Lewiston teller. [volume] (Lewiston, North Idaho) 1878-1900, 1890-12-25
THE CITY OF DAMASCUS.
1OHAMMED'S EARTHLY PARA.
Disc" AS SEEN BY TALMAGE.

Events That Have Transpircd
Therein.
BROOKLYN, N. Y, Dec. 2. 1s90.-The
New York Academy of Music was filed
with an audience of nearly six thousand
persons this evening, when DR.. Talmage
delivered the eleventh sermon Of his series
on Palestine and the adjoining countries.
The same sermon, as on previous Sundays.
had been preached in the morning to another
large audience in the Brooklyn Academy Of
Music. The subject was Damascus, and
the text, "As he iourneycd he came near
Damascus" Acts 9:3. DR.. Talmage said:
In Palestine, we spent last night in a
mud howell OF ono story, but camels and
sheep in the basement. Yet never did the
most brilliant hotel on any continent seem
so attractive to mo as that structure. II
we had been obliged to stay in tent, as We
expected to do that night, we must have
persisted. A violent storm had opened up
on US its volleys Of hail, and snow, and
rain, and wind, as il to let us know what
the Bible means when prophet, and evan
gelist and Christ himself spoke of the fury
Of the elements.
During the day we passed C9sarea
Philippi, the northern terminus Of Christ's
1ourncyings. North Of that he never went.
We lunch at noon seated on the fallen
columns of one of Herods palaces.
At four O'Clock in the afternoon, coming
to hill top, we saw on tho broad plain
city, which the most famous camel driver
OF all time, afterward called Mohammed,
the prophet and tho founder of tho most
stupcnduus system Of error that has ever
cursed the earth, refused to enter because
he said God would allow man to enter but
one paradise, and he would not enter this
earthly paradise lest he should be denied
entrance to the heavenly. But no city that
ever saw SO plays hide and seek with
the traveller. The air is 50 clear the dis
tant objects seem close by. You come on
the top of Il hill and Damascus seems only
little way of. But down you 60 into
valley and you see nothing for the next
half hour but barrenness and rocks re-
gurgitated by tho volcanoes Of other ages.
Up another hill and down again. Up again
and down again. But after your patience
is almost exhausted you reach the last hill
top, and the city of Damascus, the Oldest
city under the whole heavens, and built by
Noah's grandson, grows upon your vision.
Every mile of the journey now becomes
more solemn and suggestive and ire
mendous.
This is the very road, for it has been the
only road for thousands of years. the road
from Jerusalem to Damascus, along which
acavalcade Of mounted officers went. about
1924 years ago, in the midst of them o
. fierce little man who made up by magni-
tude of hatred of Christianity for his diminu-
tive stature. and was the leading spirit and,
though suffering from chronic Inflammation
OF the eyes, from those eyes flashed more
Indignation against Christ's followers than
any one Of tho horsed procession. This
little man, before his name was changed to
Paul, was called Saul. So many Of the
| mighticst natures Of all ages are condensed
| into smallness of stature. The Frenchman
who was sometimes called by his troops
| ''Old One Hundred Thousand" was often
because of his abbreviated personal pres
ence styled Little Nap" Lord Nelson,
with insignificant stature to start with, and
one eye put out at Calvi and his right arm
taken of ut Teneriffe. proves himself ut
Trafalgar the mightiest hero of the English
navy. The greatest Of American theologians,
Archibald Alexander, could stand under
the elbow Of many of his contemporaries.
Look out for little men when they start
out for some especial mission Of good or
|
ton Of electricity.
| Well, that galloping group Of horsemen
| on the road to Damascus were halted
quicker than bombshell or cavalry charge
ever halted regiment. The Syrian noon.
day, because Of the clarity Of tho atmos-
phere, is the brightest Of all mondays,
and the MONDAY sun in Syria is positively
terrific for brilliance. But suddenly that
noon there flashed from the heavens 9
light which made that Syrian sun seem
tame as q star in comparison. 1t was the
face of the slain and assembled Christ
looking from tho heavens, and under The
dash Of that overpowering light all thu
horses dropped with their riders. Human
face and horses name together in the dust
And then two claps OF thunder FOLLOWED
uttering the two words, the second wore
like the first: ''Saul! Saul!' For thrc
days that fallen equestrian was total,
blind. for excessive light will sometime
extinguish the eyesight And what corne
and crystalline lens could endure bright
ness greater than the MONDAY Syrian sun
had read it a hundred times but it neve
SO impressed me before and probably will
never so impress me again, as took m
Bible from the saddle bags and read alou'
to our comrades in travel: ''As h
1ourneyed, he came near Damascus and sud
denly there shined round about him u ligh
, from heaven, and he fell to the earth an,
heard voice saying unto him, Saul
Saul! Why persecutest thou me?' and h
said, Who art thou, Lord" And the Lor
said, 4 am Jesus whom thou perse
cutest.'"
But we cannot stop longer on this roa
for we shall see this endorsed equestrian
later in Damascus. toward which hi
horses head is turned. and at which W
must ourselves arrive before night.
Under my window tonight in the hote
at Damascus hear the perpetual rippl
and rush Of the river ALBANIA. All. tn
secret, is out! Now ! know why all thi
flora. and fruit. and why everything is S
. green. and the plain ono great emerald
The river AbanA And not far of the rive
j, Pharpar. which our horses waded throug
today. Thank the rivers, or rather the Go
who made the rivers! Deserts to tho north
! deserts to the south, deserts TO the cas-
1 -, l,,k n