The L'Anse sentinel. (L'Anse, L.S., Mich.) 18??-current, 1903-04-04

| i<oTu VI hosts was Win tHo Wcdhc
in the righteous cause. Take IL Il
our own revolutionary war and con
slider the seemingly insurmountabl
odds against which Washington
small and poorly-equipped army con
tended. II il were true that God wa
with the largest armies and the heav
lest artillery, how can the surrende
at Yorktown be explained? how cai
the bravely-won independence be un
derstood? Wrong may sometimes tri
umph for a season; the might of maj
may seem to prevail and victory for
time perch upon its banner. but !
must not be forgotten that God is play
ing a large game, and that His recort
cannot be written in decade, or ;
| generation, or a century. ultimate
triumph is to be His. Truth as it II
found in Him is to prevail. God says
81 will be exalted in the EARTH" ant
they who can say: "The Lord of Hosts
is with us; the God Of Jacob is oui
refuge" are fighting along the lint
of sure victory.
GHE titles which are given to Goo
" in our text are specially fitting
and Significant: "The Lord of Hosts,
and "the God of Jacob" The hosts OF
the Assyrians had come up against
Jerusalem, but the hosts of the Lore
were marshalled to the aid Of the be
leaguered city. The honor, the pow
H. f,st f,,I, IF God i'm.
pugned by the goddess enemy, and the
covenant-keeping God could not for
sake His people; He must deliver them
for His own yindication and honor,
as well as because the need was des-
perate and the cry of faith was per-
sistent. The Lord of Hosts as the
militant God; the God of Jacobas the
covenant-keeping God. If the eye OF
faith will look long and steadily to-
ward the hills from whence comes its
help, n vision will burst upon the soul
which will recall the sight which
cheered the faint-hearted servant Of
the prophet as lie was enabled to see
the innumerable hosts of God en-
tamped between the threatening en-
envy and the hunted prophet. The
Lord of Hosts. The Lord with the
countless multitu6es of Heaven to car
nv out His commissions and execute
His judgments. That was no idle
boast which Jesus made when the
Roman guard took Him prisoner in
the garden and lie declared that lie
could ask of His Father and He would
send "more than 12 legions of angels
to deliver Him. Nerxes is credited
with having an army OF over two
millions and half of men when he
made his descent upon Greece, sup
posedly the largest army ever mus
tered by a single ruler. and yet this
immense army, which it is said took
seven days and nights to cross the
bridge of boats built across the Hell
lespont, was but handful of men in
comparison to the innumerable hosts
which God can marshal when need
requires. The arena of the upper air
is filled with the forces of Heaven as
they swiftly pass hither and thither
in performing the will of Him who is
the Lord of all these hosts. What q
tremendous claim it is to say that
"the Lord of Hosts is with u.s." What
invncible union! 1t was this conf
dence which brought Moses, the fugi-
tive Hebrew, back and made him bold
10 go before the mighty Pharaoh and
demand delvcrance for his enslaved
countrymen. 1t was this confidence
which kept Joshua circling the walls
of Jericho until they crumbled to the
ground. 1t was this confidence which
ncrved the arm of David and sent the
stone with unerring aim into the fore
head of the Phiistine giant. 1t was
this confidence which enabled Paul to
fight the good fight of faith" to meet
all the perils and hardships of his pio-
neer missionary work and give him
the right at the close of his tremen-
dously active life to claim that he
had been more than conqueror through
Him who had loved him and given
Himself for him. And it is this conf
dence which makes the servant of the
Lord brave and steadfast and victori-
Gus in the face of every foe, and en-
ables him to surmount every difficult
ty. The Lord of Hosts! What title!
THE Lord of Hosts is with us!'
What a claim!
OUT the Lord is more than a mill
g tant Lord leading His hosts to
victory. He is a safe refuge into
which His children may withdraw
when the storm is sweeping down
upon them, and they may rest there
until the danger is past. And it is
the God of Jacob Who is our refuge.
Why SO? Why not the God of Abra-
ham, or the God of Isaac? We do
not need to go into the history Of
Jacob very far TO discover the reason.
Who was it who had to flee for his
life to escape the anger of wronged
brother and who found resting
place at the gateway of Heaven,
where God met him and made His
covenant with him? Who was IL who
sojourned in the land of his jealous
and avaricious father-in-law, who
suffered wrong, who was cheated
and lied to and abused and threat
ened, and yet who found the Lord
was with him and giving him great
substance and n numerous progeny?
Who was it who was troubled with
the sins of his youth as he journeyed