The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1897-03-14

as IL Is called. a modern doctrine. and
there are many who trace IL back 10 Greek
farther back than that. This Hebrew
psalmist-rather these Hebrew pEalmists-
thought Of God as in all the phenomena OF
nature-not "A carpenter who made the
world ana set IL in motion, not as an engt-
neer with his hand on the throttle. who could
move 1T backward or forward as He
pleased, but as one who was Himself in the
Phenomena and OF whose presence the
phenomena were the perpetual manifesto
tion- The thunder. therefore. the sound
OF JenONanS voice. the ightninEs are the
Hastings of Jehovah's eyes the roar of the
sea Is the speech OF Jehovah. the birds
When they sing are the song or Jehovah.
Let me read the Hebrew psalmist's de-
scription OF thunderstorm:
Then the earth shook and trernDled.
me Iouhdatlons also Of the mountains moved
Anu were shaken because He was wroth.
There went W. smoke out Of His nostrils
qua hre OUT or dis mouth deycLredi
Goals were kindled By It,
lie bowed the heavens also and down.
JEHOVAH IN THE CLOUDS.
Have you ever seen a Western tornado ?
Have you seen how the clouds as they rise
from the west swoop down upon the earth =?
When the psalmist sees thus the gather
ing of black clouds in the horizon, bend
ing down as If to smite the earth. he sees
Jehovah vested in these clouds 1t is Je-
hovah who
bowed the heavens and came down:
And thick darkness under His feet.
and lie rode upon cherub and did ifs.
Yea, lie flew swiftly upon the wings Of the wind.
He made darkness His hiding place. His pavilion
Darkness of waters, thick clouds Of the skies
At the brightness before him Hts thick clouds
Haiistones and Goals of fire.
And He sent out His arrows and scattered them;
1ea. Hghtnings manifold and discounted them.
And the foundations of the world were laid bare.
at Thy rebuke, q Lord
At the blast OF the breath of Thy nOstrs
1t is possible. of course, for a prosaic
soul, who has no poetry in him, who can
not distinguish between imagination and
science; who has no conception of splendor
and sublimity Of imagery, to paint a pic
ture OF Jehovah as man riding on a
beas as il Is 6gossb for 3nf to
turn the splendid imagery Of any poet into
ridicule II he will; but the imagery is sub
it. Not the clouds bow, but Jehovah; not
the lightning flash but Jehovah fires his
arrows; Jehovah riding upon the storm.
Jehovah controlling the elements, Jehovah
manifests himself in all the wild majesty of
the great tempest. But not only in the ma
jesty of the great tempest-not only in the
milder experiences of nature:
He sendeth forth springs into the valleys:
They give drink 10 every beast of the field:
The wild asses quench their thirst
10y them the fowl of the heaven have their habi-
tation.
They sing among the branches.
He watereth the mountains from His chambers:
The earth is satisfied with the fruit of Thy
lie causeth the grass to grow for the cattle.
And herb for the service or man;
That he may bring forth food out of the earth:
And wine that maketh glad the heart of man.
And oil to. make his face 10 shine,
And bread that strengtheneth mans heart.
The trees OF the Lord satisfied;
The cedars OF Lebanon which He hath planted;
Where the birds make their nests:
As for the stork. the fir trees are her house.
The The high high mountains s are for the wild goats
lie appointed the moon seasons.
The The sun KIN, knoweth his going down
Wherein all the beasts OF the forest do creep
forth.
I Ihs seeR ,he GnS est Sr 5G hsr
The sun ariseth, they get them away,
And lay them down in their dens.
Man goeth forth unto his work
And to his labor until the evening.
ALL CHILDREN OF GOD.
You remember that Paul asks IL God
cares for the oxen. This Hebrew psalmist
thought He cared not only for oxen, but
for birds and comics and lions and the wild
beasts OF the forest: they were all His
children. formed by His hand, dependent
upon His bounty. under His care and His
guiding. The God who Is nature is also in
the nations, especially in the nation which
he has chosen. There are several great ma
tional anthems in the Hebrew psalter
There Is not time 10 read them in full and
a partial reading would be quite made
quate Ii must suffice to say that In these
national psalms the psalmisr traces the his
tory of Israel-and yet that statement is
not accurate. The national psalms are the
history of Gods dealing with Israel. There
IL motif Is strange III you compare these
with other lyricS-in all this Hebrew pSal-
song OF praise to Moses. or TO David, or
to Joshua, none TO Solomon. none to the
great kings or monarchs or prophets or
leaders of Israel: none TO the nation. no
praise of this people. OF their greatness,
their achievement, their glory, all THESE
lyrics are hymns of praise to Jehovah as
the God of Israel. 1t is not Moses who
has delivered the children of Israel from
Egypt-it Is God who made for them a
path through the Red sea: IL is not Joshua
who smote the heather kings who came up
against Israel-it is God who smote them
and gave the victory; Is not sne peep ne
wealthy and strength is God who has con-
ferred prosperity upon them. and when ad-
forgotten God and strayed away from Him:
The whole history Of Israel as 1t is traced
in these ancient Hebrew lyrics
With vs. 'n His "if people. And this Hebrew
psalmist if he does not grasp, as he GER
tainly does not, the full conception of hu-
mainly which belongs TO the New Tesla
ment times. If he does not realize. as he
certainly does not, that Gods redeemng
love makes equal provision for all the hu-
man race, still he does recognize mat all
the nations of the earth are under this one
Jehovah. When he is under the harrow OF
the tyrant oppressor he comforts himself
with the reflection that God Is King; when
his heart sinks within him because wicked
ness is prosperous and virtue Is broken
down, when he cries. lin vain have L
washed my hands in innocency, then he
reflects upon q future judgment and upon
a future deliverance which he Is sure WI
come Indeed, there is perhaps no passage
in the psalms more respondent than this
one. with which we are so familiar:
Say among the nations. the Lord reigneth
The world also is established that II cannot be
moved:
He shall judge the peoples with equity.
Let the heavens be glad and let the earth rejoice;
Let the sea roar and the fullness thereof
Then shall all the trees OF the wood sing for joy
Before the Lord, for He eometh;
Fos He cometh TO judge the earth; ,a..
And the peoples with His truth.
That seems to me great deal more
Christian than much OF Christian preaching
has been. The day of Judgment! How often
il has been portrayed in Christian pulpits
as something from which men should
shrink, How often 1T has been held before
men as something which should terrify
them, How often they have been bid 10 do
their deeds in almost despair because God
Judgment was TO be visited, But here in
this olden time is a pSalmist who has such
conceptions of Jehovah that standing. as II
were as the leader of great chorus. hold
ing the baton in his hand, he cries to the
sea and to the trees. OF the wood and 10
the field and to the skies above, and to all
humanity ranged around on the great stage
before him: Sing. for the Lord cometh
TO Judge the earth; He will judge the world
with equity and the people with His truth.
FAMILIARITY WITH GOD.
The psalmist who believes that God Is In
nature and among the nations the univer-
sal presence believes in Him as his indi-
vidual friend and companion. lie is the Jc-