The Retrospect of the Spirit

“« Then the Spirit took (R. V. lifted) me up, and I heard behind me a voice of a great rushing, saying, Blessed be the glory of the Lord from His place.” — EZEK. iii. 12,

voice of blessings behind me. From the place of my spiritual elevation I see the glory of the things I have passed by. My past life looks resplendent in the light of the new present. When I saw it in advance it seemed dark, but the moment it becomes a retrospect, the moment it lies behind me in the light of a higher experience, I see it to have been the best thing possible, I say of it, ‘‘ Blessed be the glory of the Lord.”

Spirit divine, reveal to me the glory of the things behind me, teach me the providence of the events that have gone by. I trusted Thee while they were going by; I was content to walk by faith; I murmured not. But faith is not Thy goal for me; it is sight. It is not enough that I should feel Thee to be my king; I must see the king ia his deauty. It is not enough that I should experience Thy strength in the wilderness; the wilderness must be made to blossom as the rose. It is not enough that an angel should support me in Gethsemane; Gethsemane itself must be glorified in the light of Olivet. I have not asked to trace Thee while Thy chariot wheels were passing; but now that they are past, O Spirit, let me see Thy face. Let me see Thee as Jacob saw Thee at Peniel — as a vindication of his struggle, as an explanation of his grief. Let me see Thee as Saul saw Thee at Tarsus — sending the future sunshine in the disguise of present darkness. Let me see Thee as John saw Thee at Patmos — revealing that the clouds of life were themselves but modes of Thy coming. I shall not weep for the depression of the passing hour, if only when the time of Thine uplifting comes, I shall see behind me the glory of the Lord.