The daily banner. (Cambridge, Md.) 1897-2008, 1913-08-02
The Story.

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was not an event behind it which
called it forth. Somethink like this
- lily happened. 1t was so great
memory of it went from gen.
tn it passed into the immortal Gus
of this immortal psalm. 1t
an extreme humiliation just to
- unknown; that the new king
was utterly oblivious to their rela-
uonship to the grandest vizier Egypt
had ever seen; indeed, that he cared
not fig for the exalted character
and distinguished services of Jo-
seph himself. To find themselves
suddenly degraded from their po-
sition as guests of the nation, to
have the light of the royal counte-
nance eclipsed, was an extremely bit
ter modification. Humility was the
first lesson Israel learned in the
school of adversely. He was not to
think of himself more highly than
he ought to think. but soberly. His
tory has no parallel to that awful
| duel-the contest between Omnipo-
| tence and the human will, personal
ed by earth's proudest monarch and
| intrenched in her strongest citadel.
| Pharaoh, whit daring folly, had
| thrown his gauntlet at the feet of
Jehovah in the insulting query
who is the Lord. that l should
obey His voice?" For the honor of
his name and the rescue of his peo-
pie the Almighty had accepted the
challenge. That he was Lord of
all was manifest by the very fact
that his power showed itself in ev-
cry kingdom, earth, air, water, man,
beast. That he could preserve those
who put their trust in him was
shown by the fact that in every in
stance the Hebrews were exempt
from the plaques which fell uni
lRersally with their full weight upon
| the~Egyptians. If one or two pla-
cues had come simultaneously with
he demand for Israels liberation,
1araoh might have said nonchal-
~, 1T is mere coincidence"
when nine had come, in ascend
Ascale as to severity and the ven
ion in which the objects tou-
were hled, and in each in
the dsraelites had been en-
eSemnt from the universal
suffering, upon mind more OBJ
tnse than that of the cultured mon
arch of the most civilized nation of
earth, it would have been borne in
that the hopeless struggle was
against Omnipotence. Pharaoh knew
it; but he had so fought against the
first inkling /of the truth that his
heart was hardened to resist it
when it was fully revealed.
The Teachers Lantern,
Pharaoh, spite of the glamour of
court and kingship, was just a hui
man being. The attitude he as
sumed. the evil he did, was simp-
ly that of man. In point of fact,
in proportion to their rank and
sphere men are making the same
stand today against God. The con-
test between good and evil is age
long and unintermittent. There is
still the fateful antithesis: God
and Mammon. And service of both |
is still impossible, and even un-
thinkable. Whoever for greed of !
gain does moral or material harm |
to his neighbor is serving Nam |
mon, however he may resent the |
He is fighting God |
just as Pharaoh did. His ultimate /
defeat is as certain
as that of Egypt's monarch Who
ever in the spirit of sacrifice and
love of his fellows abandons the
gains Of greed, joins himself to
the forces and causes that emanci-
pate from sin and make men bet
an one joins Moses and
sod. Ultimate triumph is as GER
ain as the eternal throne. The
plaques are not all limited to the
Vile Valley or to Moses day. All
he suffering of Egypt is as dust in
he balance, compared to the univer-
ia and perpetual pains and penal
les incident to sin. Pains of sin |
re the warnings of God. They are ;
harp and cumulative not because ,
iod delights in them, but because
hey must be, IN order to be de- i,
errent. There is a present-day sla-
cry, more dire than that of Israel t
n Egypt. He is not a true lover
f his kind who does notseek by 5
very means to break it. PhiIan- .
hropy and patriotism alike call for
nlistment under the banner of TIE s
God. They demand active service.
'eu;rality is impossible So is dou-
lie service of God and Mammon.
N this diamond pivot turns the =
estiny of the mass and the indi-
ldual. 1t is wholly Indifferent ,
neither you say God hardened Mo- -
IS heart or Moses hardened his
wn heart. The narrative says
9th. Pharaoh was proceeding UNI '.
ar laws which God had made. AL u
which are wise and good. I'm
er these laws warnings unheeded 9
'oduce a callous conscience. Since
Cd made thee law. it may be said
2 hardened. Since man breaks the d,
W, it may be said man hardens ~,
S own heart. There was a physi- e,
i basis for each of the plaques. sc
fact most of them still occur in
at country or have only recently q,
zen eliminated by the march of D
odern sanitation. T he chief woa- h