THE FAMILY ALTAR

September 27.

"Whither shall I go from Thy Spirit, or whither shall I flee

from Thy presence? If I ascend up into heaven, Thou art there;

if I make my bed in hell, behold, Thou art there. If I take the

wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the

sea, even there shall Thy hand lead me, and Thy right hand shall

hold me." Ps. 139:7-10.

The prophet Jonah tried to flee from the presence of the

Lord; but we know how useless was his attempt. Even while

Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great

fish in the nethermost depths of the sea, the right hand of the Lord

upheld him. Jonan repented of his great folly, and cried to God

for deliverance. And the Lord heard him and brought him back

to the world, back to life again. And in this respect Jonah is a

prophetic type or sign of our Lord Jesus and His resurrection from

the dead, as the Lord Himself tells us, Matt. 12, 40. Ever since

our dear Savior by His death and resurrection has reconciled us

to our God and Judge in heaven, we need not try to hide from

Him, the omnipresent and all-seeing God, as Adam and Eve vainly

tried to do and Jonah attempted; but wherever we are, in what-

ever circumstances we find ourselves, we can call on Him for par-

don, and help, and comfort, knowing that He will hear us for

Jesus' sake. He fills heaven and earth with His mighty and, for

us Christians, gracious presence. What a world of comfort that

truth has for the Christian especially when his calling leads him

into dangerous heights while laboring on tall buildings or even

flying in the skies in the service of his country or while toiling

in the bowels of the earth at mining, and so forth ! We often think

so sadly of our loved ones lying alone in their dark graves, when

we ought to take sweet comfort from the blessed fact that our God

— the God of the living and not of the dead — is with them, and

holds them in His almighty right hand and will one day bring

them forth from the grave, as He did Jonah, as He did our Savior.

Let us ever walk uprightly in the presence of the all-seeing God,

and we shall have no need to fear any danger, any duty, any death.

Though faint, yet pursuing, we go on our way;

The Lord is our Leader, His Word is our stay;

Though suffering, and sorrow, and trial be near,

The Lord is our Refuge, and whom can we fear?

He raiseth the fallen, He cheereth the faint;

The weak and oppressed, He will hear their complaint;

The way may be weary, and thorny the road,

But how can we falter? Our help is in God!