her reverent thought of Him who had made it beautiful—Sarah Louise Arnold, "Proceedings of the Religious Education Association," 1905.
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GOD IN THE DARKNESS
Robert E. Speer writes the following:
I was awakened the other morning about
four o'clock in my room by a little voice
just beside my bed in the dark asking for
a drink. I got the little lad a drink, and he
lay quiet for a moment, and then asked,
"Father, may I sing myself asleep?" And I
said, "Yes, dear, go ahead." But soon he
got up so much enthusiasm that I told him
he would better stop, or none of the rest
of us could sleep. Then he was quiet awhile,
but soon I heard his little voice again in the
perfect stillness of the night, "Father, have
you got your face turned toward me?" And
I said, "Yes, little boy," and the darkness
was as the light of day to him.
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GOD IS LIGHT
As there are no darkened rooms for the
child when mother is near, so there can be
no darkened worlds for the spirit as long as
God is in them.—F. F. Shannon.
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GOD, LIVING FOR
Among the thirty-two "Sacred Songs" by Thomas Moore is the following exquisite lyric:
Since first Thy word awaked my heart,
Like new life dawning o'er me,
Where'er I turn mine eyes Thou art,
All light and love before me;
Naught else I feel, or hear, or see—
All bonds of earth I sever;
Thee, O God! and only Thee
I live for now and ever.
Like him whose fetters dropt away,
When light shone o'er his prison,
My spirit, touched by Mercy's ray,
Hath from her chains arisen;
And shall a soul Thou bidd'st be free,
Return to bondage? Never!
Thee, O God! and only Thee
I live for, now and ever. (Text.)
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God Maternal—See Maternal, God's Love.
GOD, NOT NATURE
A great teacher of England, passing
through a hospital, stopt beside a little wan-*faced
crippled boy, who was dying. The
handsomest man in England stooped to that
little stranger, saying, "My boy, God loves
you." An hour later, the little cripple, in a
wonder of happiness, called one nurse after
another to his side, exclaiming, "He said,
'God loves me!'" and with smiles wreathing
his face, the dying boy repeated the magic
word. But to go toward the god of nature
is to lie down in a bed of nettles. Nature
exhibits God as a purple earthquake. Going
toward nature is going toward a sheaf of
red-hot swords. Man subdues nature's fire
and wind and water, and makes them serve.
Back of these rude physical forces that are
to help man's body stands the infinite Father.
Man's body, on a snowy day, needs a blazing
fire on the hearth, and man's heart needs
God's love, that redeems, guides, and for-*ever
saves.—N. D. Hillis.
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God Our Guide—See Guidance, God's.
GOD OUR STRENGTH
At one time during the war of the Revolution,
Washington sent Lee and Lafayette
to meet the British at Englishtown. After
a brief skirmish, Lee, without any apparent
reason, except that it was for jealousy, ordered
a retreat. Soon the American troops
were all in disorder and were fleeing before
the oncoming foe. Everything was in
confusion and chaos.
Lafayette saw the condition, but he did not dare disobey. He hastily sent a message to the commander-in-chief, informing him of the state of things and beseeching him to come as soon as possible. In an incredibly short time, Washington appeared with fresh troops. He met the soldiers retreating. Giving Lee a cutting rebuke, he began to retrieve the error of the morning. When the soldiers saw Washington, riding back and forth on his white horse, almost under the banner of the enemy, they faced about as they cried, "Long live Washington." His presence brought order and determined the victory.
In our moral warfare, when the enemy is pressing toward us, when the forces of righteousness within and without seem on the retreat, if we will send a message, lift up a prayer to the Captain of the Lord's host, He will answer while we are yet speaking, and will get the victory with His own right arm, for He is a God of battles. (Text.)
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