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his household against the men of his time, men of the greatest physical
and mental strength and the most debased in morals; the children of
Israel at the Red Sea, a helpless, terrified multitude of slaves, against
the mightiest army of the mightiest nation on the globe; David, a
shepherd lad, having God’s promise of the throne, against Saul, the
established monarch, bent on holding fast his power; Shadrach and
his companions in the fire, and Nebuchadnezzar on the throne; Daniel
among the lions, his enemies in the high places of the kingdom; Jesus
on the cross, and the Jewish priests and rulers forcing even the Roman
governor to work their will; Paul in chains led to a criminal’s death,
Nero the despot of a world empire.
Such examples are not found in the Bible only. They abound in
every record of human progress. The Vaudois and the Huguenots,
Wycliffe and Huss, Jerome and Luther, Tyndale and Knox, Zinzendorf
and Wesley, with multitudes of others, have witnessed to the power of
God’s word against human power and policy in support of evil. These
are the world’s true nobility. This is its royal line. In this line the youth
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of today are called to take their places.
Faith is needed in the smaller no less than in the greater affairs of
life. In all our daily interests and occupations the sustaining strength
of God becomes real to us through an abiding trust.
Viewed from its human side, life is to all an untried path. It is
a path in which, as regards our deeper experiences, we each walk
alone. Into our inner life no other human being can fully enter. As the
little child sets forth on that journey in which, sooner or later, he must
choose his own course, himself deciding life’s issues for eternity, how
earnest should be the effort to direct his trust to the sure Guide and
Helper!
As a shield from temptation and an inspiration to purity and truth,
no other influence can equal the sense of God’s presence. “All things
are naked and opened unto the eyes of Him with whom we have to do.”
He is “of purer eyes than to behold evil, and canst not look on iniquity.”
Hebrews 4:13
;
Habakkuk 1:13
. This thought was Joseph’s shield
amidst the corruptions of Egypt. To the allurements of temptation his
answer was steadfast: “How ... can I do this great wickedness, and
sin against God?”
Genesis 39:9
. Such a shield, faith, if cherished, will
bring to every soul.