The Maryville times. (Maryville, Tenn.) 1884-1944, 1891-11-04


see that wonderful God, who, al
though seated upon the throne Of
supreme dominion, yet deigns to
notice and bless the the sinful chill
dren of men of whom he is one?
The thirsting for God Of which
we are treating often springs from
the Christians deep sense of his
wants as a sinner. OF every true
child of God these three things may
be affirmed: he feels his guilt in the
sight of God; he hates his sins; he
finds the pursuit Of holiness an
arduous and sometimes discour-
aging work. Impelled onward to a
stern conflict with every kind of
iniqaity, he makes alarming dis
coveries of his own guilt and weak
ness, and so learns his great need
, of help from the Lord his strength.
He is conscious indeed of an UNI
fpigned love of holiness, but, alas!
the remains of his former depravity
and that moral weakness which de-
pravity has produced, retard his
progress toward that heavenly per-
fiction for which he tolls, and so
Cypress his heart as to elicit deep
drawn sigh for the presence and
communion of God. He cannot re-
linguish hope for attaining holiness
and heaven; but so busy and artful
is the Internal tempter, so many
and powerful are his inward cor
ruptions, so feeble are his purposes
and so multiplied and various are
the evil influences of the world,
that he is too often forced almost to
despair of success and to feel that
! if saved at all he will be only
! scarcely saved. But in the midst
of all this darkness and despond-
ency, the Holy Ghost, whose temple
he is, directs his thoughts to God.
and reminds him that help may be
found in Him. And most arduously
does he thirst for the comfort which
the presence of his Maker will af-
ford. Most sincerely can he adopt
the sentiment of the hymn:
Oh, that knew the sacred place
Where might find my God!
I'd spread my wants before his face,
And pour my woes abroad.
I'd tell him how my sins arise,
| What SORROWS / sustain,
How grace decays, and comfort dies
And leaves my heart in pain.
He is sinful and imperfect, but
that God to whom he lifts his long
ing eyes is absolutely holy, and has
bOundless strength. In the mere
thought OF such Being he finds
his courage and strength renewed;
but If he could approach the very
presence of Jehovah and tell Him
of his numberless SORROWS, then, he
thinks, he would find u sweet and
complete relief from all his troubles;
hence he thus addresses hsmself:
"My soul wait thou only on God,
for all my expectation is from Him.
Thou art nothing but poor, feeble,
guilty thing, and must perish if left
alone: but thy God will sustain and
comfort thee, II thou wilt but look
to Him with preserving faith.
Hope thea In God, o my soul, and
speedily He whi shed about thee
the rays II His presence and satisfy
thy deep and ardent thirst"
This th1gsting for God is conse-
quence Of the afiiictions which the
Christian Is called to endure. It is
an ordinance of God that every
child Of Adam, the Christian as
we'll As othe9s, shall suffer many
sorrows. They are incident to every
sphere Of life; no forethought, care
and prudence can forestall them ;
no combination of circumstances
can exclude them. But Affections,
although rs keenly felt by him as
by other men, cause the Christian
to look upward toward God for con-
ISOLATION and relief. He does not
indeed undervalue human sympa-
thy and aid, nor is he una ffected by
the consideration that his sufferings
will in due time come to an end.
He knows that the richest balm for
his sorrows is in God, and that the
Divin. Physician can make even
his wounds and bruises a means of
health and vigor. Therefore he
greatly desires to be admitted into
communion with Jehovah, in order
to find rest and refreshment from
the WEAKNESS Of LIFE, alternating all
his woes, and grace to turn them to
the profit OF his soul. He doubts
not that God sympathizes in his
trials far more deeply than his fell
low-men, that he understands the
nature and degree of all human
misery, that he is a compassionate
Father especially to the children Of
grace, and that he is intensely skill.