News and citizen. [volume] (Morrisville, Vt. ;) 1881-current, 1890-12-25

face" Joshua rises, and | warran
you with a mortified look. But hi
old courage comes back. The fact was
that was not his battle. If he bac
been in it he would have gone on t.
victory. He gathers his troops AROUND
him and says: Now, let us 90 rp anc
capture the city of Al; let us 90 ut
right away"
They march on. He puts the major
lty of the troops behind a ledge O.
rocks III the night, and then he send.
comparatively small regiments up il
front of the city. The men of Al come
out with a shout. The small regiment,
of lsraelites in stratagem fall back and
1all back, and when all the men of A
have left the city and are in pursuit OF
these scattered or seemingly scattered
regiments, Joshua stands on a rock
see his locks flying in 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 civ
march down and the flying regiments
OF Israelites return, and between these
two waves of Israeiitish proves the
men OF Al are destroyed, and the Is
raelites gain the victory, and while I
see the curling smoke of that DESTROYED
city on the sky, and while | hear the
huzza of the Israelites and the groan of
the CanaanitsS, 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"
FORWARD, MARCH,
But this is no place for the host of
Joshua to stop Forward, march %
cries Joshua to the troops Ther... e
the city of Gideon. 1t has par =
under the protection Of - -
send word, I here arn'v n.igs aftcfS
US; they are going to destroy us; send
troops quick; send us help right away"
Joshua has a three days march at more
than double quick. On the morning
of the third day he is before the enemy.
mere Two IOIisS IIIISo VI OriCbiS llc
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 retreat, and as they begin to
retreat Joshua and his host spring upon
them like panther, pursuing them
over the rocks, and as these Canaanites
with spramed ankles and gashed fore
heads retreat the catapults of the sky
pour vollcy Of hailstones into the
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
they will come up some other time and
bother us, and perhaps destroy us"
See, the sun is going down! Oh, for a
longer day than has ever been seen in
this climate What is the matter with
Joshual Has he fallen in an apoplec-
tic fitl No. He is in prayer Look
out when a good man makes the Lord
his ally. Joshua raises his face, radi-
ant with prayer, and looks at the de-
scending SIM over Gideon and at the
faint crescent of the moon, for you
know the queen of the night sometimes
viii linger around the palaces of the
day. Pointing one hand at the de-
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 b. refraction of the
SUMS RAYS or by the stopping of the
whole planetary system do not know
Christian scientists and the inffdel
scientists to settle that question, while |
tell you l have seen the same thing
What" say you, mot the sun stand
ing still" Yes. The same miracle is
performed nowadays. The wicked do
not live out half their day, and the sun
sets at noon. But Jet 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 fearfully white
| am told, as he stood in old Sa Dis
Street church, III Brooklyn, preaching
Christ, and when he stood on the an
riversary platform in New York plead
n4g for the Bible until unusual and nm.
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 Summerfelds
sun set? Did John Summerfield's day
end? Oh, no. He lives on in his |
Christian church.
Robert McCheyne was o consumptive
Presbyterian. 1t was said when he
preached he COACHED SO it seemed as il
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 set? 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-
dlchon upon his country he seemed to
say: Il cannot die now. I want to
I'VE on and on. fwant to start an in
Huehce Tor tho church that VII s,,SIo,ys,.
cease. | am only 30 years or age
Sun of my Christian ministry, stand
still ovar.Scotland. And it stood still.
A long timelago there was q Chris
tan woman, very Nconsecrated, and she
had a drunken husband, and SO on
came the night of d5mesCIc
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 darkness and sor-
row and sickness were ilIumined by the
grace of the gospel, and people came
many miles to see how cheerfully a
Christian could be sick and how cheer
fully n ClnriStinn cn,nII liz ILL., 1900,