Salmos 25

Salmos 25:14-15

Utley - SPECIAL TOPIC: KNOW (using mostly Deuteronomy as a paradigm) The Hebrew word “know” (BDB 393) has several senses (semantic fields) in the Qal. 1. to understand good and evil—Gen. 3:22; Deut. 1:39; Isa. 7:14–15; Jonah 4:11 2. to know by understanding—Deut. 9:2, 3, 6; 18:21 3. to know by experience—Deut. 3:19; 4:35; 8:2, 3, 5; 11:2; 20:20; 31:13; Josh. 23:14 4. to consider—Deut. 4:39; 11:2; 29:16 5. to know personally a. a person—Gen. 29:5; Exod. 1:8; Deut. 22:2; 28:35, 36; 33:9 b. a god—Deut. 11:28; 13:2, 6, 13; 28:64; 29:26; 32:17 YHWH—Deut. 4:35, 39; 7:9; 29:6; Isa. 1:3; 56:10–11 c. sexual—Gen. 4:1, 17, 25; 24:16; 38:26 6. a learned skill or knowledge—Isa. 29:11, 12; Amos 5:16 7. be wise—Deut. 29:4; Pro. 1:2; 4:1; Isa. 29:24 8. God’s knowledge a. of Moses—Deut. 34:10 b. of Israel—Deut. 31:21, 27, 29 Gilbrant - Some level of personal, experiential, acquaintance with another person is often the use of this verb. Jacob asked the shepherds if they "knew" Laban (Gen. 29:5). A pharaoh arose who did not "know" Joseph (Exo. 1:8). God's miraculous salvation of Israel from Egypt would result in the Egyptians as well as the Israelites "knowing" that He is the Lord (Exo. 7:7 and 6:7 with the addition of "your God"). In Exo. 6:3, God says He was not "known" (Niphal, or passive, stem of the verb) by his name, Yahweh (the Lord), to the Patriarchs. This does not mean there was no knowledge of his personal name before Moses, but that his people would now have an experience that would give them a much deeper understanding of the significance of that name in relation to Him as their covenant Lord who was fulfilling his promise to the Patriarchs. In the future, He will "make known" (Hiphil, or causative, stem) his holy name among his people (Ezek. 39:7) so that they and the world will know his true character and purpose instead of the misrepresentation of who He is, conveyed by his unfaithful people. Under the New Covenant all his people will know him personally (Jer. 31:34). Another kind of knowing is recognizing someone, or realizing a truth, or perceiving a deeper understanding of reality (Gen. 28:16; Deut. 7:9; Josh. 22:31; Judg. 13:16; 2 Sam. 19:6). It can be something as simple as learning from a report or being notified of something (2 Sam. 24:2). The verb can also refer acquiring competence at a particular task (Gen. 25:27; 1 Ki. 9:27). Those who humble themselves to the Lord and listen to Him will experience a deeper revelation of who He is and what He desires. There are those, especially the young, who have no understanding or discernment to distinguish right from wrong, owing to their lack of experiences (Deut. 1:39; Isa. 7:16; Jon. 4:11). Finally, there are a few passages where the idea is actively showing awareness of the Lord and his activity and perhaps a desire to experience Him in one's situation, usually translated "acknowledging" Him (Prov. 3:6; Isa. 33:13). The opposite may be seen in Hos. 11:3, where Israel is said to not "know" that it was the Lord who healed them of all their hurts as they were, in a metaphor, growing up. This could mean that they willfully rejected such knowledge from their consciousness or chose not to outwardly acknowledge or admit that the Lord had done it. Closely related is the idea of confession of sin where one recognizes and admits guilt (Ps. 51:3; Jer. 3:13; 14:20). Thus, the idea in Hos. 4:6 behind God's people being destroyed for lack of "knowledge" (noun) could be that they had rejected continuing in a personal experiential relationship with the Lord failing to continue acknowledging Him in faith and obedience in every area of their lives. The Hiphil (causative) stem means to teach or show someone the truth (Deut. 4:9; Isa. 40:13). It also can have the idea of bringing someone to experience a divine provision (Exo. 33:13; Pss. 16:11; 106:8; Jer. 16:21). Most often, the Hiphil usage (literally translated as "to cause to know") is used in contexts where someone is informing another. (Complete Biblical Library Hebrew-English Dictionary) Vine writes "Essentially yādaʿ means: (1) to know by observing and reflecting (thinking), and (2) to know by experiencing. The first sense appears in Ge 8:11, where Noah "knew" the waters had abated as a result of seeing the freshly picked olive leaf in the dove's mouth; he "knew" it after observing and thinking about what he had seen. He did not actually see or experience the abatement himself. In contrast to this knowing through reflection is the knowing which comes through experience with the senses, by investigation and proving, by reflection and consideration (firsthand knowing). Consequently yādaʿ is used in synonymous parallelism with "hear" (Ex. 3:7), "see" (G. 18:21), and "perceive, see" (Job 28:7). Joseph told his brothers that were they to leave one of their number with him in Egypt then he would "know," by experience, that they were honest men (Ge 42:33). In the Garden of Eden, Adam and Eve were forbidden to eat of the tree whose fruit if eaten would give them the experience of evil and, therefore, the knowledge of both good and evil. Somewhat characteristically the heart plays an important role in knowing. Because they experienced the sustaining presence of God during the wilderness wandering, the Israelites "knew" in their hearts that God was disciplining or caring for them as a father cares for a son (Deut. 8:5). Such knowing can be hindered by a wrongly disposed heart (Psa. 95:10). Thirdly, this verb can represent that kind of knowing which one learns and can give back. So Cain said that he did not "know" he was Abel's keeper (Gen. 4:9), and Abram told Sarai that he "knew" she was a beautiful woman (Gen. 12:11). One can also "know" by being told, in Lev. 5:1 a witness either sees or otherwise "knows" (by being told) pertinent information. In this sense "know" is parallel by "acknowledge" (Dt. 33:9) and "learn" (Dt. 31:12-13). Thus, little children not yet able to speak do not "know" good and evil (Dt. 1:39); they have not learned it so as to tell another what it is. In other words, their knowledge is not such that they can distinguish between good and evil. In addition to the essentially cognitive knowing already presented, this verb has a purely experiential side. The "knower" has actual involvement with or in the object of the knowing. So Potiphar was unconcerned about (literally, "did not know about") what was in his house (Gen. 39:6), he had no actual contact with it. In Gen. 4:1 Adam's knowing Eve also refers to direct contact with her, in a sexual relationship. In Gen. 18:19 God says He "knows" Abraham; He cared for him in the sense that He chose him from among other men and saw to it that certain things happened to him. The emphasis is on the fact that God "knew" him intimately and personally. In fact, it is parallel in concept to "sanctified" (cf. Jer. 1:5). A similar use of this word relates to God's relationship to Israel as a chosen or elect nation (Amos 3:2). Yādaʿ in the intensive and causative stems is used to express a particular concept of revelation. God did not make Himself known by His name Jehovah to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. He did reveal that name to them, that He was the God of the covenant. Nevertheless, the covenant was not fulfilled (they did not possess the Promised Land) until the time of Moses. The statement in Exod. 6:3 implies that now God was going to make Himself known "by His name"; He was going to lead them to possess the land. God makes Himself known through revelatory acts such as bringing judgment on the wicked (Psa. 9:16) and deliverance to His people (Isa. 66:14). He also reveals Himself through the spoken word, for example, by the commands given through Moses (Ezek. 20:11), by promises like those given to David (2 Sam. 7:21). Thus, God reveals Himself in law and promise."To know" God is to have an intimate experiential knowledge of Him. So Pharaoh denies that he knows Jehovah (Ex. 5:2) or that he recognizes His authority over him. Positively "to know" God is paralleled to fear Him (1 Kings 8:43), to serve (1 Chron. 28:9), and to trust (Isa. 43:10). (Ibid) Baker - The simple meaning, to know, is its most common translation out of the eight hundred or more uses. One of the primary uses means to know relationally and experientially: it refers to knowing or not knowing persons (Gen. 29:5; Ex. 1:8) personally or by reputation (Job 19:13). The word also refers to knowing a person sexually (Gen. 4:1; 19:5; 1 Ki. 1:4). It may even describe knowing or not knowing God or foreign gods (Ex. 5:2; Deut. 11:28; Hos. 2:20; 8:2), but it especially signifies knowing what to do or think in general, especially with respect to God (Isa. 1:3; 56:10). One of its most important uses is depicting God's knowledge of people: The Lord knows their hearts entirely (Ex. 33:12; 2 Sam. 7:20; Ps. 139:4; Jer. 17:9; Hos. 5:3); God knows the suffering of His people (Ex. 2:25), and He cares (The Complete Word Study Dictionary – Old Testament) Paul Gilchrist - yādaʿ is used of God's knowledge of man (Genesis 18:19; Deut. 34:10) and his ways (Isaiah 48:8; Psalm 1:6; Psalm 37:18), which knowledge begins even before birth (Jeremiah 1:5). God also knows the fowl (Psalm 50:11). yādaʿ is also used for man's knowledge and for that of animals (Isaiah 1:3). The participle occurs in phrases describing skill in hunting (Genesis 25:27), learning (Isaiah 29:11-13), lamentation (Amos 5:16), sailing the sea (2 Chron. 8:18), and playing an instrument (1 Samuel 16:16). In certain contexts it means "to distinguish." "To know good and evil" (Genesis 3:5, 22) is the result of disobeying God. To distinguish between these is necessary for the king (2 Samuel 19:36). A child cannot distinguish between the left and right hands (Jonah 4:11) nor between good and evil (Deut. 1:39; Isaiah 7:15). The context of the latter passage and the similar statement in Isaiah 8:4 may indicate that the reference is to a child's not being able to distinguish what is beneficial and harmful. While ordinarily gained by experience, knowledge is also the contemplative perception possessed by the wise man (Proverbs 1:4; Proverbs 2:6; Proverbs 5:2; Eccles. 1:18). yādaʿ is used to express acquaintance with a person in such statements as "do you know Laban?" (Genesis 29:5; Exodus 1:8; 2 Samuel 3:25). The Pual participle designates kinfolk (2 Kings 10:11, etc.) and acquaintances (Job 19:14; Ruth 2:1, etc.). yādaʿ is also used for the most intimate acquaintance. God knows Moses by name and face to face (Exodus 33:17; Deut. 34:10). He knows the Psalmist's sitting and arising (Psalm 139:2). yādaʿ is also used for sexual intercourse on the part of both men and women in the well-known euphemism "Adam knew Eve his wife" and its parallels (Genesis 4:1; Genesis 19:8; Numbers 31:17, 35; Judges 11:39; Judges 21:11; 1 Kings 1:4; 1 Samuel 1:19). It is used to describe sexual perversions such as sodomy (Genesis 19:5; Judges 19:22) and rape (Judges 19:25). In addition to knowledge of secular matters yādaʿ is also used of one's relation to the divine, whether acquaintance with other gods (Deut. 13:3, 7, 14) or with Jehovah (1 Samuel 2:12; 1 Samuel 3:7). The heathen do not know God (Jeremiah 10:25) and neither does Israel, according to the prophets (Jeremiah 4:22). The plagues of Egypt were sent so that the Egyptians might know that Jehovah is God (Exodus 10:2, etc.). He will destroy (Ezekiel 6:7) and restore Israel so that they may know that he is God (Isaiah 60:16). The prophet Ezekiel, in particular, uses the phrase "that you may know" in his threats (Ezekiel 6:7, 10, 13, 14; Ezekiel 7:4, 9, 27, etc.). (Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament) Yada - 872 verses- NAS = ability(1), acknowledge(4), acknowledged(2), acquaintances(5), acquainted(1), aware(6), becomes known(1), bring forth(1), cared(1), chosen(2), clearly understand(2), cohabit(1), comprehend(1), concern(2), concerned(1), consider(3), declare(1), detected(1), directed(1), discern(2), disciplined(1), discovered(3), distinguish(1), endowed(3), experienced(4), experiences(1), familiar friend(1), find(5), found(1), gain(1), had knowledge(1), had relations(6), had...relations(1), has(1), has regard(1), has...knowledge(1), have(4), have relations(3), have...knowledge(2), ignorant*(1), illiterate*(1), indeed learn(1), inform(1), informed(4), instruct(3), instructed(1), intimate friends(1), investigate(2), knew(38), know(542), know for certain(4), know with certainty(1), know assuredly(1), know well(1), knowing(5), knowledge(4), known(65), knows(54), knows well(1), lain*(1), leading(1), learn(7), learned(1), literate*(1), made himself known(2), made it known(1), made myself known(2), made known(10), make himself known(1), make his known(1), make it known(1), make my known(1), make myself known(4), make them known(1), make your known(1), make yourself known(1), make known(14), notice(2), observe(2), perceive(1), perceived(1), possibly know(1), predict(1), professional mourners(1), provided(1), raped(1), read*(1), realize(1), realized(5), recognize(2), recognized(1), regard(1), satisfied*(1), seems(1), show(3), shown(1), skillful(3), sure(1), take knowledge(1), take note(1), take notice(1), taught(2), teach(6), tell(3), tells(1), took notice(1), unaware*(1), unawares*(1), understand(10), understands(1), understood(3), unknown*(1), very well know(1), well aware(1). Let me encourage you to read through many of these uses of yada in the Psalms, Isaiah, Jeremiah many of which are very encouraging. Gen. 3:5; Gen. 3:7; Gen. 3:22; Gen. 4:1; Gen. 4:9; Gen. 4:17; Gen. 4:25; Gen. 8:11; Gen. 9:24; Gen. 12:11; Gen. 15:8; Gen. 15:13; Gen. 18:19; Gen. 18:21; Gen. 19:5; Gen. 19:8; Gen. 19:33; Gen. 19:35; Gen. 20:6; Gen. 20:7; Gen. 21:26; Gen. 22:12; Gen. 24:14; Gen. 24:16; Gen. 24:21; Gen. 25:27; Gen. 27:2; Gen. 28:16; Gen. 29:5; Gen. 30:26; Gen. 30:29; Gen. 31:6; Gen. 31:32; Gen. 33:13; Gen. 38:9; Gen. 38:16; Gen. 38:26; Gen. 39:6; Gen. 39:8; Gen. 41:21; Gen. 41:31; Gen. 41:39; Gen. 42:23; Gen. 42:33; Gen. 42:34; Gen. 43:7; Gen. 43:22; Gen. 44:15; Gen. 44:27; Gen. 45:1; Gen. 47:6; Gen. 48:19; Exod. 1:8; Exod. 2:4; Exod. 2:14; Exod. 2:25; Exod. 3:7; Exod. 3:19; Exod. 4:14; Exod. 5:2; Exod. 6:3; Exod. 6:7; Exod. 7:5; Exod. 7:17; Exod. 8:10; Exod. 8:22; Exod. 9:14; Exod. 9:29; Exod. 9:30; Exod. 10:2; Exod. 10:7; Exod. 10:26; Exod. 11:7; Exod. 14:4; Exod. 14:18; Exod. 16:6; Exod. 16:12; Exod. 16:15; Exod. 18:11; Exod. 18:16; Exod. 18:20; Exod. 21:36; Exod. 23:9; Exod. 29:46; Exod. 31:13; Exod. 32:1; Exod. 32:22; Exod. 32:23; Exod. 33:5; Exod. 33:12; Exod. 33:13; Exod. 33:16; Exod. 33:17; Exod. 34:29; Exod. 36:1; Lev. 4:14; Lev. 4:23; Lev. 4:28; Lev. 5:1; Lev. 5:3; Lev. 5:4; Lev. 5:17; Lev. 5:18; Lev. 23:43; Num. 10:31; Num. 11:16; Num. 12:6; Num. 14:31; Num. 14:34; Num. 16:5; Num. 16:28; Num. 16:30; Num. 20:14; Num. 22:6; Num. 22:19; Num. 22:34; Num. 24:16; Num. 31:17; Num. 31:18; Num. 31:35; Num. 32:23; Deut. 1:13; Deut. 1:15; Deut. 1:39; Deut. 2:7; Deut. 3:19; Deut. 4:9; Deut. 4:35; Deut. 4:39; Deut. 7:9; Deut. 7:15; Deut. 8:2; Deut. 8:3; Deut. 8:5; Deut. 8:16; Deut. 9:2; Deut. 9:3; Deut. 9:6; Deut. 9:24; Deut. 11:2; Deut. 11:28; Deut. 13:2; Deut. 13:3; Deut. 13:6; Deut. 13:13; Deut. 18:21; Deut. 20:20; Deut. 21:1; Deut. 22:2; Deut. 28:33; Deut. 28:36; Deut. 28:64; Deut. 29:4; Deut. 29:6; Deut. 29:16; Deut. 29:26; Deut. 31:13; Deut. 31:21; Deut. 31:27; Deut. 31:29; Deut. 32:17; Deut. 33:9; Deut. 34:6; Deut. 34:10; Jos. 2:4; Jos. 2:5; Jos. 2:9; Jos. 3:4; Jos. 3:7; Jos. 3:10; Jos. 4:22; Jos. 4:24; Jos. 8:14; Jos. 14:6; Jos. 22:22; Jos. 22:31; Jos. 23:13; Jos. 23:14; Jos. 24:31; Jdg. 2:10; Jdg. 3:1; Jdg. 3:2; Jdg. 3:4; Jdg. 6:37; Jdg. 8:16; Jdg. 11:39; Jdg. 13:16; Jdg. 13:21; Jdg. 14:4; Jdg. 15:11; Jdg. 16:9; Jdg. 16:20; Jdg. 17:13; Jdg. 18:5; Jdg. 18:14; Jdg. 19:22; Jdg. 19:25; Jdg. 20:34; Jdg. 21:11; Jdg. 21:12; Ruth 2:11; Ruth 3:3; Ruth 3:4; Ruth 3:11; Ruth 3:14; Ruth 3:18; Ruth 4:4; 1 Sam. 1:19; 1 Sam. 2:12; 1 Sam. 3:7; 1 Sam. 3:13; 1 Sam. 3:20; 1 Sam. 4:6; 1 Sam. 6:2; 1 Sam. 6:3; 1 Sam. 6:9; 1 Sam. 10:8; 1 Sam. 10:11; 1 Sam. 12:17; 1 Sam. 14:3; 1 Sam. 14:12; 1 Sam. 14:38; 1 Sam. 16:3; 1 Sam. 16:16; 1 Sam. 16:18; 1 Sam. 17:28; 1 Sam. 17:46; 1 Sam. 17:47; 1 Sam. 17:55; 1 Sam. 18:28; 1 Sam. 20:3; 1 Sam. 20:7; 1 Sam. 20:9; 1 Sam. 20:30; 1 Sam. 20:33; 1 Sam. 20:39; 1 Sam. 21:2; 1 Sam. 22:3; 1 Sam. 22:6; 1 Sam. 22:15; 1 Sam. 22:17; 1 Sam. 22:22; 1 Sam. 23:9; 1 Sam. 23:17; 1 Sam. 23:22; 1 Sam. 23:23; 1 Sam. 24:11; 1 Sam. 24:20; 1 Sam. 25:11; 1 Sam. 25:17; 1 Sam. 26:4; 1 Sam. 26:12; 1 Sam. 28:1; 1 Sam. 28:2; 1 Sam. 28:9; 1 Sam. 28:14; 1 Sam. 28:15; 1 Sam. 29:9; 2 Sam. 1:5; 2 Sam. 1:10; 2 Sam. 2:26; 2 Sam. 3:25; 2 Sam. 3:26; 2 Sam. 3:37; 2 Sam. 3:38; 2 Sam. 5:12; 2 Sam. 7:20; 2 Sam. 7:21; 2 Sam. 11:16; 2 Sam. 11:20; 2 Sam. 12:22; 2 Sam. 14:1; 2 Sam. 14:20; 2 Sam. 14:22; 2 Sam. 15:11; 2 Sam. 17:8; 2 Sam. 17:10; 2 Sam. 17:19; 2 Sam. 18:29; 2 Sam. 19:6; 2 Sam. 19:20; 2 Sam. 19:22; 2 Sam. 19:35; 2 Sam. 22:44; 2 Sam. 24:2; 2 Sam. 24:13; 1 Ki. 1:4; 1 Ki. 1:11; 1 Ki. 1:18; 1 Ki. 1:27; 1 Ki. 2:5; 1 Ki. 2:9; 1 Ki. 2:15; 1 Ki. 2:32; 1 Ki. 2:37; 1 Ki. 2:42; 1 Ki. 2:44; 1 Ki. 3:7; 1 Ki. 5:3; 1 Ki. 5:6; 1 Ki. 8:38; 1 Ki. 8:39; 1 Ki. 8:43; 1 Ki. 8:60; 1 Ki. 9:27; 1 Ki. 14:2; 1 Ki. 17:24; 1 Ki. 18:12; 1 Ki. 18:36; 1 Ki. 18:37; 1 Ki. 20:7; 1 Ki. 20:13; 1 Ki. 20:22; 1 Ki. 20:28; 1 Ki. 22:3; 2 Ki. 2:3; 2 Ki. 2:5; 2 Ki. 4:1; 2 Ki. 4:9; 2 Ki. 4:39; 2 Ki. 5:7; 2 Ki. 5:8; 2 Ki. 5:15; 2 Ki. 7:12; 2 Ki. 8:12; 2 Ki. 9:11; 2 Ki. 10:10; 2 Ki. 10:11; 2 Ki. 17:26; 2 Ki. 19:19; 2 Ki. 19:27; 1 Chr. 12:32; 1 Chr. 14:2; 1 Chr. 16:8; 1 Chr. 17:18; 1 Chr. 17:19; 1 Chr. 21:2; 1 Chr. 28:9; 1 Chr. 29:17; 2 Chr. 2:7; 2 Chr. 2:8; 2 Chr. 2:12; 2 Chr. 2:13; 2 Chr. 2:14; 2 Chr. 6:29; 2 Chr. 6:30; 2 Chr. 6:33; 2 Chr. 8:18; 2 Chr. 12:8; 2 Chr. 13:5; 2 Chr. 20:12; 2 Chr. 23:13; 2 Chr. 25:16; 2 Chr. 32:13; 2 Chr. 32:31; 2 Chr. 33:13; Neh. 2:16; Neh. 4:11; Neh. 4:15; Neh. 6:16; Neh. 8:12; Neh. 9:10; Neh. 9:14; Neh. 10:28; Neh. 13:10; Est. 1:13; Est. 2:11; Est. 2:22; Est. 4:1; Est. 4:5; Est. 4:11; Est. 4:14; Job 5:24; Job 5:25; Job 5:27; Job 8:9; Job 9:2; Job 9:5; Job 9:21; Job 9:28; Job 10:2; Job 10:13; Job 11:6; Job 11:8; Job 11:11; Job 12:9; Job 13:2; Job 13:18; Job 13:23; Job 14:21; Job 15:9; Job 15:23; Job 18:21; Job 19:6; Job 19:13; Job 19:14; Job 19:25; Job 19:29; Job 20:4; Job 20:20; Job 21:19; Job 21:27; Job 22:13; Job 23:3; Job 23:5; Job 23:10; Job 24:1; Job 24:16; Job 26:3; Job 28:7; Job 28:13; Job 28:23; Job 29:16; Job 30:23; Job 31:6; Job 32:7; Job 32:22; Job 34:2; Job 34:4; Job 34:33; Job 35:15; Job 36:26; Job 37:5; Job 37:7; Job 37:15; Job 37:16; Job 37:19; Job 38:3; Job 38:4; Job 38:5; Job 38:12; Job 38:18; Job 38:21; Job 38:33; Job 39:1; Job 39:2; Job 40:7; Job 42:2; Job 42:3; Job 42:4; Job 42:11; Ps. 1:6; Ps. 4:3; Ps. 9:10; Ps. 9:16; Ps. 9:20; Ps. 14:4; Ps. 16:11; Ps. 18:43; Ps. 20:6; Ps. 25:4; Ps. 25:14; Ps. 31:7; Ps. 31:11; Ps. 32:5; Ps. 35:8; Ps. 35:11; Ps. 35:15; Ps. 36:10; Ps. 37:18; Ps. 39:4; Ps. 39:6; Ps. 40:9; Ps. 41:11; Ps. 44:21; Ps. 46:10; Ps. 48:3; Ps. 50:11; Ps. 51:3; Ps. 51:6; Ps. 53:4; Ps. 55:13; Ps. 56:9; Ps. 59:13; Ps. 67:2; Ps. 69:5; Ps. 69:19; Ps. 71:15; Ps. 73:11; Ps. 73:16; Ps. 73:22; Ps. 74:5; Ps. 74:9; Ps. 76:1; Ps. 77:14; Ps. 77:19; Ps. 78:3; Ps. 78:5; Ps. 78:6; Ps. 79:6; Ps. 79:10; Ps. 81:5; Ps. 82:5; Ps. 83:18; Ps. 87:4; Ps. 88:8; Ps. 88:12; Ps. 88:18; Ps. 89:1; Ps. 89:15; Ps. 90:11; Ps. 90:12; Ps. 91:14; Ps. 92:6; Ps. 94:11; Ps. 95:10; Ps. 98:2; Ps. 100:3; Ps. 101:4; Ps. 103:7; Ps. 103:14; Ps. 104:19; Ps. 105:1; Ps. 106:8; Ps. 109:27; Ps. 119:75; Ps. 119:79; Ps. 119:125; Ps. 119:152; Ps. 135:5; Ps. 138:6; Ps. 139:1; Ps. 139:2; Ps. 139:4; Ps. 139:14; Ps. 139:23; Ps. 140:12; Ps. 142:3; Ps. 143:8; Ps. 144:3; Ps. 145:12; Ps. 147:20; Prov. 1:2; Prov. 1:23; Prov. 3:6; Prov. 4:1; Prov. 4:19; Prov. 5:6; Prov. 7:23; Prov. 9:9; Prov. 9:13; Prov. 9:18; Prov. 10:9; Prov. 10:32; Prov. 12:10; Prov. 12:16; Prov. 14:7; Prov. 14:10; Prov. 14:33; Prov. 17:27; Prov. 22:19; Prov. 22:21; Prov. 23:35; Prov. 24:12; Prov. 24:14; Prov. 24:22; Prov. 27:1; Prov. 27:23; Prov. 28:2; Prov. 28:22; Prov. 29:7; Prov. 30:3; Prov. 30:4; Prov. 30:18; Prov. 31:23; Eccl. 1:17; Eccl. 2:14; Eccl. 2:19; Eccl. 3:12; Eccl. 3:14; Eccl. 3:21; Eccl. 4:13; Eccl. 5:1; Eccl. 6:5; Eccl. 6:8; Eccl. 6:10; Eccl. 6:12; Eccl. 7:22; Eccl. 7:25; Eccl. 8:1; Eccl. 8:5; Eccl. 8:7; Eccl. 8:12; Eccl. 8:16; Eccl. 8:17; Eccl. 9:1; Eccl. 9:5; Eccl. 9:11; Eccl. 9:12; Eccl. 10:14; Eccl. 10:15; Eccl. 11:2; Eccl. 11:5; Eccl. 11:6; Eccl. 11:9; Cant. 1:8; Cant. 6:12; Isa. 1:3; Isa. 5:5; Isa. 5:19; Isa. 6:9; Isa. 7:15; Isa. 7:16; Isa. 8:4; Isa. 9:9; Isa. 12:4; Isa. 12:5; Isa. 19:12; Isa. 19:21; Isa. 29:11; Isa. 29:12; Isa. 29:15; Isa. 29:24; Isa. 33:13; Isa. 37:20; Isa. 37:28; Isa. 38:19; Isa. 40:13; Isa. 40:14; Isa. 40:21; Isa. 40:28; Isa. 41:20; Isa. 41:22; Isa. 41:23; Isa. 41:26; Isa. 42:16; Isa. 42:25; Isa. 43:10; Isa. 43:19; Isa. 44:8; Isa. 44:9; Isa. 44:18; Isa. 45:3; Isa. 45:4; Isa. 45:5; Isa. 45:6; Isa. 45:20; Isa. 47:8; Isa. 47:11; Isa. 47:13; Isa. 48:4; Isa. 48:6; Isa. 48:7; Isa. 48:8; Isa. 49:23; Isa. 49:26; Isa. 50:4; Isa. 50:7; Isa. 51:7; Isa. 52:6; Isa. 53:3; Isa. 55:5; Isa. 56:10; Isa. 56:11; Isa. 58:3; Isa. 59:8; Isa. 59:12; Isa. 60:16; Isa. 61:9; Isa. 63:16; Isa. 64:2; Isa. 66:14; Jer. 1:5; Jer. 1:6; Jer. 2:8; Jer. 2:19; Jer. 2:23; Jer. 3:13; Jer. 4:22; Jer. 5:1; Jer. 5:4; Jer. 5:5; Jer. 5:15; Jer. 6:15; Jer. 6:18; Jer. 6:27; Jer. 7:9; Jer. 8:7; Jer. 8:12; Jer. 9:3; Jer. 9:6; Jer. 9:16; Jer. 9:24; Jer. 10:23; Jer. 10:25; Jer. 11:18; Jer. 11:19; Jer. 12:3; Jer. 13:12; Jer. 14:18; Jer. 14:20; Jer. 15:14; Jer. 15:15; Jer. 16:13; Jer. 16:21; Jer. 17:4; Jer. 17:9; Jer. 17:16; Jer. 18:23; Jer. 19:4; Jer. 22:28; Jer. 24:7; Jer. 26:15; Jer. 28:9; Jer. 29:11; Jer. 29:23; Jer. 31:19; Jer. 31:34; Jer. 32:8; Jer. 33:3; Jer. 36:19; Jer. 38:24; Jer. 40:14; Jer. 40:15; Jer. 41:4; Jer. 42:19; Jer. 42:22; Jer. 44:3; Jer. 44:15; Jer. 44:28; Jer. 44:29; Jer. 48:17; Jer. 48:30; Jer. 50:24; Ezek. 2:5; Ezek. 5:13; Ezek. 6:7; Ezek. 6:10; Ezek. 6:13; Ezek. 6:14; Ezek. 7:4; Ezek. 7:9; Ezek. 7:27; Ezek. 10:20; Ezek. 11:5; Ezek. 11:10; Ezek. 11:12; Ezek. 12:15; Ezek. 12:16; Ezek. 12:20; Ezek. 13:9; Ezek. 13:14; Ezek. 13:21; Ezek. 13:23; Ezek. 14:8; Ezek. 14:23; Ezek. 15:7; Ezek. 16:2; Ezek. 16:62; Ezek. 17:12; Ezek. 17:21; Ezek. 17:24; Ezek. 20:4; Ezek. 20:5; Ezek. 20:9; Ezek. 20:11; Ezek. 20:12; Ezek. 20:20; Ezek. 20:26; Ezek. 20:38; Ezek. 20:42; Ezek. 20:44; Ezek. 21:5; Ezek. 22:2; Ezek. 22:16; Ezek. 22:22; Ezek. 22:26; Ezek. 23:49; Ezek. 24:24; Ezek. 24:27; Ezek. 25:5; Ezek. 25:7; Ezek. 25:11; Ezek. 25:14; Ezek. 25:17; Ezek. 26:6; Ezek. 28:19; Ezek. 28:22; Ezek. 28:23; Ezek. 28:24; Ezek. 28:26; Ezek. 29:6; Ezek. 29:9; Ezek. 29:16; Ezek. 29:21; Ezek. 30:8; Ezek. 30:19; Ezek. 30:25; Ezek. 30:26; Ezek. 32:9; Ezek. 32:15; Ezek. 33:29; Ezek. 33:33; Ezek. 34:27; Ezek. 34:30; Ezek. 35:4; Ezek. 35:9; Ezek. 35:11; Ezek. 35:12; Ezek. 35:15; Ezek. 36:11; Ezek. 36:23; Ezek. 36:32; Ezek. 36:36; Ezek. 36:38; Ezek. 37:3; Ezek. 37:6; Ezek. 37:13; Ezek. 37:14; Ezek. 37:28; Ezek. 38:14; Ezek. 38:16; Ezek. 38:23; Ezek. 39:6; Ezek. 39:7; Ezek. 39:22; Ezek. 39:23; Ezek. 39:28; Ezek. 43:11; Ezek. 44:23; Dan. 1:4; Dan. 2:3; Dan. 8:19; Dan. 9:25; Dan. 10:20; Dan. 11:32; Dan. 11:38; Hos. 2:8; Hos. 2:20; Hos. 5:3; Hos. 5:4; Hos. 5:9; Hos. 6:3; Hos. 7:9; Hos. 8:2; Hos. 8:4; Hos. 9:7; Hos. 11:3; Hos. 13:4; Hos. 13:5; Hos. 14:9; Joel 2:14; Joel 2:27; Joel 3:17; Amos 3:2; Amos 3:10; Amos 5:12; Amos 5:16; Jon. 1:7; Jon. 1:10; Jon. 1:12; Jon. 3:9; Jon. 4:2; Jon. 4:11; Mic. 3:1; Mic. 4:12; Mic. 6:5; Nah. 1:7; Nah. 3:17; Hab. 2:14; Hab. 3:2; Zeph. 3:5; Zech. 2:9; Zech. 2:11; Zech. 4:5; Zech. 4:9; Zech. 4:13; Zech. 6:15; Zech. 7:14; Zech. 11:11; Zech. 14:7; Mal. 2:4 PRIVATE AND CONFIDENTIAL C H Spurgeon A Sermon PUBLISHED ON THURSDAY, OCTOBER 15TH, 1914. DELIVERED BY C. H. SPURGEON, AT THE METROPOLITAN TABERNACLE, NEWINGTON. “The secret of the Lord is with them that fear him, and he will show them his covenant.”—Psalm 25:14. THIS text is a great deep, but at the outset we must say that we have neither the time nor the skill at this time to attempt to fathom it. Our business just now is not so much to dive into its profound mystery, as to skim over its sparkling surface, to touch it with our wing as the swallow sometimes does the brook, leaving its soundings still unexplored. The current of thought here is too deep and too broad for the short meditation of a week-day evening. But where the very surface is rich, as it were, with “dust of gold,” we cannot fail, if God the Holy Spirit bless us, to be enriched by even the superficial reflections we may gather up from it. “The secret of the Lord is with them that fear him.” Mark the word used—“THE LORD”—Jehovah in the original;—the I AM THAT I AM. The very name is associated in the thought of every right-minded person with awe. Is it not the name of the one only living and true God; and none that take it in vain shall be held guiltless? The gods of the heathen are no gods, but our God made the heavens. It is by him that the heavens were outstretched as a curtain, and as a tent to dwell in. He is the Preserver of all things. In him “we live, and move, and have our being.” As we find him manifested, both in the book of Nature and in the book of Revelation he is a God “glorious in holiness, fearful in praises, doing wonders.” The Lord is a good God, and we cannot think of him without awe. If you have ever heard his voice in pealing thunder or the rolling avalanche, or if you have seen the flashing of his spear in the lightning of the tempest, or if you have marked his going upon the mighty waves of the tempestuous sea, you must have felt within yourselves that he is high and mighty—in truth, a terrible God! Yet it seems from our text that there are some persons in the world in whom all emotions of dread in connection with God are suppressed by feelings of quite another kind. Though clouds and darkness are round about him, they have evidently passed through the clouds, and have come to the other side of the darkness, for “the secret of the Lord is with them.” Before him goes the pestilence, and hot burning coals are cast forth at his feet; but these persons must evidently have been preserved from the devouring pestilence by some mysterious power, and have escaped those burning coals by some gracious deliverance. They have come into familiarity with God; they know his secret, and he shows to them what he does not make known to other men, his covenant, the counsel of his will. There are such persons in the world now, to whom the Eternal Majesty is so tempered by Infinite Mercy that they can devoutly sing:— The God who rules on high, And thunders when he please, Who rides upon the stormy skies, And manages the seas. This awful God is ours, Our Father and our Love; He shall send down his heavenly powers To carry us above. Think of “the Lord,” then, according to this grand revelation of his name—Jehovah. Oh! that your thoughts of him might bow you down with the lowly worship of the bright cherubim, and make you veil your faces as they do! Oh! that you might be led to feel how great God is, and how little you are! Oh! that grace were now given you to draw near to God, and that the passage on which we have alighted might become a place of communion with him. Observe, then, first of all, a glorious privilege which may be possessed; secondly, a favoured class of people who do possess it; and thirdly, a choice and peculiar manifestation which God makes to them. I. THERE IS A GLORIOUS PRIVILEGE WHICH MAY BE POSSESSED. The word “secret” here might, with greater propriety, be translated “friendship.” “The friendship of the Lord is with them that fear him,” but it also signifies in its root that conversation which familiar friends hold with each other. Conversation in its most cherished exercise, that homely intercourse which springs from mutual confidence, and is on the part of one man the unbosoming of himself to another, is thus implied. If I may open it up in a phrase, it means, “The amity of true friendship.” Such is the favour vouchsafed to those who fear God. But taking the word as it stands (for I dare say the translators weighed all these variations well before they chose the one before us), we will endeavour to give amplitude to the sense, while we keep to the word “secret.” Beyond a doubt, then, those who fear God have the secret of his presence revealed to them. If a man rambles amidst the wonders of nature with an atheistic heart, he may look up to the snowy peaks, and down again upon the sweet grassy slopes; he may listen to the music of the waterfall; he may stand and admire the eagle as he soars aloft, or watch the wild goat as he leaps from crag to crag, and all these things may be to him but so much animated nature—matter in so many various shapes, and nothing more. I suppose it is possible for men to be familiar with all that is beautiful and sublime in the world of nature, that “living visible garment of God,” and yet never catch the secret of his presence, the traces of his handiwork, or the whisper of his voice. How different it is with the man who fears God, who has bowed before God’s justice, and seen it satisfied through the atoning sacrifice of Calvary! Such a man, as he looks upon the things that are made, those silent witnesses of the eternal power and Godhead, says, “My Father made them all!” “Not hear God?” saith he; “I as distinctly heard God speak in the thunder-clap, as I have heard my own father’s voice!” Not see God? Why, the veil seems thin that hides his glorious features, while the works shine transparent that unveil his wondrous attributes; so that to the Christian it becomes a moral phenomenon that there should be people in the world who can survey the gorgeous plan, the unfailing order, and the ample furniture, as it were, of this earth, with its wonderful adaptation of the means to the end, and then peer upwards to the heavens so grandly garnished, and contemplate the celestial bodies, ever restless, ever orderly in their motions, yet fail to apprehend the greatness, the wisdom, the goodness of the Creator. To us he is apparent everywhere:— These are thy works, Father of good, Almighty! Thine this universal frame! He knows, he feels that, fallen as he is, he can, while walking through this world, commune with God, as Adam did ere Paradise to him was lost. The secret of God’s presence is with them that fear him. We have heard of some who have said that they have never had any consciousness of the existence of spirit. Very likely; very likely. I do not suppose, either that pigs or asses, or any dumb driven cattle, ever had any spiritual apprehensions. But some of us have a very clear consciousness thereof, and, as honest men giving testimony, we claim to be believed. Nay, what is more, we are certain that we have not only a consciousness of the existence of spirit, but of a great and all-pervading Spirit we have a like clear knowledge. We cannot be mistaken about it. We are as sure that there is a God as we are that there is a world; nay, sometimes more persuaded of the one than of the other. It is a part of our real consciousness. We have come to feel it, not merely in our imaginative moods, but when all our faculties were in full play; the secret of the existence of the pervading presence of God is with us if we fear him. Nay, it is not only in the open fields, amidst the enchanting scenery of the world, but much more in shady nooks and secluded places that we have found that Presence. Some months ago, I sat by the side of a woman who had not left her bed for several years. It was in a sloping room at the top of a cottage; the only walls were just the plastering that roofed it in. The room was hung round with texts of Scripture, which she had painted as she had been lying there. She was always full of pain; restless nights and weary days were her constant lot. When I sat down to talk to her, she said, “You cannot tell how the presence of God has made this room seem to me, sir! It has been such a palace that I have not envied kings upon their thrones when I have enjoyed the visits of Christ here. Though I have not known a wakeful hour free from pain for years, I assure you this chamber has been a very heaven to me.” She was not an excitable, hysterical, silly, weak-minded woman. Far from that, she was as simple and sincere a creature as you might have found in fifty miles’ walk. The daughter of an honest, smock-frocked labourer, and his quiet, godly wife. There was this poor woman declaring that God was ever in her room. As I talked with her, I began to feel that her witness was true, and to think that I had not felt more conscious of the presence of the Almighty among the baseless, boundless mountains, or upon the watery plain of the vast ocean, where mighty waves in ceaseless concert roll, or even in the midst of the vast congregation, when on the Sabbath our solemn hymns, the outflow of feeling hearts, have swelled to heaven with music such as pleases well the ear of God. Thus I did then perceive the mysterious secret of his presence when I lingered by the lowly couch of his suffering saint. Why, had some sceptic called in there, and merely suggested that “there is no God,” we should have laughed him to scorn; or else, peradventure, our pity for this ignorance might have turned our laughter into tears. Truly the secret of God’s presence everywhere is with them that fear him. They trust him, they love him, they lean upon him, and they get to feel that he is, and they have communion with him as a man communeth with his friend. And this secret of God’s presence leads to the discerning of his hand. To the man who looks no higher than second causes, things that baffle his shallow wits like a continued drought in spring, or unintermitting rain in harvest, seem alike dreadful and bewildering. Though he cannot understand, perhaps, the laws of fluidity, he is likely enough to murmur at the dispensations that frustrate his conjectures; but the Christian says, “I believe that God ordains every drop of rain, or withholds every genial shower, when he binds up the bottles of heaven. I can find philosophy in faith. And here he is right. It has well been said, “There is more wisdom in a whispered prayer than in the ancient lore of all the schools”; and wonderful it is how this simple, silent trust gives the Christian man calmness and composure. At sea, when the tempest rages and the billows roar, the man who knows of nothing but the devouring element beneath and around him, full of alarm, may sigh to the winds; but the Christian, who firmly believes that God holds the sea in the hollow of his hand, and that “all must come, and last, and end, as shall please his heavenly Friend,” waits the leisure of the righteous God, commits his way unto him, assured that he hath control over the storm and fulfils his great decrees, unmoved by threatening clouds or scolding winds. Faith feeds his fortitude. Listening with the ears of faith, he constantly hears the footfalls of Jehovah. In the loneliness of his sorrow, he catches a sweet whisper, saying to him, “It is I; be not afraid.” The divine presence, and the divine hand, mysteriously hidden though they be from all mortal eyes, are discerned by such as live in fellowship with God, for “the secret of the Lord is with them that fear him.” Hence it is that the child of God carries on a secret intercourse with heaven. See him on his knees: he talks with God; he pours out his heart before the Lord; and in return—whether the world chooses to believe it or not, it is a matter of fact with us—in return the great Invisible Spirit pours into the praying heart a stream of sacred comfort, stays it in its time of trouble, and gives it to rejoice in its moments of sadness. Oh! some of you are living witnesses that God talks with men. Had you never talked with him, you would not be qualified to speak upon this question, but knowing that he hears you, and being conscious that he also answers you and speaks to you, you can declare, and rejoice in the declaration, that the secret of the Lord in this respect is with you. Why, the Christian makes communications to God of such a sort as he would not venture to make to his fellow-men. I consider the confession of sins to a priest most degrading to that priest. To make his ear the common sewer of all the filth of a parish is horrible, and for any man to tell out his sin at all to another is depraving to his own mind. But to tell it to God is a different matter; to lay bare his bosom, to let its inmost secrets be exposed to the great Searcher of hearts, to pour out what one cannot say in words, nor even perhaps convey with signs before the great eye which still sees, the great Searcher who discerns it all. Oh! this is blessed! Every child of God can say, when he is in a right state, that there is no reserve or disguise in the dealings of his soul with God. Is there a care which I dare not cast on him? Is there a sin which I would not humbly and tearfully confess before him? Is there a want for which I would not seek relief from him? Is there a dilemma in which I would not consult him? Is there ought so confidential that I may not divulge to man, which I may not breathe out to my God? Oh! when we are in spiritual health, we do verily pour our hearts before the Lord to the very dregs. We wear our heart upon our sleeve as we draw near to the Most High. I tell him all my woes and weaknesses, and all my sorrows, and sins likewise, so my secret is with him. Then the Lord is pleased in return to manifest himself unto his people. He shows to his trustful saints what he never shows to faithless sinners. When the sinner reads the Bible, he sees only the letter, that is all he can see; but the Christian sees the Spirit of the Word. He perceives that “within this awful volume lies the mystery of mysteries”; and he is one of those:— “Happiest of the human race, To whom their God hath given grace To read, to fear, to hope, to pray, To lift the latch to force the way.” Thus he enters into the secret chamber of revelation, while the unconverted, the unregenerated, the unsanctified, stand in the outside court, and find no entrance within the veil. The heart of God is poured out into the Christian’s heart, so far as the infinite can discover itself to the finite; and as we tell the Lord what we are, he is pleased to tell us what he is. Surely, dear friends, as these intercommunications go on, it would be hard to say how richly the inmost secrets of God may become known to his privileged people. Shall I be understood if I say that man may know a great deal more than he thinks he knows; he may know more of God than he knows he knows; for it is one thing to know, and another thing to know that we know. Do you notice how John says, “That we may know that we know him”?—as if we might know him, and yet be hardly able to recognise how much we know him. Now, many a time you have known the secret decrees of God, though you have not known that you knew them. “Oh!” say you, “how is that?” Well, God decreed, purposed, and determined to save such and such a soul; you felt an irresistible impulse to go and pray for that soul as you had never prayed before. You mentioned that particular person by name before God, and then you went out and exercised all the spiritual grace you had in order to bring that soul to the knowledge of the truth; and God blessed your endeavour, and that soul was saved. Now, how was this? Why, the secret purpose of God had been made to act mysteriously upon you; you have become God’s instrument, his conscious instrument, in the fulfilment of it; and thus you were made privy to the decree, though scarcely aware that you were so. I do think there is such a harmony between the feeling of Christians and the purposes of God that you and I can never tell where these twain do unite, or where they separate. It often seems as if the Lord said to his people, “Now, I have ordained such and such things, in the volume of my book they are written, and you shall desire and purpose just such things in your heart; and so the things that are in your heart shall carry out the things that are in my book; I will not let you know it so as to go and tell it to others, but I will make you so know it that you will go and act upon it; I will let the secret of the Lord be with you.” We know not how often God gives his people premonitions of what he is about to do, nor how frequently, unknown to ourselves, we take a course of action which is precisely the right course, without our knowing why we took it, only that we are led and guided by the Holy Spirit into such a track. I believe that this is especially the case with the ministry of the Word. I have sometimes been very sharply taxed about this matter. I was a few days ago upbraided by a good soul for exposing all her faults from the pulpit. I have been, not merely now and then, but very often, thought by some people to be so dreadfully personal that they did not know how they could bear it; and yet I never saw those people, except from the pulpit, and did not know anything at all about them. The Word of God is quick and powerful, and “is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.” When, therefore, we ask God to direct us in speaking his Word, it is no marvel that the effect is searching. Ah! and did we always, with all our hearts, give ourselves up to the motions of his Holy Spirit, we should be led and guided in a mysterious manner which we ourselves should scarcely understand, and make full proof of the fact that the “secret of the Lord is with them that fear him.” I will venture to say that the Christian gets to know more of God, of the real essence of God, by grace than all the philosophies in the world could ever have taught him. I read of God that he is a loving Father; that he is gracious towards the children of men. Now, if I fear him with a filial reverence, he disposes me, by his grace, to love the souls of men: makes me tender and compassionate. Thus I get to apprehend, by a devout sympathy, something of what his love, and tenderness, and compassion must be. To meditate upon the attributes of God is one means of seeking knowledge; but to be conformed to his image is quite another way of understanding him. Not till God makes you like himself can you know what he is. In proportion, then, as we grow in grace, and bring forth the fruits of the Spirit more abundantly, we shall be more and more admitted into the secret of the Lord. The day is coming, beloved, when we shall know more of God by our hearts—to say nothing of our heads, which probably never will be able to find out the Almighty to perfection—we shall know more of God by our hearts than we ever thought it possible to know, because our hearts shall be filled with himself; everything obnoxious to him shall be chased out, and we shall be like his only begotten Son, dwelling in his light, and basking in his love for ever. “The secret of the Lord,” as to his very character, “is with them that fear him. As they thus go from strength to strength, their heart pulsates with a love like the divine love; their souls yearn towards sinners with a benevolence like the divine benevolence; they begin to make sacrifices comparable, in kind, though not in degree, to the great sacrifice of God when he spared not his only-begotten Son. Their bowels move; their spirit yearns; they cry over souls, as God is said to cry over them. “How shall I give thee up, Ephraim? How shall I make thee as Admah? How shall I set thee as Zeboim? Mine heart is turned within me; my repentings are kindled together. Whenever God would picture himself to us, he uses words suitable to our nature. But oh! how passing wonderful shall it be when God shall be seen in us, and we shall see God in ourselves; and so shall see God! That blessed promise, “The pure in heart shall see God,” is but another rendering of our text—“The secret of the Lord is with them that fear him.” I wish it were in my power to explore this testimony of the Lord more fully, and expound it more clearly; but for the present I must leave these few simple thoughts with you, and pass on to observe that we have:— II. A REFERENCE TO A FAVOURED CLASS OF INDIVIDUALS. A peculiar privilege is conferred on a peculiar people; for it seems that the secret of the Lord is with some men, but not with others. Who are they who possess this sacred boon? A great outcry has been raised in this country of late about class and class interests. In our manufacturing districts particularly, the rights of the upper class, who find the capital, and the claims of the working class, who bring their skill and labour into the market, are paraded before us in hot debates, which often lead to an angry lock-out on the part of the employers, or a sullen strike on the part of the employed. Such feuds seldom bring much credit to either party. A great deal may be said concerning some of each to their praise, and not a little concerning some of both to their censure. So long as the struggle lasts, it must cause much heart-burning. I would the day were come when all this class-talk was over, that we felt and acknowledged the common ties and mutual obligations by which all men depend upon all men; each class being dependent for its welfare and prosperity upon each other class, even as “God hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell upon the face of the earth.” Still, there always will be a favoured class. God has so ordained it. But let me say they will neither be accepted because they are rich, nor rejected because they are poor. The favoured class before the Lord hath nothing to do with any position in society. “None are excluded thence, but those Who do themselves exclude; Welcome the learned and polite, The ignorant and rude.” Neither hath this secret of the Lord ought to do with education. It is not with every Oxford graduate; it is only with a very few of them! The secret of the Lord is not with every Cambridge M.A., nor with every man who has taken his degree at any university. You may read the Scriptures in the original languages; with Hebrew and Greek you may be familiar. Excellent and profitable studies they are, but you cannot discover the secret of the Lord by mere classical attainments. No mathematical researches or astronomical observation can discover it to you. In vain does one mount to heaven and thread the spheres; alike in vain does another walk the earth, and conjure the old rocks to tell him what happened before Adam held the lease of its broad acres, or tilled its soil. No, it is beyond the province of human learning, as it is foreign to the privilege of creature rank. Some people think that the secret of the Lord is lodged in mystic rites, and draped in gorgeous ceremonies. There is among us a sect of ritualists, which professes to have acquired it. They pretend to derive it from some man in lawn sleeves who put his hand on their heads; and if they cannot exactly communicate it themselves, yet they can communicate a great deal, for they affirm that every little child sprinkled by them becomes, without more ado, a member of Christ, a child of God, and an inheritor of the kingdom of heaven! With their guild I have no fellowship; of their weird arts I know little. Still, they say it is so, and it is all right with the little ones, no doubt, if they die in infancy, for are they not buried in consecrated clay? Listen to these gentlemen, these “successors of the apostles,” these men who have “gifts” which empower them to declare and pronounce absolution and remission of sins. Do you hear the Gospel from them? Well, you may from some of them, but then they tell you that they do not believe in the literal construction of the words they are paid to repeat, so they deliberately utter a lie! Or listen to others of them. Do they give you the gospel? Nay; they display themselves in petticoats and embroidered vestments, and such apparel as it were unlawful to appear in, save only when they are acting in their ecclesiastical theatres. You get no gospel truth from them, nothing but priestcraft from beginning to end. Were they honest they would go at once to Babylon, to Rome, to the Mother of Abominations, and consort with their own kindred. Thus we say the rite of ordination confers no privileges, and restrains no abuses. It does not teach a man the secret of the Lord, for the best ordained priest in England may still be as ignorant of God, our enemies themselves being judges, as if he had never been ordained at all. To whom, then, is it given to know the secret of the Lord, but to those who fear him, and hallow his name? To be conscious that I have sinned; to be humbled before God on account of it; to behold Jesus Christ as the way of atonement; to accept Christ as my Saviour; to come to God blessing him that I am saved through his dear Son; to feel a love to God because of his grace to me; to yield up myself to his service; by his Holy Spirit to be led to live to his Glory—this it is to fear him, and thus it is that his secret is with me. “Why,” says one, “then the secret of the Lord may be with any poor servant-girl!” Bless the Lord it may! “Oh! then,” says another, “the secret of the Lord may be with any humble workman, even though he be an illiterate and uneducated man?” Yes, certainly it may! “Then,” says yet another, “what becomes of the priesthood?” Why, I answer, we are all made priests. If we fear the Lord, we are admitted and initiated into the secret mysteries of religion; we become instructed in the way of the Lord, the Holy Spirit having promised that he will teach us all things, and bring all things to our remembrance, whatsoever Christ has told us. Though we cannot claim rank, nor wealth, nor diploma, we can yet humbly say, “The secret of the Lord is with us, for he has taught us, by his grace, how to live upon him, how to trust him, how to serve him.” “The secret of the Lord is with them that fear him.” Dost thou answer to this description, my dear hearer? Dost thou walk in the fear of the Lord? Says one, “I am a member of a Dissenting church.” I do not inquire about that, for it has nothing to do with the secret. Dost thou fear God, I ask thee? “Well,” says another, “I have always done my duty ever since I can remember, from my youth up.” That is thy duty toward man, and it is well that thou shouldst never neglect it. But dost thou fear the Lord? Is the Lord the subject of thy thoughts, the object of thy love? And dost thou, therefore, revere and worship him? If so, the promise is thine, and the privilege shall not be withheld from thee. “I want to know,” says one, “which is right among all the contending sects.” Well, go thou to the Bible; search the Scriptures; yet not as one who is proud of his own wits, but rather as one who feareth the Lord greatly, and inquires at his holy oracle prayerfully. Then, although you may not find every knotty point solved, or every quibble settled, you shall surely find this saying good, “All thy children shall be taught of the Lord, and great shall be the peace of thy children.” Come to the Lord for instruction, and there is nothing in his Word which he will keep back from thee any more than from others, for “the secret of the Lord is with them that fear him.” And come to the Lord for guidance, and thou shalt not be left in doubt what fellowship of believers to join, for “it shall come to pass that in what tribe the stranger sojourneth, there shall ye give him his inheritance, saith the Lord God.” The last thing we have to notice is:— III. THE CHOICE AND PECULIAR MANIFESTATIONS WHICH GOD MAKES TO HIS PEOPLE. He will show them his covenant. What a soft, sweet, encouraging assurance this covenant gives us! To see God in covenant is to find grace in his eyes. To serve a covenant God is perfect freedom and exquisite delight. God out of Christ is a consuming fire. Luther was wont to say, “I will have nothing to do with an absolute God.” The fear with which we think of God is all terror, dread, and fright, in which we exceedingly tremble and quake, until he unveils himself in this mellow light of the covenant of peace. For what could the vision do but scare me to destruction? But God, in the covenant of his dear Son, is the hope, the desire, the delight of everyone that is godly; and their fear is not that of horror, but that of homage. What, then, does God teach his people concerning his covenant? Much every way. He shows them that his covenant is everlasting. It was made in Christ before the world began. It abides steadfast, and will for ever remain unchangeable So sure is it, that every blessing it provides is unconditional and irrevocable, being entailed upon all those who have an interest in its gracious provisions. He teaches them the fulness of this covenant, that it contains all that is necessary for the life that now is, and for that which is to come. He teaches them the freeness of this covenant; that it was made with them in Christ Jesus, not because of their good works, but because of the abounding of his grace towards them. He teaches them that this covenant is not the result of their tears or vows, their penitence or prayer, but that it is the cause of all these; ordered in all things and sure, it comprises all that their needs could lack, and all that their hearts could crave; it is all their salvation and all their desire. The Lord then shows his people that this covenant was made on their behalf. Ah! there is the beauty of it! Each one of the blood-bought trophies of mercy is led to see that the covenant was made with David’s Lord for him. So each heir of heaven sets to his seal that God is true, and makes David’s protest his own—“Though my house be not so with God, yet he has made with me an everlasting covenant, ordered in all things and sure.” He also shows his people that this covenant is made with them by sacrifice through the precious blood of Jesus, wherein God smells a sweet savour of rest. No covenant could avail them, except it were a covenant made with blood and based on propitiation. They understand that the old covenant of works broke through because the first Adam was not able to carry out his part of it. God spoke to Adam after this manner, “If thou wilt be obedient, thou and thy children shall be happy.” That “if” proved fatal. Adam could not observe the condition. The second covenant is on another footing. It was made with Christ. “If thou wilt be obedient, thou and those in thee shall be blessed.” Christ was obedient; he kept the law; he suffered to the death his Father’s will; and we come, without an “if” or a “but” to inherit the blessing which Christ has merited for us. Now it is no more, “If you do this, I will do that”; it is, “You shall do this, and I will do that.” “A new heart will I give you; and a right spirit will I put within you; you shall repent of sin; you shall follow in my ways; you shall love me; you shall serve me; you shall persevere in holiness; and I will bless you.” There is not an “if,” nor a “but,” nor a “per-adventure” to foul the stream of God’s loving-kindness. The covenant was made with every elect soul in Christ beyond the hazard of a doubt, and beyond the chance of a forfeiture. Oh! soul, hath God ever shown thee this covenant? Do I hear anyone murmur that it is a horrible doctrine? Then I am quite certain he has never been shown it. Or do I hear another affirm, that were he to believe it, he should live in sin? I think very likely he would; I do not doubt it. To sin is your propensity, whatever you believe. But mind this, I do not exhort you to believe in that which has never been revealed to you, and has nothing to do with you. But yet another voice greets my ear; it is that of a penitent, who says, “I do come to Christ just as I am; I welcome the promise; I thank God there is now nothing left for me to do in order to make the promise sure, or to make the covenant fast; I am a poor, lost, undone soul, and throw myself at the foot of the bloody tree; I look up to the Saviour and say, ‘Jesus, I trust thee to save me; I altogether trust thee; I believe thou hast saved me—saved me in such a way that I can never be lost, for the covenant that was made with me never can be broken, and I shall never be cast away.’ ” Sure, then, dear friend, thou hast no wish to pamper with the lusts of the flesh, or to wallow in uncleaness. The doctrine does not instigate thee to live in sin. Thou wouldest be a monster indeed if it did. Nay, thou wilt say, “If God has made a covenant with me, saved me from the curse, and endowed me with blessing, out of gratitude to him, what is there I can render to him for all his benefits? Nothing shall be too hard, nothing too heavy:— “ ‘Loved of my God, for him again With love intense I burn; Chosen of him ere time began, I choose him in return.’ ” Let slaves go and work under the rod of the task-master if they will! Let the sons of the bondwoman pour contempt on the inheritance of the seed of promise if they like; but a seed shall serve him, and it shall be accounted to the Lord for a generation. The child of God has been shown the covenant; hence he knows he shall never be cast out of the family, for the love of the Father towards him will never change. He cannot love us more; he will not love us less. Such love in him begets more love in us. What manner of men ought we to be in all holy conversation and godliness! “The secret of the Lord is with them that fear him, and he will show them his covenant.” I can only pray that some hearts may be led to look to Jesus, that they may discover the choice secret. Christ is not only a party to the covenant, and the Representative of the covenant, but he is the very impersonation of the covenant itself. “I will give him,” saith the Lord, “to be a covenant for the people.” Oh! if you have looked to Christ, you need not despair. He is holy, he is true, he hath the key of David, which can unlock the secret treasury in which are stored all covenant blessings. Fear him; it is the beginning of wisdom. Trust him; it is the first breath of faith. Desire him, as new-born babes crave milk. Oh! that the fear of the Lord may haunt you through the watches of the night, and abide with you all the day long. So may the Lord bless you now and for ever. Amen. James Hasting's THE SECRET OF THE LORD The secret of the Lord is with them that fear him; And he will shew them his covenant.—Ps. 25:14. WHEN the Hebrew poet spoke of the secret of the Lord he meant the knowledge of the God of Israel, the unseen and eternal Jehovah. When he thought of them that fear Him, he remembered the stalwart saints who shall ever be the heroic leaders of the faith. He recalled Abraham coming out of Ur of the Chaldees with a wisdom and a knowledge that no Babylonian star-gazer ever divined. He thought of Jacob rising from his midnight dream at Bethel, saying in penitence and awe, “Surely the Lord is in this place; and I knew it not.” He saw Moses at the burning bush, putting off the shoes from his feet, for the place whereon he stood was holy ground. He remembered Samuel coming out of the temple in the morning light, having heard the voice of God, with a message he dared not tell to Eli. Each of these had entered into a solemn experience. Each of them had come forth with a secret. A new and deeper understanding of God’s ways, and thoughts, and purposes had been given them. He marks the law of their experience. It was the law of fear. They had that fear of God which is an awe and a reverence, a passion of desire to know, and a willingness to submit and to obey. Therefore God made known the secret to them. ¶ Thompson dwells on St. Paul’s unspoken message, which, designated by the name of wisdom, he withheld from many of the Corinthians because they were not fit to hear it. He communicated it to the spiritual not to the animal man. Origen says that that which St. Paul would have called wisdom is found in the “Canticle of Canticles.” Thompson dwells further on the hidden meanings of the Pentateuch, believing that there was “an inexhaustible treasure of divine wisdom concealed under the letter of Holy Writ.” Thompson saw wise men whispering, and guessed that there were secrets; their presence discovered, they were open secrets for such as he. “You have but to direct my sight, and the intentness of my gaze will discover the rest.” ¶ There were three courts in the Temple at Jerusalem. There was the outer court, where even the Gentiles who cared nothing for the God of Israel or the faith of the Hebrew people might freely come. There was the holy place with its sacred things, where only the Hebrew worshipper might walk. There was the most holy place, over which the veil of the Temple hung, and into whose unseen and unknown seclusion the high priest entered once every year, alone. There are these three courts in the life of a Christian man. There is the outer court, where a man who is living his life in the world must keep company with all who enter its circle. He must rub shoulders with the crowd, although he never forgets that they cannot enter into his secret. There is the holy place, where fellow-believers may pass, and speech and thought of the things of God have a gracious liberty. But there is the most holy place, and what passes there between God and the soul is to be kept with a guarded reticence until there is need for its being told. ¶ When the ancient Jew approached his sanctuary, he found an outer court of the Temple full of activity with the coming and going of those who touched the whole natural life and the daily sacrifice on the altar. But behind lay the still silent room where the golden lamp burned and the bread of life was resting on the golden table. And behind again the silence of the Holy of Holies where man and God merge in union. Even so it is not the great activity, touching national issues—it is not even the sacrificial life of Dr. Paton that has most attracted me and, I believe, others. But here was a priest of the Most High God, in the sanctuary of whose heart the light burned and the bread of life was broken. And with reverent awe we knew that behind lay communion with the Inspirer and Hearer of Prayer. So that out of him from the Divine source flow “rivers of living water.” Thus heaven touched earth through our intercourse, and the passion for service of his soul entered ours. The secret of the Lord, as the Psalmist conceives it, may be held to include (1) Knowledge; (2) Character; (3) Happiness. Knowledge is the secret of the Teacher, Character is the secret of the Friend, Happiness is the secret of the Lover. I KNOWLEDGE 1. Every teacher has his secret. He scans his scholars, eager to find a receptive mind to whom he can reveal it. When the responsive glance, the significant word, or the searching question reveals the student’s promise, the teacher has an exquisite joy in revealing his secret. ¶ The great painters of the Middle Ages took pupils into their studios. To every aspirant they gave honest attention. When one came who was swift to understand his master’s conceptions, eager to imitate his strength of line and purity of colour, humbly and patiently reverent in his zeal, the secret was disclosed. In our own day Edward Burne Jones became a disciple of Dante Gabriel Rossetti. He spent still and strenuous hours in copying his master’s works, studying their distinction, and aspiring after their spirit. With a trembling heart young Burne Jones took his drawings to Rossetti to receive his judgment upon them. The honest painter looked at them in silence, and with a word of emotion he said, “You have nothing more to learn from me.” He had entered into the master’s secret. But mark the law. It is not to the carping critic, the scorning and cynical scholar, the contemptuous idler, that the secret is revealed. The secret is “with them that fear.” God keeps His holy mysteries Just on the outside of man’s dream.… Yet, touching so, they draw above Our common thoughts to Heaven’s unknown; Our daily joy and pain advance To a divine significance. 2. There is a mystery in every Christian life. When the words are said in our hearing, “The secret of the Lord is with them that fear him,” they seem to give a momentary glimpse of the truth. There is a secret in such lives, and that secret is God’s. He has to do with them. There is a communication between their souls and Him. He has told them a secret, and they keep it. Others may see that they have a secret; but intermeddle with it they cannot. There is only one way to attain it—by going through the same process as these have gone through. We may not at present think it worth our while to do so, or we may have an undefined dread of the supposed difficulty and irksomeness of that process: but at least let us lay it up well in our hearts that there is such a process, and such an end; that the Christian’s life is a reality, whether we ever attain that life or not; a mystery, whether we be ever initiated into that mystery or not; let us accept and reverence the inspired declaration that “the secret of the Lord is with them that fear him.” ¶ The more of a man a man is, the more secret is the secret of his life, and the more plain and frank are its external workings. A small and shallow man tries to throw a mystery about the mere methods of his life, he tries to make his ways of living seem obscure. Where he goes, how he makes his fortune, whom he talks with, what his words mean, who his friends are—he is very mysterious about all these, and all because the secret of his life is really weak, because he is conscious that there is no really strong purpose of living which he himself understands. It is a shallow pool which muddies its surface to make itself look deep. But a greater man will be perfectly frank and unmysterious about these little things. Anybody may know what he does and where he goes. His acts will be transparent, his words will be intelligible. Yet all the while every one who looks at him will see that there is something behind all, which escapes the closest observation. The very clearness of the surface will show how deep the water is, how far away the bottom lies. There is hardly a better way to tell a great man from a little one. ¶ He always lived with his blinds up, and you saw all the workings of his mind. Had he not been steeped in the spirit of love he could never have survived the self-exposure which was a habit with him. But his very caprices were always unselfish, and he could afford to let his friends look him through and through. As in some cavern dark and deep, My soul within me here lies low, Where, veiled, she dreams in wondrous sleep Of things I may not know. And if perchance she wake awhile, I probe her radiant eyes in vain: She turns from me with misty smile And, sighing, sleeps again. 3. God may be expected to keep some things hidden. In the most intimate and sacred of our friendships it is not for us to say what secrets shall be made known to us, and what secrets shall be guarded from our cognizance. A government reserves to itself the right of saying what information may be imparted to its friends, and what, for sufficient reasons, shall be kept back. A general on the battle-field, whilst putting safe and suitable selections of news at the service of authorized war correspondents, cannot allow them unlimited access to his plans. It is necessary to respect official reserve. And is not the temper which accepts such conditions binding on a true servant of God? Let God Himself choose the things He sees fit to make known to us. If we live in reverent and believing fellowship He will treat us as confidants, and our knowledge of His methods and purposes will surpass that of the world; but at the same time we need to be told once and again that He cannot admit us to equality with Himself by making known the veiled things we petulantly demand. It ought to satisfy us if His heart trusts us, and He comes to us in forms of revelation withheld from the world. He who is thus initiated into His deep counsels and led to know His will makes few mistakes in his prayers, and the faith he cherishes does not suffer the bitterness of disappointment or betrayal. ¶ I have heard Sir Clifford Allbutt and Signor agree that the necessity or, perhaps better, the love of the mysterious, was an essential and valuable part of the human mind; far from being all disadvantageous or an impediment to progress, it had been in the main a stimulus towards something transcending man’s best efforts. Signor said: “It is in fact the poetic element; and what in the superstitious mind is mere dread, in Browning and Tennyson is aspiration. You cannot take away the mysterious from man, he cannot do without it.” ¶ One of the most beautiful of the Bishop’s sonnets was composed at Trondhjem on August 12, 1888. It runs thus:— And was it there—the splendour I behold? This great fjord with its silver grace outspread And thousand-creeked and thousand-islanded? Those far-off hills, grape-purple, fold on fold? For yesterday, when all day long there rolled The blinding drift, methinks, had some one said “The scene is fair,” I scarce had credited; Yet fairer ‘tis than any tongue hath told. And it was there! Ah, yes! And on my way More bravely I will go, though storm-clouds lour And all my sky be only cold and grey; For I have learnt the teaching of this hour: And when God’s breath blows all these mists afar, I know that I shall see the things that are. 4. Knowledge comes by obedience. It would be hopeless to try to tell the secret, even for the sake of inducing others to treasure it for themselves. The fact is that the secret might be told, and told in the best of words, without its ceasing to be a secret to those who heard. Words are necessary in religious as in other matters; but there is no fear of their telling anything which ought not to be told: first, because the secret is designed for all, and revealed to all who will listen to it; and next, because it lies deeper far than the understanding, and never becomes the possession of any man till he takes it into his heart. For the obedience by which comes knowledge is the obedience of the heart. Obedience to law, and acts of worship arising out of fear of penalty, are merely hiding from God among the trees of the garden. Even obedience from duty can never be a satisfactory or final state; it is merely educational, to make manifest defect of life. “I was alive without the law once; but when the commandment came, sin revived and I died.” When the glory of the Lord has filled all the ‘courts of His temple, man’s outward nature becomes reconstituted, not after the law of a carnal commandment, but after the power of an endless or indissoluble life. The tree of knowledge becomes one with the tree of life which is in the midst of the city, and on both sides of the river of life, proceeding from the throne of God and of the Lamb. ¶ I have known more than one Highland saint who never had any intellectual training. They had had little schooling, they never were at college, and their libraries were of the scantiest kind. Yet in every true sense of the word they were men of culture; their language was choice and their thoughts large and just; and they had singular power in complicated questions of seizing on the things that really mattered. What was the secret of that mental clarity?—“If any man willeth to do his will.” To God they had prayed—in Christ’s name they had wrestled—they had clung to the right and beaten down the wrong; until at last that life of deep obedience—that faithfulness to God in what was least—all unexpectedly had reached their intellect, and made it a sphere of mastery and joy. Just to ask Him what to do All the day, And to make you quick and true To obey. Just to know the needed grace He bestoweth, Every bar of time and place Overfloweth. Just to take thy orders straight From the Master’s own command. Blessed day! when thus we wait Always at our Sovereign’s hand. 5. Obedience is rendered easy by sympathy and an open mind. The man who is full of himself, bent on his own will, seeking his own ends, is not in a frame of mind to have the secret of the Lord revealed to him: probably he does not want it, or wish to have it revealed to him. It is a check upon him. He does not want the key to the Kingdom of Heaven, because he has no wish whatever to enter into it. To enter into the Kingdom of God is to do the, will of God, and to try to love it, and the will of God is human duty—what is due from us to God as poor, weak, ignorant creatures at the best; coming we know not whence, going we know not whither; seeing but a little way into things; living by faith, by trust in the power over us, trust in the good about us, trust in the good in other people; and what is due from us to others, for we are related to each other as brethren, because we are all related to God as the Father over all. ¶ “See how that noble fellow Collingwood leads the fleet into action!” exclaimed Nelson at the battle of Trafalgar, as he looked on the ship of his second bearing down upon the French line under a press of sail. “Ah! what would Nelson give to be here!” exclaimed Admiral Collingwood at the same moment. It seemed as if the two heroic men were animated by one spirit; as if by completeness of sympathy they knew each other’s thoughts. And have we not all seen something like this in our own experience? Have we not known persons so congenial in thought and feeling that scenes in nature lighted up their faces with the same delight, or cast over them the shadows of thoughtfulness and awe; sights of distress and tales of sorrow drew forth from them kindred tears of compassion; a noble poem or an eloquent oration awakened in their bosoms the same pure and generous emotions? And such, too, is the power of sympathy between man and God. Just as a man tells his secret only to his friends, knowing that it would often be unsafe, and at other times impossible, to tell it to others; and just as they, knowing his great aim and motive, can make more of a nod or look or word than others can of a lengthened statement; so God reveals, as He did to Abraham His friend in the matter of Sodom’s destruction, the depth of His mind and will to them who fear Him, and who by fearing Him have been made like Him; and they, loving in general as God loves, and hating in general as God hates, enter as others cannot into the meaning and spirit of God’s declarations. II CHARACTER 1. God unveils His character by entering into friendly relations with man. It is always a sign of deepening friendship when people begin to open their inner rooms to us. To be made the depositary of a rare secret is to be sealed as a friend. When any one tells us a secret joy, it is a mark of intimacy; when any one unveils to us a secret grief, it is a proof of the closest fellowship. When we are taken from the suburbs of a man’s being to the centre, it is a proof of an enriching communion. “No longer do I call you servants; but I have called you friends; for all things that I heard from my Father I have made known unto you.” Is there not something tenderly suggestive in the word which tells us that “when they were alone, he expounded unto them”? When He had His familiar friends to Himself, He told them His secrets and showed them His covenant. Are these the tracks of some unearthly Friend, His foot-prints, and his vesture-skirts of light, Who, as I talk with men, conforms aright Their sympathetic words, or deeds that blend With my hid thought;—or stoops him to attend My doubtful-pleading grief;—or blunts the might Of ill I see not;—or in dreams of night Figures the scope, in which what is will end? Were I Christ’s own, then fitly might I call That vision real; for to the thoughtful mind That walks with Him, He half unveils His face; But when on earth-stain’d souls such tokens fall, These dare not claim as theirs what there they find, Yet, not all hopeless, eye His boundless grace. 2. Fellowship with God is the secret of the highest character in man. If a man admires, reveres and attaches himself to any one, he is naturally led to imitate him; and the tendency of all worship is to make a man like his God. The deities of heathendom are the product of the vain imaginations, unholy passions and guilty fears of their votaries, and the contemplation of them continues to quicken the foul source whence they have issued. The sins as well as the sorrows of those who follow after other gods are multiplied. And the worshippers of the true God are, in accordance with this principle of our nature, brought to godliness, induced and taught to love and hate, to approve and condemn, according to the perfect model. In every one that fears God, there is a real and growing assimilation. ¶ Some words of Kingsley’s written in 1872, in which he defines a “noble fear” as one of the elements of that lofty and spiritual love which ruled his own daily life, may explain why he speaks of entering the married state with “solemn awe and self-humiliation,” and why he looked upon such married Love as the noblest education a man’s character can have: “Can there be true love without wholesome fear? And does not the old Elizabethan ‘My dear dread’ express the noblest voluntary relation in which two human souls can stand to each other? Perfect love casteth out fear. Yes; but where is love perfect among imperfect beings, save a mother’s for her child? For all the rest, it is through fear that love is made perfect; fear which bridles and guides the lover with awe—even though misplaced—of the beloved one’s perfections; with dread—never misplaced—of the beloved one’s contempt. And therefore it is that souls who have the germ of nobleness within, are drawn to souls more noble than themselves, just because, needing guidance, they cling to one before whom they dare not say, or do, or even think an ignoble thing. And if these higher souls are—as they usually are—not merely formidable, but tender likewise, and true, then the influence which they may gain is unbounded—both to themselves, and to those that worship them.” 3. To enjoy this fellowship we must “fear” the Lord. In order to read any one’s secret we must respect him. You cannot show the real secret of your life, the spring and power of your living, to any man who does not respect you. Not merely you will not, but you cannot. Is it not so? A man comes with impertinent curiosity and looks in at your door, and you shut it in his face indignantly. A friend comes strolling by and gazes in with easy carelessness, not making much of what you may be doing, not thinking it of much importance, and before him you cover up instinctively the work which was serious to you, and make believe that you were only playing games. So it is when men try to get hold of the secret of your life. No friendship, no kindliness, can make you show it to them unless they evidently really feel as you feel, that it is a serious and sacred thing. There must be something like reverence or awe about the way that they approach you. It is the way in which children shut themselves up before their elders because they know their elders have no such sense as they have of the importance of their childish thoughts and feelings. ¶ You must believe that there is something deep in nature or you will find nothing there. You must have an awe of the mystery and sacredness in your fellow-man, or his mystery and sacredness will escape you. And this sense of mystery and sacredness is what we gather into that word “fear.” It is the feeling with which you step across the threshold of a great deserted temple or into some vast dark mysterious cavern. It is not terror. That would make one turn and run away. Terror is a blinding and deafening emotion. Terror shuts up the apprehension. You do not get at the secret of anything which frightens you, but fear, as we use the word now, is quite a different emotion. It is a large, deep sense of the majesty and importance of anything, a reverence and respect for it. Without that no man can understand another. And so “the secret of a man is with them that fear him.” ¶ We have listened to some sweet melody, and we cannot escape from its gracious thraldom. It pervades the entire day. It interweaves itself with all our changing affairs. We hear it in our work and in our leisure; when we retire to rest and when we awake. It haunts us. The analogy may help us to some apprehension of what is meant by the fear of God. The man who fears God is haunted by God’s presence. God is an abiding consciousness. God is “continually before him.” Everything is seen in relationship to God. The Divine presence pervades the mind and shapes and colours the judgment. Here are two descriptions from the Word of God, in the contrast of which the meaning will be made quite clear. “God is not in all his thoughts.” The Eternal does not haunt his mind. Everything is secularized, and nothing is referred to the arbitrament of the Divine Will. He is not God-possessed. “Pray without ceasing.” Here is the contrasted mind, from which the sense of God is never absent. Like an air of penetrating music the Divine presence pervades the exercise of all his powers. He is God-haunted, and in the consciousness of that presence he lives and moves and has his being. He fears God. III HAPPINESS 1. The secret of happiness is love. The people of God love Him, and He loves them; their habitual feeling is that their affection and gratitude bear no proportion to the greatness of His claims. Like the penitent disciple who had had much forgiven, they can solemnly appeal to His omniscience and say, “Lord, thou knowest all things; thou knowest that I love thee.” And He loves them with a love which has a height and depth, and length and breadth passing knowledge—a love which has thrown open to them the book of Nature that their eyes might be filled with its beauty and their souls with its truth—a love which sings sweet songs in the carol of the bird, in the murmur of the brook, in the whispering of the breeze, and in the joyous music of the domestic hearth—a love which covers the earth with golden grain, and casts abundance into the lap of life—a love which has toiled, and bled, and died that the soul of man might be taken from the spoiler who has held it under his cruel and polluting sway, and be brought under the dominion of its rightful Lord and made fully happy, and that for ever, in His fellowship. ¶ He looked out on the world through the eyes of Love, and that is why it was to him ever beautiful in its infinite variety, and in its amazing friendliness. He lived to be seventy-one as the world counts years, but even then he was Youth and Joy—in the best sense of the word he refused to grow up. ¶ Though Mr. Paynter was a deeply spiritual man, there was nothing in his life or speech to suggest gloom; certainly there was not in his looks. Many a laugh have we had together, over some amusing incident or story, in the lighter interludes of life; and though he himself rarely told a story, yet sometimes he would make a “dry” remark, which showed that the sense of humour was not absent. He was a happy man—happy in all the domesticities of his home and family life—happy among his flowers—happy in his work—happy always in doing good to others, and all because he was happy in God, and had learned what St. Paul meant when he said, “All things are yours.” Just to recollect His love, Always true; Always shining from above, Always new. Just to recognize its light All-enfolding; Just to claim its present might, All-upholding. Just to know it as thine own, That no power can take away. Is not this enough alone For the gladness of the day? 2. We learn the secret of happiness as we try to express our love in noble character and unselfish conduct. Men are so constituted that obedience is its own reward. There is no delight so deep and true as the delight of doing the will of Him whom we love. There is no blessedness like that of the increasing communion with God and of the clearer perception of His will and mind which follow obedience as surely as the shadow follows the sunshine. There is no blessedness like the glow of approving conscience, the reflection of the smile on Christ’s face. To have the heart in close communion with the very Fountain of all good, and the will in harmony with the will of the best Beloved; to hear the Voice that is dearest of all ever saying, “This is the way, walk ye in it”; to feel “a spirit in my feet” impelling me upon that road; to know that all my petty deeds are made great, and my stained offerings hallowed by the altar on which they are honoured to lie; and to be conscious of fellowship with the Friend of my soul increased by obedience—this is to taste the keenest joy and good of life, and he who is thus “blessed in his deed” need never fear that that blessedness will be taken away, or sorrow though other joys be few and griefs be many. ¶ To Florence Nightingale, communion with the Unseen meant something deeper, richer, fuller, more positive than the fear of God. The fear of God is the beginning, but not the end, of wisdom, for perfect love casteth out fear. It was for the love of God as an active principle in her mind, constraining all her deeds, that she strove. ¶ The income from his books and other sources, which might have been spent in a life of luxury and selfishness, he distributed lavishly where he saw it was needed, and in order to do this he always lived in the most simple way. To make others happy was the Golden Rule of his life. On August 31 he wrote, in a letter to a friend, Miss Mary Brown: “And now what am I to tell you about myself? To say I am quite well ‘goes without saying’ with me. In fact, my life is so strangely free from all trial and trouble that I cannot doubt my own happiness is one of the talents entrusted to me to ‘occupy’ with, till the Master shall return, by doing something to make other lives happy.” 3. And thus we are brought round again to knowledge. For the final verdict upon the realities of religion rests not with the highest intellect, but with the purest heart. Humboldt tells that the Arab guide employed in one of his desert journeys had such a keen and highly trained power of vision that he could see the moons of Jupiter without a telescope, and that he gave the date when one of those moons was eclipsed, a date afterwards verified by the traveller on his return to Europe. The watchmaker, the line-engraver, the microscopist, who for years have been poring over minute objects a few inches from the face, could not emulate the feat of the Arab whose eye had been trained for a lifetime by use in the desert, and might possibly doubt the fact. In that respect the man of science himself, with his wide knowledge, exact observation, many accomplishments, was inferior to his unlettered guide. A devout soul seeks wistfully after God, accustoms its faculties to discern and interpret His signs, and acquires a vision penetrative beyond that of his neighbour. ¶ In one of his saddest poems—in the series entitled “Men and Women”—Browning tells the story of Andrea del Sarto, who was called the faultless painter of Florence. In his youth he had loved and married a woman of rare and radiant beauty. He rendered to her an almost worshipping homage. He longed to lift her to the high plane of thought and desire and holy ambition on which he moved. But she was a shallow, thin-natured, mean-souled woman. She was the woman who smeared with a careless fling of her skirt the picture he had painted in hours of spiritual ecstasy. She was the woman who craved him for his hard-earned money that she might spend it at the gaming-table with her dissolute companions. Browning sets down the tragedy of their years with his usual unerring insight. It was not that she disappointed him, robbed his hand of its power, dulled his mind, shadowed his heart, and, as he foresaw, would sully his fame. It was this more piteous thing, that he could not disclose himself to her. She was not able to see and to understand him at his highest and noblest. She never discerned the moral majesty of his mind or the spiritual hunger of his heart. The poet sets the sorrow of it all in a sigh, which is the climax of his story. But had you—oh, with the same perfect brow, And perfect eyes, and more than perfect mouth, And the low voice my soul hears, as a bird The fowler’s pipe, and follows to the snare— Had you, with these the same, but brought a mind! Lover he was, with the lover’s secret, but she brought no mind, and the lover’s secret she never knew. For the lover’s secret is only with them that fear. 4. The nearer we live to Christ, the further shall we see into the Unseen and discern the secret of God. The vision of the godly man, like that of the prophet at Bethel, pierces into the unseen, and he is sensible of things to which others are blind. If he cannot envisage horses and chariots of fire, the vindicating ministries of the covenant, he can read the terms of the covenant in letters clear as the stars, and these revelations are enough, and assure as perfectly as glimpses of the hosts God leads. Doubts and misgivings are dispelled by spiritual insight. In the things which, to a worldly mind, suggest the anger of Heaven, he is made to see occasions which discipline the character into higher fitness for receiving the awaiting blessings of an immutable covenant. ¶ For many years a lady made her livelihood by taking Greenwich time round to the jewellers’ shops in the small towns to the west of London. She was the daughter of a watchmaker, and possessed an excellent chronometer which had been bequeathed by her father. When necessary, the authorities of the Observatory kindly regulated it. Every Friday she went to Greenwich, got the standard time, and carried it to her clients, who paid a small fee for the service rendered. She belonged to the old dispensation, and may stand for one of its types. Many provincial towns, and even private firms of watchmakers, are now in direct electric connexion with Greenwich, and get the standard time every day.… In the United States of America, every post office is linked with the Observatory at Washington. Under the earlier Covenant, men who wished to learn of the things of God had to avail themselves of the ministries of the prophets, or sit at the feet of scholars, whose office it was to interpret the books of the law. But under the New Covenant the regenerate soul is brought into direct contact with God, and acquires Divine wisdom, not by listening to a neighbour, but by heeding swift inward impressions wrought by the wonderful Spirit of God. Love touch’d my eyes—these eyes which once were blind, And, lo! a glorious world reveal’d to view, A world I ne’er had dream’d so fair to find. I sang for gladness—all things were made new. ’Twas Love unstopp’d my ears, and every sound Borne through the silence seem’d a psalm of praise: Bird-song, child-laughter—yet o’er all I found Thy voice the music of my happy days. Love chang’d life’s draught and made the water wine, And through my languid senses seem’d to flow Some pow’r enkindled by the fire divine, Some inspiration I can ne’er forego. Love rais’d the dead to life—and never more Can many waters quench th’ eternal flame. Love open’d wide the everlasting door, And bade us enter, called by His name. The Secret of the Lord Dr. John Kennedy Scripture: Psalm 25:14 The secret of the Lord is with those who fear Him. Introduction: The older versions of the Bible use the word “peculiar” to describe Christians. Some of us are certainly peculiar, but I hope all of us are peculiar in the biblical sense—special, different, unique, people of singular character and exclusive privileges. Into our souls Christ infuses life; into our ears He whispers secrets. Fearers of God are favorites of God; and as such we are a peculiar people. 1. Christians differ from others because they fear the Lord. A. Those who fear the Lord are quickened souls, once dead in sin, but now alive to God, “quickened together with Christ.” There are Godward movements in our hearts. We have crowned Him King of our hearts. B. Those who fear must be near to God. We were once “far off,” but have been brought near by the blood of Jesus. The Spirit thus guides us to the throne of grace—not as rebels who dread the king’s approach or as strangers who have never visited a sovereign, but as courtiers and children who are already in the palace. Only His loving children and His loyal servants can honor the Lord as a Father and fear Him as a Master. C. In approaching God on His throne, we mingle reverence of His glory with hope in His mercy. This is a combination only found where the true fear of God is. The same view of God that inspires hope also produces reverential fear. The glory of God, as seen in the cross, commands our admiration as well as our trust. It is at once solemnizing and encouraging. It bears us down while it draws us near. It breaks our heart as surely as it cheers it. D. They who fear the Lord seek to do His will. That the Lord may be pleased and glorified is the end to which we aspire. We cannot be happy without respecting all God’s commandments (Ps. 119:6). It is then in reverent obedience that those who fear the Lord may expect His secret to be with them. 2. True Christians differ from others because with them is “the secret of the Lord.” This means more than that we have the Bible in our hands. The Bible contains the complete revelation of the will of God, but many who have the Bible in their hands don’t have the fear of the Lord in their hearts. Those who fear the Lord have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit which is of God, to know the things freely given to them of God. Thus we are “peculiar.” The Lord shines the gospel light on us, and He also shines into our hearts the light of the knowledge of His glory in the face of Christ (2 Cor. 4:6). His Spirit guides us into daily lessons about His promises, presence, and power. In the process we are changed into the image of Christ, from glory to glory, by the Spirit of the Lord (2 Cor. 3:18). A. He acquaints us with His everlasting purpose to save us. B. He reveals intimations of His will while we pray, providing inner peace regarding problems and opportunities. C. He gives us secret burdens for others for whom we should plead, often suggesting the case of a particular individual to the mind of one who is pleading at the footstool of mercy. With it may come a suggested portion of Scripture to plead on their behalf. D. He reassures us by reminding us of His providential governance over our lives and over history. We watch and walk with God while others live without Him in the world. We speak with Him about His doings, while others are dumb and deaf before Him. Conclusion: The Lord shares His secrets with those who fear Him, imparting wisdom and peace in difficult times. He gives them guidance during times of decision. He gives reassurance as needed. Fear the Lord. Let His Word be precious, and use it for the ends for which it is given. Aspire for a clearer view of its wonders, a simpler faith in its truth, a ravishing sense of its sweetness, and a deeper experience of its power. Be guided by its light, molded by its form, fed by its manna, and cheered by its comforts, fearing Him and learning His secrets day by day. Reverence for God Tim LaHaye Embracing Eternity Today's Reading: Psalm 24:1-10; 25:14 Friendship with the Lord is reserved for those who fear him. Psalm 25:14 YEARS AGO I had friends in college who liked to call God "Daddy" during their prayers. They pointed out that when Jesus prayed "Abba, Father," he was using a term of endearment. In effect, he was calling God "Dad." It was a common phrase in Jewish culture. They took this idea and made it their own. My friends had good hearts, and I'm sure God knew that. But something about their prayers made me uncomfortable. I couldn't really put my finger on it, though. Their prayers went something like this: "Hey, Dad, this is me, Randy. You know I have this test coming up, and I could really use your help. And thanks for letting me meet Sandy. I really like her. She's pretty cool. I'm thinking of taking her out sometime. Let me know what you think.... Anyway, I gotta go to class, so see you later. Love you, Daddy! Talk to you later." It wasn't as if these types of prayers were offensive to me, they just didn't feel right. There was a casualness to them that I wasn't used to. In some ways I wondered if it wasn't simply a backlash against the rigid, formal prayers that they had grown up with. And there seemed to be a sense of competition developing to see who could be the least formal. One friend decided that he would no longer bow his head or close his eyes during prayers, and others quickly took the same approach. There's nothing inherently offensive about any of this. I've always taken comfort in the father-heart aspect of God, and I love the idea of seeing him as our Father. I'm thrilled that we are able to connect with God on a real and personal level. Yet somehow it seems that in our effort to embrace the nearness of God, we have run the risk of overlooking his holiness. While it is true that God is our Father, he is also the Creator of the universe. The maker of heaven and earth. "Friendship with the Lord is reserved for those who fear him," writes David (Psalm 25:14). A reverence for God's deity and supremacy is critical to a deep relationship with him. He is our Father, but he is also worthy of our respect and honor. When we become too casual in our relationship with him, we tend to forget who God is. He is the God of Abraham and Isaac. The great "I AM." The One who is, who always was, and who always will be. The King of glory!