But seeing God means much more than perceiving of him in nature, in the Scriptures, and in his Church; it means that the pure in heart begin to discern something of Gods true character. Any man who is caught in a thunderstorm, and who hears the crash of thunder, and sees what havoc the lightning flashes work, perceives that God is mighty. If he is not so foolish as to be an atheist, he says, How terrible is this God of the lightning and the thunder! But to perceive that God is eternally just and yet infinitely tender, and that he is sternly severe and yet immeasurably gracious, and to see the various attributes of the Deity all blending into one another as the colors of the rainbow make one harmonious and beautiful whole,—this is reserved for the man whose eyes have been first washed in the blood of Jesus, and then anointed with heavenly eye-salve by the Holy Spirit. It is only such a man who sees that God is always and altogether g, and who admires him under every aspect, seeing that all his attributes are beautifully balanced, and that each one sheds additional splendour upon all the rest. The pure in heart shall in that sense see God, for they shall appreciate his attributes and understand his character as the ungodly never can. But, more than that, they shall be admitted into his fellowship. When you hear some people talk about there being no God, and no spiritual things, and so on, you need not be at all concerned at what they say, for they are not in a position to warrant them in speaking about the matter. For instance, an ungodly man says, I do not, believe there is a God, for I never saw him. I do not doubt the truth of what you say; but when I tell you that I have seen him, you have no more right to doubt my word than I have to doubt yours. One day, at an hotel dinner-table, I was talking with a brother-minister about certain spiritual things when a gentleman, who sat opposite to us, and who had a serviette tucked under his chin, and a face that indicated his fondness for wine, made this remark, I have been in this world for sixty years, and I have never been conscious of anything spiritual. We did not say what we thought, but, we thought it was very likely that what he said was perfectly true; and there are a great many more people in the world who might say the same as he did. But that only proved that he was not conscious of anything spiritual; not that others were not conscious of it. There are plenty of other people who can say, We are conscious of spiritual things. We have been, by Gods presence among us, moved, and carried forward, and cast down, and then lifted up into joy, and happiness, and peace; and our experiences are as true phenomena, at least to us, as any phenomena under heaven; and we are not to be beaten out of our beliefs, for they are supported by innumerable undoubted experiences. He that dwelleth in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. But there is no such secret place, says one, and no such shadow. How do you know that? If someone else comes, and says, Ah! but I am dwelling in that secret place, and abiding under that shadow, what will you say to him? Yon may call him a fool if you like, but that does not prove that he is one; though it may prove that you are one, for he is as honest a man as you are, and as worthy to be believed as you are. -CH Spurgeon
Posted on: Thu, 27 Mar 2014 12:44:22 +0000
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