26 
THE LOVER’S OFFERING, 
The increase of virtue, and the conse¬ 
quent decrease of vice, are florally repre¬ 
sented in Holy Scripture, referring to the 
millennial state yet to come :—“ The wil¬ 
derness and the solitary place shall be glad 
for them ; and the desert shall rejoice and 
blossom as the rose .'”—“I will be as the 
dew unto Israel; he shall grow as the lily, 
and cast forth his roots as Lebanon. His 
branches shall spread, and his beauty shall 
be as the olive tree, and his smell as Leba¬ 
non.” Speaking of Messiah’s triumphs, 
the poet says;— 
He shall come down like showers 
Upon the fruitful earth; 
Love, joy, and hope, like flowers , 
Spring in his path to birth : 
Before Him, on the mountains, 
Shall peace, the herald, go; 
And righteousness, in fountains, 
From hill to valley flow. 
—©*i— 
The hope, in dreams, of a happier hour 
That alights upon misery’s brow, 
Springs out of the silvery Almond flower 
That blooms on a leafless bough. mo oil a 
