Fisherman & farmer. [volume] (Edenton, N.C.) 1887-19??, 1893-03-24
REV. DIR. TALMAGE.
THE BROOKLYN DIvINES sun
DAY SERMON.
Subject: "Crossing the JORDAN.
delivered at Detroit, MichJ

TEXT: And the priests that bare the ARK
of the covenant of the Lord stood firm on
dru ground in the midst of ne JORDAN,
and all the LsraeIites passed Deer ON dT1
ground. until all the people tcere passed
clean ocer Jordan."-Joshua iii, II.
Washington crossed the Delaware when
crossing was pronounced i'm possible, but he
did it by boat. Xerxes crossed the Hell.
lespont with 90, 600 men, but he di it by
bridge The ISraelites crossed the Red Sea,
but the same orchestra that celebrated the
deliverauce of the one army sounded the
strangulation OF the other. This Jordanlc
passage differs from all. There was no sac
rifice of human life-not so much as the loss
of lnchpin. The vanguard of the host,
made up 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 off,
and then the dampness had been soaked up
with sponge, and then by towel the road
had been wiped dry.
Yonder goes great army of Israeltes-
the hosts in uniform. Following them the
wives, the children, the fiocks, the herds.
The people look up at the crystalline wall
of the Jordan they pass and think what
an awful disaster would come to them if be-
fore they got to the opposite bank OF that
A1alon wall that wall should fall on them
And the thought makes the mothers hug
their children close to their hearts as they
swiften their pace. Quick, now! Get them
all up 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
upon that Jordan where Joshua crossed IN
der the triunlphal 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
-l@,,1
swan at the prophets order; the river il
lustrious in the history of the world for he
roic faith and omnipotent deliverance and
typical of scenes yet to transpire in your
life and mine-scenes enough to make u.s.
from the sole of the foot to the crown of the
head Jingle 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 edge of the water with their feet
the water parted. They did not wade in
chin deep or waist deep 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. It 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
like 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 and
advance upon them they will retreat
Whether that be so or not cannot tell, but
do know that the vast majority of the mis-
fortunes and trials and disasters of your life
that hounds your steps, if you can only get
your eye on them, and keep your eye on
them, and advance upon them. and cry,
"Begone," they will stink and cover.
There is a beautiful tradition among the
American Indians that Manitou. was travel
ing in the invisible world, and one day he
came to barrier of brambles and sharp
thorns which forbade his going on, and
there was wild beast glaring at him from
the thicket, but as he determined to go on
his way he did pursue it, and those bram-
bles were found to be 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
great many things that look terrible across
our pathway, which, when we advance upon
them, are only the phantoms, only the ap-
partitions, only the delusions OF life. Diff
culties touched are conquered. Put your
feet into the brln OF the water, and Jordan
retreats. You sometimes see a great duty
to perform. 1t is very disagreeable duty
You say, II can't go through it: I haven't
the courage, l haven't the intelligence, to
go through it," Advance upon 1t, Jordan
will vanish
always sigh before 1 begin to preach at
the greatness OF the undertaking. but as
soon as start it becomes to me an exhilara-
ton. And any duty undertaken with con.
tident 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 Elizabethport
to New York, was dreadfully 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 ell the world
was ready to die, 1t was good John Living
Ston.
30 there are now a 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 sick bed, then all
their fears are gone-the waters of death
dashing on the beach are like the mellow
SONS of the tree of life. The music of the
heavenly choirs comes stealing over the
waters, and to cross now is only a pleasant
sail. How long the boat is coming! 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 eyes!
Could we but climb where Moses stood
And view the landscape DER,
Not Jordan's stream nor deaths cold flood
Could fright US from the shore.
Again, this Jordanic passage teaches me
the condolences of evervthinp thot Ga