The Unity of God

In the formation of every argument it is necessary to lay down correct premises; because on them the conclusion depends. In every science it is necessary to have a knowledge of its first principles. These are the basis of the whole system. In the science of Theology, as in all other sciences, there are fundamental truths, which must be admitted or proved, before inquiries can be prosecuted with success. The most important of these, and which claims the first attention, is, the unity of God.

1. The first argument, which offers itself in proof of this truth, is, there appears to be no need of more than one God. In treating subjects philosophically it is correct to admit no more causes, than are necessary to account for the effects produced. One Being of almighty power is sufficient to create the world. One Being of infinite wisdom is sufficient to organize it, and form a constitution for its government. One Being of infinite goodness is competent to the administration of its laws. The same Being, who created, organized and supports one world, can multiply them to any extent he pleases. It is no harder to conceive of infinite attributes residing in one Being, than to conceive of them residing in many beings. As all the effects, which are visible, or fall within the compass of human apprehension, may be traced to one Cause, possessing infinite perfections, there is no necessity of inferring more than one.

2. The unity of God is argued from the harmony and mutual subserviency of different parts of the world; and from the uniformity of its government. There is a just proportion between the various parts of the world. The elements are so adjusted, that one does not prevail against another. The globe is wisely balanced with earth and water. The spheres, which compose this system, are so exactly proportioned as to size and distance, that they perform their revolutions with the greatest precision. There is a remarkable correspondence and subserviency between the different parts of the world; between different classes of animals; and between the brutal and the intelligent creation. The face of the earth is agreeably and usefully variegated with hills and vallies. There is a happy subserviency between the atmosphere, earth, and water. The different parts of this system so correspond that they are mutually beneficial. The sun enlightens and warms the earth. The moon and the host of heaven, not only adorn the canopy of the skies, but they shed their milder rays. The regular succession of day and night promotes the growth of the vegetable kingdom; and affords a pleasing and refreshing variety to human nature. The rotation of the seasons is wisely calculated to bring forward and mature the productions of the earth, and to restore its wasted strength.

Cont'd tomorrow! 10/1/15

Angelic Obedience

"See thou do it not: for I am thy fellow-servant, and of thy brethren the prophets, and of them which keep the sayings of this book." Rev.22: 9

There is not, in the whole Bible, an instance where an angel appears to act independently of the divine command. Perfect submission is the unvaried character of the heavenly host. Our Lord expresses this, in the prayer that he has taught us to use: "Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven." When John would have worshiped the angel who showed him the wonderful things that he has recorded for us, he was prohibited in these words: "See thou do it not: for I am thy fellow-servant, and of thy brethren the prophets, and of them which keep the sayings of this book." Rev.22: 9.

We cannot doubt that the Holy Spirit has so framed the word of truth as to be a perpetual antidote to every form of error that should creep into the world : and the "worshiping of angels," which constitutes a prominent mark of the Roman apostasy, is provided against by continually setting forth their entire dependence and subordination. They never appear but as messengers:

"God sent an angel into Jerusalem to destroy it." 1 Chron. 21:15. 

"My God hath sent his angel, and hath shut the lions' mouths, that they have not hurt me." Dan. 4:22. 

"The man Gabriel whom I had seen in the vision at the beginning, being caused to fly swiftly, touched me about the time of the evening oblation." Dan. 9:21.

  "At the beginning of thy supplication the commandment came forth, and I am come." (v. 23.) 

"And in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of Galilee, named Nazareth." Luke 1:26.

  "Now I know of a surety that the Lord hath sent his angel, and hath delivered me out of the hand of Herod, and from all the expectation of the people of the Jews," Acts 12:11:

And in the last instance that is recorded by inspiration of an angelic mission, we read, "I Jesus, have sent mine angel to testify unto you these things in the Church." Rev. 22:16. However willingly performed to men, it is still a service appointed of God, and by him especially directed; they are "ministering spirits," sent forth to minister to them that shall be heirs of salvation," Heb. 1:14 ; and it is on this principle of holy obedience that we find them zealously executing God's righteous displeasure against the rebellious.

The Resurrection and Ascension of Jesus Christ

"That ye may know what is the hope of His calling and what the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the exceeding greatness of His power to us-ward that believe, According To the working of His mighty power, which He wrought in Christ, when He raised Him from the dead, and set Him at His own right hand in the heavenly places, far above all principality and power and might and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come; and hath put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be the Head over all things to the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him that filleth all in all." Ephesians 1:18-23

The resurrection and ascension of Jesus Christ have become for us the pledge and pattern of all our faith and hope can claim. The power that God has wrought in Christ in raising Him from the dead and setting Him upon His own right hand is the very same power which we may expect Him to exercise to us-ward who believe. "The riches of the glory of this inheritance in the saints" is the standard of what we may share in our spiritual experience now. God has performed for us the most stupendous miracle of grace and power, and nothing can ever be too hard or too high for us to expect from "the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ." 

The picture is a very definite as well as a very glorious one. Step by step we can ascend its transcendent and celestial heights with our ascending Lord, as we see Him rise, first above the mighty power of earth, and then above and far above all principality and power and might and dominion and every name that is named, not only in this world but in that which is to come, until all things are beneath His feet. And then as we gaze upon His lofty preeminence we are permitted to sit down by His side and claim all the fullness of His glory as our own. For all HIS ascension power and majesty are, not for His own personal exaltation, but that He might become the Head over all things for His body the church, and He takes His high preeminence as our Representative and recognizes us as already seated with Him in the heavenly place. His resurrection, therefore, involves ours, His triumphs ours, His ascension ours, His rights are shared with us.

God's measureless measures part III

"We do not dare to classify or compare ourselves with some who commend themselves. When they measure themselves by themselves and compare themselves with themselves, they are not wise." 2 Corinthians 10:12

II.—HIS WORD.

"Behold the handmaid of the Lord!" is the sublime response of Mary to the angel's astonishing message, "be it unto me according to Thy Word." Never was faith put to a harder test. Never was woman asked to stand in so delicate a place of peril and possibility, of humbling shame and glorious everlasting honor. Realizing, perhaps, with every instinct of her maiden heart all that this might cost her, she meekly, unhesitatingly, without one question, one faltering breath, accepted the stupendous promise and responsibility and rose to meet the divine measure, "according to Thy word," and like an echo came back the heavenly benediction, '' Blessed is she that believed, for there shall be a performance of those things that were told her from the Lord."

Beloved, are you living up to this great measure? Is faith resting and claiming, not according to signs and feelings, but according to His word? Is obedience walking, not according to the course of this world, or the moods of our capricious hearts, or the standards of men, or the example of others, or the traditions even of the church, but according- to His word? Are we Bible Christians and determined to believe and obey every word within these inspired and heavenly pages? Then we shall be found in '' the way everlasting," for "the grass withereth and the flower fadeth, but the word of our God shall stand forever," and "he that doeth the will of God abideth forever." 

From Strength to Strength part II

"From Strength to Strength" Psalm 84:7

It is divine, not human strength, and it is strength which is wholly divine and in no sense or measure human. It is an exchange of strength in which we have surrendered all our power and received instead the divine power and enabling. This glorious exchange of strength is vividly set forth in Isaiah, chapter 40: "He giveth power to the faint, and to them that have no might He increaseth strength. Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall, but they that wait upon the Lord shall exchange their strength." That is to say, the strongest human strength, the manhood of young men, the vigor and vitality of youth, shall be wholly inadequate for the exigencies of Christian life and conflict, and it is not until these have failed that God has room to display the resources of His omnipotence. When we become "faint," then He giveth His power, and when we have "no might," then He "increaseth strength," that is, gives yet more because of our utter helplessness. Waiting on the Lord, we let our strength go and take His instead, and so renew or exchange our strength.

From Strength to Strength

"From strength to strength." Psalm 84:7

Man is naturally the weakest creature in the universe. He comes into life with the wail of a helpless infant, weaker than the tiger's cub or the birdling in its nest. But his physical frailty is but a figure of his spiritual helplessness. "When we were yet without strength in due time Christ died for the ungodly." But the grace of God in the conversion of the soul brings its first spiritual strength, enabling it to choose and trust the Lord, to turn from sin and walk in holy obedience. Then it sings the new song, '' O Lord, I will praise thee; though thou wast angry with me thine anger is turned away and thou comfortest me. Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust and be not afraid, for the Lord Jehovah is my strength and my song; He also is become my salvation."

Grace Abounding part II

"Where sin abounded grace did much more abound." Rom. 5:20.

God seems to love to take the worst materials for His greatest triumphs. He chose a Jacob and a David in the Old Testament, both weak and wicked men in many a terrible sense and measure, to become the respective heads of the patriarchal and the kingly periods. He saved a Manasseh after half a century of bloody crimes. He took a Rahab from the slums of Jericho, to be a mother in the line of the Messiah's ancestry. And when He would choose His most illustrious apostle to preach the glorious work of the gospel among the infamous Gentile races, He took "the chief of sinners." There is no doubt that Paul's calm estimate of his own wickedness, given by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, was not exaggerated. Moral though he was, yet even his own testimony leaves sufficient evidence of the atrocity of his religious crimes. Not satisfied with insulting the name of Jesus and agreeing with the murderers of Stephen His faithful martyr, he devoted himself to exterminating the followers of Christ; and with a fiendish excess of cruelty he feared not to destroy their souls as well as their bodies by committing the most fearful crimes and compelling them to blaspheme the Name of Him on whom they believed. He must have known full well the awfulness of the crimes he required of them, and that although they might even be mistaken in their faith, yet to sin against their conscience by profaning the name of Christ was, to them, the height of impiety, and on his part the very extreme of refined and Satanic cruelty.

And yet he, "the chief of sinners," tells us that he obtained mercy for this very purpose, that he might become the pattern of the principle on which God was to act in the economy of grace, namely, to "show forth all long-suffering unto them that should hereafter believe on the name of Jesus Christ to life everlasting." And this does not merely mean that God will save the most guilty, but that He will take peculiar pleasure in making more of their redeemed lives just because of their former wickedness. And so Paul can say "the grace of God was exceeding abundant towards me, with faith and love which is in Christ Jesus our Lord." "Where sin abounded grace did much more abound," not only in forgiving the sin but in making the sinner a vessel of the riches of divine grace and love, and an instrument in the hands of God for greater usefulness than ever was permitted perhaps to a mortal.

He is our peace

" He is our peace."—Eph. 2:14.

It was peace that we needed; for sin had thrown us out of peace, by troubling the conscience, and coming in between us and God. It was peace that we needed; for without peace what is life?

It is peace that Christ has made. He has not left it for us to make. He has made it on the cross, leaving nothing that is needful for our peace undone. Faith simply apprehends what Christ has made. Unbelief tries to make peace; but faith takes it as already made, and rejoices in it. All that hindered our having peace has been taken away; and all that could cause trouble of conscience has been fully met by the work of the Great Substitute upon the cross.

The cross is the display of righteous love,—love coming to us from God in a righteous way. We lift up our eyes to the cross, and see the Son of God there bearing sin. Then does the love flow in to us. The more that we allow the thoughts of this free love to find their way into us, the deeper and more abiding will be our peace. We are like men placed in an atmosphere filled with fragrance and health. We have only to inhale it. The gospel has surrounded us with this atmosphere of free love. Let us open our mouths, and breathe this blessed air. It will at once revive and refresh us. We shall find what health and vigor it can impart to our Souls and Bodies.

Ye shall know that I am the Lord.

"Ye shall know that I am the Lord."—Ezek, 20:44.

It is God's desire that He should be known; moreover, it is His purpose that He should be known. He compels even His enemies to know Him. If they will not know Him in His love, they shall know Him in His wrath. If they will not know Him in His pardons, they shall know Him in His judgments.

It is, however, a blessed thought for us that God wishes to be known. There is no hiding of Himself; no retiring out of view. He is not unwilling to shew Himself; no, His object in all that He says and does is so to reveal Himself that it shall be impossible for any one not to know Him. Considering what God has done to unfold His glorious character, we are led to wonder that He should be to so many still "the unknown God."

It is life to know Him. (John 17:3) It is peace to be acquainted with Him. (Job 22:21.) And if He is so willing to be known, why should any of us remain ignorant of Him? Shall we not go straight to Him, that He may teach us to know Himself? If He is so desirous that even those who are turning away from Him should know Him, will He hide His love or veil His glory from those that are seeking His face?

The knowledge of Jehovah! What is there of peace and light and joy that is not contained in that!

Who is among you that feareth the LORD?

"Who is among you that feareth the LORD, that obeyeth the voice of his servant, that walketh in darkness, and hath no light? let him trust in the name of the LORD, and stay upon his God."—Isa. 50:10.

Our way is often dark in this dark world. Evil and sorrow surround us like so many thick clouds that shut out the light What, then, shall we do, when we are thus on the point of losing our way? Take hold of God's hand, as the little child does of its father's in the dark night, and keep close to His side.

This is God's cure for darkness— simple confidence in Himself. The want of this confidence puts us all wrong. The possession of it keeps us all right.

But am I warranted in trusting God at all times, whatever may be the evil that I feel to be in me? Of course you are, just as you are bound to obey the command which says, "Thou shalt love Him with all thy heart." You would not say, "I am so bad that I am not warranted in loving God." That would be adding sin to sin. So you ought never to say, "I am so bad that I am not entitled to trust God." God commands you to trust Him; and not to do so would just be adding sin to sin. Trust Him at all times, for He is worthy to be trusted. Stay upon Him, for His arm is strong enough to bear the whole weight. Do not hesitate or delay. Trust Him at once, and as you are. Trust Him now.

In the LORD have I righteousness and strength

"In the LORD have I righteousness and strength"—Isa. 45:24 

These are the two things we most needed—righteousness for our unrighteousness, and strength for our helplessness. "I am unrighteous," is our feeling every moment. To meet this, a divine righteousness is at hand. "I am without strength," is our feeling also. But it was because we were without strength that Christ died for us. And, besides, there is strength provided, divine strength; strength as free and perfect, and near as is the righteousness. This strength completely meets our complaint of inability. 

The truth is that we are far more helpless than we think ourselves. Yet that matters not. It is to them that have "no might" that He "increaseth strength." We ought, then, no more to be cast down by a sense of inability than by a sense of unworthiness. God has provided against both. There is enough of strength at our disposal not only to make our inability no real hindrance, but to make it the very thing which gives us hope, inasmuch as it draws out the strength which is in the Lord for us. It gives Him an opportunity for magnifying His strength in our weakness. Most gladly, then, let us "glory in our infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon us." (2 Cor. xii. 9.) It is thus that "out of weakness we are made strong."

Thy hands have made me

"Thy hands have made me, and fashioned me: give me understanding, that I may learn Thy commandments."—Ps. 119: 73.

It was in the same way that Peter wrote, ages after—"Commit the keeping of your souls to Him, as unto a faithful Creator." Both the Old and New Testament saints are looking at God, as the God that made them; not merely the God who clothes the lilies and feeds the ravens, but the God who made themselves. On this they build their trust. He made them, and He has not unmade them. Surely they may trust Him. They seem to say to God, "Thou hast made us: surely Thou wilt teach us; surely Thou wilt preserve and comfort us. The God who created us will not forsake the work of His own hands. He who gave us breath, will He not much more give us His Holy Spirit? He who cares for these vile bodies, will He not much more care for these souls?"

This is a peace-giving truth. It is a strong and blessed argument against all unbelief. We cannot deny that He made us; surely we cannot doubt that He will care for us, and keep us, and bless us. It is like Paul's argument in Romans 8:32, "He that spared not his own Son, will he not with him freely give us all things?" He who upholds us in being and keeps us out of hell, what will He not do for us ?— what will He not give us? Would He give us our daily life, with all its common mercies, if He were only seeking to destroy us?

Trust in Him at all times.

"Trust in Him at all times."—Ps. 62:8.

One of God's heaviest complaints against us is, that we will not trust Him. There is nothing that He desires so much as this; there is nothing that honours Him so much as this; there is nothing that would bring so many blessings to ourselves; yet we do not trust Him. We speak of Him, but we do not trust Him. We pray to Him, but we do not trust Him.

Have we any good reason for this distrust? Is God's character such as to repel our trust? Has He shewn us so much ill-will that we dare not trust Him? Surely there are no reasons in Him for distrust! His whole character and acts towards us are such as to draw out our most hearty trust. His love, His grace, His long-suffering,—all these revealed and pledged to us in the gift of His beloved Son,—shew us what a God we have to do with, and how entirely worthy of our trust He is.

Nor can anything in us, however evil, be a reason for not trusting Him. Our sins may be many, our hearts may be hard, our wills may be crooked, our ways very rebellious; but all these together are no reason for distrusting God. To distrust Him because of these, would be adding sin to sin. He is "rich in mercy;" He is the "God of all grace;" let us "trust in Him at all times." Simple trust in Him as the God of all grace would do for us what nothing else could do. We shall be no losers by our confidence.

My times are in Thy hand

"My times are in Thy hand."—Ps. 31:15.

These are Christ's words, for the psalm is one of His utterances when bearing our sins. He is speaking as the "sent" one, the dependent, trusting Son of man.

We can also take up these words. We look up and remember Jehovah. What He is, even apart from what He is to us, is our joy. He is Jehovah; He is the disposer of times and events, the sovereign arranger of everything relating to us. He is so condescendingly mindful of us that He orders our whole life and lot. He in whose hand our times are is the God of love.

1. What solemnity, then, does this cast over life! A life thus wholly ordered in all its times by the infinite Jehovah must be a solemn thing.

2. What stability does it impart! Even in such an unstable world everything is under the regulation of an unchanging purpose.

3. What certainty does it give to all that passes! There can be no random, nay, no trivial events; nothing disjointed or loose.

4. What peace does it fill us with in this tempestuous age! Nations may rock to and fro, politicians stagger, confusion reign; we are at peace. All is well .

5. What consolation in sorrow! Our times are in hands divinely wise and powerful . All must work for good. There can be no real evil.

6. What hope for the future! We know that there is light beyond this gloom. The storm is for an hour, the calm that follows is eternal.

The Lord is my refuge!

"And the Lord shut him in."—Gen. 6:18.

He who shut Noah in, did by that very act, shut out all evil . He shut out the flood, he shut out the storm, he shut out death. He gave a pledge to his faithful servant that all would be well.  Above, there was darkness; beneath, the tossing wave; around, the moaning wind; far off and near, the cries of dying multitudes; yet Noah was secure.  Jehovah had shut him in and Jehovah kept watch.

Then was he safe indeed.  No peril could reach him, no enemy could find access, no sudden mischance could surprise him.  He was as safe in the midst of the rolling waters as was Enoch in the presence of that Lord to whom he was caught up, that he might be taken away from the evil to come.

It is Jehovah who "shuts in" His Noahs, with their families, in the day of evil. He has His chambers provided for them; He leads them into these when danger threatens; He secures them against enemies; He himself stands sentinel at the gate.

In stormy times let us call to mind this security. The name of the Lord is our strong tower; let us run into it and be safe. He bids us enter; He shuts us in ; He keeps watch without. Though the whole world, like a mighty flood, rise against us, as if to overflow and overwhelm, He who shuts us in will keep us. We shall not be moved. Jesus is our ark, and He who shuts us in is the Father.

God is Good

"God saw everything that he had made, and, behold, it was very good."—Gen. i. 81.

Such is the joy of God!  He "rejoices in His works."(Ps. 104:31.)  These were but "parts of His ways," (Job 26:14,) the first scene in the unfolding of His wondrous purpose; yet it is very glorious; and in it He is well pleased.  Each day's work was good; all things above and beneath; the heaven, with its stars; the earth with its flowers and gems, its hills, and seas, and streams; man, and beast, and fowl; all were good.

He takes deep interest in all that He has made!  Each atom is His own, and each atom comes under His eye.  It is not only the hairs of our head that are numbered, nor the sparrow that He notices, nor the lily of the field that He paints; but the very dust of the ground, the sand of the desert, the pebble on the ocean-beach; all these are owned and cared for by Him.

This is the God in whom "we live, and move, and have our being!" How deep His love! What will His love not do for us in all things great and small! He cares for our earth, and for us its inhabitants! His delight is to bless; and what amount of blessing will He count too great to bestow on those for whom He has already given His Son! Let us trust Him in everything. He will not fail us; He will do us good and not evil abundantly all the days of our lives.

Love the Lord God and serve Him only!

“ Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets,” Matt. 22: 37-40.

God, as the source of all being, and the center of all perfection and excellency, claims the chief place in our affection. Now, to deny his claim, or prefer another, is to pervert the law of universal order, and to open a door for the entrance of confusion and every evil work. If a Being of infinite majesty, un spotted holiness, and unbounded goodness, is not to be devoutly adored and supremely beloved, there is not a single principle in religion or morals on which we can rely, but all is involved in darkness and uncertainty.

The footsteps of his wisdom and power, goodness and glory, may be traced in the works of creation. But though the earth is full of his riches, and the heavens sparkle with his glory, it is in the Scriptures chiefly that the Divine attributes appear in the most attractive and delightful manifestations. Here we have marvelous light, to give us those spiritual discoveries which are adapted to fill our hearts with s love. Here we behold God in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them. Here "mercy and truth meet together, righteousness and peace embrace each other."(Psalm 85:10).  "In the only begotten Son, who is the brightness of his Father’s glory, and the express image of his person," we find every thing great and good, to interest and engage the heart. (Heb. 1:3)

As God is the supreme object on which holy love fixes, so creatures ought to have a subordinate measure of love, according to the degree in which they bear his image.

 

The secret of the Joy of the Lord

It springs from the assurance of salvation. 

It is the joy of salvation. 

Its happy song is

 "Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine,

Oh, what a rapture of glory Divine 
Heir of salvation, purchased of God,
Born of His Spirit, washed in His blood.
This is my story, this is my song,
Praising my Saviour all the day long."
If you would know it you must accept His promise with full assurance of faith, and rest upon His word without a wavering or a doubt.

It is the joy of the Holy Ghost. "The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy." It is not indigenous to earthly soil; it is a plant of heavenly birth. It belongs to the kingdom of God, which is "righteousness, and peace and joy in the Holy Ghost." To know it we must receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit in full surrender and simple faith. It is the characteristic of all who receive this baptism that they know the joy of the Lord, and until we do receive this eternal fountain in our heart, all our attempts at joy are but surface wells ; they are waters often defiled and their bottom often dry. This is the great Artesian stream, the "well of water" Jesus gives "springing up unto everlasting life."

It is the joy of faith. "Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing." There is indeed a deep delight when God has answered prayer, and the joy of fulfillment and possession overflows with thankfulness, but there is a more thrilling joy when the heart first commits itself to His naked promise, and standing on His simple word in the face of natural improbability, or even seeming impossibility, declares, "though the fig-tree shall not blossom nor fruit be in the vines, yet will I rejoice in the Lord and joy in the God of my salvation." If you are doubting God you need not wonder that your joy is intermittent. The witness of the Spirit always follows the act of trust. "Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on Thee, because he trusteth in Thee," but it is just as true, "Surely, if ye will not believe, ye shall not be established."

Faith Hinderances

"If thou canst, believe."

Of course, faith is dependent upon obedience and rightness of heart and life. We cannot trust God in the face of willful sin, and even an un sanctified state is fatal to any high degree of faith, for the carnal heart is not the soil in which it can grow, but it is the fruit of the Spirit, and is hindered by the weeds of sin and willful indulgence. The reason that a great many Christians have so little faith is because they are living in the world and in themselves, and separated in so large a part of their life from God and holiness.

Faith is hindered by reliance upon human wisdom, whether our own or the wisdom of others. The devil's first bait to Eve was an offer of wisdom, and for this she sold her faith. "Ye shall be as gods," he said, "knowing good and evil," and from the hour she began to know she ceased to trust. It was the spies that lost the land of promise to Israel of old. It was their foolish proposition to search out the land, and find out by investigation whether God had told the truth or not, that led to the awful out-break of unbelief that shut the doors of Canaan to a whole generation. It is very significant that the names of these spies are nearly all suggestive of human wisdom, greatness and fame. And so in the days of Christ, it was the bondage of the Jews to the traditions of the fathers and the opinions of men, that kept them back from receiving Him, "How can ye believe," He asked, "which receive honor from men, and seek not that which cometh from God only?" This, to-day, has much to do with the limitation of the church's faith. The Bible is measured by human criticism, and the promises of God are weighed in the balance of natural probability and human reason. Our own wisdom is just as dangerous if it take the place of God's simple word, and therefore, if we would '' trust the Lord with all our heart," we must "lean not to our own understanding."

Self-sufficiency and dependence on our strength is also a hindrance to our faith.
God, therefore, has to reduce us to helplessness before we can have much trust in Him. The hour of His mightiest interposition is usually the time of our greatest extremity.

The Reasonableness of Faith

Why should God make all things dependent upon our faith?

1. Because the ruin of the-race began with the loss of faith, and its recovery must come through the exercise of faith. The poison Satan injected into the blood of Eve was a question of God's faithfulness, and the one prescription that the Gospel gives to unsaved sinners is, "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved."

2. Faith is the law of Christianity, the vital principle of the Gospel dispensation. The law of faith the apostle calls it in distinction from the law of works. The Lord Jesus expressed it in the simple formula which has become the standard of answered prayers and every blessing that we receive through the name of Jesus. God is, therefore, bound to act according to our faith and also according to our unbelief.

3. Faith is the only way known to us by which we can accept a gift from God, and inasmuch as all the blessings of the Gospel are the gifts of grace, they must come to us through faith and in the measure of our faith, if they come at all.

4. Faith is necessary as a subjective influence to prepare our own hearts for the reception of God and His grace. How can the Father communicate His love to a timid, trembling heart? How can God come near to a frightened child? I have seen a little bird die of terror in the hand of another, when He only intended it no harm but tried in vain to caress it and win its love. And so the individual heart without faith would die in the presence of God in absolute terror, and be unable to receive the overflowing love of the Father which it could not understand.

5. Faith is an actual, spiritual force. It is, no doubt, one of the attributes of God Himself. We find it exemplified in Jesus in all His miracles. He explains to His disciples that it was the very power by which He withered the fig tree, and the power by which they could overcome and dissolve the mightiest obstacles in their way. There is no doubt that while the soul is exercising through the power of God the faith that commands what God commands, that a mighty force is operating at that very moment upon the obstacle, a force as real as the currents of electricity or the power of dynamite. God has really put into our hands one of His own implements of omnipotence and permitted us to use it in the name of Jesus according to His will and for the establishment of His Kingdom.