The God of Heaven & Earth

"And God set them in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth, And to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness: and God saw that it was good." Genesis 1:17-18

Bible, plastic covering, washi-tape and framed photo of an old oil pastel of mine. Now I'm ready to make a tip-in for Genesis. 1:17-18.

       "God created:" does anything so lead up our thoughts to the almightiness of God as this? For think of the untold vastness of creation, with its two infinities, of great and small; universe beyond universe, in ever-expanding circles of magnificence, as we press our researches without, and universe within universe, in ever-refining delicacy of minute texture, as we pry into the secrets of the infinitely little -  think of all this, and then think that it came into being at His word: "He spake, and it was done; he commanded, and it stood fast" (Psalm 33).

       Observe, as an element of creation, the presence of that mysterious gift, so intimately present to each one of us, in its essence so entirely beyond our power of analysis, which we call life. We know life by its symptoms: by growth and movement, by feeling and gesture ; and in its higher forms, by speech and expression. What is life ? It is growth in the vegetable; it is feeling and movement in the animal; it is thought, reflection, resolve in man, as these manifest themselves in speech and look and action. But what is it in itself, in its essence, this gift of life? Science, the unraveller of so many secrets, is silent here: as silent as when she had not yet begun to inquire and to teach. She can define the conditions, the accompaniments, the surroundings, the phenomena of life; but its essence she knows not. It is a mystery which eludes her in her laboratories and her museimis; each of her most accomplished votaries carries it perpetually with him, and understands it as little as does the peasant or the child. Oh, marvelous gift of life! true ray of the Creator's Beauty, in thy lowest as in thy highest forms! We men can foster it; we can stint it; we can, by a profound natural mystery, as parents, yet in obedience to inviolable laws, transmit it as a sacred deposit to beings which have it not; we can crush it out by violence into death. But we cannot create it. Hastings, D. D

       When Mr. Simeon, of Cambridge, was dying, he looked round with one of his beaming smiles, and said, "What do you think specially gives me comfort now? The Creation! Did Jehovah create the world, or did I? I think He did. Now if  He made the world, He can sufficiently take care of me."

Focus Your Thinking & Lather up with a bit of SOAP.

• Scripture: "And God set them in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth, And to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness: and God saw that it was good." Genesis 1:17-18
• Observation: God seems to always be actively bringing us light. Indeed, he is frequently referred to as The God of Light! Not only is he the creator of heavenly lights like stars, and moons, his word is also a light for our path in Psalm 119:105 and he defeats darkness continually through the saving grace of Jesus in John 1:5.
• Application: For every day I live to see the light of day, my Father in heaven will provide his never ending lights.
  
• Prayer: Lord, Jesus, make me continually mindful of how my conduct, attitude, study and submission to your light are necessary for both myself and others to grow in grace and fortitude. Amen.
  

Left, I've sewn the illustration between two sheets of plastic (These may be purchased in drug stores or office supply stores.) that have been trimmed to size. Then I cut the washi-tape to act as a hinge between the page of my coloring bible and the tip-in. Tip-ins like these allow me to clearly read all of the text on my Bible's page but to also include extra illustrations. The plastic also protects the illustrations from smudging.  Right, on the backside of my tip-in, I've written the poem by Russell below.

Focus On The "Tipped-In" Illustration.

       In the book trade, a tipped-in page or, if it is an illustration, tipped-in plate or simply plate, is a page that is printed separately from the main text of the book, but attached to the book.

       A tipped-in page may be glued onto a regular page, or even bound along with the other pages. It is often printed on a different kind of paper, using a different printing process, and of a different format than a regular page.

       Some authors include loose pages inserted into a book as tipped-in, but in this case, it is usually called an insert instead.

       Typical uses of tipped-in pages added by the publisher include:

• color illustrations, generally printed using a different process (e.g. intaglio or lithography) and on different paper
• an author's signature, signed on a blank or preprinted page, before the book is bound
• original photographic prints
• maps, often larger than the book format and folded to fit
• coupons or reply cards
• errata sheets, only produced after the printing run
• a short addendum
• a replacement for a missing, damaged, or incorrectly printed page

       Owners of books may also tip in such items as:

• a letter from the author
• a review

       Tipped-in pages are generally glued to a bound page on its inner side and may be called "paste ins". 

       I photographed one of my oil pastel paintings, (also based upon Genesis 1:17-18.) printed and framed it with an illustration of a silver picture frame. Then I tipped in the image, after sewing it between thin plastic sheets, using washi-tape. I also included the verse by George William Russell below on the backside of my tip-in. You can download and print the same silver frame illustration for your own version of this lesson if you'd like. It is for personal bible journaling only.

George William Russell.

Master of the Beautiful,

Creating us from hour to hour,

Give me this vision to the full

To see in lightest things Thy power-

This vision give, no heaven afar,

No throne, and yet I will rejoice,

Knowing beneath my feet a star,

Thy word in every wandering voice.

by George William Russell

Clip art of the silver frame I made for this entry.
You may print it and insert your own photos
or illustrations for a framed journal tip-in.

Focus On Listening.

"God of Wonders" sung by Third Day

More Video About Tipping-In:

• What is a tip in?
• How to Use Tags and Tip-Ins
  

"In The Beginning, God..."

"In The Beginning, God created the heaven and the earth." Genesis 1:1

        This is a sublime sentence with which the Bible opens. Will the sentences that follow be in keeping with the musical throb and stately massiveness of these opening words? Even when we regard the book simply as a monument of literature we find it impossible to conceive a more appropriate introduction than this: " In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth." Yet the end is not less majestic than the beginning: "And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth are passed away."

       How should we approach the study of a book which opens and closes with words of such sublimity?  In John Wesley's first volume of sermons, in which the great evangelist gives us the secret of his method of Bible-study. "Here am I," he says, "far from the busy ways of men. I sit down alone ; only God is here. In His presence I open, I read His Book; for this end to find the way to heaven. Does anything appear dark or intricate? I lift my heart to the Father of Lights. I then search after and consider parallel passages of Scripture, comparing spiritual things with spiritual. I meditate thereon with all the attention and earnestness of which my mind is capable. And what I thus learn, that I teach." To Wesley, then, there were two great realities the visible Book, and its invisible but ever-present Author; and to a man of his training and susceptibilities the one would have been an enigma without the other. He saw God at the beginning of every section of Holy Scripture. Hastings, D. D.

Focus Your Thinking & Lather up with a bit of  SOAP.

• Scripture: "In The Beginning, God created the heaven and the earth." Genesis 1:1
• Observation: God is at the beginning of our generation, the generation of humans in this world. God is with us at the start, making us, nurturing us, teaching us. He never leaves our side. When we leave... He has a plan to bring us back home. And Genesis is the beginning of our redemption story.
  
• Application: Whenever I feel overwhelmed, lost or lonely, I can go to God who is always waiting for me with open arms.
  
• Prayer:  Lord of all things, in heaven and on the earth, Thank you for bringing me into the world to discover so many mysteries! When my life has ended, I will remember that you have promised to be at this ending, and to carry me home for a new beginning with yourself and my heavenly family. Amen.
  

The color version of my "Genesis" title was filled in with colored pencils.

Focus On Your Illuminating.

       Genesis; a canonical book of the Old Testament, so called from Greek genesis, or generation, because it contains an account of the origin of all visible things, and of the genealogy of the first patriarchs. In the Hebrew it is called "בראשית ברא אלהים" B'reishit bara Elohim, which signifies, in the beginning, because it begins with that word. "In the Beginning, God.."

•  See more illustrated scriptures...

       You can begin your Bible journaling in a variety of ways, for example: you could choose to begin illustrating the first page of your note taker's Bible with a title page. In fact you could choose to illustrate/illuminate every book of the Bible with a title page.

       What is a title page exactly? The title page of a book, thesis or other written work is the page at or near the front which displays its title, subtitle, author, publisher, and edition. (A half title, by contrast, displays only the title of a work.) A title banner depicts the illumination of the book's title. Below are a few examples of title banners from my desk top publishing blog:

• The Book of Jonah
• A Genesis carved title

       In my King James note taker's bible, there is only a narrow margin given to the opening of every title page, so a title banner that runs the length of each opening page would fit perfectly into this vertical margin. So, I have decided to open the title page of Genesis with a banner. I'm going to use a creative vintage type from The Grimm Scriptorium to design this banner. You can download the "tree like" alphabet here and trace one very similar to mine.

Focus On Your Listening.

"Look At The World" by John Rutter
Who is John Rutter?

Find much more about the Book of Genesis:

• The Genesis Reading Room at Tyndale Seminary
• בראשית Bereishit – Genesis (Hebrew – English at Mechon-Mamre.org)  
• Genesis is the beginning book of the Pentateuch. Pentateuch, (from pente, five, and teuchos, an instrument of volume,) signifies the collection of the five instruments or books of Moses, which are Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. Read more...

Ribbon Graphics for Bible Journaling

       Include some ribbonettes with featured words or phrases within the margins of your bible to help you remember the most significant points of the scriptures. These stencils are for your personal journals only.

Karla Dornacher teaches folks how 

to design simple ribbon banners.

The Haberdasher's Alphabet

       Above is a Light Gothic Brush Letter called "The Haberdasher's Alphabet, below is another variation of the same.

What Is SOAP?

I'm reading The Divine Mentor before starting to SOAP. Journey mug text, "For I know the plans
I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give
you hope and a future." Jeremiah 29:11.

       An acronym is a word or name formed as an abbreviation from the initial components in a phrase or a word, usually individual letters and sometimes syllables.

       There are no universal standards of the multiple names for such abbreviations and of their orthographic styling. In English and most other languages, such abbreviations historically had limited use, but they became much more common in the 20th century. Acronyms are a type of word formation process, and they are viewed as a sub-type of blending.

       Modern Christians sometimes use acronyms to help them remember how to study scripture while they journal.
       
SOAP is an acronym for:

• SCRIPTURE, HOLY - (God breathed) a word derived from the Latin scriptura, and in its original sense of the same import with writing, signifying "any thing written." It is, by emphasis, however, commonly used to denote the writings of the Old and New Testaments, which are called sometimes the Scriptures, sometimes the sacred or holy Scriptures, and sometimes canonical Scriptures. These books are called the Scriptures by way of eminence, as they are the most important of all writings. They are said to be holy, or sacred, on account of the sacred doctrines which they teach; and they are termed canonical, because, when their number and authenticity were ascertained, their names were inserted in ecclesiastical cannons, to distinguish them from all other books, which, being of no godly authority.
• OBSERVATION - (see Mind) Mind; a thinking, intelligent being; otherwise called spirit, or soul. Dr. Watts has given us some admirable thoughts as to the improvement of the mind. "There are five eminent means of methods, " he observes, "whereby the mind is improved in the knowledge of things; and these are, observation, reading, instruction by lectures, conversation, and meditation; which last, in a most peculiar manner, is called study.
• APPLICATION - is used for the act whereby our Savior transfers or makes over to us what he had earned or purchased by his holy life and death. Accordingly it is by this application of the merits of Christ that we are to be justified and entitled to grace and glory. Application is also used for that part of a sermon in which the preacher brings home or applies the truth of religion to the consciences of his hearers. Application by The Believer: How do I apply scripture to my personal life?
• PRAYER - has been well defined, the offering up of our desires unto God, for things agreeable to his will, in the name or through the mediation of Jesus Christ, by the help of the Holy Spirit, with a confession of our sins, and a thankful acknowledgment of his mercies.

Journaling With SOAP:

• How to Study the Bible : The SOAP Method
• How to Soap

Pastor Wayne Cordeiro talks about SOAP. 

Listen to The Divine Mentor

Arrow templates for stencils and tracing

       Here are some arrow templates that visitors my create there own stencils and tracings for personal journaling projects only. You can also trace these onto tiny printed papers and stick them into your page designs.

Old speed pen alphabets look great in journal entries...

        I found these two alphabets buried in a pile of old catalogues. They look contemporary but actually they are quite old. The lettering can be easily reproduced with an ordinary pen tip. Upper and lower case samples plus numbers. The "Ks" and "Rs" are different.

So many ways to write an ampersand!

Many examples of the "and" symbol, the Ampersand that is.

       The ampersand is the logogram &, representing the conjunction "and". It originated as a ligature of the letters et—Latin for "and".

       The word ampersand is a corruption of the phrase "and per se & (and)", meaning "and by itself and (represented by the symbol &)".

       Traditionally, when reciting the alphabet in English-speaking schools, any letter that could, also be used as a word in itself ("A", "I", and, at one point, "O") was repeated with the Latin expression per se ("by itself"). This habit was useful in spelling where a word or syllable was repeated after spelling; e.g. "d, o, g—dog" would be clear but simply saying "a—a" would be confusing without the clarifying "per se" added. It was also common practice to add the "&" sign at the end of the alphabet as if it were the 27th letter, pronounced as the Latin et or later in English as and. As a result, the recitation of the alphabet would end in "X, Y, Z, and per se and". This last phrase was routinely slurred to "ampersand" and the term had entered common English usage by 1837. However, in contrast to the 26 letters, the ampersand does not represent a speech sound—although other characters that were dropped from the English alphabet did, such as the Old English thorn, wynn, and eth.

       Through popular etymology, it has been falsely claimed that André-Marie Ampère used the symbol in his widely read publications and that people began calling the new shape "Ampère's and". Read more...

Extreme Black Letter Scripts from Germany

        These upper-case sample letters are from Germany. The scripts are open with flourishes and would be ideal paired with abstract backgrounds.

Bold Lower Case Letters and Numbers

lower-case letters and numbers.

        Here are several templates of bold lower-case hand lettering, plus numbers as well. These have been restored for bible journaling and are quite easy to read with the aid of a light table through the pages of your Bible.

Number sample.

Second lower-case sample

Copy a Brush Stencil Effect

       A hand-lettered alphabet using a brush to create a stencil effect. Print and ad this unique font to your collection of alphabet templates for journaling through the Bible with me.

Sample Outline Lettering Alphabets

Both upper and lower case, outlined alphabets may be printed for tracing and composing scriptures.

        These outlined letters are free samples restored by kathy grimm for your Bible journaling projects. Trace or practice free-hand drawing the scriptures for fun.

Kindness Font Outline exercise

Variations on The Roman Alphabet

A modified Roman Alphabet

        Alphabet samples are for personal use only and are distributed here for those of you who are using them as templates for journaling in your Bible only.

A Modern Roman-Gothic Alphabet

A practical Roman Alphabet

Tabbing The Books of The Bible

Above you can see the division of books by font, below by pattern and color.

       I tabbed the books of my note takers Bible according to the traditional division of books. (included below) This helps me to remember the purposes, authors and history of those who the scripture was transcribed through by God. When I am speaking with students, it also helps me to access sample pages quickly.

       I backed each tab with a different patterned paper/color so that I could see the divisions of the books from the backside of my Bible as well.

       Each division is also made obvious by a different font too.

Old Testament Divisions of Books:

• The First 5 Books: The first five books of the Bible are known as the Pentateuch which is Greek for "five scrolls": Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy
• The Following 12 Books are History Books: Joshua, Judges, Ruth, 1 Samuel, 2 Samuel, 1 Kings, 2 Kings, 1 Chronicles, 2 Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah and Esther
• The Next 5 are referred to as The Wisdom Books: Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes and Song of Solomon
• Then come the 5 Major Prophets: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel and Daniel
• Followed by the 12 Minor Prophets: Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah and Malachi

New Testament Division of Books:

• The first four books are known as The Gospels: Matthew, Mark, Luke and John
• The book of Acts is the History of the Apostles
• Then the following 13 books are Paul's epistles: Romans, 1 Corinthians, 2 Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, Thessalonians, 2 Thessalonians, 1 Timothy, 2 Timothy, Titus and Philemon.
• The book of Hebrews is the New Testament book that scholars don't agree on the authorship of it.
• The 7 General Epistles then are as follows: James, 1 Peter, 2 Peter, 1 John, 2 John, 3 John, and Jude
• The last book of the New Testament is the Book of Revelation and it is by the Apostle John.

This artist tabs her illustrated entries.

 I tab the books of the Bible because I'm a teacher. 

You can choose to tab the scripture for any purpose

that suites your needs. There is no right or wrong

way to do this procedure.

Christ, the Out-Door Teacher

       What I saw of the Christly and apostolic regions on this journey to the Orient leads me to say that it was an open-air religion that Jesus founded. Indeed, the religion of the- Old Testament and New was an out-of-door inauguration. Foreseeing that the- whole tendency of the human race would be toward a religion of Tabernacles and Temples and Synagogues and Churches, the two greatest things ever written, namely, the Ten Commandments and the Sermon on the Mount, were delivered in the open air. No depreciation of consecrated edifices, but all places consecrated where a good word is spoken or a merciful deed done. What were Christ's pulpits? Deck of ship, pebbly beach of sea, black basalt of volcanic region, mouth of cavern, where mad man was undeviled; crystallized wave, strong enough to uphold the storm-tamer; split sarcophagus, where death had been undone; the wilderness, where a boy became the commissary or provider for a whole army of improvidents. You see the world needed a portable religion, one that the business man could take along the street, the farmer to the field, and the mechanic to the house-scaffolding, and the soldier in the long march and the sailor in the ratlines; a religion for the sheaf-binding and the corn-husking, for the plow, for the adze, for the pick-axe, for the hammer. What a rebuke to the man who worships in the church and cheats in the store, serving God one day of the week and the devil six. On Sunday night he leaves his religion in the pew and shuts the pew-door, saying: "Good-bye, Religion, I will be back next Sunday." A religion that you do not take with you wherever you go is not the open-air religion of which our Lord was the founder.

       Indeed, I have found a new Bible. I found it in the Holy Land and the Grecian Archipelago. A new Book of Genesis, since I saw where Abraham and Lot separated, and Joseph was buried. A new Book of Exodus, since I saw where the Israelites crossed the desert. A new Book of Revelation, since I read the Divine message to Smyrna at Smyrna, and to Ephesus at Ephesus. A new Book of John, since I saw Jacob's well and Sychar and Samaria. A new Book of Luke, since I read its twenty-third chapter on the bluff of Golgotha, at the place where there is room for but three crosses. The Bible can never be to me what it was. It is fresher, truer, lovelier, grander, mightier!

Back to Dr. Talmage's Journal
Journal Entries:
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20. 21. 22. 23. 24. 25. 26. 27. 28. 29. 30. 31. 32. 33. 34. 35. 36. Entry 37.

Tradition, History and Fact

       Are the places that I see in Palestine and Syria and the Mediterranean isles the genuine places of Christly, patriarchal and apostolic association? Many of them are not, and many of them are. We have no sympathy with the bedwarfing of tradition. There are traditions contradicted by their absurdity, but if for several generations a sensible tradition goes on in regard to events connected with certain places, I am as certain of the localities as though pen and document had fixed them. Indeed, sometimes tradition is more to be depended on than written communication. A writer may, for bad purposes, misrepresent, misconstrue, misstate, but reasonable traditions concerning places connected with great events are apt to be true. I have no more doubt concerning the place on which Christ was crucified, or in which Christ was buried, than I have about the fact that our Lord was slain and entombed. But suppose traditions contradict each other? Then try them, test them, compare them as you do documents. It is no more difficult to separate traditions, true and false, than apocryphal books from inspired books. Do not use the word tradition as a synonym for delusion. There is a surplus of Christian infidels traveling the Holy Land who are from scalp to heel surcharged with unbeliefs. A tradition may be as much divinely inspired as a book. The scenery of Palestine is interjoined, intertwisted and interlocked with the Scriptural occurrences. The learned Ritter, who has never been charged with any weakness of incredulity, writes: "No one can trace without joy and wonder the verification which geography pays to the history of the Holy Land."

       When the brilliant Renan went to Palestine he was stuffed with enough incredulity to make a dozen Thomas Paines, and yet he gives the following experience: "The marvelous harmony of the evangelical picture with the country which serves as its frame, were to me a revelation. I had before my eyes a fifth gospel, mutilated but still legible; and ever afterwards, in the recitals of Matthew and Mark, instead of an abstract being that one would say had never existed, I saw a wonderful human figure live and move." So said an unbeliever. In this, my visit to Palestine, in the year of our Lord 1889-90, I also find the landscape a commentary. The rivers, the mountains, the valleys, the lakes, the rocks, the trees, the costumes of the Holy Land, agree with Matthew and Mark and Luke and John. The geography and topography are the background of the Gospel pictures. They carry a different part of the same song. Admit Palestine and you admit the New Testament. A distinguished man, years ago, came here and returned, and wrote: "I went to Palestine an infidel, and came home a Christian." My testimony will be, that I came to Palestine a firm believer in the Bible, and return a thousand-fold more confirmed in the Divinity of the Holy Scriptures.

Back to Dr. Talmage's Journal
Journal Entries:
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20. 21. 22. 23. 24. 25. 26. 27. 28. 29. 30. 31. 32. 33. 34. 35. Entry 36. 37.

On To Ephesus

       Arriving at Smyrna we disembark and enter a rail-train for Ephesus. From the depot of that city we took horse and went first to the ruins of one of the seven churches of Asia, then to the theatre, then to the gymnasium. The interest in Ephesus is surpassed by no other city, so intensely apostolic, Pauline and Johannian. Imagine our feelings when we stood in the theatre where Paul "fought with beasts at Ephesus," for I suppose he had such contest literally as well as figuratively.

       Embarking again, the next place we went ashore was at the island of Mitylene. The Greek consul took us to see the city and introduced us to the arch-bishop of the Greek Church and the governor of the island at their residences. We visited also the ancient fort. I felt quite at home when I found many of my sermons on the table of the consul. We sailed along by Troas, the place where Paul left his overcoat. This persuades me that it was not at this season of the year he visited that place. No man would either forget or leave his overcoat in cold crisp weather like that of this morning. You remember he wrote "The cloak which I left at Troas bring with thee, and the books, but especially the parchments."

Back to Dr. Talmage's Journal
Journal Entries:
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20. 21. 22. 23. 24. 25. 26. 27. 28. 29. 30. 31. 32. 33. 34. Entry 35. 36. 37.

The Isle of Patmos

       We are approaching Patmos, the island of vision, where Domitian's prisoner and exile was given to see all the victories and all the woes, and all the horrors and all the raptures of earth and heaven going by him in a panorama, pleasing and Mistered, and blackened and illumined. The Evangel John has made that island the most famous of all earthly islands. Not Scio, in which Homer lived, nor Samos, the birthplace of Pythagoras, nor Coos, in which Hippocrates was born, nor Rhodes in which the Colossus stood, nor St. Helena where Napoleon died, nor Guernsey in which Victor Hugo was banished, has been so famous either on earth or in heaven. Patmos is a rock sheer down, a plateau at the top reaching to the foot of another rock, that lifts its bare forehead to great height, then a long line of rock, sinking, rising, growing more defiant or subsiding into valleys in which there is no verdure, but only desolation and barrenness are cradled. The island is a place where an evangelist and other offenders against sinful authority might easily be starved. John's condition suggested no doubt much of the imagery of his inspired dream. As the famished are apt to dream of food, John writes of the deliverance of the righteous, saying, "They shall hunger no more." Plenty of water but most of it salt, the hot tongue of the evangelist thought of the liquid supplies of heaven, saying, "They shall thirst no more." The waves today are in commotion. A high wind is blowing the billows of the Mediterranean against the bluffs of Patmos, and each wave has a voice and all the waves together make a chorus, and so they may have done in John's time and become symbols of the multitudinous anthems of heaven, and he says they are "like the voice of many waters." But this morning the Mediterranean was very smooth. The waters were crystal and the sunlight seemed to set them on fire, and there was a mingling of white light and intense flame, and so some day while John looked out from his cavern home in yonder hillside he may have been led thereby to think of the splendors before the throne, and he speaks of them as the "sea of glass mingled with fire."

Back to Dr. Talmage's Journal
Journal Entries:
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20. 21. 22. 23. 24. 25. 26. 27. 28. 29. 30. 31. 32. 33. Entry 34. 35. 36. 37.

At Beyrout

During the Lebanese civil war the church visited by Rev.
Talmage was destroyed. Only the bell tower remained, it's
congregation scattered and torn. In 1998, it was recon-
structed and services have resumed.

       Christmas we spent in Beyrout, and I preached in the Scotch Presbyterian chapel of that city, The majority of the audience were Syrians, but they all understood English, and a more attentive people I never addressed. The music was superb, solos, anthems and congregational singing. I will never forget the kindness of Dr. Bliss, the president of the college and the illustrious educator; nor Dr. Jessup, the renowned missionary, and moderator in 1883 of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in the United States, and a mighty agent for the transference of the best of Christian literature into Arabic; nor Dr. Post, the surgeon, the botanist, the Christian philosopher and prince of Christian workers. We dined at the hospitable home of Dr. Jessup and became acquainted with his lovely and accomplished family. It was an American Christmas dinner. At four o'clock we went on the steamer Minerva bound for Constantinople.

       The next morning we found ourselves off the island of Cyprus. We took a boat and went ashore for three hours, visited the excavations from which Cesnola took his famous collection of antiquities, and walked the strange streets in which Paul and Barnabas went up and down when here preaching Christ to the people. At midnight we stopped at the island of Rhodes, staying on deck to catch a glimpse of it. The Colossus was not standing there to greet us, for it long ago fell and was broken up and sold, and nine hundred camels carried it away. We were not permitted to go ashore, but saw lights and nine boats came out to take freight and to bring three passengers. The next day we sailed by Coos. We noticed the wonderful consecutiveness in the statement in Acts xxi. The order of scenery is accurately observed. We are going in the opposite direction to that which Paul traveled. So it is with us Syria, Cyprus, Rhodes, Coos, Ephesus; while with him it was Ephesus, Coos, Rhodes, Cyprus, Syria. The record says that he left Cyprus on the left hand. We, coming in the opposite direction, left it on the right hand.

Back to Dr. Talmage's Journal
Journal Entries:
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20. 21. 22. 23. 24. 25. 26. 27. 28. 29. 30. 31. 32. Entry 33. 34. 35. 36. 37.

On the Way to Damascus

       During the night the storm ceased and the next morning we rose at five o'clock, and at six o'clock were in the insufficient light feeling for the stirrups of our saddles. We are on the road to Damascus. Before night we will pass the place where Saul was unhorsed at the flash of the supernal light, and will enter that city, the mere name of which is full of suggestiveness, solemnity and historical agitation. We do not want on the journey to be flung to the earth, but oh, for some great spiritual blessing, brighter than any noonday sun, and a new preparation for usefulness!

       At six o'clock this evening we arrive at Damascus. The long horseback ride through Palestine is ended. A carriage met us twenty miles out and brought us to the city. The impressions one receives as he rides along the walled gardens of the place are different from those produced by any other city. Tomorrow we will explore and see for ourselves the place about which we have heard and read so much, the oldest city under the sun.

       Our first night passed in Damascus, we were up early and abroad, and after some days of tarrying here, feel that we have seen Damascus, the "street called Straight," along which good Ananias went to meet Saul, the site of the palace of Naaman, the leper, the river Abana, as the other day we saw Pharpar, and have from the northwest of the city gazed upon this ancient metropolis that has had so much to do with the history of the world. The bazaars of this place could entertain us for weeks and months, but all these styles of articles have become a part of American bric-a-brac, or gone into the furniture and upholstery of the American parlor. Yet the people are as they have always been. No change in their headwear or sashes, or baggy and profuse coverings of their limbs. No one can imagine what Damascus is. Unlike all others in architecture, in merchandise, in general and minute appearance, it is worth while to cross the Atlantic and Europe to see it. Though it has been a place of battle and massacre and of ancient affluence and splendor, as well of present prosperity, to the Christian, its chief attraction arises from the fact that here the scales fell from Paul's eyes, and that chief of apostles here began that mission which will not end until heaven is peopled with ransomed spirits. We took diligence from Damascus to Beyrout, a fourteen hours' journey, rain-washed, crowded and uncomfortable.

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A Blizzard

       This is our last day in Palestine. Farewell to its mountains, its lakes, its valleys. I feel myself worn with the emotions of this journey in the Holy Land. One cannot live over the most exciting scenes of eighteen hundred or four thousand years, without feeling the result in every nerve of his body. Beside that, it is a very arduous journey. Six and seven hours of horseback in a country which is one great rock, split and shattered and ground into fragments, some of them as large as a mountain and some of them as small as the sand of the sea. This afternoon we are caught in a tempest that drenches the mountain. One of the horses falls and we halt amid blinding rain. It is freezing cold. Fingers and feet like ice. Two hours and three-quarters before encampment. We ride on in silence, longing for the terminus of to-day's pilgrimage. It is, through the awful inclemency of the weather, the only dangerous day of the journey. Slip and slide and stumble and climb and descend we must; sometimes on the horse and sometimes off, until at last we halt at a hovel of the village, and instead of entering camp for the night; are glad to find this retreat from the storm. It is a house of one story, built out of mud. A feeble fire in mid-floor, but no chimney. It is the best house in the village. Arabs, old and young, stand round in wonderment as to why we come. There is no window in the room where I write, but two little openings, one over the door and the other in the wall, through which latter out-look I occasionally find an Arab face thrust to see how I am progressing. But the door is open and so I have light. This is an afternoon and a night never to be forgotten for its exposures and acquaintance with the hardships of what an Arab considers a luxurious apartment. We have passed from Palestine to Syria, and are spending the last night out before reaching Damascus. Tomorrow we shall have a forced march and do two days in one, and by having carriages sent some twenty miles out to meet us, we shall be able to leave stirrup and saddle, and by accelerated mode reach Damascus at six or seven o'clock in the evening. Let only those in robust health attempt to take the length of Palestine on horseback. I do not think that it is because of the unhealthiness of the climate in the Holy Land that so many have sickened and died while here, or afterwards, but because of the fatigues. The number of miles gives no indication of the exhaustions of the way. A hundred and fifty miles in Palestine and Syria on horseback demand as much physical strength as four hundred miles on horseback in regions of easy travel. I am to-night in good health notwithstanding the terrible journey; and seated by a fire, the smoke of which, finding no appropriate place of escape, takes lodgment in my nostrils and eyes. For the first time in my life I realize that chimneys are a luxury, but not a necessity. The only adornments in this room are representations of two tree branches in the mud of the wall, a circle supposed to mean a star, a bottle hung from the ceiling, and about twelve indentations in the wall, to be used as mantels, for anything that may be placed there. This storm is not a surprise, for through pessimistic prophets we have expected that at this season we should have rain and snow and hail throughout our journey.

       For the most part it has been a bright and tonic atmosphere, and not a moment has our journey been hindered. Gratitude to God is to-night the prominent emotion. "Bless the Lord; O our souls, who redeemeth our lives from destruction."

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The Mount of Transfiguration

       We are ending our Palestine journey. We will, in a few hours, pass into Syria and to Damascus, and then to Beyrout, and so homeward. Two more nights in tent. We have had all the conveniences and comforts of the most improved modern travel. Every evening in the long march we have found fires builded, tents spread and warm food ready, for the reason that most of our caravan starts an hour and a half earlier in the morning We detain only two mules for carrying so much of our baggage as we might incidentally need, and a tent for a noonday luncheon. We are encamped now by Lake Merom, in proximity to which Joshua fought his last great battle, scattering the allied kings in such utter rout as only an army experiences when the Lord comes down in all His might against them. This is the place where the horses were hamstrung. Mount Hermon is in sight, on its brow a crystal coronet of ice and snow, for it is winter now. But in April these snows will melt and the dew will take its place. "As the dew of Hermon and as the dew that descended upon the mountains of Zion, for there the Lord commanded the blessing, even life for ever more." This Hermon was the Mount of Transfiguration then, and to-day, by the bright clouds and a rainbow hovering, it is again, in its beauty and glory and almost supernatural radiance, a Mount of Transfiguration.

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