Baxter Springs news. [volume] (Baxter Springs, Kan.) 1882-1919, 1893-03-18
CROSSING JORDAN.
Or. Talmage on tho Surrounding of
Difficulties.
lessons Drawn From tho Children or Israel
Crossing tho Jordan obstacles Vanish
When Touched - Com lcteness OF
Gods work-RIver of Death.

the Crossing of the Jordan by the
Children 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
,nidst Of the Jordan. and all the Israeli
ties passed over on dry ground. until
all the people were passed clean over
gordan." DR.. Talmagc said:
Washington crossed the Delaware
wien crossing was pronounced impos-
sible, but he did it by boat Nerxes
crossed the Hcllespont with two million
NJ men, but he did it by bridge The
gsraelitcs crossed the Red sea, but the
same orchestra that celebrated the de-
livcrancc Of the one army sounded the
strangulation of the other. This Jor-
.danic passage differs from all. There
was no sacrifice of human lifc-not so
much as the loss of linch-pin. The
vanguard of the host, made up of
priests, advanced until they put
tleir foot at the brim of the river, when
immediately the streets of Jerusalem
were no more dry than the bed of the
river. 1t was as if all the water had
been drawn off, and then the dampness
had been soaked up with sponge, and
then by n towel the road had been
wiped dry. Wonder goes great army
of lsraelites, the hosts in uniform: fol-
lowing them the wives, the children,
the fiocls, 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 if, before
they got to the opposite bank of that
iAjalon 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.
Sitting on the shclved limestone. l
look off upon 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 Christ was sprinkled
a. plunged: the river where the AK
the borrowed aX-miraculously swan
nj the prophets order; the river Illus
trious ir. the history of the world~for
the heroic faith and omnipotent deliv-
craucc, and typical scenes yet to trans
pire in your life and mine-scenes
enough 10 make us, from the sole OF the
foot to the crown of the head, Jingle
with infinite g!adness.
Standing on the scene OF that at
frightcd, fugitive river Jordan, learn
for myself and 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 che water with their feet-thc water
parted They did not wade in chin
deep, or waist deep. or knee deep. but
as soon rs their feet touched the water
IL vanished And it makes me think
that almost all the obstacles of life
need only to be approached in order to
be conquered. Difficulties but touched
vanish. 1t is the trouble, the difficulty,
fiie obstacle far in the distance that
seems SO huge and tremendous
The apostles Paul and John seemed
10 dislike cross dogs. for the apostle
Paul tells us in Philippians, beware
of dogs" and John seems to shut the
gate Of Heaven against all canine
species when he says. without are
docs." But have been told that when
Mose animals are furious If they come
ut You, if you will keep your eye on
them and advance upon them, they
will retreat Whsthcr that be so or
not, / cannot tell; but l do know that
he vast majority of the misfortunes
and trials and disasters of your life
6lat hound 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 beautiful tradition among
the American Indians that Manitou
was travelling in the invisible world,
and one day he came to barrier OF
bTamblcs and sharp thorns, which for
bade 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 brambles
were found to be only phantoms, and
that beast was found to be 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 ter
rible across our pathway, which, when
we advance upon them, are only the
phantoms only the appnritions, only
the delusions oflife. Difficulties touched
are conquered.
Railways sigh before begin to preach,
at the greatness of the undertaking,
but as soon as start it becomes to me
an eshileration. And any duty under
taken with confident spirit becomes
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. There are great many good
people who shudder in passing grave