The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1911-03-23
THE HAND
OF GOD
By REV. STEPHEN PAULS0N
~

TEXT-The hand Of God IS upon all
them that seek him for good Ezra S:22.
These words were spoken by Ezra
the king ArtaXerxes Of Babylon. Ezra
was sent back to Jerusalem with great
stores Of gold and silver for the tenn
pie. The king offered him a military
guard for the journey, but Ezra de-
clares It unnecessary, for, he says,
The hand Of God is upon all them for
good, that seek him"
Ezra here announces a fact which
often passes out Of our reckoning
There was time when fatalsm was
the general creed and It still fingers
in many minds. II is dreary faith to
live by and not true to facts. There Is
more beautiful creed and ore com
iorttng, and that IS the personal provi-
dence Of a loving father-the hand Of
God upon all them for good that seek
him.
First let US recognize that divine
government in our lives is a fact No
one can live and defy Gods laws with
impuniyy. Many men seem to think
that no notice is taken Of their &C
lions, and they 90 on in their evil
ways and apparently prosper. Occa-
sionally one may escape from the jus
ttce OF human law. but there is no es-
cape from divine law.
The hand Of God is a disturbing ele-
ment. You may be perfectly satisfied
with yourself. but God is not satisfied
with you. Only to one did he say,
This is my beloved son in whom am
well pleased" There are 50 many
things in our lives that God IS not
pleased with If hts hand is upon us for
good. So God never allows US to re-
main in peace You would not expect
Gods government in our lives to be
one Of Indifference and tranquility.
DO you think, for instance, that God
IS satisfied with social and moral and
political conditions as they are? No,
he is not And therefore God is con
tiruaUy stirring up good men and IN
Huouces TO battle against evil and OPP
preston and to spread the principles
OF his kingdom. and there are those
who resent this divine Interference
and make his servants bear The bruut
Of their displeasure
The gospel of Jesus Christ is dis.
turbiug element wherever # comes,
for It cannot exist side by side with
evil and oppression, without striving
TO oppose and overcome them. That
was what Jesus had reference TO
when he said, Il am not come TO
send peace upon the earth, but
sword
China lived in self-satisfed igno-
rance and darkness. Progress was an
unknown word and not desired The
same customs and practices and the
same primitive methods had obtained
for 1000 years Then came the man
with the gospel and it proved a dis
turbiug element Missionaries have
sometimes been accused by short
sighted persons Of causing disturbance
and Gissension The charge is true
in so far as they are true TO the gos-
pei they preach II IS the eternal
and inevitable conflict between light
and darkness, between truth and
falaehood. between good and etil be-
tween Christ and Satan
The hand of God in human lives IS
a progressive element. God 3isNubs
our lives 10 move them on 10 some
thing better. With him there is never
retrogrcsslou. If God asks me to
strike my tent today to move y3nder
il is because youdcr there lis a hl-her
possibility. more glorious outlook.
Progress is not necessarily pleas.
ant Notice how Moses speaks OF the
departure from HOreb. where many Of
Israclites were most willing TO re
main. And when we departed from
Horeb we went through all the great
and terrible wilderness which ye cav
by the way OF the mountain OF the
Ammorites" It was progress, but It
was not pleasant 1t was through the
great and terrible wilderness. 1t was
difficult progress, but the goal was
Canaan. the land Of promise.
There Is a beautiful Illustration OF
the hand OF God in human lives. IN
the thirty-second chapter Of Deuter
onomy: "As an eagle stirreth up her
nest, fiuttereth over her Young, taketh
them, beareth them on her ptnions, sc
the Lord did lead him"
The picture is full OF poetry, full
Of life and truth and beauty Think
over it, The nest is upon rocky
height The mother eagle comes and
takes the eaglets and filings them out
of the nest. They scream with fright
and begin to fall to the ground But
having stirred up her nest, the eagle
"spreadeth abroad her wings" She
swoOps beneath them. "beareth them
on her pinions" She drops them
again and again they struggle, but
this time not so helplessly. They be.
gin to understand what she means
She is teaching them to fly
Perhaps circumstances have flung
you out until you felt lost in an ele.
ment that was new and strange to
you. Look unto God, who is the help
of ell who seek him. He spreads out
the wings of his omnipotence to pro.
tect you He is teaching you to use
the gifts which he has bestowed upon
you. There is a purpose in the great
wings Of the eagle. II Is fight There
is a purpose in your life, o child of
God. 1t is fight Godward, sunwRrd,