sheds on the Word, by many a suggestion through human lips, by many a
blessed thought rising quietly within our hearts, and bearing the
token that it comes from a sacreder source than our poor, blundering
minds, He still speaks to us, His friends.

Ought not that thought of the utter frankness of Jesus make us, for
one thing, very patient, intellectually and spiritually, of the gaps
that are left in His communications and in our knowledge? There are
so many things that we sometimes think we should like to know, things
about that dark future where some of our hearts live so constantly,
things about the depths of His nature and the divine character,
things about the relation between God's love and God's righteousness,
things about the meaning of all this dreadful mystery in which we
grope our way. These and a hundred other questionings suggest to us
that it would have been so easy for Him to have lifted a little
corner of the veil, and let a little more of the light shine out. He
holds all in His hand. Why does He thus open one finger instead of
the whole palm? Because He loves. A friend exercises the right of
reticence as well as the prerogative of speech. And for all the gaps
that are left, let us bow quietly and believe that if it had been
better for us He would have spoken. 'If it were not so I would have
told you.' 'Trust Me! I tell you all that it is good for you to
receive.'

And that frankness may well teach us another lesson, viz., the
obligation of keeping our ears open and our hearts prepared to
receive the speech that does come from Him. Ah, brother! many a
message from your Lord flits past you, like the idle wind through an
archway, because you are not listening for His voice. If we kept down
the noise of that 'household jar within'; if we silenced passion,