The Iola register. [volume] (Iola, Allen County, Kansas) 1875-1902, 1900-04-13
VICTORY IN RETREAT
DR.. Talmage Gives Suggestions as
to Christian Warfare.
Joshun's Plan of Ambuscade cited as
. Successful Method of Flight
ing UnrighteOusness-S
Triumph Brief.
copyright, 1900. by Louis Klopsch.l
Washington April g.

From an old-time battle scene DR..
Talmage in this discourse makes some
startling suggestions as to the best
STYLES of Christian work and points out
the reason of so many pious failures;
text, Joshua SCI: "Then shall We rise
up from the ambush and seize upon
the city"
One Sabbath evening, with my family
around me. we were talking over the
scene of the text. In the wide open
eyes and the quick interrogations ana
the blanched cheeks realized whata
thrilling drama it was. There is the
old city, shorter 10y name than any
other city in the ages, spelled with two
letters, A, /, Al. Joshua and his men
want to take it. How to do it is the
question On former occasion, in
straightforward face to face fight,
they had been defeated, but now they
are going to take it by ambuscade. Gen.
Joshua has two divisions in his army.
The one division the battle-worn COM
mander will lead himself, the other di-
vision he sends off to encamp in an am
bush on the west side of the city OF
All. No torches. no lanterns, no sound
of heavy battalions but 10000 swarthy
warriors moving in silence, speaking
only in n whisper; no clicking OF
swords against shields. lest the watch
men of All discover it and the stratagem
be failure. If the roisterin% soldier
in the Israelitsh army forgets himself
all along the line the word is "Hush!
Joshua takes the other division, the
one with which he is to march, and
puts it. on the north side of the CITY
of All and then spends the night in re-
connoitering in the valley. There he
is. thinking over the fortunes OF the
coming day with something of the feel
ings of Wellington the night before
Waterloo or of Meade and Lee the night
before Gettysburg. There he STANDS
in the night and says to himself; Non-
der is the division in ambush on the
west side of Al. Here is the division |
have under my especial command on
the north side of Al. There is the old
CITY slumbering in its sin. Tomorrow
will be the battle" Look! The morn
ing already begins to tip the hills. The
military officers of Al look out in the
do not see the division in ambush, they
behold the other divisions of Joshua,
and the cry ITO armsl To arms!
rings through all the streets of the
old town, and every sword, whether
hacked and bent or newly welded, is
brought out, and all the inhabitants
of the city of All pour through the gates
an infatuated torrent, and their cry is:
"Come, wen make quick work with
Joshua and his troops!'
No sooner had these people of Al
come out against the troops of Joshua
than Joshua gave such "A command as
he seldom gave-"Fall back why
they could not believe their own ears!
Is Joshua's courage failing him? The
retreat is beaten, and the israeli tes are
fying, throwing blankets and canteens
on every side under this worse than
Bull Run defeat. And you ought to
hear the soldiers of Al cheer and cheer.
. But they hllZza too soon. The men lying
in ambush are straining their vision TO
get some signal from Joshua that they
NAV know what time to drop upon the
CITY. Joshua takes his FURNISHED
spear, gittering i'm the sun like shaft
of doom, and points it toward the city
and when the men up Nonder in the am
bush see it with hawllile swoop they
drop upon Al and without stroke OF
sword or stab of spear take the city
and put it to the torch.
SO much for the division that was in
ambush How about the division under
Joshua's command? No sooner does
Joshua stop in the flight than all his
men stop with him, and as he wheels
they wheel, for in voice OF thunder
he cried: "Ilalt!" one strong arm
driving back torrent Of flying troops
And then, as he points his spear
through the golden light toward thai
fated city, his troops know that they
are to start for it, What n scene it wal
when the division in ambush which
had taken the city marched down
against the men Of Al on the one side
and the troops under Joshua doubled
up their enemies from the other side
and the men of Al were caught hetweei
these two hurricanes of lsraelitisl
courage, thrust before and behind
stabbed i'm breast and back ground be
tween the upper and the neither mill
stones of Gods Indignation Woe t.
the city of Al! Cheer for Israel!
Lesson the first: There is such
thing as victorious retreat. Joshua
FILLING back was the first chapter il
his successful besiegement And ther
are times in your life when the bes
thing you can do is to run. You wer
once the victim Of strong drink. Tn
demiiohn and the decanter were you
fierce foes They came down upon 20
with greater fury than the men Of a
upon the men Of Joshua. Your onI
safety is to get away from them, You
dissipating companions will com
around you for your overthrow. Ru