T HE K I N G ’ S B U S I N E S S
172 failure in the Christian life. N o 'g reater in su lt can be offered a man th a n to doubt his word. Unbelief makes God a liar. It robs th e soul of all blessing and prevents God from doing what He w ants to do. Jesus could do no m ighty woi*ks in a certain place because of th e ir unbelief. Nothing ever pleased th e Master so much as faith. No one can ever .come to Him in faith w ithout getting w hat he came for. W ithout faith it is impossible to please Him. TUESDAY, F eb ru ary 25. Num. 13:26- 33. The. R epo rt of th e Spies. Two reports, were brought back from th e land of Canaan by the twelve spies, alike in respect to conditions th ere bu t differing g reatly in conclusion. They all agreed in respect to the country. It was all th a t it had been said to be. They brought back samples of its fru it fulness. It flowed w ith m ilk and honey. The m ajority, however, said th a t th e land was full of walled cities and giants and could never be conquered. Caleb and Joshua saw the same things th a t the others saw, but they said “Let üs go up a t once and possess it, for we are well able to overcome it.” The* ten left God out of th e ir reckoning. The two believed God and were not afraid. To be fearful, is. to be faithless. To be faith fu l is to be fearless. F aith and fear can never co-exist. Where one begins, the o th er ends. “W hat tim e I am afraid, I will tru s t in thee.” WEDNESDAY, F eb ru ary 26. Num. 14: 1 - 10 . Why Isra el Failed. There is a gap of forty years between the tw enty-ninth and th irtie th verses of Heb. 11. “By faith they passed through the Réd Sea as by dry land * * * “By faith the walls of Jericho fell down.” Between these two events it m ight be said “ By unbelief they wan dered in the w ilderness for forty years.” They failed because they could not take God a t His Word. They m ight have gone from Kadesh, Barnea by a few days’ journey bu t they drew back. God was obliged to give them a forty y ears’ schooling in the w ilderness. The next time He brought them to the borders of Canaan and told them to go in, He did not have to tell them twice. They had learned th eir lésson. Sooner or later God has His way. Much of our adver sity is due to our perversity. “ If ye be w illing and obedient ye shall eat thé, good of the land.”
THURSDAY, F eb ru ary 27. Heb. 4:1-7. Shu t Out by Unbelief. Canaan can hard ly be the type of heaven. There are no battles, walled cities or giants in heaven. There’ the wicked cease from troubling, and the weary are a t rest. Canaan more prop erly suggests th e re st of faith into which the believer en ters when he has. ceased from his own works. There is the re st of grace which is given to thq sinner as he bows p enitent a n d , believ ing a t th e foot of the cross. Matt. 11:28. There is th e rest of faith which is found by the believer under the assumed yoke of Christ. Matt. 11:29. There is th e re st of ^lory which is hopefully awaited in the life to come. Rev. 14:13. The Christian life begins in faith and is maintained by faith. “We which have believed, do en ter into re st.” Heb. 4:3. FRIDAY, F eb ru ary 28. P sa. 46. Our R efuge and Strength. L u ther called th e forty-sixth Psalm the w ar song of the Christian church. The P salter is the Hebrew hymn book. The highest though t of a people is found in th e ir poetry. The Roman specialized in law and th e Greek in cul tu re bu t the Hebrew had a genius, for religion. The Psalm s are th e u tte r ances of religious feeling in song. They are equally adapted to Jewish and Christian experience since He fashion- eth th e ir h earts alike. The h ea rt is the organ of sp iritual knowledge. The Psalm s are encouraging in tria l and consolatory in sorrow and some may be found adapted to every experience of life. There are cradle songs th a t happy mothers have crooned above th eir first-born. There are p en iten tial cries of agony from convicted sinners. There are glad eu rek as of thanksgiving upon the discovery of God. There are battle poems which marching hosts have chanted on th e ir way to victory. SITTING ON THE PROMISES One d ear Christian in ferred th a t she had found a b etter way th an “standing on the prom ises,” when she said th a t she was now sitting on th e promises. Such re st is expressed in Song of Solo mon 2 :3 : “ I sa t down under His shadow w ith g reat delight, and His fru it was sweet to my ta ste .”
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