Page images
PDF
EPUB
[graphic][subsumed][merged small]

shrubs, affording neither cheer to the hungry or to the weary, but barely a refuge for jackals and foxes, or an undisturbed retreat for beasts of more savage name.

There is one time in the year, however, when the banks of the Jordan are enlivened by the concourse of some thousand pilgrims from every part of Christendom;-I mean the season of Easter. On this occasion the band of pilgrims set off from Jerusalem accompanied by a Turkish guard to protect them from the attacks of the Bedooeen, who are ever on the alert to plunder any stragglers who may break off from the main body, and not unfrequently is the troop endangered by these hardy and daring freebooters. Nothing can look more grotesque than the caravan of pilgrims, clad in the costumes of their several countries, winding through the mountain passes, or traversing the plain towards the banks of the Jordan. When arrived at the river such as can swim plunge into the stream in ecstacy, those who cannot, men, women and children, rush forward with shouts of rapture as far as they safely may, whilst others, more timid than their companions, are obliged to content themselves with a partial dip as they hang suspended from the branches of the trees and shrubs which grow on the banks. Some of the more devout affect to be baptized in the same manner as our Saviour, and stand still in the river while their friends pour water on their heads. In these aquatic frolics, however, accidents often happen fatal to the lives of some poor pilgrims, who venturing beyond their depth have been carried down the stream to a watery grave in the Dead Sea. The spot chosen by the Latin christians is four miles above that selected by the Greeks for their bathing-place. By the former the stream is narrower and consequently more rapid, and accidents of the kind I have mentioned more frequently

occur.

Chiefly on the authority of the Jewish historian Josephus, the source of the Jordan was believed to be the lake Phiala, about five miles distant from Baneas, or Cesari Philippea, whence it passed under ground, and emerged again from the cave of Baneas, in the vi

[ocr errors]

cinity of the town. This double source of the river is now, however, generally exploded. Burkhardt says it rises about four miles north-east from Baneas, in the plain, near a hill called Tel-er-Radi, it is soon after joined by the river of Baneas, which runs east of the Jordan for some distance, and the united streams, now a considerable piece of water, fall into the Bahairet el Houli, or the lake Semechonitis, which has several other tributary streams, and is, perhaps, better entitled to be considered as the source of the Jordan than any other place to which this honour is assigned. Leaving this lake, the river runs in a southerly direction for one hundred and twenty or thirty miles, in its way passing through the lake of Tiberias, and finally losing itself in the Dead Sea.

Being the principal river in the land of Canaan, and dividing as it did two and a half tribes of the children of Israel from those whose lots fell to the west, the Jordan is eminently famous in Scripture history. Here God miraculously interposed to make a way for his chosen people, by stopping the stream in its most rapid course, making the waters to rise up in a heap on one side whilst they passed over. (Josh. iii.) Here Ehud freed the Israelites from the yoke of the king of Moab, by seizing the fords on the eastern side of the river, and thus effectually pre venting the Moabites from crossing over into their country. (Judges. iii.) By the brook Cherith, near to the Jordan, Elijah was supernaturally fed, morning and evening, by the ravens; (1 Kings xvii. 3.) and by the mantle of the prophet were its waters a second time parted asunder to make a way for him and his attendant; (2 Kings ii. 8.) Here Elisha made an iron axe to swim which had sunk to the bottom; (2 Kings, vi. 6.) and here Naaman, captain of the host of the King of Syria, was miraculously cured of an inveterate leprosy, by immersing himself in the stream seven times. On the hanks of the Jordan the Jews frequently listened to the preaching of John annonncing to them the advent of their great Messiah, and in its waters multitudes were baptized for the remission of their sins. And here it was that the Redeemer himself sanctified

the stream by submitting to the same holy rite at the hands of the Baptist, whereupon the heavens were opened, and, as the Holy Spirit descended upon him, a voice from the excellent majesty proclaimed to all around: "this is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased." (Matt. iii.)

The regular passages over the Jordan were: (1.)Jacob's bridge, between the lakes Semechonitis and Tiberias, said to be the place where Jacob met his brother Esau, and where he wrestled with an angel. This still exists under the name of Djisr Nabi Yaakoob. (2) A bridge at Chammath, at the issue of the river from the lake of Gennesareth. (3.) A ferry at Bethabara, 2 Sam. xix. 18. 2 Kings ii. 8. (4.) Another at Bisan, or Scythopolis, which is also extant at the present day.

The Talmudists that that." the wasay ters of the Jordan are not fit to sprinkle the, unclean, because they are mixed waters; meaning, mixed with the water of other rivers and brooks which empty themselves into it. The reader will compare with this the opinion of Naaman the Syrian, (2 Kings v. 11, 12.) who probably had received the same notion. Perhaps, too, this their inferiority was well understood, and not forgotten by the prophet of Israel.

(To be continued.)

LOVE AND PURITY.

Love purifies the heart, and its divine
Passion in itself contains all reason.
How oft the wayward youth, forgetting all,
On the world's wide torrent madly embarks,
Nor fearing, heading th' honest voice of friends,
And dares to sound the horrid depths of vice,
Till one happy day, when some sight, or sound,
Orthought, brings to his mind his love's fair image,
The dear form of her who once won his heart;
Ah, then! bow deep his stains appear, how black,
The stingings of conscience how painful,
Th' agony which rends him how horrible!
He would plunge down the abyss of his shame,
Deeper, deep'r sink to ruin; but, th' angel
Of his deliverance is nigh and saves,-
She beckons, weeps and smiles, and looks all love,
All pity, opes her arms to catch the los',
The long desolate, now repenting youth.
Can he resist so much of tenderness?
No.; he turns strait away from sin, from guilt,
In his new-found love learns truth and virtue,-
Her pure spirit banishes all thought of sin.

[blocks in formation]

Proceeds from faith, and is indeed its fruit;
Like faith 'tis substance, and the soul feeds on it.
It is a bright reality; which so
Attracts the mind, and so dilates the heart,
So fills with heavenly light the inner man,
Compared with fairer scenes revealed to faith,
A dim mirage about to disappear.

Christ saves the soul, and hope of this salvation Best nerves the hand for warfare with the powers That, whether in heaven* or earth, our course oppose.

Such hope is certainty; and nothing short
Of it can "save" the saint; can give him strength
To break the trammels which are round him cast,
And free himself from this world's hurtful thralls.
Through faith the soul is snatched from endless
death;

By hope our present ills are overcome;
And 'twas through lack of it and dread of death,
The saints of old were unto bondage subject.+
Like love, it casteth out all servile fear;
It cuts the cords that bind us down to earth,
And lends the wings wherewith we mount to heaven.
Then, happy they whose hope is in the Lord!
Such have the God of Jacob for their help,
And through his arm of strength e'en here are
saved!

This is the hope which maketh not ashamed!
Anne Elliot.
"Wicked spirits in heavenly places." Eph. vi. 12.
Heb. I.

There are three means of believing; by inspiration, by reason, and by custom. Christianity, which is the only rational institution, does yet admit none for its sons who do not believe by inspiration. Nor does it injure reason or custom, or debar them of their proper force; on the contrary, it directs us to open our mind by the proofs of the former, and to confirm our minds by the authority of the latter. But then it chiefly engages us to offer ourselves, with all humility, to the succours of inspired grace, which alone can produce the true and salutary effect.- -Pascal.

The MALTA PENNY MAGAZINE is published and sent to Subscribers, in Valetta, every Saturday. Subscriptions at 1s, per quarter received at No. 97 Str. Forni.

[blocks in formation]

JOURNEY TO BETHANY, JERICHO, THE JORDAN, AND THE DEAD SEA.

(Continued from No. 85.)

The Dead Sea.

We followed the course of the Jordan to the Dead Sea, and after a wearisome journey of one hour and a half reached its northern shore. The heat was excessive, all was still as death, and this together with the striking wildness of the scene around produced a silent melancholy in our whole party. Neither the muleteers nor the guards felt at their ease, and hurried us to depart. There was nothing, however, in the appearance of the sea itself to depress the feelings: the water was smooth and clear as crystal, and seemed so inviting that we all determined on a bathe. I had read much of the buoyancy of the Dead Sea and now felt glad at an opportunity to test it. At first I At first I doubted, but no sooner did I go beyond my depth, than I felt myself borne up as upon some solid body, which sensation increased the farther I swam from the shore. This arises doubtless from the specific gravity of the water, which according to Dr. Marcet's analysis, holds in solution one fourth of its weight in salt. The taste is extremely bitter and pungent, and our eyes felt quite sore for a long time after we had bathed, while our faces and hands were covered with a thin coat of salt. The shore of the lake was strewed with shrubs and branches of trees which had been thrown up from time to time; but we could not find a single shell, or any other vestige, to lead us to conclude that any creature lived in its waters. Maundrell mentions that he picked up several marine shells on the shore; 'tis possible, however, that these had been washed down by the Jordan, which to my knowledge breeds several species.

The rocks around the Dead Sea partake of the peculiarity of those I have described on the

(Price 1d.

road to Jericho, and like them are extremely barren. On the western side they are very precipitous, but less so on the eastern. The exact extent of the lake is by no means correctly ascertained; for whilst ancient historians differ widely in their caculations, no successful attempt has been made in modern times to decide the question. About six years ago Mr. Costigen an Irish traveller had a boat conveyed to the Lake of Tiberias, in which through many difficulties he descended the Jordan into the Dead Sea which he intended to survey as he had done the waters he had passed. Unfortunately his praiseworthy undertaking cost him his life. After rowing for some time, under a scorching sun, in company with a Maltese attendant, he became tired and fell asleep. The servant finding it hard labour to row alone thought to lighten the boat by emptying the only cask of fresh water they had with them. Thus deprived of the best means of alleviating thirst, necessity led the traveller to resort to brandy, the only liquid they had with them. The consequence was fatal. Poor Costegen was seized with a fever, was carried up to Jerusalem where he died, and was buried in the burial-ground of the Latins. It was reported that he had expended all the line he had with him without reaching the bottom. Josephus and Diodorus Siculus nearly agree in their statements as to the extent of the lake, the former makes it seventy-two and a half miles long, by eighteen and three quarters broad. Some modern travellers assert that it is not half this size. The fact is, no proper estimate can be formed of its dimensions, unless it could be viewed from the north and south, as a projecting cliff far down in the lake breaks off the view, and effectually hides the extent of the water behind. Moreover the winding direction of the mountains on either side preclude any adequate survey except by navigation.

18

[graphic][subsumed][merged small]
« PreviousContinue »