The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1891-01-07
ohom And tho lony lima of solid masonry

the walls, Gne UeulpleS, tue VomoiS, puo R.af'
aces the air blackened with the dust! The
huzza of the victorious Israelites and the
groan Of the conquered Canaanites con-
mingle, and Joshua standing there in the
debris Of the wall hears a voice saying,
s'There shall not any man be able to stand
before thee all the days Of thy life."
ONLY one house spared. Who lives there?
Some great king? No, Some woman dis
tisguished for great kindly deeds3 No. She
had been conspicuous for her crimes. 1t ls
the house of Rahab. Why was her house
spared2 Because she had been great sin
ner? No, but because she repented,. demon
stratinr to all the ages that there is mercy
for the chief of sinners. The red cord OF di
vine Injunction reaching from ner WINDOW z
the ground, 80 that when the people sa"
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
Savour's deliverance, the red cora OF
Saviour's kindness, the red cord OF
Saviour's mercy, tho red cord OF our rescue:
Mercy for the chief OF sinners. Put your truso
in that God, and no damage shall bcfall you.
When our world shall be more terribly sur
rounded than was Jericho, even by the trum.
pets of the Judgment day, and the hills and
the mountains, the metal bones and RIBS OF
nature shall break, they who have had Ra-
hab's faith shall have Rahab's deliverance.
But Joshua's troops may not halt here.
The command is, Forward, march" There
is the CITY OF Al; it must be taken. How
shall it be taken? A scouting party Gomez
back and enys. "Joshua. We can do thai
without you; it is going to be O vory easy
Job; you just stay here while We go and
capture it," They march with q small regi.
1nent in front of the city. The men of All
look at them and give one yell. and the is.
raelites run like reindeer. The Northern
troops al Bull Run did not make such rapid
time as these Israelites with the .CanaaniteT
after them. They never cut such a sorry
figure as when they we're on the retreat:
Anybody that goes out in the battles OF
God with only half q force, instead OF
your taking the men Of Al, the men Of Al
will take you. Look ut the church of God
on the retreat. The Bornesian cannibals ate
up Munson, the missionary. "Fall back"
said great many Christian people. "Fall
back, church of God! Borneo will never be
taken. Don't you see the Bornesian ranni::
balls have'eaten up Munson, the missionaryf
Tyndall delivers his lecture at the University
OF Glasgow, and great many good people
say: "Fall back. o church OF Godl Don't
you see that Christian philosophy is going
to be overcome by worldly philosophy? Fall
backI" Geology plunges it's crowbar into
the mountains, and there are great many
peo pie who say: Scientific investigation ia
going to overthrow the Mosaic account OF
the creation. Fall back!" Friends OF the
church have never had any right to tall
back.
Joshua falls on bis face in chagrin. Il is
the only time you ever see the back OF his
head. he falls on his face and begins to
whine, and he says: ooh, Lord God, where
fore hast thou at all brought this people
over Jordan to deliver US into the hand OF
the Amorites to destroy MS? Would to God
we had been content and dwet on the
other side OF Jordan. For the Canaanites
and oil the inhabitants Of the land shall
hear Of it, and shall environ as round and
cut off our name from the earth"
God comes and rouses him. How does he
No. BE says: "Get thee up. Wherefore lest
thou upon thy face?' Joshua rises, and I
warrant you with mortified look, but his
old courage comes back. The fact was that
was not his battle. II he had been in it no
would have gone on to victory. He gathers
his troops around him and says, Now, let
Id 20 up and capture the city of All; let US
go up right away" ;.
They march on. he puts the majority OF
the troops behind ledge of rocks in the
night, and then hc sends comparatively
small regiments up in front Of the city. The
men of Al come out with a shout. The
small regiments OF Israelites in stratagem
fall back and fall back, and when all the men
OF Al have left the city and are in pursuit OF
these scattered, or seemingly scattered
regiments, Joshua stands on a rock-I see
his locks flying in the wind as he points
his spear towards the doomed city, and that
is the signal. The men rush out from be.
hind che rocks and take the city, and it is
put to the torch, and then these 1sraeites
in the city march down, and the flying regi-
ments of Israelites return, end between these
two waves of Israelitish prowess the men OF
Al ore DESTROYED, and tho Israelites gain the
victory. And while see the curling smoke
of that destroyed city on the sky, and while
I hear tho huzza of the Israelites, and the
groan of the Canaanites, Joshua hears
something louder than it all, ringing and
echoing through his soul. There shall not
any man be able to stand before thee all the
days fthy life."
But this is no place for the host of Joshua
to stop. Forward, march," cries Joshua
to the troops. There is the city of Gibeon
1t has put itself under the protection OF
Joshua. They sent word. "There are five
kings after 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. There are
two long lines of battle. The battle opens
with great slaughter, but the Canaanites
coon discover something. 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
a retreat, and as they begin to retreat j Joshua
and his host spring upon them like
panther, pursuing them over the rocks; and
as these Canaanites with sprained ankles
and eashed foreheeds retreat, the eatapults
of the sky pour voley of hailstones into the
valley, and all the artillery of the heaveps
with bullets of iron pound the Canaanites
ssSsihsj the fedges o. Beth.horon.
"Oh!" says Joshua, "this is surely n vic
tory" "But do you not see the sun is gong
down? Those Amorites are going to get =,
away after all, md then they will come UPS
SOME other time and bother US, and perheps9
DESTROY u.s." See, the sun is going down.,
Oh, for q longer day than has ever been SEEM
ia this clmate What is the matter withs;;
Joshua? Has he fallen in an apopectic tit?
No. He is in prayer. Look out when good
man makes the Lord his ally. Joshua
raises his face, radiant with prayer, and
looks at the descending sun over Gioeon and
at the faint crescent of the moon, for you
know the queen of the night sometimes Will
linger around the palaces Of the day. Point
ing one hand ut the descending sun and the
other at the faint crescent of the moon, ih
the name of that God who shaped the
worlds apd moves the worlds, he cries:
"Sun, stand thou still upon Gideon; and
thou moon, in the valley of Ajalon." They
halted.
Whether it was by refraction of the suns
avs or by the stopping of the whole plan
tary system I do not know and do not
are. leave it to the Christian scientists
md the infIdel scientistg to aettle that nups-