The San Francisco call., 1897-01-04
TO AND FROM JERICHO
Bible Pictures the Text for an
Address by Rev. Haskett-
Smith.
A Historic Tr p Used as an Illustra.
tion Of the Path Trodden by the
Sinner ard the Good.

The Rev. Haskett-Smith gave another
address at the Young Mems Christian As
sociation yesterday afternoon. In intro
| ducing his subject he remarked that it
was a favorite device of some great artists
| to paint sets of companion pictures, where
! by the moral lesson intended to be con-
veyed is enforced by the means of con-
| trast.
| The Bible is, as it were, he said, vast
picture gallery of sacred scenes and SUBJ
| jects; and, if we examine it carefully, we
often come across such compan ion pic
tures Two of these he held up to view.
The first was painted by Christ himself,
and sad and melancholy picture it was.
1t presented man ON a lonely and DESC
late road, surrounded by band of blood
thirsty robbers, who were illtreating and
despoiling him. IA certain man went
down from Jerusalem to Jericho and fell
among thieves"
ANY modern traveller who takes this
journey has partial illustration of the
force of this picture. For. in the first
place, the road is still considered to be so
dangerous that no European or American
travellers are allowed to venture upon it
except under a duly qualified escort, for
fear of the BedouIn Arabs who iniest those
| districts. In the second place, so literally
is it going down that in PAS ing from
Jerusalem to Jericho though the distance
as the crow flies is barely nineteen miles,
| the road descends no less than 1000
! feet. Jericho is absolutely the lowest in
habited place on the earth's s surface, being
| 1900 feet below the level of the sea, and it
! is therefore intensely hot during the
! greater part of the year.
In fact, as Mr.. Haskett-Smith humor-
onsly remarked, he never fully realized the
! force of the saying, go to Jericho until
| he actually went there. Jerusalem is
always taken in the Bible as the type of
heaven, so that the man in the first pic
| ture is intended to represent the sinner
on the downward path. with his back to
| heaven and his face toward Tophet.
In the companion picture he intro
duced a group of people on the same
identical road, but the contrast was re-
markabe and complete. A man, as be-
fore, is in the center OF the group; but
those surrounding him are not foes, but
friends, and at the head OF the band
walked one, the best friend of all. Jesus of
Nazareth himself They are journeying
| upward, not downward; their backs are
| toward Jericho, their faces toward Jeru-
I saem.
| The central figure is Bartimaeus. until
| lately blind and beggared in the city of
| Jericho, and who. having received his
sight, is following Jesus in the way. He
is therefore, the type of the converted
sinner on the uphill path toward heaven.
From these two pictures the preacher
drew many instructive and forcible les
sons, illustrating his remarks in such an
interesting and eloquent manner as to
| enchain the attention of every member of
the large congregation, which seemed
deeply impressed by the earnestness and
| power OF the address.
This evening Mr.. Haskett-Smith com.
mences his course of oriental entertain
ments, illustrated by unique stereopticon
views, prepar. principally from photo
graphs taken by himself and colored by
an eminent artist. The subject for this
evening has the fascinating title, From
Joppa to Jericho. With Eight Old Maids
and Nervous Bachelor"