Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1893-03-16
TALMAGE IN DETROIT
HE BREACHES AT THE CITY OF THE
STRAITS.

the Children OF Israel, the Text BOlnE
From Joshua iii, 17-An Interesting Dis
course.
DETROIT, March 12.-Rev. Dr. Talmage,
who isl now visiting this city, preachedtto-
day to a large and intensely interested audi
ence in the Fort Street Presbyterian church,
of which Rev. DR.. Radcliffe is pastor, on
on the crossing of the Jordan by the chill
dren of Israel, tie text being from Joshua
iii. Il, And the priests that bare the ark
of the covenant of the Lord stood firm ON
dry ground in the midst of the Jordan, and
all the lsraelites passed over on dry ground,
until all the people were passed clean over
Jordan"
Washington crossed the Delaware when
crossing was pronounced impossible, but he
did it by boat. NerXes crossed the Helles-
pont with 100000 men, but he did it by
bridge. The Israelites crossed the Red sea,
but the same orchestra that celebrated the
delverance of the one army sounded the
strangulation of the other. This JordaniC
passage differs from all. There was no
sacrifice of human lifc--not so much as the
loss of liuchpiu The vanguard of the
host made up of priests, advanced until
they put their foot at the brim of the river,
when immediately the streets of Jerusalem
were no more dry than the bed of that
river IL was as if all the water had been
drawn Oft, and then the dampness had
been soaked up with a sponge, and then by
towel the road had been wiped dry.
Yonder goe, great army of lsraelites,
the hosts in uniform; following them the
wives, the children, the focks, 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 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
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 shelvcd limestone, | 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 sprnkled or plunged; the river
where the aX-the borrowed aX-miracu-
lousy swan at the prophets order; the
river iuustrious in the history of the world
for heroic faith and omnipotent deliver
III your life and mine-scenes enough to
make us, from the sole of the foot to the
crown of the head Jingle with infinite glad
ness.
ON JoRDAN's STORMY BANKS.
Standing on the scene of that affrighted,
fugitive river Jordan, l 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 or knee deep o.
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 con
quered Difficulties but touched vanish. 1t
Is the trouble, the difficulty, the obstacle far
in the distance that seems SO huge and tire
mendous.
The apostles Paul and John seemed to
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 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 re-
treat. Whether that be so or not | cannot
tell, but do know that the vast ma jort y
of the misfortunes and trials and disasters
of your life that 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 Sink and
! cover
| There il beautiful tradition among the
| American Indians that ManitOu was trav-
| al; int I,a inv h 1ay hf
came to barrier of brambles and sharr
thorns, which forbade his going on, and there
was a wild beast glaring at him from the
thcket, but as he determined to go on his
way he did pursue it, and those bramble,
were found to be only phantoms, and that
beast was found to be a powerless ghost
and the impossible river that forbade hin
| rushing to embrace the Yaratida proved tC
be only a phantom river.
We'll, my friends the fact is there are
great many things that look terrible across
our pathway which when we advance upOl
upon them are only the phantoms, only tn,
apparitions, only the decisions of life, DIFF
ficulties touched are conquered. Put you
feet into the brim of the water and Jordan
retreats. You sometimes see great du y
to perform. 1t is a very disagreeable duty
You say; Il can't go through it, | haven
the courage, | haven't the intelligence, t,
go through it Advance upon it, Jordan
will vanish.
always sigh before begin to preach a
the greatness of the undertaking. but Il
soon as start it becomes to me an exhil
aration. And any duty undertaken with
confident spirit becomes pleasure, and tn
higher the duty the higher the pleasure
Difficulties touched are conquered Their
are great many people who are afraid O
death in the future. Good John Living
ston once, on a sloop coming from Eliza
bethport to New York, was dreadful
frightened because he thought he was &c
ing to be drowned as a sudden gust cam
up. People We're surprised at him. If an
man in all the world was ready to die,
was good John Livingston.
So there are now great many good pee
pie who shudder in passing IA graveyard
and they hardly dare think of Canaan be
cause of the Jordan that intervenes, bu
once they are down on a sick bed then a
their fears are gone. The waters of deaf
dashing on the beach are like the mello'
voice of ocean shells-they smell of the blo
SONS of the tree of life. The music of I'll
heavenly choirs comes stealing over the W;