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his soul to Jesus has found the clue to the maze!" Modern unbelief is so short of the quality that it seized the label, and has advertised itself as HONEST doubt. It was in dire need of a character. We lift our feeble voice on behalf of HONEST FAITH. PROFOUND THOUGHTS ON FAITH AND DOUBT |
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That we should limit our confidence to the region of our senses is an absurd supposition. No man has seen, or heard, or tasted the greatest of known forces. Steam, electricity, gravitation, and the rest of the giants are all invisible. The earth is preserved in its orbit by forces which we cannot grasp. "He hangeth the world upon nothing." The visible powers are of minor rank: the more completely a :force can be compassed by human thought, the more insignificant it must be. Take an illustration from daily life: the old Latin proverb hath it, that it is the mark of a poor man that he can count his flocks. The few pounds which he has saved can be handled by the artisan every hour of the day if their jingle pleases him; but the great banker has never seen his millions, and the evidence that he possesses them lies in certain bonds and bills in which he places unquestionable reliance. He is rich by faith. He could hardly be very rich, and actually see his wealth.
For a great life a man must trust a great force; and that force must be to a large extent unseen, and beyond ordinary comprehension. This surely can be no difficulty to a reasonable man. If we must inevitably depend in some circumstances upon forces beyond our sight, why should we not in all circumstances rest ourselves upon the Eternal God, though he is and must be invisible? The practice of trusting in a higher power will prove to be elevating, and help to raise us above the dull level of materialism. May not the habit, if pursued in life, be the best possible preparation for death, which, according to the judgment of so many, is a pilgrimage to a dark and unknown land? The blind man is as well off in the darkness as those who have their eyes; nay, his habit of finding his way in the dark makes him the better of the two. If, therefore, faith teaches us to go where sight fails, we shall be the readier for that region which mortal eye has not seen. This much is certain, that if we follow God by faith, we need not be distressed because of his apparent absence and his actual invisibility; for as the dog, which hunts by scent, needs not to see its game, so he that follows in the way of obedience by faith, has no necessity to seek signs and tokens, for his faith supplies him with a surer sense.
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