The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1902-08-13

ment, auQ TOT tnOse WuO are III SukSs
Jesus, whatever their sins, judgment Is
forever past.
Him Him are yea, and in Him amen, unto the
glory OF God by U.s." II Corinthians i: 20.
There Is not in all the exigenc:es Of our
lives a trial that cannot be Offset by o
promise of help found in the Bible and
these all centre in Him.
Third: He is near as q prayer.answering
God. JOHN IS: 23-24. And in that day ye
shall ask Me nothing. Verify, verify. l
say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall ask tho
Father in Ny name, He will give it you.
Hitherto have ye asked nothing in Bly,
name: ask and ye shall receive, that your
ioy NAV be full" This is Gods own word,
and if our prayers have not been answered
the difficulty il with ourselves.
Fourth: He is near as gracious Father.
John Ii: al0. "Jesus saith unto him,
Have been 90 long time with you and
vet hast thou not known Ne, Phi!in? He
that hath seen Ne hath seen the Father.
and how sayest thou. then. Show rs the
Father? Believest thou not that l am IN
the Father and the Father in Me-, The
words that I speak unto you I speak not
Of Myself. but the Father. that dwelleth
in Ne: he doeth the works. by these
words Jesus wanted Philip to know when
he had seen Him touch the eyes Of the
blind and raise the dead and comfort the
sorrowing he had had vision OF the
Father in His infinite love.
III.
We have lost the sense Of His nearne:s. :,
First: In Genesis 2s: l8, we read. "And
Jacob awaked out of his sleep, and he said:
Surely the Lord 10 in this place; and I
knew il not" After Jacob had had his
day Of flight aud his night Of dreams he
nwakes 70 saw, 'The Lord was in this place
and I knew it not" and the reason he did
not know was because he was deceitful
and dishonest. II we give this the right
name we shall say he was sinful. but sep
arate Us from God and hide His face from
Us 90 that He not only will not hear but
He cannot see. Blessed are the pure IN
heart. for they shall gee God" ,
Second: In Exodus 3: 5. we read, ANA
He said, Draw not nigh hither. but OH thy
shoes from of thy feet. for the place
whereon thou standest is holy ground.
Moses had no idea that he would see God
in the burning bush. for he was not ex:
pectins Him. and let it be remembered
that we have failed to see Him because
our minds are not set upon Him. He is on
every side Of US. and il we did but look for
Him we should see Him at every turn OF
life and every hour of the day. Your posi-
ton may be very unsatisfactory to you'
but it is possible for you in the most me;
NAL place to see Christ just as Paul had
visions Of Him constantly, and yet b" was
only a tent maker.
Third: In Amos 3: 3, we read. "Can two
walk together, except they be agreed"
and that word agreed" in the Hebrews is
-I;:e in the Greek is Sym.
phony." The reason We have lost step
with God Is because we have disagreed
with Him. If we were as indifferent to
that one to whom we were betrothed ID
we have been to the claim OF God there
would have been no marriage, and it We
were as india iaerent to the wife OF our home
A we have been to Him there would be no
happy home. Oh, that we might agree
with Him to-day and keep step with Him,
ve would see Him constantly.
w.
He Is near and He will preserve. Psalm
81: 1928, "The steps Of good man are or.
his way. Though he fsll. he shall not be
utterly cast down; for the Lord upholdeth
him With His hand. have bssn young,
and now am old; yet have I not seen the
righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging
bread" It il written in the Bible and
Gods word Is always true. Psalm III: 3,
"He will not suffer thy foot TO be moved; ;
He that keepeth thee will not slumber.'
We may not be conscious OF His nearnesa,
but He is near, just the same. We have
some time been in dark room all alone,
nothing about US. We have touched the
electric button, when suddenly We realized
that the furnishings Of the room are on
every side Of US. We were not conscious
Of them, but they ware near, aud we have
lost consciousness Of God, and yet il we
had but time to illumine the place where
we live we would see all about US the evi.
dence of His presence. peace. pardon, love,
ioy. Oh, that we might live in the fur.
nishcd room of God, for He 10 near pro-
tecting us, defending Us. keeping back the
pestilence, and so turning aside the arm OF
death from Us. Trouble may come very
near, but it cannot overthrow Us. In
Psalm n: 9. there il a graphic description
Of this. when the wicked. eren mine en-.
emie. and my foes came upon me to eat up
my Aesh. they stumbled and fell" The
Psalmist has q vision OF the enemy coming
fiercely against him, just about to lay his
hand upon him when suddenly he stunf'
Dies 6nu Idtib. Aucu III tuc A&tu ehoPeSA
Of Acts there is q picture Of Peter sleeping
about to lay hands upon him to bring him
when suddenly the chain snaps and he 10
free. This is Just like God Trouble al
most breaks our hearts. but not quite; rea-
500 il almost dethroned, but not alto
gether He will not suffer Us to be cast
down and utterly forsaken.
Y.
What q help. If we could only get into
the way of saying over and over, Thou
art near, o Lord" We should be greatly
strengthened. First: It would keep our
lives pure, for we would not 90 frequently
be lost to sin If we were conscious OF His
Second: It would strengthen us in the
hour of temptation to suddenly pause and
say over and over, Thou art near, 0
Lord" for He would Immediately give u
the strength to escape.
when through fiery trials thy pathway
shall lie,
Ny grace all sufficient shall be thy supply;
The fame shall not hurt thee; I only dc.
Thy dro,s to consume. and thy gold to
refine"
say, Thou art near TO me, 3 Lord"
It would greatly assist in the transfor-
nation of character il we but realized His
nearness. Moses saw Him, and his face
shone; Paul had vision Of Him and never
was the same again.
"Some times am faint and weary,
He knows that am weak,
And as He bids me lean on Him
Hia helm gladly seek
He leads me in the paths Of light,
Beneath q sunny sky,
Aud 50 we walk together
Ny Lord and l."
II will greatly help US when the need
comes, for He will then be near
One Of my friends in preaching to the