The mighty power that works through all nature and sustains all things is not, as some men of science represent, merely an all-pervading principle, an actuating energy. God is a spirit; yet He is a personal being, for man was made in His image.
NATURE IS NOT GOD.
God’s handiwork in nature is not God Himself in nature. The things of nature are an expression of God’s character; by them we may understand His love, His power, and His glory; but we are not to regard nature as God. The artistic skill of human beings produces very beautiful workmanship, things that delight the eye, and these things give us something of the idea of the designer; but the thing made is not the man. It is not the work, but the workman, that is counted worthy of honor. So, while nature is an expression of God’s thought, it is not nature but the God of nature that is to be exalted.
“The gods that have not made the heavens and the earth, These shall perish from the earth, and from under the heavens.”
“The portion of Jacob is not like these; For He is the former of all things.”
“He hath made the earth by His power, He hath established the world by His wisdom, And by His understanding hath He stretched out the heavens.”
“Seek Him that maketh the Pleiades and Orion, And turneth the shadow of death into the morning, And maketh the day dark with night; That calleth for the waters of the sea, And poureth them out upon the face of the earth; Jehovah is His name!”
A PERSONAL GOD CREATED MAN.
In the creation of man was manifest the agency of a personal God. When God had made man in His image, the human form was perfect in all its arrangements, but it was without life. Then a personal, self-existing God breathed into that form the breath of life, and man became a living, breathing, intelligent being. All parts of the human organism were put in action. The heart, the arteries, the veins, the tongue, the hands, the feet, the senses, the perceptions of the mind,—all began their work, and all were placed under law. Man became a living soul. Through Jesus Christ, a personal God created man, and endowed him with intelligence and power.
Our substance was not hid from Him when we were made in secret. His eyes saw our substance, yet being imperfect; and in His book all our members were written, when as yet there were none of them.
Above all lower orders of being, God designed that man, the crowning work of His creation, should express His thought and reveal His glory. But man is not to exalt himself as God.
“Make a joyful noise unto Jehovah. . . Serve Jehovah with gladness: Come before His presence with singing.
“Know ye that Jehovah, He is God:
It is He that hath made us, and we are His;
We are His people, and the sheep of His pasture.”
“Enter into His gates with thanksgiving,
And into His courts with praise:
Give thanks unto Him, and bless His name.”
“Exalt ye Jehovah our God,
And worship at His holy hill;
For Jehovah our God is holy.”
GOD REVEALED IN CHRIST.
As a personal being, God has revealed Himself in His Son. Jesus, the outshining of the Father’s glory, “and the express image of His person,” was on earth found in fashion as a man. As a personal Saviour, He came to the world. As a personal Saviour, He ascended on high. As a personal Saviour, He intercedes in the heavenly courts. Before the throne of God in our behalf ministers “One like unto the Son of man.”
Christ, the light of the world, veiled the dazzling splendor of His divinity, and came to live as a man among men, that they might, without being consumed, become acquainted with their Creator. No man has seen God at any time, except as He is revealed through Christ.
“I and My Father are one,” Christ declared. “No man knoweth the Son, but the Father; neither knoweth any man the Father, save the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son will reveal Him.”
Christ came to teach human beings what God desires them to know. In the heavens above, in the earth, in the broad waters of the ocean, we see the handiwork of God. All created things testify to His power, His wisdom, His love. But not from the stars or the ocean or the cataract can we learn of the personality of God as it is revealed in Christ.
God saw that a clearer revelation than nature was needed to portray both His personality and His character. He sent His Son into the world to reveal, so far as could be endured by human sight, the nature and the attributes of the invisible God.
Had God desired to be represented as dwelling personally in the things of nature,—in the flower, the tree,266the spire of grass,—would not Christ have spoken of this to His disciples when He was on the earth? But never in the teaching of Christ is God thus spoken of. Christ and the apostles taught clearly the truth of the existence of a personal God.
Christ revealed all of God that sinful human beings could bear without being destroyed. He is the divine Teacher, the Enlightener. Had God thought us in need of revelations other than those made through Christ, and in His written word, He would have given them.
CHRIST’S REVELATION OF GOD TO THE DISCIPLES.
Let us study the words that Christ spoke in the upper chamber, on the night before His crucifixion. He was nearing His hour of trial, and He sought to comfort His disciples, who were to be so severely tempted and tried.
“Let not your heart be troubled,” He said; “ye believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. . . .
“Thomas saith unto Him, Lord, we know not whither Thou goest; and how can we know the way? Jesus saith unto him, I am the Way, and the Truth, and the Life; no man cometh unto the Father, but by Me. If ye had known Me, ye should have known My Father also; and from henceforth ye know Him, and have seen Him.”
“Lord, show us the Father,” said Philip, “and it sufficeth us. Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known Me, Philip? he that hath seen Me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Show us the Father? Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the267Father in Me? the words that I speak unto you I speak not of Myself; but the Father that dwelleth in Me, He doeth the works.”
The disciples did not yet understand Christ’s words concerning His relation to God. Much of His teaching was still dark to them. They had asked many questions that revealed their ignorance of God’s relation to them and to their present and future interests. Christ desired them to have a clearer, more distinct knowledge of God.
“These things have I spoken unto you in parables,” He said; “but the time cometh, when I shall no more speak unto you in parables, but I shall show you plainly of the Father.”
When on the day of Pentecost the Holy Spirit was poured out upon the disciples, they understood the truths that Christ had spoken in parables. The teachings that had been mysteries to them were made clear. The understanding that came to them with the outpouring of the Spirit made them ashamed of their fanciful theories. Their suppositions and interpretations were foolishness when compared with the knowledge of heavenly things which they now received. They were led by the Spirit; and light shone into their once darkened understanding.
But the disciples had not yet received the complete fulfilment of Christ’s promise. They received all the knowledge of God that they could bear, but the complete fulfilment of the promise that Christ would show them plainly of the Father was yet to come. Thus it is to-day. Our knowledge of God is partial and imperfect. When the conflict is ended, and the Man Christ Jesus acknowledges before the Father His faithful workers, who, in a world of sin, have borne268true witness for Him, they will understand clearly what now are mysteries to them.
Christ took with Him to the heavenly courts His glorified humanity. To those who receive Him, He gives power to become the sons of God, that at last God may receive them as His, to dwell with Him throughout eternity. If, during this life, they are loyal to God, they will at last “see His face; and His name shall be in their foreheads.” And what is the happiness of heaven but to see God? What greater joy could come to the sinner saved by the grace of Christ than to look upon the face of God, and know Him as Father?
TESTIMONY OF SCRIPTURE.
The Scriptures clearly indicate the relation between God and Christ, and they bring to view as clearly the personality and individuality of each.
“God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, hath in these last days spoken unto us by His Son, whom He hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also He made the worlds; who being the brightness of His glory, and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power, when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high; being made so much better than the angels, as He hath by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they. For unto which of the angels said He at any time, Thou art My Son, this day have I begotten Thee? And again, I will be to Him a Father, and He shall be to Me a Son?”
God is the Father of Christ; Christ is the Son of God. To Christ has been given an exalted position.269He has been made equal with the Father. All the counsels of God are opened to His Son.
Jesus said to the Jews: “My Father worketh hitherto, and I work. . . . The Son can do nothing of Himself, but what He seeth the Father do; for what things soever He doeth, these also doeth the Son likewise. For the Father loveth the Son, and showeth Him all things that Himself doeth.”
Here again is brought to view the personality of the Father and the Son, showing the unity that exists between them.
This unity is expressed also in the seventeenth chapter of John, in the prayer of Christ for His disciples:—
“Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on Me through their word; that they all may be one; as Thou, Father, art in Me, and I in Thee, that they also may be one in Us; that the world may believe that Thou hast sent Me. And the glory which Thou gavest Me I have given them; that they may be one, even as We are one: I in them, and Thou in Me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that Thou hast sent Me, and hast loved them, as Thou hast loved Me.”
Wonderful statement! The unity that exists between Christ and His disciples does not destroy the personality of either. They are one in purpose, in mind, in character, but not in person. It is thus that God and Christ are one.
The relation between the Father and the Son, and the personality of both, are made plain in this scripture also:—
“Thus speaketh Jehovah of hosts, saying,
Behold, the man whose name is the Branch;
And He shall grow up out of His place;270“And He shall build the temple of Jehovah; . . .
And He shall bear the glory,
And shall sit and rule upon His throne;
And He shall be a priest upon His throne;
And the counsel of peace shall be between them both.”
“THE EVERLASTING GOD.”
In the word, God is spoken of as “the everlasting God.” This name embraces past, present, and future. God is from everlasting to everlasting. He is the Eternal One.
“The eternal God is Thy dwelling-place,
And underneath are the everlasting arms:
And He thrust out the enemy from before thee,
And said, Destroy.
Israel dwelleth in safety,
The fountain of Jacob alone,
In a land of corn and wine;
Yea, his heavens drop down dew.
Happy art thou, O Israel:
Who is like unto thee,
A people saved by the Lord,
The shield of thy help,
And that is the sword of thy excellency!”
“Before the mountains were brought forth,
Or ever Thou hadst formed the earth and the world,
Even from everlasting to everlasting, Thou art God.
Thou turnest man to dust;
And sayest, Return, ye children of men.
For a thousand years in Thy sight
Are but as yesterday when it is past,
And as a watch in the night.”
Thou carriest them away as with a flood;
They are as a sleep:
In the morning they are like grass which groweth up.
In the morning it flourisheth, and groweth up;
In the evening it is cut down, and withereth.”
“So teach us to number our days,
That we may apply our hearts unto wisdom.”
“O satisfy us early with Thy mercy; That we may rejoice and be glad all our days.271“Make us glad according to the days wherein Thou hast afflicted us, And the years wherein we have seen evil. Let Thy work appear unto Thy servants, And Thy glory unto their children. And let the beauty of the Lord our God be upon us; And establish Thou the work of our hands upon us; Yea, the work of our hands establish Thou it.”
“The Lord reigneth, He is clothed with majesty; The Lord is clothed with strength, wherewith He hath girded Himself: The world also is stablished, that it can not be moved. Thy throne is established of old: Thou art from everlasting.”
HIS LOVING-KINDNESS.
“The earth is full of the loving-kindness of Jehovah.” “All His work is done in faithfulness. He loveth righteousness and justice. . . . Blessed is the nation whose God is Jehovah, The people whom He hath chosen for His own inheritance.”
“Behold, the eye of Jehovah is upon them that fear Him,
Upon them that hope in His loving-kindness;
To deliver their soul from death,
And to keep them alive in famine.
“Our soul hath waited for Jehovah:
He is our help and our shield.
For our heart shall rejoice in Him,
Because we have trusted in His holy name.”
“I sought Jehovah, and He answered me,
And delivered me from all my fears.
They looked unto Him, and were radiant;
And their faces shall never be confounded.
This poor man cried, and Jehovah heard him,
And saved him out of all his troubles.
“The angel of Jehovah encampeth round about them that fear Him,
And delivereth them.
O taste and see that Jehovah is good:
Blessed is the man that taketh refuge in Him.272“O fear Jehovah, ye His saints;
For there is no want to them that fear Him.
The young lions do lack, and suffer hunger;
But they that seek Jehovah shall not want any good thing.”
“The righteous cried, and Jehovah heard,
And delivered them out of all their troubles.
Jehovah is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart,
And saveth such as are of a contrite spirit.”
“The Lord redeemeth the soul of His servants;
And none of them that trust in Him shall be desolate.”
“Jehovah is merciful and gracious,
Slow to anger, and abundant in loving-kindness.
He will not always chide;
Neither will He keep His anger forever.
He hath not dealt with us after our sins,
Nor rewarded us after our iniquities.
“For as the heavens are high above the earth,
So great is His loving-kindness toward them that fear Him.
As far as the east is from the west,
So far hath He removed our transgressions from us.
Like as a father pitieth his children,
So Jehovah pitieth them that fear Him.
For He knoweth our frame;
He remembereth that we are dust.
“As for man, his days are as grass;
As a flower of the field, so he flourisheth.
For the wind passeth over it, and it is gone:
And the place thereof shall know it no more.
But the loving-kindness of Jehovah is from everlasting to everlasting upon them that fear Him,
And His righteousness unto children’s children;
To such as keep His covenant,
And to those that remember His precepts to do them.”
HIS PROVIDENTIAL CARE.
Our God has heaven and earth at His command, and He knows just what we need. We can see only a little way before us; “but all things are naked and opened273unto the eyes of Him with whom we have to do.” Above the distractions of the earth He sits enthroned; all things are open to His divine survey; and from His great and calm eternity He orders that which His providence sees best.
Not even a sparrow falls to the ground without the Father’s notice. Satan’s hatred against God leads him to delight in destroying even the dumb creatures. It is only through God’s protecting care that the birds are preserved to gladden us with their songs of joy. But He does not forget even the sparrows. “Fear ye not therefore, ye are of more value than many sparrows.”
“Bless Jehovah, O my soul. O Jehovah my God, Thou art very great; Thou art clothed with honor and majesty: Who coverest Thyself with light as with a garment; Who stretchest out the heavens like a curtain; Who layeth the beams of His chambers in the waters; Who maketh the clouds His chariot; Who walketh upon the wings of the wind; Who maketh winds His messengers; Flames of fire His ministers:
“Who laid the foundations of the earth,
That it should not be moved forever.
Thou coveredst it with the deep as with a vesture;
The waters stood above the mountains.
At Thy rebuke they fled;
At the voice of Thy thunder they hastened away
(The mountains rose, the valleys sank down)
Unto the place which Thou hast founded for them.
Thou hast set a bound that they may not pass over;
That they turn not again to cover the earth.
“He sendeth forth springs into the valleys; They run among the mountains; They give drink to every beast of the field; The wild asses quench their thirst. By them the birds of the heavens have their habitation; They sing among the branches. He watereth the mountains from His chambers:
“The earth is filled with the fruit of Thy works.
He causeth the grass to grow for the cattle,
And herb for the service of man;
“That He may bring forth food out of the earth,
And wine that maketh glad the heart of man,
And oil to make his face to shine,
And bread that strengtheneth man’s heart.
The trees of Jehovah are filled with moisture,
The cedars of Lebanon, which He hath planted;
Where the birds make their nests:
As for the stork, the fir-trees are her house.
The high mountains are for the wild goats;
The rocks are a refuge for the conies.
“He appointed the moon for seasons:
The sun knoweth his going down.
Thou makest darkness, and it is night,
Wherein all the beasts of the forest creep forth.
The young lions roar after their prey,
And seek their food from God.
The sun ariseth, they get them away,
And lay them down in their dens.
Man goeth forth unto his work
And to his labor until the evening.
“O Jehovah, how manifold are Thy works!
In wisdom hast Thou made them all:
The earth is full of Thy riches.
Yonder is the sea, great and wide.
Wherein are things creeping innumerable,
Both small and great beasts.
There go the ships;
There is leviathan, whom Thou hast formed to play therein.
These wait all for Thee,
That Thou mayest give them their food in due season.
Thou givest unto them, they gather;
Thou openest Thy hand,
They are satisfied with good.
Thou hidest Thy face,
They are troubled;
Thou takest away their breath,
They die,
And return to their dust.
Thou sendest forth Thy Spirit,
They are created;
And Thou renewest the face of the ground.
“Let the glory of Jehovah endure forever; Let Jehovah rejoice in His works:” “He looketh on the earth, and it trembleth; He toucheth the hills, and they smoke. I will sing unto Jehovah as long as I live: I will sing praise to my God while I have my being. My meditation of Him shall be sweet: I will be glad in Jehovah.”
“Thou that art the confidence of all the ends of the earth,
And of them that are afar off upon the sea:
Who by His strength setteth fast the mountains,
Being girded about with might;
Who stilleth the roaring of the seas, . . .
And the tumult of the peoples,”—
“Thou makest the outgoings of the morning and evening
to rejoice. . . .
Thou crownest the year with Thy goodness;
And Thy paths drop fatness.”
“Jehovah upholdeth all that fall,
And raiseth up all those that are bowed down.
The eyes of all wait for Thee;
And Thou givest them their food in due season.
Thou openest Thy hand,
And satisfiest the desire of every living thing.”
HIS LONG SUFFERING MERCY.
No earthly parent ever pleaded so earnestly with an erring child as He who made us pleads with the transgressor. No human, loving interest ever followed the impenitent with invitations so tender:—
“Thou hast not called upon Me, O Jacob: . . .
Thou hast been weary of Me, O Israel.”
“O My people, what have I done unto thee,
And wherein have I wearied thee?”
“When Israel was a child, then I loved him, And called My son out of Egypt.”
“Jehovah’s portion is His people; Jacob is the lot of His inheritance.276“He found him in a desert land, And in the waste howling wilderness; He compassed him about, He cared for him, He kept him as the apple of His eye. As an eagle that stirreth up her nest, That fluttereth over her young, He spread abroad His wings, He took them, He bare them on His pinions.”
“They kept not the covenant of God,
And refused to walk in His law.”
“The more the prophets called them, the more they went from them; . . .
Yet I taught Ephraim to walk;
I took them on My arms;
But they knew not that I healed them.
I drew them with cords of a man, with bands of love. . . .
My people are bent on backsliding from Me;
Though they call them to Him that is on high,
None at all will exalt Him.”
“But He, being full of compassion, forgave their iniquity, And destroyed them not: Yea, many a time turned He His anger away, And did not stir up all His wrath; For He remembered that they were but flesh; A wind that passeth away, and cometh not again.”
Though He “delivered His strength into captivity, and His glory into the enemy’s hands,” yet He said, “My loving-kindness will I not utterly take from him, nor suffer My faithfulness to fail.”
“Is Ephraim My dear son? Is he a pleasant child? For as often as I speak against him, I do earnestly remember him still; therefore My heart yearneth for him.”
“How shall I give thee up, Ephraim? How shall I cast thee off, Israel? How shall I make thee as Admah? How shall I set thee as Zeboiim? My heart is turned within Me,277“My compassions are kindled together. I will not execute the fierceness of Mine anger, I will not return to destroy Ephraim; For I am God, and not man; The Holy One in the midst of thee; And I will not come in wrath.”
“O Israel, return unto Jehovah thy God; For thou hast fallen by thine iniquity. Take with you words, And return unto Jehovah: say unto Him, Take away all iniquity, and accept that which is good. . . . Assyria shall not save us; We will not ride upon horses; Neither will we say any more to the work of our hands, Ye are our gods; For in Thee the fatherless findeth mercy.”
“They shall walk after Jehovah. . . .
The children shall come trembling from the west.
They shall come trembling as a bird out of Egypt,
And as a dove out of the land of Assyria;
And I will make them to dwell in their houses,
saith Jehovah.”
“I will heal their backsliding, I will love them freely;
For Mine anger is turned away from him.
I will be as the dew unto Israel;
He shall blossom as the lily,
And cast forth his roots as Lebanon.
His branches shall spread,
And his beauty shall be as the olive-tree,
And his smell as Lebanon.
They that dwell under his shadow shall return;
They shall revive as the grain,
And blossom as the vine. . . .
Ephraim shall say, What have I to do any more with idols?
I have answered, and will regard him:
I am like a green fir-tree;
From Me is thy fruit found.
“Who is wise, that he may understand these things? Prudent, that he may know them? For the ways of Jehovah are right, And the just shall walk in them.”278“Who is a God like unto Thee, that pardoneth iniquity, and passeth over the transgression Of the remnant of His heritage? He retaineth not His anger forever, Because He delighteth in loving-kindness. He will again have compassion upon us; He will tread our iniquities under foot; And Thou wilt cast all their sins into the depths of the sea.”
“Jehovah appeared of old unto me, saying, Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love; therefore with loving-kindness have I drawn thee.” “The Lord hath redeemed Jacob, and ransomed him from the hand of him that was stronger than he.” “I will turn their mourning into joy, and will comfort them, and make them rejoice from their sorrow.” “My people shall be satisfied with My goodness, saith Jehovah.”
“Sing, O daughter of Zion!
Shout, O Israel!
Be glad and rejoice with all the heart,
O daughter of Jerusalem!
Jehovah hath taken away thy judgments,
He hath cast out thine enemy:
The king of Israel, even Jehovah, is in the midst of thee;
Thou shalt not fear evil any more.
In that day it shall be said to Jerusalem, Fear thou not;
O Zion, let not thy hands be slack.
Jehovah thy God is in the midst of thee,
A mighty One who will save;
He will rejoice over thee with joy;
He will rest in His love;
He will joy over thee with singing.”
“This God is our God forever and ever: He will be our guide even unto death.”
A FALSE AND A TRUE KNOWLEDGE OF GOD.
SPECULATIVE THEORIES.
“Those things which are revealed belong unto us and to our children forever;” but “the secret things belong unto the Lord our God.” The revelation of Himself that God has given in His word is for our study. This we may seek to understand. But beyond this we are not to penetrate. The highest intellect may tax itself until it is wearied out in conjectures regarding the nature of God; but the effort will be fruitless. This problem has not been given us to solve. No human mind can comprehend God. Let not finite man attempt to interpret Him. Let none indulge in speculation regarding His nature. Here silence is eloquence. The Omniscient One is above discussion.
Even the angels were not permitted to share the counsels between the Father and the Son when the plan of salvation was laid. Those human beings who seek to intrude into the secrets of the Most High show their ignorance of spiritual and eternal things. Far better might they, while mercy’s voice is still heard, humble themselves in the dust, and plead with God to teach them His ways.
We are as ignorant of God as little children; but as little children we may love and obey Him. Instead of speculating in regard to His nature or His prerogatives, let us give heed to the word He has spoken, “Be still, and know that I am God.”
“Canst thou by searching find out God?
Canst thou find out the Almighty unto perfection?”280“It is as high as heaven; what canst thou do?
Deeper than hell; what canst thou know?
The measure thereof is longer than the earth,
And broader than the sea.”
“Where shall wisdom be found?
And where is the place of understanding?
Man knoweth not the price thereof;
Neither is it found in the land of the living.
The depth saith, It is not in me;
And the sea saith, It is not with me.
It can not be gotten for gold,
Neither shall silver be weighed for the price thereof.
It can not be valued with the gold of Ophir,
With the precious onyx or the sapphire.
The gold and the crystal can not equal it;
And the exchange of it shall not be for jewels of fine gold.
No mention shall be made of coral or of pearls;
For the price of wisdom is above rubies.
The topaz of Ethiopia shall not equal it,
Neither shall it be valued with pure gold.
Whence then cometh wisdom?
And where is the place of understanding? . . .
Destruction and death say,
We have heard the fame thereof with our ears.
God understandeth the way thereof,
And He knoweth the place thereof.
“For He looketh to the ends of the earth,
And seeth under the whole heaven. . . .
When He made a decree for the rain,
And a way for the lightning of the thunder;
Then did He see it, and declare it;
He prepared it, yea, and searched it out.
And unto man He said,
Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom;
And to depart from evil is understanding.”
Neither by searching the recesses of the earth, nor in vain endeavors to penetrate the mysteries of God’s being, is wisdom found. It is found, rather, in humbly receiving the revelation that He has been pleased to give, and in conforming the life to His will.
THE GREATNESS OF OUR GOD.
From the representations given by the Holy Spirit to His prophets, let us learn the greatness of our God. The prophet Isaiah writes:—
“In the year that king Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple. Above Him stood the seraphim; each one had six wings; with twain he covered his face, and with twain he covered his feet, and with twain he did fly. And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is Jehovah of hosts; the whole earth is full of His glory. And the foundations of the thresholds shook at the voice of him that cried, and the house was filled with smoke.
“Then said I, Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for mine eyes have seen the King, Jehovah of hosts.”
“Then flew one of the seraphim unto me, having a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with the tongs from off the altar; and he touched my mouth with it, and said, Lo, this hath touched thy lips; and thine iniquity is taken away, and thy sin expiated.”
“There is none like unto Thee, O Jehovah; Thou art great, And Thy name is great in might. Who should not fear Thee, O King of the nations?”
“O Jehovah, Thou hast searched me, and known me. Thou knowest my downsitting and mine uprising; Thou understandest my thought afar off. Thou searchest out my path and my lying down, And art acquainted with all my ways. For there is not a word in my tongue, But, lo, O Jehovah, Thou knowest it altogether. Thou hast beset me behind and before, And laid Thy hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; It is high, I can not attain unto it.”282“Great is our Lord, and of great power; His understanding is infinite.”
“He revealeth the deep and secret things: He knoweth what is in the darkness, and the light dwelleth with Him.”
“Known unto God are all His works from the beginning of the world.” “Who hath known the mind of the Lord? or who hath been His counselor? or who hath first given to Him, and it shall be recompensed unto him again? For of Him, and through Him, and to Him, are all things; to whom be glory forever.”
“Unto the King, eternal, incorruptible, invisible,” “who only hath immortality, dwelling in light unapproachable; whom no man hath seen, nor can see,”—to Him “be honor and power eternal.”
“He stretcheth out the north over the empty place,
And hangeth the earth upon nothing.
He bindeth up the waters in His thick clouds;
And the cloud is not rent under them. . . .
He hath compassed the waters with bounds,
Until the day and night come to an end.”
“The pillars of heaven tremble
And are astonished at His rebuke.
He stilleth the sea with His power. . . .
By His Spirit the heavens are beauty,
His hand hath pierced the gliding serpent.
Lo, these are but the outskirts of His ways;
And how small a whisper do we hear of Him!
But the thunder of His power who can understand?”
“The Lord hath His way in the whirlwind and in the storm,\nAnd the clouds are the dust of His feet.”
“Who is like unto the Lord our God, who dwelleth on high,
Who humbleth Himself to behold the things that are in heaven, and in the earth!”
“Great is Jehovah, and greatly to be praised; And His greatness is unsearchable.283“One generation shall laud Thy works to another, And shall declare Thy mighty acts. Of the glorious majesty of Thine honor, And of Thy wondrous works, will I meditate. And men shall speak of the might of Thy terrible acts; And I will declare Thy greatness. They shall utter the memory of Thy great goodness, And shall sing of Thy righteousness. . . .
“All Thy works shall give thanks unto Thee, O Jehovah;
And Thy saints shall bless Thee.
They shall speak of the glory of Thy kingdom,
And talk of Thy power;
To make known to the sons of men His mighty acts,
And the glory of the majesty of His kingdom.
Thy kingdom is an everlasting kingdom,
And Thy dominion endureth throughout all generations. . . .
My mouth shall speak the praise of Jehovah;
And let all flesh bless His holy name forever and ever.”
WARNINGS AGAINST PRESUMPTION.
As we learn more and more of what God is, and of what we ourselves are in His sight, we shall fear and tremble before Him.
Let men of to-day take warning from the fate of those who in ancient times presumed to make free with that which God had declared sacred. When the Israelites ventured to open the ark on its return from the land of the Philistines, their irreverent daring was signally punished. “He smote of the men of Beth-shemesh, because they had looked into the ark of Jehovah. He smote of the people seventy men, and fifty thousand men; and the people mourned because Jehovah had smitten the people with a great slaughter. And the men of Beth-shemesh said, Who is able to stand before Jehovah, this holy God?”
Again, consider the judgment that fell upon Uzzah. As in David’s reign, the ark was being carried to Jerusalem, Uzzah put forth his hand to keep it steady.284For presuming to touch the symbol of God’s presence, he was smitten with instant death.
At the burning bush, when Moses, not recognizing God’s presence, turned aside to behold the wonderful sight, the command was given:—
“Draw not nigh hither: put off thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground. . . . And Moses hid his face; for he was afraid to look upon God.”
“And it came to pass, when Joshua was by Jericho, that he lifted up his eyes and looked, and, behold, there stood a Man over against him with His sword drawn in His hand: and Joshua went unto Him, and said unto Him, Art Thou for us, or for our adversaries? And He said, Nay; but as Captain of the host of the Lord am I now come. And Joshua fell on his face to the earth, and did worship, and said unto Him, What saith my Lord unto His servant? And the Captain of the Lord’s host said unto Joshua, Loose thy shoe from off thy foot; for the place whereon thou standest is holy. And Joshua did so.”
In the sanctuary and the temple, that were the earthly symbols of God’s dwelling-place, one apartment was sacred to His presence. The veil inwrought with cherubim at its entrance was not to be lifted by any hand save one. To lift that veil, and intrude unbidden into the sacred mystery of the most holy place was death. For above the mercy-seat and the bowed, worshiping angels, dwelt the glory of the Holiest,—glory upon which no man might look and live. On the one day of the year appointed for ministry in the most holy place, the high priest with trembling entered God’s presence, while clouds of incense veiled the glory from his sight. Throughout the courts of the temple285every sound was hushed. No priests ministered at the altars. The hosts of worshipers, bowed in silent awe, sent up their petitions for God’s mercy.
“These things happened unto them by way of example; and they were written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the ages are come.”
“The Lord is in His holy temple;
Let all the earth keep silence before Him.”
“Jehovah reigneth; let the peoples tremble;
He sitteth above the cherubim; let the earth be moved.
Jehovah is great in Zion;
And He is high above all the peoples.
Let them praise Thy great and terrible name:
Holy is He.”
“The Lord’s throne is in heaven:
His eyes behold, His eyelids try, the children of men.”
“From the height of His sanctuary” “He hath looked down;”
“From the place of His habitation He looketh forth
Upon all the inhabitants of the earth,
He that fashioneth the hearts of them all,
That considereth all their works.”
“Let all the earth fear Jehovah;
Let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of Him.”
Man can not by searching find out God. Let none seek with presumptuous hand to lift the veil that conceals His glory. “Unsearchable are His judgments, and His ways past finding out.” It is a proof of His mercy that there is the hiding of His power; for to lift the veil that conceals the divine presence is death. No mortal mind can penetrate the secrecy in which the Mighty One dwells and works. Only that which He sees fit to reveal can we comprehend of Him. Reason must acknowledge an authority superior to itself. Heart and intellect must bow to the great I AM.
CHRIST’S REVELATION OF GOD.
All that man needs to know or can know of God has been revealed in the life and character of His Son.
“No man hath seen God at any time; the only-begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He hath declared Him.”
Taking humanity upon Him, Christ came to be one with humanity, and at the same time to reveal our heavenly Father to sinful human beings. He was in all things made like unto His brethren. He became flesh, even as we are. He was hungry and thirsty and weary. He was sustained by food and refreshed by sleep. He shared the lot of men, and yet He was the blameless Son of God. He was a stranger and sojourner on the earth,—in the world, but not of the world; tempted and tried as men and women to-day are tempted and tried, yet living a life free from sin.
Tender, compassionate, sympathetic, ever considerate of others, He represented the character of God, and was constantly engaged in service for God and man.
“The Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, . . . full of grace and truth.”
“Unto the men whom Thou gavest Me out of the world,” He said, “I manifested Thy name,” “that the love wherewith Thou hast loved Me may be in them.”
“Love your enemies,” He bade them; “bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use, and persecute you; that ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven;” “for He is kind unto the unthankful and to the evil.” “He maketh His sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.” “Be ye therefore merciful, as your Father also is merciful.”