Page:Spiritual Reflections for Every Day in the Year - Vol 1.pdf/238

 the most exalted truths of his kingdom. The heavenly clouds in which the Lord is to reveal himself to the world, are the literal truths of his Word; for it is by the Word alone that the Lord is seen in power and great glory. Hence the coming of the Lord in the clouds is to make manifest his Divine presence in his Word. By this coming, Jesus reveals the internal or spiritual sense of his Word; for in this sense Divine truth is such as it is in heaven, where, as to its spirit, it is for ever settled; while, as to its letter here with us, it is the lamp to our feet and the light to our path. As the clouds of heaven denote truths in the letter, in comparative obscurity, yet suited to our wants in the world, where we only see spiritual things as through a glass darkly; so, as the Lord is fully present in his Word to lead and direct us on our way, clouds were made emblems of the Divine presence. Jehovah led the Israelites by a cloudy pillar; a cloud announced his presence on Mount Sinai. "The glory of the Lord appeared in the cloud." (Exod. xvi. 10.) "A cloud covered the tent of the congregation, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. (Exod. xl. 34.) Inasmuch as God's truth reacheth to the very letter of his Word, so that not one jot or tittle thereof can ever fail, and as his faithfulness and strength are in it, so as to express these facts literally, it is said that "his truth reacheth unto the clouds" (Psalm cviii. 4); "his faithfulness reacheth unto the clouds" (Psalm xxxvi. 5); "his strength is in the clouds" (Psalm lxviii. 34); and that he "maketh the clouds his chariot." (Psalm civ. 3.)

The spiritual Christian perceives that as the Lord, in mercy, has revealed in this our day the interior