The Tupelo journal., 1909-11-26
The Fortress of
Morambad

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Fret not tnyself because of evil-doers."
This text is often misunderstood. /
remember that at college, when dld
not know that | knew but little, | rldl-
culed believers in the Bible by quot
ing this text as a contradiction to the
rest of the Bible, arguing that we
were told in a great many verses OF
the Bible to agitate ourselves, trouble
ourselves over the salvation of men
that we were to be anxious when the
e~vil-doers appeared. | argued that IL
meant that we were to let them nave
their way, that we were to pay no at
tention to them, and that we were not
to have any worry over he fact that
that there was evil in the world. Of
course l advertised my ignorance. But
1t was the ignorance which generally
prevails concerning this text. 1t was
not intended to carry the idea that
we are not to be agitated or disturbed
concerning %evil-doers. You will see
when you compare scripture with
scripture, and when you inspect the
whole of this wonderful Thi~rty-seventh
Psalm, that the Lord tells his people
not to fret" themselves, for the rea-
son that evii-doers must be fought.
The very fact that we must overcome
the e%vil-doers makes it necessary that
We should not fret ourselves. The
larger, broader Interpretation of the
scripture brings necessarily to the
front the idea that we are not to fret
ourselves, because if we do we will
not do the things we ought to do, and
e%vil-doers will not be defeated as they
should be defeated.
Ruin of Mighty Fortress.
I remember visiting Susa, down the
Tigris river, near the Persian gulf. AS
we looked out toward the east from
Susa we could see a range of noun
tains that used to divide the kingdom
of Babylonia from the kingdom of
India. Near the top of that mountain
range a column standing distinctly
against the sky, and broken ruins,
running along the crest of the noun
tain, attracted our attention. The old
guide was asked what the ruin was,
and he said, "That is the ruin of the
fortress that never was captured" AT
night, as we sat by the campfire, the
old sheik told us, in that symbolic, fig
urative manner of the east, how this
fortress stood there a thousand years,
and was the chief defense against the
East Indian warriors; how the Valley
of Shinar was kept in safety, and the
people dwelt in peace while that
fortress stood there with it's great
armament, with the best soldiers, the
defense of the entire nation. The stu
alton was one of great strength. 1t
was on the highest peak. All around
it were high cliffs, deep valleys, and
sharp rocks, where it would be death
to fall. 1t was so guarded by nature
that the entrance to it was up a
natural stairway ove which only two
people could go abreast to the top of
the mountain. The old guide told us
that the fortress was not only in a
powerful location, but was SO beautiful
LII SltudtlOn tAoI LlICy SOulu SSC llOll
that point far out on the plains to the
east, and away south even to the sea,
and north to the incoming of the
Tigris and the Euphrates. This great
est fortress of all the east was fur
nished with every possible kind of
provision. They had dug deep wells
in several portions of the parade
grounds, and some of those wells
were living springs. The soldiers
were selected from the best men in
the armies of Babylon and ancient
Nineveh, that they were chosen for
their physical, educational and mental
attainments. Men in the forefront of
battlefields were selected to stand
guard in this fortress. The officers
were selected in the same way, and
the commander of Morambad stood
next in rank to the king. Great men
regarded it as a position of highest
honor to occupy any station in that
fortress. Its history was full of ro-
nance, full of heroic deeds. Every
thing that had been done about it
seemed to have been preserved with
care in order to inspire the soldiers
with the(deeds that their forefathers
had done.
Unnerved by Fretting.
But, n day there came news to
the honorable prince, the leader of a
hundred battles, in command of the
fortress, that the forces of the east
had gathered from the far Ganges,
and that they were coming toward the
capital. This fortress, that had never
surrendered, had a commander who
had been decorated often by the king,
whose voice was next to the kings in
authority, and who would be regent if
the king had died-and yet that COM
mander trembled in cowardly fear
when he heard the news of the on
coming hosts. The walls of the fortress
were no less mighty. his soldiers no
less brave, everything as it had been
before, yet the commander feared and
trembled, worried and fretted, passing
sleepless nights, walking the walls
constantly to see if there was n
sign of the approaching foe. At last,
before any army appeared in sight,