The Forrest City times., 1890-11-01

sV the most burning prosecutions tho mooe 8sry troubles. may become uplifting. Only be sure shs. wheD you pull on the bits of lire. oa dsive up toward God. and not down Ridley dtcd at the stake, they vent up in . chariot of fire. When my friend, P. P. Hiss, the Gospel singer. was consumed with the rail l-traIn that broke through Ashtabula br.dze. and then took flame. said; "Another Elijah gone up in chariot of hrey''
 But this river is a river of baptisms. Christ was here baptized and John baptized maay thousands. Whether on these occa- sicns the candidate for baptism and the officer of religion. went into this river, and then. while both were standing. the water was d pped in the hand of one and sprinkled upon the forehead of the other, or whether the entire foim of the ono baptized disap- pcared for moment beneath tho surface of the flood, do not now declare. While cannot think without deep emotion of the fact that my parents held me In infancy, to the baptisimal font in the old meeting house at Soncrville, and assumed vows on my be- half l must tell you now of another mode of baptism observed in the river Jordan, on that afternoon iu last December. the par ticulars of which l now for the first time relate.
 ltwas scene of unimag gin able solemnity. A comradc in our Holy Land journey rode up VI siut tu0t uMys hfiu tOiu ne tnAt young man. who is now studying for the Gospel ministry. would like to be haptised by me in the river Jordan. got all the facts l could concerning his earnestness and faith. and through personal examina- t!on. made myself conhdeuthe was worthy candidate. There were among our Arab at tendants, two robes not unlike those used in American baptisterlcs, and these we ob- taiued. As we were to have a large group of different nationalities present. dictated to my daughter a few verses. and had copies enough made to allow nll to sing. Our drago- man had man familiar with the river wade through and across to show tho depth and the swiftness of the stream. and the most appropriate place for the ceremony. Then l read from the Bible the accounts of bAp- tisms in that sacred stream, and implored the presence of the Christ on whose head the dove descended at the Jordan. Then. as the candidate and myself stepped Into the waters. the people on the banks sang in full and resounding voice:
 On Jordans stormy banks I stand,
 And cast a wistful eye
 To Canaan's fair and happy land
 Where my possessions limo.
 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 middle of the river As the candidate sank under the floods and rose again under a baptism in the name of the Father, and the Son and the Holy Ghost. there rushed through our souls tide of holy emotion such as we shall probably not feel again until VIC step into the Jordan that divides earth from heaven. Will those waters bc deep? Will those tides be strong9 No matter. if Jesus steps in with us. Friends on this shorc 10 help us on. Friends on tho other shCrG to see us land. See, They are coming down the hills on tho other side to greet us, How we'll we know their step How easily we distinguish their voices. From bank to bank we hail them with tears and they haH us with palm branches. They say to us 'ls that you, father." ''ls that you motherf" and we an swer by asking. '.Is that you my darlipgS' How near they seem, and how narrow the stream that divides us.
 Gould VIC but aud where Moses stood
 And view the landscape OCT.
 Not Jordan's stream isor Death s cold flood
 Could fright us from the shorc."