Marshall County independent. (Plymouth, Marshall County, Ind.) 1897-1902, 1900-04-13
TALMAGE'S SERMON.
VICTORY OF RETREAT. LAST
SUNDAYS SUBJECT.
Mach Accomplished by Waiting for Op-
portunities-Joshua's Plan OF Ambus-
cade Cited as a Successful One for
the Righteous.

copyright. 1900. by Louis Klcpsch.l
Text: Joshua viii. Z, Then shall We
rise up from the ambush and seize
upon the city
One Sabbath evening. with my fam
lily around me, We Were talking over
the scene of the text. In the wide
open eyes and the quick interrogations
and the blanched cheeks | realized
what a thrilling drama 1t was. There
is the old city. shorter by name than
any ether city in the ages, spelled with
men want 10 take it. How TO do it is
the question. On former occasion.
N straightforward, face to face tight.
they had been defeated. but now they
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 side of the
city of Al. No torches, no lanterns,
no sound of heavy battalions, but 3d.
600 swarthy warriors moving in 81
lence, speaking only in a whisper; no
clicking of swords against shields, lest
the watchmen of Al discover il and
the stratagem be 4 failure. If the rois-
tering soldier in the Israelitish army
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 spends the night in
accommodating in the valley. There
he is, thinking over the fortunes of the
coming day with something OF the feel
ings of Wellington the night before
Waterloo or of Meade and Lee the
night before Gettysburg. There ne
stands in the night and says to him
self. "Yonder is the division in am
bush on the west side of Al. Here Is
the division | have under my especial
command on the north side or Al
There is the old city slumbering in its
sin. Tomorrow will be the battle.
Look. The morning already begins
TO tip the hills. The military officers
of All look out in the morning very
early, and, while they do not see the
division in ambush. they behold tbs
other division of Joshua and the cry
TO 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 A
pour through the gates. an Infatuated
torrent, and their cry is. Come, Wei
make quick work with Joshua and hi:
troops:
A Seeming Eepnlse.
No sooner had these people OF a
come out against the troops OF Joshua
than Joshua gave such a command as
ne seldom gave-"Fall back" Why
they could not believe their own ears.
Is Joshua courage falling him? The
retreat is beaten, and the Israelites
are flying. throwing blankets and can
teens on every side under this worse
than Bull Run defeat. And you ought
10 hear the soldiers of Al cheer anC
cheer and cheer But they huzZa too
room. The men lying in ambush are
straining their vision TO get some sig
nal from Joshua that they may know
what time to drop upon the city. Josh
VA takes his FURNISHED spear, glitterins
in the sun like shaft of doom. anC
points it toward the city. and when tn.
men up yonder in the ambush see i
with hawklike swOop they drop upor
Al and without stroke of sword Of
stab of spear take the city and put i
to the torch.
So much for the division that Wa!
In ambush. How about the division
under Joshua's command? No soone
does Joshua stop in the flight than al
his men stop with him, and as III
wheels they wheel. for in a voice o
thunder he cried Halt" one stron,
arm driving back a torrent of fyin.
troops. And then. as he points hi
spear through the golden light towar,
that fated city, his troops know tina
they are to start for it. What a seen,
II was when the division in ambush
which had taken the city marched
down against the men of All on tn
one side. and the troops under Joshu:
doubled on their enemies from tn,
other side. and the men of All wer
of Israelitish courage. thrust befor
and behind, stabbed in breast an,
back, ground between the upper an,
the neither millstones of Gods indigna
ton. Woe to the city of All Chez
for Israel,
Victorious Retreat.
There is such a thing as victoriou
retreat. Joshua's falling back was tn
first chapter in his successful besiege
ment. And there are times in you
life when the best thing you can do i
to run. You were once the victim O
strong drink. The demijohn and tn
decanter were yOur fierce foes. The
came down upon you with greater fur
than the men Of All came upon the me-
of Joshua. Your only safety is TO &c
away from them. Your dissipatin
companions viii come around you TO
your overthrow Run for your life
Fall back, Fall back from the drink
Ing saloon, Fai back from the win
party. Your fl hit is your advance
your retre1t is yoHr victory. There
saloon down OF the next street tina
mas almost been the ruin of your sou