Newport weekly independent., 1902-12-19

the soldier IS the ability to stand and wait the command Jf his cap tain. The test of the soldier of the cross of Jesus Christ is found in h;s willingness to stand and await the command of the Divine Captain He knows when the crisis is on. He sees with clear vision the dreadful armed hosts at your rear threatening you with destruction. His judgment is unerring. He knows exactly the best time to strike. Stand fast, wait oi4 your Captain, oh, soul! David prays: "Let none that wait on Thee be ashamed" And ;n all the trying times of David's life he never was ashamed when he waited on the Lord. He met the crises by waiting. And in his psalms of praise and thanksgiving he exclaims over and over again: ''Wait on the Lord: be of good courage, and He shal, strengthen thine heart: wait, l say, on the Lord"
 Have you failed when the crisis has come into your life? It is almost cer- tain to have been because you did not wait. Something must be done. you
 thought. That was what the terrified children of Israel thought. They wanted to do something. they did not know what. but they felt it strong upon them that something must be done. and that right quickly. Common sense told them that action must be taken at once in the face of the awful crisis. They railed on Moses and counted him for fool. But. oh, glor- iouS victory in the Lord; he knew that God would not fail him, and that the thing for him to do until God spoke was to stand fast. to wait The thing to do always when darkness is about you, and you know not which way to turn. IS to wait. It is folly to take action. to move, until God says: 'Go forward" Then the strong east wind of His providences will drive chan nel through the deepest waters ever to be met with, and you will pass over to the other side dry shod and your enemies will be swallowed in the re- turning waters. Oh. it is glorious to wait on the Lord! You have to do it if you are going to successfully meet the crises of life. Don't move until you hear Gods voice speak. He will not let your ear be deceived if you wait on Him. You will know when the command to go forward comes. If you are uncertain as to the voice and your heart is eager to do Gods will. you may always be sure that it is not God s voice that is speaking to you. But If you are waiting in faith on Him, faiths ear will hear the blessed voice of God. the heart will leap with respon- slve joy and the feet eagerly move in the direction which God indicates. even if it is right into the black waters of Red Sea.
 The Glory of Crises.-And right at this point will be realized the glory of the crisis in your life. As you take the step forward a His command, God will divide the waters and the way will be made plain. There is Divine glory in every crisis in which God has His way and the soul waits on Him. And the glory is realized at the point of obedience. Patient waiting and prompt obedience will make every dark crisis brilliant with the glory of God. There was the magnificent glory of the King of Egypt in his palaces, and his temples, and his pyramids and his great and powerful country. There was the commanding glory of his great army. as it came laundering along; the glittering chariots flashing in the sunshine. the chly-caparisoned horses skimming the ground as they rushed onward; the strong warriors equipped for the battle riding confi- Gently. That seemed to be all the glory there was that day to the affrighted lsraelites. Even the maies- tic cloudy pillar of Gods presence lost its glory in their eyes. and to be slaves to the Egyptians was better than dy- ing with God in the wilderness. But God never lets the soul that is follow
 ing Him Cie in the wilderness. Just at the point where the soul feels that death is upon it. God sends deliver ance and the glory that had appeared in the ranks of the enemy disappears beneath the waves of Gods judgment, and His glory bursts forth from the issues of the crisis which the soul had just been facing. And the soul does not know what the glory of the Lord is until it has seen it flash cut of the crisis to which He has led, and over which He has control.
 There are little crises and big crises in every life. The little ones are met with every day. The big ones come when some important issue is at stake. The little ones if successfully met with prepare one to meet the big ones when they come. The sleeping conscience and careless mind that miss the glory in the little crises pave the way for de- feat in the important crises when they come. It is magnificent to be- hold brave soul like Moses meet- ing the mighty crisis. To see him stand calmly in the face of panic and and ridicule and bitter de- nunciation, and patiently wait for God.