Eagle River review. [volume] (Eagle River, Wis.) 1890-1927, 1890-11-08

straight line might be done in sixty
miles. Among banks now low, now
high, now Of rocks, now of mud and now
OF sand, LAYING the feet of the terebinths
and Oleanders and acaciaS and reeds
and pistachios and silver poplars. This
river marrieS the Dead Sea to Lake Gal
lice, and did ever SO rough groom take
the hand Of so fair bride?
This is the river which parted to let
an army of two million Israelites across.
Here the skilled major general of the
Syrian host at the seventh plunge
dropped his leprOsy, not only by mirac-
ulous cure, but suggesting to all ages
that water, and plenty of it, has much
to do with the sanitary improvement of
the world. Here is where some theo-
logical students of Elsha's time were
cutting trees with which to build the
oiogical seminary, and an AK head not
sufficiently Wedged to the handle flew off
into the river and sank, and the young
man deplored not so much the loss of the
AK head as the fact that it was not his
own, and cried, ''Alas! it was borrowed
and the prophet threw a stick into the
river, and in defiance of the law of gravi-
tation the iron AK head came to the sur
face and tioated like cork upon the
water and kept floating till the young
man caught 1t.
4 miracle performed to give one an
opportunity to return that which was
borrowed, and 4 rebuke in all ages for
those who borrow and never return,
their bad habit in this respect 50 estab-
lished that it would be miracle if they
did return it. Yea, from the bank of
this river Elijah took team of fire,
showing that the most raging element is
a servant of the good, and that there is
no need that a child of God fear any
thing: for if the most destructive of all
elements was that day fashioned into a
vehicle for departing saint, nothing
can ever hurt you who love and trust in
the Lord.
| am so glad that that chariot OF Eli
iah was not made out of wood or crystal
or anything ordinarily pleasant, but out
of fire. and yet lie went up without haV-
ing so much as to fan himself. When,
stepping from amid the foliage of these
Oleanders and tamariSkS on the banks OF
the Jordan, he put his foot on the red
step OF the red oQuipage, and took the
red reins Of Vapor in his hands and
stirred the gallOping stceds to the wide
open gate of heaven, it was a scene for
ever memorable.
SO the hottest Affections of your life
may roll you heavenward SO the most
burning prosecutions, the most fiery
troubles. may become uplifting. Only
be sure that when you pull on the bits OF
fire you drive up toward God, and not
down toward the Dead Sea. When Lat.
inner and Ridley died at the stake they
went up in a chariot of fire. When my
friend =. p. Bliss the gospel singer, was
consumed with the rail train that broke
through Ashtabula bridge and then took
fame | said, ':Another Elijah gone ul
in Il chariot Of fret
But this river is river of baptiSms.
Christ was here baptized and John bap-
tiled many thousands. Whether on
these occasions the candidate for bap-
tism and the officer Of religion went into
this river, and then, while both were
standing the water was dipped in the
hand of one and sprinkled upon the fore
head of the other, or whether the entire
form of the one baptized disappeared fol
a moment beneath the surface of the
flood | do not now declare. While | car
not think without deep emotion of the
fact thai my parents held me III IN
fancy to the baptismal font in the ole
meeting house at SOmerville, and as
sumed vows on my behalf, | must tell you
now of another mode of baptism OBJ
served in the river Jordan on that after
noon in last December. the particulars
OF which now for the first time relate
1t was u scene Of rnimaginable so
| lcmnity. A comrade in our Holy Lane
/ journey rode up by my side that day anC
! told me that a young man who was study
i ing for the gospel ministry would like tC
/ be baptized by me in the river Jordan.
/ got all the facts | could concerning hi!
earneStnesS and faith, and through per
sonal examination made myself confident
| he was a worthy candidate. There were
( among our Arab attendants two robe:
not unlike those used for American bap
| tistricS, and these were obtained. A!
| we were to have a large group OF differ
| ent natiOnalities present | dictated to my
| daughter few verses, and had copies
enough made to allow all to sing. Oul
! dragOman had a man familiar with thu
| river wade through and across to show
! th2 depth and the sWftness of thu
! stream, and the most appropriate place
for the ceremony. Then | read from thu
Bible the accounts of baptisms in tina
/ sacred stream. and implored the pres
| ence of the Christ on whose head the dove
| descended at the Jordan. Then, as the
candidate and myself stepped into The
water, the people on the banks sang il
! full and resOunding voice:
On Jordans stormy banks stand.
And cast a wishful eye
To Canaan's fair and happy land,
Where my possessions lie.
Oh, the transporting, rapturous scene
That rises to my sight
Sweet fields arrayed in living green
And rivers of delight.
BY this time we had reached The