THINK NOT THAT GOD DESERTS THE FIELD.
By J. F. Rankin
THINK not that God deserts the field,
Tho truth the battle loses;
But grasp again faith’s sword and shield
And follow where He chooses.
He shrouds Himself in dark events;
No mortal eye beholds Him;
And many an adverse providence
As in a cloud enfolds Him. We see truth’s foes closing around,
Distrusting her resources;
Faith fills the teeming battle-ground
With chariots and with horses.
And, lo, God’s standard rises clear,
Amid the smoke and thunder;
Embattled armies disappear,
Or into fragments sunder! The baffled surf ebbs to the sea,
As tho its task forsaking,
But to return more mightily,
In greater volumes breaking.
What God has sworn shall yet be done;
No pow’r of man can stay Him;
Upon the seas He plants His throne,
And all the waves obey Him. Soldiers of Christ, take heart again,
Fear not dark portents solemn.
God moves across the battle plain
In many an unseen column.
The very stars of the blue night,
As they fulfil their courses,
Shall wheel obedient in the fight,
And add them to our forces. —J. F. Rankin, D.D., LL.D.