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2 (984) THE
SHELTER AND PROTECTION.
There is another fruitful train of thought,
however, closer to their human hearts and everyday
needs suggested by the bluff figure of the
text. For the rock had been more to them while
on their soul-trying journeys than a striking
hint at some of the incommunicable attributes
of their God. Convinced deeply as they must
now have been that Jehovah was high and lifted
up forever above man's thorough comprehension,
of whom they could never dare to think as altogether
such as they themselves were, there was
An hll n rvf.V* rv?? bonrl f n ? >-* 'V, -
VAA tuv v/uuwi iiauu LUC av^LLlJ_lg UCCU IV 1X-L1V\Y
as sympathetic aud protective in his all pervading
presence among them. Mow, from the severities
of those desert southern summers and the
wintry rigors of the bleak mountain regions, the
rocks had been their constant shelter and ready
protection. The fierce noonday sun was forgotten,
the languor and fatigue of tihe oppressive
heat were banished, as the pilgrims stretched
their fevered limibs in the quiet cool and refreshing
shade of some giant rock. There, too, they
might rest secure from the wild blasts of the
torrid tempests and find certain shelter from the
unique horrors of the dreadful sandstorms
which infest those desolate regions. Most effective
refuge from all the natural terrors of their
perilous journey they could ever find under the
lofty crest of some generous crag or behind the#
Ion sr skvscranincr rider es overlooking their vallev
way. How appealing the thought, then, how
rich in comfort and peace, that in a most peculiar
sense Jehovah was the Rock of their shelter
and their ever present protection!
Take, if you will, but a hasty glance over
your Psalter, noting the number of psalms which
have for their keynote this idea of Jehovah,
the sheltering Rock, and you will begin to appreciate
how strongly Moses struck this chord
of religious truth in Israel's national life. Here,
for the first time, was this master-note, Jehovah
the Rock, sounded, but down to the outmost
bounds of their history we can hear its deep
iron chord vibrant still. Again and again, we
catch the sweet singer in Israel timing his wondrous
harp to this lofty strain ' The Lord is my
Rock, in him will I trust;" "Unto thee will I
cry, 0 Lord, my Rock;" "God is the RSock of
my heart and my portion forever;" "God only
is my Rock," "the rock of my strength;" "O
Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer," "Prom the
. / Al- !11 T A- AJI 1
enus 01 ine earm win i cry unto cnee, wnen my
heart is overwhelmed. Lead me to the Rock that
is higher than I." Seraphic Isaiah, too, like
Moses, is very bold. With clear prophetic vision,
he gazes into the ominous future, through the
mists and mazes of the seven centuries, and
points to One above all others who "shall he as
an hiding place from the wind, and a covert
from the tempest, as the shadow of a great rock
in a weary land."
PERSON All APPLICATION.
And now, brethren, looking behind the letter
to the spirit, grasping the substance of which
the figure is but a shadow, coming to that human
life and heart of which all visible nature only
supplies the types and hints, we need make no
abatement for change of scene from those old
Israelites to ourselves. The scorching rays of
temptation fall as fiercely and the winds of passion
blow as furiously among ub as ever they did
in old Egypt, or in the rock wilderness or on
the lonely plains of Moab. This world, in many
of its aspects, is a weary land for the soul. We
are travelers across its dreary wastes. A hot
sun beats down upon our heads, a burning soil
is under our feet. Angry clouds lower upon
our horizon, sudden tempests break upon us and
, sweep about us. Sometimes, it seems that we
are but the helpless prey to the capricious forces
PRESBYTERIAN OF V7HE S
of blind and cruel chance. Yet, from Moses'
melodious song and its echoing music throughout
Israel's strange, sad history, we may know
that the Lord Jehovah is our Rock and Refuge.
His towering presence is ever a sure protection,
1' from every stormy wind that blows, from every
swelling tide of woes." In the shadow of this
eternal Rock we may lind rest, refreshment, delight
and deliverance. Let the tired, worn and
RnximiR Vipnrfr avor tlirr> nntn liirr? tVia ;?-? O
weary land, the shelter in the time of storm.
He is the Rock higher than we.
4<0 safe to the Rock* that is higher than I,
My soul in its conflicts and sorrows would fly;
So sinful, so weary, Thine, Thine, would I be;
Thou blest Rock of Ages, I'm hiding in Thee!
How oft in the conflict when pressed by the foe,
I have fled to my Refuge, and breathed out my
woe,
How often when trials like sea billows roll,
I have hidden in Thee, O Thou Rock of my soul!''
As the Isrealites wound their way through the
rocky defiles of Sinai's rugged peninsular there
were other dangers to be watched and faced than
those of dread forces of nature. The hand of
man, directed by the malicious human brain,
was lifted against them in more than one instance,
"a weapon more terrible than the lion's
paw,'' more frightful than hurricane's roar. It
was a part of the discipline, too, to learn war's
awful lessons ere thev ventured udou the dob
session of the promised land. This necessity
drove them to a fuller appreciation of the merits
of their rock environment. They soon found the
impregnable advantage they had in "the munitions
of the rocks" as their defence from the
enemy. Ancient Amalek finally discovered that
it was in vain he hurled his spear or twanged
his armors against a rock-fenced foe. Then, too,
it was upon the top of the rock hill that Moses,
with the support of Aaron and Hur, successfully
supplicated the great God of battles. It was
also from the top of "Pisgali which looketh toward
Jeshimon," that Israel could dictate her
own terms to the haughty Amorite and speak
peremptorily to the hated Bashanite. From the
top of the rocks overlooking the plains of Moab
where glittered the morning sun the goodly tents
and holy tabernacle of Israel, it was there that
!?-! 1 1 -lS "* 1 * * *
iTOiiia. ? imbc xen narmiess upon mem ana lustiui
Balaam's hired curse descended as unwilling
blessing. Verily, the rocks were their salvation,
their defence, their high tower of refuge from
their adversaries.
David also found the security of the rocks and
dens, the caves and crags, when (hunted like a
partridge in the mountains by his sullen foe,
the half-crazed Saul, son of Kish. The bold and
stern Elijah sought similar refuge when, overwrought
by his people's apostacy and bloody
Jezebel scoured the land for him, he betook himself
even unto Horeb the mount of God," and
came into a cave and lodged there." Thus it is,
an old, old story, in every land, where tyranny
sits upon the throne, or persecution runs rife
wherever tiie few must contend, hoping against
hope, for truth, for right, for freedom. They
soon look up to the hills from whence cometh
their strength and hie themselves to the rocky,
f-?.tne-s s cf the mountains wheuct they can at
least continue the unequal struggle. Could
Alpine snowy heights their story tell or old
iScotia'a historic Bummiiits speak, they'd bear
grand witness to the brave deeds and heroic sacrifice
of freedom's hunted children, of religion's
faithful few.
For us, too, if we did but appreciate it and
would but accept it, there is ever, let the foe be
whom he may, a sure retreat, a safe refuge, an impregnable
fortress and high tower beyond the
enemies' scaling, in the Rock of our salvation.
O XJ T H [ August 28, 1912
Hark to the triumphant burst of David's harp.
"I will love thee, 0 Lord, my strength. The
Lord is my Rock and my Fortress; my God, my
rock in whom I will trust; I will call upon the
Lord who is worthy to be praised; so shall I be
saved from mine enemies." Where is the rock,
like our Kock? for even more confidently, peanlike,
rings this brave cfhord: "God is our refuge
and strength, a very present help in trouble.
Therefore will not we fear, though the earth be
removed, and though the mountains be carried
in the midst of the sea; though the mountains
shake with the swellings thereof." It was, you
recall, with this same thrilling note that Martin
Luther struck up that battle-hymn of the Reformation
which sent fresh courage to the fainting
hearts of the Reformers and led on to undying
victory., "Ein feste Burg ist unser Gott." A
miorhtv fnrfrass ic nil t* HfiH T^hia an mo aiirrino
note all along the ages has nerved the despairing
soul in thie dread conflict with sin and Satan.
Let that soul then make her boast in the Lord.
Let us, like Moses, "publish the name of the
Lord," that men the world over "may ascribe
greatness unto our God." "Let the redeemed
of the Lord say so!"
"In Zion's Rock abiding, my soul her triumph
sings,
In his pavilion hiding, I praise the King of kings.
Wild waves are round me swelling, dark clouds
DVWWA T SPA
Yet in my Fortress dwelling, more safe 1 can
not be.
My tower of strength can never, in time of trouble
fail;
No power of hell, forever, against it shall prevail."
Will you suffer one word of urgent exhortation
7 Let all the true Israel of God, and remember
by the simple act of childlike faith every
one may enter this goodly household of the
covenant, meditate often and long upon the great
truths contained within the compass of this simple
text. It is the keynote of this dying song
of Moses, the moat remarkable production of the
most remarkable person that moves on the world's
stage till the appearance of the God-man. It is
the keynote of the dying swan's song, if you
please, than which Scripture itself holds nothing
more sublime, except that other which joined
with this shall be rapturously struck up by those
whom John from Patmos saw standing upon
the sea of glass, mingled with heavenly fire, having
in their hands the harps of God. '' And they
sing," he says, "the song of Moses the servant
of God and the song of the Lamlb." Let our
hearts fully respond to this grand master-note,
"Jehovah, the Eternal Rock," and even though
the response be only in some minor chord, it
shall musically mingle with that supernal dia
pason which swells from the pauseless chorus
of eternity around the great White throne.
AN IMPORTANT DISCOVERY.
For the last year systematic excavations have
been made at Ostia, the ancient harbor of Rome
at the mouth of the Tiber. The ruins of a
large city, built probably by Hadrian over the
old republican town, have been uncovered.
Archaeologists consider the discoveries as important
as those of Pompeii. Heretofore it has been
believed that Ostia was founded by Ancus Mar
tius, the lourth King 01 xtome, that it was
strayed by Marti us during the civil wars, rebuilt
during the republic, sank into insignificance,
and was buried in the sand and deposited in the
Tiber when Trajan built the new port and city
of Portus. Instead of this it is now certain that
Ostia not only continued to flourish under Hadrian,
but that the old level was raised six fftet
and that the republican town served as the foundation
of a model city.?Exchange.