The Olneyville times. (Olneyville [Providence, R.I.]) 1887-1917, 1900-04-13
DIR. TALMAGES SERMON.
SUNDAYS DISCOURSE 5YTHE NOTED
DIVINE.
subJeet; Victory tn Retrra,-rhr rri-
umph OF the Wicked - >hort-fiee
From Experimentation May Be
Averted by Euaning AWAY Prom Evil.

makes some startling suggestions a. 10 the
best styles ot Christian work aud polats out
he reason ot so many plous failures; tex;.
Joshua viii. = Then shall We rise gp troI
The ambush aud seize unon the city,
One sabbath evening with my family
around tae. we were talking over the enc
OF the text. Ia tbs Wide open eyes and the
quick iaterFogattons aud the blanched
cheeks realized what = thrilling drama
IL was. There IL the Old city, shorter by
name than any other city ia the ages,
spelled with two letters. A, !, Al. Joshua
aud his men waai TO take II. How 10 do
IL Is the question. On "a former occasion,
in straightforward. face TO face ncht, they
had been defeated. but now they are going
10 take IL by ambuscade. General Joshua
has two divisions 10 his army. The one
division the battle-worn commander will
lead himself the other divlsion he sends
of 10 encaup IN an ambush on the west
side OF the city ot Al. No torches. no
lanterns no sound OF heavy battalions,
but $4,000 swsrthy warriors moving IN
silence, speaking only IA whisper; 10
clicking OF swords against shields, lest the
watchmen oi Al discover IL. and the strata
gem be a failure. II the rolsteriug soldier
ia the Israelitlsh army torgets himself. all
along the line the word Il "Hushv
Joshua takes the ether division. the oae
with which he il TO marcL, ani pu,s IL on
the north side OF the city OF Al aud then
spend the night iE accommodating In the
valley. There he H., thinking over the for
tunes OF the coming day with something OF
the feelings % Wellington the night before
Waterloo or ot Meade and Lee the night
before Gettysburg. There ho stanis Ia the
night and SAYS 10 himself "ionder T. the
division Ia ambush on the west eide Of Al.
Here il the division have uhder my espec-
ial command on the north side OF Al There
is the old city slUmbcring In It's stn. To-
a.
morning already begins TO tip the hills The
military officers OF Al look out la the morn
ing very early. and. white they do not sec
tAe division fl ambush, they behold the
other divisions % Joshua, aud tue cry TO
armsl To arms rings through all the
streets OF the old town, and every sword,
whether hacked aud bent or newly welded.
j. brought out, aud all the Inhabitants OF
the city OF Al pour through the gates, IN
n.urated torrent. and their cry Is, Come,
we'll make quick work with Joshua and
his troops
No sooner had these people OF Al come
out against the troops OF Joshua than
Joshus gave such "A command as he seldom
gave-"Fali back Why, they could not
believe their own ears l. JoshuAs rour-
age failing him? The retreat l. beaten,
aud the Israelltes are flying, throwing
blankets and canteens on every side under
this worse than Bull Run defeat. And you
ought 10 hear the soldiers OF Al cheer and
cheer and cheer. But they huzZa too soon.
The men lying in ambush are straining
their vision 10 get some 81 nal from Joshua
that they may know what time 10 drop
upon the city. Joshua takes his burnished
spear, glittering In the sun like IA shaft OF
doom, and points It toward tho city, and
when the men up yonder In the ambush SEES
II with hawklike swoop they drop upon Al
and without stroke OF sword or stab OF
spear take the city and put Il TO the torch.
so much for the division that was In
ambush. How about the division under
Joshuas command? No sooner does
Joshua stop In the flight than all his men
stop with him, and as he wheels they
whoel, Tor ia II voice OF thunder he cried
"Haltp one strong arm driving back a
torrent OF flying troops. And then, IA he
points his spear through the golden light
toward that fated city. hls troops know
that they are 10 start foe II. What "A scene
Il was when the division I'm 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 between these two hurri-
canes OF I-euelitish courage, thrust before
and behind, stabbed In breast aud back.
ground bet ween the upper and the neither
millstones OF Gods indignation Woo to
the city OF All Cheer for Israei!
Lesson the first. There H. such thing rs
victorious retreat. joshua falling bnck
was the nrst chapter in his successful be.
siegement. And there are times Ia your
life when the best thing you can DO i to
run. You were once the victim OF strong
drink. The denioh and the decanter
were your fierce foes They came down
upon you with greater fury than the men OF
Al ulon the men OF Joshua. Your only
safety IL 10 get away from them. Your
dissipating companions will come around
YOU for your overthrow. EGn Tor your
life Fall back. Fall .nck from the drink.
ing salooul Fall back from the wine
party Your flight il your advance your
retreat IL your victory. There i- q saloon
down on the next street that has almost
been the ruin OF your soul. Then why DO
YOU 70 along that street, Why 10 YOU not
pass through some other street rather than
by the place OF your calamity 4 spoon
fui OF brandy taken for medicinal pur-
poses by "a man who twenty years before
had been reformed from drunkenness
hurled into inebrioty and tue grave one OF
the best friends / ever had. Retreat Is
victory!
Here Is a converted inndsl. IL l. 80
strong now IN his faith la the Gospel he
says he can read anything. What are you
reading? Bolinghroke2 Andrew Jackson
Dayis's tracts? Tyndalls Glasgow Uni
versity address, Drop them and run. You
will b- an inlldel before you die unless you
quit that. These men of Al will bc too
much for you. Turn your back on the rank
and Gle OF Uubelief. Fly before they cut
you with their swords and transhx you
with their javelIns.
So, also, there f. victorious ret -eat iu the
religious world. Thousands o.; times the
kingdom of Christ has seemed 10 fall back.
when the blood Of the scotch CoyenAnters
"A 1Vf 70 hs. i.s Ifnr t.f
highlands, when the NaudOi- % France
chose externination rather than make an
luchristian surrender, when Oh -. Burtho.
IOmews day mounted ussa=sius rode
through the streets OF Paris. crying XIII,
Bloodletting is good In August XII.
Death 20 tho Hugucnot-, kll' when
Lady Jane Grey's bead rolled from the
sxecutioner's block, when Calvin was I'm
pri-oned 10 the cnstle. when John Knox
died for the truth, when John Bunyan lay
rotting la Bedford jail. saving. "lf God
vii help ns and my physical lie con-
,inues. ! will stay here until the moss
grows on ny eyebrows rather than giycup
my inith.' the days OF retreat Tor the
church were days OF victory.
The pilgrim fathers fell bncS from the
other side Oi the sea 10 Plyro outh Rock,
but now are marshaling = continent for
the Characterization OF the world. The
Church oi Christ falling back from Ped
mont, falling back from Rgs ~. Jacques.
falling back from ~. Dents, falling back
from Wu1embsrg cnstie- falling back
from the brussels market place. yet all the
time trinn phlng. notwithstanding all the
reyerses which the Chu-rh % Christ sui-
fers what 10 ~ see to-day Tseiye thOd-
sand missionaries - the rtO.. on heather
grounds. eighty thvu-Ani minister ~
Jesus Christ Ia this land. rs least four hun
dr-i millions 81 Christian ou ths eHrth.
Failin; back. Jet Advancing until tie ID
Wesleyan hymn will Ir0ys t,se
The lion % Judah si al breAs 'bs chain
And give Is ths victory ngain aul again
Bot there IL nors marked illustrAtiOn
= fictorirus fsirsa, ia the ii's - our
Joshua the Jesus % tle agsa ffrst fail.