Weekly expositor. (Brockway Centre, Mich.) 1882-1894, 1890-12-26
A BRAVE WARRIOR.
DR.. TAEMAGE breaches ABOUT
JOSHUA'S MIGHTY VALOR.
The Man Through Whose Instru-
mentality Jordan Was Parted, the
Walls ofJericho Were Blown Down
and the SUI and the Moon Stood
Still

and the SUI and the Moon Stood
Still.
BROOKLYN, Dec. 81. - DIR. Talmage
preached the following sermon this morn
ing in the Academy of Music in this city,
and again in the evening at the service in
New York. His text was Joshua IL. 5:
''And when all these kings were met
together, they came and pitched together
at the waters OF Merom TO fight against
Israel"
We are encamped tonight in Palestine by
the waters of Merom. After a long march
we have found our tents pitched, our fires
kindled, and though far away from civili-
cation, a variety of food that would not
compromise frst-class American hotel,
for the most of our caravan starts an hour
and half earlier in the morning
We detain only two mules carrying so much
of our baggage as we might accidentally
need and tent for the MONDAY luncheon.
The malarias around this Lake Merom are
so poisonous that at any other season OF
the year encampment here is perilous, but
this winter night the air is tonic and
healthful. In this neighborhood Joshua
fought his last great battle. The nations
this Joshua, but along the banks of these
waters Joshua left their carcasses. Indeed
il is time we moro infinitely examine this
Joshua of whom we have in these dis
courses caught only a momentary glimpse,
although he crossed and recrossed Pales-
tine, and next TO Jesus is the most stirring
and mighty character whose foot ever
touched the Holy Land.
For the most part, when the general OF
an army starts out in a conflict he would
like to have a small battle in order that he
may get his courage up and he may rally
his troops and get them drilled for greater
conflicts; but this first undertaking of
Joshua was greater than the dwelling of
Fort Pulaski, or the laundering down OF
Gibraltar, or the overthrow of the Bastile.
II 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 torrent. So the
Canaanites stand on one bank and they
box across and see Joshua and the Israel
ites and they laugh and say: "Aha! aha!
they cannot disturb us in time-until the
freshets fall; it is impossible for them to
reach u.s." But after a while they look
across the water and they see movement
in the army of Joshua. They say, whats
the matter now? Why, there must be q
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
chieftan, looks at his army and cries:
Forward, march ~ and they start for the
bank Of the Jordan.
One mile ahead so two priests carrying
glittering box four feet long and two feet
wide. II is the ark of the covenant. And
they come down, and no sooner do they
Just touch the rim of the water with their
feet than by an almighty fiat, Jordan
parts. The army of Joshua marches right
through without getting their feet wet over
the bottom of the river, path of chalk
I and broken shells and pebbles, until they
! get TO the other bank.
| But this is no place for the host TO stop.
Joshua gives the command, forward,
march!' In the distance there is a long
grove Of trees and at the end of the grove
is city. 1t is city Of arbors, city
with walls seeming to reach to the heaven,
TO buttress the very sky. 1t is the great
metropolis that commands the mountain
pass. II is Jericho That city was after
ward captured by Pompey, and it was
afterward captured by Herod the Great,
and il was afterward captured by the
Mohammedans but this campaign the
LORD plans. There shall be no swords, nc
shields, no battering ram. There shall be
only one weapon of war, and that a ram
horn.
The even priests with the rude musical
instruments pass all around the city walls
on the first day, and failure. Not sc
much as a piece OF plaster broke loose from
the wall-not so much as loosened rock
not so much as piece of mortar lost from
its place. There" say the unbelieving
Israelites, didn't tell you so? Why
those ministers are fools. The idea o.
going around the city with those musica
instruments and expecting in that way Il
destroy It'll Joshua has been spoiled hi
thinks because ho has overthrown and de
stroyed the spring freshet, he can over
throw the stone wall Why, it is MOI
philosophic. Don't you see there is nj
relation between the blowing of these
musical instruments and the knocking
down of the wall? 1t isn't philosophy"
Joshuas stock was down, The SECOND
day, the priests blowing the musical in
struments go around the city, and fail
ure. Third day, and failure; fourth day
and failure; fifth day, and failure
SlxJn uay, ana lbuurc. luo SeVenJn Gay
comes, the climacteric day. Joshua is W
early in the morning and examines the
troops, walks all around about, looks al
the city wall The priests start to make
the circuit of the city. They go all around
once, all around twice. three times. foui
times, five times, six times, seven times
and failure.
There is only one more thing to do, ant
that is to utter great shout. | see the
Israelitish army Strengthening themselves
up. filing their lungs for a vociferatiOr
such as was never heard before and never
heard after. Joshua feels that the hour
has come, and he cries out to his host
r'Shout; for the Lord hath given you tn,
cityp All the people begin to cry: "Dowr
Jericho, down Jerichow and the long lint
of solid masonry begins to CULVER and Il
move and TO rock Stand from under
She fallsl Crash! go the walls, the tenn
Piles, the towers, the palaces; the air black
ened with the dust. The huzza of tn,
victorious Israeltes and the groan of tn,
conquered Canaanites commingle, anC
Joshua standing there in the debris of the
wall, hears a voice saying: There shall