The Londonderry sifter. (South Londonderry, Vt.) 1883-19??, 1890-02-20
REV: DIR. TALMAGE.
THE BROOKLYN DIvINE's SUN,
DAY SERMON.
Subject. eThe House on the Wall"

TEXT "And the young men that ,cere
spies tcent IN, and brought ont Rahab and
her father, and her mother and her breth-
rem, and all that she had, n-Joshua vi, 30.
An enthusiastic welcome was given to
Dr.. Talmage in the Brooklyn Academy Of
Music when he preached his first sermon
after his return from the Holy Land. Every |
seat was occupied, and all standing room,
even the space on the stage behind the
preacher, was filled The two opening hymns
were "Blest Be the Tie That Binds and
Land Ahead" Before he began preach
ing, DR.. Talmage told his people |
his church which was burned he expressed his |
great pleasure that the new walls were al |
ready rising. The subject of the sermon was
THE House on the Wall" The preacher |
said;
When, only few weeks ago, l visited
Jericho, l said: Can it be possible that this
dilapidated place is Jericho that Mark
Antony gave as wedding present to Cleo
patra? Where are the groves of palm
treesY Where are Herod's palaces that once
stood here? Where is the great theatre from
the stage of which Salome told the people
that Herod was deadP Where is the
sycamore tree on the limb of which
Zaccheus sat when Jesus passed this place?
Where is the wreck of the walls that fell at
the blowing of the rams horns2 But the fact
that all these have disappeared did not hinder
me from seeing in imagination the smash OF
everything on the fated day, save one house
on the wall That scene centuries ago comes
back to me as though it were yesterday.
There is a very sick and sad house in the
city Of Jericho, What is the matter? Is it
poverty? No, Worse than that. Is it
leprosyP No Worse than that Is it death?
No. Worse than that. A daughter has for
saken her home. By what Internal plot she
was induced to leave know not; but they
look in vain for her return. Sometimes they
hear afootstep very much like hers, and they
start up and say: ''She comesp but only to
sink back again into disappointment. That
is the first scene in this drama of the Bible.
In a house on the wall of the city is that
daughter. That is her home now. Two spies
have come from the invading army to look
around through Jericho and see how best it
may be taken. Yonder is the lost child in
that dwelling on the wall Of the city.
First, Rahab-for that was the name of the
lost child-first, Rahab secretes the two spies
and gets their pursuers off the track; but
after awhile she says to them: II will make
bargain with you, will save your life if
) you will save my life, and the life of my
| father and my mother and my brothers and
my sisters when the victorious army comes
| upon the city, Oh, she had not forgotten
her home yet, you see. The wanderer never
forgets home
No sooner have the men united the scarlet
| cord from their bodies than they look up and
they say; "You had better get all your
friends in this house-your father, your
mother, your brothers and your sisters; you
| had better get them in this house. And,
then, after you have them here, take this
red cord which you have put around our
bodies and tie it across the window; and
when our victorious army comes up, and
sees that scarlet thread in the window, they
! will this hpuca and all who
are in it. Shall it be SOP cried the
spies "Aye, aye" said Rahab from the win
/ dow, sit shall be sou That is the second
scene in this Bible drama There is knock
at the door of the old man. He looks up, and
says: Come in" and 10! there is Rahab,
the lost child but she has no time to talk.
They gather in excitement around her, and
she says to them. Get ready quickly, and
go with me to my house. The army is COM
ing! The trumpet! Make haste! Fly!
The enemyn That is the third scene in this
Bible drama.
The hosts of Israel are all around about
the doomed city of Jericho Crash goes the
great metropolis, heaps on heaps. The air
suffocating with the dust, and horrible with
the screams Of dying city. All the houses
fat down. All the people dead All, no. no.
On crag of the wall-the only piece of the
wall left standing-there is a house which we
must enter. There is family there that
nave Deen spared. w 10 are tney! Leu US ~
and see Rahab her father, her mother, her
brothers. her sisters all safe, and the only
house left standing in all the city What
saved theml Can you tell me why? 0, it was
the scarlet line in the window. That is the
fourth scene in this Bible drama
My friends, there are foes coming upon us,
more deadly and more tremendous, to over
throw our immortal interests They will
trample us down and crush us out forever,
unless there be some 1skilful mode of rescue
open.
In the first place, carrying out the idea of
my text, we must stretch this scarlet cord
across the window of our rescue. There
comes q time when a man is surrounded.
What is that in the front door of his soul? 1t
is the threatenings of the future. What is
that in the back door of his soul? 1t is the
sins Of the past. He cannot get out of either
of those doorways. If he attempts it he will
be cut to pieces What shall he do? Escape
through the window of Gods mercy. That
sunshine has been pouring in for many day
Gods inviting mercy. Gods pardoning
mercy. Gods all conquering mercy. GODS
everlasting mercy.
It is easy to get into sin. young man. 1t
is not so easy to get out of it. A young man
goes to the marble counter of hotel He
asks for brandy smash--called SO, ! sup.
pose, because it smashes the man that takes
It, There is no intoxication in it. As the
young man receives it he does not seem to
be at all excited 1t does not give any glossi-
ness to the eye. He walks home in beauti
full apparel, and all his prospects
are brilliant. That drink is not going
to destroy him, but it is the first step on a
bad road Years have passed on, and I see
that young man after he has gone the whole
length OF dissipation 1t is midnight, and he
took the first drink. A deirium is upon
him. He rises from the bed and comes to
the window, and it is easily lifted; so
he lifts it. Then he pushes back
the blinds and puts his foot on the
window sill. Then he gives one spring,
and the Waterman finds his disfgured body,
unrecognizable, on the pavement. 0, if he
had only waited a little-if he had come
down on the scarlet ladder that Jesus holds
from the wall for him. and for you, and for
me; but no, he made one jump, and was
gone.
Still further: We must take this red cord
of the text and stretch it across the window
of our households. When the Israelitish
army came up against Jericho they said:
What is that in the windowg' Some one
said: THAT is a scarlet line" "Oh" said
some one else, shat must be the house that
was to be spared. Don't touch it." That
line was thick enough, and long enough and
father, her mother, her brothers and
her sisters-the entire family. Have our
households as good protection? Have your
children been consecrated to Christ? Have
you been washed III the blood of the atone
ment? In what room do you have family
prayers. Show me where it is you are ac-
customed to kneel. The sky is black with
the coming deluge Is your family inside or
outside Of the ark? 1t is sad thing for
man to reject Christ; but to lie down in the
night of sin, across the path to heaven, so
that his family come up and trip over
hini-that is terrific. 1t is sad
thing for a mother to reject Christ
but to gather her family around her,
and then take them by the hand and lead
them out into paths of worldhness, away
from God and Heaven. Alas alas! you
owe to your children, oh, father, oh, mother,
more than food, more than clothing,
more than shelter-you owe them, the exam
pie of prayerful, consecrated, pronounced.
out-and- out Christian life. You cannot
afford to keep it away from them.
Now, as stand here, you do not see any
hands outstretched toward me, and yet there
are hands ON my brow and hands on both my
shoulders. They are hands of parental bene-