Jonas king
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| 112 JONAS KING.
Dr. King had an interview at some length with Rabbi Mendel, the chief priest at Jerusalem, who, as might be expected, said he did not believe in the great sacrifice of Jesus Christ, but reciprocated every kind expression made as to Israel, saying, however, it was not good for Jews to enjoy so many privileges as they had in America, lest Jeshurun should "wax fat and kick." In three days all the Arabic and Armenian Bibles and tracts on hand were disposed of. Dr. King soon found his way to Bethlehem, and was met near there by many children, singing, " Pilgrims, go in peace; pilgrims, go in peace," as they went with him into the village. There, though he did not intend too much to regard time and place, he felt impelled to kneel in special prayer, not for himself alone, but for the chil dren of his friends in Paris and the Netherlands and those of his sister in America. Bethlehem itself was a more rugged place than his own native town, yet he called its fields "happy; they had heard the first news of salvation ; within its bounds had been born the God-man, the Saviour of the world." Here Dr. King gath ered a few wild-flowers, which, sent to America, are yet treasured up, mute witnesses of this visit paid to Bethle hem more than fifty years ago. May i, 1823, was the anniversary of the Feast of the Passover, as observed by Greeks and Armenians. The three friends celebrated the Lord's Supper that same evening in Dr. King's room, "an upper chamber" in Jerusalem Few modern Christians had then taken the " Communion" in a place so incomparably full of sub
gestive interest ; yet Dr. King adds, after an account given, too long to be here transcribed, " It is not the place where we are that will cause us to have right feel ings. A heart unsubdued by the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ would sin even before the throne of God and in the midst of the heavenly host. " In the afternoon, the doors of the Holy Sepulchre being opened, I went to visit the place where it is said He suffered and died and was buried, in whom alone is my hope of freedom from sin and of eternal salvation. The new Turkish governor was sitting at the door with a crowd of attendants around him. Through these we made our way, and by showing a letter we had from the governor three days ago, were permitted to enter without paying the usual sum of twenty-five piastres ($2 63). I immediately found myself ushered into a large and splen did church capable of containing, I suppose, six or eight thousand persons, where, instead of solemnity, I found nothing but the noise and bustle of pilgrims who were flocking in crowds here and there, and among whom Turkish janizaries were walking to keep them in order. Having expressed my desire to see first the place of the crucifixion, I was led up a flight of stone steps unto the spot where, it is said, the cross was planted. But alas ! I searched in vain for rude Golgotha, as it had always been presented to my mind when reading of our Saviour's sufferings. Not the least trace of nature was to be seen, and I felt disappointed." Then follows a description of the whole interior, now made familiar to the ordinary reader. At the sepulchre, t,* 114 ,JONAS KING. also, the same shock to one's feelings followed, the great er, of course, because more unexpected than to a visitor there now. Many of the pilgrims, women especially, showed signs of real grief, though in a place too artificial to resemble the tomb of Joseph of Arimathea Yet here, though surrounded by marble walls adorned with pic tures and pendant lamps, and though the sepulchre itself was represented by a mere hollowed-out slab, over which a priest was sprinkling rose-water, the missionary could not refrain from kneeling with other pilgrims present, and praying for himself and friends that they might in deed " be raised from the death of sin and walk with our risen Saviour in newness of life." Returning to the place said to be that of the crucifixion, he there asked of God that they "might all be crucified to the world, and their souls washed in that blood which flowed on Cal vary.' In this petition his own mother was especially remembered in memory of the mother of Jesus. Saturday being the great Passover feast-day of the Greeks and Armenians, about four thousand of them met in the Church of the Sepulchre. "Never did I wit ness such abominable scenes in the house of God as in this place, which ought to be regarded as one of the most solemn and sacred places on earth. Hundreds of men and boys were dancing around the sepulchre and in dif ferent parts of the church, making all kinds of noises and antic gestures. Some almost without clothing were running about like madmen. Sometimes eight or ten would seize hold of one man and carry him, head or feet first, in a tumultuous manner around the tomb, singing,
Kyrie, Eleeson ! Kyrie, Eleeson !' and yelling like Bac chanalians. Sometimes one man would stand erect on the shoulders of another, and fifty or sixty would gather around him, and then all would rush in procession, dan cing and hopping, and screaming out, 'God is Sultan ! God is Sultan ! God bless the Greek convents ! God bless the Greek convents !' In the midst of them Turk ish janizaries with cat-o'-nine-tails would flog the pil grims into order whenever they began to quarrel or to crowd too near any place where they were not permitted to come. This continued for the four or five hours I was there. "I should not have believed in such a scene had I not witnessed it with my own eyes. We were told that if such frantic sports were not permitted the holy fire would not come down. I say the holy fire; for on this day at a certain hour the Turkish governor enters to give the command, and one of the metropolitan bishops enters alone into the sepulchre, and fire comes down mi raculously, so the Greeks say, and begins to burn over the tomb of Christ. From the sepulchre it is carried by some one to the altar, where the bishops and priests light their candles from it, and from them it is carried to the people, who all stand prepared with wax-candles to catch the sacred flame. As the time set for the fire to come down approached the noise increased, although the men and boys stopped dancing. At length it seemed like the rushing of many waters, and all those around the sepulchre pointed upward. We were now told that the holy fire had come down, and that it began to burn
in a lamp which hung near the top of the dome over the sepulchre, and we saw indeed a lamp burning, but whether it had been burning all the morning, or how it had been lighted up at this moment, we could not tell. From this time for about half an hour the Turks had enough to do in flogging the people into order. Finally came the Turkish governor, and those who stood in his way were flogged out of it, and then the bishops walked three times around the tomb bearing seven standards on which were painted Christ on the cross, the Virgin Mary, etc. Then the head bishop of the Greeks entered the sepul-chre Soon a light was brought to the altar, and in five minutes every man, woman, and child in this immense con gregation had blazing torches or candles in their hands, which made a very brilliant sight. This flame being considered holy, some smoked their hands over it, then rubbed their hands on their faces. Some held the can dle under their chins, then moved it quickly about their faces. I could not but fear that some of the hundreds of women wearing long white robes, and some with infants in their arms, would be burned to death. They say that this fire will not burn like common fire, but Mr. Fisk and myself both found that our fingers could not endure it. Very soon some of the people began to extinguish their candles carefully, saving all the snuff and as much of the smoke as possible. Then commenced fraternal salutations, such as kissing the cheek or the forehead or the hand of some friend. After this the Greek bishops proceeded to the ordination of some priests, and the Ar menians, Syrians, and Copts formed a procession around THE DESERT AND yER USALEM: i i7 the tomb. All was tumult and confusion through the whole church, and I retired, wearied with standing and looking, and disgusted with such impious scenes. I felt as though Jerusalem was a place cursed of God and given over to iniquity." Yet even now there are some who say the Greeks and Armenians need no purer gospel, no Protestant mis sionaries ! The evening after seeing the desecrations above men tioned was spent in special prayer for the polluted city, also that the messengers now come there might be more fully fitted for their work. They sang together, " Lord, what a wretched land is this !" " Truly it is a wretched land. The Jews hate the name of Christ, and when you mention it some of them will almost gnash on you with their teeth. The Turks exalt the name of the false prophet above His most glorious name, and are full of hypocrisy and iniquity. The Greeks and Armenians profane the temple of the Lord, and seem to know but little of the nature of Christianity. The Roman-catho lies, who are as bad as the Turks and more intolerant, thunder their excommunications against all who receive the word of eternal life. " In the morning, a little before we went to the Church of the Sepulchre, criers were sent by the new governor through the streets of the city to proclaim aloud that no Christian might wear anything of a red color, not even a cap or a pair of slippers. This order came, I was told, in consequence of his having demanded a tribute of money from the convents, which had not been paid.
Such orders are frequently given by Turkish governors in order to extort money from the Christians." On the next day, Sunday, very suddenly a Turkish janizary cited the missionaries to appear.before the mool lah, or judge, and on a singular indictment. A Turkish dervish, to whom, being poor, provisions had been given on the journey, now requited the kind ness shown, by entering a claim that a Persian Manu script, purchased from him by the missionaries, had not been paid for. The new governor of Jerusalem when appealed to, soon discovered the falseness of the accusa tion, and ordered the dervish to be bastinadoed ; but the missionaries interfered, and saved him from this terrible punishment, and themselves, praying for the young and noble governor, rejoiced that what had threatened to give them much trouble, had rather "fallen out to the further ance of the gospel." The first Monthly Concert observed by Dr. King and his friends in the Holy Land was held on the Mount of Olives, where our Lord first commissioned his disciples to " go and preach the gospel to every creature," prom ising to be with them "even unto the end of the world." The occasion was indeed most suggestive. At Bethany, the evident antiquity of a building encour aged the travellers to believe it to be, as reported, the home of Martha, Mary, and Lazarus. Flowers growing inside one of the rooms, also branches from an olive-tree near by, were gathered and sent to friends as visible tokens of the reality of a place so often honored by our Lord. While in his lodging on Mount Calvary, Dr. King
did not forget his friends and their children. The fol lowing letter testified to the interest taken in the latter. " MOUNT CALVARY, 8th May, 1823. " DEAR LITTLE CHILDREN : I write to you from this interesting place, so that when you are able to read what I write, you may know how much I loved you ; and also that you may believe on Him who is the only-begotten Son of God, and who here hung on the cross, and bowed his head in agony, to make expiation for my sins, and yours, and for the sins of the whole world. 'Though you are little children, and innocent when compared with me, still you are sinners, and cannot be saved, except by the precious blood of the Lamb of God, slain on this spot. "A few days ago I went to Bethlehem, the place where our Lord was born and laid in a manger. There I kneeled down and prayed earnestly for you, dear little children, that you might be born again, and become the true and humble followers of Him who was once a babe in Bethlehem, and whose birth was ushered in by a song of angels. I visited the plain where the angels sang, and there I prayed for you. I have remembered you too on Zion's Hill, on the Mount of Olives, and have plead for you in the sorrowful Garden of Gethsemane. " Dear children, when you read the story of our Sav iour's sufferings, you must love him and obey him and keep his commandments. The world around you is wicked, and unless you love Jesus Christ you will be led astray by the world, and fall into sin and lose your souls. " You must not only love Jesus Christ, but you must 720 7O.1MS KING. adore him. The angels adore him, and in heaven they sing with loud voice, 'Worthy is the Lamb, that was slain, to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honor, and glory, and blessing;' and all created beings who arc holy, joyfully shout Amen to this song. Rev. 5 : II, 12, 13, 14. " If you love and adore Jesus Christ, you will have in your bosom such peace as the world can neither give nor take away ; and when your bodies die, your souls will ascend to heaven, where you will never hunger, nor 'thirst, nor suffer any pain, For the Lamb, which is in the midst of the throne shall feed you, and shall lead you unto living fountains of water, and God shall wipe away all tears from your eyes.' "Dear children, I love you and pray for you, and I hope you will not forget your friends at Jerusalem. " J. KING. " P. S. I send with this some olive-leaves, which I plucked with my own hands on the Mount of Olives. I have also some little flowers, which I brought from Beth lehem, which I cannot send in a letter, but if God will, I shall one day bring them to you." To his father, he writes: "JERUSALEM, May IS, 1823. "MY DEAR FATHER : Last night in my sleep, I fancied I was with you, and that you began to converse as you used to do, about Jesus Christ and the things of another world. You said that Jesus Christ had ever been to you `a sure nail fastened into a living tree; always firm. That you had taken him for your guide, now these many
" Now this was a dream of the night, but I doubt not you have followed him these many years, and ever found him faithful. How happy are you to have chosen such a guide. He will conduct you safely along, during your weary pilgrimage on earth; will comfort and support you when called to go down into the dark valley of the shad ow of death, and in eternity he will lead you unto living fountains of water,' and all your sorrows and sighinits shall be finished. I doubt not that you have followed Christ in the regeneration, and that your inheritance with him is sure. " My dear father, can you believe me when I tell you that I am now in the Holy City, Jerusalem, and have my lodgings in a little upper room on Calvary, which stands within the walls of this present city, about a stone's cast from the place where it is said our Lord and Saviour was crucified ; and that here I am permitted to preach, and to distribute that holy word, which you taught me to read when I was a little child of four years of age, and when I thought Jerusalem must be some where almost out of the world!
Jonas Xing. 11 U 122 7ONAS KING. arch Abraham ! When the Lord bids, we must sacri fice that which is most dear to us." Again to his mother, after telling her of his prayer for her at the church on Calvary: " Do not regret, my clear mother, that I have come hither, but rather rejoice. Do you wish me to have honor ? What higher honor than to be engaged as a herald of redeeming love ? Do you wish me to have riches ? The riches of this world are but loss, when compared with the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord ! Do you wish me to be happy ? What higher happiness than to tread in the footsteps of prophets and apostles, and to wander over these sacred mountains, proclaiming glad tidings of good things to perishing souls ?" To his nephews he writes: " Here on Calvary, I charge you not to forget Him who died to redeem you. He is all in all. He is the Alpha and Omega, the be ginning and the ending—the Almighty. Live near to him, love him, put your trust in him, devote yourselves to him and never be ashamed to be called his disciples." One of these nephews, Daniel D. Wheeler, Dsq., of South Adams, Mass., brother-in-law of General Plunkett, once Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts, has no doubt often spoken of his missionary uncle, to children in the Sabbath-schools, in which he is so much interested. To Rev. Dr. Spring of New York, Dr. King writes : " Jerusalem, 19th May, 1823. Oh, that you could be with me here on Calvary, where I am writing, and hear the roaring of the Turks from the minarets, and see the deep iniquity with which this Holy City is polluted!
Mine eyes run down with tears at the desolations of Zion ! Everything around me seems blasted and wither ed by the curse of the Almighty. Before this curse shall be averted, there must be offered up many prayers and supplications, with strong crying and tears unto Him who has cast down from heaven to earth the beauty of Israel. I never felt, so much as I do now, the impor tance of praying that God would glorify his great name among all nations, and cause the name of his Son Jesus Christ to be adored throughout all the earth. I some times pray that he would arise, and shake terribly the earth, that the people may know that there is a God in heaven, and that Jesus Christ lives, and reigns over all, God blessed for ever.' "The Jews here have generally all the blindness and stubbornness, and stiff-neckedness of their fathers. Some of them tell Mr. Wolff, that were they in power they would calmly judge him, and put him to death. The Catholics threaten with excommunication any one who shall receive from us the holy Scriptures, and pronounce a curse upon every one who in any way may aid us. The Mussulmans walk about in pride, and if any one of them should leave his religion, certain death would be his portion. " So strict are they here, that I dare not even pur chase a Koran, lest I should involve myself in difficulty. Any native Christian who should presume to purchase it and read it would instantly lose his life. The Greeks and Armenians have a name that they live, and that is nearly all. Thcy are, however, more noble than the
other Christians, for they gladly receive the word of God. We have had sometimes thirty a day calling on us to purchase the holy Scriptures." After writing the above, however, Dr. King feared he should be considered to be like the spies who brought up an evil report of this very land long before ; and this he wished to avoid, saying, " For although we are as grass hoppers in the sight of this people, and are indeed so in our own sight, yet we hope to be of good courage, and to go forward in the strength of the Lord ; and if he delight in us, he will surely give us success." To a friend in Paris, who had left the Roman-catholic church quite recently, and who desired definite proofs as to the authenticity of the Bible, Dr. King wrote: " No one can say that Jesus is the Lord, but by the Holy. Ghost. i Cor. 12 :3. When once a soul is brought by the influences of the Holy Spirit to see and to feel its helplessness and entire pollution by nature, then it begins to seek for aid from without itself, and as it looks at the cross, and beholds the meek and lowly Jesus, and hears him saying, ' Look unto me, and be saved,' it feels that this is just such a Saviour as it needs, and ex claims in sincerity, 'My Lord and my God !' It then finds evidence within itself, that Jesus Christ is all in all. " Many a soul has found unspeakable joy in believing, who never read a word of the evidences of the truth of Christianity. Do you need evidence to prove to you that a rose is fragrant, that music is delightful, or that bread will satisfy a man famishing with hunger? No TIE DESERT AND 7ER USALEM. 125 more does a soul, convinced of sin, and quickened by the lively influences of the Holy Spirit, demand evidence that Christ is precious, the one altogether lovely, the bread of life,' the fountain of joy. Its language then is, not ` read Volney,' nor ` search the writings of the fathers,' but ` oh, taste and see that the Lord is good ;' I know that my Redeemer liveth—I feel that he is pre cious to me, and all those things which I once valued I now cheerfully resign for him, and count them but loss.' The infidel will smile at this, and the only reply I would make is found in John 14:17." While at Jerusalem, Dr. King profited by some of his early acquirements in music in a way quite unexpected to him. "At the request of two of the principal singers in the Greek church, I have commenced giving them lessons in music, according to the English method. Mr. Fisk translates the rules, and I apply them to practice. This is to us an interesting occurrence, and it affords me much pleasure to be a teacher of music in the city of David." At one of the convents, some curious books were to be seen, in Syriac, Ethiopic, Arabic, Greek, and Geor gian ; which latter resembles the Armenian, but no one there could understand it. There were six Jewish synagogues in Jerusalem at this time, one belonging to the Koraites. One Sabbath two Jews, named Abraham and Isaac, attended the preaching services in Mr. Fisk's room. The one named Abraham came to Dr. King's room for further instruc tion. He was already satisfied that Jesus of Nazareth is 11*
the Messiah, and prayer was offered with and for him, that he might have courage to confess this fact, even at the risk of losing his life, either by poison or on some legal pretext obtained by bribery. An excursion was made to Ramah. The prophet Samuel's house is said to have stood on a high elevation, from which is a very beautiful view. The visitors were allowed to buy the privilege of looking through a grated window, into a room said to be Samuel's sepulchre and that of his mother Hannah. About half way back to Jerusalem were shown tombs, seventy-two in number, said, by Jewish tradition, to be those of the last Sanhe drin. They professed to show also those of Haggai, Zachariah, Malachi, and Huldah the prophetess. THE DESERT AND 5'ER USALEA!: 127 this Holy City, which was once `beautiful for situation, the joy of the whole earth."' After making an excursion together to the Dead Sea and the site of Jericho, Messrs. Fisk and King parted from Mr. Wolff, leaving him to pursue his work among his countrymen, the Jews, while they turned their faces toward Lebanon.
CHAPTER IX. STUDY AND WORK IN PALESTINE. Abou Ghoosh—Zidon—Lady Hester Stanhope—Rev. Lewis Way —Studies Arabic at Deir el Kamar—Discussions with Roman catholics. THE whole country north of Jerusalem seemed to belong to Abou Ghoosh, whom our missionaries had providentially met in Egypt, and there secured his friendship. Passing through the valley of Sharon, where a re markable grapevine was seen covering a space of five rods long by one rod wide, thus giving special force to Scripture imagery, Messrs. Fisk and King came to Zi- don. Here they were glad to meet Rev. Mr. Lewis, an English Episcopal missionary to the Jews, whom Dr. King had met in Paris. All three ministers took part in the services held on the Sabbath. From Zidon Dr. King forwarded his letters of intro duction to Lady Hester Stanhope, who immediately sent her dragoman, with her compliments, inviting him to visit her at Dyhoon, three hours distant from Saide (Zi don). On his arrival he was first taken into a piazza enclosed with network all entwined with roses and jes samine. Then an excellent dinner was served, after which Lady Hester Stanhope received him very gra ciously, " saying that although she was very much occu-
pied at this time, yet she could not let an American pass without seeing him, and especially one who had come here with my motives, and who expected to stay Yüklə 0,75 Mb. Dostları ilə paylaş:
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