Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1890-12-22

rocks IN the night, and then he sends
comparatively small regiments up in
front of the city The men of Al come
out with a shout The small regiments
of Israelites in stratagem fall back and
fall back. and when all the men of Al
have left the city and are in pursuit of
these scattered or seemingly scattered
regiments, Joshua stands on a rock.
see his locks flying III the wind as he
points his spear toward the doomed
city. and that is the signal. The men
rush out from behind the rocks and
take the city, and it is put to the torch,
and then these ISraelites in the city
| march down and the flying regiments
of Israelites return, and between these
two waves of Israelitish proves the
men of Al are destroyed, and the Is
raelites gain the victory, and while
see the curling smoke of that destroyed
city on the sky, and while hear the
huzza of the Israelites and the groan of
the Canaanites, Joshua hears some
thing louder than it all, ringing and
echoing through his soul, There shall
not any man be able to stand before
thee all the days of thy life. F"
FORWARD, MARCH,
But this is no place for the host of
| Joshua to stop. Forward, march!"
cries Joshua to the troops There is
the city of Gideon. 1t has put itself
under the protection of Joshua. They
send word, There are five kings after
us; they are going to destroy US; send
troops quick send US help right away"
Joshua has three days march at more
than double quick On the morning
of the third day he is before the enemy.
There are two long lines of battle. The
battle opens with great slaughter, but
the Canaanites soon discover some
| thing. They say: THAT is Joshua;
that is the man who conquered the
spring freshet, and knocked down the
stone wall and destroyed the city of Al.
| There is no use fighting" And they
sound a retreat, and as they begin to
retreat Joshua and his host spring upon
them like a panther, pursuing them
over the rocks, and as these Canaanites
with sprained ankles and gashed fore
heads retreat the catapults of the sky
DOllI NO1lCy vi IctIIoUOI1Co 1i1OO 1AAO
valley, and all the artillery of the
heavens with bullets of iron pound the
Canaanites against the lodges of Beth
heron.
"Oh!" says Joshua, this is surely a
victory. But do you not see the sun
is going down? Those Amorites are
going to get away after all, and then
+boxy viii ooY,a mn Gonna othor time and
bother us, and perhaps destroy US"
See, the sun is going down! Oh, for
longer day than has ever been seen in
this climate What is the matter with
joshua? Has he fallen in an apoplec-
tic fit! No. He is in prayer. Look
out when good man makes the Lord
his ally. Joshua raises his face, radi-
ant with prayer, and looks at the de-
scending sun over Gideon and at the
faint crescent of the moon, for you
know the queen of the night sometimes
will linger around the palaces of the
day. Pointing one hand at the de-
scending sun and the other hand at the
faint crescent of the moon in the name
of that God who shaped the worlds
and moves the worlds he cries, Sun,
stand thou still upon Gideon; and
thou moon, in the valley OF Ajalon.
They halted.
Whether it was by refraction of the
suns rays or by the stopping of the
whole planetary system | do not know
and do not care l leave it to the
Christian scientists and the intidel
scientists to settle that question, while
| tell you [ have seen the same thing.
What" say you, mot the sun stand
ing stiIl?" Yes The same miracle is
performed nowadays The wicked do
not live out half their day, and the sun
sets at noon. But let q man start out
in battle for God and the truth and
against sin, and the day of his useful
ness is prolonged and prolonged and
prolonged.
THOUGH DEAD THEIR WORKS DO FOL-
Low THEM.
John Summerfield was a consumptive
Methodist He looked fearfulIy white,
[ am told, as he stood in old Sands
Street church, in Brooklyn, preaching
Christ, and when he stood on the an
niversary platform in New York plead
ing for the Bible until unusual and I'M
known glories rolled forth from that
book. When he was dying his pillow
was brushed with the wings of the angel
from the skies, the messenger that God
sent down. Did John SummerfieId's
sun set? Did John Summerfield's day
end? Oh, no. He lives on in his
burning utterances in behalf of the
Christian church.
Robert McCheyne was d consumptiye
Presbyterian 1t was said when he
preached he coughed so it seemed as if
he would never preach again. His
name is fragrant in all ChristendOm,
that name mightier today than was
ever his living presence. He lived to
preach the gospel in Aberdeen, Edin-
burgh and Dundee, but he went away
very early He preached himself into
the grave. Has Robert McCheyne's
sun set2 Is Robert McCheyne's day
ended? Oh, no. His dying delirium
was filled with prayer, and when he
lifted his hand to pronounce the bene-
diction upon his family and the bene-
diction upon his country he seemed to
live on and on. [ want to start an in
fiuence for the church that will never
cease. / am only 30 years of age
Sun of my Christian ministry, stand
still over Scotland" And it stood still.
A long time ago there was q Chris
tan woman, very consecrated, and she
had drunken husband, and so on
came the night of domestic trouble
She lost her children, and there came
the night of bereavement. She was
very i'll, and there came the night of
sickness. Her soul departed, and there
came the night of death But all these
nights of trouble and dark ness and sor-
row and sickness were illu1nined by the
grace of the gospel, and people came
many miles to see how cheerfully a
Christian could be sick and how cheer
fully Christian could die The moon
that illumined that night of trouble
was a reflection from the Sun of right
eousness. In the last hour of that
night-that night of darkness and sick
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