The united opinion. [volume] (Bradford, Vt.) 1881-1970, 1900-11-23

into the hands of the Amorites, to de-
stroy us? Would to God we had been
content and dwelt on the other side of
Jordan. For the Canaanites and all
tbe inhabitants of the land shall hear
of it and shall environ us round and
cut off our name from the earth" L
am very glad Joshua said that. Be
fore If seemed as if he were super
natural being, and therefore could not
be an example to us, but L md he is
man. he'is only a man. Just as some
times YOU find a man under severe OPP
nosition or in a bad state of physical
health or worn out with overwork,
living down and signing about being
defeated. / am encouraged when L hear
this cry of Joshua as he lies in the
dust. God comes and rouses him. How
does He rouse him? By compliment
arv apostrophe? No. He says: sect
thee up. Wherefore lest thou upon
thv face?" Joshua rises, and, | war
rant YOU, with a mortified look. But
his old courage comes back. The fact
was that was not his battle. If he
had been in it he would have gone on
to victory. He gathers his troops
around him and says: Now, let us go
I'D and capture the city of Al. Let
us 90 up right away" They march
on. He puts the majority of the
troops behind ledge of rocks in the
night, and then he sends comparative
ly small regiments up in front of the
CITY. The men of All come out with
shout. The small regiments of Israel
ties in stratagem fall BACK and fall
back, and when all the men of Al have
left the city and are in pursuit of these
scattered, or seemingly scattered, regl-
ments, Joshua stands on rock-l see
his locks flying in the wind as he points
his spear toward the doomed city, and
that is the signal. The men rush out
from behind the rocks and take the
city, and it is put to the torch, ana
then these Israelites in the city march
down, and the flying Israelites return,
and between these two waves of Is
raelitish prowess the men of Al are
DESTROYED, and the Israelites gain the
victory; and while l see the curling
smoke of that destroyed city on the
sky, and while hear the huzza of the
Israelites and the groan of the Ca
naanites, Joshua hears something
louder than it all, ringing and echoing
through his soul: '"There shall not any
man be able to stand before thee all
the days of thy life"
But Joshua was not quite through.
There was time for five funerals bec
4Lo4 6aU
set. Who will preach their funeral
sermon? Massillon preached the fu-
neral sermon over Louis XVI. Who
will preach the funeral sermon OF
those five dead kings-king of Jerusa-
lem, king of Hebron, king of Jar
muth, king of Lachish, king of EglonP
Let it be by Joshua. What is his text?
What shall be the epitaph put on the
door of the tomb? "There shall not
anv man be able to stand before thee
all the days of thy life" Before you
fasten up the door l want five more
kings beheaded and thrust hiking
Alcohol, King Fraud, King Lust, King
Superstition, King Infidelity. Let
them be beheaded and hurl them in.
Then fasten up the door forever.
What shall the inscriptions and what
shall the epitaph be, for all Christian
prilanthropists of all ages are going
to come and look at it? What shah
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 40 years old. Washing
ton went down the Potomac and at
Mount Vernon closed his days. We'll
lington died peacefully at Apsley
house. Now, where shall Joshua rest?
Why, he is to have his greatest battle
now. After 10 years he has to meet
a king who has more subjects than
all the present population of the
earth, his throne pyramid of skulls,
his parterre the graveyards and the
cemeteries of the world, his chariot
the worlds hearse-the king of ter
rors. But if this is Joshua's great
est battle. it is going to be Joshua's
greatest victory. He gathers his
friends around him and gives his vale
dictory and it is full of "Reminiscences.
Young men tell what they are going
to do. Old men tell what they have
done And as you have heard a grand
father or great-grandfather seated by
the evening fire tell of Monmouth or
Yorktown and then lift the crutch
or staff as though it were a musl3et
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 forehead, I ask if God has
kept His promise all the way through.
AS he lies there he tells the story one,
two or three times-you have heard
old people tell story two or three
times overland he answers: 81 go
the way of all the earth, and not one
word of the promise has failed, not
one word thereof has failed. All
has come to pass; not one word there
of has failed" And then he turns to
his family, as a dying parent will,
and saws: "Choose now whom you
will serve, the God of Israel or the
god of the Amorites. As for me and
nv house, we will serve the Lord"
Dead, the old chfertain must be laid