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THE CERTAIh
BT REV.
it is indeed distressing to listen to tlie
"doubt" wiiich is being expressed in the pulpit,
iruin the platiorin, and through the press
concerning religious iaith. The listener gets
the impression that certainty is inconsistent
with faith, that probability is the atmosphere
iii which faith lives, that to hold the will of
God, the incarnation, the atonement upon confession
is a virtue, that to wave certainty indicates
a morbid disposition. JSurely the atmosphere
needs to be cleared of this mist and
fog which threatens to envelop and destroy so
many precious souls, by a straightforward
statement of the truth.
In studying the lives of Abraham, Moses
Daniel and the Apostles, one sees them desiring
certainty, longing to know beyond doubt what
, God spake unto them, yearning to know with
dehnite clearness what God said. Was this a
mortal craving in themf Did God reprove
them ? The contrary disposition merits rebuke.
No one can content himself with uncertainty in
matters where truth and honor, God and the
salvation of his own soul are at stake, when he
begins to reliect upon the situation. The Apostles
certainly did not believe the doctrines of
the Trinity, the Incarnation, and the Atonement,
with all their consequent truths, upon
conjecture and probability. It was certainly
not because they walked in twilight that their
faith in their divine Lord was acceptable. And
yet we are told by a class of religious teachers
that "certitude is impossible," that "detiniteness
is imcompatible with faith," that "if it
were otherwise the gospel would lose much ot
its spiritual dynamic, as requiring "no venture
of faitlii" .
4 J Irfd
Now certainty always means two things. It
means that a thing is certain, and that we
are certain. When it is said that a truth is certain,
it means that the proof of that truth is
self-evident, or so clear as to exclude doubt.
This is certainty on the part of the object proposed
to our intelligence. And when we say
that we are certain, it means that we are inwardly
convinced by the application of our
reason to the matter before us, of the adequacy
of evidence to nrove the truth of it. In im
certainty is a moral feeling, a complex state
of mind. As light manifests itself by its own
nature, but sight is the illumination of the eye,
so certainty means truth with its evidences.
This is certainty on our part.
Apply this two-fold certainty to the Revelation
of God. Every circumstance goes to show
that the revelation which God gave of Himself
through Jesus Christ was made certain on His
part by direct evidence of the divine act which
revealed it. God was manifest in the flesh that
He might reveal Himself. God dwelt on earth
that He might teach the truth. God wrought
miracles that man might believe that He was
present. God has spoken to man that he might
know. No evidence on the part of God is lacking
that men might know that Jesus Christ is
indeed the Son of God. And, if there was certainty
on the part of God who revealed the
truth, there was no less certainty on the part of
those who heard. The prophets were certain of
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the positive terms, "Thus saith the Lord." The
Apostles were certain when they kept company
with Jesus, and said, "That which was from
the beginning, which we have heard, which we
have aeen with our own eyes, which we have
looked upon, and our hands have handled, of
the Word of Life, declare we unto you, that
ye may have fellowship with us; and truly
PRESBYTERIAN OF THE 8 <
ITV OF FAITH
I 4k ? A * J Jl AAA
B. L. BENN.
our fellowship is witli the Father, and with
ilis Son Jesus Christ." (1 John 1:1, 33.) The
one hundied and twenty were certain when, on
the day of Pentecost, the iioly Spirit was poured
out upon theiu, transferring, them into the
very instruments and messengers of God. The
Apostle Haul was certain when he learned the
gospel, not of man, not of flesh, not of blood,
but by the revelation of Jesus Christ. (Gal. 1:
15, lb). The Apostle John was certain on Patmos
when heaven was opened and the vision of
a i i? a a j i a? i : / n i \
me ruiure was iraeeu ueiore ins eyes. v.-no*. i.)
Evidently the object oi* revelation is the assurance
of truth; so faith does not rest upon
conjecture and probability, but upon a definite
revelation. Where faith begins, certainty begins;
for faith rests upon the veracity of God.
Where faith begins, knowledge begins: for
faith is the way of knowing the truth. And yet
not all truth; for truth is of two kinds. One
kind of truth is intuitive and compels the assent
of the mind. That two things which are
equal to the same are equal to one another, or
that two parallel lines can never intersect, or
tnat tne sum 01 an tne iacts taaen togetner
equal the whole, are intuitive truths; they are
self-evident, necessary, universal truths which
constrain man by the law of his nature to accept.
But all moral truths which relate to
God and Christ, to the Holy Spirit and salvation
and destiny, which depend upon God and
the order of revelation are to be believed on
the authority of God who revealed them, and,
believing these truths, we know that they are
true, and act in their truthfulness.
It is almost forgotten that the vast bulk of
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we have never been to China, or seen the Czar
of Kussia, or viewed the waters of the Pacific
Ocean bathing the shores of the Hawaiian islands,
yet on the testimony of creditable persons
we know that a country called China, exists,
that the Czar of Russia is a real person,
that the shores of Hawaii are really beautiful.
On the authority of creditable writers and
teachers we know history and astronomy, bot
any and geography; we kuow so surely and
certainly and definitely that we act on our
knowledge continually. And when we crave a
knowledge of these branches of learning, no
one pronounces it a morbid disposition; or when
we say "I know," no one ridicules our consciousness
of certainty.
Just so, on the authority of tiod, we believe
the essential and sublime truths of revelation
concerning Christ and salvation and destiny.
indeed Uod commands faith as the condition of
eternal life. "He that believeth on the Son
hath everlasting life; but he that believeth not
shall be dammed." (John 3:36; Mark 16:16).
And furthermore it is said, "He that believeth
hath a witness in himself." (1 John 5:10).
These are not idle utterances. They mean
something on the page of the Bible and they
mean something in the experience of the person
who really believes; for there have been multitudes
since Paul and John and Peter wlto have
known God as revealed in Christ and that eternal
life is a reality. There arc multitudes who
know that Christ can forgive sin; who, when
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a Father who knows and cares; who, when
called upon to part with a parent or child, a
brother or sister, know that there is another
life where all these broken strands shall be reknit.
They know it on the authority of God,
and they are conscious of it, for all knowledge
is conscious knowledge. And it is refreshing to
3HTH [Maroh 26, 1913
meet them. It is refreshing to hear a minister
preach who knows, to converse with people who
know, to meet people who are learning to "know
the highest and most enduring truths. Goethe
cried, "Give us your convictions, we have
doubts enough of our own." No one has ever
llPPllutwl tin a mnn nf li a vni rr n rlionnai.
tion. The human mind is so constituted that
it wants to know and is never satisfied without
knowing, especially when one's eternal salvation
is at stake.
Faith, indeed, is opposed to sense, but not to
reason. Faith and reason go hand in hand,
and when reason exhausts its resources and
comes to a standstill, faith takes it up iqto its
arms and bears it over the chasm and upbn the
mountain from whence the horses and chariots
of the Lord burst into view; from whence the
heavens open and Jesus appears at the right
hand of God ready to receive the soul. "What
is life? Protoplasm or Spirit, cash or vision,
clothes or character, appetites or aspirations?
The Spirit of God striving with man pleads for
a life here and now which tastes "the powers
of the world to come" and seeks "a city which
hath foundations whose builder and maker is
God."
ROOK OF AGES.
(Another Version.)
Listlessly, a maiden sang,
And the music sweetly rang
On the early morning air;
Yet without a thought of prayer,
"Rock of ages; cleft for me,
Let me hide myself in Thee.""
Safe within a sheltered home
Where no want or grief had come,
Nor a shadow of unrest
To disturb that Joyous breast,
All the world so bright and fair?
Why, for her, the need of prayer?
Need It seem so very strange,
Since this world is full of change,
Should some discipline concealed.
In the aftertime revealed,
All unheralded arise,
Bringing sharp, and sad surprise?
Um a lonely home bereft,
Which the flying years had left,
Not so young, and fair and gay
AB upon tnat happy day;
In a lone that told of pain,
Those dear words srtie B&ng again.
?
"Rock of ages, cleft for me,
iLet me hide myself in Thee."
Each word now, of prayer a part,
Prom a consecrated heart,
Sent in faith, and hope and love
To the mercy-seat above.
While the rude urlndR rnup'hlv nlav
Round her, once bo quiet, way,
Hear that gentle voice again
? As she Blngs the glad refrain,
' 'Safe I'm sheltered from each shock
In the cleft of that dear Rocik."
I>et me bide myself In Thee."
Gathered round a grave nerw-made
In the "silent city's" shade,
Stand her life-long friends at last,
Singing, while the tears fall fast,
- "Rock of ages, oleft for me,
Lot me hide myself In Thee."When
life's morning has gone (by
Ana its evening sondes draw nigh.
May my faith and hope be strong,
And he this my grateful song,
"Rock of ages, cleft for me,
I have refuge found, In Thee." #
Madisonvllle, Texas. ?E. L. Byerra.
God bases his rewards, not on conspicuonsness
of service, hut on fidelity to opportunity.?G.
uampoeu Morgan.
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