i n i 
esteem in Judea, and was there not only regarded as the 
emblem of peace, but also of plenty. Under the Mo¬ 
saic dispensation it was consecrated to the most solemn 
uses. Its oil fed the lamps of the sanctuary; of its wood 
Solomon made the doors of the oracle, and also the two 
cherubim contained within. At the feast of tabernacles, 
olive branches, blended with pine, myrtle, willow, and 
palm, were borne in procession and formed into booths, 
according to divine command. 
The olive is also employed largely in prophetic 
imagery, to denote the future peace and prosperity of 
the church of God. “ I will plant in the wilderness, the 
cedar, the shittah tree, and the myrtle, and the oil (or 
olive) tree.” 
But, like the vine, the most thrilling associations are 
those which it derives from the events with which it 
stands connected in the New Testament. What scene 
so sacred, so endeared to the Christian, as “ the Mount 
of Olives ! ” There the Redeemer of the world frequently 
repaired; there he predicted the destruction of Jeru¬ 
salem ; on his descent from it “ he beheld the city, and 
wept over it; ” and at its foot was the garden of Geth- 
semane — that hallowed spot which witnessed 
“ The grief which angels cannot tell,— 
Our God in agony ! ” 
M 
