The Fulton County news. [volume] (McConnellsburg, Pa.) 1899-current, 1902-10-30
"A GREAT VICTORY"
Sunday Disc ;arse by DR.. Chapman, the
Noted Pastor Evangelist.
The Souls Deep Longing After God--Faith
VIII Conquer Ia tn, Esd-God Is Our
Strength and Life.

nAs the hart panteth after the water
brooks, so panteth my soul after Thee, o
God" Psalm AZ: |. Hope in God, for I
shall yet praise Him who is the health of
The first verse is lamentation in the
wilderness, the second is shout of re-
ioicing 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 expe-
rience of David, but of the most of Chris
tians. My message last week was to those
who occasionally fall under juniper trees
and want to die; here it is to all who
would rise to better things.
The Psalms are divided into five books,
and the ancient Rabbins say in these five
books in the Psalter we have the image of
the five books of the law, or in other
words a kind of 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
shout of praise. These two Psalms form
the first division of the second book.
They are dedicated to the master musi.
clans or the sons Of Horah. They were
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
we're 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
faces like lions, and who for speed were
like gazeles on the mountains.
Mr.. Spurgeon says that although David
is not mentioned as the author of these
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. | had sooner question the
authorship of Bunyan's second part of the
"Pilgrim's Progress" than to question Da.
wrote them has given name to the souls
deep longing after God and made sigh a
melodious thing.
There are three divisions in the psalm.
each closing with the refrain, "Why art
thou cast down. o my soul?" The whole
psalm is the picture of a soul climbing
Godward. not without backward slips,
but climbing nevertheless, until the sigh
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 heayng hanks eagerly seeking water
in the dry river bed, and he saw in this a
picture of himsof. The Whole psalm is
like what we l,nve seen on some early
spring day. when the sun was warm, the
sky blue, the trees ready to burst into bud
and the birds were singing, but only for
a day, then the clouds returned, the at
mosphere was chilled, the birds are all
stilled and the sun was under a cloud.
Viewed in one way it is psalm OF gloom,
in another way it is a 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 contending enemies
meet as in verses 8 and 10, but finally
above it all comes the refrain without
complaint, Il shall yet praise Him who is
the health OF my countenance."
There are certain expressions most strik-
ing in the psalm. Three times does David
say why art thou cast down, 0 my
soul" as though he were twl men, The
psamist talks to himself John Trapp
says 1t is David chiding David out of the
dumps. 10 search for the cause of Corrow
is ., often the! the best surgery for grief In
command His loving kindness in the day.
time. No day has ever dawned in which
an heir of grace could be utterly forsaken
In the same verse we read ''In the night
His song shall be with me-" Afliction
may put out our light at times, but if it
does not silence our song the light will
come TIl! ,y again. Verse 8 psalm AZ. Send out
gels to guide him to the object of his af.
tections, but finally above all sounds the
note of victory, Hope thou in God" This
Is like the singing of Paul and Silas, it
looses chains, shakes the prison walls and
sets the prisoner free. Two graces men.
toned in this psalm We're used frequently
by Christ hope and faith. Faith tells us
what Christ has done; hope tells us what
he will do, and hope is like the sun as we
Journey toward it; our burden is cast
back OF MS. Faith may have many q
struggle with fear, but it will conquer in
the end. These two psalms are really one;
there Is a constant unfolding of expe.
rienee, and rising to higher appreciation
OF God, and as faith acquires more strength
You will notice that not only David but
ourselves come to think of God in differ.
ent way and address Him in more endear,
ing terms There is no better illustration
OF this than these two psalms.
!.
20 God" Debarred from public wor-
snip David is heart sick. He is not seek
ing ease, he needs God. He is not after
comfort, but like traveller whose water
6ottle Is empty and who finds the well
ddry, so he must have God or he will faint
When 1t is as natural for us to long for
uod as Tor an animal to thirst, it is well
with our souls. 30 God" we hear him
saying. 1t is as II he can scarcely breathe
ior thirst, He does not know Just what
ne IS needing or just how God would re-
veal yea Himself to him, but he must have God.
All unrest or thirst or outgoing of desire
ar are out the reaching out of the soul after
find Him.
The Living Cod My soul thirsteth
lor God, for the living God This is an
auVance upon the first expression, and this
= = Jehovah's name of power. Ancient
dsrael d was accustomed to use it before
every, victory, since it is higher than 80
It followed with shout Of victory, II
sna' sna ~ yet praise Him" Hunger and thirst
are are Gods instruments to call us to Him
sen, When the prodigal was an hun.
eeted he said, II will arise" Ii is pic
tSa tSae OF one who has tried other things in
ne tpe world, pleasure, wealth, honor and
p,'t pheh cries out, 80 for the living God"
iH Dul tMrSt is better than hunger; you may
Panlale hunger, but thirst is a perpetual
eaEppettite. The next best thing to being in
une light OF Gods love is to be unhappy
baal bHnen you have i. He is the living God
because TS He has life in Himself and because
'ie pestows that life to others.
Ill
- my God" Appropriation come,
dron, ddroo, ana once it is taken it is never
GGUdPpea @ lie says, God of my life, and
t%s dou my, my rock There are five "mys" in
GoS sGsoeSnSgth;D my joy" my soul" my
i nntii You n,yer really appreciate God
and ~ you pegin to apply Him TO your life,
He i ie y, VIII be to you Just what you wish.
els IKE locked casket filed with jew
nos, r,s. You may have such caslSet in Your
csn 'rssloh' ra Only the key unlocking it
nossa nos reveal t., you the preciousness Of your
kew k'e,s'O9 n HI. This possessiye pronoun is the
once ~ ro' uhi5 case, my God" and when
stand yOu a1a nave grasped it nothing can
dan tbss bs"WIhst W you. David speaks OF Jor-