The Middleburgh post. [volume] (Middleburgh, Snyder Co., Pa.) 1883-1916, 1888-10-04
SUNDAY SCHOOL
LESSON ron SUNDAY, OCT. =.
THE Commission of Joshua" Joshua
s. 1-O-GoIdcr Text Chap. vi. H.


he learned the purpose and policy NJ God
| towards Israel from the mobiles of teachers
who's generous devotion and stern self.
control the pupil could hardly fail 20 ads
mire and initiate. Still Joshua was mar
| rover than Moss s, about as sheridan was
narrower than Grant. He was the son Of
Nun pronounced noon. fish His grand
| father Elishamn hid been head OF the trib,
| Of Ephraim. He now comes from subor-
| dinate station, and enters upon the tlsl Of
| settling Israel in Ca am, giving to- this the
REMAINDER OF his life What manner of
| man he was, will ahuudlrtly appear.
MosEs DEAD.-Th settles an questions as
| TO Moses disappearance, The thirty davs of
| mourning hnd not been n delusion. Here
ore may for q moment pause, and think OF
moral life. It, end comes To the most vgor-
ous and effective The summer sun b Mas
long and f.Tc,ly, hut il sinks. and night
| comes on. So Moses has gone below the hori-
| zon, and can 90 for his people nothing more
He is gone! "lhe night cImeth wherein no
mn can work" We have seen Mos, = whole.
some ca so to train man to take up the
task which he himself wa, 20 lny down, MS
that he work should 90 on AMI prosper So
all wise aud thoughtful men nrc doing. They
wish their business ard estates, thor schools
and churches their country and tho world,
" thrive af or their own departure Did
Moses from on high witch Joshua, clrceri
ARISE This sounds out ike the note of
trumpet. Jo.hun could SEQ what task was
before him. To take womllions across Jor.
dan In the facc Of an enemy was about ,uuai
| to crossing the Re Sea. The river flush and
strong before him dcsc'rdS IN it's actual
course thirty feet IN a milo, anl. though 50
croOke l aS % 90 three miles in making ono,
u is yet at its mouth au chs ucle Formidable
| TO "A host like Israel. Joshua model a rous,
| ing call TO such a tlsk O' serve how all
things cen or in him His arising meant the
arising of all. The army is omhoiic in the
| l.v.sa .ta.l L l.. 4. 4.
Every enterprSe must IN order To To- succ So
ful have its natural len ter, - For some must
follow and some command, though both bo
made of clay -
The DIVINE Plan This is no, a new PLAN
but Tor Joshua's benefit hero 1t Is freely tod
Has the Eternal Ruler any now p.uus Here
is country about as large as New Jersey
though the bounds here named, which verr
reached under Solomon only, would have
made IL twice rs large as Ponnsyvnui, or
! Ohio The statement is not. i will gIv,,' OF
| Il intend to give but Il have giyou.' Such
are Gods promises. Bu' how clearly comes
i'm here mans part in miking his own for
tunes! we then, rs workers together with
| him. So is the farmer or the gardner: 50 In
! fact we all are. Israel is free to work with
the divine plan, or TO refuse; to work yigor-
ously, or lazily; and according tn It's work.
ing will the result be. Every mans life is "A
plan Of God, and its outcome will tc accord
| ing 10 his co-work,ng with that plan
CONTINUOUS VICTORY. The Promised
Land is marked out uy the limits here nam
ed. The great sea is the Mediterranean ON
the west; the great river is the Euphratps ON
the north. anu some S0,OOJ square miles thus
bounded were iull OF strong people. These
were not all ut once tp surrender. Tho cons
quest wa, to be by stondy progress, reaching
the nations one after another rs time aud
sire 9Th were given. An unbrokon chain of
victories was to stretch across the land
Lot. ~ - -,
result In lsraefs favor. zone should Chns a
thousand. and two put ten thousand 10
flight" For reasons satisfactory To divine
justice, the people of Canaan were to- be ex-
tirpated, As fast n Israel could move over
the land, its present occupants were 10 vanish
like mist IN the morning.
TIE DIVINE PRESENCE ---lIerceforth this
was not to be in pillar of cloud 10y day aud
"a pillar of fire 10y night. IL wts To be u
spiritual presence, such rs in battle both
armies would feel tut Mother OF them would
see. 1t was now time To give Israel "A lesson
in depending, not on the sight of the eye,
but on the word of the Lord. When they
met the enemy, they were not tu douDt in
their heart the presence of the God ot tat
ties on their side. This would be- met aud
matched by u feeling on tn part of their
enemies that he was against them. Thus the
hearts of lsraers warriors would Ice strong
and their ii lhting effective, viii the hearts
of the Canaanltcs would melt and thor arms
wouli weaken, and yet uu one could openly
SEQ why this should hc H. was bee use II
spiritual God would 50 lie there. " Not by
vislblcl might or by lvislbl1 power, hut
by my spirit, saith the Lord OF lustsn
STRENGTH AND CoURAGE.--ln the Hebrew
the former refers tO force IN grasplng, this
latter to lirmae.s in holding. The ormcr, a
matter of dash, is ta>.cr than tn Inter.
"TcnaXn was one of tIc -four N',' rqure
In a roman general. Joshua was strong of
heart but he vas now entering upon a trying
task, aud he ,dcd the help Of iorcctul
words Like Grant IN our w.r hc nee led TO
snatch and keep. And We .lin s. IN the
leader is Iun us % the army, and Joshua
had always looked up % Moses Tor guidance.
In his great dcica, OF the Amilrliitrs, Moses
from II hilltop had watched th field Ills
turn to command In, now come, md he must
te sclf-centcred, for hn is 10 cpmpct" the
great trans ctiOn which Mu,e, had begun.
The Lord now heartons him 10 a great, vlgor-
Gus aud persistent pifpit.
STRICT OBEDIENCE.-Whc Sherman set
out upon his marcn To tine sa, Grant Is sad
to have sent him very full instructions Ms To
the cinpagu. This was not b-causc Shor-
man was incompetent, hut uucau,r he Wds
competent TO lead so gront n movement.
There was left 4, ON enough for the pay Of
Sherman's abilities, and all the better It was
for him 10 have iul instructions. So Joshua
in ''lifting up his spear Of flame to battle on
the mountains green" is o. keepall the move
ments IN harmony with the covenant rules.
So il is with us ALL lnsi 70 of the command
ments is room enough for all our energy and
sagacity. II we keep solid" with the stat
utes OF the Lord, We are IN range oi his ef'
fective aid
The BOOK OF THE LAw.-Careful study OF
great author, like the comptny Of IA noble
person, brings u, something even better than
the gaining of his thoughts. IL cnrches un1
inspires our tastes and feelings. He who
wou d write poetry Of his own, must read
carefully the poetry OF Others, not o copy IL,
but u be inspired and altuned by ii. SO II
Sun, ay school teacher must try 10 get inn
bued with the lesson, aud thus is JOSHUA TO
study the law. In reading the Scriptures
and thinking them oyer the tone and working
of our own thoughts become Scrlptural.
Joshul, like musician among great mist II
of music, will come TO pure and perfect ideas
of his own calling and - bright sympathy
with the divine plan by reading and re-read-
ing, thinking and re-thinklng, what Moses
had written.
SucCEss:-" No such word rs fail!n Joshua
would never enter n fell OF btttc Tut he
would find the almighty there before him.
The divine eye would watch tue current OF
the fight, and, If Joshua acted we his part,
all things would work for victory. No
would his success end with his own life, on
with the conquest of Canaan. Like Other
h..