The Pulpit Commentary — Joshua — Section 133

HOMILETICS. \"ers. 1-24.-The memorial. From this chapter we learn several lessons. I. THE DlcTY OF COMMEMORATING, BY A PIOUS MEMORIAL, THE GOOD THINGS Goo RAS DO!'.E FOR m,. - The memory of events under the law was ever kept up in this wa~·- The memorials of God's mercy we read of in the Old Testament are innu- merable. There was cil:cumcision, the memorial of God's covenant with Abraham; the stone set np at Bethel, the memorial of J acob's vision. '£here was the passover, the 111cm01~al of the deliverance from Egypt; the manna and Aaron's rod in the ark; the memorial of the miraculous feeding of the Israelites in the wilderness ; and the selection of the progeny of Aaron for the high-priesthood. Thus we have the me- morial here mentioned of the passage of Jordan, and the memorial of the victory over the Philistines in 1 Sam. vii.12. National deliverances also were commemorated by annual feasts. Such was the feast of Pu rim, the establishment of which is recorded in Esther ix. 20-82. Our Lord gives His sanction to the principle in the institu- tion of the sacrament of Holy Communion, and the Christian Church has made it her ov.n by the establishment of festivals like Easter, Whitsuntide, Christmas, and the like. The same principle is at work in the erection of memorial churches and other means of commemorating great mercies, or the lives of good men. But the principle is capable of extension. It seems a little ungrateful that we as a nation, or e,en 1.he members of onr religions bodies, think so little of commemorating God's signal mercies and deliverances by special days of thanksgiving. The observance of such days as January 30th, !\fay 29th, November 5th may have assumed too poli- tical and party a character, but there are surely other days of national blessings which, if obsened as days of thanksgiving, would not be open to the same objec- tions. At least we may go so far as this. Gratitude, in the Old Testament, was testified by outward signs. Where those outward signs are wanting among our- sehes, it is to be feared that the gratitude is wanting also. The country ought to be covered with memorials of national and local as well as individual mercies. Days of recognition of such mercies to the empire, or particular parts of the empire, should be more common than they are. Our unhappy divisions, or even the fear of aggravating those divisions, should not withhold us from publicly recognising what in our hearts we believe to be acts of God's gra.cious providence over us. A stranger going through our country should have frequent occasion to ask, " What mean these? " and should repeatedly receive the answer, " These. are the me~o- rials of the great things God did for us in our fathers' days, and Ill the old tune before them." II. THESE MEMORIALS TEND TO STIR UP A SPIRIT OF PIETY AND GRATITUDE, There is no more frequent speech recorded in connection with memorials, whether build- ings or festiYals, than the supposition of an inquiry regarding their nature on the part of the young, and of an answer on the part of parents explaining it. Now the abstract facts of history make but a faint impression on the young, while a noble build.- in" or a remarkable observance attracts their attention at once. It is an old heathen pr~Yerb, " Segnius irritant animos demissa per aures quam qlllll sunt oculis subjecta fidelibus." It is surely a matter of Christian prudence to stir up as ear\y as possib~e in the minds of the young an interest in the truths ofreligion, and of the lnstory of their country and Church. -This is clone, as regards Christian doctrine, by the increased attention given to the commemoration of the chief events in the life of Christ at the great Christian festivals. But much more might be done. How much of our decreasing respect for the Reformation may be traced to our neglect of some sort of CH. IV. 1---24.] THE BOOK OF JOSHUA. 67