Republican news item. [volume] (Laport, Pa.) 1896-19??, 1900-12-13

| shout: Down, Jericho! Down, Jericho!"
and the long line of solid masonry begins
from under She falls! Crash 90 the
walls and temples, the towers, the pal
| aces, the air blackened with dust
Ihe huzza of the victorious Israelites
and the groan of the conquered Canaan
ties comminge, and Joshua, standing
there in the debris of the walls, hears
voice saying, There shall not any man
be able to stand before thee all the days
of thy life"
Only one house spared Who lives there?
Some great king? No. Some woman dis
tinguished for great, kindly deeds? No.
She had been conspicuous for her crimes
1t is the house of Rahab. Why was her
great sinner? No, but because she re-
pented. demonstrating to all the ages
that there is mercy for the chief of sin.
| ners.
| The red cord of divine injunction reach
| ing from her window to the ground, so
that when the people saw the red cord
| they knew it was the divine indication
ises, making us think of the divine cord
of Saviour's deliverance, the red cord
of a Saviour's kindness, the red cord of
Saviour's mercy, the red cord OF our
rescue. Mercy for the chief of sinners.
| Put your trust in that God, and no dam
age snail De1aH you.
| When our world shall be more terribly
| surrounded than was Jericho. even by the
| trumpets of the judgment day, and the
| hills and the mountains, the metal bones
and ribs of nature. shall break they who
have had Rahab's faith shall have Rahab's
deliverance.
When wrapped in fire the realms of ether
glow
And heavens last thunder shakes the
earth below,
Thou, undismayed, shalt DER the ruins
smile
And light thy torch at natures funeral
pile.
But Joshua's troops may not halt here.
The command is Forward, march," There
is the city of Al 1t must be taken. A
scouting party comes back and says:
Joshua, we can do that without you. 1t
Is going to be very easy job. You must
stay here while we go and capture it."
They march with small regiment in
front of that city. The men of All look at
them and give one yell, and the Israeites
run like reindeer
Look out when a good man makes the
Lord his ally. Joshua raises his face, ra-
diant with prayer, and looks at the des-
cending sun over Gideon, and at the faint
crescent of the moon, for you sSow the
queen of the night sometimes Will linger
uIOuiiu tut DdldCeS OI the uuN. IOlltfllB
one hand at the descending sun and the
other at the faint crescent of the moon,
in the name of that God who shaped the
worlds and moves the worlds he cries,
Sun, stand thou still upon Gibeon, and
thou, moon, in the valley of Ajalon." They
halted. Whether it was by refraction of
the suns rays or by the stopping of the
whole planetary system do not know and
do not care. / leave it to the Christian
Scientists and the infdel scientists to set
tie that question while l tell you | have
seen the same thing. "What!' say you.
mot the sun standing still?" Yes The
same miracle is performed nowadays.
The wicked do not live out half their
day, and their sun sets at noon. But let
a man start out in battle for God and the
truth and against sin, and the day of his
usefulness is prolonged and prolonged anu
prolonged
But Joshua was not quite through.
There was time for five funerals before the
sun of that prolonged day set. Who will
preach their funeral sermon? Massillon
preached the funeral sermon over Louis
WI. Who will preach the funeral SER
mon of those FIVE dead kings-king of
Jerusalem, king of Hebron, king of Jar.
muth. king of Lachish. king of Eglon?
Let it be by Joshua. What is his text?
What shall be the epitaph put on the door
of the tomb? There shall not any man
be able to stand before thee all the days
of thy life
Before you fasten up the door I want
five more kings beheaded and thrust in
King Alcohol. King Fraud. King Lust,
King Superstitition, King Infdelity. Let
them be beheaded and hurl them in. Then
fasten up the door forever
What shall the inscription and what
shall the epitaph be? For all Christian
philanthropists of all ages are going
to come and look at it. What shall the
inscription be? "There shall not any
man be able to stand before thee all the
days of thy life"
But it is time for Joshua to go home
He is ITO years old. Washington went
down the Potomac and at Mount Vernon
closed his days. Wellington died peaceful
ly at Apsley House. Now, where shall
Joshua rest? Why, he is to have his
greatest battle now. After ITO years he
has to meet a king who has more sub
jects than all the present population of
the earth, his throne pyramid OF skulls,
teries of the world. his chariot the worlds
hearse-the king OF terrors. But if this is
Joshua's greatest battle it is going to be
,Ioshua's greatest victory. He gathers his
friends around him and gives his vale
dietory, and it is full of reminiscenee.
Young men tell what they are going to
do: old men tell what they have done. And
grandfather seated by the evening fire
tell of Monmouth or Yorktown and then
lift the crutch or staff as though it were
a musket to fight and show how the old
battles were won, so Joshua gathers his
friends around his dying couch. and he
tells them the story Of what he has been
through. and as he lies there, his white
locks showing down ON his wrinkled fore
head. | ask ii God has kept His promise
all the way through. As he lies there lie
tells the story one. two or three times
YOU have heard old people tell story
two or three times overland he answers.
II go the way Of all the earth. and not
one word OF the promise has failed, noe
one word thereof has failed; al has come
to pass. not one word thersofehas failed"
And then he turns To his family. as a dy-
ing parent will, aud says Choose now
whom YOU will serve the God of Israel or
the God of the Amorites. As for me and
my house. we will serve the Lord" A
dying parent cannot be reckless or
thoughtiess af his children. Consent to