The pioneer express. [volume] (Pembina, Dakota [N.D.]) 1883-1928, 1890-11-07
THELAND0FJORDAN
Dr.. Talmage Dilates Upon the
River Jordan and the
Dead Sea.
Another Panoramic View of
What he Saw in the
Holy Land.

ERooKLYN, Srecinl-Dr Tnlmnge prracl.
ed tie Il til sermon Of the scries ON his tour
i'll the Holy Lnnd, in the Academy y Music
in this city. DR.. Tnlmagr announced as his
text, Psalm civ, -: lie toucleth tho
hills and they smoke. He said:
David. the poet, here pictures volcano
and what church's Cntopaxi does Oh paint
er's canvass, His author does in words You
see II hill, calm aud still, and for ages I'M
movable. hut the Lord out Of the heavens
puts His finger ON the top fit and rom it
rise thick vnpnrs, intrrshot with fire. He
touchcth tho hills anl they smoke"
God is the only being who can manage n
Volcano md again and again has he en-.
ployc'l volcanic action. The pictures on The
walls of Pomprii, the cxiiumrd Italian city,
ns We saw them last Ncvcmher demonstrate
that the city was not fit to live. ln the first
century. that city cngirdIci Will, palaces,
cmpnridised with eardcns, pilIurcd into
architectural cxquisitrncss. was at the foot
of mountain up the side o' which it ran
with vineyards AMI villas oi merchant
princes, and all that marble. and bronze.
and Imperial baths, nnd nrbnriculturc, and
rambowed fountains, aud Il coliseum at the
dedication of which 5000 hrus,s mad bren
slain, nrd IL supcrnnl landscape in which
the shore gave roses to the sea and the sea,
gave crystals to the shore: yea, all that
beauty, and pomp, md wealth could give
wns there To lie seen or heard But hn bad,
mcrals OF the city had shocked the world.
ln TIE year 80; on the ! Ii of August. II
l,lnck column arose above the ad dining
mountain and spread ont. liny says as
he saw it. like II great pine tree. wider and
wider. until it begnn to rain upon lllr city,
first thin ashes and then pum;rc sion". nnl
sulpflrous streams scoorri. and streams
of mud poured through the streets till ,cw
nrople csrnprd and the city was buried and
some OF the inhabitants $40 wears after
were found rmlmlmel in tho srorr of that
IL forces IN ollitrratc that proigH,c city,
He touched the hills and they smoked.
Nothing but Volcanic act:on r"n rxrlnin
what shall show you at the Dead Sea upon
which looked last December. and %. whose
waters | took II b tier aud singing taste
Concerning all that region there has hrrn II
controversy enough to I'LL libraries. science
saying one thing. revelation snying nnollcr
thing. But admit volcanic action d yinry
employed, aud beth testimonies urc one and
the same Geology. chemistry. geography,
astronomy, ichthyolugy, ornitliulOgy and
zoology are coming one by ono to confirm
the scriptures Two leaves of one book ara
revelation and creation, and the rcnmall,
ship is l'y the same divine hand. Our horse
buck ride viii nat II" 81 s,"ep,o,lny and you
can stay on without ciinping to tho pnmnrl
Of the saddle, but the scenes amid which W"
ride shnll, il possible he more thrilling, and
ly the time the horses s,ur the su phuro,l4
ntm0 pllcrc Of Lake Aspl,aItit, ~, or the Dead
Sea. We shall lie ready to ismuunt and read
from our Bibles about whnt wns done that
day hy the Lord when lie touched the hills
and they smoked.
Take II trtour and pass alung by lie rocky
fortress OF Mnsn.ln. where occurred some
thing NOR" wonderful in the way %! ,lcsrrr.
alton than YOU have ever heard of. ,nira-
you have ever heard of that. lirru.l built !,
panrr amid these heaps of burk and awful
rocks which look like Il ,umbed might, 4
great bani o' robbers about one thuusan.
inrIuding their families. a!,rrwarl held the
fortress. When the Roman army stormctl
that steep and the bandits coui.l no longer
hold the place, the rlir,tnin. Elrazar, mad.
n powerful speech which persuaded them to
die lm ore they were captured. First the !ne,,
kissed their Ialnilies IL loving and trur'lil
goodbye and then put dagger into their
hearts aud tn" women and children were
SHIN. Then ten men were chosen by lot to
R!ny all tue other men, nnd e;lc!, man law
down by tile dead wife and children anil
waited for these exccntinncls to dn tii"ir
work. This done. one man OF the ten Killed
the otlerne. Then the survivor uinnlii;ri
suicide. Two women and Eve children had
hid themselves and after Ill was over. came
forth to tell oi the nine hundred and sixty
slaughtered. Great nn'l rugged natural
scenery makes the most tremendous nutil,r,
ior good or evil Great STATESMEN aud great
roblers. great orators and great hui,.!.cr..
were nearly all born or reared among mn,iu.
tnin prrrlpcrs Strong natures ;ra hardly
ever born upon the plain, When men have
anything greatly good or greatly evil to do,
they come down of the rorls
Pass on from under the shadow % MnsnIn.
the scene Oi concentrated ia,olism. ana!
come along where tlr salt crys! liz rgackic
under the horses llOnfs. You ar" near t|,,
most Go'linrsnken region o all the earth.
lou to whom the word lake has here, % ore
suggested those bewi'cll,nenis of beauty.
LuZcrii" or Cnyuga, som" great pearl 81, bv
Il loving God il, the bosom OF tile uxu,inni
valley, change all your IDEAS about II Ihl; I.
an'i see this sheet OF %nter which the l;..aly-
calls IN" Snit Sea or SEA o. the Plain, aud
Joscplns calls Lake AspUaiitcs. The lau -.
tecrs will take care of the horses wh,c we
90 down TO the brink aud dip up the liquid
mixture in til" palm of tie hand. The w:-
t"rs are 81 com,n'n"iny of brimst one an |
pitch and have s: times In, ger percent a.r
of salt thnn those of The Atlantic ocean. the
ocean having ! per cent. Di salt, and this lake
-oH per 'Hi. Luke o.F lEpl " ill'll;l Is tllH
highest lax" in the world. This luke, on the
banks of which We knrcl, is the lowest luke
1t empties into no sea among other things.
tor the simple reason that water cannot lii,
uphill II swallows up the river jordan,
md mnkcs no response o! tlinnka. and never
reports what it ,!oes with 10000. ODo cubir
feet of water annually r,neiv"d from t!rni
sacred river. II takes thc tree branches and
logs tlontcd into it by the Jordan and
pitches hem on the banks o! bitumcn to de-
cay there.
The hot springs near lis banks. by The
name OF CalIirho", where King li"rnd came
to bnthe of his illness. no sooner pour into
this zen than they are poisoned. Not Il fish
scale swirns it. Not an insect walks it. II
hates life, and il yon attempt to swim there
it Lifts you by an unnnturnl buoynncy 10 III"
surface. as much ns to say, I'VE want no
life here, but death is our preference. DEATH
Those who attempt to wade into this lake,
and suhmcree themselves. come out almost
mnddcned. as with the stium uf Il hundred
wnsps and hornets, and with lips and cyrlilS
swollen with tho strange ahlutinn. i'lr
sparkle Of its waters il not like tic sparkle
of beauty on other lakes. but II metallic lus-
tire like unto the flash of II sword that wunli
thrust you. The saze!lrs aud the ibrxcs
that live on the hills beside it, and he criucs
and the wild ducks that iIy acrnss-fur. con
trnry to the old belief. birds do safely wing
their way over it-nnd the Arab horses you
have been riding. though thirsty enough
will not drink Of this dreadful mixture, 4
mist h0vers over parts o. it almost cuntinn-
nlIy, which, though na,nra! evaporation.
seems like n wing of doom spread over p.
llitl drsOatiDD. 1t is lie riIlSings OF abom.
inhtion. 1t is nn aqueous monster cold
among thr hills, or creeping lrp!,s. aHl
stcnclin with na'iscntng inalodnrs,
IN these regions once stood four grcat
cities o! Assyria: Sod0m, Gomorraa. Adam
nnd Zeboim. The Bible says that hey were
destroyed by tempest of fire and bnmsstone
after these cities had filed up oi wicked.
ness. NO. that is absurd y cries some one;
ut is evident that this VAS Il region o! salt
aud birthstone and pitch. long lie ore that. "
And 80 il was. The Bible says il WAS
region o. SULPHUR long before the great
ratastropr We'll, now" says some one
wanting 20 raise n quarrel bctwrsn science
and revelation. "you have no rigl.. to say
the cities OF Plain were destroyed by ii ten
pest 0i fire and sui phur and lr'm>l one he.
cause his region l,nd these characteristics
long before those cities were destroyed.
Volcanic action. is my reply. These c,is
have been built out OF very colnlus,ihlr mn
tcrinia. The mortar was of bi'umc" cnsiy
ignite,l, aud the walls drippci with pitch
most inAnmmnb!e. They ant think. on II
ringe ofhills. They stood high up and con.
spicuons radiant in their sins. ostrntntious
in their dcbaucherits. our llclls on earth.
One day there wns n rumblinls In the earth
md II qunking Whats that Tie fnun.
dntions OF III" earth were giving way a
Volcano, whose tir"s had been burning for
ages. nt Gods command burst forth. cnsly
setting every thing a'inme. nn! first lifting
these cities ligh in air. aud then dashng
them down in clas,ns f.,thomls.. The fires
OF that eruption intcrsl,ot the dense ,mokr.
and rolled unto the heavens, only to descend
again. And all the coniieurai!um oi thnt
country WIS changed nni where there WAS
II hill there came valley. and where ,lcrr