GO FORWARD.
The following extract is from a sermon preached by Dr. Walker before the Walker Baptist Association at Summerville, near Augusta, Ga., in September, 1899. Following the sermon, he raised a cash collection of $342.00 for the Walker Baptist Institute from poor country farmers.
DR. CHARLES T. WALKER AT THIRTY YEARS OF AGE.
“‘And the Lord said unto Moses, Wherefore criest thou unto me? Speak unto the children of Israel, that they go forward.’—Exodus 14:15.
“For more than 400 years the Israelites had been slaves in Egypt. God’s time for deliverance had come. Moses, his servant, is sent as ambassador to the court of Egypt with divine credentials to represent the court of heaven. Pharaoh refuses to obey the mandates of the mighty God, and ten or more plagues are sent upon the land. The cruel ruler decides to let Israel go. The mighty host, about three million strong, began their march. The pillar of cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night led them; they start out on the wilderness route, a distance of over four hundred miles. They rallied at Rameses, and marched out in wide columns.
“The Israelites were on foot. They were pursued by Pharaoh with 600 chosen chariots, and all the chariots of Egypt, and captains over each of them. The very flower of the Egyptian army hotly pursued the people of God; and, as Israel came to the Red Sea, at a point where it was probably ten miles wide, they saw mountains on either side, the sea in front of them, and the Egyptian army behind them. Many of the Israelites became faint-hearted and murmured against Moses. He said unto them: ‘Stand still, see the salvation of God, for the Egyptians you have seen to-day you will see no more forever.’ Moses seemed to have been praying to God secretly, for there is no record of his public prayer. Yet the Lord said unto him, ‘Wherefore criest thou unto me? Speak unto the children that they go forward.’ Man’s extremity is God’s opportunity. The last of man is the first of God—God takes up where man leaves off. Prayer, diligence and effort go together. There is a time to pray, and then a time to act, to move. God seemed to say, ‘You have prayed—now obey orders. Go forward.’ The leaders moved off to the edge of the sea; the mighty waters divided—the Eternal God cut a pathway for the moving caravan. It was in the morning watch, or between 2 o’clock in the morning and sunrise. The king of day soon dispelled the darkness, and all day long the tramp, tramp of the footsteps of the Israelites was heard passing between the giant mountains of water. The angel, who had guarded them and led them, changed his position from front to rear, and got between the Israelites and the Egyptians. The Eternal God fully protects his people. As the last column of Israel passed, the Egyptian host came in. They traveled for a while as safely as did the Israelites, until the last chariot had left the bank, and when they were all out in the sea, and all Israel on the other side, Moses stretched out his rod over the sea, the waters came together and deluged the Egyptian army, while the Israelites saw the dead bodies of the Egyptians washed against the banks.
“I would have you notice that
“(1) Diligence and action must accompany prayer. Jesus taught his disciples to watch and pray. We are to pray for guidance, for direction, for strength, for conformity to God’s will, for clean hearts, for the renewal of the Spirit, for the coming and extension of God’s kingdom, and then watch and seize the opportunities for work under the guidance of the Holy Spirit. Joshua prayed, and then rallied his men while the sun stood still on Gibeon and the moon stood in the valley of Ajalon. God stopped the sun and moon; Israel did the fighting. A Quaker going along the Valley Forge road, heard some one in the thick brush praying. He turned aside to see who it was; he found a man in deep supplication, face suffused with tears, calling upon God for help. It was General Washington, praying for the success of the American army. He prayed for it, and then rose up and fought for it, and was victorious.
“(2) In order to go there must be reconciliation with God. The Lord is pledged to those who have become reconciled to him through Christ. Elijah built an altar, filled up the trenches, put the sacrifice upon the altar, got everything ready, and then prayed for fire. He was heard, for he was reconciled to God. Abraham was called from Mesopotamia to wander along the banks of the Euphrates; he left all he possessed for what was promised. He was reconciled to God. The language of the Christian is:
‘My God is reconciled;
I hear his pardoning voice;
I can no longer fear;
With confidence I now draw near,
And Abba, Father, Abba, cry.’
“(3) They were not ordered to the right hand nor to the left, but to go forward. The road to victory is often through seas, through the fire, over mountains, through floods and through flames. We must go through the world’s wild forest of tribulation, through the den of lions, over the mountains of leopards, through the fiery furnace, but we must go.
“(4) The guarding angel went from front to rear and stood between Israel and the Egyptian army—so did the cloud. They passed over and saw their enemies destroyed. When you obey God, he secures and protects you. The angels encamp around to deliver. Cæsar said to his boatmen: ‘You can’t sink, for you carry great Cæsar.’ But the child of God can sing with boldness and assurance:
‘How can I die while Jesus lives
As my Eternal God?
Who holds the earth’s huge pillars up
And spreads the heavens abroad.
‘How can I sink with such a prop
Who rose and left the dead?
Pardon and peace my soul receives
From my exalted head.’”