The Pervadingness of the Spirit

‘Whither shall I go from Thy Spirit? or whither shall I flee from Thy presence?” — Ps, cxxxix. 7.

GLORIOUS imprisonment, O splendid

bondage, O divine wall ofenclosure! I

CH am shut in by Thee. Iam more shut in Ny Thee than I used to be. In the days of old, to be driven out of Eden was to be driven from the presence of the Lord. But Thy presence is no longer limited to Eden. Thou hast filled with Thy glory the things that once were outside of Thee — the harp and the organ, the brass and the iron, the tents and tabernacles of daily life. The ark of Thy presence was once shut in to keep out the flood, but now it is opened to take in the flood itself. The seer of Patmos said of Thy regenerated world, “I beheld no temple therein.” No wonder; when Thy presence shall be seen in every place, there shall be no special place sacred unto Thee. And indeed, whether we see it or not, Thou art already everywhere. We build churches to Thee and consecrate them, but the site was consecrated before there was any church. In Thine eyes here is no difference between secular and sacred. All work is Thy work, all service is Thy service, all days are Thy day. I call my moral duties mere morality to distinguish them from my religion. Why should I seek thus to go from Thy Spirit, why should I strive thus to flee from Thy presence? The wall is of my own making, not Thine. Thou claimest all my duties as Thy worship. Thou callest all my acts by sacred names. I speak of my aspirations; Thou callest them prayers. I speak of my joys; Thou callest them psalms. I speak of my hopes; Thou callest them acts of faith, Help me to consecrate the daily life. Help me to write Thy name on the commonplace. Help me to experience Thy presence in the region which men have styled “the world.” Help me to taste the bread of Thy communion in every act of kindness given or received, to reverence as Thy cup the cup of earthly water, even though bestowed only in a disciple’s name. I shall serve Thee day and night in Thy temple when I can say “Whither shall I go from Thy Spirit.”