Newport weekly independent., 1902-12-19

Iext: Stand still, and see the saliva uon of the Lord. '. The Lord shall fight TOT you, and ye shall hold your peace''- Ex, 14:13-14
 Man ureads crises. God delights in them. Man likes to feel that he Is master of the situation. God wisely leads the way, sometimes between the mountain and the deep sea, and permits the enemy to cut off retreat an the rear, so that His glory can be manifested and His power realized ln the deliverance wrought. The words ot our text were spoken to the children of Israel during one of the most trying crises in their history. It Is the third day since they have ned from the cruel bondage in Egypt. They are on the edge of the desert, and a short distance moro 1n their journey will carry them be- yond the pursuing chariots of Pha- raoh. And when confidence is grow ing strong in their breasts that they are safe, suddenly the cloudy pillar veers to the southward and leads them between the mountains and the sea. and as the afternoon wears away and the sun sinks to rest the moul- tains on the right hand cast their deep shadow of gloom over the long irregular column of helpless men, women and children, and on the left hand the roar and splash of the sea are heard. Suddenly upon their ears breaks the dull rumble of the on- rushing chariots of the pursuing Egyptians, and their straining eyes penetrate the fading light of the evening, and make out in the dis tance the advancing enemy. Escape seems impossible. They are panic stricken, and in agony of fear they turn upon Moses and begin to up braid and abuse him.
 Here was trying crisis, indeed! The vengeful enemy threatening them in the rear, the walls of rock and the rolling sea on either hand. and rebellion in the camp. In the face of such awful peril, but, with eye fixed on that pillar of cloud, which was even now beginning to glow with light as the darkness set tied down around them, Moses showed sublime confidence in God as he calmly speaks: Fear not. stand still, and see the salvation of the . Lord, which He will shew to you to- day: for the Egyptians whom ye have seen to-day, ye shall see them again no more forever. The Lord shall fight for you, and ye shall hold your peace" And then follows the mighty deliverance of the children of Israel from their peril, and the ut ter destruction of the enemy of God and Gods people.
 And this thrilling bit of history from the pages of Gods Book has it's lessons for you and for me-Crises and the glory which shines out of them if Gods hand is leading, and His power controlling. There are crucial periods in the lives of every individual and every nation which mark the complete breaking away from old conditions and the entrance upon larger liberty. The crisis comes at the point where it is uncer- tain whether the one who has been led out will surrender to the pursu ing enemy and go back to the land of bondage and to worse slavery than ever before. or whether in the gathering gloom, with the relentless foe pressing upon him, he will lift his eyes to the glowing cloudy pillar of the Divine presence and stand still and watch for the salvation of the Lord. which never fails to come.
 Watching for the Crisis-I under stand that in cases of typhoid fever the careful physician exercises the greatest precautions in detecting the crisis in the disease, for carelessness and failure to note the true con6i tion of the patient might bring about fatal issue. He watches for the ap proach of the crisis, and so is, prepared for it when it comes. There is peril in not discovering the crisis. A sleeping nurse and a careless doctor would miss the critical period. There is peril for you and for me in not discovering the crisis as it comes to ns in life's experiences. The sleeping conscience and the careless mind will make us miss the critical period.
 The crisis came in the life of Saul when at Gilgal he usurped the priest ly office and offered burnt offerings before the Lord. His sleeping con- science was not sensitive towards God and it permitted his careless mind to plunge him heedlessly on to holy ground. He was not watching. The crisis came when he little dreamed it was there. Hardly had he completed his sacrifice of burnt offering when Samuel, Gods prophet and priest, came. Oh, what an eternity of difference a few moments make in life, sometimes! Saul. the king, by the amounting of the Lord with the possibility of perpetuating line of kings through his posterity! Saul, the rejected one, because he was not watching for the crisis and was not prepared to meet it If he had not allowed his conscience to fall
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