instructive. He wishes them to regard the Magazine as the vehicle for the communication of such thoughts as they may deem worthy of general attention. Of course he must select from the papers which he receives, those which appear to him to be the best adapted to promote the purposes we have in view; and it cannot be expected that the writer of an article should always see the propriety of its omission, or of the preference given to the production of another. But, he does not wish to restrict the pages to the promulgation of suggestions which approve themselves entirely to his judgment, or of opinions which coincide exactly with his own. Controversy on topics which have been frequently debated, and respecting which almost every reader has a settled opinion, should, he thinks, be avoided, and every thing tending to angry debate he considers it his duty to exclude; but free discussion of modes of action and plans of usefulness may be advantageous, and, though it may be necessary for an editor sometimes to interpose, as with the authority of a chairman, he would rather err on the side of leniency than be too restrictive. Well-written pieces on devotional and experimental subjects are those which the Editor finds it most difficult to procure. By furnishing short articles of this kind, some brethren might render a very acceptable service. And almost every minister has it in his power to assist by communicating intelligence. Some readers of the work are apparently not aware, that if occurrences in their own vicinity, and even referring to their own movements, have not been notified, the fault has been their own. We have no corps of reporters scattered throughout the provinces, but are dependent for local intelligence on the spontaneous diligence and friendship of residents. It should be understood, also, that in the transmission of such accounts, promptitude and brevity are of great value. The practical importance of that divine institution by our views of which we are distinguished from our brethren of other denominations, is becoming increasingly apparent. Passing events are unfolding to intelligent observers its intimate connexion with the purity of the churches, the personality of religion, and the overthrow of anti-christian systems. Decided support should, therefore, be given to that periodical work which is more adapted than any other to promote our peculiar tenets; which by the diffusion of information among the members of our churches lessens those evils which are most injurious to their stability and distressing to their pastors, the evils of ignorance; and which also subserves the interests of future generations, by giving permanence to documents and historical notices which would otherwise soon pass into remediless oblivion. The profits of the Magazine continue to alleviate the afflictions of widows and fatherless children, once dear to men who laboured in the gospel; and, in proportion to the extent of its circulation, it will be made conducive to the relief of others who will ere long be painfully reminded of the brittleness of those "earthen vessels" whence they derive their present supplies. November 23, 1838. THE BAPTIST MAGAZINE. JANUARY, 1832. THE FORDS OF THE JORDAN. ABOUT ten miles to the north of that when the panic-stricken Midianites were arm of the Dead Sea into which the flecing before Gideon, "he sent mesJordan falls, and about eight miles to sengers throughout Mount Ephraim, the west of Jericho, is a part of the river saying, Come down after the Midianites, which has been, from the earliest times, and take before them the waters unto the usual passage between the south of Beth-barah, and Jordan. Then all the Palestine and what was formerly the men of Ephraim gathered themselves toland of Moab. Its comparative shallow-gether, and took the waters unto Bethness and easiness of access have always rendered it, in peace, a place of frequent resort, and in war a post of great importance. When the spies sent by Joshua were secreted on the house of Rahab, the inhabitants of the city "pursued after them," we are told, "the way to Jordan unto the fords." In the account given of the victory of Ehud, it is said of the Israelites who engaged in the conflict, that "they went down after him, and took the fords of Jordan toward Moab, and suffered not a man to pass over." In like manner, when the Ephraimites from the west had attacked the men of Gilead who lived on the eastern side of the river, and had been defeated, "the Gileadites took the passages of Jordan before the Ephraimites." Here it was that the fugitives were intercepted; and when any one, in spite of his denial, was proved to be an Ephraimite by his provincial pronunciation of the word Shibboleth, "they took him and slew him at the passages of Jordan," It was probably for the accommodation of travellers, that a building or buildings were erected in the immediate vicinity of the fords, which obtained the name of Bethabara, or the House of Passage. This name appears to have been as ancient as the time of the Judges; for VOL. I.--FOURTH SERIES. barah and Jordan." It is remarkable B also, to the probability of the reading | Jordan might overflow its banks, when here adopted, that Bethany, by its ety-swollen by rains, sufficiently to inundate mology, signifies a place or house close by a ferry.' The most probable supposition, however, is, that the two names, Bethany and Bethabara, so similar in signification, were given to the same place, and that, therefore, in speaking or writing of it they were used indifferently. When the son of Zacharias had received his commission to proclaim in the most public manner the approaching advent of the Hope of Israel, and to baptize the people with the baptism of repentance, as a preparative for the reception of their holy King, he naturally selected this place, as well adapted to the purposes of his office. Here he obtained the ear of travellers from different districts on either side of the river. Hither, the inhabitants of Jerusalem, which was scarcely thirty miles distant, resorted to hear his testimony, and receive the ceremonial rite which he was authorized to administer. Here he stood in the midst of his attentive auditors, when, seeing Jesus walking towards him, he exclaimed, "Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world!" And here, most probably it was, that he complied with the requisition of his condescending Lord, "Suffer it to be so now, for thus it becometh us to fulfil all righteousness." The scenery of this interesting spot is thus described by Mr. Buckingham, who crossed the river at the customary ford, in the year 1816: "The whole of the plain, from the mountains of Judea on the west, to those of Arabia on the east, may be called the valley of Jordan, in a general way; but in the centre of the plain, which is at least ten miles broad, the Jordan runs in another still lower valley, perhaps a mile broad in some of the widest parts, and a furlong in the narrowest. "Into this we descended, and we thought the hills of white clayey soil on each side, to be about two hundred feet in height, the second, or lower plain being about a mile broad, generally barren, and the Jordan flowing down through the middle of it, between banks which were now fourteen or fifteen feet high, while the river was at its lowest ebb. There are close thickets all along the edge of the stream, as well as upon this lower plain, which would afford ample shelter for wild beasts; and as the this lower plain, though it would never reach the upper one, it was most probably from these, that the lions were driven out by the inundation, which gave rise to the prophet's simile, 'Behold, he shall come up like a lion from the swelling of Jordan, against the habitation of the strong. The overflowing is said to have been in the first month, which corresponds to our March, as in the enumeration of the armies that came to David at Hebron, those are spoken of who went over Jordan in the first month, when he had overflowed all his banks. In the description of the passage of the priests with the ark, while the waters were divided and stood in a heap, as in the passage of the Red Sea, it is said, too, that Jordan overfloweth all his banks all the time of harvest, which would be both in the autumn and in the spring, as there are two harvests here, one succeeding the early, and the other the latter rains. "From our first descent into this lower plain, we went on northerly again for about half an hour, and finding a small party of Arabs encamped on the west bank of the river, we alighted at their tents to refresh. These were of the tribe of Zaliane, to which one of our guides belonged, and we met, therefore, with the most welcome reception. A meal of warm cakes and goat's milk was prepared for us, and we were glad to shelter ourselves from the scorching heat of the sun, beneath the shade of these humble dwellings. Many inquiries were made of our guides as to the motives and object of our journey, yet, though we were in safety among this portion of the same tribe to which one of our guides belonged, neither of them would explain, but merely said, we were going to Sham or Damascus, with which the rest seemed satisfied. As the road on the east of the Jordan was acknowledged by all to be dangerous, we took from the party here a third horseman, the chief aim seeming to be, to have our escort formed of those who were personally known among the Arabs on the other side of the river, and who could therefore ensure us a safe and unmolested passage through their territory. "We quitted this encampment about noon, our party being now composed of six horsemen, namely, three Arab guides, Mr. Bankes, Mohammed his Albanian interpreter, and myself. We here cross |