Martinsburg herald. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1881-1920, 1890-10-25
REV. DIR. TALMAGB.
The Eminent Brooklyn Diyine's Sun.
day Sermon.
Subject, "The Holy Land In Winter"

TEXT: "a certain man ,csnt docn from
Jerusalem to Jericho. Luke K, 50.
| It is the morning of December in Jeru-
| salem, and we take stirrnps for the road
along which the wayfarer OF old fell among
| thieves who left him wounded and half
| dead. Jobs picture of the horse in the
orient as having neck clothed with thun-
| del'' is not true OF most horses now in Pal
| estine. There is 10 thunder on their necks,
though there is some lightning in their
heels. Poorly fed and numerically
whacke1, they sometimes retort To Aneri-
| cans and English, who are accustomed to
| guide horses by the bride, these horses of
the orient guided only by foot and voice.
! make equestrianism an uncertainty, and the
| pull on The bride that you intend for slow
| ing up of the pace may be mistaken for
| hint that Y on want to outgallop the wind or
wheel in swift circles like the hawk. But
| they can climb steps and descend precipices
| with skilled foot and the one choose for our
journey in Palestine shall have the praise of
| gong for weeks without one stumbling step
| and amid rocky Sleeps where an ordinary
| horse would not for an hour maintsin sure
footedness There were eighteen of our
| party, and twenty-five beasts of burden car
ried our camp equipment. We are led BY al
Arab sheik, with his black Nubian servant
carrying loaded quinn full sight, but it is
| the fact that this sheik represents the Turk
| ISL Government which assures the safety Of
the caravan.
We cross the Jehoshaphat Valley, which,
| Ii 1t had not been memorable in history and
were only now discovered, would excite the
a imiration of all who look upon it, 1t is
like the gorges of the Yosemite or the chasms
| of the Yellowstone Park. The sides of this
Jehoshaphat Valley are tunneled with graves
and overlooked by Jerusalem walls-an eter-
nifty of depths overshadowei by an eternity
of architecture Within sight OF Mount
! Oiivet and Gethsemane and with the heavens
and the earth full of sunshine, we start out
! on the very road mentioned in the text when
1t says: "a certain man went down from
Jerusalem TO Jericho and fell among
thieves" No road that | ever saw was so
| well constructed for brigendage - deep
| gulleys, sharp turns, caves on either side.
| There are fifty places on this road where a
| highwayman might surprise and overpower
an unarmed pilgrim. His cry for help, his
/ shrek of pain, his death groan would be an
| swered only by the echoes. On this road to-
day we met groups of men, who, judging
| from their countenances, have in their veins
! the blood OF many generations of Rob Rows.
Josephus says that Herod at one time dis
/ charged from the service of the temple forty
! thousand men and that the great part of
| them became robbers. So late as 1920 Sir
| Frederick Hennlber, an English tourist, was
attacked on this Fery road from Jerusalem
| to Jericho and shot and almost slain. There
has never been any scarcity Of bandits along
| the road we travel to-day.
With the fresh memory of some recent
! violence in their minds Christ tells the
| people of the good Samaritan who came along
| that way and took care of poor fellow that
had been set upon by villanous Arabs and
robbed an pounded and cut. We encamped
for lunch that noon close by an old stone
] 1.,,,1 -
scene spoken OF in the Bible eliminated
| Tumbled in the dust and CHASTITY with
wounds the victim of this highway robbery
| lay in the middle of the road---a fact of
which am certain, because the Bible says
| the people passed by on either side. There
were 1900 priests living at Jericho, and
! they had to go to Jerusalem to ofiiciate at
/ the temple. And one of these ministers of
religion, / suppose, was on his way
| to the temple service, and he is
startled as he sees this bleeding victim in the
middle of the road. "Oh, he says, 'here is
a man that has been attacked of thieves
! Why don't you go homer says the minister
/ The man, in a comatose state, makes no an
! swer, or, with half dazed look. puts his
wounded hand to his gashed forehead, and
! draws out, ''What~ ''Well" SAYS the min
| lister, II must hurry on to my duties at Jeru-
salem. | have to kill lamb and two pigeons
in sacrifice to-day. l cannot spend any more
| time with this unfortunate. l guess some
| body else will take care of him. But this is
| one Of the things that cannot be helped, any
how. Beside that, my business is with souls
and not with bodies. Good morning! When
I you get well enough to sit up ] will be glad
to see you at the temple"
| And the minister curves his way out
( toward the overhanging sides OF the
/ road and passes You hypocritel One of
| the chief officers of religion is to heal wounds
/ NDu IOiuhf have GOpa hara Eiu1pacs that
would have been more acceptable to God
| than all the incense that will smoke up from
| you censer Tor the next three weeks, and YOU
/ missed the chance. Go on your way--exe-
Grated by the centuries
Soon sfterward Levite came upon the
scene. The Levites looked after the music
of the temple AMI waited upon the priests
and provided the supplies of the temple.
| This Levte, passing along this road where
we are to-day, took look at the mass of
bruises and laceration in the middle of the
road. My mym says the Levite, ''this
! man is awfully burt and he ought to be
| helped. But my business Is to sing in the
/ choir at the temple. If am not there no
one will carry my part. Besides that there
/ may not be enough frankincensa for the cen
sers and the w4ne or oil may have given out,
and what fear ul balk in the service that
: would MAKE. nell one OF the priests mIgng
get his breastpiate ON CROOKED. But It seems
/ too bad to leave this man in this condition.
Perhaps had better try to stanch this bleed
ing and give him little stimulant. But mol
/ The ceremony at Jerusalem is of more i'm
portance than taking care of the wounds of
man who will probably soon be dead any
/ how. This highway robbery ought to be
stopped, for it binders US Leyites on our way
/ up to the temple. There. | have lost five
minutes already! Go along, you beastm he
shouts as he strikes his heels into the sides of
/ the animal carrying him, and the dust rising
from the road soon hides the hard hearted
4 Official.
/ But a thirl person is coming along this
/ read. You cannot expect him to do any
thing by way OF alienation, because he and
the wounded man belong to different ma
| tons which have abominated each other
for centuries. The wounded man is an
lsraeite, and the stranger now coming on
the scene of suffering is a Samaritan They
/ belong to nations which hated each other
| vita an objurgation and malediction dia-
| bolic They had opposition temples-one on
| Mount GeriZlm and the other on Mount
| Moriah-and | guess this Samaritan when
he comes up, will give the fallen lsraelite
another clip and say: "Good for you'll l
| viii just fin sh the work these bandits began,
aud give you one more kick that viii put
you out OF your misery. And here is a rag
Of your coat that they did not steal, and l
VIII take that. What Do you dare to aD-
peal to me for mercy? Hush upl Why, your
ancestors wOrshiped at Jerusalem when
they ought to have worshiped at Gerizm
| Now. take that and that! and thatm will
say the Samaritan as he pounds the fallen
lsraelit9.
/ No: the Samaritan rides up to the scene of
suffering, gets Off his beast and steps down
and looas into the face of the wounded man
and says This poor fellow does not belong
to my nation, and our ancestors worshiped
in different places, but he is a man, and that
makes us brothers. God pity him, as | do"
And he get down on his knees and begins to
examine his wounds and straighten out his
limbs 10 see if any of his bones are broken.
and says: My dear fellow cheer up; you
need have no more care about yourself, for
am gong to take care of you Let me feel
OF your pulsei Let me listen to your breath
ing! | have in these bottles two LIQUIDS
that viii hep you. The one is oil, and that
VIII soothe the pain of these wounds. and the
OF er is wine, and your pulse is feeble and
you feel faint AMI that will stimulate YOU
Now must get you to the nearest tavern"
'Oh. no. SAYS the man. Il can't walk; let
me stay here and die" ''Nonsenser says
] am going to put you on this beast, and l
will bold you on till | get you to n place
where YOU can have soft mattress and an
EASY pillow
Now the Samaritan has got the wounded
mSn on his feet, and with much Juggling and
lifting puts him on the beast, for it is aston
ishing how strong the spirit Of kindness will
mako one as yoI have seen a mother after
three weeks Of sleepless watching of her boy,
| down with scarlet fever, lift that half grown
boy, heavier than herself, from couch to
| lounge And so this sympathetic Samaritan
has unaided put the wounded man in the
I i ii - At