Always in His Immediate Presence, by Thomas Guthrie (1803-1873)

“Does He not see my ways and count my every step?” Job 31:4

“A man’s ways are in full view of the LORD, and He examines all his paths.” Proverbs 5:21

“The eyes of the LORD are everywhere, keeping watch on the wicked and the good.” Proverbs 15:3

“My eyes are on all their ways; they are not hidden from Me, nor is their sin concealed from My eyes.” Jeremiah 16:17

How solemn is the thought, that an invisible Being is ever at our side and watching us–recording with a rapid pen each deed and word, every desire that rises, though it is to burst like a soap-bubble, and every thought that passes, though on an eagle’s wing.

We cannot shake off the presence of God! When doors are shut, curtains are drawn, and all is still, and darkest night fills our chamber, and we are left alone with our thoughts. It might keep them pure and holy to say, as if we saw two shining eyes looking on us out of the darkness, “You, O God, see me!”

May God help you to feel yourselves at all times in His immediate presence!

• How promptly then would every evil thought be banished
• What unholy deeds would be crushed in the desire, nipped in the bud, strangled in the birth!
• What crimes would remain uncommitted! 
• How feeble would the strongest temptations prove!
• What a purity, nobility, loftiness, holiness, and heavenliness would be imparted to your whole bearing and conduct!

“Can anyone hide in secret places so that I cannot see him?” declares the LORD. “Do not I fill heaven and earth?” declares the LORD. Jeremiah 23:23-24

About Thomas Guthrie 

Thomas Guthrie (1803-1873) was a Scottish Minister and philanthropist — an extremely popular preacher in his day and well-known for deeply caring about children and the poor. He stood 6 foot 3 inches tall—an unusual height for a man in the 19th century.  Among his many writings are The Gospel in Ezekiel (1855) and Plea for Ragged Schools (1847), and The City, its Sins and Sorrows (1857), “Christ and the Inheritance of the Saints” (1858), “The Way to Life”, Speaking to the Heart,” the “Life of Robert Flockhart,” “Man and the Gospel” (1865), “The Angels Song” (1865), “The Parables” (1866), “Our Fathers Business” (1867), “Out of Harness” (1867), “Early Piety” (1869), “Studies of Character” (1868–70) and “Sundays Abroad” (1871), and “The Sunday Magazine.” In 1910, a statue of him was erected in Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland.