AFTER a few days they arrived at Joppa, and, with their guide, were at last in the holy city.
“If I forget thee, O Jerusalem, let my right hand forget her cunning." So said one of old; and how the heart of every Jew must burn within him when he beholds for the first time that once noble city, the city of his fathers. Thou down-trodden Jerusalem, the time is fast hastening when thou wilt rise again, and O! daughter of thy people, thou wilt once more lift thine head among the nations of the earth; once more will joy be found in thy streets, and thy King shall reign in righteousness. Thou wilt behold the King in His beauty, and thou wilt then look upon Him whom thou didst pierce. But thy God was above it all. He submitted to death, that His heart of love might flow out to thee. Thou art beloved for the fathers' sakes. Many of thy sons and daughters, however, can now say that they have in faith beheld the pierced side of their Redeemer, and can cry out to Him from the fullness of their hearts:
"Oh! Lamb of God still keep me
Close to Thy pierced side;
'Tis only there in safety
And peace I can abide.”
It was about sunset on Saturday evening when the tired travelers reached Jerusalem, where they gladly rested after their long journey. The people they saw interested them greatly. The sons of Ishmael they beheld in the loose garb of their tribe, and they were dwelling where the sons of Isaac dared not enter; but soon, very soon, this state of things will be no more; therefore, thou son of Abraham, cheer thee.
The next morning being Sunday, they rose earlier than usual, and after breakfast sallied forth, and wended their steps towards Mount Zion. They saw a building on its summit which they had never heard of; and as they ascended the hill, sweet strains issued into the clear morning air. As they neared the edifice, they saw it was a church, and as they entered the congregation were singing the "Te Deum." Caroline said it was an English church. Some time after, the congregation rose again and sang:—
“Jerusalem, the golden,
With milk and honey blest;
Beneath thy contemplation,
Sink heart and voice opprest.”
Then, after the prayers were ended, they poured forth the notes of:—
"Jerusalem, my happy home,
Name ever dear to me;
When shall my labors have an end,
And I thy glories see.”
Isaac thought of two of his kindred, now in those courts above, who had entered the portals of the heavenly Jerusalem, there to sing the everlasting song of God's redeemed.
After the service was over they returned to a mid-day meal, and rested in the afternoon, reading the old, old story of Jesus and His love, which had been manifested in that very city in life, and without its gates in death—He who now lives again for His people's good. He is their Mediator in the courts above, and the Prophet, Priest, and King of His ancient people. All pointed to Him who was to come. The tabernacle that was pitched in the sandy desert prefigured the divine Redeemer. His own arm, not another's, brought salvation. The tabernacle was divided into the holy of holies, and the holy place. So Caroline had taught Rachel, and she, now a girl of twelve, conveyed it all to Isaac, in her sweet childish way. None but the priest was to go into the most holy place, and that only once a year—then only through a sacrifice. In the most holy place was the mercy seat—a box made of shittim wood, and covered with pure gold—and the top was called the mercy seat, because God's glory shone upon it: from there He spoke; but this mercy seat had to be sprinkled with the blood of the sacrifice, to show that it was only through the death of a substitute that God spoke to His people, and then but through the one chosen by Himself.
There was a veil that separated the two courts. None but the high priest could go within that veil. Sin could never enter there. But in after years, when the sun was darkened and the earth quaked, and when the blessed Redeemer cried, "It is finished," the veil of the temple, which reared its magnificent pinnacle in that holy city, was rent in twain. The great transaction of atonement accomplished, men could enter now the Holiest of all, and Jehovah-Jesus could now say, "Come unto me all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest":—
"From every stormy wind that blows,
From every swelling tide of woes,
There is a calm, a sweet retreat—
'Tis found beneath the mercy seat.”
The ark pre-figured Christ. It contained the tables of the law, the rod of Aaron, and the pot of manna, The curses of the law the redeemed of God need not fear, for the Redeemer was made a curse for them. The children of God are fully satisfied, for their Redeemer is the heavenly Manna sent down from above.
"Bread of heaven,
Feed me till I want no more.”
As the ark was to Noah a place of safety, bearing him above the billows of judgment and at last landing him safely on Ararat’s mount, so is Christ to the believer. He bears him over the billows of judgment, and will at last land him safely, not into an earthly haven, but in the heights of glory, where "we shall know without a cloud his full unbounded love.”
The shittim wood showed forth the humanity of our blessed Redeemer, and the gold His divinity. So that, approach Him when we will, He is not only the Man Christ Jesus, but God over all, blessed for evermore.
Isaac was thankful to know these things; and the beauties he was daily discovering in the ancient writings of his people filled him with wonder, and were the means of his sending up a note of praise to the Author of them all.
Think not, Gentile reader, that no Jewish heart has known the truths of salvation as thou knowest them. Hebrew voices will help to swell the song of praise in the fair creation above. Many a child of Abraham has had unfolded to him the wondrous meaning of those holy writings that his fathers have handed down. The converted Hebrew can certainly value the Scriptures in a way he never did before; he can see new beauties arise each moment of his existence, and can praise the God of Israel for His goodness.
"Great God of wonders, all Thy ways
Are wondrous, matchless, and divine.”
But the great work that excels all, is Thy wondrous plan of salvation and the glorious gift Thou didst bestow on man.
Oh, that many a child of Abraham may realize in some little measure the love of his fathers' God!
Towards evening the travelers sallied forth. They seemed awe-stricken: very little was said to break the silence. The two elder travelers were thinking of the associations of each step they took. At last they came to the brook Kidron, where the monarch David had gone over when he was the rejected king. What he suffered through his rebel son! Still the heart of the father goes out to his wayward boy:—
“How was I wont to feel my pulses thrill,
Like a rich harp string, yearning to
Caress thee;
To hear thy sweet `my father.'
From those dumb, cold lips, Absalom!”
A mightier than David at last crossed that brook—a rejected King was He: on He wended His way, and then His heart of love poured forth its life blood for those very rejecters. Isaac picked up a few stones from the brook, small in comparison to their weight, He thought of the time when the stripling David killed the giant with a sling and a stone. Isaac spoke of it, and Caroline ventured also to say, “A greater than David has slain the power of the evil one—He, like young David, did it all.
"He death by dying slew.”
“His be the victor's name,
Who fought the fight alone.”
Alone in that dark hour, all the billows of God's wrath went over Him, for man's—his creature's sin.
One day, about 5 p.m. on a lovely evening, Caroline and her pupil went to the garden of Gethsemane, and Caroline sat dwelling on that scene of well-nigh two thousand years before, when the Savior sweat, as it were, great drops of blood. But His path of suffering is over now.
"The crown of glory now adorns
The mighty Victor's brow”
She remembered the prayer of the great Redeemer, "Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless, not as I will, but as thou wilt." Though sometimes He allows us to have our will, that we may prove our hearts, yet how many troubles should we save ourselves, how many pitfalls and snares would be avoided, if we were simply doing His will. Blessed be His holy name! He leads us on. His eye is ever watching. He never lets us go. His sweet companionship is ours once more, the Father's smile we again behold. "Clouds may seem to pass between, and hide him from us;" but
“When past, eternal Lover,
Towards us, as e'er, Thou'rt bright.”
A few days after, they all went to the Jews' wailing place—a spot where Jews from every clime are allowed by the Turkish government to go once a week. It is a place where part of the ancient wall now stands. Many names are engraven there of those who are now in the land of silence. Hebrews flock there from every clime to mourn over the sins of their fathers, forgetful, or rather not cognizant, of the fact that it is their own sin in rejecting their Messiah that scatters them among the nations of the earth. But the throne of David will be built again there, and the rightful heir will take His place. To the outward eye all looks dark and drear; but after the Bright and Morning Star has appeared, the Sun of righteousness will arise with healing in His wings, and chase forever the gloom away.
Many places of interest the travelers saw. They stood on the banks of the Jordan; they walked on the shores of Galilee; they beheld its blue waters never still, ever moving like the sinking sands of time, since last the Lord Jesus stood on its waves, speaking peace to His troubled disciples, saying, "It is I, be not afraid." Isaac could not see Him now; but He had spoken sweet peace to the soul of the Jew, and although the Hebrew could not now behold Him, he knew Him to be enthroned on high.
Yet the Hebrew delighted to walk on those hallowed spots, where long before his Redeemer stood. They wended their way passing many scenes of interest—to Mount Carmel, and, like Elisha of old, their eyes looked far out over the wide expanse of the Mediterranean. The mountain brought to their remembrance Israel's sin in turning to idolatry and Elijah's challenge on that eventful day, when fire came down from heaven to consume the sacrifice. They had traversed Samaria and thought of Elisha's prayer that the eyes of his servant might be opened, when his enemies were seeking his life. Those words of his, "There are more for us than those that are against us," they felt the power of now. Elisha saw round about the mountains of Samaria chariots and horses of fire, and we know now that the angel of the Lord encampeth round about His people. What a mighty Protector we have! a strong fortress, whereunto we can continually resort. Amidst the "din of earthly strife," he hides us in His pavilion, His everlasting arms are underneath us and round about us.
In many spots of interest the travelers read from their Bibles the different accounts of scenes which occurred far down the vista of time, and none but those who have done so can fully depict their feelings while reading.
Soon they arrived at Lebanon, and beheld its tall cedars—not, however, as in their primeval beauty. Now the ax has thinned its stately forest.
They stayed in the neighborhood for some time. Assembled for prayer one evening they found a few Christians gathered, not in such a pile as they had seen on Mount Zion, but underneath a humbler roof. On the following Sunday morning, Isaac was told there would be a meeting, but for what purpose he did not know: he concluded it must be for prayer. But no; their purpose was, like that of the apostles of old, the breaking of bread; and when Isaac beheld that sight for the first time, his feelings overcame him, as he thought that in that very land his fathers had cast out the now risen Lord, and that a few faithful ones were remembering Him in His death.
"This do, He cried, till time shall end,
In memory of your dying Friend;
Meet at My Table, and record
The love of your departed Lord.”
They remained longer in this spot than they had purposed, and delighted to attend those simple meetings, from which they derived much good.
The Lord is not confined to lofty piles and edifices. He is faithful to His promise, "Where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I in the midst." Oh, that all believers would meet as did the church of old. No sect, no division then! Every weary, worn traveler in those days, if he were a believer in Jesus, knew where to go, when he, for the first time, entered a city such as Smyrna or Ephesus, assured that he would find one assembly, one church, one faith, one baptism; but now, amidst the 1200 creeds of Christendom, where is the true-hearted one to turn?
To God, and to God alone: He will show him the right path. O glorious future! when we shall all be of one mind, one chorus from every tongue, no more divided opinions, but all one harmonious whole, all one glorious circle, of which Jesus will be the center-He the chiefest of ten thousand, and the altogether lovely!
Isaac was sorry indeed to leave the scenes that his forefathers had looked upon; still, he lifted his eye heavenwards to another Jerusalem, another city that hath foundations, whose Builder and Maker is God.
Isaac at last bade farewell to the land of his fathers, and wended his way homewards.
They visited Switzerland, and the magnificent scenery here also raised their minds and hearts heavenwards, to the Creator of the vast universe, who is ever mindful of His creatures.
They attended a Lutheran church; but one evening, as they were going towards this edifice, their attention was arrested by sounds issuing from a building somewhat less pretentious, and they eagerly listened to the last words of a hymn—
"Though sunder'd far by faith they meet,
Before one common mercy-seat.”
Isaac never till now seemed to understand the meaning of the mercy-seat, on which the eyes of Jehovah rested, beneath the covering of the tabernacle in that barren and sandy desert. His eyes, now, are resting with delight, not on the type, but on the great Antitype, who has entered the courts of heaven, after having made the great atonement. "This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased." "In burnt-offerings and sacrifices thou hast had no pleasure." What a great day of atonement was that, when the mighty Redeemer hung between heaven and earth on that cross of wood! No wonder that rocks rent, and the sun veiled its face, when the great Redeemer died for man. After the hymn had been sung, a man with an Italian appearance and accent arose. He had been a Roman priest; but light had been given him by God's Spirit, when reading the scriptures in the Latin tongue. His archbishop had detected in his discourses that it would be dangerous to allow him to preach to his brother clergy; so had given him twelve months' leave of absence, with not a very full purse. However, God cared for him, and led him into the way of a Christian, from whom he learned "the more perfect way," and at last could say from a full heart, when he held his crucifix, "His wounds are my merits;" no more works, no more penances; old things are passed away, all things are become new; and, like Isaac, he, too, could say, "I know whom I have believed.”
“Believing, I rejoice
To see the curse removed;
And bless the Lamb with cheerful voice,
And sing redeeming love.”
This Roman priest soon got beyond the confines of his native land, and was free from all the trammels of his former religion; and there in that little Swiss meeting-house, Isaac the Jew heard from the Roman priest what he never knew before.
The subject was Solomon's temple. Isaac had seen in the ancient quarry at Jerusalem an immense stone that had been chiseled out on three sides, and was supposed to have been commenced for that great work—the building of Solomon's temple. This Italian now told forth the history. How that every stone was fitted ere it entered the earthly temple—no sound of hammer or chisel there. And now all true believers form the temple of God—that temple not made with hands. Every believer is fitted ere he enters that building. Jesus has done the work. He is the Master-Builder, the Foundation, and the Chief Corner Stone; all is through Him, and for Him; and ere long the topmost stone will be brought in with rejoicing. God is no respecter of persons: rich and poor alike require the same sacrifice. In days of old the atonement money was the same, from the highest to the lowest; so now the blood of Christ, and that alone, rears that glorious temple in the Jerusalem above.
At length one evening the travelers arrived home, after some months' absence. Much had been seen, and much had been learned; knowledge gathered, the mind enlarged. Caroline, too, had also learned. Though she was accomplished and clever, this young woman of twenty-five years had not till now seen much of the world. She had, perhaps, one failing, and that not her own fault: her views of things in general were cramped through her early training and not having had an opportunity of traveling until now. She could thank God for His goodness to her.
Many who live in seclusion are ofttimes narrow-minded. True we have a narrow path, and a very narrow one, if we walk with God; but that is not having a narrow mind—far from it. Our love is to go out unto all, especially to those of the household of faith; and blessed be the name of the Lord, the household of faith is formed of believers everywhere, and when we will we can do them good. But when believers, acting contrary to the word of God, go on with the world, as it were, in one hand, and with Christ in the other, we must take another path if we would keep near the pierced side of our blest Redeemer. Still, it is He who holds our hand, and He will never, no never, let us go.
Victory is always near, if our shield of faith be uplifted.
After the exciting events of the past few months, all were glad to be at home once more; and wander wherever we will, "there is no place like home." The home of the Englishman is his castle; but the Christian can say:—
“Though through earth's palaces I roam,
And every pleasure see;
Naught with the heavenly home can vie;
Naught like its pleasures be.”
Blessed thought, "There is no place like home. There is no friend like Jesus.”