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The church of God has got to learn the lesson
that God is as powerful today as in the days of
Israel, and that He is still bending low to hear
the cry of His people, whether of a nation or stale
or city or church.
GOD’S USE OF THE FROGS.
The next thing I want to mention in connection
with the prayer history of the Old Testament is
that of Moses. Though God had promised to de
liver the Children of Israel, Pharaoh would not let
them go; but Moses, having learned in the school
of prayer, goes before God and God hears his prayer
and begins upon Pharaoh the most myterious line
of operation for the conquest of a great king that
this world ever knew. He did not use gunboats
and armies.
Do not understand that I am opposed to gunboats
and armies, for I am not. The navy of a nation
is like the watch-dog of your house. If you are
infested with thieves and thugs in your community
and you can get a good watch-dog, do it, but I
would not stop praying because I had a dog bark
ing.
God came in answer to Moses’ prayer by sending
the plagues; first, He sent the plague of frogs.
I know Pharaoh laughed when he was told that he
was to be routed by an army of frogs. “Why,”
he said, “what can frogs do? We will just sweep
them off the face of the earth.” Oh. no, Pharaoh,
not when God is back of them! God back of the
yelping of one frog is bigger than the belching
of a thousand gunboats.
Frogs! Frogs in the road. Frogs in the field.
Frogs in the yard. Frogs in the garden. Frogs
yelping and howling and squalling and jumping
ami hopping. Frogs in the house. Frogs in the
bod and under the bed and in the kitchen. Every
where frogs, until at last Pharaoh said, “1 am
whipped.” No wonder he was whipped. God was
behind that frog business.
My brethren, I tell you again: God does not put
himself in the place of dependence upon the big
things and schemes of men. I tell you, what has en
couraged me more than anything else of late is
that God is just as willing to march by the side
of a little bit of a lilliputian as He is to march
by the side of a giant. He is just as willing to
march by the side of a church of small means as
He is to. march by the side of a church with its
men of millions, only, let the conditions be met.
When Pharaoh acknowledged himself whipped,
Moses prayed again, and the frogs disappeared.
Then Pharoah came at them again and again and
again, ami each time God came in just some such
simple way and defeated this mighty king.
THE PRAYER OF ELIJAH.
Then, there is that marvelous prayer of Elijah.
Elijah was in controversy with the prophets of
Baal. They said, “Ours is the true god.” Elijah
said, “Jehovah is the true God.” Elijah went to
God about it. He prayed before he got his pro
gram. We generally make out our own program
and then ask God to bless it. Elijah prayed, and
God gave him his program. His program was a
very different one from what we would have out
lined, but God’s ways are never men’s ways.
God told Elijah to propose a contest in prayer.
He then detailed the plan, and Elijah carried it out.
The proposition was that the prophets of Baal
should call upon their god, and if he were the true
God he would send down fire from Heaven and con
sume the altar, and if he did not send the lire, then
Elijah would call upon Jehovah, and if He respond
ed (hen all would accept Him as the true God.
So sure, so self-satisfied, so conceited about their
religion were these Baalites that they accepted the
proposition and entered, upon it
The prophets of Baal tried first. They prayed.
No fire came. 'They prayed again. No fire. Again
they prayed, and yet no fire. Listen to Elijah.
A more sarcastic remark you will scarcely read any
where than this.
Says Elijah: “Suppose you call a little louder.
It may be that your god is asleep, or. perchance,
he has gone off on a visit.” With renewed energv
tliev cried, and yet no fire came.
Now comes Elijah, and so sure was he that he
poured water all ever (he altar so that nobody
would be able to say that the fire came in anv other
way than by a marvelous miracle from Heaven.
Then he got down and began to pray. As he pray-
The Golden Age for May 16, 1907.
ed the fire came; the heavens wers lighted up and
the altar was consumed.
Does God answer prayer? Did He answer
prayer?
PRAYER ON CALVARY
But I must give you just one more case. I
should like to give you many out of the New Testa
ment, but I will take just this one:
Look at Calvary’s blood-stained summit. Jesus
is hanging there between two thieves. The blood
is trickling down His side and from His hands and
His feet. One of those thieves reviles Him am!
then passes into eternity without hope. The other,
somehow, caught a glimpse of His sac
stained, brow scarred. I know that he must have
seen in that face of Jesus such an expression of
calmness and repose and peace as to shoot a ray
of conviction into his sinful heart. Turning to
Jesus he said, “Remember me when thou eomest
into thy kingdom.”
He must have heard, at some previous time, of
Jesus, and the kingdom that He was to establish,
and now memories revived, and he thinks of what
he had heard about Jesus and the kingdom, and,
hence, “Remember me when thou contest into thy
kingdom”; it is the last prayer ever sent up tq
Jesus when He was on this earth. It was the last
prayer ever answered by Jesus when He was in
person on the earth. Listen to Jesus: “This day
shalt thou be with me in Paradise.”
Does God. answer prayer? Are the Scriptures
not full of the records of answered prayer? Be
lievest thou this Book io be the Book of God, and
its contents messages that have been spoken by
inspiration of the Holy Ghost? Then thou needest
no further that I should speak to thee concerning
God’s attitude to prayer.
Thank God for the record. But this is not all:
add the testimony of experience, and it would thrill
ns to the full. It would thrill and stir and move
our hearts Godward. But we have not time now
for it, only let us take the thought with us. The
experience of men, in all the Christian era: expe
riences of men in our own time and in our own
community. It would make us rise with a mighty
faith and face a skeptical world, and say, with
John. “I know He heareth us.”
The Field of the Prohibition Conflict.
Mr. Brooks Lawrence ami his assistant, Mr. IL C.
Compton, began an active campaign at Anniston
against the liquoi traffic en April 28. The
program included preaching by Mr. Lawrence al
the Parker Memorial Baptist Church in the morn
ing, and the First Presbyterian Church in the eve
ning; by Mr. Compton at the First Methodist in
the morning, and the First Baptist at night. At
3 p. in.. in the Oxford Methodist Church, a meeting
was held by both jointly. These meetings were fol
lowed by a meeting of business men at the First
National Bank, on Monday morning, which seems
to have opposed the movement toward prohibition.
The efforts of Mr. Lawrence and his co-workers
wore not checked by that movement. It is a com
mon fact that business men are often afraid of
a prohibition tight, because they think the tight
will do harm and prohibition will upset the whole
business structure of the town. They forget that
the amount of trade absorbed by the drink traffic
is entirely out of proportion to the capital em
ployed and the numbers supported by it, and that
every dollar of that trade is lost from healthful
business, and at the cost of home comforts to mul
titudes of helpless ones.
The recent ruling of the Supreme Court of th<*
United States on the Kansas liquor fight means
this: The attorney general went into cc/iirt to en
join nine brewing companies from owning any prop
erty, real or personal, in Kansas. The court grant
ed the injunction. That means that no brewer or
distiller will be allowed to own anything in Kansas
connected with the brewing business.
So far as -the nine breweries named are con
cerned, a couple of receivers have been appointed
to take possession of all their business property
found in the state, and it will be confiscated.
An editorial in the Jackson (Miss.) News, copied
by the Vicksburg Herald, makes this important ad
mission :
“While it has been well known for many years
that (he editor of the News has never favored pro
hibition, still he has come to see that the saloon,
influence on the race question creates a demand
for prohibition in the South that makes it better
that we sh u’d have i'."
Tn the next place, it is noticed that, in spite of
all the predictions to (ho effect that prohibition will
kill the prosperity of the city that adopts it, the
editorial says:
“It will not bo disputed that the three most pros
perous ci ies in the state, which have shown more
growth than anv other large towns are: Jackson,
Meridian and Hattiesburg, and. strange to say, all
these cities are prohibition. They have discounted
the cities of Vicksburg. Natchez and Greenville
in growth and expansion."
During the meeting in Wilson, N. conducted
by Rev. J hn T. Bullen. an op m air meeting
was held near tin 1 dispensary on Saturday after
noon. It was piy day. It was Saturday, and
Monday was an election day, when the dispensary
would not be < pen, and yet the sales tell $77 below’
what the.' were the Saturday before. That was
good work.
Our Nelv Department.
We are highly gratified to announce that, be
ginning next week, The Golden Age will inaugu
rate a charming new department to be known as
“The Household.” It will be a weekly symposium
—a sort of playground, “house party” and camp
lire- —all in one. The Editor has contemplated such
a department from the first, especially remembering
the good cheer and inspiration that came to him
for yeais when, as a “shut-in,” he used Io read
•ind write for “The Household and Woman’s King
dom” in The Sunny South.
■ MV , ••tog,
MISS ADA BRYAN.
Last week that “dear old” family paper “fell
asleep” on the bosom of the South's great new
monthly. “ I ncle Remus's Magazine.” There has
been a widespread demand among the several hun
dred members for a weekly medium of commimica
lion, and this request has only precipitared the car
rying out of our original purpose We are especial
ly fortunate in securing as Editor of this depart
ment, Miss Ada Bryan, the gifted granddaughter
of the famous write!, Mrs. Mary E. Bryan, who was
so long the “Good Mother” of The Sunny South
Household.
Watch for our Household next week!
W. T. WINN, General Insurance, representing
several of the best companies in all lines.
Phones 496. 219 Empire Building.
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