The county record. [volume] (Kingstree, S.C.) 1885-1975, 1902-12-25
SERMON FOR SUNDAY
kN ELOQUENT DISCOURSE ENTITLED
"TRE SECRET CT HIS PRESENCE"
The Rev. Dr. j. Wilbur Chapman Dc!iv-
ers an Instructive Message Suggested
by One OF the Mos: Beautiful Exnrcs-
sionS in the Rible.

and convincing message than l. coatlinSd
in the following sermon, entitled. ht
Secret OF His Presence. 1t was preached
from the text: He that dwCilcth IN III"
secret pace OF the Most High shall ab!de
under the shadow OF the Almighty.
Psalm xa!.: |.
10 me this is one OF the most beautiful
expressions in ell the Bible; beautiful be
cause il is poetic, but more than that 1ol
the reason that it holds up before us one
of the greatest privileges that can come
70 the children OF God.
There Is d difference. OF opinion as TO
who the author of the Psalms may hc.
We get into the way OF thinking that
David wrote everything in the P>aiisr.
but Moses is the author here. The al
mud ascribes not only this one 10 him but
the nine preceding as well. The rule Is
that all the Psalms without a name III
the title are to be ascTibed TO the poet
whose name Is given in the nearest prece9,
ing title. bu5 his rule will not always hold
good This Is the Palm quoted by the
devil when lie was tempting Christ upon
the mountain. and it hes ever been tl"ob,.
bing with comfort Tor every troubled
soul. Whoever wrote it. it IS beautiful,
and all will agree that the lesson taught
is one touching our communion with God
and our fellowship with Jesus Christ.
1t is very true that all Christians do
net occupy the same position III tins
world. All are saved, and it Is by the
same precious blood of Christ But
there Is so much more to the Christian
life than Simply being saved: that i
only the beginning. The blessings here
, offered are given IN a very general way.
Goa is no r5SDerier or persons. and 50 It l.
as ii He had said any one who will lu!i!I
the conditions HAY have the blessing; and
as there Is only the one condition, nancy.
that we shall dwell j. the secret place
OF the Most High, you would think That
all would accept. Ior the promise Is ,nai
we "shali ABIDE under the shadow OF The
Almighty The blessings here promised
aEnsr nor io- al believers. but only tor
Gthose who i've in close fellowship with
NGof Every child OF God looks toward
the Timer sanctuary and the mercy sea-,
but all do not dwell there. They ,rua -
it Mt iimCS and enjoy occasional giImHSaS
, of the face oG Him who iS there 20 he
seen: but thav do not continually abide
In the my>tcrouS presence, and tins i
possible for every one.
It is with the desire that ! n .Is learn
the ltSson myself dS well as b""" It 90
you. and with the almost uruttcrah,c
longing that re might know how 20 ahjd"
il. the secret of His presence that
have brought you the subject. MAY the
Lord help lis every one, | hav" been on
the mountain tops of Christian cXper-
ence. when | have seemed TO see the face
of Him who loved me and gave Himself
for me. and | am sure that YOU can say
the same; but the text says that we may
abide there in our thoughts while we may
be'all the time in the Very thlckcst o. the
fight for God
1 like the verse Every word is sweeter
than honey in the honeycomb. 1t Is so
restful to know that there is any place
Il H. o1N do how
is also something very winning to me in
the fact that it il a secret place for that
surely means thai God has something that
is lust intended for me, and for me alone.
when I am there, / am away from the
world 1t is the place Mrs. Brown dis:
covered when she wrote the beautiful
hymn.
"I love in solitude to shed
IL The penitential tear;
II And all His promises to plead
When none but God can hear"
There is something about the word
Shadow that always interests, for there
never has been a shadow without the
light; thus tie "secret place must be
place of brightness. 1t is a place where
Goo. is, for the nearest of all things to me
as Tourney in the sunlight Is my shadow,
and he who walls In my shadow or rests
in it must be W. ,ar to me; so that
when l am in the shadow of God, l can
reach forth my hard and touch Him;
can lift up mine eyes and see Him face
to face. l know there Is sense IN which
God is always near US. He is in all things,
and He is everywhere But there is some
hing about I$be- "secret OF His presence
which cHe Is stranger until
Tdwelt there.
BE 18th Psalm the psalmist seems
first part to be writing OF the
r Bf God in general sort 81 way.
her has said. He had been beat
6g OUT the golden ore OF thought through
successive paragraphs of marvellous power
and beauty, when suddenly in the fifty
first verse he seems to have become con-
scious that He of whom he had been
speaking had drawn near and was bending
over him. The sense of the presence OF
God was borne In upon his inner con-
sciousness, and lifting up face on which
reverence and ecstacy met and mingled,
nc cried: Thou art near, o Lord"" If
how happy, how useful we should be. 1t is
possible as well for those of us who are
in the very midst of perplexing cares as
for the priest or the saint; for since the
Master bids US all to abide in Him, and
does not limit either His meaning or the
number of people who may obey, l am
absolutely certain that it rests with me
and Win you C0 ESrermlQe WnetQer we
sRsn take advantage of our high privil-
egei
Z Sypicai reference must be to the
hol Ice of the tabernacle, which the
pria were privileged to enter; but Peter
assures us that We have become in this
new dispensation "a holy priesthood
SO that it is possible for us to enter on
that ground. If this Interpretation is al
lowed, then it is something, too Won
derful almost to describe, to which we
are hidden, for in the tabernacle just be-
yond the veil was the glory cloud, and
all the magniicence that could be wrought
in gold and silver, purple and fine linen.
But am persuaded that even that was
as nothing when compared to that which
awaits US when we enter the secret easee-
of God. The writer to the HebSaMs tells
us just how we may enteE"Having,
therefore, brethren, boldneSefo enter into
the holicst by the blood%f Jesus, by
nS and GiSs way VIZ Il He III, hath tSof eopss
GSv it all seems