Shenandoah herald. [volume] (Woodstock, Va.) 1865-1974, 1890-12-05
REV. DR. TALMAGB
The Eminent Brooklyn pisine's Sun
day Sermon.
Subject, "On Lake Galilee,"

wide. but the atmosphere is so clear it seems
as If could cast stone from beach to beach.
The lake looks az though it had been let
down on silver paleys from the heavens and
werea section Of the sea of glass that st.
John describes as part Of the celestial land.
scape. Lake Galilee is a depression of six
hundred feet in which the river Jordan
widens ana tarries little, for the river Jor-
dan comes in at its north side and departs
from its south side; 20 this lake has its cradle
and its grave.
Its white satin cradle il among the SHOWS
OF Mount Hermoh where the Jordan starts,
and lis sepnlchre is the Dead Sea into witch
tne Jordan empties. Lake Como of Italy,
Lake Geneva Of Switzerland, Lake LoBlend
of Scotland Lake Winnipssaukee OF America
are larger, but Lake Galilee is the greatest
diamond that ever dropped from the finger
Of the clouds and whether encamped on its
banks as we were yesterday and worship
ing at its crystal affairs or wading into its
waves, which make an ordinary bath solemn
as baptism, or now putting out upon its
sparkling surface in a boat, it is something
TO talk about and pray about and sing about
until the lips with which we now describe
it can neither talk nor pray nor sing
AS sometimes beautiful child ia neigh
borhood has half dozen pet names, and some
of the neighbors call her by one name and
others by another so this pet lake Of the
planet has profusion of names. Ask the
Arab as he goes by what this sheet of water
is and he will call it Tabariyeh. Asa Moses
of tue Old Testament, and he calls it Sea of
Chinnereth. Ask Matthew, aud he calls it
Sea Of Galilee. Ask Luke, and he calls it Sea
of GenneSaret Ask John, and he calls it Sea
of Liberals. Ask Josephus and Eusebius,
and they have other names ready, But to me
Iii - 81. -. a<.f =
bills, a rhalSOdy of the mountains the bap-
tismal bowl Of Che worlds temple, the smile
Of the great God. Many kinds of fish are
fouud IN these waters, every kind OF tree upon
its bank from those that grow in the torrld
zone TO those in the rigid, from the pain to
the cellar.
OF the two hundred and thirty war ships
JOsepnus manoevred on these waters-for
Josepbus was warrior as well as historian
there remains not one piece Of g hulk, or
one patch of canvas, or one splinter of an
oar. But TO return to America we never
will until we have had A sail upon this inland
sea, otfrom a wharf, but from beach
covered with black and white pebbles, we 20
on board boat OF sbcdt ten or twelve tons,
to be propelled partly by sail and partly by
car The mast leans 50 far forward that It
seems about 10 fall, but we find it was pur-
posely so built, and the rope through pulley
manages to hoist and let down the sail. It is
a rough boat. and as far as possible removed
from Venetian gondola or a sportSman's
yacht. With common saw anil hammer
and ak many of you coul1 make better one
-Four harefOotsd Arabs instead Of sitting
down TO their oars stand, as they always do
in rowing and pull away from snore. l in
sist on helping, for there smoothing more ex-
hilarating TO me than rowing, but | soon
have enough OF the clumsy oars and The awk-
ward attempt at welding them While in
standing posture
We put our overcoats and shawis on q
small deck i'll the stern of the boat, the very
kind Of a deck where Christ lay on a fisher
mans coat when of old tempest pounced
upon the fishing smack Of the afrighted dis
ciples Ospreys and wild ducks and king
fishers fly overhead or dip their wings into
the lake, installing it for a fragment of
fallen sky. Can it be that those Bible stories
about sudden storms on this lake are trueg
IS It possible that sea of such seeming
p,acidity Of temper could ever rise and rage
at the heavens; Ii does not seem as if this
happy family Of elements could have ever
had falling out and the water strike at the
clouds and tie clouds strike at the wate'.
Pull away, oarsmen! On cur right bank
are the hot sulphur baths so hot they are
sld4 lll-, ll4 LlE NNlSio IAUSl COOL OIL q lOuk
while before hand or foot can endure their
temperature. Volcanoes have been boiling
these waters for centuries -Four springs
roll their resources into two great swimming
reservoirs. King Herod here tried to battle
of the results Of his excuses, and Pliny and
Josephus describe the spurtings out of these
volcanic heats and Joshua and Moses knew
about them, and this moment long lines Of
pilgrims from all parts Of the earth are
waiting for their turn TO step into the
steaming r5StOratives.
Let the boat. as far as possible and not run
aground, hug the western shore of the lake
that we may see the city of Liberals, once
great capital, of the architecture Of which
few mosaics and fallen pillars and pedestals,
and here and there a broken and shattered
friezs remain, nightly suggestive of the
time when Heroi Antipas had a palace here
and reigned with an opulence and pomp and
cruelty an1 abomination that paralyzes the
fingers OF the historian when he comes to
write it and the fingers Of the painter when
he attempts to transfer il to canvas | sup
pose he was one Of the worst men that ever
lived. And what a contrast OF character
comes at every moment TO the thoughtful
traveller in Palestine. whether he walks the
Leacu Oh TINS lake or sails as we now do these
waters
Side 10y side are the two great characters
Of this lake region, Jesus and HerOd An
tipas. Aud did any age produce any such
antipoies, any such antitheses, any such
tppositesy Kindness and cruelty, holiness
and filth, generosity and neanness, self
sacrifice and selfshness, the supernal and the
Internal, midnOon and midnight. The father
OF this Herod AntipaS was genius at asSas-
sination. lie could manufacture more rea-
sons for putting people out OF this life than
any man in al history. He sends for
Hyrcanus to come from Babylon to Jeru-
salem to Ue made high priest and Stays HIM
He has his brOtler-in-law while IN bathing
with him drowned by the kings attendants.
He says his wife and his wite's mother and
two OF his sons and his uncle, and filled a
volume of atrocities, the last chapter OF
which was the massacre of all the babies at
Bethlehem.
With such father as Herod the Great you
are not surprised that this Herod Antipas,
whose palace stood on the banks Of this lake
we now sail wasa combination Of wolf, rep.
tile and hyena. while the Christ who walked
wonder banks and sailed these waters was Sc
good that almost every rood of this scenery
is associated with some wise word or some
kindly deed. and all literature and all art
and all earth and all heaven are put to the
utmost effort in trying TO express how grand
and glorious and lovely he was ana Is ana Il
toLe The Christly and Herodic characters
as different as the two lakes we visit, and moi
far apart Galilee and the Dead Sea; the on'
flower banked and the other bituminous anc
blasted. toe one hoverea over Uy the mercy o.
Christ the other blasted by the wrath o
God: the one iull OF fony tribes sporting II
the clear depths, the otner forever hfeless
the waters Of tae one sweet and pleasant 4
the taste. the other bitter and sharp anC
disgusting Awful Dead Seal Gloriou
CenneSaret.
We will not attempt to cross the eastern
size Of this lake, as had thought TO do, fol-
those regions are inhabited by a thieying anG
numerous race and one must 60 thorough
ly armed, and as never shot any one am
have 10 ambition to be shot, | said Let u
stay by the western shore" But we looi
over TO the hills of Gsdara, on the other side
down which two thousand swine after bein.
-posSesset by the devil ran into the lake, an
bringing down on Christ for permitting i
the wrath of all the stock raisers OF tina
country because Of this running Of the pori
Business. You sea that Satan is a spirit OF
had taste. Why did henot say: Let me &c
into those birds, whole nocks of which fy
over GableeT No: that would have beer
TOO high why not let me 20 into the sheer
which wander over these hills" No: that
would have been too gentle Rather JED
me 20 into these swine. / want to be with
the dQuivouc Qf fha mr., I ,ya,t 20 oc~o.ofo4 4.