Knowledge of God
45
at night, and when they rise in the morning; when the rich man feasts
in his palace, or when the poor man gathers his children about the
scanty board, each is tenderly watched by the heavenly Father. No
tears are shed that God does not notice. There is no smile that he does
not mark.
If we would but fully believe this, all undue anxieties would be
dismissed. Our lives would not be filled with disappointment as now;
for everything, whether great or small, would be left in the hands of
God, who is not perplexed by the multiplicity of cares, or overwhelmed
by their weight. We would then enjoy a rest of soul to which many
have long been strangers.
As your senses delight in the attractive loveliness of the earth, think
of the world that is to come, that shall never know the blight of sin
and death; where the face of nature will no more wear the shadow of
the curse. Let your imagination picture the home of the saved, and
remember that it will be more glorious than your brightest imagination
can portray. In the varied gifts of God in nature we see but the faintest
gleaming of his glory. It is written, “Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard,
neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath
prepared for them that love him.” [
1 Corinthians 2:9
.]
The poet and the naturalist have many things to say about nature,
but it is the Christian who enjoys the beauty of the earth with the
highest appreciation, because he recognizes his Father’s handiwork,
and perceives his love in flower and shrub and tree. No one can fully
appreciate the significance of hill and vale, river and sea, who does not
look upon them as an expression of God’s love to man.
[56]
God speaks to us through his providential workings, and through
the influence of his Spirit upon the heart. In our circumstances and
surroundings, in the changes daily taking place around us, we may
find precious lessons if our hearts are but open to discern them. The
psalmist, tracing the work of God’s providence, says, “The earth is full
of the goodness of the Lord.” “Whoso is wise, and will observe these
things, even they shall understand the lovingkindness of the Lord.”
[
Psalm 33:5
;
107:43
.]
God speaks to us in his word. Here we have in clearer lines
the revelation of his character, of his dealings with men, and the
great work of redemption. Here is open before us the history of the
patriarchs and prophets and other holy men of old. They were men