Orange County observer. [volume] (Hillsborough, N.C.) 1880-1918, 1891-01-10
REV. ,tR. TALMAGF
THE BROOKLYN DlVlNES SUN
cay SERMON.

w - t1tb ~ nv DHt " r'tA' v"
~trdet."-Josh. XII, ).
We are encanped tonight in Palestin'
10y the waters Of Merom After a Ion.
imarch We have found our tent- pitched
Jour fires Eindled, and, though lar away
from civilization, q variety Of food thai
would not compromise first class America.
,hotel, for the most Of our caravan starts an
thour and a half earlier IN the morning
I'VE detain only two mules. carrying
20 much Of CUR baggage a. We might ac~I
Mentally reed and q tent for Tue HJOnbav
luncheon. The Inalarias around this Lac
tmerom are 50 poisonous that at any otaef
season Of the year encainpnent here is DegIi
Cus, but this WINTER night the air is tome and
ihealthful. In this nrishborhoo.t Joshua
fought his last great battle. The pattone
had banded themselves together t. crush this
tJoshua, but along The banks Of thee water
iJ Joshua left then carcasses. Indeed II i slime
THAT we more minutelv examine this Joshua
iDf whom We have Ia these discourse. caught
aonly a moMentary glimpse, although lie
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 lawgiter
tic had been buried, only one Person at the
burial, the same Ose who kissed him. But
IOa never takes q man away from any place
of usefulness but he has some one ready
The Lord does dot 90 looking around amid a
great variety a candidates To find someone
Especially fitted for the vacant position. He
snake q man Tor that place. Nose, has
passed of The Stage, and Joshua, the hero,
puts his foot on the platform Of history 50
solidly thai all the ages echo with its trca.
He was IA magnificent fighter, but he
always fought on the right side, aud
hs never fought unless God told
him 10 fight. He got his military equipment
from God, wao gave him the promise at the
start: There shall nCt any man be able to
stand before thee all the days OF thy life
God fulfilled this promise, although Joshua,
first battle was with the spring freshet. ans
the next with "A stone wall. and the mex
leading on d regiment Of whipped rouarlS
and the next battle against darkness, wheel
ing the sun and the moon into his battalion.
and the last against the king of terror..
death five great victories.
This @rst Undertaking of Joshua wa,
greater than the levelin3 Of Fort Pulaski. on
the thunderlDg down of Gibraltar. or the
overthrow ri the Bastile. 1t was the cross
ing OF the Jordan at the time of tho spring
ircshot. ThSsnows of Mount Lebs non had
just been melting, and they poured down in
10 tho valley. and the whole valley was a
raging torrent. So the Guarantees stand on
ono bank, and they look across and see
Joshua and the Israelites, and they laugh
and say, Aha aha they cannot disturb us
IN time anti the ireshets fall, it is impossi
BILE for them 10 reach us" But after a
while they look across the water and they
see a movement III the army Of Joshua.
They say: What the matter now WHY.
there must be a panic among these troops,
and they are going to fly, or perhaps they
are going To try to march across the River
Jordan. Joshua IS a lunatic." But Joshua,
the chiefta, n. looks at his army and cries,
Forward, march aud they start for the
bank Of the Jordan.
One IGlle ahead 30 two priests carrying a
glitterins boz four feet long and two feet
wide. 1T Is ia" ark of the covenant. And
they come down, and no sooner do they Just
touch the RIM OF tie water with their feet
than by an Almighty fiat Jordan parts. The
army of Joshua marches right on without
getting their feet wet over the bottom of the
river, a path of chalk and broken shells and
pebbles, unt.l they get to the other bank.
Then they lav hold Of the oleanders md tam
arishs amt willows and pull themselves up
a bank thru, or forty feet high, and. having
gained the "tre. bank, they clap their shields
and their cymbals ahdsin. the praises of tie
God of Joshua. But no sooner have they
reached the tank than the waters begin to
dash and roar, and "itii a terrific rush they
hreak loose from thsir strange anchorage.
Out yonder thev have stopped, thirty miles
Of distance they halted. On this side the
waters rail IL toward tlcsalt sea.
Isn't as the land Of the Lord God is taken
" = - ANtlt A-I iHiN L alFl -
waters ptraaf ~uptittel half a mile AS the
Almighty i2pi /, taken away those waters
ru-lGr.,n. aIl some of the unbelisving
israoiitr~ say. Mas, alas, what a misfor-
tune Was cau,i rol those waters have
staid parted. l'rean- perhaps We may want
to 50 ta",. @ l.pgi. we are engaged IN a
risky bu-tta. Hose tanaaniteS may eat
rs up. How / w "aa; 10 go back? Would
it not have lsel Il more complete miracle il
the Lord lad parted the waters TO let us
come through and kept them parted To let us
70 hack u Ae ar detected. My friends,
Gctiaa1 no T,r.,i-.,la for q Chlistians re-
treat. He e.tG, tns path all the way to
Canaan. - 80 taaa : TO die. The same
cateLae}El2 thu. SWING hach the amethy>tine
and crvst&Ii.aa gate .f She Jordan 10 let
Israel pass through noW swung shut the anne
tns,t A. and crystalline @ate.
Gut taIs iNuo ttmr ior the host to stop.
Joshua siv,s the command, forward,
march, III is distance there j. n long
grove cs trees. agd At tie end Of the grove
lSa city. iIts Il city OF arhors. a city with
walls seeming 10 reach to the heaven, {
huttrs.s tho very Skv. Ii is the great M"
tropollS that commands tho mountain pass
1t IS Jericho The city WAS atterward cap
tured ny f0npcv, and II was atterward
CAPTURED hy iiernl the Great, and il wa,
afterwari captured by the Mohammetlans
hut tins campaign the Lord plans, There
shall b. no swords, no shields. 10 Natterlng
ram. There snail he only one weapon ot
wal, AMI thata rams iRrn- The horn OF
the sla}ai ram was sometimes taken. anC
holes wers' punefurcd IN il, ami then tn,
musician would put the instrument II hi
ilps. aut ie would run his fingers over thl
rui" musical instrument and makes great
deal OF sweet harmony for the people. Tina
was the onlv Kind of weapon. Seven priest
We're ~ take these rade rustic musical in
.-ruinents, ana they were 10 90 around III
sTt u Nr.f-s -s.aN- fArAA - low - ~ law -