St. Tammany farmer., 1906-07-28

preaching army Of the dreaded Phar.
saoh? Before them was tho wide
spreading sea! On either hand were
the towering rocks! And behind
them drawing nearer and nearer was
their powerful enemy. The lines OF the
.chariots could be seen as they wound
down along the rocky course into tho
narrow valley, where the frightened
Hebrews were gathered.
Moses lifted hill eyes in mute appeal
to the cloudy pillar lowering over
them. Would God fail them? Nay, had
He not promised? Had He not told Of
this very thing, saying that He would
destroy Pharaoh and his army? Reas-
sured by the thought he looked out
upon the assembled people with new
courage, then shouted, SO that the lead
ers and chief men OF the people all
about him could hear:
Fear ye not, stand still, and SEQ
the salvation of the Lord, which He
will show you to-day; for the Egyp-
shall see them again no more forever"
The people listened incredulously,
while they kept their eyes upon tho
soldiers drawing nearer and nearer
But who will destroy our enemy,
who come upon us with sword and
spear and mighty horse and chariot?'
demanded the one who had before
spoken against Moses, pointing to the
approaching army.
And by way Of answer Moses pointed
towards the cloud above them. Some
minutes he stood in silence, until there
stole over the people an awed silence.
''The Lord shall fight for you, and ye
shall hold your peace" he cried at
last.
Then there came a voice from the
cloud, as though by way Of answer,
saying:
Wherefore criest thou unto me?
Speak unto the children Of Israel that
they go forward. But lift thou up thy.
rod, and stretch out thine hand over
the sea, and divide it; and the children
of Israel shall go on dry ground
through the midst of the sea. And /,
behold, will harden the hearts Of the
Egyptians, and they shall follow them;
and will get me honor upon Pharoah
and upon all his host, upon his chari-s
OTIS and upon his horsemen. And the
Egyptians shall know that am the
Lord, when have gotten me honor
upon Pharaoh, upon his charlots and
upon his horsemen."
The voice ceased. A reverent s!Ience
brooded over the people. But as soon
as the rumble OF Pharaoh's chariots
bore in upon their ears again the old
fear returned, and they began to cry:
'.Pharaoh's soldiers are upon us!
And the water is before US ready to
swallow up ourselves and our little
ones and our cattle!".
"But the Lord has bid us go for
ward, and has said He would divide
the waters and lead US over on dry
land" cried Moses and the lead
ers about him
For an instant they felt reassured.
but as they turned again and saw
Pharaoh's army was now almost ready
to fall upon them, they again cried out
in their great fear.
It was then that a miraculous thing
happened. The Cloud began to move
back towards the advancing columns
Of soldiers, and as the Hebrew peo-
pie beheld wonderingly they noted
that the evening twilight was Deepen
ed to midnight darkness on the side
of the Cloud towards the Egyptians,
so that they were shut out from their
view, but on the side Of the Cloud to.
wards the Hebrews 1t glowed with q
glorious light, so that all through the
night they had light in the camp and
were able to prepare for the journey
on the morrow. sz5s.g#s
And before the light had begun to
break in the east and while yet tho
darkness brooded over the camp OF the
Egyptians so that they feared to stir,
the people under the leadership OF
Moses and Aaron and their elders and
leaders were started on the way to-
wards the water.
There strange sight greeted them.
Through the midst Of the sea a narrow
pathway led ON the bed OF the sand,
and on either side there reared forbid
ding walls OF water, which looked az
though ready to sweep inward and en-
gulf all that lay In its path. Into this
narrow passageway Moses and Aaron
fearlessly walked, and the people, who
had drawn back in fearsomeness, now
took fresh courage and followed as
they saw their leaders advance to the
center Of the pathway. There they
stopped while all The people with their
little ones and their focks and herds
passed over.
Again the sound Of the rumbling
chariots fell upon the ears Of the fee
ing people, and they looked back a.
they reached the opposite bank and
beheld the walls Of water give way and
swallow up the pursuing army.
Then It was that Moses broke forth
into . song Of praise. saying: Il will
sing unto the Lord, for He hath tri-
umphed gloriously; the horse and his
rider hath he thrown into tho sea-"
Our Place ana Our Work.
Where we dnd ourselves Is where
we belong, and where our work lies
until we are sent by some totally ire
sistible force into new environment.
We have doubtless all experienced the
sensation Of trying with all our
strength and ardor to accomplish Ger
tain ends. to find them impossible at
that time. only to be astonished later
by their coming about without any un-