The Mt. Sterling advocate. (Mt. Sterling, Ky.) 1890-current, 1903-07-01
From Abroad.
LETTER XIX.
FROM JERUSALEM.


March Is, 1903. (
Dear Judge: To save effort anC
space, | shall convey to you a mod
est opinion about ancient Jerusa-
lem, in dogmatic form. Over the
jutting promontory of Jerusalem
embracing five unique SUBMITS
with corresponding valleys, there
has always rested a sacred mys-
terry. In the dim mists of its EARL.
est history there emerge here a
throne and an altar, presided over
by the most august parsonage OF
all history between Adam and
Christ. "Now consider how great
this man was unto whom Abraham
the patriarch, gave tenth out of
the chief spoils. Hebrews 7: 4.
He is set forth in the Scripture as
the most exalted type of the Son
of God. To this hallowed spot
Abraham with his vast grief and
doomed child came to offer his in
finite sacrifice to God, with that
master faith shat staggered not
at the promise of God," but grew
stronger as heapprosched these mYs-
terious hills of God AS Jerusa-
lem is now "trodden down by Gen.
tiles, until the times of the Gen
tiles be fulfilled" (Luke 81: "a !,
so was it strangely held by Gentiles
for 400 years after Israel settled in
Canaan, until the time of David.
Yet Jehovah had long before chos-
en- it, and was reserving it for his
appointed time "For the Lord
hath chosen Zion; He hath desired
it for his habitation. This is my
resting place forever: Here will l
dwell; for l have desired it. -
Psalm 1872: 10.
According to Gods promise, the
Christ, the Sceptre, the holy city
and the temple belonged to the
tribe of Judah. That is the reason
why the territorial line between
Judah and Benjamin made an 9TH
erwise unaccountable bend at
Jerusalem. The line came to the
Kedron valley at the Virgins Foun-
tain En- Rogel), thence north to a
point near the north end of the
Haram where it turned west and
came out near the present Jaffa
gate. This gave Moriah, Ophel
and Zion to Judah. Bezetha and
Akra were left to Benjamin. Akra
is situated west of Golgotha, and
separated from the central summit
of Moriah by part of the deep
Tyropocon valley. Akra was a
Jebusite fortress, and a part of
Jerusalem. The fierce warriors of
Benjamin were not able to dislodge
the Jebusites from Akra; but
Judah captured and burned the
southern section that was allotted
to them. But later, the Jebusites
erected an impregnable fortress
south of the temple hill on the
northeast point of Ophel. The
only flowing fountain about Jerusa-
lem was the En- Rogel, $50 feet
distant in the edge of the Kedron
and under the rocky foot of Ophel.
From this festress CT the noun
tain top, the sagacious Jebusites
cut secret passage through the
solid rock to a hidden basin in the
heart of the mountain, where the
pure, sweet waters of this myster-
ious fountain were gathered.
Some one--perhaps Oman, his
Jebusite friend-betrayed to David
this vital secret. After the de-
struction of the lower city, David
offered the leadership of all the
rmies of Israel to the soldier who
4 ,uld climb up by the gutter -
caIis secret passage-and smite the
garrison. Joab waded through
the dark basin, assembled the circu-
lar shaft, 40 feet through the rock,
passed along the gloomy corridor,
thence ascending the rock-hewn
stair way into the prison court of
of the fortress to meet the defiant