thee, the same shall go with thee; and of whomsoever I say unto thee, This shall not go with thee, the same shall not go. So he brought down the people unto the water: and Jehovah said unto Gideon, Every one that lappeth of the water with his tongue, as a dog lappeth, him shalt thou set by himself; likewise every one that boweth down upon his knees to drink.” The three hundred men, of whom we are speaking, lapped the water and because of that fact were selected by Jehovah for the special work which he had in view. It is not quite clear, perhaps, exactly what the quality is which this is intended to indicate. The fact that they did not get down upon their knees to drink might indicate that they were younger, more vigorous, more active than the rest; or it might indicate that they were more alert, more vigilant, more watchful. They were surrounded by enemies, and were liable at any time to be assailed. Their not getting down upon their knees would seem to indicate that they realized the danger to which they were exposed, and kept themselves in an attitude that would enable them instantly to defend themselves, to meet the enemy. The test to which they were subjected, if we take this view of the matter, shows that they were men of force, that they were active, wide awake. They fully appreciated the circumstances in which they were placed and the necessity on their part of being active, wide awake, on the alert.

Such was the character of the men of whom we are speaking. They were men of conviction—they felt, and felt keenly the evils from which they were suffering, and their minds were fully made up to endure them no longer, if by any effort of theirs they could escape them. They were men of genuine courage—they were not afraid to meet the enemy. They were men of faith—faith in God. They were men who were thoroughly reliable—who could be depended upon, to whom any duty could be assigned in the confident assurance that it would be faithfully attended to. And they were men who were active, vigorous—men of physical and mental stamina.

The getting together of such a company as this was a great achievement. It wasn’t easily done. Thirty-two thousand men had to be sifted before they could be found; but they were found. When the time comes God is always able to find the men he wants to use. When the great Civil War broke out in this country, it was a singular fact, that there were three such men as Grant, Sherman, and Sheridan ready to lead the Union forces on to victory. And the same was true when the war between Russia and Japan occurred: God had already in waiting a Togo to send to the bottom of the sea of Japan the combined fleet of the enemy; and on the land 

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