Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1890-12-22
DR.. TALMAGES SERMON.
He breaches ON THE WATERS
OF MEROM.

he breaches ON THE WATERS
OF MEROM
Continuation of His Series Descriptive of
His Trip Through the Holy Land-A
Beautiful Series of Word Paintings-A
Discourse That VIII Be Remembered.
BROOKLYN. Dec 21.-Dr. Talmage
preached the following sermon this
morning in the Academy of Music in
this city, and again in the evening at
The Christian Herald service in New
York. His text was Joshua ri, 5:
''And VIXEN all these kings were met
together they came and pitched to-
gether at the waters of Merom to fight
against Israel
We are 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 a variety OF
food that would not compromise a
first class American hotel, for the most
of our caravan starts an hour and a
half earlier in the morning. We detaln
only two mules carrying so much OF
our baggage as we might accidentally
need. and a tent for the MONDAY
luncheon. The malarias around this
Lake Merom are so poisonous that at
any other season of the year encamp-
ment here is perilOus, but this winter
night the air is tonic and healthful. In
this neighborhood Joshua fought his
last great battle. 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
ly examine this Joshua, of whom we
have in these discOurses caught only
n 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 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 n great variety of candi-
dates to find some one especially fitted
for the vacated position He makes a
f, hoo
off the stage, and Joshua, the hero,
puts his foot on the platform of history
so sOlidly that all the ages echo with
the tread He was a magnificent fight
er but he always fought on the right
side, and he never fought unless God
equipment from God, who gave him
the promise at the start, There shall
not any man be able to stand before
thee all the days of thy life" God full
filed this promise, although JOshua'g
first battle was with the spring freshet,
and the next with a 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 a conflict he
would like to have a 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 raging tor
rent. So the Canaanites stand on one
bank, and they look across and see
Joshua and the JsraeIites, 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 us" But after awhile they look
across the water and they see a move
ment in the army of Joshua. They say:
Whats the matter now? Why, there
must be a 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 lunatic" "
But Joshua, the chieftain, looks at his
army and cries, Forward, marchr'
and they start for the bank of the
Jordan.
THE ARK OF THE COVENANT.
One mile ahead go two priests carry
ing a glittering box four feet long and
covenant. And they come down, and
no sooner do they touah 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, a path of chalk and broken
shells and pebbles, until they get to
the other bank Then they lay hold
of the oleanders and tamarisks and
willows and pull themselves up bank
thirty or forty feet high, and having
gained the other bank they clap their
shields and their cymbals, and sing the
praises of the God of Joshua But no
sooner have they reached the bank
than the waters begin to dash and roar,
and with terrific rush they break
loose from their strange anchorage.
Out yonder they have stopped thirty
miles of distance they halted. On this
side the waters roll off toward the salt
sea.
/ But as the hand of the Lord God is
taken away from the thus uplifted
waters waters perhaps uplifted half a
mile-as the Almighty hand is taken
away, those waters rush down, and
some of the unbelieving Israelites say:
''Alas, alas, what "a misfortune! Why
could not those waters have staid
parted? Because, perhaps, we may
want to go back. o Lord, we are en-
gagged in a risky business. Those
Canaanites may eat US up. How if we
want to go back? Would it not have
been a more complete miracle if the
Lord had parted the waters to let US
come through, and kept them parted