Go Forward
F.W. Krummacher
Table of Contents
Go Forward
At that awful moment, when Israel stood at the brink of the Red Sea, perplexed which way to turn; while before them the deep waters roared, behind them the enraged Egyptians were rushing upon them with chariots and horsemen, and on either side of them perpendicular rocks rising up like walls on high, making retreat impossible—-the Lord came to Moses and said, 'Wherefore criest thou to me? Speak unto the children of Israel they go forward." (Ex. 14:15)
There seems something very surprising in this command. But we have a God, my friends, who always knows exactly, and much better than we do, what is good and necessary for His children; and, in truth, He never leads them otherwise than they would wish Him to lead them if they were able to see as clearly into their hearts as He does. But we seldom know what is good for us; and therefore the ways by which God leads us are generally mysterious and obscure, just because the why and the wherefore are concealed from us.
"Speak unto the children of Israel that they go forward!" What a commission was this! Lord, behold the sea with its billows at our feet! "Let them go forward!" Lord, are we able to walk upon the waves, and to find a highway upon the mighty waters? "Let them go forward!" Lord, Lord! but where is the passage over the flood, or where are the vessels for our conveyance? Is it Thy will that Thy people perish in the sea, and that the Egyptians triumph? "Speak unto them, that they go forward!" saith the Almighty; but still He does not touch a single wave to quell it, nor does He dry up the sea, but lets its waves roar at their pleasure; and yet He points to its troubled surface and commands that "all the hosts of Israel go forward!"
They must venture upon His Word, they must believe before they see, and go forward in faith. They venture, and lo! the very moment they prepare to advance in the name of their God, and to step upon the boisterous element—the waves, struck with the rod of Moses, part asunder, and become a wall on their right hand and on their left, a highway in the sea is opened before them, and the people pass over joyfully.
This is the way of our gracious God. We must venture upon His Word; and verily, however much we seem to hazard in His Name, nothing is really hazarded. And when He commands us to go forward, be it into fire, tempest, or the sea, let us only advance in the path of faith and duty, and the result will be glorious!
Go Forward
At that awful moment, when Israel stood at the brink of the Red Sea, perplexed which way to tum; while before them the deep waters roared, behind them the enraged Egyptians were rushing upon them with chariots and horsemen, and on either side of them perpendicular rocks rising up like walls on high, making retreat impossible—the Lord carne to Moses and said, 'Wherefore criest thou to me? Speak unto the children of Israel they go forward." (Exodus 14:15)
There seems something very surprising in this command. But we have a God, my friends, who always knows exactly, and much better than we do, what is good and necessary for His children; and, in truth, He never leads them otherwise than they would wish Him to lead them if they were able to see as clearly into their hearts as He does. But we seldom know what is good for us; and therefore the ways by which God leads us are generally mysterious and obscure, just because the why and the wherefore are concealed from us.
“Speak unto the children of Israel that they go forward!" What a commission was this! Lord, behold the sea with its billows at our feet! "Let them go forward!" Lord, are we able to walk upon the waves, and to find a highway upon the mighty waters? "Let them go forward!" Lord, Lord! but where is the passage over the flood, or where are the vessels for our conveyance? Is it Thy will that Thy people perish in the sea, and that the Egyptians triumph? "Speak unto them, that they go forward!" saith the Almighty; but still He does not touch a single wave to quell it, nor does He dry up the sea, but Jets its waves roar at their pleasure; and yet He points to its troubled surface and commands that "all the hosts of Israel go forward!”
They must venture upon His Word, they must believe before they see, and go forward in faith. They venture, and lo! the very moment they prepare to advance in the name of their God, and to step upon the boisterous element—the waves, struck with the rod of Moses, part asunder, and become a wall on their right hand and on their left, a highway in the sea is opened before them, and the people pass over joyfully.
This is the way of our gracious God. We must venture upon His Word; and verily, however much we seem to hazard in His Name, nothing is really hazarded. And when He commands us to go forward, be it into fire, tempest, or the sea, let us only advance in the path of faith and duty, and the result will be glorious!
(From "Elijah the Tishbite" by F.W. Krummacher; AmericanTract Society, New York p.20-22)