Revelation by Shadow

Leviticus xvi. 2 v. “I will appear in the cloud upon the mercy-seat.”

Appear in a cloud! I thought a cloud was the place for disappearance; I thought it was a thing which hid. Yes, in eveiy sphere hut one — the message of mercy. But the pardon of my Grod comes to me through pain. I never know He is near to me till I feel that He is far away. I never go up to my house justified till I heat upon my breast and say “unclean.” My sky of conscience does not besrin to clear till its cloud comes; its birds can only sing in the groaning of my spirit. It is only when the wind and sea are raging round my ship that I know the feet of Christ to be on the waters; the storm of my heart is wakened by the wings of angels. There is no darkness on the face of my deep till God has created the heavens and the earth.

My soul, art thou trembling under thy cloud? Art thou disturbed by the jarring chords within thee? Thou neecl’st not be. Whence hast thou ] earned the jarring? It can only be from music. Thou hast heard afar off the melodies of Heaven, or thou would’st not quarrel with the sounds of earth. Thou hast gazed on the pure fountains of living water, or thou would’st not murmur at the stagnant pools. Thou has seen the face of the King in His beauty, or thou would’st not shrink from the slave in his deformity. It is thy transfiguration that has made thy cloud. Thy gloom is the child of thy glory, and the shadow that obscures thee is thy Grod passing by. Oh! mist, clearer than the sunshine; oh! storm, gentler than the lullaby; oh! pain, sweeter than earthly joy — my Father’s face appears in thee.

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