The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1891-01-07
REV. DR.. TALMAGE.
THE BROOKLYN DIVINE'S SUN
DAY SERMON.
Subject: "The Waters of Merom."

met together they came and pitched togethe,
at the araters of Meronl to fight against Is
rael."-Josh. XII, 5.
We are encamped tonight in Palestine
by the waters Of Merom. After long
march we have found our tents pitched,
our fires kindled, and, though for away
from civilization, variety OF food that
would not compromise a first class American
hotel, for the most Of our caravan starts an
hour and a half earlier in the morning
We detain only two mules, carrying
60 much Of our baggage as We might acci
dentally need and tent Cor the monday
luncheon. The malarias around this Lake
Merom are so poisonous that at any other
season of the year encampment here is peril.
ous but this winter night the air is tonic and
healthfnl. In this neighborhood Joshua
fought his last great battle. The nations
had banded themselves together to crush this
Joshua, but along the banks Of these waters
Joshua left their carcasses. Indeed it is time
that we more minutely examine this Joshua
of whom we have in these discourses caught
only q momentary glimpse, although he
crossed and recrossed Palestine, and next to
Jesus is the most stirring and mighty charac.
ter whose foot ever touched the Holy Land.
Moses was dead. A beautiful tradition
says the Lord kissed him, and in that act
drew forth the soul of the dying lawgiver.
He had been buried, only one Person at the
burial, the same One who kissed him. But
God never takes man away from any place
of usefulness but he has some one ready.
The Lord does dot 60 looking around amid a
great variety of candidates to find some one
especially fitted for the vacant position. He
makes q man for that place. Moses has
passed off the stage and Joshua, the hero,
puts his foot on the platform Of history so
solidly that all the ages echo with its tread.
He was a magnificent fighter, but he
he never fought unless God told
him to fight He got his military equipment
from God, who gave him the promise at the
start: ''There shall not any man be able to
stand before thee all the days Of thy life"
God fulfilled this promise, although Joshuas
first battle was with the spring freshet, and
the next with a stone wall, and the next
leading on regiment Of whipped towards,
and the next battle against darkness. wheel.
ing the sun and the moon into his battalion,
and the last against the king OF terrors,
death-fve great victories.
greater than the leveling of Fort Pulaski, or
the laundering down Of Gibraltar, or the
overthrow Of the Bastile. It was the cross
ing of the Jordan at the time Of the spring
freshet. The SHOWS Of Mount Lebanon had
Just been melting, and they poured down in.
to the valley, and the whole valley was
raging torrent. SO the Canaanites stand on
one bank, and they look across and see
Joshua and the Israelites, and they laugh
and say, "Aha! aha they cannot disturb us
in time-untl the freshets fall 1t is impossi.
ble for them to reach u.s." But after
while they look across the water and they
see movement in the army Of Joshua.
kof1 ho far
there must be panic, among these troops,
and they ara going to fly, or perhaps they
are going to try to march across the River
Jordan. Joshua is lunatic." But Joshua,
the chieftain, looks at his army and cries,
''Forward, marchw and they start for the
bank Of the Jordan.
One mile ahead 60 two priests Carrying
slittering box four feet long and two feet
wide. It Is the ark Of the convenant. 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 on without
river, path of chalk and broken shells and
pebbles, until they get to the other bank.
Then they lay hold of the oleanders and tam
arisks and willows and pull themselves up
bank thirty or forty feet high, and, having
gained the other bank they clap their shields
and their cymbals and sing the praises Of the
God of Joshua. But no sooner have they
reached the bank than the waters begin to
dash and roar and with terrific rush they
break loose from their strange anchorage.
Out yonder they have stopped, thirty. miles
IF distance they halted. On this side the
waters roll off toward the salt sea.
But as the land Of the Lord God is taken
away from the thus uplifted waters
waters perhaps upiifted half mile-as the
Almighty hand is taken away those waters
rush down, and some of the unbelieving
Israelites say: "Alas, alas, what misfor-
tune! Why could not those waters have
staid parted? Because perhaps we may want
to 60 back. o Lord, we are engaged in a
risky business. Those Canaanites may eat
US up. How if we want to 60 back? Would
it not have been a more complete miracle II
the Lord had parted the waters to let US
come through and kept them parted to let us
go back if we are defeated% My friends,
God makes no provision for Christians re-
treat. He clears the path all the way to
gatekeepers that swing back the amethystine
and crystalline gate OF the Jordan to let
fSrael pass through now swing shut the anne
Hkstine and crystalline gate.
Buc this is no time for the host to stop.
,shuaN gives the command, Forward,
arch ~ In the distance there is long
owe of trSIAses, and at the end Of the grove
a city. ItN a city of arbors, city with
alls seeminp to reach to the heaven, tc
lttress the Yery kSky. It Is the great me
opolis that comma Sds the mountain pass
is Jericho = The city was afterward cap
red b1Gy onpe,, and IL was ifterSarI
Captured by Herod the Great, and it was
afterward captured by the Mohammedans,
hut ,io ion bo Thnre
shall be no swords, no shields, no batterine
ram. There shall be only one weapon OF
war, and that rams horn. The horn OF
the slain ram was sometimes taken. and
holes were punctured in it, and then the
musician would put the instrument to bis
lips and he would run his fingers over this
rude musical instrument and make great
deal Of sweet harmony for the people. That
was the only kind Of weapon. Seven priests
were to take these rude rustic musical in-
struments, and they were to so around the
city every day for six days-once day for
six days and then on the seventh day they
were to go around blowing these rude musical
seven times, and tnen at the
close Of the seventh blowing OF the rams
horns on the seventh day the perorat:on OF
the whole scene was to be a shout at which
those great walls should tumble from cap
stone TO base.
The seven priests with the rule musical
pass all. around the city walls Oh
the first day, and failure. Not so much as
q piece Of plaster broke looss from the well;
not so much as a loosenei rock, not so much
as piece Of mortar lost from its place.
''There." say the unbelieving 1sraelites,
"didn't tell you so? Why, those ministers
aref fools. The idea Of going around the city
with those musical instruments, and expect
ing IN that way to DESTROY it! Joshua has
been spoiled; he thinks because he has over
thrown and destroyed the spring freshet
be can overthrow the stone wall.
Why, it is not philosophic. Don't
you see there is no relation
between the blowing Of these musical instru-
ments and the knocking down of the wall?