Highland recorder. (Monterey, Highland County, Va.) 1877-1972, 1893-03-24
REV. DIR. 7ALMAGB.
III Eminent Brooklyn Divino's Sun.
day Sermon.
enhiccE "Crcssing tho Jordan" Oe-
Nvorcd at Detroit, Mich.l

TEXT: "And the priests thot bare The arb
of the covenant of the Lord stood firm on
dru ground in the midst of the Jordnn.
and all the Israelites passed ouer ON airy
ground, until all the people sUere paSSea
clean over Jordan. "-Joshua iii, H.
Washington crossed the Delaware when
crossing was pronounced i'm possible, but ne
did it by boat. Xerxes crossed the Hell
Iespont with 2. 010 0GO men, but he di it by
bridge. The Israelites crossed the Rad Sea,
but the same orchestra that celebrated the
deliverance of the one army sounded the
straneulation of the other. This Jordanlc
passage differs from all. There was no sac
ri6ce of human life-not so much as the loss
of linchpin. The vanguard of the host
madeup Of priests. advanced until they put
their foot at the brim of the river, when I'M
mediately the streets OF Jerusalem were
no more dry land than the bed OF that river.
It was as if all the water had been drawn OH,
and then the dampness had been soaKefn M
with sponge, ana then oy 4 Co"e' CAe ioao
had been wiped dry.
Yonder goes great army OF lsraelltes-
the hosts in uniform. Following them the
wives, the children, the hocks, the herds.
The people look 10 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 to the opposite bank OF that
Aialon wall that wall should fall on them.
And the thought makes the mothers hug
their children close to their hearts as they
switch their pace. Quick, nowl Get them
all up on the banks-the armed warriors,
the wives and children. flocks and herds
and let this wonderful Jordanic passage be
completed forever.
Sitting on the shelved limestone, l look off
upon that Jordan where Joshua crossed un-
der the triumphal arch of the rainbow
woven out of the spray; the river which af-
forwards became the baptistry where Christ
was sprinkled or plunged; the river where
the ax-the borrowed ax-miraculously
swan at the prophets order; the river lie
Iustrious in the history OF the world for he
roic faith and omnipOtent deliverancs ami
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 gladness.
Standing on the scene OF that affrigated,
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 wa st deep OF knee deep or ankle
deep. but al 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 conquered.
Difficulties but touched vanish. 1t is the
trouble, the difficulty, the obstacle far in the
distance, that seems 60 huge and tremend'
GUS.
The apostles Paul and John seemed to dis.
like cross dogs for the apostle Paul tells US
h Philippians, "Beware Of Dogs and John
seems to shut the gate of heaven against all
the canine species when he says, "Witlout
are dogs" But have bsen told that whe1
those animals are furious, if they come at
you, if you will keep your eye on them and
advance upon them they will retreat.
Whether tuat be SO or not cannot tell, but
/ do know that the vast maj ority of tho mis-
fortunes and trials and disasters of your life
that hounds your steps, il you can only get
your eye on them, and keep your eye on
them, and advance upon them. and cry,
stBegone," they will sink and cover.
There is a beautiful tradition among the
American Indians that Manitou was travel
ing in the invisible world, ami one day he
came to a barrier OF brambles and sharp
thorns which forbade his going on, and
there was wild beast glaring at him from
the thicket, ut as he determined to 60 on
his way he did pursue it, and those bram-
bies were lou ID to be only phauto.ns and
that beast was found to be a powerless
ghost, and the impassbl river that forbade
proved to be only phantom river.
Well, my riends, the fact is there are a
great many things that ok terrible across
our pathway, which, when we vance upon
them, are only the phantoms, only the ap-
par tons, only the decisions OF life. Diff
culties touched are conquered. Put your
feet into the brim of the water, ami Jordan
retreats. You sometimes see great duty
to perform. 1t is very disagreeable duty.
You say, II can't go through it: haven't
the courage, l haven't the intelligence, to
go through it." Advance upon 1t, Jordan
will vanish.
always sigh before begin to preach at
the greatness o. the un lertazlng, but as
soon as start it becomes to me an exhiIara-
ton. An any duty undertaken with con.
fdent spirit becomes a pleasure, and the
higher the duty the higher the pleasure.
Difficulties touched are conquereI There
are great many people VINO are afraid OF
death In the future. Good John Lvln gston
once. on sloop coming from EiIzaoethport
to New York, was dreadtully frightened be-
cause be thou ght ne was going to be drowned
as sudden gust came up. People were sur
prised at him. If any man i'll al the worlC
was ready to die, 1t was good John Living
ston.
20 there are now great many good PEG
pie who shudder in passing a graveyard,
cause OF the Jordan that intervenes. Blu
once they are down on sick bed, then all
their fears are gone-the waters OF dealt
dashing 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 tn,
waters. AMI to cross now is only a pleasant
sail. How long the boat is comingl Come
Lord Jesus. come quickly. Christ the Prizes
advances ahead, and the dying Christian
goes over dry shod on coral beds and flower:
Of heaven and paths of pearl.
Oh, could we make our doubts remove
These gloomy doubts that rise
And view the Canaan that we love
With unbeclOuded eyesl
Could we but climb where Moses stood
And view the landscape DER
Not Joi dams stream nor deaths cold flood
Could fright us from the shore.
Again. this Jordanic passage teaches me
the completeness of everything tat Coz
does. When God put an invisible dam across
Jordan, and it was halted it would have
been natural, you would have supposed, fol
the water to have OVERLOOKED the region all
around about, and that great devastation
would have taken place, but when God put
the dam in front of the river He put dam
on the other side of the river, so that, ac-
sording to the text the water halted auc
reared and stood there and not overfowing
the surrounding country. Oh, the complete
ness OF everything that God does
One would have thought that, il the
waters OF the jordan had dropped unit
they were only two or three feet deep, tn,
lsraelites might have marched through i
and have come up on the other bank Will
their clothes saturated and their garments
like those of men coming ashore from ship
wreck, and that would have been as wonder
81 Aoli.zo.:ar...c h,,t Cd doc. athi.,c