Marshall County independent. (Plymouth, Marshall County, Ind.) 1897-1902, 1901-12-20
TALMAGE'S SERMON.
SUNDAYS DISCOURSE is ON OUR
JOURNEY THROUGH LIFE
Text from Joshua: we Have Not Passed
This Way Heretofore Opportunities
Must BE Taken Advantage OF Now -
Necessity for Trust in God.

Copyright 1901. b. Louis KloPsch. y "
Washington. Dec 15.-This dis
course Is a most unusual presentation
@. things that take place in our lives.
"a a Dr. Talmdge pleads for mercifui
Interpretation OF human behavior The
Il is Joshua iii. T. ''Ye have no, pass
ii this way heretofore
In December 1888. | waded the riv-
e. Jordan. and although the current
As strong. Was able 10 bear up
4 5ainst L. but in the time of spring
/ eshet when the SHOWS on Mount Le-
b4nOn melt. nothing but miracle
would enable anyone to cross the
I.ver. 1t was at the dangerous spring
tine that Joshua and the officers of
LIS army uttered the words of my text
L. the people who were in a few hours
- cross the Jordan About that cross
Jig We say but little. because on d
previous occasion We discourSed con-
corning that piling up of the waters
into crystal barricade We only speak
OF the march to the brink of the river.
No stranger thing has ever occurred
in all history.
What was truthfuIly said of the an
Gent Israelites may be truthfully said
OF Us. We are making our first and
last journey through this world. 1t
i possible. as some of my good friends
heiieve that this world will be cor
Iected and improved and purified and
HOrallZed and unparalleled as to eli
mate and soil and character until it
shall become a heaven for the ransom
eel, but Go not think it, I have an
Idea that heaven is already built some
where. Our departed friends could not
wait Until this world Is fixed up for
sanity and angelic residence. Having
once gone out of the world ! do not
talnH We VIII come back. except as
spirits to help t'Ose W.
remain in the earthly struggle or pc
haps 10 look at the wOndrous spectacl
OF a burning planet.
But leaving that theory aside we
ere very sure that we are for the first
time walking the earthly pilgrimage.
y have not passed this way before.
Other folks have gone over the same
road We are travelling. but it is our
first trip. New appearances. new
temptations new sorrows. new JOYS.
That is the reason so many lose their
way. They meet some one on the road
OF life and ask for direction. and
wrong direction is given. We have all
been perplexed by misdirection after
asking the way to some place we wish
ed TO visit. Some one said to US.
Take the first road 10 the right, and
having gone a mile on that road. take
the FIRST road 10 the left. and you will
soon reach your destination. We took
the advice. but our informer forgot a
turn in the road or forgot one OF the
roads leading to the left. and we took
the wrong road and were lost in the
woods. and night came on. and we
were rut TO great irritation and
trouble.
The ,act is I blame no one for max
Ing Lifetime mistakes pity them in
stea - blaming them. There are so.
many wrong roads. but only one right
one You cannot in middle life draw
upon your youthful experiences Tor
wisdom. for middle life is SO entirely
different from youth. You cannot in
Old age draw upon midlife experiences.
for the two stages Of existence are SO
diverse. What is wisdom for one man
TO do would be folly for another to I'M
dertake. \ man OF nerve and pluck
is not qualified TO advise a man timid
and shrinking An achievement that
would be easy for you might he i'm
possible for me- Human advice is
ordinarily OF little value. Most of the
great mistakes that have been made
have been made under human advise
ment
So. alas. It may be said 10 every ma
tion Ye have not passed this way be-
fore" Orr own republic is going
through novel experiences. Every
president, every congress. has new
crises to meet and new questions TO
settle so prophecies made about con
ditions in this country fifty years from
now may turn ont "a far untrue as the
prophecies made fifty years ago by
the greatest of American statesmen
when he declared on yonder Capitol
hill that it was unwise 10 think of civ
ilization or prosperity the other side
of the Rocky mountains. and accord
ing To his belief the Pacific coast
would be the perpetual abode o. bar
bafians and mountain lions. and we
must not think of annexing those for
bidding regions.
Many phophecies in regard to our
nation failed and many prophecies
concerning its future will fail because
II is travelling a new road The opin-
ion OF a Monroe or a Jefferson in the
FAR past is not OF as much value as
the opinion of our wisest men now
How could men know in 1923 what il
would be best for this nation to do in
1901? In all other things the world
has advanced Can it be that in states
manship it has gone back and that this
opening Of the twentieth century mus,
consult the opening of the nineteenth
century? "Ie have not passed this
way before"
Yea. our entire world is on a new
pathway Ii may be swinging in the
same old orbit as when by the hand o.
the Almighty immensely was sprinklet
with worlds. but it has been rocked
with earthquakes and scOrched with
volcanic fires and whelmed with tida
waves and wrought upon by climati,
changes cities sunk and islands lifted
and mountains avalanched into valleys