| 846 of the Holy Sepulchre [Sepulcher] which is richly endowed, and the Protestants have their Chapel Prelates and Bishops-the Armenians their place of worship and their missionaries. To have the religious community destroyed and their churches sacked by a hoard of mountain robbers, can never be permitted by Christendom. To have even their safety jeopardized, is alone sufficient to justify a prompt movement, not in the nature of a romantic crusade, but something more tangible and pacific.
Jerusalem & a circuit of country of forty miles around, together with Jaffa or any other port in the Mediterranean, should be transferred to Great Britain and placed under her Government; if necessary a pecuniary consideration could be paid to Turkey, and a guarantee for the faithful protection of the Mussleman faith and their mosques. Apart from jealousy among the Christian powers at this desirable transfer, it would be a great protection to Jews and Christians-a positive security for persons and property of all denominations residing in Palestine, and would draw towards it emigration, enterprise and wealth, which would revive the former prosperity of that interesting country. England would at the same time have a territorial position of great importance in the neighborhood of her possessions in India and within a few days travel of the Red Sea. In a commercial and political point of view, such a territory would be more valuable to England than half her West India possessions, and should France object to it, that important power can be conciliated by some possessions which she might require.
At all events the movements now in Palestine and the invasion of Jerusalem, which some would think accidental, we consider providential. Christianity must protect itself, and if Palestine passes into the hands of Great Britain it will in due time revert to its original owners, and the predictions of the prophets will be fulfilled. We begin to believe in the oft repeated assertion that the year 1847 will produce greater events in the East.
For the Times and Seasons.
A PARABLE.
There was a day when a certain great king proposed a marriage for his son, prepared a dinner, and proffered to bequeath to his son one of his provinces, on the day of the marriage.-The woman that was to be the bride was very fair and beautiful, her adorning was that of a crown with twelve precious diamonds set there and placed upon her head, holding in her hand a reflecting rod, by which the bright rays of the sun was brought to reflect upon the diamonds, giving light both day and night, so that she walked not in the dark, but as in the light of the noon-day sun, to guide her steps. Her features were fair and comely, decked with virtue, innocence, and loving kindness, administering to all who came under her care; she surpassed all women in wisdom, in faith, and other like precious gifts and graces. The surrounding neighborhood, together with the inhabitants of said province, looked upon her with jealousy and waged war against her and her intended espousal, and treated them as their worst enemies and succeeded in banishing the king's son from his province, which caused the woman to mourn with a great and grievous mourning until she was comforted by tidings from the great king, who promised to bring back his son again, and (seeing his dinner was despised) he would prepare a supper, and invite all the inhabitants of the province to come to the marriage supper of his son, and that his son should be made king over the whole province, and that he would cause the rod of iron which was in the bride's hand to reflect light over all the kingdoms in the province, as this son was the legal heir; and the different kingdoms should become the kingdoms of his son.
This glorious news gave encouragement to the intended bride and enabled her to stand firm through many hard battles; at last the emperor of the nation that was warring with the woman, changed his course and proclaimed peace. The emperor by this means hoped to become in possession of the rod of iron, which seemed to be destined to rule all nations; the woman now was overpowered and was embraced in the emperor's arms, and at this critical moment the king himself stepped forward just as the woman was ready to deliver up her authority to the emperor, and took the rod out of her hand and carried it home to his own dominions and rescued the woman out of the emperor's hands, and secreted her in a neighboring woods, that her life might be preserved. This enraged the disappointed emperor with madness and revenge; he renewed the war, declared his greatness, claiming that he had received from the woman all the authority of the king's son, putting to death all who dared to deny his assertion. The woman wandered in the wilderness for many days, lost the diamonds out of her crown and being destitute of the reflecting rod, she lay dormant in the wilderness; or in other words asleep, having nothing but the pale rays of the moon to guide her feet. She mourned, she wept, she lamented her untimely widowhood, longing for the return of her banished husband; in all this she was some comforted,
(page 846) |
