faith, the Bible puts the highest honour upon us which any created
thing can have. What are the things which cannot live by faith?
The trees and plants, the beasts and birds, which, though they live
and grow by God's providence, yet do not know it, do not thank Him,
cannot ask Him for more strength and life as we can, are mere dead
tools in God's hands, instead of living, reasonable beings as we
are. It is only reasonable beings, like men and angels, with
immortal spirits in them, who CAN live by faith; and it is the
greatest glory and honour to us, I say again, that we CAN do so--
that the glorious, infinite God, Maker of heaven and earth, should
condescend to ask us to be loyal to Him, to love Him, should
encourage us to pray to Him boldly, and then should condescend to
hear our prayers--WE, who in comparison of Him are smaller than the
gnats in the sunbeam in comparison of men! And then, when we
remember that He has sent His only Son into the world to take our
nature upon Him, and join us all together into one great and
everlasting family, the body of Christ the Lord, and that He has
actually given us a share in His own Almighty Holy Spirit that we
may be able to love Him, and to serve Him, and to be joined to Him,
the Almighty Father, do we not see that all this is infinitely more
honourable to us than if we were each to go on his own way here
without God--without knowing anything of the everlasting world of
spirits to which we now belong? My friends, instead of being
ashamed of being able to do nothing for ourselves, we ought to
rejoice at having God for our Father and our Friend, to enable us to
"do all things through Him who strengthens us"--to do whatever is
noble, and loving, and worthy of true men. Instead, then, of
dreaming conceitedly that God will accept us for our own sakes, let
us just be content to be accepted for the sake of Jesus Christ our
King. Instead of trying to walk through this world without God's