"O GOD, THOU ART MY GOD."
By H. S.
EVERY person has some god. The heathen have theirs—gods of gold and of silver, of wood and of stone. And those in Christian lands have theirs in various forms. It is a great and a blessed thing to be able to say of the living God, "Thou art my God." Those only can truly say this, who love this God supremely, who make him their trust, and who are cheerfully obedient to his will. They make choice of him as their God in preference to all others, and in so doing he becomes their God. He is theirs in all his infinite and glorious perfection; and infinitely blessed is their condition. They are rich for time and eternity. The God in whom they trust is infinite in power, and can do all things. He is able to take care of them, to defend them from all harm, to provide for all their wants, and to make them perfectly and everlastingly happy. He is infinite in wisdom, and is competent to lay his plans in the wisest and best manner, and for the best interests of those that love him. And he is infinite in goodness, and will employ his power and wisdom for the well-being of all that make claim of him as their God. He is the ever-living and the everlasting God, and he will never cease to be to his friends all that they could desire. Did the child of God realize the blessedness of his condition in having such a God for his God, he would be unspeakably happy. He would rejoice in the Lord always. He would rejoice with a joy that is unspeakable and full of glory. He would be happy in the midst of his trials; no afflictions would quench his joy. They have not sprung out of the dust, nor have they befallen him by chance, but they are the appointment of infinite wisdom and goodness, and therefore has he cause to say, "Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him." And whatever events may be taking place in the world, it is his God, still infinite in power, and wisdom, and goodness, that is permitting them, and controlling them, and overruling them for his own glory and for the best interests of all that love him. To all the wickedness and all the errors and delusions that abound and prevail, the God that reigns on high says: "Hitherto shalt thou come, but no further; and here shall thy proud waves be stayed." "The wrath of man shall praise thee; the remainder of wrath shalt thou restrain." "The Lord on high is mightier than the noise of many waters, yea, than the mighty waves of the sea." In the midst of all agitations and commotions, his people may stay their minds on him and be in perfect peace. They may confidently say, "God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore will not we fear, though the earth be moved, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea; though the waters thereof roar and be troubled, though the mountains shake with the swelling thereof."—H. S., in N. Y. Observer.