Great Falls tribune. [volume] (Great Falls, Mont.) 1921-current, 1922-11-06

known to him the greatness of the
future that awaited him. Filled with
q sense Of the greatness and of the
nearness of God to him, rising up he
exclaimed: Indeed the Lord is in this
place. and / knew it not. How ter
rible is this place; this is no other than
the house of God and the gate OF
heaven
Although, dearly beloved. we may
not all be privileged to experience in
vision the nearness Of God to US, which
was vouchsafed to that great Patriarch
Jacob, yet we cannot but feel and
realize. through the light of divine
faith and by the aid of right reason,
the universal presence of God and
consequently His abiding nearness to
US. With God there is no past or
future. everything is present. BY His
immensely He is present to all the
created beings of the universe. By His
infinite power He sustains the visible
and the invisible worlds and preserves
among the celestial and the terrestrial
kingdoms absolute harmony and perfect
order. Through His incomprehensible
love He enlightens our intellects and
inflames our wills that we may be
drawn unto Himself through the doing
of that which is good. and the avoid
ance of that which is evil. In the
f~ullness of His mercy He is with US as
the source Of that supernatural life,
which begins with baptism and termi-
mates in the uncreated vision of the
Triune God in heaven.
Divine Attributes
Although the consideration of all
the divine attributes Of Almighty God
should bring to us a sense of His
nearness to us, yet as we are finite
beings and God is infinite, it is diff
ficult for our limited intelligences to
comprehend fully all that Gods pres
ence implies. You may, however,
through the use of an illustration, bring
this great truth more strikingly be-
fore our minds. The nearness of God
to mankind in this world may be COM
pared to the nearness of the water in
the ocean to the fish which moves
about in it. Entirely surrounded by the
waters of the mighty ocean, the fish
moves about in it at random and from
what the water supplies, the fish gains
all that is necessary for its s~ustenance
and life. In like manner all mankind
moves about in God in whose divine
presence mankind is enveloped, and
from the bounteous goodness of that
God, mankind is supplied with all the
necessary elements which will sustain
the God given life which is enjoyed.
Hence then there can be no separation
of man from God for that would be
annlhllatlon, there car be no existence
for man except it be in the very
presence of God.
Since then We are always. by night
and by day, moving about in that
very presence of God who is infinitely
perfect, infinitely supreme. infinitely |
merciful. vet infinitely Just. what is
u attitude toward His divine nearness
to US! Or III other words, how do we /
perform all u actions. fulfill all our
duties, satisfy all our just obligations
to Hum, realizing as we do that in Him !
We live and move and have II being?
is In us and we are in Him. and
we do evil or that which is
good we cannot escape that awful
.nearness of God to us. for the Lord
is IN this place although | heed him
not. How beautifully does the ROYAL
Psalmist David express this saving
truth In the 13sth psalm. Whittier
shall ] go from Thy spirit? or whittier
shall ! flee from Thy face? If I ascend
INTO the heavens, Thou art there: if
/ descend into hell. Thou art present:
take my wings early in the morn
lng and dwell in the uttermost parts
- ''N F'"s 'Fth tutEt also SlHIl n Y ]
hand lead me, and Thy right hand
shall hold me. And / said: perhaps
darkness shall cover me and night
shall be light in my pleasures. Butt
darkness shall not be dark to Thee.
and night shall be light as the dav,
darkness thereof. and the light
thereof. are alike to Thee
Many Times Tried
Dearly beloved, tried by these tests
what shall we say Of all our thoughts,
our words, II acts? Would we wanti
70 put into words the every thought
hat enters into our minds, and submit
mem TO the scrutlnizing eve of man ,
and: And yet God is there: He knows
hem ALI and counts them one by one. ,
the conversations which we hold
among ourselves on the street corners
II the lodge rooms, in our homes and
n the places Of Ii varied activities t,
life Would we like to have the /!
most delicate Of consciences, the hear J
RS OF our ilrenscIous stories and sinful |
VlttlcismI fet God is there and He
them all. What answer wenId 5
We make if He appeared in our midst !
is Christ appeared TO the disciples on 1
iherway to Emmaus when he asked.
What manne of conversations are c
holding among yourselvesf' y
What of all our secret actions t
idden from the eyes of men? All the :
iolations of the rights of others? All S
he ontragea committed? All the Grim !
nal intrigues perpetrated? All the in
anous covenants entered into. signed
nd sealed? Would we like to have q
ur names appear before the world in !
onnection with all these? But God is +
here. He sees and knows them all. Il
lie is always near Us. Why should we il
e ashamed or afraid of man, the most h
ian can do is to destroy the body. "
ut God can destroy both body and b
onl, Him let us fear. Let us walk 4
as in the presence of God. !
nbued with a sense of His nearness n
us. We are all living in the great =
ouSe of God here on earth. let us f,
0 live here that we may live with Him W
brewer hereafter" +,
MISSIONARY SOCIETY =
The missionary Snpiofv af tba ffhn;, III