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The Fundamentals which men have sought to get rid of, and that by every con ceivable means. We have further called attention to the still stranger fact that, in this attempt to destroy the Bible, the powers of state, of religion, and of learning, have all been enlisted, and that, nevertheless, the number of copies of the Bible goes on steadily increasing. How can these facts be explained except by the statement that “the Word of God is LIVING,” and that the source of its life is beyond the reach of man—in the very Being of the Living God? VII. THE BIBLE IS A DISCERNER OF HEARTS The power of discernment belongs only to an intelligent living being; and the power of discernment possessed by man does not go beneath the surface of things. Yet the passage in Hebrews, already quoted (4:12), asserts that the Word of God is a “discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.” This is a very remarkable statement, yet it is true, and mil lions of men hate felt and recognized the searching and dis cerning power of the Word of God. We go to it not so much to learn the thoughts of other men, as to learn our own thoughts. We go to other books to find what was in the hearts and minds of their authors ; but we go to this Book to find what is in our own hearts and minds. To one who reads it with ever so little spiritual intelligence, there comes a percep tion of the fact that this Book understands and knows all about him. I t lays bare the deepest secrets of his heart, and brings to the surface of his consciousness, out of the unfathomable depths and unexplorable recesses of his own being, “thoughts and intents” whose existence was unsuspected. It reveals man to himself in a way difficult to describe, and absolutely peculiar to itself. It is a faithful mirror which reflects us ex actly as we are. I t detects oür motives, discerns our needs; and having truthfully discovered to us our true selves, it coun sels, reproves, exhorts, guides, refreshes, strengthens, and il luminates.
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