Dodge City times., 1888-07-26
USES OF STRATAGEM.
Chaplain Talms ge breaches to
New York Militiamen.
Graphic Description of the Capture of Al
by JOshua-Retreat Sometimes Victory
-Christ's Conc, uest Over Evil
Work For Christians.


ment, New York National Guards, in
camp, Rev. T. Dewitt Talmage took for
his subject, uses o. Strategem," and his
text was from Joshua viii. Z: ''Then ye
shall rise up from the ambush and seize
upon the city," He said:
Men of the Thirteenth regiment and their
friends here gathered, of all occupations
and professions, men of the city and men
of the fields, here is theme fit for all OF
us.
One Sabbath evening with my family
around me, we were talking over the scene
of the text. In the wide open eyes and the
quick interrogations and the blanched
cheeks l realized what a thrilling drama 1T
was. There is the old city, shorter by
name than any other city IN the ages,
spelled with two letters-A Al. Joshua
and his men want to take it. How to do 1t
is the question. On former occasion, IN a
straightforward, face to face fight, they
had been defeated: but now they are going
to take it by ambuscade.
General Joshua has two divisions In MS
army-the one division the battleworn
commander will lead himself, the other
division he sends off to camp In an am
bush on the west side of the city OF Al
No torches, no lanterns, no sound OF heaVy
battalions, but 10000 swarthy warriors
moving in silence, speaking only In q
whisper: no clicking OF swords against
shields, lest the watchmen of Al discover
it and the stratagem be failure. III
registering soldier in the lsraeiltlsh
army forgets himself, all along the line
the word is "Hush." Joshua takes the
other division, the one with which ne is 10
march, and puts it on the north side or the
city of Al, and then spends the nlght
in accommodating in the valley. There he
is. thinking over the fortunes of the COM
ing day. with something of the feelings OF
Wellington the night before Waterloo, or
of Meade and Lee the night before Gettys-
burg. There he stands in the night, and
saws to himself: ''Yonder is the division
in ambush on the west side of Al. Here is
the division | have under my especial COM
mand on the north side of All. There is the
old city slumbering in its sin. Tomorrow
will be the battle Look. the morning al
ready begins to tip the hills. The MILL
tary officers of Al look out in the morning
very early, and while they do not see the
division in ambush, they behold the other
division of Joshua, and the cry: 'Io
arms, To arms" rings through all the
streets Of the old town, and every sword
whether. hacked and bent or newly
welded. is brought out, and all the lnhab-
liant of the city of All pour through the
gates, an infuriated torrent, and their cry
is: "Come, We'll make quick work with
Joshua and his troops"
No sooner had these people OF All come
out against the troops of Joshua than
Joshua gave such command as he sell
dom gave: "Fall back" Why, they could
not believe their own ears. Is Joshua's
courage failing him: The retreat is beaten
and the Israelites are flying, throwing
blankets and canteens on every side
under this worse than Bull Run de-
feat. And you ought to hear the soldier:
of All cheer and cheer and cheer. Blu,
they huzza too soon. The men lying In
ambush are straining their vision to ge'
some signal from Joshua that they may
know what time to drop upon the city
Joshua takes his Furnished spear, glitter
ing in the sun like shaft of doom, ant
points it toward the city; and when thu
men up yonder in the ambush see it, will
hawk-like swoop they drop upon All, ant
without stroke of sword or stab of spear
take the city and put it to the torch. 81
How about the division under joshua
command? No sooner does Joshua stop in
the fight than all his men stop with him
and as he wheels they wheel, for in voc
of thunder he cries ''Halt!" One stron,
arm driving back torrent of flying troops
And then. as he points his spear through
the golden light toward that fated city, hi
troops know that they are to start for II
What scene it was when the division IL
ambush which had taken the city marched
down against the men of All on the on
side, and the troops under Joshua doubled
up their enemies from the other side, ant
the men of Aiwere caught between thes
two hurricanes of Israelitish courage
thrust before and behind, stabbed in breas
and back, ground between the upper arr
the neither millstones of Gods indignation
Woe to the city of All! Cheer for tn
triumph of Israel!
Lesson the first: There is such thipi
as victorious retreat. Joshua's falling bac
was the first chapter in his successful be
siegement. And there are times in you
life when the best thing you can do is t
rum You were once the victim of stroni
drink The demiiobn and decanter wer
your fierce foes. They came down upo
YOU with greater fury than the men of A
upon the men of Joshua. Your only safet
is to get away from them. Your dissipat
ing companions will come around you TO
Your overthrow. Run for your life! Fa
back! Fall back from the drinking saloon
Fall back from the wine party. You
flight is your advance. Your retreat
your victory. There is a saloon down o
the next street that has almost been tn
ruin of your soul. Then, why do you g
along that street? Why do YOU not pas
through some other street rather than b
the place of your calamity? A spoonful G
brandy taken for medicinal purposes by
man who twenty years before had bee
reformed from drunkenness. hurled int
inebriety aud the grave one of the bes
friends ever had. Your retreat Is you
victory. Here is a converted infidel. He
so strong now in his faith in the Gospel
saws he can read any thing. What are yo
reading: Bolingbroke. Andrew Jackso
Davis tracts: Tyndall's Glasgow Univer
sity address: Dropthem and run. You Wi
be an infidel before you die unless yo
quit that. These men of Al will be 70
much for YOU. Turn your back on tn
rank and file of unbelief. Fly before the
c.lt YOU with their swords and transfix yo
with their javelns. There are people VIII
have been well nigh ruined because the
risked a foolhardy expedition in the pres
ence of mighty and overwhelming temp
tstions. and the men of Al made naorpin
meal of them. SO also there is such
thing as victorious retreat in the religion
SHor,d. Thousands of times the kingdol
of Christ has seemed to fall back.
When the blood of the Scotch Covenan,
ers gave deeper dye to the heather {
the highlands, when the Vaudois Of Franc
chose determination rather than make 9
upchristian surrender, when on st. Bal
tholomew's day mounted assassins rod