_They stood_. It is not so easy to stand as to march or to fight. I
have been told that the most difficult service of the soldier is picket
duty; and yet never until we learn to stand shall we be able to fight.
In the fourteenth chapter of Exodus, the thirteenth and fourteenth
verses, we read, "And Moses said unto the people. Fear ye not, stand
still, and see the salvation of the Lord, which he will shew to you
to-day, for the Egyptians whom ye have seen to-day, ye shall see them
again no more forever. The Lord shall fight for you and ye shall hold
your peace." And again, in 2 Chronicles, the twentieth chapter and the
seventeenth verse, it is recorded, "Ye shall not need to fight in this
battle: set yourselves, stand ye still, and see the salvation of the
Lord with you, O Judah and Jerusalem: fear not, nor be dismayed;
to-morrow go out against them, for the Lord will be with you."
Three thoughts are impressed upon my mind:
First: _Before any service, let us stand, giving God a chance with us_.
Let him use you and not you use him so much. In the beginning of his
Christian service Hudson Taylor, the China Inland missionary, was
desirous of being used and cried out for God to send him out into
service. At last God seemed to say to him, "My child, I have made up
my mind to save inland China. If you will come and walk with me I will
do it through you," and the China Inland Mission was born.
Second: _Wait for orders_. In Ephesians the sixth chapter and the
tenth to the thirteenth verses, we have the following description of a
soldier: "Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power
of his might. Put on the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to
stand against the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh
and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the
rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in
high places. Wherefore take unto you the whole armor of God, that ye
may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to
stand." The striking part of that description is the sentence, "having
done all, to stand." In other words, with all our ingenuity and our
planning, with all our preparation and equipment, we lack one thing:
that one thing is the touch of the Almighty God.
Third: _Be willing to do the common thing_. It was rather interesting
to march with thirty-two thousand, and a striking thing to break
pitchers and cry aloud, "The sword of the Lord and of Gideon," but just
to stand was a different matter, and not at all easy. If we were only
willing to do the common things for Christ we should accomplish more in
our lives.
The great Bethany Sunday school building standing in Philadelphia is a
model in its perfect equipment. The mighty Sunday school held there is
one of the wonders of the world. The building was begun not only in
the mind and heart of the distinguished superintendent, the Hon. John
Wanamaker, but when he appealed for funds as they were then needed one
of the poorest children in the city made practically the first and best
contribution. She gathered bones from the alleyways, sold them and
brought her few pennies to help make this wonderful work a success.