The Leon reporter. (Leon, Iowa) 1887-1930, 1900-02-15
the rivers. they shall not overflow

the rivers, they shall not overflow
thee
yet, so inexorable are Gods laws,
Naaman the warrior, to be cured of his
leprosy, had to wash in the troubled
Jordan, the swiftly flowing, filthy wa
tiers Of the despised Jordan. Absurd
answered the Napoleon of the Dam
ascene capital. Am going to make a
spectacle of myself? l am not hire
ling. l can pay for cure. My serv-
ants are carrying the presents of 10
talents of silver and 5000 pieces OF
gold and 10 changes of raiment. And
have letter of introduction from my
royal master to the king of Jerusalem.
Besides that what right have you to
ask me to battle in the waters of the
Jordan? The two most beau
tiful rivers in the world flow past
my palace door. Are not ALBANIA and
Pharphar rivers of Damascus better
than all the waters of Israel? May l
not wash in them?' Yet, when Naa-
man had submerged his will to Gods
will and had dipped seven times in the
river Jordan, his flesh came again like
unto the flesh of little child, and he
was clean
Bridges.
"There is strange theory that each
bridge which spans river has a
key note. 1t matters not whether it
be the Brooklyn bridge over the East
river, or the Suspension bridge over
the Ohio river, or the iron bridge over
the River Tay. or the London bridges
spanning the Thames, Or the Partisan
bridges arching the Seine. Whether
they are made of iron, wood, stone, or
steel. II musician can once strike
the key note Of those bridges, certain
waves of sound are started which will
shake and oscillate and destroy the
strongest bridge ever made and tum-
| BILE the massive beams into the water.
the march passing a river always
breaks step for fear of starting the
wood and iron in that fatal swing.
Some commentators go SO far as to
claim that when the archangel blows
the blast of the resurrection he will
not make loud sound, which will
scatter earth to the four quarters of
infinitude. That may be only a theory.
but in our lives there are certain
things we can do and certain things
we cannot do.
"Once strike the key note Of i'm
perfection and keep playing it, and
the bridge of moral character will
totter and sway and tremble and
crash into utter and everlasting de-
molition. May the divine finger guide
us through the meadowlands and the
green pastures that grow by the still
waters of obedience, as river, a
gentle river
| Teaches Practical Usefulness.
Lesson the second. The river
teaches the place of practical useful
ness. We all look at objects from a
different standpoint. The sportsman
wants the river in which to fish; the
manufacturer wants the river to turn
his wheel; the yachtsman that he
might launch his craft and have it
as swan float along. spreading her
white wings, dipping now and then to
SOOl 14SA UllolSlluS SUES. 1u6 ldTnGT
utilizes the river that he may turn
the waters into canals and make the
desert blossom as the rose. The whole
country of Egypt is dependent upon
the River Nile. Every year it over
flows the banks In the thick mud the
sower filings his seeds. If the river
does not rise high enough to sub
tho 1on1 10
and down the breadth and length of
the kingdom. To this custom refers
the strange passage of scripture when
it says: Cast thy bread upon the
waters and thou shalt find it after
many days So important is the River
Nile the Egyptians used to worship it
as god.
Uses of the Rivers.
Everyone wants the river for
something, from the artist studying
the white caps to the pilot awake at
his wheel, looking at sleeping cities
or signalling passing boats filled with
human cargoes, whose lights make
them look like great floating palaces,
while in the evening hour the lowing
! herds stoop to quench their thirst Or
watch the waters back up and over
flow the meadows. Rivers were made
for some practical use-so are we:
God sent his messenger, the rain,
And said unto the mountain brook,
Rise up and from thy caverns look;
And leap with naked, snow-white feet
From the cool hills into the heat
OF the broad. arid plain.
Nov, remember the Bible was
written in the vivid, intense, and pic
turesque language of the East, and you
must interpret it accordingly. The
Bible declares the promised land was
land flowing with milk and honey.
Does that literally mean Palestine is
place where thousands of Attorney
cows come down to the river banks
and stand there chewing their cuds
while the Jewish maidens milk them
and toss pailful after pailful of the
foaming dairy treasure into the cur
rents? Then these rivers Of milk flow