la traversing the extent of Palestine, from north to south, beginning with Lebanon, we need not be surprised that "amid the crags of the rocks may be seen" what Volney calls " the no very magnificent remains of the boasted cedars;" of which he could find but four or five that were at all deserving of notice; for it had been foretold, that the rest of the trees of his forest should be so few, that a child might write them. If we turn aside with the same companion to gaze upon the ruins of Tyre, we shall find indeed a town, but no vestiges of its former greatness. Its inhabitants are no longer "merchant-princes, the honourable of the earth;" but a few miserable fishermen, whose nets are spread around their wretched hovels, and who thus verify the threatening, "They shall destroy the walls of Tyrus, and break down the towers: I will also scrape her dust from her, and make her like the top of a rock. It shall be a place for the spreading of nets in the midst of the sea: for I have spoken it, saith the Lord God."‡ In fact, while thus travelling over the whole extent of Palestine, we should meet at every step some further indications of the literal accomplishment of prophecy. To enumerate these would be the labour of a volume. We shall not, however, linger on the detail, but refer to the volume before us. The present sterility of the country, the effect neither of the soil nor of the climate, and a perfect contrast to its former fruitfulness, proving that the land is now, by the ordinance of an Almighty Being, keeping its Sabbaths-the scattered patches of verdure and spots of beauty left "like gleaning grapes" to show that an utter end is not intended; the ruined temple, and a thousand other circumstances that at once strike the attention of the traveller, while they intimate that it is a land scathed by the lightning of the wrath of heaven, attest to the minutest particular, the truth of those predictions by which its doom was foretold. We need not visit Egypt in order to ascertain that notwithstanding the improvements of its enterprising Pasha, "it is the basest of the kingdoms,"§ given unto "the hands of strangers," and "desolate in the midst of the countries that are desolate."¶ There is but one more land of prophecy to which we feel it necessary to turn our attention. The name of Idumea, the kingdom of Edom, occurs frequently in the prophetical writings; but its history, till of late, has been involved in utter obscurity, and all traces of its existence as a kingdom appeared to have perished. The student of prophecy has no doubt often wondered how so insignificant a portion of Arabia ever came to occupy so prominent a position in the inspired page. "The burden of Dumab, "** seemed an almost inexplicable fragment of the vision of the Seer. Modern discoveries have achieved a most satisfactory elucidation. A country lost to the recollections of history, and forgotten of the footstep of the traveller,tt has been only recently recovered from the extraordinary oblivion into which its history appeared to have been sunk. Volney heard about it. Other travellers have mentioned various rumours respecting it. Seetzen and Burckhardt-and with great difficulty a company of European travellers who united with Mr. Bankes in the attempt-succeeded in penetrating and very partially exploring it. Petra, the capital of Idu Ezek. xxvi. 4, 5. Jsa. x. 19. + Isa. xxiii. 8. mea, has been discovered spreading its vast ruins, and begirt by the rockhewn sepulchres of successive generations of its inhabitants, attesting even in its present condition, its former magnificence and strength. This city, and the surrounding country, were once the abodes of a numerous and mighty population. Buildings reared their heads to heaven which seemed to bid fairer for eternity, than many monuments of ancient greatness which have survived them. The splendid ruins of Palmyra itself, are said to be far inferior in many respects to those of Petra. Idumea appeared a kingdom that could never have been moved. But the word of prophecy went out against her "Thy terribleness hath deceived thee, and the pride of thine heart; Oh thou that dwellest in the clifts of the rock. Edom shall be a desolation-no man shall abide there-neither shall a son of man dwell in it."* The prediction has been most awfully accomplished.This once flourishing kingdom is now a wilderness, fruitful only in evidences of the fulfilment of prophecy-a region of dreary waste, and a scene of utter and hopeless desolation. And if any traveller wish to know how or why this wonderful change has taken place, we can but refer him to the prophets. Though not the only witnesses to the former fame and grandeur of Idumea, they are the only historians of its doom. In the fulfilment of these remarkable predictions respecting Idumeapredictions, the complete verification of which could never have been conjectured by human foresight, while Idumea existed in the grandeur and power which she once appears to have possessed, and the verification of which has been brought to light only by the most recent discoveries.→ There are circumstances peculiarly worthy of notice. To some of these Mr. Keith has very judiciously called the attention of the students of prophecy. For example it was foretold that none should pass through it for ever and ever-(Isa. xxxiv. 10.) There is a striking prediction to this effect in the book of Ezekiel, (xxxv. 7.)-"I will make Mount Seir most desolate, and cut off from it him that passeth out and him that returnetb," &c. The denunciation of so singular a judgment was the more remarkable, as this land seems to have been the greatest thoroughfare of commercial caravans between Syria and Arabia, India and Egypt. In fact the commercial intercourse between Europe and Asia, much of which passed through it, seems to have been the chief source of its wealth and grandeur. How unlikely that a country so conveniently situated for such a purpose, should ever become so desolate and bare" as is foretold in these, and in corresponding prophecies! Yet a more frightful, dreary, and inhospitable wilderness is now no where to be found. The wilds of Africa, notwithstanding their extent and danger, are traversed from year to year by the footsteps of men. But amidst the rovings of the Arab, the journeys of the merchant, and the researches of the traveller, Edom has, to the present day, as firmly and effectually refused to admit any entrance into its solitary wastes, as in the days of its power it forbade Israel, its brother, to pass through its borders. We have already mentioned that several travellers who have named it, spoke of it only by report. Till the journey of Mr. Bankes and his companions, but two Europeans, Seetzen and Burckhardt, had ever been successful in the attempt to penetrate it; and neither of them were permitted to return. The former died soon after Jer. xlix. 16, 17. wards; and though the latter survived his exploit somewhat longer, he appears never to have recovered from the fatiguing effects of his journey. The account given of the expedition of Mr. Banke's party to this desert land, is singularly illustrative of the prophecy in this very particular. A traveller who had been venturous enough, at the hazard of life, to gratify his curiosity by entering the grand mosque at Jerusalem, attended only by his guide, and where his detection would have been certain death to both of them, was not likely to be deterred by ordinary difficulties from the execution of his design of exploring Idumea. Indeed the accomplishment of this design appears to have been an object which he was anxious to attain, whatever might have been the sacrifice. And he seems to have been accompanied by companions as hardy and resolute as himself. They bad need to be so, for the undertaking was perilous to a degree far beyond the ordinary danger that must be required in the prosecution of adventurous discovery. In vain had Mr. Banke's solicited at Constantinople for the insertion of Kerek and Wady Mousa, places on the borders of Idumea, in this firman; such names, it was replied, were unknown within the dominions of the grand seignior. In vain he entreated the aid of the Pasha of Damascus, to whom, in order to get rid of importunity, he was referred by the Porte. From the Pasha of Damascus he was sent to the Governor of Jerusalem, who, after endeavouring to dissuade him from his project, sent him to the Governor of Jaffa, where, so far was he from obtaining the assistance hoped for, that actual obstacles were thrown into his way. After fruitless application to one Sheikh and another; and as fruitless attempts to procure guides, who, for any sum of money, would dare to encounter the dangers of the pilgrimage, the party at length succeeded in interesting on their behalf, a bold and powerful chieftain, who resolved, at all hazards, to conduct them to Petra. On learning this determination, which seems to have been formed in a spirit of unaccountable chivalry, the Sheikh of Wady Mousa, a neighbouring encampment of Arabs, expressed as strong a resolution to prevent the design. Oaths were taken to these opposite purports by the rival Sheikhs. After several ineffectual attempts at parley, the chieftain who befriended them, determined to execute his promise in the very teeth of the opposing tribe. They moved forward under his banners, drank of the waters of the well at Wady Mousa, took a hasty and rapid glance at the extensive ruins of Petra, and then by the advice of Abou Raschid their protector, immedi ately set out on their return, their enemies the while occupying the surrounding heights, and boiling with an indignation, which their dread of a more powerful chieftain was scarcely sufficient to restrain. They were not permitted to pass through, or to explore the country. From the borders of Edom, they gazed upon a landscape which presented as extensive and sublime a scene of desolation as ever had been presented to the eye of travellers. They saw stretched out upon Idumea, "the line of confusion and the stones of emptiness"-they beheld "Esau made bare."— The ruins which they were permitted to explore, and which were those of massy edifices hewn out of the solid rock, and decorated with every order of architecture, abundantly proved that he had once literally dwelt "in the clefts of the rock, and held the height of the hill;" while the vast suburbs of sepulchres that stretched around in every direction, as plainly witnessed the fulfilment of the threatening-"I will fill his mountains with his slain; in thy hills, and in thy valleys, and in all thy rivers shall they fall that are slain with the sword." Even the partial and hasty glance, which is all that travellers ever succeeded in obtaining, has given abundant evidence that the birds and beasts, named by the prophets as the future tenants of the desolate palaces of Edom, are at present in full and undisturbed possession of their promised abode; while the savage and faithless character of the Arab tribes that roam around it, and guard every avenue by which it might be approached, as clearly attests that "it has become the border of wickedness; that wisdom is no more in Teman, that the wise men of Edom are destroyed, and that understanding is perished from the prudent out of the mount of Esau." Oh! what a scene would this be for the student of prophecy to traverse with the Bible in his hand, comparing as he passed from ruin to ruin, and from waste to waste, the very letter of the Word of God, with the minute and multiplying evidences of its fulfilment. If the classic has ever kindled with enthusiasm, as he has roved through Italy and Greece, over scenes that appear consecrated in his recollections by their association with the studies of his early youth; or if the antiquarian with a similar enthusiasm can explore with untiring footstep the sands of Egypt, and even dig them away with his hands, when more suitable implements are not procurable, in order to unearth a buried temple; and then stand, when his task is completed, gazing with rapturous delight at the result of his toil;-it would surely be excusable, if the world will ever excuse the enthusiasm of religion, for the Biblical to make a pilgrimage to Idumea, and live as a hermit in its wilderness, for the sake of daily witnessing the evidences which it must continually exhibit of the truth of that Bible which he loves. But we need not recommend the pilgrimage. Our readers may sit at home, and quietly examine the testimony of several witnesses upon the subject. The most squeamish infidel need not be alarmed, or affect to be alarmed by any dread of the collusion of priestcraft in the matter; there is no clergyman behind the scenes to prompt; no priest-ridden devotee to be thus prompted. Among the company, two or three European travellers, with a Volney in the van, and a Sheikh Ibraham* bringing up the rear; an Englishman of scientific attainment and high connexion; two gallant officers of the British navy; and an Italian renegade, who, as guide to Mr. Bankes, made one of the party, form the motley groupe, of witnesses in this cause -not one of whom can be suspected of perjuring himself through any undue partiality. Some of them knew little of the Scriptures, and others of them perhaps cared as little about them; though we hope that an exception or two, might, peradventure, have been found among the entire number; and yet the account given by each of them of the state of Idumea, and by several, of the visit to Petra, in particular, tends in every syllable of it to establish triumphantly the inspiration of the Bible. And it is likely that for years to come, if not even to the end of time, the wilderness of Idumea, like the Sea of Sodom, will remain a monument to the world of the wrath of God, of the certainty of his threatenings, and the infallibility of his world. 1 Such is a very rapid, and consequently, imperfect sketch of the attestation borne by historians and travellers to the prophecies of Scripture that have already been fulfilled. To the work before us, we must refer our readers for fuller and more satisfactory information, We have merely endeavoured to give them some distinct idea of the wide field which this one branch of the evidences of Christianity opens for the research of its advocates. While unfulfilled prophecy should excite and exercise ardent, devout, The assumed name of Burckhardt; who could have no great regard to religion when he thought it better to travel as a Mussulman than a Christian. and humble expectation, surely accomplished predictions should be by no means overlooked. If the former be a "day-star," lighting up the regions of futurity for the observation of the eye of faith; the latter are heavenly sunbeams, irradiating with the light of truth the darkness of the years and of the ages that have rolled by; and causing all the events of time to reflect the glory of an omniscient God. To linger in the light of those sunbeams, and dwell upon the occurrences over which they have flung their radiance, is surely no idle or useless employment. Let us recommend, then, especially to our younger brethren in the Christian ministry, the study of the fulfilled prophecies of the Word of God, as evidences of its inspiration. It will not merely be an agreeable exercise for leisure hours-it will be the means of strengthening faith and elevating the tone of devotional feeling. It will be, in fact, beginning the study of the prophecies at the right end; and will be likely to afford a Scriptural clew to guide in the interpretation of those that are not yet accomplished. It will show us that we must school the fancy, and rein in the imagination, and plod through a careful induction of particulars, without regard to any favourite theory, if we expect in our inquiries, to arrive at a sound and satisfactory conclusion. And it will furnish a fund of interesting matter, by no means unsuitable, when skilfully brought forward, even for the exercises of the pulpit; a theme well calculated to relieve the didactic and monotonous character of the public sermon; and, without being unprofitable to the aged, specially adapted to attract and rivet the attention of the young. We are happy to perceive that so useful a work has reached a sixth edition; and that an abridgement of it in English, French, and German, has been stereotyped at the expense of the excellent Lord Bexley, in order to its circulation by the London Religious Tract Society. The wide dif fusion of such sound and solid defences of the Christian faith, in a cheap form, among the poorer classes, would, under the Divine blessing, be the means of incalculable good; and we know of no volume more calculated to attract the attention of the young inquiring mind, or to be of more advantage in fixing lasting impresions of the truth of revelation. Poems, Sacred and Miscellaneous. By J. Gilborne Lyons. Dublin: William Curry, It has often occurred to us as a subject worthy of consideration and of regret, in the poetic, and we may add in the intellectual history of this country, that of the vast mass of poetry with which our literature is stored, and which fully establishes its claim in the muse's court, to the loftiest place among the nations of Europe, so very inconsiderable a portion should be devoted to a subject confessedly the most overwhelming in its interest, and the most sublime in its character, of any which can Occupy or elevate the heart of man. Still more lamentably true is it, that small as we find the number of those who have made, or seemed to make Zion their Parnassus, and Siloa's brook their Castalia; fewer yet are the minstrels of heavenly song whose strains are "familiar as household words" to their fellow men, and whose aspirations after eternal life, flowing out in holy and eloquent words, have obtained (if we may employ a daring term, though a common one,) that immortality in this world which they sighed for in the next. Whence then arises this strange paucity of merit, where every circumstance would, at first view, appear to unite in ensuring excellence? Is the harp of Sion incapable of being strung with hands not hallowed by immediate inspiration; or are its modu H |