The united opinion. [volume] (Bradford, Vt.) 1881-1970, 1890-12-26

NE breaches ON THE WATERS
or MERoM.

Beautiful Series Of Word Paintings
Discourse That win BE Remembered.
BROOKLYN, Dec. 21.-Dr Talmagt
preached the following sermon THU
morning in the Academy Of Music In
this city, and again in the evening al
The Christian Herald service in New
York. His text was Joshua xi, 5
"And when all these kings were met
together they came and pitched to-
gether at the waters OF Merom to fight
against Israel"
Wgares encamped tonight in Pales.
tine by the waters of Merom. After a
long march we have found our tents
pitched, our fires kindled, and though
far away from civilization variety Of
food that, would not compromise a
first class American hotel, for the most
Qfo our caravan starts an hour and a
half .earlierin the morning. We detain
only two mules carrying SO much Of
Our baggage as We might accidentally
need, !, and, a tent for the MONDAY
luncheon. h The malarias around this
Lake oMeromn are,so poisonous that at
anyiother season. Of the year encamp-
ment Here Is lpetilods, but this winter
night the air i, tt9qn iep, and healthful. In
this neighborhood Joshua fought his
lastH great battleaT The nations had
banded themselves together to crush
this Joshua, but along the banks of
these waters Joshua left their carcases.
Indeed it is time that we more minute
~ examine this Joshua, of whom we
have in these discourses caught only
a momentary glimpse, although he
crossed and recrossed Palestine, and
next to Jesus is the most stirring and
mighty character whose foot ever
touched the Holy Land. a
A TRADITION OF THE DEATH OF MOSES
Moses was dead. A beautiful .tradi-
ton says the Lord kissed him, and in
that act drew forth the soul of the dy-
ing lawgiver. He had been buried,
only one Person at the funeral, the
same One who kissed him. But God
never takes a man away from any place
of usefulness but he has some one
ready. The Lord does not go looking
around amid great variety of candi-
dates to find some one especially fitted
for the vacated position. He makes q
man for that place. Moses has passed
off the stage, and Joshua, the hero,
puts his foot on the platform of history
80 solidly that all the ages echo with
the tread. He was a magnificent fight
ct, but he always fought on the right
side, and he never fought unless God
told him to fight. He got his military
equipment from God, who gave him
the promise at the start, There shall
not any man be abb to stand before
thee all the days of thy life" God full
filed this promise, although Joshua's
first battle was with the spring freshet,
and the next with stone wall, and
the next leading ON a regiment of
whipped towards, and the next battle
against darkness, wheeling the sun and
the moon into his battalion, and the
last against the king of terrors, Death
five great victories.
For the most part, when the general
of an army starts out in conflict he
would like to have small battle in or
der that he may get his courage up
and rally his troops and get them
drilled for greater conflicts; but this
first undertaking Of Joshua was greater
than the leveling of Fort Pulaski, or
the laundering down of Gibraltar, or
the overthrow of the Bastile. 1t was
the crossing of the Jordan at the time
of the spring freshet. The SHOWS of
Mount Lebanon had just been melting,
and they poured down into the valley,
and the whole valley was a raging tor
rent. So the Canaanites stand on one
bank, and they look across and see
Joshua and the lsraelites, and they
laugh and say, AHA! aha they can
not disturb us in time-until the fresh
cts fall; it is impossible for them to
reach u.s." But after awhile they look
across the water and they see move
ment in the army OF Joshua. They say:
whats the matter now2 Why, there
must be panic among these troops,
and they are going to fly. or perhaps
they are going to try to march across
the river Jordan. Joshua is a lunatic"
But Joshua, the chieftain looks at his
army and cries, Forward, march!"
and they start for the bank of the
Jordan.
THE ARK OF THE COVENANT.
One mile ahead 60 two priests carry
ing glittering box four feet long and
two feet wide. 1t is the ark of the
covenant. And they come down, and
no sooner do they touch the rim of the
water with their feet than by an al
mighty fiat Jordan parts. The army
Of Joshua marches right on without.
getting their feet wet over the bottom
Of the river, path of chalk and broken
shells and pebbles, until they get to
The other bank Then they lay hold
If the oleanders and tamarisks and
willows and pull themselves up a bank
thirty or forty feet high, and having
yained the other bank they clap their