not thy law."
19
20 THE OPENING OF GOD'S WORD
2. The object of Christian faith may be compared to a jewel enclosed in a casket. The jewel is the Lord Jesus Christ; the casket is the Bible. Now, we believe that a man may possess the jewel who has never seen the casket, or who has got it in his hands in an imperfect and broken form. There is such an efficacy in the Lord Jesus Christ, such a fitness in Him for the sins and sorrows and wants of poor fallen humanity, that the Holy Spirit of God can bring Him home to the soul with saving power by a small portion of knowledge. A single Gospel, a single Epistle, a Psalm such as the Twenty-third, or a verse such as " God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whoso- ever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life," if explained simply and brought home by God's Spirit, may become God's power unto salvation. The Bible came to men in fragments, piece after piece, through many generations, and a fragment of it still does its proper work. It has a principle of life that is complete in its separate parts, and you may see all its truth in one text, as you can see all the sun's image in one drop of dew in a flower. This is a wise. Divine arrangement, which may reassure some who fear they are losing Christ, when the question is about the meaning of some parts of the Bible. If a man were so driven about on seas of difhculty that he could have only a board or broken piece of the ship, it would " bring him safe to land." Nevertheless, the care and completeness of the casket are of very great moment. Our salvation may be gained by one word about Christ, but our edification, our Christian comfort and well-being, depend on the full word of Christ. Whenever He is set forth, however dimly, there is something for us to learn, something needful to make us thoroughly furnished unto every good work. Here the Bible may be compared, not to a casket enclosing a jewel, but to a piece of tapestry on which a figure is inwoven. If it be mutilated, or the golden threads that meet and intermingle be torn and tarnished, we lose, so far, the complete image of truth that is the inheritance of the Church of Christ — the inheritance which the Apostle thus describes : " Whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope."
^ Bartholdi's statue of "Liberty Enlightening the World" occupies a fine position on Bedloes Island, which commands the
PSALM cxix. 130 21
approach to New York Harbour. It holds up a torch which is lit at night by an immense electric light. The statue was cast in portions in Paris. The separate pieces were very different, and, taken apart, of uncouth shape. It was only when all was brought together, each in its right place, that the complete design was apparent. Then the omission of any one would have left the work imperfect. In this it is an emblem of Holy Scripture. We do not always see the object of certain portions ; nevertheless each has its place, and the whole is a magnificent statue of Christ Jesus, who is the true " Liberty Enlightening the World," casting illuminative rays across the dark, rocky ocean of time, and guiding anxious souls to the desired haven.^
I.
The Light Hid.
1. The word of God is not a book. There are plenty of Bibles^' in the world to-day. Indeed there never was a time when so many were distributed. The printing presses of Christendom fairly groan with the innumerable volumes. Nor is the word of God preaching. Churches abound and times of prosperity see them built and rebuilt in ever more magnificent form. The greater the wealth of the community and the more easy and abundant its luxury, the more gorgeous become its churches, the more elegant their ritual, and the more eloquent their preaching. The word of God is the voice of God in a man's soul. As the Saviour put it : " Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God." That is the voice which, through whatever channel it comes and in whatever words it declares itself, becomes the compelling voice in a man's heart, awakening him to a new consciousness of his relations to his Maker.
2. The word of God is a living word, addressed to men, and it V^ brings the power of God Himself along with it. God did not wait to speak to men until they had advanced so far that they were able to provide themselves with some kind of record of what He said. Far back in the infancy and childhood of the human
^ G. Jackson.
22 THE OPENING OF GOD'S WORD
race, God condescended to men in their weakness and frailty, spoke to them and made Himself intelligible, and lodged the incorruptible seed in their hearts. All the epistles in those days were living epistles, and the living word of God was not written down, but passed like fire, with all its power to quicken and redeem, from heart to heart.