The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1908-03-11
Refuge in Trouble.

Three days after the Israelites had
sung the song of victory on the will
derness side of the Red Sea, their.
faith was tried, for they found no
water. Would the wonderful expert
ences of the past lead them to exer-
else such faith in God as to endure
quietly until ~deliverance was granted
them? Alas, no; they fell again un-
der the power of things which are
Seen" and temporal" Arriving at
Marab and finding the waters bitter,
they "murmured against Moses, say
ing, What shall we drink?'" Moses
did what they ought to have done; he
cried unto the Lord and the waters
were soon made sweet for them.
There at Marah, by the healed
waters, God made for them a statute
and an ordinance, and there He.
proved them, and said, If thou wilt
diligently hearken to the voice Of the
Lord thy God, and wilt do that which
Is right in His sight, and wilt give ear;
to His commandments, and keep all
His statutes, I will put none OF these
diseases upon thee, which I have
brought upon the Egyptians; for q
am the Lord that healeth thee =" Tor
the Lord thy Physician). The ordt-
nance for Israel was obedience, Gods
pledge was to heal them. According
" we find it written of the people who
came out Of Egypt, "there was not
3ne feeble [sick1 person among their
tribes" FPS. 105:37), and again, "Thy
raiment waxed not old upon thee.
neither did thy foot swell these forty
years" (Deut. 8:4). In respect Of all
their needs the Lord made Himself
responsible; for their safety, for. their
guidance, for their health, their
clothing, and their food; they might
have said with David, "The Lord is
my Shepherd; I shall not want" FPS.
23:1).
And yet, again and again we find
them murmuring. Godtried them and
proved them toknow what was in their
heart (Deut. 8:2), and He found!
here a depth of unbelief only equaled
by that of the majority Of His people
In our day. Looking upon, outward
circumstances, It was a very great
trial Of faith to the children of Israel
10 find themselves in the wilderness,
where no corn grew and no food could
be obtained either by working for it
Or by paying for It. Judging by ap-
pearances the mothers must see their
children die of hunger before their
eyes, and the strong men who were
ready to work were incensed against
Moses and Aaron, when they saw no
possibility Of procuring bread for
their families, and thus they vented
tL>Sa {-I.-~4@-. AyIY~ b. N@I
we had died by the hand of. the Lord
in the land Of Egypt, when we sat by
the feshpots, and when we did eat
bread to the full; for ye have brought
US into this wilderness to kill this
whole assembly with hunger"
There was nothing wrong In asking
for bread; God says, Call upon Me
In the day Of trouble, I will deliver
thee, and thou shalt glorify Me" Cps.
60:15). But the spirit IN which they
acted reflected upon God and upon
Moses; it was unbelief and not faith.
They despised and made light Of the
glorious distinction which God had
created between them and the Egyp-
tians, and spoke as though the con-
sequences Of trusting God were more
fatal than those of rebelling against
Him. Yet God in His tender love
passed I'VE their sin, and supplied
their need without sc much as re-
buking them. 1.-THE Lord said unto.
Moses, Behold, I will rain bread from
heaven for you" Gods storehouses
are not confined to earth; His re-
sources are wider than the universe
Itself, for His power is creative; why
then doubt Him?
And yet how many there are who
suffer need, and when they pray, do
so in a despairing, hopeless manner,
as though they took it for granted
that God would not hear them, in
stead of praying in confident expecta-
ton, counting upon God as having
made Himself responsible, by His
very name Of Father, for the real
needs Of all His children.-Mrs. NJ.
Baxter, in Christian Herald.