The St. Mary banner. (Franklin, Parish of St. Mary, La.) 1889-1931, 1900-05-12
TALMAGE SERMON.
SUNDAYS DISCOURSE OY THE ABLE o..
v\NE
Subject: Victory In Ketreat-The Trl-
unph of the Wicked is Short-Flee
From Temptation-Caiamii May lie
Averted by Eunning Away From Evil.

From TeInptation-Caianiiv May lie
Averted by Eunning Away From Evil
| copyright l91p.l
| WAsHINGToS, d. C.-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 on,
the reason OF so many pious failures; tex.
Joshua viii, Z, Then shall ye 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 tho wide open eyes and the
quick interrogations and the blanched
cheeks l realized what "A thrilling drama
1t was. There is the Old city, shorter by
namox than any other city in tho ages
spelled with two letters, A, 1, Al. Joshua
and his men want to take it. How to dc
1t is the question. On u former occasion
in a straightforward, face to face fight, they
had beer defeated, but now they are going
to take 1t by nmbascaae. General Joshua
has two divisions in his army. The one
| division the battle-worn commander will
lead himself, the other division he sends
off to encamp in an ambush on the west
eide Of the city OF Al. No torches. nc
lanterns, no sound of heavy battaions,
| but 10000 swarthy warriors moving In
| silence, speaking only in q whisper; nc
clicking OF swords against shields, lest the
watchmen OF Al discover 1t, and the strata
gem be "a failure. II the roistering soldier
IN the Israolitish nrmy 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 Al and then
| spend the night In accommodating In the
valley. There he is, thinking over the for
| tunes OF the coming day with something OF
| the feelings OF Wellington the night before
| Waterloo or OF Meade and Lee the night
hafn Eaffx bn ofo,, IL, {,,{
| night and says to himself: "Yonder Is the
| division in ambush on the west side Of Al.
| Here Is the division have under my espec.
| ial command 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 morn
ing very early, and, while they do not see
the division in ambush, they behold the
other divisions OF Joshua, and tho cry "To
arms! To armsr' rings through all the
streets OF the old town, and every sword
whether hacked and bent or newly welded
is brought out, and all tho inhabitants OF
the city OF Al pour through the gates, an
infuriated torrent, and their cry is, Come
Well 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 no,
believe their own ears! Is Joshua's cour.
age failing him2 The retreat Is beaten
and the Israelites are flying, 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 and cheer. But they huzza too soon.
The men lying In ambush are straininQ
their vision to get some signal from Joshua
that they may know what time to drop
upon the city. Joshua takes his FURNISHED
spear, glittering In the sun like a shaft ol
doom, and points 1t toward the city, and
when the men up yonder in the ambush see
1t with hawklike swoop they drop upon Al
and without stroke OF sword or stab of
spear take the city and put 1t to the torch
SO much for the division that was liz
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 q voice OF thunder he cried
"Haltv' one strong arm driving back
torrent OF flying troops. And then, rs he
points his spear through the golden light
toward that fated city, his troops know
that they are to start for it. What a sceue
1t was 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
OF Al were caught between these two HURT.
canes OF Israelitish courage, thrust before
and behind, stabbed In breast and back
ground between the upper and the neither
millstones OF Gods Indignation! Woe te
the city OF Al! Cheer for Israel!
Lesson the first: There is such thing as
victorious retreat. Joshua's falling back
was the first chapter In his successful be.
siegement And there are times In your
life when the best thing you can do is tc
run. You were once the victim OF strong
drink. The demijohn and the decantel
were your fierce foes. They came down
upon you with greater fury than the men OF
Al upon the men OF Joshua. Your only
safety IS to get away from them. Your
dissipating companions will come around
you for your overthrow. Run for you1
life! Fall back! Fall back from the drink.
ing saloon! Fall back from the wine
partyl Your flight is your advance; your
retreat is your victory. There Is n saloon
down Cd the next street that has almost |
been the ruin OF your soul. Then why do
you 60 along that street? Why do you not |
pass through some other street rather than |
by the place OF your calamity? A spoon |
full Of brandy taken for medicinal pur.
poses by a man who twenty years before |
had been reformed from drunkenness |
hurled into inebriety and the grave ono of |
the best friends / ever had. Retreat is |
victoryl
Here is converted infldel. He is 80 |
strong now in his faith In the Gospel he |
says he can read anything. What are yon |
reading? Bolingbroke2 Andrew Jackson |
Davis's tracts? Tyndall's Glasgow uni |
versity address? Drop them and run. Yor
will be an infldel before you die unless you
quit that. These men OF Al will be toe
much for you. Turn your back on the rams
and file of unbelief. Fly before they cut
you with their swords and transnx you
with their javelins.
SO, also, there Is victorious retreat In the
religious world. Thousands OF times the
kingdom OF Christ has seemed to fall back.
When the blood Of the Scotch Covenanters
gave n deeper dye to the heather OF the
highlands, when the Vaudois OF France
chose extermination rather than mako IN
unchristan surrender, when on st. Bartho.
lomew's day mounted assassins rode
through the streets of Paris, crying "kiIl'
Bloodietting Is good in August! Kill.
Death to tho Huguenots Klll"' wheD
Lady Jane Grey's head rolled from the
executloneE's block, when Calvin was I'm
prisoned In the castle. when John Knox
died for the truth, when John Bunyan lay
rottinS In Bedford jail, saying. eff God
will help NE and my physical life con-
tinues, l will stay here until the moss
grows on my eyebrows rather than give up
my faith,' the days OF retreat for the
church we're days OF victory.
The pilgrim fathers fell back from the
~ hor ei.3o Of tbn con to plymouth Rooly |