quired greater care to hold them. Hence Our Lord said, No man putting his hand to the plough and looking back is fit for the kingdom of God,' Luke ix. 62. "Cisterns of water were often formed to refresh the ground, and from these little rills were directed, in small channels, to different parts of the field, which were commonly opened or closed by the foot. There is a reference to this circumstance in Deut. xi. 10, 11. "The Israelites, father, did not raise corn merely; we often read of Vineyards in Scripture." "You are right, Harry; and their grapes were very fine. You recollect the large cluster which was brought by the spies,—do you not?" "Yes; and it seems to have been as much as two persons could well carry; for you know two bare it between them on a staff.' Numb. xiii. 23. ووو "Lebanon seems to have been remarkable Towers and cot for its vines, Hosea xiv. 7. tages were frequently built in the vineyards, not only for their protection, but for the abode of the vine-dressers, Matt. xxi. 33; Mark xii. 1; Isaiah i. 8. In the East, vines were, and are, very commonly trained up on the walls of the houses, Psalm cxxviii. 3; Gen. xlix. 22. The vineyards of King Uzziah were on Mount Carmel, 2 Chron. 26. 10. 65 During the seventh year, according to the divine command, the land was to lie fallow, and the vineyards were not to be pruned nor dressed," Levit. xxv. 3, 4. "Our Lord, father, compares Himself to a Vine, in the fifteenth chapter of John." "Yes; and He tells us that His people are the branches; that is, as the branches derive nourishment, and verdure, and fruitfulness from the parent stem; so, by faith in Him, we become fruitful in every good word and work. Without this faith, which is implanted in the heart by the Holy Spirit, we are as branches separated from the vine, which are fruitless, and of no value, but to be cast into the fire." "Do you recollect, father, that the Jews had any other kind of fruits?" 66 Certainly; we read in the Scriptures of dates, 2 Chron. xxxi. 5, in the marginal reading; of pomegrantes, Deut. viii. 8; and of figs, in many places. Olives, also, were especially cultivated by them, for the sake of the fine oil which they produced. There was one Mount particularly famous for them ;-do you recollect what it was called?" "The Mount of Olives." "Dr. Clarke tells us, that they still grow there in great profusion. This mountain is very celebrated in Scripture. David passed over it barefoot, and weeping, when he fled from Absalom, 2 Sam. xv. It was on this eminence, from whence our Lord could see the whole city of Jerusalem, that He predicted its destruction. Here, also, He was in an agony,' when He bare the divine displeasure due to our sins; and His sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground,' Luke xxii. 44. Well does one of our poets, referring to this memorable scene of our Lord's humiliation and sufferings, exclaim, 'O Garden of Olivet, dear honour'd spot, The fame of thy wonders shall ne'er be forgot; TRADE AND COMMERCE. "IT does not appear from the Scriptures, that there was by any means such a variety of professions among the people of the East as among us. We read indeed of the Valley of Craftsmen,' 1 Chron. iv. 14. These per sons were evidently much prized, as we are informed that the Philistines and Babylonians took especial care to carry them away captive, whenever they were successful in invading the country, 1 Sam. xiii. 19; Jer. xxiv. 1. We often read of smiths and carpenters, Isaiah xli. 7; xliv. 11, 13; liv. 16; Zech. i. 20. The trade of the potter also appears to have been common, Jer. xviii. 2; Sam. iv. 2. Some families wrought in fine linen, 1 Chron. iv. 21. Weaving also seems to have been generally |