PRESENCE—OMNIPRESENCE.
O God, when Thou wentest forth before Thy people, when Thou didst march through the wilderness;
The earth shook, the heavens also dropped at the presence of God: even Sinai itself was moved at the presence of God, the God of Israel.—Psalm lxviii. 7, 8.
Whither shall I go from Thy Spirit? or whither shall I flee from Thy presence?
If I ascend up into Heaven, Thou art there: if I make my bed in hell, behold, Thou art there.
If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea;
Even there shall Thy hand lead me, and Thy right hand shall hold me.—Psalm cxxxix. 7, 8, 9, 10.
What!—will a man play tricks, will he indulge
A silly fond conceit of his fair form,
And just proportion, fashionable mien,
A pretty face, in presence of his God?
Cowper.
Come, holy, holy, holy Lord!
Thou Father, Son, and Spirit come!
I lean upon Thy changeless word;
Make the faithful soul Thy home!
Arm of the Lord, awake! awake!
In me Thy glorious self reveal:
Let me thy sevenfold gifts partake:
All, all Thy mighty presence feel.
C. Wesley.
Yes!—what was earth to him, whose spirit passed
Time’s utmost bounds?—on whose unshrinking sight
Ten thousand shapes of burning glory cast
Their full resplendence?—Majesty and might
Were in his dreams;—for him the veil of light
Shrouding Heaven’s inmost sanctuary and throne,
The curtain of the unutterably bright,
Was raised!—to him, in fearful splendour shown,
Ancient of days! e’en Thou mad’st Thy dread presence known.
Mrs. Hemans.
In all the immense, the strange, and old,
Thy presence careless men behold;
In all the little, weak, and mean,
By Faith be thou as clearly seen.
Thou teachest not a leaf can grow,
Till life from Thee within it flow;
That not a speck of dust can be,
O Fount of Being, save by Thee!
John Sterling.
What joy, while here I view the day,
That warns my thirsting soul away;
What transports fill my breast!
For lo! my great Redeemer’s power
Unfolds the everlasting door,
And leads me to His rest.
The festal morn, my God, is come,
That calls me to the hallowed dome,
Thy presence to adore;
My feet the summons shall attend,
With willing steps Thy courts ascend,
And tread th’ ethereal floor.
Merrick.
God hath a presence, and that ye may see
In the fold of the flower, the leaf of the tree,
In the sun of the noon-day, the star of the night,
In the storm-cloud of darkness, the rainbow of night,
In the waves of the ocean, the furrows of land,
In the mountain of granite, the atom of sand,
Turn where ye may, from the sky to the sod,
Where can ye gaze that ye see not God.
Eliza Cook.
Soul of the world, All-seeing Eye,
Where, where shall man Thy presence fly?
Say, would he climb the starry height?
All Heaven is instinct with Thy Light:—
Dwell in the darkness of the grave?
Yea, Thou art there to judge and save.
In vain on wings of morn we soar,
In vain the realms of space explore,
In vain retreat to shades of night,—
From what can veil us from Thy sight?
Distance dissolves before Thy ray,
And darkness kindles into day.
William Peter.