The Grenada sentinel. [volume] (Grenada, Miss.) 1868-1955, 1900-12-15
CROSSING THE FERRY
rr. Talmage Tells of David's Pas.
sage Over the Jordan.
He Draws n Lesson of Comfort ant
HOpefulness to All GOd's Chill
dren-The Ferry to
Heaven.
tCopyrigh., 1900. by Louis Klopsch.1
Washington,

draws some comforting and raptufous
| lessons. The text is Samuel 1918:
"And there went over a ferryboat to
carry over the kings household
Which of the crowd is the king?
That short man, sunburnt and in IA
| tigue dress. 1t is David, the eXiled
king. He has defeated his enemies and
is now going home to resume his pal
ace. Good! / always like to see David |
come out ahead. But between him and |
his home there is the celebrated river |
Jordan which has to be passed. The
king is accompanied to the bank OF the
river by an aristocratic old gentleman
of so years, Barzillai by name, who
owned a fine country seat at Roge-
lin. Besides that, David has his fam
lily with him. But how shall they get
across the river? While they are stand
ing there | see ferry boat coming from
the other side, and as it cuts through
the water l see the faces of David and
his household brighten up at the
thought of so soon getting home. NO
sooner has the ferry boat struck the
shore than David and his family and
his old friend Rarzilai, from Rogelim,
get on board the boat. Either with
splashing oars at the side or with one
oar sculling at the stern of the boat
they leave the eastern bank of the Jor
Gan and start for the western bank.
That western bank is black with
crowds of people, who are waving and
shouting at the approach of the king
and his family. The military are all
ont. Some of those who have been
David's worst enemies now shout until
they are hoarse at his return. No
sooner has the boat struck the shore
! on the western side than the earth
quakes and the heavens ring with
cheers of welcome and congratulation.
David and his family and Barzillai from
Rogelim step ashore. King David asks
his old friend to go with him and live
u at the palace, but Barzillai apollo
: gizes and intimates that he is infrm
r with age and too deaf to appreciate e
r the music and has delicate appetite
e that would soon be cloyed with lux
i urious living, and so he begs that David
7. would let him 90 back to his country
/, seat.
!, ! once heard the father of a presi-
5. dent of the United States say that he
IS had just been to Washington to see his
|. son in the white house, and he told me
of the wonderful things that occurred
there, and of what Daniel Webster said
Il to him, but he declared: Il was glad
If to get home. There was too much GO
n ing on there for me-" My father, an
e aged man, made his last visit at my
% house in Philadelphia. and after the
If church service was over. and we went
- home, some one in the house asked the
" aged man how he enjoyed the service
WELL" he replied, 81 enjoyed the serv
ice, but there were too many people
Il there for me. 1t troubled my head
le very much" The fact is that old peo
al pie do not like excitement. If Kinl
n David had asked Barzllai 30 years be
,e fore to go to the palace. the probablit,
I. is that Barzillai would have gone, bu
9 not now. They kiss each other good
10 by, custom among men oriental, bu
in vogue yet where two brothers par
or an aged father and son go away
e. from each other never to meet again
e; No wonder that their lips met as Kin,
81 David and old Barzillai, at the prov o
re the ferryboat, parted forever.
70 This river Jordan. in all ages an
al among all languages. has been he sym
Dol of the boundary line between cart
and Heaven. Yet when on former oc
is casion I preached to you about tn
ly Jordanic passage l have no doubt tha
in some of you despondingly said: 9TH
IT. Lord might have divided Jordan TO
is Joshua, but not for poor me-" Chez
up! l want to show you that there
way over Jordan as we'll as throug
'p' IT, My text says: "And there wen
No over ferryboat to carry over TIL
'i kings household"
s. My subject, in the first place, in
presses me with the fact that when W
-. cross over from this world to the mex
,e the boat will have to come from tn
.'' n' other side. The tribe of Judah. W
III are informed. sent this ferryboat acros
ot to get David and his household. stan
IL on the eastern side of the river Jol
In dan, and l find no shipping at all, bu
while | am standing there l see boa
to plowing through the river, and as
~. hear the swirl of the waters and til
ed boat comes to the eastern side of th
.dl Jordan and David and his family an
ev his old friend step on board that bof
he ] am nightly impressed with the fat
that when we cross over from til
world to the next the boat will have
'ed come from the opposite shore.
is A guide at Niagara falls said to m,
tilt "Do you see that rock down in IL
rapids?" | said: "Yes." Well"
Ike said, "some years ago mar got I'M
,v. the rapids and foated down until
l. came to that rock, and he clutch,
that and held on. We sent five lif
boats at different times out to hin
and they were all broken to splinter
ck After awhile we got him some foo
ere but he could not eat It. He seemed
have no appetite. He wanted to G
ashore, and the poor fellow held {