invisible, is the uniform doctrine of Scripture. Hence the well known prohibition of the Decalogue, in Exod. xx. 4, 5; and therefore the just condemnation of the foolish and criminal practices of idolatry, in Rom. i. 21-25.

Omniscience. In speaking of the Divine Omniscience, his Ubiquity or Omnipresence is, of course, necessarily implied. And in this term, must also be comprehended the Prescience of God; for His universal knowledge embraces all periods in time and eternity, as well as all places in every world! The sublimities of Scripture (as 1 Kings viii. 27; and Ps. cxxxix.) on this subject, are as much above the effort of an uninspired genius, as they are in want of human commendation.

HolinessOf the Purity or Holiness of God, what deeply impressive indications are comprised in the Bible! The histories of both Testaments are full of them :-the message of the Gospel most emphatically reveals it. What a foundation is there, in the possession of every attribute of excellency and perfection, for the Supremacy and Sovereignty of Jehovah :-for "the Equity of Divine Government and the Sovereignty of Divine Grace"!

Eternity. Finally, this God, (of whom, at present, we are only noticing some properties,) is without beginning and ending, in His existence eternal. He alone hath immortality (1. Tim. vi. 16.). Immutable therefore is He, and independent, for ever.

« These infinite excellencies of Deity are inseparable from the Divine Essence, and from each other, and are essential to God." "Syllabus of Lectures on the most important subjects in Theol.", by the late Dr. E. Williams, p. 27.

+"The Scripture Character of God," by H. F. Burder; contains, in twelve discourses, plain and useful illustrations: though perhaps (with due respect and deference for the excellent author) not so original and judicious as might have been expected.

Sect. 3.-The Divine Persons.

Reverential Caution.A subject of such deep solemnity, and of pure Revelation, should manifestly be approached with the devoutest awe. It is indeed "sacred ground," on which we now are treading; nor is any mind fitted for the contemplation, unless deeply imbued with humble piety* and reverential caution. How repeatedly is this spirit inculcated by the Sacred Writings; and how necessary is its possession for a truly rational and satisfactory view of the Divine Character? Well has a Psalmist said:

"Holy and Reverend is his Name"!

Imperfection of Language.]-On no subject like the present, is the inadequacy of human language so much felt. Our very conceptions, even to their utmost stretch, are infinitely below the elevated theme : how much more incompetent, then, must be any attempted expressions of the awful reality! And how reasonable that He, whose very being is incomprehensible, should be likewise incomprehensible in the manner of his existence !+

Personality. The term person, it is well known, has been applied here, as expressing the idea of Ὑποτασις and Προσωπον, in Heb. i. 3; and 2 Cor. iv. 6. Its signification is, of course, different from that in which it is used of a human being; being employed to designate the modal subsistence of the Divine Nature. It is alike remote from a divine attribute, and a separate being.

Trinity. Since the Bible does not profess to furnish a complete Religious Dictionary, and the English Version cannot be identified with the language of Inspiration, there must, of necessity, be some words brought into requisition, which are not literally and verbally scriptural. Of such a character is the term Trinity, importing,

* Dr. Smith's Script. Testimony to Person of Christ, i. p. 111, 112-where also a note is given from Frank's "Manuductio, &c." which does not appear, from its connection, exactly accordant with the author's primary intention. Jaques' Translat. p. 47.

† Page 28, of the Rev. J. Whitridge's Ordination Service. Carlisle, 1814. Dr. E. Williams' Notes to Doddridge's Works, vol. v. p. 177, Leed's edit.

1804. "The propriety of employing these expressions rests upon the same foundation as the use of general terms in all scientific investigations; namely, that they are abbreviations of language and serve as instruments of thought. Revelation, like physical nature, presents a vast collection of particular objects and facts: and, in both, the processes of comparison, deduction, analysis, and combination, by which alone we can form comprehensive systems of knowledge, cannot be carried on, with convenience and perspicuity, without the use of general terms. It is unreasonable to object that these identical words are not found in Scripture. The proper consideration is, whether the objects and facts for which they are used as a compendious notation are not asserted and implied in the Scriptures'!"— Dr. Smith's Script. Testimony, ii. p. 754.