TOUCHING again for a moment the question of faith, it may be seasonable to add a word or two as to its warrant, its opportunity, and its attestation or proof.
If, for instance, I am struck with the astounding boldness of faith in accepting as facts and realities " things which do not appear," and hazarding everything, even eternity, on the certainty of their existence, and I ask, What warrant can I have for this faith, for believing that which eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man conceived? What ground can I have for such a firm persuasion that a thing is which has never been attested by any human evidence, or that an event will happen which has no precedent nor external testimony for its support? My answer is: I have the word of the living God; and that is enough, that is ample warrant for the boldest stretch of faith. " Thus saith the Lord " is a more complete and indisputable authority for my faith than can be found in the whole realm of creation. His promise is enough to dispel every doubt; His sword to settle every dispute; His voice to silence every other in heaven or earth or hell. " Hath he said and shall he not do it? or hath he spoken and shall he not make it good?”
But, on the other hand, if there is no word of God for me in this or that, however much I may desire it, or deem it right, or count upon it, I have no ground whatever for faith. Hope there may be, but not faith. It would be an abuse of the term to connect it with anything that has not the distinct authority of the written word. Faith finds no warrant but in that. This is of the very last importance.
Again, I may ask, What is faith's opportunity? What the occasion on which it may find liberty for its exercise? When may I count on its displaying its power on my behalf? Certainly not at all times. It may be always present, but not always active; like a lamp burning in the sunshine. There it is undoubtedly, but it is of no use; it is out of its element, which is darkness, and for which alone it exists. So faith is the believer's lamp, whose privilege it is to bring into nature's darkness that true Light, the Son of God, which alone can reveal the truth he needs, and which can be possessed only by faith.
And oh, how often he proves that it is his only resource when all is dark and dreary around him, and he, with no gleam of light to show the path of safety, knows not whither to turn for guidance or help! At such a moment as this it is, when the soul is trembling in the thick darkness, and shrinking from the danger and difficulty which ever accompany it, that faith finds its opportunity, sheds light from above, and confers blessing and deliverance which nothing else can give. Then it is that faith proves itself to be unspeakably precious; for without faith it is equally impossible to please God, or to secure the blessing we so much need. When man is at his wit's end this "gift of God," like a faithful friend, steps forward and brings God into the scene, clearing the way for Him to act. It opens the ear to the sweet voice from above which says, " My grace is sufficient for thee; for my strength is made perfect in weakness." And then, through that very grace, and by faith, the soul, revived and encouraged, replies, " When I am weak then am I strong." So that it even becomes the happiest moment for such an one when nature is paralyzed and all its energy ceases; for then faith finds its opportunity and displays its power. It sets man aside, and opens the way for the full exhibition of divine power and grace. Blessed moment! " Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ's sake."
Then, again, as to the proof of faith. If I want that proof for my own sake; if I ask, How do I know that I have faith? I have only to pursue the ordinary course when doubt is expressed, or when a test is needed, and look for the proof. Or, as James says, "I will shew thee my faith by my works," or, by its works, we might say, " for every tree is known by its own fruit." And what clearer proof of the existence and reality of faith can there be than the display of that which it is faith's prerogative to produce, namely, a calm tranquility where otherwise storms would be; quietness, peace, and rest of soul where otherwise would be confusion, alarm, perhaps despair; the steady maintenance of a course too which evidently is sustained by more than human power? But if these are found, as sentinels guarding the soul in times of peril and dismay, keeping it in sweet and cheerful serenity, perhaps causing it even to rejoice in the Lord greatly, or to walk in an even path of dependence because it trusts in God, what more satisfactory proof can there be that faith is there, " the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen?"
And is not faith the only true wisdom in this wretched scene, so that what is said of wisdom may be said of it, that it is " first pure, then peaceable, gentle, easy to be entreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy?" Faith is all this, for it is patient, restful, and resigned. It can repose, and endure, and wait. It counts upon God, and so exclusively that it neither seeks nor desires anything but that which He is pleased to send. It must love therefore, and it cannot fear. How exquisitely beautiful to behold, and superlatively precious to possess!
These are indeed true marks of true faith; lacking which we ought to be very cautious in assuming the possession of it; the more so because, as I have said before, hope at times so much resembles faith, that when nothing but faith will do for us we may, alas, discover to our cost that we have it not-like a counterfeit note which raises high expectations that are doomed to be dashed to the ground at the very moment when pressure comes, and the discovery is made that it is worthless! Of what immense importance it is, then, that we be well assured that we " have faith in God."
How vividly is this subject illustrated in the earlier pages of Scripture! Was not Adam's faith in the promise that the seed of the woman should bruise the serpent's head such as to lead him to call her Eve, the mother of all living, at a time when, without faith, he certainly would have called her the mother of all dying; thus expressing the conviction that all who should be born of her, instead of being the dead ones before God according to the threat, should be the living ones according to the promise? Here was the warrant for his faith, its opportunity also, and its proof.
So with Noah. He accepted the word of God in all simplicity. " By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house." And having seized the opportunity for the display of his faith, he gives full proof of it when he enters that ark peacefully and confidently, with literally nothing but the word of God for his faith to rest upon, before " the fountains of the great deep were broken up, and the windows of heaven were opened." Magnificent confidence in that word was this, in the face of arrogant and pervading unbelief!
So also with Abraham. Whether in leaving his native country, or entering into the promised land, or in offering up his son Isaac, his only son, you find the same things. In each and every instance faith has its warrant, its opportunity, and its proof; the precious proof of " quietness and confidence " which nature had no part whatever in producing.
Israel, too, in their miserable bondage, believed the message of God through Moses as to the coming judgment and the sheltering blood. Obediently they sprinkled that blood on the night of the drawn sword; and then proved the reality of their faith by calmly feasting on the lamb, with their loins girded, their shoes on their feet, and their staff in their hand.
And what," to quote the apostle's words, " shall I more say? For the time would fail me to tell of Gideon, and of Barak, and of Samson, and of Jephthae; of David also and Samuel, and of the prophets." And as we thus gaze upon this great cloud of witnesses, let us fearlessly and honestly search our own hearts and lives as to these things.
I would press it most earnestly, assured of the rich and blessed result of faithfulness in this matter, and equally of the sad and bitter fruit of laxity and leniency with ourselves. The flesh may gain a little agreeable liberty by such lenity, and enjoy for a time the sweets of indulgence, but let us not forget the price that will have to be paid for it at last, and what a sorrowful end must follow such a course. "Be not deceived; God is not mocked; for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting. And let us not be weary in well doing; for in due season we shall reap if we faint not."
T. L.