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

they were to go around blowing these
rude musical instruments seven times,
and then at the close of the seventh
blowing of the rams horns on the sew
enth day the peroration of the whole
scene was to be a shout at which those
great walls should tumble from cap
stone to base
THE FIRST DAY A FAILURE.
The seven priests with the rude must
cal instruments pass all around the city
walls on the first day, and a failure
Not SO much as piece of plaster broke
loose from the wall; not SO much as a
loOsened rock, not SO much as q piece
of mortar lost from its place ''There,"
say the unbelieving Israelites, didn't 1
tell you so? Why, those ministers are
fools. The idea of going around the
city with those musical instruments
and expecting in that way to destroy it.
Joshua has been spoiled; he thinks be-
cause he has overthrow and destroyed
the spring freshet he can overthrow the
stone wall. Why, it is not philosophic
Don't you see there is no relation be
tween the blowing of these musical in
struments and the knocking down of
the wall? 1t isn't philosophy" And I
suppose there were many wiseacres
who stood with their brows knitted,
and with the forefnger of the right
hand to the forefinger of the left hand,
arguing it all out and showing it was
not possible that such a cause could
produce such an effect And | sup
pose that night in the encampment
there was plenty of philosophy and
caricature, and if Joshua had been
nominated for any high military posi-
ton he would not have got many
votes
Joshua's stock was down. The sec
ond day the priests blowing the must
cal Instruments go around the city,
and a failure. Third day, and fail
ure; fourth day, and failure; fifth
day, and a failure; sixth day, and
failure. The seventh day comes, the
climacteric day. Joshua is up early in
the morning and examines the troops,
walks all around about looks at the
city wall The priests start to make
the circuit of the city. They go all
around once. all around twice, three
times, four times, five times six times,
seven times, and failure.
SHOUT, FOR THE LORD HATH GIVEN
YOU THE CITY!
There is only one more thing to do,
and that is to utter a great shout. | see
the IsraeIitish army Strengthening them
selves up, filling their lungs for vo-
alteration such as was never heard be-
fore and never heard after Joshua
feels that the hour has come, and he
cries out to his host ''Shout. for the
Lord hath given you the city'' All the
people begin to cry, Down, Jericho,
down, Jericho!" and the long line of
solid masonry begins to culver and to
move and to rock Stand from underl
She falls! Crash! go the walls, the
temples, the towers, the palaces; the
air blackened with the dust. The
huzza of the victorious Israelites and
the grOan of the conquered Canaanites
commingle. and Joshua, standing there
in the debris of the wall, hears a voice
saying, There shall not any man be
able to stand before thee all the days
of thy life -
Only one house spared. Who lives
there2 Some great king? No. Some
woman distinguished for her great
kindly deeds? No. She had been
conspicuous for her crimes. 1t is the
house of Rahab. Why was her house
spared? Because she had been a great
sinner? No, but because she repented,
demonstrating to all the ages that there
r IL. Il
red cord of divine injunction reaching
from her window to the ground, so
that when the people saw that red cord
they knew it was the divine indication
they should not disturb the prem
ises, making US think of the divine
cord of a Saviours deliverance, the
red cord of a Saviour's kindness, the
red cord of a Saviour's mercy, the red
cord of our rescue. Mercy for the
chief of sinners. Put your trust in that
God and no damage shall befall you.
When our world shall be more terribly
surrounded than was Jericho, even by
the trumpets of the judgment day, and
the hills and the mountains, the metal
bones and the ribs of nature, shall
break, they who have had Rahab's
faith shall have Rahab's deliverance.
When wrapt in fire the realms of ether glow,
And heavens last thunder shakes the earth be-
low;
Thou undismayed shalt DER the ruins smile,
And light thy torch at natures funeral pile.
But Joshua's troops may not halt
here. The command is Forward,
march," There is the city of Al; it
= L,
A scouting party comes back and says,
Joshua, we can do that without you;
it is going to be a very easy job; you
Just stay here while we go and capture
it. They march with a small regi-
ment in front of that city. The men
of All look at them and give one yell,
and the Israelites run like reindeer.
The northern troops at Bull Run did not
make such rapid time as these Israelites
with the Canaanites after them. They
never cut such a sorry figure as when
they were on the retreat. Anybody
that goes out in the battles of God
with only half a force, instead of your
taking the men of All the men of Al
will take you.
Look at the church of God on the
retreat The Borncsian cannibals ate
up Munson, the missionary, Fall
back!" said a great many Christian
people-Efall BACK, o church of Godl
BOrneo will never be taken. Don't
you see the Bornesian cannibals have
eaten up Munson, the missionary"
Tyndall delivers his lecture at the Uni
versity of Glasgow, and great many
good people say: Fall back, 0 church
of Godl Don't you see that Christian
philosophy is going to be overcome by
worldly philosophy? Fail back" Ge-
ology plunges its crowbar into the
mountains, and there are great many
people who say: Scientific investiga-
ton is going to overthrow the Mosaic
account of the creation. Fall back"
Friends of the church have never had
any right to fall back
JOSHUA HUMAN LIKE THE REST OF US.
Joshua falls on his face in chagrin.
1t is the only time you ever sec the
back of his head. He falls on his face