The ancient and modern history of the rivers of the Bible

Preface To The First Edition

The want of works suitable for reading on tbe Lord's day has been often felt. Parents, teachers, and others who have the care of youth, who feel the responsibility of training up their charge in the knowledge and fear of the Lord, are often at a loss how to direct the employment of time on this sacred day. There are many hours not occupied in attendance on the public means of grace, which they feel ought not to be spent in secular occupations, or mere amusement. A book which shall convey divine truths in a manner calculated to win the attention, engage the interest, and allure the reader on from page to page with unabated pleasure, cannot but be valuable. We can hardly expect that our children and domestics, who have never yet become experimentally acquainted with Divine grace, should be able to relish works of a doctrinal or devotional character, which afford food and minister refreshment to a spiritual person. And yet it would be culpable negligence to permit them to follow their own inclinations, without an effort to instruct their minds and win their hearts to God.

IV

Preface

The Author of the present volume proposed to himself the production of a work which should embrace many subjects of varied interest, treated in a lively and attractive manner, yet not out of keeping with the sacred engagements and associations of the Lord’s day, to meet this want. The Rivers and Streams of Palestine and the neighbouring lands, hallowed by their mention in the book of God, and the narratives of high interest connected with these scenes in Holy Writ, are the immediate subjects of the work; while it has been the object of the Author to draw from these events and scenes the lessons of heavenly wisdom, the truths of spiritual import, bearing on the faith and practice of man, for which they have been recorded. It is hoped that the whole spirit and tone of these pages, as well as every sentiment in them, may be found to be in harmony with “ the doctrine which is according to godliness,” and promote the glory of the Lord Jesus.

May He deign to use and to bless this little volume, as well as any future ones, to which, if successful, it may be preliminary.

London, Sept. 1850.

SACRED STREAMS.

Introduction

Very pleasant are the associations 'which we habitually connect with a river ; whether we think of it as bubbling out of its crystal fountain in the mountain-side ; — or dashing, in a sheeted cascade, over green and slippery rocks, half hidden by jutting ferns, whirled about in feathery tufts of spray by every playful breeze, and lost in a perpetual cloud of foam in the dark hollow beneath ; — or brawling along the valley in its pebbly bed, murmuring and fretting at the petty opposition it meets with ; — or silently pursuing its broad and majestic course through the plains and meadows, fertilizing cultivated regions, reflecting from its peaceful bosom villages, and towns, and domed cities ; — or at length, having received a hundred tributaries, dilating into the vast estuary, bearing the proud fleets of commerce and war, and almost rivalling in grandeur the ocean into which it is pouring its everlasting tribute of waters.

Sweet is it, in the heat of summer’s noon, to sit on the mossy bank, and watch the meandering stream, now darkling and concealed from the sun by

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INTRODUCTION.

the overhanging shrubs and trees, whose branches kiss one another across its bosom, now sparkling out in the bright sunbeams that reveal and illuminate every stone and shell upon its bottom, — to feel its coolness, and admire its clearness, and enjoy the thoughts and images, associations and feelings, which it presents to the mind, all peaceful, soothing, and refreshing.

And pleasant it is to muse on the varied scenes and events and characters, with which it has been connected in by-gone ages, and in which its memory is embalmed. To say, Here, on these banks, was marshalled the little band, feeble in numbers, but strong in their love of their native soil, and in their righteous cause, who met the swarming hosts of invading foes, and fought and conquered. Here, by this stone, stood the dauntless man, who dared to withstand a tyrant’s cruel mandate, and delivered his village from oppression. There, in that little cot, was born the hero who led his country’s fleets to victory, and caused her name to be mentioned with reverence among the nations. Along this verdant bank has often mused the poet, whose burning words have found a response in many a land and language ; and from the wild and beautiful scenery of this lovely stream he caught his inspiration. Yonder rising knoll has witnessed the experiments of the philosopher, who subjected to man’s will and power the elements of nature. The music of this murmuring brook used often to soothe the soul of the philanthropist, as he mused on his plans for ameliorating the condition of his suffering fellowmen.

INTRODUCTION.

But if we in this temperate clime know a little of the pleasant feelings connected with clear streams and running waters, what must be their force in lands where the severest trials of life are described under the emblem of the fierce rays of the sun ! where the protecting care of Jehovah for His dear people is called a “ shadow from the heat,” the “ shadow of a great, rock in a weary land ! ” and where the sweetest joys of the heavenly rest are set before the tired and tempted saints of God, under similar imagery : — “ Neither shall the sun light on them, nor any heat. For the Lamb . . . shall lead them unto living fountains of waters ! ”

In such lands, nothing is more natural than that fresh streams and flowing rivers should be constantly used by the inspired poets and prophets, as emblems by which to call up and shadow forth the sweetest, holiest, and most comfortable thoughts. Is peace spoken of? It shall “ flow as a river.” Is judgment or righteousness prayed for ? It is that it may “ run down as waters, and as a mighty stream.” The advantages of wisdom in a man^s heart are “ as deep waters, and as a flowing brook.” Is a man under the curse of God? “He shall not see the rivers, the floods, the brooks of honey and butter.” Do desolation and confusion spread over the earth, wasting and destroying like an irruption of the sea ? The protection and preservation of the saints of God are secured; for “there is a river, the streams whereof shall make glad the city of God.” The Lord Jesus is set forth “as rivers of water in a dry place ;” He will, by-and-by, bless restored Jerusalem, so long withered and forsaken, and “extend peace to

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INTRODUCTION.

her like a river, and the glory of the Gentiles like a flowing stream;” — He will himself be to Israel “a place of broad rivers and streams, wherein shall go no galley with oars, neither shall gallant ship pass thereby.” For He is the Fountain and Well-spring of all blessing.

How great mnst have been the joy and comfort which the ancient people of God took in their rills and brooks wherewith their thirst was quenched, and by which fertility was given to the beautiful and goodly land, that “land of brooks of water,” of hills and valleys, which Jehovah had given them, and from which so many sweet images and allusions were drawn, turning their thoughts to earthly and heavenly blessings, and to their gracious and loving God !

And if historical and personal associations often crowd upon the mind, as we walk by the bank of a favourite stream in our own land, endearing it to our imagination and heart, — with what a deepened interest should we tread where every spot is hallowed by some ancient memory, some record of a history in which God himself is the chief actor. Not a rill or river but has some story to tell, some lesson to teach, some song of praise to elicit, in lands where angels talked with men, where inspired poets sang, where prophets and seers unfolded the far-distant future, where the visible glory of God dwelt, where the arm of Jehovah was ever stretched out in blessing, deliverance, protection or chastisement, where patriarchs sojourned, and where, for a while, tabernacled Jesus, the glorious “Word made flesh.”

I. The River Euphrates

Paradise. — The Fall — Grace — The Promised Seed — Sacrifice — Eeconciliation — Righteousness.

Babel. — The Builders — The Tower — The Confusion of Tongues — Birs Nimroud.

The Migration op Abram. — The Mesopotamian Talley — The Cavalcade—Abram and Lot — The Call of Abram — Sojourn at Charran — The Stranger and Pilgrim.

The Mission op Eliezer. — Prayer — Rebekah — The Return — The Antitype.

Babylon. — The Hanging Gardens — The Palace — The Court — Daniel — The Great Image — The Kingdom of Christ.

The Captives. — Israel’s Desolation— Seraiah’s Mission— The Doom of Babylon — Belshazzar’s Feast — The Writing on the Wall — Daniel's Interpretation— Cyrus — The Last Night of Babylon. Subsequent History. — Topography— Ruins of Babylon — The Euphrates Expedition — Physical History — A solemn Contrast.

GENESIS II. III.

A fair and goodly scene is spread before our reverent imagination. A broad valley expands on either hand, bounded by distant mountains, whose purple peaks, range above range, glow in the beams of the morning sun. Hill and dale, irregular undulations, broad swelling mounds, and gentle slopes, afford perpetual variety to the surface. Through the centre there flows, in winding course, a broad river, the smooth-

THE RIVER EUPHRATES.

ness of whose mirror-like bosom is unruffled by a ripple, as it pours its volume of clear and calm waters onward to the ocean. It is the majestic Euphrates.

This is Eden, the garden of God. Everything that can gratify the sense is here in abundance, unmingled with anything that can hurt or annoy. “ Every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food,” grows here ; the spreading arms of the banian, the baobab, and the terebinth, cover the ground with a

ORIENTAL VEGETATION

refreshing shadow ; the massive forms of the oak and the cotton-tree contrast with the taper elegance of the poplar and the pine ; the graceful banana and

PARADISE.

plantain wave their broad leaves,, cut into strips by tbe wanton breeze ; huge clumps of bamboos nod like gigantic ostrich-plumes on the hillocks;, and above all tower up into tbe sky tbe light and lofty palms, waving their feathery green coronets against tbe sparkling blue of heaven.

How temptingly tbe rich fruits bang and cluster in these spicy groves ! On tbe highest knolls tbe juicy apple and pear, the velvet peach, the bloomed plum, the golden apricot, and the blushing cherry stand in thick profusion ; in the lower glades, walled in by the sheltering groves, are others richer still ; the brilliant pomegranate, the yellow guava, the custardapple, so meltingly luscious, the odorous pine-apple, the citron and orange, and the most delicious of terrestrial productions, the crimson mangosteen, invite the hand to pluck them. The queenly date-palm is loaded with its sweet hunches, over which the vine, climbing to its lofty summit, has thrown a drapery of graceful foliage, and formed a natural arbour, thickly hung with empurpled clusters.

No trace of winter is here ; but the glories of spring, of summer, and of autumn are united in one sweet season, for which earth has no name. The opening bud, the expanded flower, the matured fruit, are everywhere seen together in beautiful harmony. The air is redolent with the fragrance of flowers, and the eye is enraptured with their beauty of colour and of form. What gorgeous and fantastic parasites droop from the branches of the great trees ! What a magnificence of sheeted bloom is displayed by those masses of purple rhododendrons !

The roses are here without thorns, and the fruits

THE RIVER EUPHRATES.

are not defended by brambles. No naked spots of brown, barren earth appear, nor do any points of jagged rock jut out through the verdant turf; but here and there its greenness is varied by precious gems lying unheeded, as if they had dropped out of a royal diadem. The topaz, and the emerald, and the golden chrysolite, the rich ruby, and the sparkling diamond fling back most lustrously the rays of the sun ; and where the placid river gently washes its bordering sands, lie masses of gold and silver, some in unformed magnificence, and others vying with the vegetable productions around, in displaying various arborescent and foliated forms of fantastic beauty.

Every thing speaks of wisdom, and power, and skill ; but not of these alone : consummate goodness is especially manifest. The scrupulous exclusion of that not only which could injure or give pain, but which could displease in the least degree, with the accumulation of all that could afford delight, speaks loudly of the benevolence of the Almighty Creator. But who are the guests for whom this feast is spread? It is a new-born world on which wre are looking, and this garden is the very concentration of its glory, but yesterday out of the hand of its Maker. Where are the tenants for whom this residence is provided ?

Many living creatures walk among these groves, and repose upon the enamelled greensward. The wolf and the lamb are feeding together, and the speckled leopard is lying down with the kid ; the tiger is leaping in gamesome play around the ruminating kine ; and yonder the lordly lion is gently licking with his rough tongue the fur of the gazelle that is lying between his paws. These are all harmless and guile-

PARADISE.

less ; yet none of them seem capable of .more- than a superficial enjoyment of the loveliness amidst which they dwell. Yonder comes one who by his superior size and mien may claim a higher consideration ; as he slowly marches through the grove of teak-trees, the forest shakes with his tread, his eye beams with intelligence and sagacity, and as he now and then plucks a flower with his lithe proboscis, he seems to have a higher appreciation of its beauty and fragrance than his fellows. But as he draws nearer we see that he is only one among them, and that the fair garden was not made for him.

Is this beauteous scene then without an inhabitant capable of enjoying and of ruling it ? No. Voices come up from the banks of Euphrates, and there, seated in a bower of jasmine and rose, are a pair of God-like beings, to whom has been committed the lordship of this paradise. Not like the beasts they sit, but erect, and with their faces towards the heaven ; nor clothed, but in naked dignity ; for as yet there is no sin, and therefore no shame. Only they two are seen, yet as they converse on high and holy themes, a third voice, of awful yet gentle tones, mingles with theirs. It is the voice of God, and yet they are not afraid.

Do we seek to know the nature of the converse between the Most High God and his creature man — as yet unfallen and stainless ? The gracious Creator speaks of the glories of his new-made world, and appoints Man his vicegerent over it. “ Have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth. ” He speaks also of higher things ; and

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THE RIVER . EUPHRATES.

to their grateful ears He reveals somewhat of his own nature and character ; He tells them of his wisdom and power, of his love and faithfulness, his holiness and justice. He speaks to them of their relation to himself ; of their duty ; claims implicit and exact obedience at all times from them; promises everlasting continuance in happiness if they remain true in allegiance to him, but warns them that the consequence of disobedience will he DEATH. To all they yield an intelligent and willing assent, and, conscious of their uprightness, say Amen to the threatenings, no less than to the promises. Finally, one test their Almighty Sovereign gives them, whereby he will prove their obedience. There are in the midst of the garden two trees of mystic power. The one is the tree of life, whose fruit, yielded every month, is intended to be, in case of obedience, the sacramental pledge of immortality. The other is the tree of knowledge of good and evil; the fruit of which is fair and beautiful to the eye, pleasant to the taste, and good for food ; but it is hedged round by the solemn prohibition of Jehovah, who thus promulgates his only law, “ Of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it : for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.” The knowledge of good shall be possessed while man abstains in obedience to God : the fatal knowledge of evil shall be introduced if he in disobedience partake of its fruit. Thus is established, though but for a brief season, the Covenant of Works. “The man that doeth them, shall live in them.”

THE TALL.

It is evening. The effulgent sun, after having climbed up to the zenith, has at length descended to the horizon, and looks with slanting gaze upon a scene whose loveliness he will not see on the morrow. A pleasant breeze is whispering among the tremulous leaves of the grove, and breaking the surface of Euphrates into a dancing and sparkling ripple. The voice of the turtle comes plaintively over the river, and the nightingale has already begun his nightly hymn of praise. The beasts are gamboling in sportive innocence, and all nature is enjoying “the cool of the day.”

But where are Adam and his wife ? Alas ! the scene has no joy for them. They have listened to the voice of the insidious tempter, and have eaten of the tree of knowledge of good and evil ! They have gained the knowledge of evil which before they knew not ; their knowledge of good amounts only to the assurance that they have lost it. They perceive — what hitherto had excited no feeling of shame — that they are naked ; they have lost the covering robe of innocence, which was the assurance of God^s protection, and their bodily nakedness now appears to them as an emblem and an expression of that shameful and defenceless condition to which their souls are reduced. They are engaged, in moody and desponding silence, in endeavouring to sew together the broad leaves of a fig-tree, to form a flimsy covering for their exposed persons. Vain attempt! as if a guilty and condemned sinner could, by any works or contrivances of his own, repel or avert the threatenings of divine wrath !

Hark ! from the accustomed bower comes a well-

THE EIYEB, EUPHKATES.

known voice. Awful it had seemed in their innocence, hut now, — how does it thrill through their trembling hearts ! In their insanity of terror they seek to hide among the trees from the omniscient Jehovah; but again . the voice comes forth, “ Where art thou ?” And the terrific demand penetrates in a moment all their disguises, and compels the reluctant reply.

Oh, who would not have expected that now the sentence hanging over the guilty pair would be at once pronounced, and as quickly executed ! The doom would have been righteous, nor could a breath have been uttered against the spotless holiness and justice of the Most High God, if He had now glorified himself in vengeance, as He had done before upon the sinning angels. Tor “ whatever there hath been in any sin, of unbelief, ingratitude, apostasy, rebellion, robbery, contempt, defiance, hard thoughts of, and enmity against, God; whatever there hath been of idolatry, as comprehending faith in, worship of, and obedience to, Satan, the god and prince of this world ; of exorbitant pride, self-love, and self-will, in affecting that independency, exaltation, and homage, which belong to God; and that inordinate love of the creatures, in seeking our happiness in the possession and enjoyment of them ; whatever of discontent, sensual lust, covetousness, murder, and mischief, were ever yet contained in any one, or all of the sins which have been committed upon earth ; — all concentred in this one transgression.”*

But God’s thoughts are not man’s thoughts. It is not for the execution of vengeance that He is now

* Scott, in loc.

THE PROMISED SEED.

come down, but for the exhibition of a glorious attribute in bis character, which had never yet been manifested. That attribute is GRACE. The Almighty God hath once glorified himself by inflicting righteous wrath upon the angels that kept not their first estate; He will now still more greatly glorify himself in freely forgiving guilty man.

The poor culprits, indeed, little expect the exhibition of mercy, and are only intent on hiding their sin or extenuating its guilt. But J ehovah, unsolicited and without waiting for any humiliation on their part, reveals his purpose, and takes the side of the sinner against the insidious destroyer. A Deliverer is promised, the Seed of the woman, who shall successfully contend with him before whom they have fallen. He is to be the woman's Seed, that He may gain the victory in human form and nature, in which it has been lost. But He is to be mightier than Satan, the great enemy of God and man ; and therefore Divine. Here, then, is the great promise of the Lord Jesus Christ, God manifest in the flesh, as the repairer of the breach, and the reconciler of man to God.

Not without cost, however, can the reconciliation be accomplished. “ Thou shalt bruise his heel.” The Son of God, when, at the appointed time, he comes to carry out this purpose of grace, must accomplish it by his own sufferings and death. Satan and his seed, in the fury of their rage, shall succeed in crucifying the Lord of glory, and thus appear to gain a momentary triumph. But this is, in truth, the victory ; for by His giving up himself as a sacrifice for sin, and as a surety for guilty man, the righteous claim of God's holy law is fully met, and Satan's

THE RIVER EUPHRATES.

power over the believing sinner for ever crushed and broken. Thus, by the voluntary humiliation of the Son of God, putting away sin by the sacrifice of 1pmself, the majesty of the Divine holiness is more gloriously vindicated than it could have been even by the infliction of the penalty on the guilty sinner; while at the same time it makes a way for the out-flowing of that mighty grace for which the praises of countless millions of redeemed saints shall go up to God throughout eternity.

To impress these solemn but most blessed truths on the hearts of the pardoned sinners, and to teach them to exercise an active and personal faith on the promised Saviour, a striking scene is now enacted : an altar of earth is quickly formed, an innocent lamb is selected from the flocks playing around, and dies by the hand of God ; and the body, placed on the altar, is consumed by fire from heaven. They are thus vividly taught that God accepts an innocent victim, of whom this lamb is a shadow, instead of the guilty, the guilt being transferred or imputed to the representative. Through the sign they look to the thing signified, thankfully accept God’s Lamb as their surety, and joyfully behold the flame of Divine wrath averted from themselves and falling upon their representative.

And now the skin of the slain victim is, by the hand of God himself, made into garments, with which He clothes their nakedness ; and their own poor fig-leaves are gladly cast aside for ever. In this they are taught not only a sinner’s need of a righteousness to cover him, better than any he can procure, but that God himself provides that righteousness, and clothes him with it ; and that this is none other

THE BUILDERS.

than the righteousness of the Lamb of God, whose blood has already made atonement for his guilt.

Reader ! Have you ever felt the need of blood to cancel your guilt, and of a spotless righteousness to cover your soul before God? And have you found these in Christ ?

GENESIS XI.

Nearly eighteen centuries have passed away ; and the lovely garden of Eden has been so defaced and destroyed by the overflowing of the flood, that not a

THE EUPHRATES.

vestige even of its situation remains. But “ that great river, the river Euphrates,” still flows through the same region as before, and on its banks we again take our stand.

THE RIVER, EUPHRATES.

Since our first scene the earth has been peopled, depopulated, and is now fast filling with people again. But they have not learned righteousness from God^s judgments. Pride, self-will, a haughty independency of God, and a daring defiance of his purposes, are their characteristics. They seek to aggrandize themselves, to do deeds of renown, that shall exalt their own glory, and make their names to be remembered with admiration among men. The Divine command to replenish the earth is already operating, and families are beginning to wander away eastward and westward, and northward and southward. But to the majority this is displeasing, and they seek to resist, and, if possible, to prevent this dispersion, and to form a great centre of unity, around which all the families of mankind should gather under one government. And other still more infidel thoughts are working in their hearts : forgetful or regardless of the promise, that there should be no more a flood to destroy the earth, they task their ingenuity to devise means whereby they may laugh to scorn the vengeance of Jehovah, should he again resort to such a means of executing his wrath against sin.

A grand council is called; and Nimrod, who has already grown from a mighty hunter of beasts to be a king of men, takes the lead in its decisions. In their proud self-sufficiency, and in that consciousness of power which is inspired by great masses of men combining with unity of purpose, they think that nothing can be restrained from them which they imagine to do. “ Go to,” is their language, for they encourage themselves in the evil matter ; “ Go to, let us build us a city and a tower, whose top may

THE BUILDERS.

reach unto heaven ; and let us make us a name; lest we be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth ”

And lo ! a place is found which seems expressly formed for the carrying out of their godless design. An immense tract of level ground, the plain of Shinar, expands on each side of the Euphrates, which, though two hundred and fifty miles from its mouth, is here a noble river, broad, deep, and rapid. The soil is composed of clay fit for the making of bricks ; and there are in the vicinity fountains which throw up large quantities of asphaltum, or mineral pitch, which being heated shall serve them as a strong and durable cement.

But why, if it be their object to form a tower of such an elevation as shall put them out of danger of any future deluge, do they not rather select the summit of a mountain than a level plain ? Doubtless, because there the means of building such a structure would be difficult to procure, while here they are found in abundance; not to mention the eligibility of the situation, on the banks of a mighty river, for a city which is intended to be the metropolis of mankind.

In high hope and eager confidence of success, the work begins. The earth dug out to form the foundation is laid in heaps, fashioned into square bricks,

THE RIVER EUPHRATES.

and baked in a furnace. The bitumen, melted by heat, is poured over the structure at every thirtieth course of bricks, which, running down into the interstices, cements the whole, by cooling, into one solid mass. The city and the tower proceed simultaneously; and as there are many artificers, both are rapidly rising. What vastness and grandeur of design are apparent in the work ! One who saw both long afterwards, describes the city as a square, each side of which measured one hundred and twenty stadia, or fifteen miles ; and the tower as having for its basement a cube of solid masonry measuring a furlong on every side. On this a smaller story is erected, and on this another, until eight, successively diminishing in size, already elevate the proud edifice to the sky. A staircase, winding round the outside of the building, leads from story to story.

But now it is time for God to interfere. He looks down from heaven, and sees with displeasure, that, with very few exceptions, all the children of men are engaged in following the devices of their own evil hearts. Noah and Shem, with perhaps a small godly remnant, have protested against the baneful enterprise, but without effect, and they have retired from their fellows. The work has been suffered to proceed until the design of the contrivers has become fully manifest, and their pride and rage against the Most High abundantly developed. Yet He deals with them in undeserved mercy ; He does not pour upon them the fierceness of his wrath, but contents himself with putting an effectual stop to their vain-glorious design.