The Sedalia weekly bazoo. [volume] (Sedalia, Mo.) 187?-1904, 1881-08-02
An Interesting Lecture De.
scriptive of the World
Famed River.
Rev. j. w. McGarvey, of Lex
ington, Ky, Tells of the
Stream Renowned
in Holy Lore.
While q Large Audience Listen
For an Hour and q Half to
His Vivid Word-Paint-
ing of Scenes Upon
Its Shores.

Last evening large audience assembled
at the Christian church, corner of Sixth
and Massachusetts streets, TO listen To Rev
J. w. Mctiarvev, Of Lexington, Ky, thu
man who has explored the Holy Land anC
made the River Jordan a subject Of vas
study.
The services were opened in the usua
manner; bv Rev. }. H. Duncan, the pastor
Rev. Mr.. Bryan, OF Southwest Missouri
read portion OF the scriptures. The vO
ral music was fine. There was no choir
but the entire congregation, among whom
were many fine singers, Joined in the
song.
Mr.. McGarvey then commenced his
lecture by reading few verses OF the
third chapter OF Matthew. He began by
saving the River Jordan was one Of the
most famous streams known to the world
1t does not owe its fame, like the river
Nile, for being the means used for the irri-
cation Of vast extent OF country. Ii
does not owe its fame, like the little Tiber
of Italy, or the Thames, of England, to
the fact that large cities are or have been
built upon its banks, because the Jordan is
80 situated that no cities ever have or ever
will be erected along its course. Ii does
not owe its fame, like our own noble Mis-
sissippi, to the vast commerce that floats
upon its bosom, forcommerce has Stunned
the Jordan from the time its channel was
excavated BY the hand OF the Creator.
The River Jordan has its source at the
foot OF Mount Hermon, whose peaks. COW
cred with everlasting snow, pierce the blue
vault of heaven. Its source is from three
springs that gush forth from the base of
the mountain in an icv-cold torrent. One
of these is situated amid the ruins of
/. city renowned in biblical story
Caesarea Phillip. 4 few miles south
these three streams 6Ow together, forming
. small lake, known in the Bible as the
Waters of Meron." From the southern
extremity of the lake the Jordan flows
south about one hundred miles. as thecrow
6ies but two hundred miles as the river
flows, owing to its tortuous convOlutiOns,
to the sea OF Galilee. This sea, renowned
in the annals of the Holy Land, is twelve
miles in length and six in width and one
hundred and fifty feet in depth. In fact,
il is a huge basin, scoOped out BY the
OmnipOtent hands Of the Creator. filled
by the incoming waters of the Jordan and
the surface of whose waves are level with
those of the Mediterranean Sea. thirty
miles west Sixty-6ve miles south of the
southern extremity, in direct line, is the
dead sea, whose waters lie 1872 feet below
the level of the Mediterranean and 1000
feet below the level OF any other
body OF water on the face
of the globe. The River Jordan is one
hundred and thirty feet in width, meas
ured from edge to edge of the water by
tape line measured by myself, and is eight
feet in depth. This body of water runs at
the rate of between four and five miles an
hour. This immense body of water is con-
tinuslly flowing into the Dead Sea. This
is . sea that has no outlet. There is no
escape for the vast volume that is
continually flowing into it. This water
must make its escape. There is no way
for it to do SO except by evaporation. The
surrounding hills and the hot midsummer
sun shining down upon it and the dry at
mosphere acts like a vast sponge which
absOrbs the water and causes it to fall
again upon the land in the shape Of rain.
There is no river SO swift as the Jordan,
no stream that rises so high in the rainy
season. Along the channel and either side is
what is known in America Is q slower
bottom" This is covered with shruberry .
and underbrush growing SO thickly that it
is impossible for person to ride through
it on horseback unless a road is cut. On
either side extend the Plains of Jericho,
bordered at the river side with bluff one
hundred feet high, sometimes Of rock, some
times of sand and sometimes of whitish
clay.
He then described the scenes that had
been enacted on the plain; the death of
Moses on the peak of Pisgah, the highest
point on Mount Nebo, the translation of
Elijah, the works of John the Baptist, the
baptism of Jesus and other events of inter-
est to the Biblical student. For nearly
two hours he held his audience spell
bound as he pictured in glowing !
words the scenes that had been there |
enacted. The scene he illustrated was /
brought before his readers SO wildly that |
they could plainly see the valley of the |
Jordan, dotted with the white tents of the |
children of Israel, who were mourning
thirty days for the death of Moses, the
hustle when the vast encampment started
straight forward to the bank of the Jordan,
the priests with the ark thousand PAGES
in front and the right and left tanks of
the multitude extending for six or seven
miles up and down the bank. One could
nee the cleaning bare feet OF the priests
as they were dipped in the edge Of
the water Of the river, then rushing
impetuously toward the Dead Sea swollen
by the rains of the winter season. He
could see the water divide as they laved
the feet Of the holy men, to the north form
ing q wall of water as solid as rock and as
firm as adamant, while to the south the
waters receded, leaving the bed Of the
river bare.
The white robed priests enter the chan
mel of the river and stand still while the
people passed over to the land of Canaan,
whose people deemed the swollen river an
impossible barrier between they and their
foes, whom, they we'll knew, had came to
take their fertile lands. And he could
hear the wild rush of the waters as they
rolled on in their old course. Il
Tho srhosa Filth 4aEosa In