Newport daily independent., 1903-04-10

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 RM triumphant shout L1 S2ssE @ of returning
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 E@S@a'' ets ssss = -$S it to victory, EkW-C EEI.. sound forth from lNM% / the 46th Psalm, which was writ ten supposedly in commemoration of the great deliverance of Jerusalem from the mighty Assyrian army. It was during the reign of the godly 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 his 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 1t 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."
 C. o MUCH for the historical facts oC which probably furnished some devout 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 in 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. It is a confident boast which swells and throbs all through the Psalm and re- veals the glory which comes from the linking of the Divine power with hu- man weakness, bringing victory in 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 a 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 a 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 it 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 distaIAce the remnant of Sen nacherib's army can be seen retreat ing, leaving behind its lifeless war riors. It 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" G T WAS a great thing for King Heze- ~ liah to be able to claim the Lord as his ally. It is the greatest boast which any soul can make. Japan a 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.
 Napoleon's boast that God 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 it is not true. We would like to recast it and say: God, with the artillery, makes it the strongest" The imputation that ~, l---. Io.1-;r,.r fo,. 4I,o ID;csoroe4