Show take up tl e ark of the ao anant ana pass 0 er josi ua 3 6 the long journey in the wil deines is over the endless stretches of sand will haunt the tired eyes of the pi grims no longer beyond the swiftly gliding river lies canaan the land of promise josh la is a born leader of men and as such knows what they will do it appealed to in the right way the jordan flows between the prom ased land and his followers it must be crossed with the same feeling that afterward animated douglas to take from his breast the jeweled heart of the dead bruce and fling it over the heads of the advancing foe shouting fight my men for the heart of bruce so joshua with the deep re 1 alous consciousness of a jew gives the order to carry forward the ark of the covenant no one of his follow ers will dream of lagging behind when he sees that sacred symbol in front and so following in the footsteps of ine priests the people old and young cross the jordan and enter upon a new phase of their national life the parallel between our case as we stand on the threshold of a new year and the jews on the eve of their en bering canaan is so apparent that it can be seen at once As the tired wan darers from egypt stood facing the promised land so do you and I 1 stand facing 1909 how are we going to commence our journey in the new yeara joshua though he lived long long ago and though he was but a leader of a mob of liberated slaves can show us the way the captain of the jewish host sent forward the ark of the covenant e who are the children of the larger hope can do nothing better than to send forward into the new year the cross of christ because only by the power of the cross can we hope to pass successfully through the trials and temptations and to over come the kings of passion and ness which so shiely lie waiting for us in the next 12 months it must appeal to nearly every one this ending of an old year and the be ginning ef a lew one A man must be dull indeed it it awakens no thoughts of a larger life a more consecrated manhood a more devoted discipleship the past let us remember is dead the future is always alive it holds aloft in its strung right hand the morning star of hope and whispers to each child of man it Is never too late to mend let us face the new year with brave hearts and better ing before us as we advance the cross of christ believing that in proportion as we are loyal to this symbol shall we have strength given us to endure hard ness as good soldiers of the master patience to si affer without giving way to despair sorrow and misfortune and spiritual courage so that we can come through every temptation tri and unafraid |