The united opinion. [volume] (Bradford, Vt.) 1881-1970, 1890-10-31
Jacob and Joshua and John and Jesus.
A VIEW OF I'HW RIVER

| VIEW OF THH RIVER.
At last between two trees l got a
glimpse OF river, and said, What Ia
thatf" 1.-THE Jordan" was the quick
reply And al along the line which
had been heightened by other pilgrims,
some from America, and some from
Europe, and some from Asia, the cry
was sounded, The Jordanl The Jor-
dan!" Hundreds OF thousands Of pill
grims have chanted ON it's banks and
bathed in its waters. Many of them dip
wet gown in the wave and wiring 1t
out and carry it home for their own
shroud. It is an iinpetuous stream, and
rushes on as though it were Fastening
to tell its story to the ages. Many an
explorer has It whelmed. and many a
boat has it wrecked. Lieut.. Molineux
had copper bottomed crafts split upon
its shelvings Only one boat, that OF
Lieut.. Lynch, ever lived to sail the
whole length of it, At the season when
the SHOWS on Lebanon 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 go up like a lion from
the swelling of Jordan" No river SO
often changes it's mind, for it turns and
twists, travelling two hundred miles to
do that which in straight line might
be done in sixty miles. Among banks
now low. now high, now of rocks, now
of mud and now of sand, having the
feet of the terebinths and oleanders
and acacias and reeds and pistachios
and silver poplars. This river marries
the Dead sea to Lake Galilee, and did
ever SO rough groom take the hand of
so fair bride2
THE RIVER WHICH PARTED.
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 Elisha's time were
cutting trees with which to build a the
illogical 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. "Alasl it
was borrowed" and the prophet threw
a stick into the river, and in defiance
of the law of gravitation the iron ak
head came to the surface and floated
like cork upon the water, and kept
floating until the young man caught it.
A miracle performed to give one an
to return that which was
and rebuke in all ages for
those who borrow and never return,
their bad habit in this respect so 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
\ servant of the good, and that there is
no need that a child of God fear any
hing; for if the most destructive of all
elements was that day fashioned into
vehicle for departing saint, nothing
ian ever hurt you who love and trust
he Lord.
lam so glad that that chariot of Eli
ah was not made out of wood or crystal
or anything ordinarily pleasant, but out
If fire, and yet he went up without
having SO much as to fan himself.
When, stepping from amid the foliage
If these oleanders and ta1narisks on
he banks of the Jordan, he put his
DOT on the red step of the red equip
lge, and took the red reins of vapor in
lis hands and spurred the galloping
leeds toward the wide open gate of
heaven, it was scene forever memor-
Ible
So the hottest Affections of your life
nay roll you heavenward So the
most burning prosecutions, the most
ery troubles, may become uplifting.
)nly be sure that when you pull on the
its of fire you drive up toward God,
nd not down toward the Dead sea.
When Latimer and Ridley died at the
take they went up in chariot of fire.
When my friend P. P. Bliss, the Cos
ell singer, was consumed with the rail
rain that broke through Ashtabula
ridge and then took flame, said,
Another Elijah gone up in chariot
fire!''
A RIVER OF BAPTISMS.
But this river is river of baptisms
hrist was here baptized and John bap-
zed many thousands. Whether on
lese occasions the candidate for bap-
SIN and the officer of religion went
ito this river, and then, while both
ere standing the water was dipped in
he hand of one and sprinkled upon the
'rehead of the other, or whether the
ltire form of the one baptized disap-
cared for moment beneath the sur 4.
ce of the flood, do not now declare.
lille l cannot think without deep .
notion of the fact that my parents