Milford chronicle., 1893-03-17
TALMAGE IN DETROIT
HE breaches AT THE CITY OF THE
STRAITS.

A Sermon on the Crossing of the Jordan by
the Children Of Israel, the Text Being
Erom Joshua iii. I7-An Interesting Dis
course.
DETROIT, March 12.-Rev. DR.. Talmage,
who isl now visiting this city, preachedito-
day to a large and intensely interested audi
ence in the Fort Street Presbyterian church,
of which Rev DR.. Radcliffe is pastor, on
on the crossing of the Jordan by the chill
dren of Israel. the text being from Joshua
iii, II, "And the priests that bare the ark
Of the covenant OF the Lord stood firm on
dry ground in the midst of the Jordan, and
ali the Israelites passed over on dry ground,
until all the people were passed clean over
Jordan"
Washington crossed the Delaware when
crossing was pronounced impossible, but he
did it by boat. Xerxes crossed the Helles-
pout with 100000 men, but he did 1t by
bridge. The Israelites crossed the Rcd sea,
but the same orchestra that celebrated the
deliverance of the one army sounded the
stranoulatiou of the other This JOrdanic
massage differs from all. There was no
sacrifice of human life-not so much as the
loss of a linchpin. The vanguard Of the
host, made up of priests, advanced until
they put their foot at the brim of the river,
when Immediately the streets Of Jerusalem
were no more dry than the bed of that
river. It was as if all the water had been
drawn off, and then the dampness had
been soaked up with a sponge, and then by
a towel the road had been wiped dry.
Yonder goes a great army Of Israelites,
the hosts in uniform; following them the
wives, the children, the flocks, the herds.
The people look up at the crystalline wall OF
| the Jordan as they pass and think what an
awful disaster would come to them II be-
fore they got 10 the opposite bank OF that
AiaIon wall that wall should fall on them,
and the thought makes the mothers mug
their children close to their hearts as they
swiften their pace. Quick, now; get them
all uD on the banks, the armed warriors,
the wives and children, focks and herds,
and let this wonderful Jordanic passage be
completed forever.
Sitting on the shelved limestone, look
off upop that Jordan where Joshua crossed
under the triumphal arch Of the rainbow
woven out of the spray; the river which
afterward became the baptistry where
I Christ was sprnkled or plunged; the river
where the ax-the borrowed ax-miracu-
| lously swan at the prophets orderi the
river illustrious in the history of the world
/ for heroic faith and omnipotent deliver
ance and typical of scenes yet to transpire
| in your life and mine-scenes enough to
make us, from the sole of the foot to the
crown of the head, tingle with infinite glad
ness.
ON JORDAN's STORMY BANKS.
Standing on the scene of that affrighted,
fugitive river Jordan, learn for myself
| and for you, first, that obstacles when they
are touched vanish. The text says that
when these priests came down and touched
the water-the edge of the water with their
feet-the water parted They did not wade
| in chin deep or waist deep or knee deep o.
ankle deep, but rs soon as their feet touched
the water it vanished. And it makes me
think that almost all the obstacles OF life
need only be approached in order to be con-
0uered. Difficulties but touched vanish. IL
is the trouble, the difficulty, the obstacle far
in the distance that seems SO huge ana ire
mendous.
The apostles Paul and John seemed to
dislike cross dogs, for the apostle Paul tells
us in Philippians, Beware OF dogs!' ana
John seems to shut the gate of heaven
against all the canine species when he says,
''Nitbout are dogs" But / have been told
that when those animals are furious, if they
come at you. if you will keep your eye on
them and advance upon them they will re-
treat. Whether that be so or not / cannot
| tell. but do know that the vast majority
of the misfortunCs and trials and disasters
of YOUR life that hound your steps, if you
can only get your eye on them, and keep
YOUR eve on them, and advance upon them,
and cry, "Begonep' they will stink and
cover.
There is a beautiful tradition among the
| American Indians that ManitOu was trav-
cling in the invisible world, and one day he
came to a barrier of brambles and sharp
thorns, which forbade his going OF, and there
was a wild beast glaring at him from the
thickpt, but as he determined to go on his
way he did pursue it, and those brambles
were found to DC only phantoms, and that
beast was found to be a powerless ghost,
and the impossible river that forbade him
rushing to embrace the Yaratilda proved to
be only phantom river
Well. my friends, the fact is there are a
great many things that look terrible across
our pathway which when we advance upon
upon them are only the phantoms, only tie
apparitions, only the deiusOns OF life. Llf-
fculties touched are conquered. Put your
feet into the brim of the water and JoTdon
retreats. You sometimes see great du.y
TO perform. 1t is II very disagreeable duty.
You say: II can't go through it. haven't
the courage, haven't the intelligence, 20
20 through it," Advance upon it, Jordan
will vanish.
l always sigh before begin to preach at
the greatness Of the undertaking, but as
soon as l start it becomes to me an eXhil-
aration. And any duty undertaken with a
confident spirit becomes 4 pleasure, and the
higher the duty the higher the pleasure.
Difficulties touched are conquered. There
are n great many people who are afraid OF
death in the future Coed John Living
ston once, On a sloop coming from Eliza
bethport to New York, was dreadfully
frightened because he thought he was go
ing to be drowned rs "A sudden gust came
up. People were surprised at him. Ii any
man in all the world was ready to die, 1t
was good John Livingston.
So there are now II great many good peo-
pie who shudder in passing a graveyard,
and they hardly dare think Of Canaan be
cause of the Jordan that intervenes, but
once they are down on a sick bed then all
their fears are gone. The waters of death
deshing on the beach are like the mellow
voice of ocean shells-they smell of the bios
SONS of the tree of life. The music Of the
heavenly choirs comes stealing over the wa
ters, and to cross now is only pleasant
sail. How long the boat is comingi Come,
Lord Jesus; come quickly! Christ the
Priest advances ahead, and the dying Chris
tian goes over dry shod on coral beds and
flowers of heaven and paths Of pearl.
Ii Oh, could we make our doubts remove