The Banner-Democrat. [volume] (Lake Providence, East Carroll Parish, La.) 1892-current, 1901-01-12

| tinguished for great, kindly deeds' W.
She had been conspicuous tor her crimes.
1t is the house of Rahab. why was ner
house sparedy Because she had been
great sinner! No, but because she re-
Sentcd, demonstrating to all the ages
that there il mercy for the CHIEF OF STA
hers.
/ The red cord Of divine injunction reach
| ing from her window to the ground, SO
| that when the people saw the red cord
| thew knew it was the divine indication
| that they should not disturb the prem.
! ;ses. making u think of the divine cord
of . Saviour's deiiverance. the red cord
| OF a Saviour's kindness, the red cord of
| q Saviour's mercy, the rod cord Of oAr
reseue. Mercy for the chief OF sinners.
| Pat your trust in that God, and no Gam
age shall befall you.
When our world shall be more terribly
surrounded than was Jericho, even by the
ttumpets OF the Judgment day, and the
hills and the mountains, the metal bones
and ribs of nature, shall break, they who
have had Rahab's faith shall have Rahab's
deliverance.
When wrapped IN fire the realms of ether
glow
And heavens last thunder shakes the
earth below, =,
Thou, undis.aayed, shalt Ger the ruins
smile
And light thy torch at natures funeral
pile.
But Joshua's troops NAV not halt here.
The command lie Forward, march," There
ia the city OF Al. II must be taken. A
scouting party comes back and says:
Joshua, we can do that without you. 1t
is going to be a very easy job. You must
stay here while we go and capture it.
They march with a small regiment in
front Of that city. The men Of Al look at
them and give one yell, and the Israelites
run like reindeer.
Look out when a good man makes the
Lord his ally. Joshua raises his face, ra-
diant with prayer, and looks at the des-
sending sun over Gideon, and at the faint
crescent of the moon, for you know the
queen of the night sometimes will linger
around the palaces of the day. Pointing
one hand at the descending sun and the
other at the faint crescent of the moon,
In the name of that God who shaped the
worlds and moves the worlds he cries,
1Sun, stand thou SIN upon Gideon, and
thou, moon. In tho valley Of Ajalon." They
halted. Whether it was by rcfraction of
the suns rays or by the stopping of the
whole planetary system do not know and
10 not care. J. leave 1 10 Tile
Scientists and the infdcl scientists to set
tie that question while I tell you l have
seen the same thing. "What!" say you.
"Not the SUN standing still?" Yes. The
same miracle is performed nowadays.
The wicked do not live out half their
day, and their sun sets at noon. But let
q man start out in battle for God and the
truth and against sin, and the day of his
usefulness is prolonged and prolonged and
prolonged.
But Joshua was not quite through.
There was time for five funerals before the
sun of tina. prolonged day set. Who will
preach their funeral sermon? Massillon
preached the funeral sermon over Louis
mon of those five dead kings-king OF
Jerusalem, king of Hebron, king Of Jar.
muth. king Of Lachish king Of Ealon!
Let It be BY JOSHUA. What il his text?
What shall be the cpitaph 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 l want
five more kings beheaded and thrust in
King 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 inscription and what
shall the epitaph &c? For oil 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 Cor ,Toshua to 60 home.
He is ITO years old. Washington went
down the Potomac and at Mount Vernon
rlncod HE DAVIS Wall;nofarI ;a1 oaf,,l-
ly ut Apsley House. Now, where shall
Joshua rest! Why, lie is to have his
greatest battle now. After ITO years he
has to meet king who has more SUBJ
jects than all the present population Of
the earth, his throne . pyramid of skulls,
his parterre the graveyards and the ceme-
teries of the world, his chariot the worlds
hearse-the king of terrors. But if this il
Joshua's greatest 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 grandfather or great
grandfather seated by the evening fire
tell of Monmouth or Yorktown and then
lift the crutch or staff as though it were
musket 20 fight and show how the old
battles were won, 90 Joshua gather. 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 fore
head, ask If God has kept His promise
all tIe 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,
"I so the way Of an the earth, and MOI
one word of the promise has failed. not
one word thereof has failed; all has come
to pass, not one word thereof has failed"
And then he turns to his family. as dy-
whom you viii serve, the God of Israel Or
the God of the Amorites. As for me and
my house, we will serve the Lord" a
dying parent cannot be reckless or
thoughtless of his children. Consent to
Fart with them forever at the door of
the tomb we cannot. By the cradle in
which their infancy was rocked, by the
bosom on which they first lay, by the
blood of the covenant, by the God Of
Joshua it shall not be. We will not part,
we cannot part. Jehovah-Jireh, we take
Thee at Thy promise. 81 will he God to
thee and thy seed after thee"
Dead, the old chieftain must be laid
out. Handle him very gently. That
him out, stretch out those feet that
walked dry shod the parted Jordan. Close
those lips which helped blow tho blast
1t which The walls of Jericho fell. Fold
the arm that lifted the spear toward the
doomed city of Al Fold it right over the
heart that exulted when the five kings
fell. But where shall we get the burn
shed granite for the maidstone and tho
iootstone! ] bething myself now. inn
agine that for the head It shall be the
,un that stood still upon Gideon and for
The foot the moon that stood still in the
valley of Ajalon.