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

cTdi VIM uuo iS'
It to victory
FkX< S.> sound forth from
II| II the 10th Psalm
which was writ
ten supposedly in commemoration o
the great delivcrance of Jerusalem
from the mighty Assyrian army. L
was during the reign of the godl,
King Hezekiah that these remarkable
events transpired. They are full OF
thrilling interest. Following the Wig
orous religious and political reforms
with which Hezekiah inaugurated hi,
reign. he boldly threw off the yoke
of the Assyrian king and refused lon
ger to pay him tribute. Later the
northern tribes of Israel were taken
captive and their country laid waste
by the Assyrians, and this exposed
Judah to fresh attack. Many of her
strongholds were taken and the vast
Assyrian army under Sennacherib
came and encamped against Jerusa-
lem. The city was ordered to sur
render in the most insulting and
blasphemous language. The God of
Judah was defied as being unable to
save them from the iron hand OF the
great conqueror. In the hour of
peril and desperate need Hezekiak
lays the matter before the Lord and
obtains word through the Prophet
Isaiah that the Lord has heard his
prayer and will deliver the city out
of the hands of the enemy. "And it
came to pass that night that the
angel of the Lord went out and smote
in the camp of the Assyrians an
hundred four score and five thou
sand: and when they arose early in
the morning behold, they were all
dead corpses."
GO MUCH for the historical facts
~ which probably furnished some
deyout Jewish poet with his inspira-
tion for the Psalm. In the eleven
short verses of this paean of praise the
words of our text are repeated twice,
echoing the thought i'm the opening
verse, and furnishing the key to the
whole. The sound of the words
comes with the reassuring calm of
the peace, be still" which hushed
the raging sea of Galilee to rest. 1t
is IA confident boast which swells ald
throbs all through the Psalm and re-
veals the glory which comes from the
linking of the Divine power with hui
the face of mighty foe. What must
these words have meant to those
helpless Jews shut up in their
city and unable of themselves to
strike single effective blow at
the enemy which threatened their
homes and their loved ones? To-day
the Assyrians are seen to be drawing
the lines closer about the city and
preparing to make the final assault
upon the city's walls. Darkness
closes in upon the city and the en-
camped enemy. What the morrow
may bring forth fills the people with
anxious dread. But .Hezekiah and
Isaiah have placed the matters at is
sue in the hands of mighty ally.
and. while the besieged city waits,
Gods angel goes forth and smites the
Assyrian army with the scourge of
death. The morning light as il breaks
over that troubled and anxious city
reveals to the wondering eyes of the
people heaps of dead instead of an
onrushing and conquering army, and
in the distance the remnant of Sem
nacherib's army can be seen retreat
ing. leaving behind its lifeless war
riors. II is no idle boast which echoes
throughout the city. They can say
in truth: "The Lord of Hosts is with
us; the God of Jacob Is our refuge"
q 4 WAS great thing for King Heze-
~ kiah to be able to claim the Lord
as his ally. 1t is the greatest boast
which any soul can make. Japan
few years ago was proud to claim as
her ally the British nation with her
powerful fleets. Cuba more recently
was made strong and confident in the
knowledge that the United States
stood behind her in sympathy and
was ready to help strike the blow for
liberty.
podSt thdt uOu was WITH
the heaviest artillery sounds well, and
has echoed and reechoed on the lips of
men in self-assuring confidence ever
since, but we dare to claim IL is not
true. We would like to recast IL and
say: "God. with the artillery, makes
IL the strongest" The imputation that
God is always looking for the biggest
army and the heaviest guns, so as to
be on the winning side, is worse than
tIasphemy. God 10 always with the
Night, aud whether IL has the heaviest
guns or not 70 wins gloriously in the
end Surely IL was not because Heze-
kiah had the heaviest fighting force
which made God his ally and secured
for him the victory. Follow through
the pages OF sacred history and II will
be seen that with God IL was not ques-
tion of the largest army and best
equipment. but was always an issue
between right and wrong; the deliv-
GRANGE of man in answer to faith, and
the glory Of God in fulfillment of His
promises. Trace through the pages
of profanc history and IL is no hard
task TO find again and again the tri-