Barton County democrat. [volume] (Great Bend, Kan.) 1885-1915, 1900-11-23

this people over Jordan to deliver rs
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
the Inhabitants of the land shall hear
of it and shall environ us round and
cut off our name from the earth"
am very glad Joshua said that. Be
fore it seemed as if he were a super
natural being, and therefore could not
be an example to us, but 1 find he is
man, he is only man. Just as some
times you find man under severe OPP
position or in a bad state of physical
health, or worn out with overwork,
lying down and signing about being
defeated. am encouraged when hear
this cry of Joshua as he lies in the
dust. Gdd comes and rouses him. How
does He rouse him? By compliment
airy apostrophe? No. He says: "Get
thee up. Wherefore Hest thou upon
thy facet" 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
up and capture the city of All. Let
US go 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 a
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, regi-
ments, Joshua stands on a rock-I 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, and
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 All are
destroyed, and the Israa2ites gain the
victory; and while see the curling
smoke of that destroyed city on the
sky, and while hear the huzza of the
Israehtes 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 be-
fore the sun of that prolonged day
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 Eglon?
Let it be by Joshua. What is his text?
What shall be the epitaph put on the
door of the tomb? "There shall not
any man be able to stand before thee
all the days of thy life" Before you
fasten up the door want five more
kings beheaded and thrust mixing
Alcohol, King Fraud, King Lust, King
Superstition, King Infdelity. Let
them be beheaded and hur1 them in.
Then fasten up the door forever.
What shall the inscriptions and what
shall the epitaph be, for all Christian
philanthropists of all ages are going
| to come and look at it? What shall
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
king who has more subjects than
all the present population of the
| earth, his throne a 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 Renaissance.
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 musket
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, 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