The citizen. [volume] (Berea, Ky.) 1899-1958, 1906-02-15

wen. ] dOni know that IL makes
any difference.
But, Father, supposing it does,
I'll die tonight"
well, there's been a good deal of
talking about putting blood on the
door posts but ] don't believe il
amounts TO anything"
But, father il may amount TO some
thing, and | would feel a good deal
safer in this house tonight il there
was blood on the door posts
And then the father and mother
say to themselves: "We'd better
not run the chances ON our doubts
tonight" And so this man goes and
does as his neighbors have done:
the lamb is killed and the blood is
spriukled upon the boor posts. And
the time for the arrival of the death
angel comes and he passes by every
house where the blood has been
sprinkled. And there is heard wall
ing that night in all Egypt, for the
death angel has entered every Egyp-
tian home and claimed the first born
And the eighty years back is balanced
Then Israel is asked TO 90 out on
their pilgrimage, into the wilderness.
II they had only learned the lesson
they got in the Passover. 10 be obedi-
ent when God commands they could
have gotten into Canaan in year
and a half But because they had
not learned that simple lesson, 20 be
obedient to Gods Word, they had
forty years in the wilderness. wan
dering about in trouble and distress.
Aud every time they refused 10 obey
Gods word they bad TO suffer for it;
and every time they complained
against God because things were 90
ing hard with them. they had 90
suffer for it, Go through the histo-
ry Of that people and you will see
how they suffered here and suffered
there. They began TO complain in
one place against God, and they be-
gan TO complain against Moses for
bringing them out there aud because
they were suffering in the wilderness
They complained against God instead
Of recognizing the fact that the blame
was on their own shoulders
Aud pretty soon the fiery serpents
came into their midst and they began
10 be bitten aud 10 die. And when
the lsraelitcs hegan a. die fro~ tie
fiery serpents they rushed 20 Moses
and said. I'VE have sinned and are
meeting the penalty Of our sins.
Won't you pray 10 God and let us
confess our sins, that this plague may
be stayedY" Aud Moses prayed 90
God and God said, Raise in the vii
derness a brazen serpent, aud every
one that looks upon that uplilted ser
pent shall have the poison that is
coursing through his blood stayed,
and shall have new life aud new
health New I've no doubt the inf
del was around somewhere az that
time aud he said, 81 cannot under
stand how this is; that just looking
at serpent of brass is going TO stop
the poison that is going up in my
arm and all through me" And he
might have reasoned and reasoned
and died from the poison. But the
command was Look" Look at the
brazen serpent raised in the wilder
ness" Aud every one that looked
found the new life and health, obey
ing God Looking at the brazen
serpent meant faith in God. Ii meant
a real belief in his love and power,
aad it meant obedience. When God
told them what to DO, and they did
it, they received blessing and new
life.
On, how hard it is for those old
people Of Israel to learn to trust and
obey Godl And we think it so strange
Of them that they did not learn that
when God said thing He meant it
Well, we need not be surprised -
that is not confined to the old people
of Israel We are a good deal like
them. We are constantly doing the
same thing; God commands one
thing; we do another: and we think
we are going to escape, just as they
thought in older times.
There was a good old woman once,
who had Bible and it was marked
all through ct n p" The minister
came in one day, looked at her old
Bible and said; "What do you mean
by # 4 Pr? WELL" she said.
1--WE marked the promises that way.
and I've just taken God at his word;
when he promised something | Just
tried and proved it," Oh, | tell you,
friends, the more we try these prom
ises of God the more we will find
them true! Let us follow the exam.
pie OF the old Israelites in Eovpt