St. Landry democrat., 1885-07-04

sons blind their own eyes, and thus pro-
duce foolish security of heart. They
think of God with dread, dismay, despond-
ency and despair. 1 am grieved to add
that this principle even tinctures the
when they bow down before God it
is not with the reverence of loving child,
but with the terror of a slave; they
are afraid of Him who should be their ex-
ceeding joy. Their view of God is incor-
rect, for it is not such as the Spirit of
adoption would give them. They are
really trusting in Him and in the great
Precipitation which He has set forth, but
they have not come to know Him under
that blessed term which our Saviour puts
into our mouths when He bids us say:
sour Father which art in Heaven" Such
trembling ones are still under the spirit of
bondage, which causes them to fear, as
condemned persons dread the executioner.
They 3tand like Israel trembling at the foot
of Sinai; they have not come unto Mount
Zion and the blood of sprinkling: which
speaketh better things than that of Abel.
God is still to them exceeding terrible, SO
that they fe ar and quake Even though
they are His ch hildren, they are notable to
lift up their faces unto their own Father.
They haunt the outer courts Of the sanct-
uary, but into the most holy place they
do not dare to enter: they see the smoke of
ths burnt t-offering, but they have not
learned to feed upon it, and so to have happy
communion with God. These people may
be safe, but they are not happy: they may
be saved from sin, but not from sorrow.
Faith, if it were stronger, would effectual-
ly slay and bury servile fear.
WHAT TT IS TO DELIGHT IN GOD.
Let Us mediate a while upon what is
here meant by de1ighting in the Almighty.
The man who experiences this delight is
glad that there is a God. That atheistic
philosophy which makes the whole world
to be a chance production which grew of
itself, or developed itself by some innate
force, is very dreary piece of fiction to
the man who delights himself in the Al
mighty. I tremble at any teaching, re-
ligious or scientific, which seems to place
God further off than we have believed Him
to be. To draw Him nearer to me, and
myself nearer to Him, is the innermost
longing Of my soul. Do you not feel the
SdLuGs huUH Ou uO IL Ou 1dHS q CA1AA"
like spirit towards Him. We delight to see
God in the shadow of every passing cloud,
in the coloring of every opening flower, in
the glitter of every dewdrop, in the twink
ling of every star. The Lord is personally
at work in all the processes of nature, and
natural laws are simply the Lords usual
method of operation. Our God is so near
us that in Him we live, and move, and
have our being. Beloved, the thought of
God is to the souls of those who know and
love Him the most delightful that can cross
the mind. To put God away from US is
injury to our happiness, as well as trea-
son to our duty; but to get nearer and
clearer views of His omnipresence, His
omniscience, His omnipotence, is to in
crease the joy Of our heart.
Practically put, this delight in the AL
mighty shows itself in the Christian when
nothing else remains to him. If he be
stripped of everything, he cries: The
Lord is my portion" When the cupboard
is bare, and the garments are worn out,
and poverty stares the man in the face, he
says: ftMy God is such satisfactory and
all-sufficient portion that / am rich and
increased in goods while possessing moth
ing but my God" The same is true when
such man is surrounded with every
earthly comfort, for he still feels: "The
Lord is my portion" The saint begs
vehemently of his God that he may not
have his portion in this life. If God were
to multiply his stores beyond his power to
count them, he would be dissatisfied unless
in all these he saw his Fathers covenant
love. One saint, who suddenly became
poor, was still as happy as ever, for he
said: "When [ had abundance, saw God
in all things, and now that have lost my
property see all things in God" These
are equally blessed states of mind. 1t
were well to combine them, and see God in
all things, and all things in God, at the
same time! So it should be with the be-
lever. "Why," saith he, sthese earthly
comforts never were my delights;
these were not my daily mamma, but only
little stay-bys for the time; sips of sweet
ness while I pass through the barren
wilderness" The Lord was and is my
chief portion, my well of comfort, the rock
of my salvation. If we make props of our
outward joys, we shall fall when they are
taken away; but if we rest wholly upon
the foundation of Divine love, altogether
apart from external things, we shall never
be moved. Happy is the Christian who
can practically enjoy delight in the Al
mighty by making Him to be his all in all,
all the day, and every day.
"Delight thyseH in the Lord" This will
give you pleasure in the midst of pain. Do
you know what it is TO have many aches
and sufferings, and perhaps a throbbing
head, and yet to feel that You have anoth-
er self which has no pains, because it
dwells in God, where all is calm and quiet?
You felt that it would be great mercy to
be released from this painful life; and yet
you have not raised the question with your