be awakened by the high standard of Christian character which he set up in this chapter. Look at these statements: ‘ Every one that hath this hope in Him, purifieth himself, even as He is pure.” “Every one that abideth in Him sinneth not. Every one that sinneth hath not even seen Him nor known Him” “He that committeth sin is of the devil.” “He that is born of God doth not commit sin.” It is not difficult to con- ceive the effect of such statements upon a sensitive conscience. Let us bring ourselves to these tests. Shall we not need to as- sure our hearts? In the consciousness of infirmity, with the remembrance of error, under the pressure and thrust of daily temptation, is it strange if the heart accuses? Is it strange if the question is raised, “ Am I indeed a child of God? Do not these errors and lapses prove me to be a child of the devil?”
Now I think we should all be led to anticipate, in view of this fact, and as the natural sequence of the former part of the chapter, a thought, not of severe criticism and judgment, based upon God’s infinite knowledge, but of fatherly compassion and assurance dealing with our self-accusations, and quieting our misgivings.
The Christian consciousness exercises a judicial office in us, accusing or approving, Our heart passes judgment. But what we especially need to remember, and what, as it seems to me, is the very core of the teaching of this passage, is that the de- crees of the heart are not final, but must be carried up to a higher tribunal for ratification. Even our renewed heart is ignorant and blind. God is greater than our heart and knoweth all things. Whatever power of discernment conscience has, it re- ceives from God. Hence, in the interpretation of the passage more stress should be laid than is commonly done upon the words “before Him.” “If we receive the witness of men, the witness of God is greater” (1 John v.14. Compare Heb. iv. 16). It is, as already hinted, essential to the idea of Christian life that it is lived in the very sight of God. The true child of God sets the Lord always before his face. The prime regulator of his life is the sense of God’s presence. God’s manifestation in Christ’s perfect obedience is his pattern: God’s law imparts to his conscience its tone of rebuke or of commendation. This