River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1910-03-17
The Shadow of Il
the Almighty /
By REV. J. W. JOHNSON
| Pastor of Calvary Baptist Church.
Houston, Texas n

Text Psalm 81, verse 1: He that dwell
eth in the secret place of the Most High
shall abide under the shadow of the AL
mighty"
To me this is one of the sweetest
portions of Gods word, because it is
poetic, but far more than that for the
reason that it holds up before us one
of the greatest privileges that can
come to the children of God.
1t is very true that all Christians do
not occupy the same position in this
world. All are saved by the same
precious blood of Christ" But there
is so much more to the Christian life
than simply being saved; that is only
beginning. The blessings offered
are given to every one. God is no
respecter of persons, and it is as if
he had said any one who will fulfill
the conditions may have the blessing;
and there is only the one condition,
namely. that we dwell in the secret
place Of the Most High the bless
lngs here promised are not for all be-
levers, but only for those who live
IN close fellowship with God. Every
| child looks toward the inner sanctu-
airy and the mercy seat, but all do not
dwell there They run to it at times,
| enjoy occasional glimpses of the face
OF him who is there to be seen. but
they do not continually abide in the
mysterious presence, and yet it is pos
s1ble for every one.
There is one beautiful thought about
shadow that always interests. for
the nearest thing to me as | walk in
the sunshine is my shadow. and he
who walks in my shadow is very near
to me, and he who is in the shadow of
OF the Almighty must be very near to
MIN. Again, there never is a shadow
without a light; thus the secret place
IS place of brightness. It is q place
where God is.
In the one hundred and nineteenth
Psalm the psalmist seems to be beat
ing out the ore of thought through
successive paragraphs of power and
beauty, when suddenly in the fifty
hrst verse he seems to have become
conscious that he of whom he had
been speaking had drawn near, for
with uplifted face of reverence and
ecstasy ne cried: Thou art near, o
Lord!" If we could only attain unto
this, how strong, how happy, how use
full we should be-
The typical reference must be the
holy place of the tabernacle in the
wilderness; ouside the tabernacle was
covered with badger skins, but inside
just beyond the veil was glory and
magnihcence wrought in gold, silver,
purple and fine linen. Thus it is with
the secret place of the Most High"
In the fourth verse of the Psalm it
says: He shall cover thee with his
feathers" What place SO warm as
the covered nest, the tiny birds there
kept from harm by the mother bird?
But listen to this, If you will only
dwell in the secret place" you shall
abide under the shadow of the Al
mighty, and as if that would not be
tender enough to WOO us, we are told
again: He shall cover thee with his
feathers, AID under his wings thou
shalt trust"
IL we had been with Jacob when he
had his dream we would have seen
only Jacob asleep with stone for his
pillow.
We would only have seen Paul in
his tent, but he was up in the third
heaven and re heard things he could
not tell.
In the secret place there is peace;
in the world we shall have tribula-
ton, but in me We shall have peace"
In the secret place there is purity.
The unholy nan could not see God if
he were set down in the midst of
heaven, but .nen and women whose
hearts are pure see him in the very
commonest things OF life.
In the secret place there is power.
If we will dwell there we shall have
power to live Christ before the world.
In no place do we read of power OF
intellect or Of human might, but there
is a promise that we shall have power
after the Holy Spirit shall come
upon us.
How may enter the secret place?
Jesus said: - sm the door; by me,
If any man will, he shall enter in"
1t is just what Paul meant when he
said: But now in Christ Jesus We
who sometimes were afar off are made
nigh by the blood of Christ"
Did you ever talk aloud to God?
Try it when you are alone. Then
listen to him. He will tell you things
it will not be lawful to tell and will
give you the joy that will help you
tell to others what he has done for
you.
After the Lord had entered into the
heart of an Indian princess she was so
transformed by his presence that out
of the fullness of her love to him she
penned a verse for which l shall ever
thank God. Will you go with me and
with her into the secret place of the
Most High that we may abide under
the shadow of the Almighty?
In His Leading.
Gods leading is not intended to ex-