“H. C.,” Norwich. We can only praise the Lord, with a full heart, for the tidings conveyed in your most kind and encouraging communication. How gracious of Him to make use of such feeble agency to carry on His work! It was truly kind and thoughtful of you to let us know of those two cases of blessing through our little serial. No doubt, we have to labor on in simple faith and patience, even when we do not see much result; but oh! it is an immense encouragement and refreshment to get such a letter as yours, beloved friend. Accept our warmest thanks, and do remember our work at the throne of grace.
“W. F. G.,” Woolwich. We understand the word “day,” in the first chapter of Genesis, to mean simply our ordinary 24 hours; and we do not consider it scriptural to believe that each of those days may include a long period of time. But we must remember that, between the first verse of Gen. 1 and the commencement of the actual six days’ work, millions of years may have intervened, leaving ample room, most surely, for all the facts of geology. “In the beginning God. created the heaven and the earth.” Then we are told, “the earth”—not the heaven—“was without form and void.” We are not told how the earth fell into this state; but most surely God. had not so created it. And then begins the record of the six days of creation. It is not the object of the Bible to teach us geology or astronomy; but we may rest assured that there is not a single sentence in that divine volume which collides with the facts of geology or any other science. We must, however, draw a very broad line of distinction between the facts of science, and the conclusions of scientific men. Facts are facts wherever you find. them; but if you follow the conclusions of men, you may find, yourself plunged in the dark and dreadful abyss of universal skepticism.
3. “M. M.” Clapham. We learn, from Matt. 6:34,34Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof. (Matthew 6:34) the precious lesson not to bring the “evil” of tomorrow into today—not to foredate sorrow. We have only to live by the day, and we shall find God’s grace amply sufficient for the need of each day as it arises. But if we attempt to grapple, today, with the anticipated difficulties of to-morrow, we must do so at our own charges, and shall not be able to meet the demand.
Let each day upon its wing, its allotted burden bring;
Load it not, beside, with sorrow that belongeth to tomorrow.
Strength is promised, strength is given, when the heart by God is riven;
But foredate the day of woe, and alone thou bear’st the blow.”
4. “J. S.” York. We may answer your two questions as to the covenants with an affirmative. We have recently referred to the same subject.
5. “W. H.,” Clifton. 1 John 3:99Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for his seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God. (1 John 3:9) refers, most distinctly, to the new nature in the believer which is incapable of committing sin. The believer is, alas! capable of sinning, because he has the old nature still in him. It is our privilege so to walk in the power of the Spirit, in the light, that the old thing shall be as though it did not exist. To say that the Christian need not sin, is to state a divine privilege; to say that he cannot, is a deceit and a delusion. We have sin in us but no sins on us, because Christ who had no sin in Him had our sins on Him when He hung upon the cross, and He has put them away forever. The man who bore our sins on the tree is in heaven without them and we are there in Him. This is the settled ground of our peace. But to speak of our being in a sinless state, or our being incapable of sinning, is the merest delusion.
6. “Whitgift,” Croydon. “Lectures on the New Testament Doctrine of the Holy Spirit” by W. Kelly will help you. Broom, Paternoster Row, or through any bookseller.
7. “T. J. D.,” Halifax, N. S. Your kind letters of the 21St of September, and October 9, 1874, have come duly to hand. Accept our best thanks.
8. “A. O.,” London. You will never get peace by dwelling upon your conversion—whether it was good or bad—deep or shallow. Neither can you get peace by looking at your state or your progress. It is very important to judge your state and your walk; but you will never get peace by so doing; nor will you ever make progress by being occupied with yourself—gauging and analyzing your feelings and frames. The true basis of peace is a full Christ for the heart. The true secret of progress is a whole heart for Christ. We trust you and your fellow-servant may be enabled to walk lovingly together, in meekness, forbearance, and tender consideration one for the other. Do not expect anything, but give all you can. This is a grand secret of getting on together. We often expect entirely too much, and give entirely too little.