Virginia citizen. (Irvington, Va.) 1891-1921, 1900-04-13
VICTORY IN RETREAT
DR.. TALMAGE SAYS TRIUMPH OF THE
WICKED IS SHORT.

IA.
Calamity May BE Averted by Rum
ming Away From EVIL.
WASHINGTON, April S.-From an old
time battle scene DIR. Talmage In this
discourse makes some startling sugges-
tons as TO the best styles of Christian
work and points out the reason OF so
many pious failures; text. Joshua viii.
z, '"Then shall We rise up from the am-
bush and seize upon the city,
One Sabbath evening. with my fam
fly around me, we were talking over
the scene OF the text. In the wide open
eyes and the quick interrogations and
the blanched checks | realized what q
thrilling drama il was. There Is the
old city, shorter by name than any
other city in the ages. spelled with two
letters, A. l. Al Joshua and his men
want to take 1t. How TO do il is the
question. On former occasion. in a
straightforward. face to face fight,
they bad been defeated. but now they
are going to take it by ambuscade. Gen.
eral Joshua has two divisions in his
army. The one division the battle
worn commander will lead himself,
the other division he sends off to en-
camp in an ambush on the west side OF
the city of Al. No torches, no lanterns,
no sound of heavy battalions, but So
600 swarthy warriors moving in ST.
lence, speaking only in n whisper; no
clicking of swords against shields. lest
the watchmen OF Al discover il, and
a. 10 % \ Il,
ering soldier In the lsraeltish army
forgets himself. all along the line the
word Is Hush
Joshua takes the other division. the
one with which be is to march, and
puts IL on the north side of the city of
Al and then spends the night in recon-
noitering in the valley. There he is.
thinking over the fortunes of the COM
ing day with something of the feelings
OF Wellington the night before Water
loo or of Meade and Lee the night be-
fore Gettysburg. There he stands in
the night aud says to himself: "Yonder
is the division in ambush on the west
side Of al. Here is the division have
under my especial command on the
north side of 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 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 armsi To armsr rings
through all the streets OF the old town,
ArI ..-hA 4
bent or newly welded. Is brought out,
and all the Inhabitants of the city OF
Al pour through the gates, an infuriat-
cd torrent, and their cry is, Come,
Wen 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 n command as
he seldom gave-"Fall backr' Why,
they could not believe their own earsl
Is Joshua's courage failing him? The
retreat is beaten. and the Israelites are
flying, throwing blankets aud 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 straining
their vision 10 get some signal from
Joshua that they may know what time
10 drop upon the city. Joshua takes
his FURNISHED spear, glittering In the
sun like shaft Of doom, and points
IL toward the city, and when the men
up yonder in the ambush see II with
hawklike swoop they drop upon al
rxrffl
or spear take the city and put II to the
torch.
So much for the division that was In
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 n voice OF thunder
he cried "Haltr' one strong arm driving
back n torrent OF flying troops. And
then. as he points his spear through
The golden light toward that fated city.
his troops know that they are to start
Tor IT. What scene II 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
enemies from the other side. and the
men or Al were caught between these
two hurricanes OF Israelitish courage.
thrust before and behind, stabbed In
breast and back. ground between the
upper and the neither miIistones OF
Gods indignationl Wee to the city of
Al! Cheer for Israel:
Victorious Retreat.
Lesson the Grst: There is such n
thing as victorious retreat. Joshua's
Falling back was the first chaoter in
his successful besiegement. And there
are times In your life when the best
thing you can do is to run. You were
once the victim OF strong drink. The
uemiJohn and the decanter were your
herce foes. They came down upon Won
with greater fury than the men of All
upon the men OF Joshua. Your ONLY
safety is to get away from them. Your
uiss'pating companions will come
around you for your overthrow. Run
Tor your life. Fall back! Fall back
from the drinking salooni Fail back
from the wine party! Your flight Is
your advance; your retreat is your vic
tory There is saloon down on the
next street that has almost been the
ruin or your soul Then why do Won
go along that street? Why do you not
pass through some other street rather
than by the place OF your calamity?
"A spoonful OF brandy taken for medic
mai purposes 10y a man who 20 years
before had been reformed from drunk
enness hurled into inebriety and the
grave one Of the best friends / ever
had- Retreat is victory!
Turn Your Rack on UnbeHef.
Here is converted lnfidel. He Is so
strong now in his faith in the gospel
be says he can read anything. What
are you reading? Bolingbroke? An
drew jackson Davis tracts? Tyndalrs
Giasgow university address? Drop
them and run. You will be an inGdel
before you die unless you quit that.
These men of Al will be too much for
YOU Turn your back on the rank and
ME or unbelief. Fly before they cut
you with their swords and transfix Won
with their javelins. There are people
who have been well nigh ruined be-
cause they risked foolhardy expedi-
ton In the presence of mighty and
overwhelming temptations, and the