Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1900-04-12
CHRISTIAN WARFARE
THERE is VICTORY IN RETREAT, SAYS
DR.. TALMAGE,

JoShun's plnn of Ambuscndc Cited
Ms Successful Method Of Flight
ing JnriEhtcuuSncsS-Ni Accom-
plishcd by waiting For Opportuni-
ties.
WAsu1NGroN. April S.-From an old
time battle scene Dr. TalmaEc In this
discourse makes some startling sugEes.
tionS as to the best STYLES OF Christian
work and points out the reason Of 50
many pious failures; text. Joshua vii, I,
"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 interrogotions and
the hauChcd checks | realized what Il
thrilling drama it was There is the old
city, shorter by name than any other
city in the ages, spelled with two letters,
\, |, Al. Joshua aud his men want to
take it. How to do it is the question.
On former occasion. in n straightfur-
ward. face TO face fight, they had been
defeated. but now they nrc going to take
it by ambuscadc. General Joshua has
two divisions in his army. The one di-
lead himself the other division he sends
off to cncamp in an ambush on the west
side Of the city Of Al No torches. no
lanterns. no sound of heavy hattaluns,
but 10000 swarthy warriors moving in
silence, speaking only in whisper; no
clicking of swords against shields. lest
thc watchmcn of Al discover it and the
stratagcm lee failure. If tho FOSTERING
soldier in the lSraclitiSh army forEcts
/ himself. all along the line the word is
FLUSH"
Joshua takes the other division. the
one with which he is to march. and puts
II on the north side of the city Of Al and
then spends the night in accommodating
in jhc valley. There he is, thinking over
the fortunes Of the coming day with
something Of the feelings 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: "Nonder is the division in am
bush on the west side of Al Here is the
division | have under my especial COM
mand on the north side of Al. There is
the old city slumbering in its sin. To-
morrow will be the battle Look! The
morning already begins TO tip the hills.
The military officers Of Al look out in
the morning very early and, while they
do not see the division in ambush. they
behold the other divisions Of Joshua, and
the cry ITO arms! 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 Al
pour through the gates, an Infatuated
torrent, and their cry is, Come, wen
make quick work with Joshua and his
troops
Seeming RepuIsc.
No sooner had these people Of Al come
out against the troops of Joshua than
Joshua gave such command as he sell
dom gave-"Fall back Why, they
could not believe their own cars Is
Joshna's courage failing him? The re-
treat is beaten, and the Israeltes are
flying throwing blankets and cantecns
on every side under this worse than Bull
Kun defeat. And you ought to hear the
soldiers of Al cheer and cheer and cheer.
But they huzza too soon. The men lying
in ambush are straining their vision to
get some signal from Joshua that they
may know what time to drop upon the
city. Joshua takes his FURNISHED smear.
glittering i'll the sun like a shaft of doom,
and points il toward the city, and when
the mon up yondcr in the ambush see il
with hawklikc swoop they drop upon All
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 Josh
ua stop in the flight than all his men
stop with him, and as he wheels they
wheel, for in voice Of thunder he cried
| "llalt! one strong arm driving back a
} torrent Of flying troops, And then. as
. he points his spear through the golden
light toward that fatcd city, his troops
+ know that they are to start for it. What
scene it was when the division in am
bush which had taken the city marched
down against the men Of Al on the one
side and the troops under Joshua dou-
bled up their enemies from the other
side, and the men Of Al We're caught be-
tween these two hurricanes Of Israelitish
courage thrust before and behind, stab
bed in breast and back ground between
the upper and the neither millstoucs Of
/ Gods indignation Woe to the civ of
| Al! Cheer for Israel!
| Victorious Rctre,t
!