Orange County observer. [volume] (Hillsborough, N.C.) 1880-1918, 1902-11-06
a SERMON FOR SUNDAY
AN ELOQUENT DISCOURSE ENTITLED
A GREAT VcToRY.s

The Rev. j. Wilbur Chapman rreachos
Upon the Souls Deep Longing After
God-Faith VIII Conquer in the End
Ii God Is Our Strength and Life.
New YORK CITY-The Rev. Dr.J. vii
bur Chapman has furnished to the press a /
most striking and popular sermon which
IS intended for all those who would rise to
better things. It is entitled "a Great
Victory and is preached from the texts
.'As the hart pantesh after the water
brooks, so panteth my soul after Thee, @
God" Psalm ~: |. Hope in God, for T
shall yet praise Him who is the health Of
my countenance.' Psalm 1875.
The first verse is a lamentation in the
wilderness, the second is shout Of re-
]olclng when victory is won. The terri
tory stretching out from the wilderness in
the one text to the presence of God in the
other IS not only the story OF! the e1pe-
rience OF David, but of the most OF Chris
who occasionally fall under Juniper trees
and want to die; here it is to all who
would rise to better things. 4't*
The Psalms are divided into five books.
and the ancient Rabbins say in these five
books in the Psalter we have the image Of
words kind OF a second pentateuch, the
echo of the first. In the first God speaks
and in the second the voice Of the people
is heard. God presents Israel with the
law, and grateful Israel responds with a
shout ,of praise. These two Psalms form
They are dedicated to. the master musi-
clans or the sons of Horah. They were
the celebrated musicians and singers of
the day; they were in David's time the
keepers Of the threshold of the tabernacle,
and still earlier in the time Of Moses they
were watchmen at the entrance of the
camp of the Levites; they were a part of
that band that acknowledged David as
leader, at Ziklag; they were. warriors with
1aces like lions, and who for speed were
like gazelles on the mountains:
!: Mr.. Spurgeon says that although David
psalms they must be his, for the truth is
so like him. 1t has the character of his
style and the work of his experience in
every letter. I had sooner question the
authorship of Bunyan's second part of the
pilgrims Progress than to question Da-
vid's right to these psalms. Whoever
wrote them has given name to the souls
melodious thing.
There are three divisions in the psalm,
each closing with the refrain, why art
thou cast down, 0 my soul?" The whole
psalm is the picture of soul climbing
Godward, not without backward slips,
OF the first text gives way to the shout Of
the second. Perhaps the singer during his
exile on the eastern side of Jordan had
| seen some gentle creature with open mouth
and heaving. fanks eagerly seeking water
in the dry river bed, and he saw in this a
picture of himself. The whole psalm is
Like I4ss What HEe. have seen zan-snme- carly
sky blue, the trees ready to burst into bud
and the birds were singing, but only for
day, then the clouds returned, the at
! mosphere was chilled, the birds are all
stilled and the sun was under cloud.
Viewed in one way it is psalm OF gloom
in another way it IS psalm OF glory.
Streaks Of brightness are ever flashing
| through the gloom. First there is a sigh
as of breaking heart, then comes word
Of hope like rainbow spanning the water
| fall; once again the eontendings enemies
above it all comes the refrain without a
complaint, IT shall yet praise Him who is
the health Of nay countenance."
There are certain expressions most strik-
ing in the psalm. Three times does David
say "Why art thou cast down, O my
psalmist talks to himself. John Trapp
says it is David chiding David out of the
dumps. To search for the cause Of sorrow
is often the best surgery for grief. IN
verse notice the words: ssThe Lord will
command His loving kindness in the day
time" No day has ever daWned in which
an heir Of grace could be utterly forsaken
| His song shall be with me- Aff1ictior
may put out our light at times, but if il
does not silence our song the light vii
come again. Verse 8. psalm AZ, Send Out
gels to guide him to the object Of his aaf
fections. but finally above all sounds tn
note of victory, Hope thou in God;'.,, Thi
is like the singing of Paul and Silas, i
looses chains, shakes the prison walls ant
sets the prisoner free, Two graces men
toned il this psalm ys1 used Fd15 f5reagsnt qsI
what Christ has done; hope tells us wha
He will do, and hope is like the sun as W
journey toward it; our burden is cas-
back Of us. Faith may have many ;.
struggle with fear, but it will conquer il
the end. These two psalms are really one
i there is a constant unfolding Of expe
rience and rising to higher appreciation
. of God. and as faith acquires more strengt
you will notice that not only David bu
ourselves come to think of God in a diffe,
. ent way and address Him in more endea1
. ! ing terms. There is no better illustratio
of this than these two psalms.
20 Cod" Debarred from public wo]
!. ship David is heart sick. He is not seel
! ing ease, he needs God. He is not afte
comfort, but like traveller whose wate
= bottle IS empty and who finds the we
dry, so he must have God or he will fain
l When it is as natural for us to long fe
God as for an animal to thirst, it is we
with our souls 80 God,'' we hear hi1
saying. It is as if he can scarcely breath
for thirst. He does not know just whs
: he is needing OF just how God would r
!, veal Himself to him. but he must have Co
All unrest or thirst or outgoing of desil
/ are but the reaching out of the soul att
e Cod We shall be satisfied only when v
;. find Him.
II.
e ssThe Living Cod My soul thirstet
t for God, for the living God. This is a
! advance upon the first expression, and th
:, is Jehovah's name of power. Ancie1
u Israel was accustomed to use it befo
l. every victory, since it is higher than .
. Cod" In the first cry we naturally fir
it followed with shout of victory,
shall yet praise Him." Hunger and thir
p are Gods instruments to call us to Hir
$ self. When the prodigal was an hu
- gered he said, 81 will arise" 1t is pl
Il ture Of one who has tried other things
e the world, pleasure, wealth.. honor al
y then cries out, ~ for the living God
Rut th;rst Ia hefter than hunger: YOU IN;