The evening times. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1895-1902, 1902-10-11

J
! pass over the Jordan, the priests thar
bare the ark Of the covenant being re
fore the people. and when they that
/ bare the ark were come into the Jor-
dan. and the feet OF the priests that bare
the ark were dipped in the brink Of ne
water (for the Jordan Overfioweth all its
banks all the time of haTvestJ. that the
I Y aters which come down from above
/ stood, and rose up in one heap. a great
/ way of, at Adam. the city that is be-
/ side ZaTethan. and those that went
/ down toward the sea OF ARABIAN. even
! the Salt Sea. were wholly cut OF, aC7
( the people passed over right against
[ Jericho. And the priests that bare The
ark of the covenant Of Jehovah stood
! Brm on dry ground in the midst Of the
Jordan, and all Israel passed over on
dry ground, until all the nation were
passed clear over the Jordan
Crossing Boundary Lines.
Tie Jordan was the dividing line be-
: Teen the territory Of the wilderness o.
wanderings and the land Of rest. peace
and real possession. All the past striv-
ings. hardships, discipline, and knowl-
edge Of this pilgrim nation would have
been failure If this boundary line had
not been crossed The TsraeIites we're
I
were under a moral necessity OF enter
ing, or all their past history Of suffer
Ing and education would have Ure1i fosr-
Men are under the moral necessity of
making their past experiences, whatever
they be- whether wretched or noble, sad
or triumphant, q success. by entering
irto greater and higher conditions or
( kingdoms All our opportunities and
! privileges may be thrown away at II q
! very goal OF victory If We do not press
! forward toward higher development
( and possession The Nautilus forms q
new chamber in its shell each year and
presses into It and closes the old cell
behind it. and at last leaves its empty
she'll behind entirely on the seashore
/ so should II be with men leaving al last
the earthly life entirely behind to enter
the heavenly life OF eternity to 81 md
/ It in the presence Of God Ever upv,-I
and onward should be the career Of ~
men 4 Jordan flows between US ALL
( every best coed CT life, new life. useful
ness, education, higher spheres. holt
/ ness, loneliness Of character We must
step across such lines, such foods, or
miss our true goal. Men must do AMI
/ dare IN the name of God
Signs of Gods Presence and Power.
The Jordan was wide and raging
river when the IsraeIites faced it. Enc
mics also lined the farthest bank. But
nevertheless 1t must be crossed, or al
/ would De lost, and the bleaching bones
OF a cowardIy and efTete race would have
marked q great historical failure The
occasion signifed a great crisis. HUI
manly speaking, it was practically i'm
possible for this great host OF Isra elites
10 cross the swollen stream and meet
/ victoTiously their opponents at Ice same
time. But what is impossible for men is
possible for God. Jehovah was inter
ested IN the success Of these Fsraelites
4 IN their pilgrimage Jehovah's help is
sent them. Joshua, their leader, an
nouuces Gods purpose toward them for
their present needs and their future en-
I couragement- In our efforts at striving
! after all higher good for ourselves AMI
for the Kingdom OF God. and the world
/ We must count upon the divine factor
IN our success God will always help the
righteous in every necessary work God
has pledged himself TO men TO this end.
The pathway of mems upward progress
is iilumined all the way by the blazing
promises OF God. Our God is a God Of
help and grace. Joshua said- Hereby
ye shall know that the living God IL
among you, and that he will without fa.i
drive out from before you the Canaan
ties, and the Hittites," etc God was
going to perform e notable miracle to
prove to his people that he was with
them and that he would 60 before them
as their cOnquoTer.
The cutting of Of the waters o. the
Jordan so that about > coo Coo IsraeIites
crossed the river on solid ground in a
broad line. so that all passed over in q
few minutes. was an act OF God, done
by him to prove his presence among his
people and his Almighty power. It
makes very little difference how the act
was performed-by what we call q MI
racIe-the direct exercise OF divine
power, or by provideutial means, such
as an earthquake. or the falling OF a
cliff Of rock and earth into the stream.
What We must remember is that what
was done was a sign from God that
he was. present, and that he would exert
his power for the deIiveraBCe and tri-
iumph Of his people How God viii per-
form his wonders is his secret. The
Scripture narrative does not state how
the waters were stopped above and
flowed away from below the people But
il is probable that il was by the direct
exercise OF supernatural and miraculous
power God nus shows himself the
ally and guide Of good men
The Spiritual First.
Such Is the order Of progress in the
life OF righteousness for men In the
world. Let the spiritual in life have
the right Of way Let faith in God lead
in the train OF all the graces. Let true
religion have the precedence over all
worldly ambition. business. pleasure. or