The united opinion. [volume] (Bradford, Vt.) 1881-1970, 1900-11-23
CHRISTIAN WARFARE
DR.. Talmage Draws Lesson from
Joshua's Victories.
Encouraging Words for Those En-
gagged in the Battles of Life
Gods Soldiers Never Turn
Backward.


Washington, Nov. IS.
In this discourse DR.. Talmage fol-
lows Joshua on his triumphal march
and speaks encouraging words to all
who are engaged in the battles of this
life; text, Joshua, 1:5: There shall
not any man be able to stand before
thee all the days of thy life"
Moses was dead. beautiful tradi-
ton says the Lord kissed him and in
that act drew forth the soul of the
dying lawgiver. He had been buried,
only one person at the funeral, the
same one who kissed him. But God
never takes man away from any
place of usefulness until he has some
one ready to replace him. The Lord
does not go looking around amid
great variety of candidates to find
some one especially fitted for the va
Gated position. He makes man for
that place. Moses has passed off the
stage, and Joshua, the hero, puts his
foot on the platform of history so
solidly that all the ages echo with the
tread. He was magnificent fighter,
but he always fought on the right
side, and he never fought unless God
told him to fight. He got his military
equipment from God who gave him
the promise at the start: There
shall not any man be able to stand be-
fore thee all the days of thy life"
God fulfilled this promise, although
Joshua's first battle was with the
spring freshet, the next with a stone
wall the next leading on a regiment
of whipped towards and the next bat
Ting against darkness, wheeling the
sun and the moon into his battalion,
and the last against the king of ter
rors, death-fve great(victories.
AS a rule when the general OF an
army starts out in a war he would
like to have a small battle in order
that he may get his own courage up
and rally his troops and get them
drilled for greater conflicts, but the
first undertaking of Joshua was
greater than the leveling of Fort
Pulaski, or the assault of Gibraltar,
or the overthrow of the Bastille. 1t
was the crossing of the Jordan at the
time of the spring freshet. The SHOWS
melting, and they poured down into
the valley, and the whole valley was
a raging torrent. So the Canaanites
stand on one bank, and they look
across and see Joshua and the Israel
ties, and they laugh and say: aha,
they cannot disturb us until the
freshets fall! 1t is impossible for
them to reach US" But after awhile
they look across the water, and they
see a movement in the army of Joshua.
They say: what is the matter now?
Why, there must be a panic among
those troops, and they are going to
fly, or perhaps they are going to try
to march across the river Jordan.
Joshua is a lunatic." But Joshua, the
chieftain, looks at his army and cries:
Forward, march," and they start for
the bank of the Jordan. One mile
ahead go two priests carrying gilt
tering box four feet long and two feet
wide. 1t is the ark of the covenant.
And they come down, and no sooner
do they touch the rim of the water
with their feet than, by an Almighty
fiat, Jordan parts. The army of
Joshua marches right on without get
ting their feet wet, over the bottom
of the river, a path of chalk and
broken shells and pebbles, until they
get to the other bank. Then they lay
hold of the oleanders and tamarisks
and willows and pull themselves up
bank 30 or 40 feet high; and, having
gained the other bank, they clap their
shields and their cymbals and sing
the praises of the God of Joshua. But
no sooner have they reached the bank
than the waters begin to dash and
roar, and with a terrific rush they
break loose from their strange an
chorage.
AS the hand of the Lord God is
taken away from the thus uplifted
waters-waters perhaps uplifted half
a mile-they rush down, and some of
the unbelieving Israelites say: ALAS,
alas, what misfortune! Why could
aot those waters have staid parted?
Because perhaps we may want to go
back. Lord, we are engaged in a
risky business. Those Cana'anites may
eat us up. How if we want to go back?
plete miracle if the Lord'had parted
the waters to let us come through and
kept them parted to let US go back if
we are defeated?" My friends, God
makes no provision for Christian re-
treat. He clears the path all the way
to Canaan. To go back is to die. The
same gatekeePers that swung back
the a,~ethystino and crystalline gate
of the Jordan to let Israel pass
through now swing shut the anne
thystine and crystalline gate of the
Jordan to keep the Israelites from 60
ing back. Victory ahead, but water 30
feet deep behind, surging to death and
darkness and woe. But you say:
"Why did not these Canaanites, when
they had such splendid chs nee,
standing on the top of Che bank 30 OF
40 feet high, completely demolish
those poar Israelites down in the
river?" l will tell you why. God had
made a promise and He was going to
keep it. There shall not any man
be able to stand before thee all the
days of thy life"
But this is no place for the host to
stop. Joshua gives the command:
Forward. march," In the distance