shall run to and fro
to seek the word of the Lord, and shall not find it."(1078)

The people of God will not be free from suffering; but while persecuted
and distressed, while they endure privation, and suffer for want of food,
they will not be left to perish. That God who cared for Elijah, will not
pass by one of His self-sacrificing children. He who numbers the hairs of
their head, will care for them; and in time of famine they shall be
satisfied. While the wicked are dying from hunger and pestilence, angels
will shield the righteous, and supply their wants. To him that "walketh
righteously" is the promise, "Bread shall be given him; his waters shall
be sure." "When the poor and needy seek water, and there is none, and
their tongue faileth for thirst, I the Lord will hear them, I the God of
Israel will not forsake them."(1079)

"Although the fig-tree shall not blossom, neither shall fruit be in the
vines; the labor of the olive shall fail, and the fields shall yield no
meat; the flock shall be cut off from the fold, and there shall be no herd
in the stalls:" yet shall they that fear Him "rejoice in the Lord," and
joy in the God of their salvation.(1080)

"The Lord is thy keeper: the Lord is thy shade upon thy right hand. The
sun shall not smite thee by day, nor the moon by night. The Lord shall
preserve thee from all evil: He shall preserve thy soul." "He shall
deliver thee from the snare of the fowler, and from the noisome
pestilence. He shall cover thee with His feathers, and under His wings
shalt thou trust: His truth shall be thy shield and buckler. Thou shalt
not be afraid for the terror by night; nor for the arrow that flieth by
day; nor for the pestilence that walketh in darkness; nor for the
destruction that wasteth at noonday. A thousand shall fall at thy side,
and ten thousand at thy right hand; but it shall not come nigh thee. Only
with thine eyes shalt thou behold and see the reward of the wicked.
Because thou hast made the Lord, which is my refuge, even the Most High,
thy habitation; there shall no evil befall thee, neither shall any plague
come nigh thy dwelling."(1081)

Yet to human sight it will appear that the people of God must soon seal
their testimony with their blood, as did the martyrs before them. They
themselves begin to fear that the Lord has left them to fall by the hand
of their enemies. It is a time of fearful agony. Day and night they cry
unto God for deliverance. The wicked exult, and