The Pickens sentinel. [volume] (Pickens, S.C.) 1871-1903, 1893-03-23
TALMAGE IN DETROIT.
HE BREACHES AT THE CITY OF THE
STRAITS.

DETROIT, March l2.-ltev. DR.. Tai
mage, who is now visiting this city,
preached today to large and intensely
interested audience in the Fort Street
Presbyterian church, of which Rev. DR..
Radcliffe is pastor, on the crossing OF
the Jordan by the children of Isreal, the
text being from Joshua iii, II, "And
the priests that bare the ark Of the cove
nant of the Lord stood firm on the dry
ground in the midst of the Jordan, ard
all the Isrealites passed over on dry
ground, until all the people were passed
clean over Jordan"
Washington crossed the Delaware
when crossing was pronounced impossi.
BILE, but he did it in a boat. XerXcs
crossed the Hellcspont with 100000
men, but he did it by a bridge. The Is
realities crossed the Red sea, but the
same orchestra that celebrated the de-
liVerance OF the one army sounded the
strangulaton of the other. This Jor-
danic passage differs from all. There
WAS no sacrifice of human lilc-not 80
much as the loss OF q lnChpin. The
vanguard of tho host, made up of priests
advanced until they put their foot at the
brim fthc river, wien Immediately the
streets of Jerusalem were no more dry
than the bed Of that river. II was as
If all tie water had been drawn of, and
then the dampness had been soaked up
with sponge and then by towel tho
road had been wiped dry.
Yonder goes great army Of IsrCal-
ties, the hosts in uniform; following
N WI al,
the herds. The people look up at the
crystalline wall OF the Jordan as they
pass and think what an awful disaster
would come 10 them il before they got
to the opposite bank Of that Ajalon wall
that wall should tall on them, and the
thought makes the mothers hug their
children close to their hearts as they
swiitcn their pace. Qu!ck, now: get
them all up on the banks, the armed
warriors, the wives and children, nocks
and herds, and let This wonderful Jor-
danic passage be completed forever.
Sitting on tic shclvcd limestone, |
look of upon that Jordan where Joshua
crossed under the triumphnl arch of the
rainbow woven out Of The spray. the
rive which afLerward became the bap-
tistry where Christ was sprinkled or
plunged; the river where The aX--thc
borrowed aX-miraCulOusly swan al
tie prophets order; the river illustrouS
in the history Of The world for heroi,
and omnipotcnt dcliverancc and typica
OF scenes yet to transpirc in your life am
mine-sCcnes enough to make us, from
the sole of the loot to the crown OF tn
head Jingle with infinite yladncsG.
Standing on the scene Of that ailrimht
ed fugitive river Jordan, learn i0rmyScI
and Tor you, first, that obstacles who
they are touChcd vanish. The text say
that when these priests came down an
touched the WatCr-thG edge Of tho wa
ter with their icet--thc water parted
They did not wade in chin dccp @
waist deep or knee deep or ankle dccl
but as soon as their icet touched tn
water it vanished. And il makes NJ
think that almost all the obstacles c
be conquered. Difficulties but t0uchc,
vanish. 1t is the trouble, the difficulty
the obstacle far in the distance tha
seems so huge and tremendous.
The apostles Paul and John seems tC
dislike cross dogs, the apostle Paul tells
us in philippians, "BCwarc Of dogsn'
and John seems to shut the cate of
heaven against all the canine species
when he says, "Wlthout are dogs. -
But have been tod 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 this be 80 or not cannot tell
but l do know that the vast maioriiy Of
the misiOrLuncs and trials and disasters
Of your hie that hound your steps, If
you can only get your eye on them and
keep your eycOn them, and advance up
on them, and cry, "Bcgonew they will
stink and cover.
There is beautiful tradition among
the American Indians that Manitou
was travelling III the invisible world
and one day he came to a barrier OF
bramblcs and sharp thorns, which for
bade his going on, and there was wild
beast elaring at him from the thlckct,
but as he determined to 80 on his way
he did pursue it, and those bramblcs
were found to be only phantoms, and
that beast was found to be a powerless
ghost, ard the impassablc river that
forbade him rushing to embrace the
Yaratllda proved to be only a phantom
river.
Well, my friends, the fact is there arc
great many things that look terrible
across our pathway which when VIC adj
vance upon them are only the phan-
toms, only the apparitions, only the
delusions of life. Difficulties touchcd d
are conquered. Put your feet into the
brim OF the water and Jordan retreats.
You sometimes see a great duty to
perform. It's very dsagreeable duty
You say: 81 can't go through it. |
haven't the courage, 1 haven't the in
telligence to go through it," Advance
upon it, Jordan will vanish.
always sight before begin to preach
at the greatness Of the undertaking., but
as soon as start it becomes to me an
exhilaration. And any duty undertaken
with confident spirit becomes a pleas
ure, and the higher the duty the higher
the pleasure. Difficulties touched arc
conquered. There are O great many
people who are afraid of death in the
future. Good John Livingston once, on
sloop coming from Elizabethport to
New York, was dreadlully frightened