GOING FORTH

    ‘They went forth to go into the land of Canaan, and into
    the land of Canaan they came.’–GENESIS xii. 5.
The reference of these words is to Abram’s act of faith in leaving
Haran and setting out on his pilgrimage. It is a strange narrative of a
journey, which omits the journey altogether, with its weary marches,
privations, and perils, and notes but its beginning and its end. Are
not these the main points in every life, its direction and its
attainment? There are–
  ‘Two points in the adventure of the diver,
   One–when, a beggar, he prepares to plunge,
   One–when, a prince, he rises with his pearl.’
Abram and his company had a clear aim. But does not the Epistle to the
Hebrews magnify him precisely because he ‘went out, not knowing whither
he went’? Both statements are true, for Abram had the same combination
of knowledge and ignorance as we all have. He knew that he was to go to
a land that he should afterwards inherit, and he knew that, in the
first place, Canaan was to be his ‘objective point,’ but he did not
know, till long after he had crossed the Euphrates and pitched his tent
by Bethel, that it was the land. The ultimate goal was clear, and the
first step towards it was plain, but how that first step was related to
the goal was not plain, and all the steps between were unknown. He went
forth with sealed orders, to go to a certain place, where he would have
further instructions. He knew that he was to go to Canaan, and beyond
that point all was dark, except for the sparkle of the great hope that
gleamed on the horizon in front, as a sunlit summit rises above a sea
of mist between it and the traveller. Like such a traveller, Abram
could not accurately tell how far off the shining peak was, nor where,
in the intervening gorges full of mist, the path lay; but he plunged
into the darkness with a good heart, because he had caught a glimpse of
his journey’s end. So with us. We may have clear before us the ultimate
aim and goal of our lives, and also the step which we have to take now,
in pressing towards it, while between these two there stretches a
valley full of mist, the breadth of which may be measured by years or
by hours, for all that we know, and the rough places and green pastures
of which are equally hidden from us. We have to be sure that the
mountain peak far ahead, with the sunshine bathing it, is not delusive
cloud but solid reality, and we have to make sure that God has bid us
step out on the yard of path which we _can_ see, and, having secured
these two certainties, we are to cast ourselves into the obscurity
before us, and to bear in our hearts the vision of the end, to cheer us
amid the difficulties of the road.
Life is strenuous, fruitful, and noble, in the measure in which its
ultimate aim is kept clearly visible throughout it all. Nearer aims,
prescribed by physical necessities, tastes, circumstances, and the
like, are clear enough, but a melancholy multitude of us have never
reflected on the further question: ‘What then?’ Suppose I have made my
fortune, or won my wife, or established my position, or achieved a
reputation, behind all these successes lies the larger question. These
are not ends but means, and it is fatal to treat them as being the goal
of our efforts or the chief end of our being. There would be fewer
wrecked lives, and fewer bitter and disappointed old men, if there were
more young ones who, at starting, put clearly before themselves the
question: ‘What am I living for? and what am I going to do when I have
secured the nearer aims necessarily prescribed to me?’
What that aim should be is not doubtful. The only worthy end befitting
creatures with hearts, minds, consciences, and wills like ours is God
Himself. Abram’s ‘Canaan’ is usually regarded as an emblem of heaven,
and that is correct, but the land of our inheritance is not wholly
beyond the river, for God is the portion of our hearts. He _is_ heaven.
To dwell with Him, to have all the current of our being running towards
Him, to set Him before us in the strenuous hours of effort and in the
quiet moments of repose, in the bright and in the dark days, are the
conditions of blessedness, strength, and peace.
That aim clearly apprehended and persistently pursued gives continuity
to life, such as nothing else can do. How many of the things that drew
us to themselves, and were for a while the objects of desire and
effort, have sunk below the horizon! The lives that are not directed to
God as their chief end are like the voyages of old-time sailors, who
had to creep from one headland to another, and steer for points which,
one after another, were reached, left behind, and forgotten. There is
only one aim so great, so far in advance that we can never reach, and
therefore can never pass and drop it. Life then becomes a chain, not a
heap of unrelated fragments. That aim made ours, stimulates effort to
its highest point, and therefore secures blessedness. It emancipates
from many bonds, and takes the poison out of the mosquito bites of
small annoyances, and the stings of great sorrows. It gleams ever
before a man, sufficiently attained to make him at rest, sufficiently
unattained to give the joy of progress. The pilgrims who had but one
single aim, ‘to go to the land of Canaan,’ were delivered from the
miseries of conflicting desires, and with simplicity of aim came
concentration of force and calm of spirit.

World English Bible

Bible Verses About love – Song-of-Solomon 2:9
My beloved is like a roe or a young hart: behold, he standeth behind our wall, he looketh forth at the windows, showing himself through the lattice.

Bible Verses About love – John-1 4:17
Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment: because as he is, so are we in this world.

Bible Scriptures – Isaiah 41:10
Fear thou not; for I [am] with thee: be not dismayed; for I [am] thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.

Bible Favorites

Bible Verses About love – Psalms 60:5
That thy beloved may be delivered; save [with] thy right hand, and hear me.

Bible Verses About love – Jeremiah 3:1
They say, If a man put away his wife, and she go from him, and become another man's, shall he return unto her again? shall not that land be greatly polluted? but thou hast played the harlot with many lovers; yet return again to me, saith the LORD.

Bible Verses About ruth – Psalms 57:10
For thy mercy [is] great unto the heavens, and thy truth unto the clouds.

Bible Verses About arpad – Jeremiah 49:23
Concerning Damascus. Hamath is confounded, and Arpad: for they have heard evil tidings: they are fainthearted; [there is] sorrow on the sea; it cannot be quiet.

Bible Verses About charging – Acts 16:23
And when they had laid many stripes upon them, they cast [them] into prison, charging the jailor to keep them safely:

Bible Verses About ashtaroth – Chronicles-1 6:71
Unto the sons of Gershom [were given] out of the family of the half tribe of Manasseh, Golan in Bashan with her suburbs, and Ashtaroth with her suburbs:

Bible Verses About terrified – Luke 21:9
But when ye shall hear of wars and commotions, be not terrified: for these things must first come to pass; but the end [is] not by and by.

Bible Verses About abarim – Numbers 21:11
And they journeyed from Oboth, and pitched at Ijeabarim, in the wilderness which [is] before Moab, toward the sunrising.

Bible Verses About netophathite – Samuel-2 23:28
Zalmon the Ahohite, Maharai the Netophathite,

Bible Verses About uncircumcision – Colossians 2:13
And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses;

Bible Verses About daughters – Jeremiah 49:3
Howl, O Heshbon, for Ai is spoiled: cry, ye daughters of Rabbah, gird you with sackcloth; lament, and run to and fro by the hedges; for their king shall go into captivity, [and] his priests and his princes together.

Bible Verses About sisters – Matthew 19:29
And every one that hath forsaken houses, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my name's sake, shall receive an hundredfold, and shall inherit everlasting life.

Bible Verses About melech – Genesis 26:8
And it came to pass, when he had been there a long time, that Abimelech king of the Philistines looked out at a window, and saw, and, behold, Isaac [was] sporting with Rebekah his wife.

Bible Verses About heavenly – Matthew 6:14
For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you:

Bible Verses About iezer – Judges 8:2
And he said unto them, What have I done now in comparison of you? [Is] not the gleaning of the grapes of Ephraim better than the vintage of Abiezer?

Bible Verses About frankincense – Exodus 30:34
And the LORD said unto Moses, Take unto thee sweet spices, stacte, and onycha, and galbanum; [these] sweet spices with pure frankincense: of each shall there be a like [weight]:

Bible Verses About caesar – Acts 25:1
Now when Festus was come into the province, after three days he ascended from Caesarea to Jerusalem.

Bible Verses About builders – Kings-2 12:11
And they gave the money, being told, into the hands of them that did the work, that had the oversight of the house of the LORD: and they laid it out to the carpenters and builders, that wrought upon the house of the LORD,

Bible Verses About diviner – Jeremiah 27:9
Therefore hearken not ye to your prophets, nor to your diviners, nor to your dreamers, nor to your enchanters, nor to your sorcerers, which speak unto you, saying, Ye shall not serve the king of Babylon:

Bible Verses About rather – Romans 11:11
I say then, Have they stumbled that they should fall? God forbid: but [rather] through their fall salvation [is come] unto the Gentiles, for to provoke them to jealousy.

Bible Verses About supposing – Acts 27:13
And when the south wind blew softly, supposing that they had obtained [their] purpose, loosing [thence], they sailed close by Crete.

Bible Verses About wrest – Genesis 32:25
And when he saw that he prevailed not against him, he touched the hollow of his thigh; and the hollow of Jacob's thigh was out of joint, as he wrestled with him.

Bible Verses About anger – Mark 3:5
And when he had looked round about on them with anger, being grieved for the hardness of their hearts, he saith unto the man, Stretch forth thine hand. And he stretched [it] out: and his hand was restored whole as the other.

Bible Verses About peace – Ephesians 2:14
For he is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition [between us];

Bible Verses About sadness – Ecclesiastes 7:3
Sorrow [is] better than laughter: for by the sadness of the countenance the heart is made better.

Bible Verses About patience – Romans 5:3
And not only [so], but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience;

Bible Verses About trust – Jeremiah 12:5
If thou hast run with the footmen, and they have wearied thee, then how canst thou contend with horses? and [if] in the land of peace, [wherein] thou trustedst, [they wearied thee], then how wilt thou do in the swelling of Jordan?

Bible Verses About joy – Job 29:13
The blessing of him that was ready to perish came upon me: and I caused the widow's heart to sing for joy.

Bible Verses About tongue – Psalms 137:6
If I do not remember thee, let my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth; if I prefer not Jerusalem above my chief joy.

Bible Verses About fear – Proverbs 14:16
A wise [man] feareth, and departeth from evil: but the fool rageth, and is confident.

Bible Verses About baptism – Luke 20:4
The baptism of John, was it from heaven, or of men?

Bible Verses About fathers – Jeremiah 11:5
That I may perform the oath which I have sworn unto your fathers, to give them a land flowing with milk and honey, as [it is] this day. Then answered I, and said, So be it, O LORD.

Bible Verses About goodness – Psalms 25:7
Remember not the sins of my youth, nor my transgressions: according to thy mercy remember thou me for thy goodness' sake, O LORD.

Bible Verses About jealousy – Psalms 78:58
For they provoked him to anger with their high places, and moved him to jealousy with their graven images.

Bible Verses About youth – Samuel-1 17:33
And Saul said to David, Thou art not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him: for thou [art but] a youth, and he a man of war from his youth.

Bible Verses About prayer – Isaiah 26:16
LORD, in trouble have they visited thee, they poured out a prayer [when] thy chastening [was] upon them.

Bible Verses About faith – Philippians 3:9
And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith:

Bible Verses About friend – Luke 23:12
And the same day Pilate and Herod were made friends together: for before they were at enmity between themselves.

Bible Verses About giving – Corinthians-1 14:16
Else when thou shalt bless with the spirit, how shall he that occupieth the room of the unlearned say Amen at thy giving of thanks, seeing he understandeth not what thou sayest?

Bible Verses About women – Titus 2:3
The aged women likewise, that [they be] in behaviour as becometh holiness, not false accusers, not given to much wine, teachers of good things;

Bible Verses About tithes – Numbers 18:26
Thus speak unto the Levites, and say unto them, When ye take of the children of Israel the tithes which I have given you from them for your inheritance, then ye shall offer up an heave offering of it for the LORD, [even] a tenth [part] of the tithe.

Bible Verses About poor – Judges 6:15
And he said unto him, Oh my Lord, wherewith shall I save Israel? behold, my family [is] poor in Manasseh, and I [am] the least in my father's house.

Bible in Basic English

Bible Verses About fear – Isaiah 8:9
Have knowledge, O peoples, and be in fear; give ear, all you far-off parts of the earth:

Bible Verses About peace – Isaiah 48:18
If only you had given ear to my orders, then your peace would have been like a river, and your righteousness as the waves of the sea:

Bible Verses About husbands – Jeremiah 44:19
And the women said, When we were burning perfumes to the queen of heaven and draining out drink offerings to her, did we make cakes in her image and give her our drink offerings without the knowledge of our husbands?

Bible Verses About faith – 1-Thessalonians 2:10
You are witnesses, with God, how holy and upright and free from all evil was our way of life among you who have faith;

Bible Verses About clean – Numbers 19:14
This is the law when death comes to a man in his tent: everyone who comes into the tent, and everyone who is in the tent, will be unclean for seven days.

Bible Verses About giving – Luke 5:28
And giving up his business, he got up and went after him.

Bible Verses About life – 1-Samuel 7:15
And Samuel was judge of Israel all the days of his life.

Bible Verses About love – Psalms 119:167
My soul has kept your unchanging word; great is my love for it.

Bible Verses About visions – 1-Chronicles 26:1
For the divisions of the door-keepers: of the Korahites, Meshelemiah, the son of Kore, of the sons of Ebiasaph.

Bible Verses About wife – Genesis 4:17
And Cain had connection with his wife and she became with child and gave birth to Enoch: and he made a town, and gave the town the name of Enoch after his son.

Bible Verses About paint – Jeremiah 22:14
Who says, I will make a wide house for myself, and rooms of great size, and has windows cut out, and has it roofed with cedar and painted with bright red.

Bible Verses About uzziah – 2-Kings 15:32
In the second year of Pekah, the son of Remaliah, king of Israel, Jotham, the son of Uzziah, became king of Judah.

Bible Verses About bottle – 1-Samuel 10:1
Then Samuel took the bottle of oil, and put the oil on his head and gave him a kiss and said, Is not the Lord with the holy oil making you ruler over Israel, his people? and you will have authority over the people of the Lord, and you will make them safe from the hands of their attackers round about them, and this will be the sign for you:

Bible Verses About training – Titus 2:12
Training us so that, turning away from evil and the desires of this world, we may be living wisely and uprightly in the knowledge of God in this present life;

Bible Verses About unholy – Revelation 13:1
And he took his place on the sand of the sea. And I saw a beast coming up out of the sea, having ten horns and seven heads, and on his horns ten crowns, and on his heads unholy names.

Bible Verses About maschil – Psalms 44:1
<To the chief music-maker. Of the sons of Korah Maschil.> It has come to our ears, O God, our fathers have given us the story, of the works which you did in their days, in the old times,

Bible Verses About knives – 1-Kings 18:28
So they gave loud cries, cutting themselves with knives and swords, as was their way, till the blood came streaming out all over them.

Bible Verses About planter – Jeremiah 50:16
Let the planter of seed be cut off from Babylon, and everyone using the curved blade at the time of the grain-cutting: for fear of the cruel sword, everyone will be turned to his people, everyone will go in flight to his land.

Bible Verses About paper – Jeremiah 32:12
And I gave the paper to Baruch, the son of Neriah, the son of Mahseiah, before the eyes of Hanamel, the son of my father's brother, and of the witnesses who had put their names to the paper, and before all the Jews who were seated in the place of the armed watchmen.

Bible Verses About unseen – Hebrews 11:27
By faith he went out of Egypt, not being turned from his purpose by fear of the wrath of the king; for he kept on his way, as seeing him who is unseen.

King James Bible

Bible Verses About secret – Isaiah 45:3
And I will give thee the treasures of darkness, and hidden riches of secret places, that thou mayest know that I, the LORD, which call [thee] by thy name, [am] the God of Israel.

Bible Verses About yoke – Kings-1 19:19
So he departed thence, and found Elisha the son of Shaphat, who [was] plowing [with] twelve yoke [of oxen] before him, and he with the twelfth: and Elijah passed by him, and cast his mantle upon him.

Bible Verses About ahithophel – Samuel-2 16:21
And Ahithophel said unto Absalom, Go in unto thy father's concubines, which he hath left to keep the house; and all Israel shall hear that thou art abhorred of thy father: then shall the hands of all that [are] with thee be strong.

Bible Verses About immediately – Acts 17:14
And then immediately the brethren sent away Paul to go as it were to the sea: but Silas and Timotheus abode there still.

Bible Verses About hail – Exodus 9:24
So there was hail, and fire mingled with the hail, very grievous, such as there was none like it in all the land of Egypt since it became a nation.

Bible Verses About satan – Job 1:12
And the LORD said unto Satan, Behold, all that he hath [is] in thy power; only upon himself put not forth thine hand. So Satan went forth from the presence of the LORD.

Bible Verses About favour – Lamentations 4:16
The anger of the LORD hath divided them; he will no more regard them: they respected not the persons of the priests, they favoured not the elders.

Bible Verses About faithful – Lamentations 3:23
[They are] new every morning: great [is] thy faithfulness.

Bible Verses About wind – Ephesians 4:14
That we [henceforth] be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, [and] cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive;

Bible Verses About black – Lamentations 4:8
Their visage is blacker than a coal; they are not known in the streets: their skin cleaveth to their bones; it is withered, it is become like a stick.

Bible Verses About foolishness – Proverbs 12:23
A prudent man concealeth knowledge: but the heart of fools proclaimeth foolishness.

Bible Verses About elect – Mark 13:27
And then shall he send his angels, and shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from the uttermost part of the earth to the uttermost part of heaven.

Bible Verses About prevail – Samuel-1 2:9
He will keep the feet of his saints, and the wicked shall be silent in darkness; for by strength shall no man prevail.

Bible Verses About ease – Peter-2 2:14
Having eyes full of adultery, and that cannot cease from sin; beguiling unstable souls: an heart they have exercised with covetous practices; cursed children:

Bible Verses About singers – Chronicles-1 15:19
So the singers, Heman, Asaph, and Ethan, [were appointed] to sound with cymbals of brass;

Bible Verses About waste – Ezekiel 33:24
Son of man, they that inhabit those wastes of the land of Israel speak, saying, Abraham was one, and he inherited the land: but we [are] many; the land is given us for inheritance.

Bible Verses About strangers – Timothy-1 5:10
Well reported of for good works; if she have brought up children, if she have lodged strangers, if she have washed the saints' feet, if she have relieved the afflicted, if she have diligently followed every good work.

Bible Verses About sealed – Jeremiah 32:14
Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Take these evidences, this evidence of the purchase, both which is sealed, and this evidence which is open; and put them in an earthen vessel, that they may continue many days.

Bible Verses About heart – Proverbs 22:11
He that loveth pureness of heart, [for] the grace of his lips the king [shall be] his friend.

Bible Verses About whirlwind – Isaiah 21:1
The burden of the desert of the sea. As whirlwinds in the south pass through; [so] it cometh from the desert, from a terrible land.

Bible Scriptures About possession – Genesis 50:13
For his sons carried him into the land of Canaan, and buried him in the cave of the field of Machpelah, which Abraham bought with the field for a possession of a buryingplace of Ephron the Hittite, before Mamre.

Bible Scriptures About wicked – Jeremiah 23:11
For both prophet and priest are profane; yea, in my house have I found their wickedness, saith the LORD.

Bible Scriptures About declare – Isaiah 21:10
O my threshing, and the corn of my floor: that which I have heard of the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, have I declared unto you.

Bible Scriptures About corn – Hosea 2:9
Therefore will I return, and take away my corn in the time thereof, and my wine in the season thereof, and will recover my wool and my flax [given] to cover her nakedness.

Bible Scriptures About soul – Psalms 146:1
Praise ye the LORD. Praise the LORD, O my soul.

Bible Scriptures About fools – Ecclesiastes 7:4
The heart of the wise [is] in the house of mourning; but the heart of fools [is] in the house of mirth.

Bible Scriptures About david – Psalms 144:1
[A Psalm] of David. Blessed [be] the LORD my strength, which teacheth my hands to war, [and] my fingers to fight:

Bible Scriptures About covenant – Psalms 78:37
For their heart was not right with him, neither were they stedfast in his covenant.

Bible Scriptures About heavens – Psalms 50:6
And the heavens shall declare his righteousness: for God [is] judge himself. Selah.

Bible Scriptures About possess – Numbers 33:53
And ye shall dispossess [the inhabitants] of the land, and dwell therein: for I have given you the land to possess it.