Shenandoah herald. [volume] (Woodstock, Va.) 1865-1974, 1893-03-17
REV. DR.. TALMAGE.
che Eminent Brooklyn Divine's Sun.
cay Sermon.
subject; Crossing the Jordan de-
liyered at Detroit, Mtch,l


crossing was pronounced i'm possible but he
did it by boat. Xerxes crossed the Hell.
lespont with 100000 men, but he di / it by
bridge. The lsraeltes crossed the Red Sea,
but the same orchestra that celebrated the
deliverance Of the one army sounded the
s,rangulation OF the other. This Jordanic
passage differs from all. There was no sac
rifice of human life-not so much as the loss
of linchpin. The vanguard Of the host,
made up of priests. advanced until they put
their foot at the brim Of the river, when inn
mediately the streets of Jerusalem were
no more dry land than the bed of that river.
1t was as il all the water had been drawn of,
and then the dampness had been soaked up
with 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 hocks the herds
The people look no at the crystalline wall
of the Jordan as they pass and think what
an awful disaster would come to them if be-
fore they got to the opposite bank Of that
Ajalon wall that wall should fail on them.
And the thought makes the mothers hug
their children close TO their hearts as they
swiften their pace. Quick nowl Get them
ali up on the banks-the armed warriors,
the wives and children. hocks and herds,
and let this wonderful Jordanic passage be
completed forever.
Sitting on the shelvsd limestone, 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 il
lustrious in the history of the world for he
roic faith and omnipOtent deliverance ami
typical Of scenes yet to transpire in your
life and mine-scenes enough to make us,
from the sole o, the foot to the crown Of the
head, tiugle with infinite gladness.
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 eige Of the water with their feet
the water parted. They did not wade in
chin deep or wa st deep or knee deep or ankle
deep, but as 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 so huge and tremend'
Gus.
The apostles Paul and John seemed to dis.
Ike cross dogs for the apostle Paul tells US
in Philippians, "Beware of dogs" and John
seems to shut the gate Of heaven against all
the canine species when he says. "Without
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 ami
advance upon them they will retreat.
Whether tSat be 50 or not cannot tell, but
| do know that the vast ma 1rity of the 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 advances upon them. and cry,
"Begone," they will stink and cover.
There is beautiful tradition among tbs
American Indians that Manitou was travel
ing in the invisible world, and one day he
came to a barrier Of brambles and sharp
thorns which forbade his going on, ami
there was q wild beast glaring at him from
the thicket, tut as he determined to 60 on
his way he did pursue it. and those BRAN
bles were found to be only phantonS 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 ,ook terrible across
our pathway, which, when weadvance upon
them, are only the phantomS only the APP
par tons, only the decisions OF life. Diff
culties touched are conquered. Put your
feet into the brim of the water, and Jordan
retreats. You sometimes see a great duty
to perform. 1t is avery disagreeable duty.
You say, Il can't 90 through it: / has emit
the courage, haven't the intelligence, to
go through it," Advance upon 1t, Jordan
will vanish
always sigh before begin to preach at
the greatnes o. the untertanng, but as
soon as start it becomes to me an exhara-
ton. And any duty undertaken with a con.
fident spirit becomes a pleasure, and the
higher the duty the higher the pleasure.
Difficulties touched are conquered. There
are great many people who are afraid of
death in the future. Good John Livingston
once. on a sloop coming from Eiizabethport
to New York, was dreddfully frightened be-
cause be thought he was going to be drowned
as sudden gust came up. People were sur
priSed at him. If any man in all the world
was ready to die, 1t was good John Living
ston.
% there are now great many good peo-
ole 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 sick bed, then all
their fears are gone-tbe waters Of death
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 the
waters, AMI to cross now is only a pleasant
sail. How long the boat is comingi Come,
Lord Jesus, come quickly. Christ the Priest
advances ahead, and the dying Christian
goes over dry shod on coral beds and flowers
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 bat climb waere Moses stood
And view the landscape DER,
Not Joldans stream nor deaths cold food
Could fright us from the shore.
Again. this Jordauic passage teaches ma
the completeness Of everything tIat God
does. When God put an invisible dam across
Jordan, and it was halted, it would have
been natural, you would have supposed, for
the water to have overhowed 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, 80 that, &C
,ording to the text, the water halted aud
reared and stood there and not overAowing
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 until
they were only two or three feet deep, the
| Israelites might have marched through it
and have come up on the other bank with
their clothes saturated and their garments
| like those of men coming ashore from ship
wreck. and that would have been as wonder
| tul deliverance, but Col does something
better than that. When the priests feet
touched the waters o. Jordan and they were
| drawn of, they might have thought there
would have been q bed OF mud and slime
through which the army should pass.
Draw of the waters OF the Hudson or the
! Ohio. and there would be good many days,
and perhaps many weeks. before the sedi-
ment would dry up, and yet here in an In
slant, Immediately, God provides a path
through the depths of Jordan. 1t is SO dry
the passengers do not even get their feet
damp. Oh, the completeness OF everything
that God doesl Does He make a universe:
It is a perfect clock, running ever SIEGE ii
was wound 40. the fixed stars tho Diyots' thi
cons. citations the Intervening wheels, an
ponderous laws the weights and mighty
swinging pendulum, tho stars In the greal
dome Of night striking the midnight, ana TINS
sun. with brazen tongue, tolling the hour o
noon.
Inc widest comet hes a chain OF law tna'
| IL cannot break The thistle down hvin-
before ths schoolboy's breath i controle'
by the same law that controls the sun am
the planets. The rosshush in your window
is governed by the same principle uua