The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1883-07-14
THE CAPTURE OF All,
Through the Willy Tactics of
General Joshua.
When Temptations Approach, Fall Back
In Spite of the Sneers and Ieer-
ings of the Multitude.
1T. DEWITT TALMAGE.l ]
SUBJECT-"IN AMBUSH" "

One Sabbath evening with my family
| around me, we were talking over the
scene of the text. In the wide open eyes
and quick inteTOgatiOns and blanched
cheeks, realized what a thrilling dra-
ma 1t was. There is the old city, shorter
by name than any other city in the ages
spelled with two letters-A.I L. All. JOSH
VA and his men want to take it. How
to do it is the question. On former Oc-
l casiOn, in straightforward, face-tO-fac
| fight, they had been defeated; but now
they are going to take 1t by ambuscade.
| Gen. Joshua has two divisions in his
army. The one division the battle worn
commander will lead himself, the other
| division he sends OFF to encamp in
an ambush on the west side of the city
of All. No torches, no lanterns, no sound
of heavy battaliOns, but 10000 swarthy
warriors moving in silence, speaking in
| a whisper only; no clicking of swords
against shields, lest the watchmen of All
discover 1t, and the stTatagem be fail
ure. If rOisteTing soldier in the Is
raelite army fOrgets himself, all along
| the line the word Is "HushP' Joshua
takes the other division, the one he is to
march with, and puts it on the north
side of the city of All, and then spends
| the night In accommodating in the val
ley. There he Is, thinking over the for
/ tunes of the coming day, with some
| thing of the feelings Of Wellington the
/ night before Waterloo, or of Meade and
Lee the night before Gettysburg. There
i he stands in the night and says to him
self: ''YOnder is the division in ambush
| on the west side of All; here is the divis-
ion have under my especial command
| on the north of All; there is the old city
| slumbering in its sin. Tomorrow will
be the battle. LOOkl The morning al
ready begins to tip the hills" The mil
itary officers of All look out in the morn.
ing early, and, while they do not see the
division in ambush, they behold ths di-
vision of Joshua, and the cry ITO armsi
To armsP rings through the streets of
the old town, and every sword, whether
hacked and bent or newly welded, is
| brought ont, and the inhabitants of All
pour through the gates, an infuriate tor
tent, and cry, Come, we'll make quick
work with Joshua and his troops" No
sooner had these people come out against
| the troops of Joshua, than he gave such
command as he seldom gave: Fall
back" Why, they could not believe their
own ears. Is JOshua's courage failing
| himp The retreat Is beaten, and the Is
raelites are flying, throwing blankets
| and canteens on every side under this
worse than Bull Run defeat. And you
ought to hear the soldiers of All cheer.
But they huZZa too soon. The men in am
L Ou5n arc bubll NlblOn Rbb
| some signal from Joshua, that they may
know what time h. drop upon the city.
Joshua takes his FURNISHED spear and
| points 1t toward the city, and when the
| men In ambush see 1t, with hawklike
swOOp they drop upon Al, and without
stroke of sword or stab of spear, take the
city and put it to the torch. SO much
/ for the division that was in ambush.
How about the division more especially
n
does Joshua stop in the flight than all
his men stop with him, and as he wheels
they wheel, for in a voice of thunder he
cried, haiti One strong arm damming
back torrent of flying troops, and then
as he points his spear through the gOl-
den light toward that fatal city, mis-
troops know they are to start for it.
What scene 1T was when the division
in ambush which had taken the city,
marched down against the men of All on
one side, and the troops under Joshua
doubled up their enemies from the other
side, and the men of All were caught he
tween these two hurricanes of IsTaelitish
courage, thrust before and behind, stab
bed in breast and back, ground between
the upper and neither millstOnes of Gods
indignatiOnl WO to the city of All Cheer
for the triumphs of Israeli
Lesson the first: There is such thing
was the first chapter in his successful
besiegement, and there are times in your
life when the best thing you can do is
to run. You were once the victim of
strong drink. The demijOhn and deean.
ter were your fierce foes. They came
down upon you with greater fury than
the men Of AL upon the men of Joshua.
Your only safety is to get away from
them. Your dissipaLing companions will
nn fn n.kl
Run for your lifei Fall back from the
drinking saloon. Fall back from the
wine party. Your fight is your advance.
Your retreat Is your victory. There Is a
saloon down here on the next street that
has almost been the ruin of your SOUL
Then why do you go along that street =?
Why do you not pass through some other
street rather than by the place Of your
calamity A spoonful of brandy taken
for medicinal purposes by man who
twenty years before had been reformed
from drunkenness, hurled into inebriety
and the grave one of the best friends |
ever had. Your retreat Is your victory.
Here is converted infidel. He is so
strong now in his faith in the Gospel he
says he can read anything. What are
you readingP BOlingbrOke? Theodore
Parkerp Andrew jackson DaVis's tractsp
SwedenbOrg's dreams? Drop them and
run. You will be an infidel before you
die unless you quit that. These men of
All will be too much for you. Turn your
back on the rank and file of unbelief.
Fly before they cut you with their
swords and transix you with their jaw
elins.
There are people who have been we'll
nigh ruined, because they risked fool
hardy expedition in the presence of over
pOwering and mighty temptations, and
the men of AL made a morning meal of
them. So also there is such thing as
victorious defeat for the church. Thou
sands of times the church of Christ has
| seemed to fall back. When the blood of
| the Scotch COvenanters gave a deeper
dye to the heather of the Highlands;
| when the ValOis of France chose exter-
minatiOn rather than make an unchris-
tian surrender; when on st. BartholO-
news day mounted assassins rode
through the streets OF Paris, crying;