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WHAT IS IN THINE HAND?
p n v n REV -ROBERT STUART MacARTHUR, D.D., LL. D.
forty-One Years Pastor of Calvary Baptist Church, New York, Now President of the Baptist World Alliance.
Supplying For Dr. L. G. Broughton During His Visit to Europe Seeking Health.
TEXT: “And the Lord said unto him, What
is that in thine hand?” Exodus 4:2,
Hl
than two hundred years before the call came
to Moses. lhe force of. the objection which
Moses made the Lord seemed to recognize; but
He removed the objections by supplying Moses
with authoritative credentials. He wrought su
pernatural wonders in the sight of Moses for
the confirmation of his own faith; He also com
manded that a third wonder be performed in
IWPL to assure the people and to convince
Pharaoh that Moses was the appointed messen
ger of Jehovah. As the rod, which was the sym
bol of the shepherd’s position, was changed in
to a serpent, so the position and work of Mos
es was to be changed. The serpent was also
the tempter in the garden of Eden, and so be
came the representative of evil. When
Moses seized the serpent and it became
again a rod in his hand, he was taught
that what was formidable to weak faith might
become an element of power when the act of
obedience to God was performed. What was
originally the rod simply of the shepherd now’
became the rod of God . This rod in the hands
oi Moses accomplished mighty things for God
and for Israel. It was afterward associated
with the name of Moses as was the spear with
Joshua and the harp with David. When our
weakness is supplemented with God’s almighti
ness, only He can estimate the possibilities
which we may accomplish.
Our inherent or acquired ability is a blessing
if used in harmony with God’s will; but it be
comes a curse when used in opposition to God.
The rod of Moses finally became a symbol of
his disobedience to God, and so it became indi
rectly a curse and not a blessing. Moses and
Aaron displeased God at the very end of the
long pilgrimage. Once more the people up
braided Moses because there was no water. He
and Aaron became fearful lest the new genera
tion, murmuring like their fathers about water,
should be for the second time turned back into
the wilderness. Moses did not implicitly rely
upon God’s word, but injected into the exciting
scene a display of his own power. His purpose
probably was to make a deeper impression on
the people; but his act was unwise. Instead
of simply speaking to the rock he struck it with
his staff. Israel obtained water, but Moses and
Aaron were forbidden the honor of entering
the land of promise. It is evermore true that
possible good lies near to possible evil. Oppor
tunities rightly employed become blessings
greatly multiplied; but opportunities neglected
or misused become disadvantages greatly mul
tiplied and increased.
What is in thine hand, 0 Joshua? A spear
to be held aloft in obedience to the command
of the Lord. This spear ever after is associat
ed with the name and the work of the noble
son of Nun. When the second attack was
made upon Ai the Lord commanded Joshua
to “stretch out the spear that is in thine hand
toward Ai.” Joshua was obedient to the Di
vine command; he held the spear extended as
the signal agreed upon with the men who were
in ambush. The extended spear notified them
of the precise moment when they were to issue
forth from their retreat, and to rush into the
city. It is quite possible also that the eleva
tion of the spear was symbolic of the Divine
presence, like the lifting up of the hands of
OSES hesitated to become the mes
senger of the Lord to Pharaoh. He
mentioned one difficulty after an
other "which he thought would ex
cuse him from entering on his al
loted task. His third plea was the
incredulity of the people. It is true
that God had not made a manifes
tation of himself to Israel for more
The Golden Age For November 9, 1911.
Moses in the battle of Amalek. Later in the
narrative the extended spear of Joshua was
an indication that the work of destroying the
enemies of Israel was to continue. It is still
true that when we are obedient to God in the
use of the sword of the Spirit God’s presence
is granted us for the destruction of our spir
itual-foes . When we fail to employ the divine
weapon, we cannot expect to claim the divine
promise that God will be with us to give us the
victory over His and our foes. Happy are we
when we become the obedient servants of God
in the use of the spiritual weapons "which He
has graciously furnished for our spiritual con
flicts.
What is in thine hand, Shamgar? An ox
goad. A rude, clumsy weapon is this with
which to bless Israel and to honor God. But
use it for God and you shall not use it in vain.
Six hundred Philistines shall fall before thy
power, and Israel shall be delivered by thy
bravery and hereoism.
M hat is in the hand of Gideon and his brave
three hundred? Lamps, pitchers, and trumpets.
These are strange weapons with which to at
tempt the defeat of the Midianites who lie in
the valley below. But God can take feeble
instruments and make them mighty for the ac
complishment of His divine purpose. Wonder
ful were the encouragements which God gave
to Gideon in the narration of the dream of
the barley cake at this critical moment in the
history of that remarkable night. There in
the valley . lay the hosts of Midian silently
sleeping; there are their camels as the sand
by the seaside for multitude. The barley cake
rolled through the host until it reached a tent
and overturned it so that it lay prone on the
ground. It would seem that many tents were
smitten by the rolling cake, as if it were a ball
among nine pins, prostrating everything m its
course. Gideon did not feel humilitated in
hearing himself called but a barley cake, al
though this was the most insignificant of cakes,
so long as he could see that cake rolling among
the tents and the tents falling flat upon the
ground as witness to its power. All is silent
among the hosts of Midian as the hour ap
proaches the noon of night. We see the brave
three hundred divided into companies, and in
every man’s hand a'trumpet, a pitcher, and a
lamp within the pitcher. We then see Gideon
going to the outside of the camp and asking
all to follow his example. Then came the
blast of the trumpets, the crash of the pitchers,
the flashing of the lights, and the cry of the
hosts of Israel, “the sword of the Lord and of
Gideon.” The intermingled sound of the trum
pets and the reverberation of the shouts, with
the sudden glare of the three hundred blazing
torches, astounded the Midianites, awakening
to their doom. These Midianites, no doubt,
supposed that there were as many companies
as there were trumpets, lamps, and pitchers.
Every man’s sword was turned against his
fellows, as, with a harsh cry, peculiar to their
race, they rushed about unable to distinguish
friend from foe. Terrible was the slaughter;
glorious was the victory. We need never hes
itate to undertake any task however difficult if
we are following the Divine leadership. We
never need doubt of success when God is on
our side; and we must ever give God the glory
when victory has been achieved. Brave and
noble Gideon! thou hast written thy name
high on the scroll of fame among patriotic vic
tors and faithful heroes.
What is in thine hand, David? A harp. We
cannot look upon this youthful warrior with
out enthusiasm mingled with affection. The
ruddy youth comes before us in the hearti
ness of his faith, and the intrepedity of his
courage. We are to hear him singing with his
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harp ami to see him slaying with his sling.
Saul was the victim of mental and moral dis
order. He was perhaps the guilty victim of
some form of cerebral disease. We are told
that “an evil spirit from the Lord was upon
him;” but we know that this is simply the
Old Testament way of telling us that Saul’s
misconduct brought upon him a Divine retribu
tion. He seemed naturally to have been of a
morbid disposition, and this tendency was ag
gravated by his obstinacy and selfishness. Al
though rebuked by the prophet Samuel, he
does not seem to have sought the Divine for
giveness. Soon his cruel suspicions and mor
bid jealousies induced a homicidal mania. A
better spirit occasionally possessed this strange
man; but soon it left him, and he again fell
into his passionate melancholia. It occurred
to the attendants of King Saul to try the
soothing charms of music as an opiate to
assuage the anguish of his troubled
mind. It was believed that music would be,
The soft insinuating balsam, that
Can through the body reach the sickly soul.
David is soon brought with his harp to the
court. , Saul is sensitive to the soft strains of
David s music, as he was to the more stirring
minstrelsy of the sons of the prophets. The
sounds of David’s lyre and voice, perhaps
chanting some lofty theme, controlled the
troubled spirit of the unhappy and wicked
monarch.
It is almost impossible to overestimate the
value of music in every relation of life. It
stirs the soldier to heroic deeds in battle, and
to untiring courage on the march. It conduces
powerfully to religious feeling, whether it be
the product of the great organ or of the hu
man voice. It is one of the sweetest charms
in social life, and in its wild revelries it may
become an irresistable agency of Satan to
deeds repugnant to noble men and hateful to
God. We know that Elisha sought the minis
try of a minstrel that his mind might properly
receive the prophetic impulse; and we know
that music was an inspiring power to Martin
Luther. His own words are, “Next to theolo
gy, I give the first place and the greatest honor
to music. Milton also was charmed with the
gracious influence of music alike in his times
oi sadness and poetic fervor.
Before the clouded face of Saul, David sat
with his harp. Over its strings his hands
swept, calling divine ecstacy. Fable has told
us oi the power of Orpheus, who by touching
his lyre moved trees and rocks ams the beasts
of the forest. Alas! David’s harp could not
permanently subuue the power of evil in the
soul of Saul. It chocked for a time his evil
tendencies; but the blackness of his envv ami
the foulness of his jealousy broke forth in bit
terness of spirit and deadliness of purpose
against the sweet singer himself. Marvelous
is the power of good or evil which music exer
cises. Glorious are the possibilities in the pos
session of the great musicians of the world.
Beautiful is the expression of the psalmist
when he says, “as well the singers as the
players on instruments shall be there.” Heav
en is harmony; heaven is song. Almost divine
is the gift of playing the organ, the harp, the
violin, and the many other instruments of mus
ic, and so giving forth melodious sound and
song. More than angelic is the gift of opening
the lips and pouring forth a flood of melody
v hich makes all the air tremble with heavenly
music. Oh, men and women, gifted with this
mysterious, matchless, heavenly power, use it
for purity, for truth, and for God.
What is in thine hand, David? A sling. On
ly a sling; but a sling in the trained hand of
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