Awake, arise!* thy light is come! Arise—the Gentiles to thy ray, From every nook of earth shall cluster; Lift up thine eyes around, and see, To thee return thy home-sick daughters. And camels rich, from Midian's tents See who are these, that like a cloud, Surely the isles shall wait for thee,— And waft their gold and silver over: And Lebanon thy pomp shall grace— And make the ground we tread on glorious. No more shall discord haunt thy ways The sun no more shall make thee bright, * People of God Thy sun shall never more go down A ray from heaven itself descended, Thy days of mourning all are ended. This piece, throughout, is an address to a people chosen by God for his own.—The Jews believe that they were this people, and that their city, Jerusalem, is the metropolis of this happy nation; but they, whose God is the Lord, form this people every where." He that worketh righteousness" of all nations, belongs to the great family of the just, and the places where he abides is holy, for he dwelleth in God, and God in him. MRS. BARBAULD. Anna Lætitia Barbauld was the daughter of Dr. Aikin: she is memorable for her happy talent in instructing the young, for her accomplishments, her elegant criticisms, her excellent moral writings in poetry and prose, and above all, for her sincere piety and exemplary conduct through life. This lady died at the age of eighty-one, near London, March, 1825. In the third chapter of Habakkuk the prophet gives a sublime description of God's power, and of his displeasure against the wicked. The whole passage is highly figurative, only a small part of it can be literally understood. But the "terrors of the Lord" did not alarm the prophet: he knew that the meek, and they who seek righteousness, are safe in the day of God's anger; and though he trembled at the indignation of God against the transgressor, he trusted in the mercy which endureth for ever; and he says, Although the fig-tree shall not blossom, neither shall fruit be in the vines; the labour of the olive shall fail, and the fields shall yield no meat; the flock shall be cut off from the fold, and there shall be no herd in the stalls: Yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation." Mrs. Barbauld has paraphrased this passage thus: Praise to God, immortal praise, These to thee, our God! we owe, Should the vine put forth no more, Though the sickening flocks should fall, And the herds desert the stall; Should thine altered hand restrain Still to thee our souls shall raise MISS WILLIAMS. Helen Maria Williams was an English Lady, long resident in France. She subsisted by the exertion of her talents, as a writer and translator, and was considered an ornament to society from the elegance of her conversation, and the liberality of her sentiments. Miss Williams died in Paris in 1829. A single specimen of her poetry will serve to inspire reverence for her piety. GOD SEEN IN ALL. My God! all nature owns thy sway; Or, when in paler tints arrayed, In every scene thy hands have dressed, Or where the sheltering woods are spread; As o'er thy works the seasons roll, But oft as on their charms we gaze, BABYLON. And now from out the watery floor Where, amongst silver waterfalls, Cedars and spice-trees and green bowers, And sweet winds playing with all the flowers Walked princely shapes: some with an air Listening, and, amidst all, the king In supreme magnificence. This was famous Babylon. Barry Cornwall. Babylon was the capital of Chaldea or Babylonia. The exact site of Babylon is disputed, and it is equally doubtful who was its founder; but Nebuchadnezzar, about six centuries before Christ, repaired, extended, and adorned it, so that its magnificence was the boast of this vain-glorious monarch.- "Is not this great Babylon, that I have built for the house of the kingdom, by the might of my power, and for the honour of my majesty ?" In scripture this magnificence is extolled in many places—The "great Babylon ;" the "glory of kingdoms;" the "beauty of Chaldea's excellency ;" and "the praise of the whole earth," besides many other laudatory expressions, are applied to this ancient city. Babylon was a square enclosed by walls, and each of its sides measured, according to some writers, fifteen miles. The Assyrian monarchs dwelt there in all the splendour of oriental luxury. This city was embellished by gardens supported by arches, in terraces raised one above another on which the soil was sufficiently deep to permit the growth of large trees; |