The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1882-02-23

wicked or disgusting places. "If ] make
my bed In hell" says David, behold tho,
art there"
But desire that YOU should contcmplat,
the practical force Of this subject:
!. God is nearer to us than any othe
being. The little babe reposing upon IL
mothers breast is not so near TO ler
Indeed, that babe is afar Off from its mother
so far that she scarcely knows one of those
thoughts and feelings which begin to spring
within It's mind, or one of those sensation:
which begin to thrill its bodily frame
Whether 1t loves or hates, rejoices or grieves
she scarcely knows. Its inner history is a.
mysterious to her as if il were millions OF
miles away. But God, whose formative
hard adjusted our mysterious constitution
IS ~ us and around us. God has beset us
rehind ana before and laid his hand upon
us There is not word on our tongue but
10 God knows it altogether. may conceal
many secret thought, hide many covert
action rom man, but not from God II !
Walk by the way or retire to the lonely will
derness, God is there. If repair to the
Dusy streets, the marts Of trade, and move
through thronging multitudes, pushing my
difficult way among them. God Is there and
nearer to me there than any one Of those
who surround me. When lie down to rest
ana ciosc my eyes i'll sleep pass into un-
consclousness just under the all seeing eye
OF God; and when l awake God'a sleepless
eye IL looking upon Ine still II take the
wings oil the morning and fly TO the utter.
most parts of the sea. even there shall Gods
hand lead me, and his right hand hold me.
ii could mount IL beam Of light and truyel
with the speed Of light TO the most distant
iixed star, would ind God there before ME
space does not limit God. space does not
are the awful philosophy of his being. Of
how shall go from his spirit, or how Shall
lice from his presence?
z. How silent is God SO near me and so
silent! How noisy is the world The cat.
aract roars with deafening sound Loud
thunders rumble through the skies and iar
tne poies. The voices or birds ring in the
arr. Winds howl through the forest. But
God is not heard. How silent is spirit and
how noiseless is thought, the moving power
oil the world. And God is that moving
power. The still, small voice that spckc to
EilJal was more potent thnn the strong
WIND that rent the rocks asunder All! it is
not noise, but silence that has majesty and
that conceals power. The great cotton fac.
tory with its roaring wheels, its rattling
shuttles, its whirling spools, makes n deafen.
ing noise; II is the work Of man and man is
there controlling it. But your own corpo.
rea! frame, my brother, moves upon its
delicate hinges without audible sound.
TOW noiselessly your arm moves. Your
chest heaycs and your lungs perform their
mysterious functions without being heard.
our blood courses through its circulation,
ana your heart beats time within YOU with
noiseless tread. 1t is the work OF God.
and God is there moving it. How silent is
vegetation, II world wide force with its mil
lions Of atoms in inccssant motion, And
yonder vast system of worlds, rolling in
their orbits among one another the mighty
factory of God, is rs noiseless rs the grave.
Stand still in the stillest night and YOU hear
nothlng but the ringing of your cars. And
yet God is there. My brethren, there is
something very awful in the silence of God
IN the dark hours of the night and lay their
wagers down, and the bottle Of Intoxicating
drink stands hard by: when the excitement
wakes warm and high, and profane ejaculn-
hons clash upon tho stiffness OF the room,
Gou is there silent spectator OF the scene
ana that silence Of Deity is dreadful. And
when fretted by many losses, and infuriated
by many draugilts Of Intoxicating spirits
the murderer with fell intent raises his hand
and with sudden explosion sends the
deadly missile through the heart Of his fell
low man, God is there silent spectator Of
the scene. He sees that warm blood of hu-
man life flowing. He hears that diving
yroan, and that very silence and stiffness Of
Deity says i'll still small voice, Every
secret thing must be brought into judg
ment.'
o! how dreadful is the omnipresence!
say, think or do. is done in tie
presence of God. Every scene,
with solcmnity. When Jacob fed from his
brother Esau and slept along the way, lie
nrosc i'll the morning and exclaimed with
surprise: Surely the Lord is in this place
and l knew it not" And he was afraid and
said: How dreadful is this place: This is
none other than TIE house Of God and the
gate OF heaven" And we too often. like
Jacob, forget that God is here. let us forget
it not, my brethren. Not that we should
always quail under the terrors of an ever
present Deity, or Imagine TINT we lived
under All awful espionage which noted every
word, every step. OF all other sovereigns
God is farthest from inspiring terror in his
creatures tie never overawes. But let the
remembrance ofa omniprcscnt God restrain
us from the inebriate's cup, the swearer's
oath, the prohigates excess. This is none
other than the house of God, and this is the
gate of heaven where we live. Let us not
be dissipated i'll Gods presence. Let us not
be drunken i'll the presence Of the Kingq
Let us not insult venerable majesty No;
let us deport ourselves rs becomes the chill
dren and subjects of the King of kings
Then will the omnipresencc become to us n
delightful theme. This is Gods world, and
this is our Fathers house. His parental
love inspires tilial confidence. How amiable
are his tabcrnacles! How beautiful this fair
world! Surely holiness becomcth this place,
this house, this life and this world The
world where we are living is none other
than the house of God and the gate of heav-
en-" It opens into heaven-that is, we are
put out of it awhile until it is repaired; and
when it is repaired and we are repaired. we
re. occupy it forever. 1t IL none other than
the house OF God, where we arc nearer TO
him and know him better than in any place
in the universe, because it is fitted up cx-
pressly to suit our faculties and to reveal
him to lis.
The most interesting feature of the omni-
presence is the presence of God. Adam
never say the hand that made him. The
Being that stood face to face breathing the
breath Of life into him disappeared before he
opened his eyes upon existence. The hand
that fashioned Eve was gone when he awoke
and saw his companion: When he heard
the voice OF the Lord God calling-'Adam,
where art thou?" he had. himself, retreated
to hiding place because he had sinned.
Sensible nearness to God may be impossible
Moral nearness brings us and God into COM
munion. Christ is the point of union.
When God walked upon the earth again and
called man he appeared in the likeness Of
man." so meek, so natural, so kind. SO
brotherly that men were not afraid to go up
to him, and become acquainted with him.
1t was Christ. the Mediator, the second, the
best, the last, revelation Of God TO men.
until he shall "come again in the clouds of
heaven with power and great glory"
The words OF the Psalm. "Whither shall
go from thy spirit, or whittier shall flee
from thy presence" express alteration. The
New testament words "Itabbi. Thou art the
Son OF God. thou art the King of Israel"
express confiding lore. The tendercst and
most engaging aspect Of Deity is Christ, the
Elder Brother of the human family. The
nearest and most solemn approach we make
to Jesus and to God is the communion table,
where faith feeds upon him the bread o:
life; where love reposes in him-the ever
lasting Friend; where penitence melts under
his forgiying grace where hope brightens
with his communication and joy anticipates