The Red Cloud chief., 1890-11-07

there N hills cut into the shspe q
cathedrsls. with altar, and column. 81
arch. and chancel and pulpit and domAI
and architecture Of the rocks that I
think can hardly Just happea "a Per-
haps It 10 because God loves the church
20 we'll. He builds in the solitudss Of
Yellowstone Park. and Yosemite and
Switzerland, and Palestine these ecclo.
siastical piles And who knows but
that unseen spirits may sometimes wor
ship there? "Dragoman. when shall ~
see the Jordan?" I ask. All the time
VI were on the alert and looking
through tsmarisk and willows for the
greatest river Of all the earth. The
Mississippi is wider. the Ohio II deeper.
the Amazon 10 longer. the Hudson rolls
amid regions moro picturesque. the
Thames has moro splendor on it banks.
the Tlber suggests more imperial pro.
cession. the Ilyssus has more classic
memories and the Nile feeds greater
populations by its irriRations; but the
Jordan is the queen Of rivers and runs
through all the b bic. . silver thread
strung like beads with hero:cs. and be-
fore night We shall meet on its banks
Elijah, and Ell sha, and David, and Ja-
cob, and Joshua, and John, and Jesus
At last, between two trees ! got .
glimpse of a river. and said: ''what is
that?" The Jordan was the quick
reply. And all along the line. which
had been heightened by other pilgrims
some from America. some from Europe
and some from Asia, the cry was sound.
ed: The Jordan! The Jordan" Hun.
dreds Of thousands OF pilgrims have
chanted on its banks and bathed in it,
waters. Many OF them dip a gown In
the wave. and wiring it ont and carry It
homo for their own shroud. 1t il an i'm.
petuous stream and PUSHES on as though
1t were Fastening to tell its story to tho
ages Many an explorer has it whelmed,
and many a boat has it wrecked. Lieu.
tenant Molineux had copper-bottomed
crafts split upon its s~helvings Only
n boat that of Lieutenant Lynch,
ver lived to sail the whole length Of it
At the season when the SHOWS on Leb-
anon melt the rage of this stream Is
like the COnemaugh when Johnstown
persisted, and the wild beasts that may
be near run for the hills, explaining
what jeremiah says: 'BehOld, he shall
60 up like q lion from the swelling OF
Jordan" No river so otter changes its
mind, for it turns and twists, travelling
200 miles to do that which in q straight
line might be done in sixty miles
Ao.-- h~-lxo -~,, l4,, ~~~ hill, ~o~
of rocks. now Of mud and now Of sand,
having the feet Of the terebinths and
oleanders, and a~cacias, and reeds. and
pistachios, and silver poplars This
river marrics the Dead Sea to Lake Gall
lilee, and did ever SO rough . groom
take the hand Of SO fair q bride?
This is the river which parted to let
an army of 9, ZOO, 900 Israelites across
Hero the skilled Major General Of the
Syrian hosts at the seventh plung drop
his leprosy. not only by miraculous cure.
but suggesting to all ages that water
and plenty Of it has much to do with
the sanitary improvement Of the world.
Yea; from the bank of this river
Elijah took team Of fire. showing that
the most raging element is servant Of
the good. and that there is no need that
a child Of God lear any thing; for il the
most destructive OF all elements was
that day fashioned into . vehicle for .
departing saint, nothing can eve hurt
you who trust in tho Lord. ] am SO
glad that that chariot of Elijah was
not made out of wood, or crystal, or
any thing ordinarily pleasant but out OF
fire, and yet he went up without having
much as to fan himself. When.
stepping from amid the foliage Of these
and tamerisks on the banks
Of the Jordan, he put his foot on the
red step of the red equipage, and took
the red reins Of vapOr in his hands and
spurred the %galloping steeds toward the
wide open gate OF Heaven. it was .
forever memorable So the hot
test Affections OF your life may roll you
So the most burning per
solutions the most fiery trouble may be-
come uplifting. Only be sure that
you pull on the bits of fire you
drive up toward God, and not down
toward the Dead sea. When Latimer
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 Astabuls bridge and then
took flame, I said: Another Elijah
gone up in a chariot Of fret!
But this river Of baptisma Christ
was here baptized and John baptized
many thousands Whether on these
occasions the candidate for baptism and
the officer of religion vent into this
river, and then while both were stand
ing the water was dipped in the hand of
n and sprinkled upon the forehead of
the other. or whether the entire form
Of tho one baptized disappeared for .
moment beneath the surface Of the
flood, 1 do not now declare. While I
a not think without deep emotion Of
the fact that my parents held me in in
fancy to the baptismal fount in the old
meeting house at Somerville, and as.
sumed VOWS on my behalf, I must tell
you now Of another mode Of baptism, |
observed in the river Jordan on that
afternoon in last December. the partic.
ulars of whick l now for the FIRST time
relate.
It.was . scene OF unimaginable sol.
emnity. A comrade in our Holy Land
journey rode up by my side that day,
and told me that q young man, who ID
now studying for the Gospel ministry, |
would like to be baptized by me in the
river Jordan. l got all the facts I could
concerning his earnestness and faith, |
and through personal examination made |
myself confident he was . worthy candi.
There were among our Arab at-
tendants two robes not unlike those
used for American baptisteries, and
these We obtained. As We were to have
q large group OF different nationalities
present l dictated to my daughter . few
verses, and had copies enough made
to allow all to sing. Our dragoman
had . man familiar with the river
wade through and across to show
the depth and the swiftness Of
the stream. and the most appro.
pirate place for the ceremony. Then I
read from the Bible the accounts Of
baptisms in that sacred stream, and i'm.
plored the presence Of the Christ on
whose head tho 6ova 6aarouNoA - ~h>