Faith

Faith: The
power of God!
Believing the power of God
no matter what!
henry epps
Faith: The power of God
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Preface
Faith? This word or idea of faith is one of the most

controversial, discussed theological, religious, spiritual and
question of many faiths, beliefs systems, religions, spiritual
movements in the history of humans! You can go to 100
christian believers from all walks of the christian faith and find
100 different ideas of what faith is? You can go to a church,
find ten people, and ask them what is faith and how do you
get faith and you will find ten different answers. Why? Most
people will repeat what the preacher says about faith and
salvation but they really do not understand how this work
does. How does a person have faith to receive the free
unmerited favor of God to be saved? One christian religion
that I grew up in said that you must obey the writings of the
old testament and go to church on the Sabbath day and
obtain from certain food then you can earn your eternal
salvation. Another christian denomination teaches if you do
not speak in tongues you are not saved, and it goes on and
on, and on. Some preachers teach faith without works is
dead! Some Caucasian Churches do not allow people of color
into their membership, and some African-American churches
do not want Caucasians into their membership, and
practically all or at least a very high percentage do not want
gays, lesbians, or homo-sexual into their congregations. Many
christian preachers preach hatred, malice, and judgement
over the same sinners that Jesus came to save, so what is
really going on? Why is Sunday morning the most segregated
time of the weak? How can people profess to love Jesus but
hate Jews and people of color? So in these so-call last days
why is the church of Jesus Christ so splintered, so divided and
so weak in respect to faith in God? Why are men and women
puffed up in their vanity to profits of prosperity deceiving the
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people and leading them into a ministry of materialism,

power, money and sex? Why have the masses turned their
backs on God and following these apostate teachings?
Creating gods out of men. How can believers bow down and
worship images made of stone, mortar, and metal, which
were formed by the hands of men and give worship and
reverence to these idols. Anything you worship outside of God
is an idol! So here we are today were preachers are reverence
like rock stars on secular TV shows spewing out new age
teachings and fleecing the people of God! These people have
already been prophesized in the bible and their destruction
will surely come. So what do you believe? How are you saved?
Is your salvation based on your weak works or based on price
that Jesus paid for all! Well this book will talk about real faith
and how to have faith when nothing else works, and to
increase faith, and then confident faith in God and God alone.
3
“Do you not recall that I often told you this, when I was with
you?
6 And now you know what is holding him back, to the end
that he may be revealed in his appointed time.
7 For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only there

is one who is hindering and will continue to hinder till he be
removed;
8 and then the lawless one will be revealed. Him the Lord will
consume with the breath of his lips, and destroy with the
brightness of his appearing;
9 even he whose coming is according to the energy of Satan,

in every power and sign and lying wonder,
10 and with all deceit of unrighteousness for those who are

perishing, because they did not receive the love of the truth
for their salvation.
11 For this reason God is sending on them an energy of

delusion, that they should put faith in a falsehood;
So that they all should be condemned, who are faithless to

the truth, but take pleasure in evil.
So Stand Fast, Brothers

13 But for you, brothers, whom the Lord loves, I ought to give
thanks to God continually, because God has chosen you from
the beginning for salvation in consecration of the Spirit and
belief of the truth.
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14 For this he called you through my gospel, so that you might

obtain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.
15 So, brothers, stand fast, and hold fast the teachings, which
I have taught you, whether by word of mouth or by, letter.
16 And may our Lord Jesus Christ himself, and God our Father,
who has loved us and given us eternal encouragement and a
good hope in grace,
17 comfort your hearts, and establish you in every good work

and word.
2 Thess 2:5-17
5
Self-analyzes of your faith?
1 Is Jesus your Lord and Savior.
2 Are you a Christian.
3 Are you saved by works or faith in Jesus Christ?
4 What denomination do you follow?
5 What do they teach concerning the grace of God?
6 Do your church teach tithing? Why?
7 Did you believe in the trinity? Why?
8 Do you believe in the rapture? Why?
9 If you believe in the rapture who will be in the rapture?
10 Do you believe your church or denomination is the only

true faith?
11 Is the church you attend a multi-racial church? If not why?
12 Do you harbor hatred for people different from you?
13 Do you hate the Jewish people?
14 Do you believe you can earn what God is trying to give you
free?
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15 Why saved by grace?
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Table of Contents
1 The Disciple of Jesus will be rooted as an Oak tree Planted

by the riverside
2 Spiritual Fathers of the Faith
3 What is the substance of Faith?
4 Grace by Faith and not by works!!
5 It is impossible to please God without Faith!
6 The unmerited favor of God? Grace (Charis)!
7 In the last days there will be Faithless men who are lovers
of themselves!
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8 The just shall live by faith
9 By faith we are called the Saints of God to follow holiness
10 Pray in Faith to God
11 Why saved by Grace?
12 How can faith increase?
13 Ye must born again
14 God is faithful to his Saints.
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Chapter One
The Disciple of Jesus will be rooted as an Oak

tree Planted by the riverside
Psalm Chapter One
Blessed is the man—This Psalm has no title, and has been

generally considered, but without especial reason, as a
preface or introduction to the whole book.
The word ‫אשרי‬‎‫ ‏‬ashrey, which we translate blessed, is

properly in the plural form, blessednesses, or may be
considered as an exclamation produced by contemplating the
state of the man who has taken God for his portion; O the
blessedness of the man! And the word ‫האיש‬‎‫ ‏‬haish, is
emphatic: THAT man; that one among a thousand who lives
for the accomplishment of the end for which God created
him.
1. God made man for happiness.
2. Every man feels a desire to be happy.
3. All human beings abhor misery.
4. Happiness is the grand object of pursuit among all men.
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5. But so perverted is the human heart, that it seeks

happiness where it cannot be found; and in things which are
naturally and morally unfit to communicate it.
6. The true way of obtaining it is here laid down.
That walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly
There are here three characters, each exceeding the other in

sinfulness.
1. The UNGODLY, ‫רשעים‬‎‫ ‏‬reshaim from ‫רשע‬‎‫ ‏‬rasha, to be

unjust; rendering to none his due; withholding from God,
society, and himself, what belongs to each. Ungodly—he who
has not God in him; who is without God in the world.
2. SINNERS, ‫חטאים‬‎‫ ‏‬chattaim, from ‫חטא‬‎‫ ‏‬chata, "to miss the

mark," "to pass over the prohibited limits," "to transgress."
This man not only does no good, but he does evil. The former
was without God, but not desperately wicked. The latter
adds outward transgression to the sinfulness of his heart.
3. SCORNFUL, ‫לצים‬‎‫ ‏‬letsim, from ‫לצה‬‎‫ ‏‬latsah, "to mock,

deride." He who has no religion; lives in the open breach of
God's laws, and turns revelation, the immortality of the soul,
and the existence of an invisible world into ridicule. He is at
least a deist, and endeavours to dissolve, as Much as he can,
the bonds of moral obligation in civil society. As the sinner
exceeds the ungodly, so the scornful exceeds both.
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The second climax is found in the words,
1. Walk
2. Stand
3. Sit
Which mark three different degrees of evil in the conduct of

those persons?
Observe,
1. The ungodly operate—one uninfluenced by God.
2. The sinner—he who adds to ungodliness transgression
3. The scornful—the deist, atheist, etc., who make a mock of

everything sacred.
The UNGODLY man walks, the SINNER stands, and the

SCORNFUL man sit down in the way of iniquity.
Mark certain circumstances of their differing characters and

conduct.
1. The ungodly man has his counsel;
2. The sinner has his way; and,
3. The scorner has his seat.
The ungodly man is unconcerned about religion; he is neither

zealous for his own salvation, nor for that of others: and he
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counsels and advises those with whom he converses to adopt

his plan, and not trouble themselves about praying, reading,
repenting, etc., etc. there is no need for such things; live an
honest life, make no fuss about religion, and you will fare
well enough at last. Now, "blessed is the man who walks not
in this man's counsel;" who does not come into his measures,
nor act according to his plan.
The sinner has his particular way of transgressing; one is a

drunkard, another dishonest, another unclean. Few are given
to every species of vice. There are many covetous men who
abhor drunkenness; many drunkards who abhor
covetousness; and so of others. Each has his easily besetting
sin; therefore, says the prophet; let the wicked forsake HIS
WAY. Now, blessed is he who stands not in such a man's
WAY.
The scorner has brought, in reference to himself, all religion

and moral feeling to an end. He has sat down—is utterly
confirmed in impiety, and makes a mock at sin. His
conscience is seared; and he is a believer in all unbelief. Now,
blessed is the man who sits not down in his SEAT.
See the correspondent relations in this account.
1. He who walks according to the counsel of the ungodly will

soon,
2. Stand to look on the wag of sinners; and thus, being off his
guard, he will soon be a partaker in their evil deeds.
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3. He who has abandoned himself to transgression will, in all

probability, soon become hardened by the deceitfulness of
sin; and sit down with the scorner, and endeavor to turn
religion into ridicule.
The last correspondence we find is—
1. The seat answers to the sitting
2. The way answers to the standing of the sinner; and
3. The counsel answers to the walking of the ungodly.
The great lesson to be learned from the whole is, sin is

progressive; one evil propensity or act leads to another. He
who acts by bad counsel may soon do evil deeds; and he who
abandons himself to evil doings may end his life in total
apostasy from God. "When lust has conceived, it brings forth
sin; and when sin is finished, it brings forth death." Solomon
the son of David, adds a profitable advice to those words of
his father: "Enter not into the path of the wicked, and go not
in the way of evil men; avoid it, pass not by it, turn from it,
and pass away;" Proverbs 4:14, 15.
As the blessedness of the man is great who avoids the ways

and the workers of iniquity, so his wretchedness is great who
acts on the contrary: to him we must reverse the words of
David: "Cursed is the man who walketh in the counsel of the
ungodly; who standeth in the way of sinners; and who sitteth
in the seat of the scornful." Let him that readeth understand.
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Psalm 1:2
However, his delight is in the law of the Lord—‫חפצו‬‎‫‏‬

chephtso, his will, desire, affection, every motive in his heart,
and every moving principle in his soul, are on the side of God
and his truth. He takes up the law of the Lord as the rule of
his life; he brings all his actions
And affections to this holy standard. He looketh into the

perfect law of liberty; and is not a forgetful hearer, but a
doer of the word; and is therefore blessed in his deed. He not
only reads to gain knowledge from the Divine oracles, but he
meditates on what he has read, feeds on it; and thus
receiving the sincere milk of the word, he grows thereby unto
eternal life. This is not an occasional study to him; it is his
work day and night. As his heart is in it, the employment
must be frequent, and the disposition to it perpetual.
Like a tree planted—Not like one growing wild, however

strong or luxuriant it may appear; but one that has been
carefully cultivated, and for the proper growth of which all
the advantages of soil and situation have been chosen. If a
child were brought up in the discipline and admonition of the
Lord, we have both reason and revelation to encourage us to
expect a godly and useful life. Where religious education is
neglected, alas! What fruits of righteousness can be
expected? An uncultivated soul is like an uncultivated field,
all overgrown with briers, thorns, and thistles.
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By the rivers of water—‫פלגי ‏מים‬‎‫ ‏‬palgey mayim, the streams

or divisions of the waters. Alluding to the custom of irrigation
in the eastern countries, where streams are conducted from
a canal or river to different parts of the ground, and turned
off or on at pleasure; the person having no more to do than
by his foot to turn a sod from the side of one stream, to
cause it to share its waters with the other parts to which he
wishes to direct his course. This is called "watering the land
with the foot," Deuteronomy 11:10 (note), where see the
note.
His fruit in his season—in such a case expectation is never

disappointed. Fruit is expected, fruit is borne; and it comes in
the time in which it should come. A godly education, under
the influences of the Divine Spirit, which can never be
withheld where they are earnestly sought, is sure to produce
the fruits of righteousness; and he who reads, prays, and
meditates, will ever see the work which God has given him to
do; the power by which he is to perform it; and the times,
places and opportunities for doing those things by which God
can obtain most glory, his own soul most good, and his
neighbor most edification.
His leaf also shall not wither—His profession of true religion

shall always be regular and unsullied; and his faith be ever
shown by his works. As the leaves and the fruit are the
evidences of the vegetative perfection of the tree; so a
zealous religious profession, accompanied with good works,
are the evidences of the soundness of faith in the Christian
man. Rabbi Solomon Jarchi gives a curious turn to this
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expression: he considers the leaves as expressing those

matters of the law that seem to be of no real use, to be quite
unimportant, and that apparently neither add nor diminish.
But even these things are parts of the Divine revelation, and
all have their use, so even the apparently indifferent actions
or sayings of a truly holy man have their use; and from the
manner and spirit in which they are done or said, have the
tendency to bear the observer to something great and good.
Whatsoever he doeth shall prosper—it is always healthy; it

is extending its roots, increasing its woody fibres, circulating
its nutritive juices, putting forth fruit buds, blossoms, leaves,
or fruit; and all these operations go on in a healthy tree, in
their proper seasons. So the godly man; he is ever taking
deeper root growing stronger in the grace he has already
received, increasing in heavenly desires, and under the
continual influence of the Divine Spirit, forming those
purposes from which much fruit to the glory and praise of
God shall be produced.
Psalm 1:4
The ungodly are not so—The Vulgate and Septuagint, and

the versions made from them, such as the Ethiopic and
Arabic, double the last negation, and add a clause to the end
of the verse, "Not so the ungodly, not so; they shall be like
the dust which the wind scatters away from the face of the
earth." There is nothing solid in the men; there is nothing
good in their ways. They are not of God's planting; they are
not good grain; they are only chaff, and chaff that shall be
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separated from the good grain when the fan or shovel of

God's power throws them up to the wind of his judgments.
The manner of winnowing in the eastern countries is nearly
the same with that practiced in various parts of these
kingdoms before the invention of winnowing machines. They
either throw it up in a place out of doors by a large wooden
shovel against the wind; or with their weights or winnowing
fans shake it down leisurely in the wind. The grain falls down
nearly perpendicularly; and the chaff, through its lightness, is
blown away to a distance from the grain.
An ungodly man is never steady; his purposes are abortive;

his conversation light, trifling, and foolish; his professions,
friendships, etc., frothy, hollow, and insincere; and both he
and his works are carried away to destruction by the wind of
God's judgments.
Psalm 1:5
Therefore, the ungodly shall not stand—this refers to the

winnowing mentioned in the preceding verse. Some of the
versions have, the ungodly shall not arise in the judgment—
they shall have no resurrection, except to shame and
everlasting contempt. But probably the meaning is, when
they come to be judged, they shall be condemned. They shall
have nothing to plead in their behalf. That the impious were
never to have any resurrection, but be annihilated, was the
opinion of several among the Jews, and of some among
Christians. The former believe that only the true Israelites
shall be raised again; and that the souls of all others, the
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Christians not accepted, die with their bodies. Such

unfounded opinions are unworthy of refutation.
Psalm 1:6
The Lord knoweth—‫יודע‬‎‫ ‏‬yodea approveth the way, "aloweth

the way", Coverdale, of the righteous, ‫צדיקים‬‎‫ ‏‬tsaddikim,
from ‫צדק‬‎‫ ‏‬tsadak, to give even weight; the men who give to
all their due; opposed to ‫רשעים‬‎‫ ‏‬reshaim, verse 1, they who
withhold right from all; see above. Such holy men are under
the continual eye of God's providence; he knows the way
that they take; approves of their motives, purposes, and
works, because they are all wrought through himself. He
provides for them in all exigencies, and defends them both in
body and soul.
The way of the ungodly shall perish—their projects, designs

and operations, shall perish; God's curse shall be on all that
they have, do, and are. And in the Day of Judgment, they
shall be condemned to everlasting fire in the perdition of
ungodly men. The wicked shall perish at the presence of the
Lord.
Reader takes warning!
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Chapter Two
Spiritual Fathers of the Faith
Abraham
“Now the just shall live by faith—Ὁ δε δικαιος εκ πιστεως

ζησεται· But the just by faith, i.e. he who is justified by faith,
shall live—shall be preserved when this overflowing scourge
shall come. See this meaning of the phrase vindicated,
Romans 1:17. In addition, it is evident, from this both text,
and Galatians 3:11, that it is in this sense that the apostle
uses it.
However, if any man draw back—Και εαν ὑποστειληται· But

if he draw back; he, the man who is justified by faith; for it is
of him, and none other, that the text speaks. The insertion of
the words any man, if done to serve the purpose of a
particular creed, is a wicked perversion of the words of God.
They were evidently intended to turn away the relative from
the antecedent, in order to save the doctrine of final and
unconditional perseverance; which doctrine this text
destroys.
My soul shall have no pleasure in him—my very heart shall

be opposed to him who makes shipwreck of faith and a good
conscience. The word ὑποστελλειν signifies, not only to draw
back, but also to slink away and hide through fear. In this
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sense, it is used by the very best Greek writers, as well as by

Josephus and Philo. As dastards and cowards are hated by all
men, so those that slink away from Christ and his cause, for
fear of persecution or secular loss, God must despise; in
them he cannot delight; and his Spirit, grieved with their
conduct, must desert their hearts, and lead them to darkness
and hardness.”
Get thee out of thy country—there is great dissension

between commentators concerning the call of Abram; some
supposing he had two distinct calls, others that he had but
one. At the conclusion of the preceding chapter, Genesis
11:31, we find Terah and all his family leaving Ur of the
Chaldees, in order to go to Canaan. This was, no doubt, in
consequence of some Divine admonition. While resting at
Haran, on their road to Canaan, Terah died, and Genesis
11:32; and then God repeats his call to Abram, and orders
him to proceed to Canaan, Genesis 12:1.
his Chronology, contends for two calls: "The first," says he,
"is omitted in the Old Testament, but is particularly recorded
in the New, Acts 7:2-4: The God of glory appeared to our
father Abraham while he was (at Ur of the Chaldees) in
Mesopotamia, BEFORE HE DWELT IN CANAAN; and said unto
him, Depart from thy land, and from thy kindred, and come
into the land (γην, a land) which I will show thee. Hence it is
evident that God had called Abram before he came to Haran
or Charran." The SECOND CALL is recorded only in this
chapter: "The Lord said (not HAD said) unto Abram, Depart
from thy land, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's
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house, unto THE LAND, ‫הארץ‬‎‫‏‬HAarets, (Septuagint, ΤΗΝ γην),

which I will show thee." "The difference of the two calls,"
says Dr. Hales, "more carefully translated from the originals,
is obvious: in the former the land is indefinite, which was
designed only for a temporary residence; in the latter it is
definite, intimating his abode. A third condition is also
annexed to the latter, that Abram shall now separate himself
from his father's house, or leave his brother Nahor's family
behind at Charran. This call Abram obeyed, still not knowing
whither he was going, but trusting implicitly to the Divine
guidance."
Thy kindred—Nahor and the different branches of the family

of Terah, Abram and Lot accepted. That Nahor went with
Terah and Abram as far as Padan-Aram, in Mesopotamia, and
settled there, so that it was afterwards called Nahor's city, is
sufficiently evident from the ensuing history, see Genesis
25:20; Genesis 24:10, 15; and that the same land was Haran,
see Genesis 28:2, 10, and there were Abram's kindred and
country here spoken of, Genesis 24:4.
Thy father's house—Terah being now dead, it is very

probable that the family were determined to go no farther,
but to settle at Charran; and as Abram might have felt
inclined to stop with them in this place, hence the ground
and necessity of the second call recorded here, and which is
introduced in a very remarkable manner; ‫לך ‏לך‬‎‫ ‏‬lech lecha,
GO FOR THYSELF. If none of the family will accompany thee,
yet go for thyself unto THAT LAND which I will show thee.
God does not tell him what land it is, that he may still cause
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him to walk by faith and not by sight. This seems to be

particularly alluded to by Isaiah, Isaiah 41:2: Who raised up
the righteous man (Abram) from the east, and called him to
his foot; that is, to follow implicitly the Divine direction. The
apostle assures us that in all this Abram had spiritual views;
he looked for a better country, and considered the land of
promise only as typical of the heavenly inheritance.
Genesis 12:2
I will make of thee a great nation—i.e., The Jewish people;

and make thy name great, alluding to the change of his name
from Abram, a high father, to Abraham, the father of a
multitude.
Genesis 12:3
In thee—In thy posterity, in the Messiah, who shall spring

from thee, shall all families of the earth be blessed; for as he
shall take on him human nature from the posterity of
Abraham, he shall taste death for every man, his Gospel shall
be preached throughout the world, and innumerable
blessings be derived on all mankind through his death and
intercession.
Genesis 12:4
And Abram was seventy and five years old—As Abram was
now seventy-five years old, and his father Terah had just
died, at the age of two hundred and five, consequently Terah
must have been one hundred and thirty when Abram was
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born; and the seventieth year of his age mentioned Genesis

11:26, was the period at which Haran, not Abram, was born.
See on Genesis 11 (note).
Genesis 12:5
The souls that they had gotten in Haran—This may apply

either to the persons who were employed in the service of
Abram, or to the persons he had been the instrument of
converting to the knowledge of the true God; and in this
latter sense the Chaldee paraphrasts understood the
passage, translating it, The souls of those whom they
proselyted in Haran.
They went forth to go into the land of Canaan—a good land,

possessed by a bad people, who for their iniquities were to
be expelled, sees Leviticus 18:25. In addition, this land was
made a type of the kingdom of God. Probably the whole of
this transaction may have a farther meaning than that which
appears in the letter. As Abram left his own country, father's
house, and kindred, took at the command of God a journey
to this promised land, nor ceased till be arrived in it; so
should we cast aside every weight, come out from among the
workers of iniquity, set out for the kingdom of God, nor ever
rest till we reach the heavenly country. How many set out for
the kingdom of heaven, make good progress for a time in
their journey, but halt before the race is finished! Not so
Abram; he went forth to go into the land of Canaan, and into
the land of Canaan he came. Reader, go thou and do
likewise.
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Genesis 12:6
The plain of Moreh—‫אלון‬‎‫ ‏‬elon should be translated oak, not

plain; the Septuagint translate την δρυν την ὑψηλην, the
lofty oak; and it is likely the place was remarkable for a grove
of those trees, or for one of a stupendous height and bulk.
The Canaanite was then in the land—This is thought to be an

interpolation, because it is supposed that these words must
have been written after the Canaanites were expelled from
the land by the Israelites under Joshua; but this by no means
follows. All that Moses states is simply that, at the time in
which Abram passed through Sichem, the descendants of
Canaan, which was a perfectly possible case, and involves
neither a contradiction nor absurdity, inhabited the land.
There is no rule of criticism by which these words can be
produced as an evidence of interpolation or incorrectness in
the statement of the sacred historian. See this mentioned
again, Genesis 13:7 (note).
Genesis 12:7
The Lord appeared—in what way this appearance was made

we know not; it was probably by the great angel of the
covenant, Jesus the Christ. The appearance, whatsoever it
was, perfectly satisfied Abram, and proved itself to be
supernatural and divine. It is worthy of remark that Abram is
the first man to whom God is said to have shown himself or
appeared:
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1. in Ur of the Chaldees, Acts 7:2; and
2. at the oak of Moreh, as in this verse. As ‫מורה‬‎‫ ‏‬Moreh

signifies a teacher, probably this was called the oak of Moreh
or the teacher, because God manifested himself here, and
instructed Abram concerning the future possession of that
land by his posterity, and the dispensation of the mercy of
God to all the families of the earth through the promised
Messiah. See on Genesis 15:7 (note).
Genesis 12:8
Beth-el—the place, which was afterwards called Beth-el by

Jacob, for its first name, was Luz. See Genesis 28:19. ‫בית ‏אל‬‎‫‏‬
beith El literally signifies the house of God.
And pitched his tent—and—builded an altar unto the Lord—

Where Abram has a tent, there God must have an ALTAR, as
he well knows there is no safety but under the Divine
protection. How few who build houses ever think on the
propriety and necessity of building an altar to their Maker!
The house in which the worship of God is not established
cannot be considered as under the Divine protection.
In addition, called upon the name of the Lord—Dr.

Shuckford strongly contends that ‫קרא ‏בשם‬‎‫ ‏‬Kara beshem
does not signify to call ON the name, but to invoke IN the
name. So Abram invoked Jehovah in or by the name of
Jehovah, who had appeared to him. He was taught even in
these early times to approach God through a Mediator; and
that Mediator, since manifested in the flesh, was known by
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the name Jehovah. Does not our Lord allude to such a

discovery as this when he says, Abraham rejoiced to see my
day; and he saw it, and was glad? John 8:56. Hence, it is
evident that he was informed that the Christ should be born
of his seed, that the nations of the world should be blessed
through him; and is it then to be wondered at if he invoked
God in the name of this great Mediator?
Genesis 12:10
There was a famine in the land—Of Canaan. This is the first

famine on record, and it prevailed in the most fertile land
then under the sun; and why? God made it desolate for the
wickedness of those who dwelt in it.
Went down into Egypt—He felt himself a stranger and a

pilgrim, and by his unsettled state was kept in mind of the
city that hath foundations that are permanent and stable,
whose builder is the living God. See Hebrews 11:8, 9.
Genesis 12:11
Faith is the substance of things hoped for—Εστι δε πιστις

ελπιζομενων ὑποστασις· Faith is the SUBSISTENCE of things
hoped for; πραγματων ελεγχος ου βλεπομενων· The
DEMONSTRATION of things not seen. The word ὑποστασις,
which we translate substance, signifies subsistence, that
which becomes a foundation for another thing to stand on. In
addition, ελεγχος signifies such a conviction as is produced in
the mind by the demonstration of a problem, after which
demonstration no doubt can remain, because we see from it
29
that the thing is; that it cannot but be; and that it cannot be
otherwise than as it is, and is proved to be. Such is the faith
by which the soul is justified; or rather, such are the effects
of justifying faith: on it subsists the peace of God which
passeth all understanding; and the love of God is shed
abroad in the heart where it lives, by the Holy Ghost. At the
same time the Spirit of God witnesses with their spirits who
have this faith that their sins are blotted out; and this is as
fully manifest to their judgment and conscience as the
axioms, "A whole is greater than any of its parts;" "Equal lines
and angles, being placed on one another, do not exceed each
other;" or as the deduction from prop. 47, book i., Euclid:
"The Square of the base of a right-angled triangle is equal to
the difference of the squares of the other two sides." Ελεγχος
is defined by logicians, Demonstration quae fit argumentis
certis et rationibus indubitatis, qua rei certitudo efficitur. "A
demonstration of the certainly of a thing by sure arguments
and indubitable reasons." Aristotle uses it for a mathematical
demonstration, and properly defines it thus: Ελεγχος δε εστις
ὁ μη δυνατος αλλως εχειν, αλλ ᾿ οὑτως ὡς ἡμεις λεγομεν,
"Elenchos, or Demonstration, is that which cannot be
otherwise, but is so as we assert." Rhetor. Ad Alexand. cap.
14, περι ελεγχου. On this account, I have adduced the above
theorem from Euclid.
Things hoped for—Are the peace and approbation of God,

and those blessings by which the soul is prepared for the
kingdom of heaven. A penitent hopes for the pardon of his
sins and the favor of his God; faith in Christ puts him in
30
possession of this pardon, and thus the thing that was hoped
for is enjoyed by faith. When this is received, a man has the
fullest conviction of the truth and reality of all these blessings
though unseen by the eye, they are felt by the heart; and the
man has no more doubt of God's approbation and his own
free pardon, than he has of his being.
In an extended sense, the things hoped for are the

resurrection of the body, the new heavens and the new
earth, the introduction of believers into the heavenly
country, and the possession of eternal glory.
The things unseen, as distinguished from the things hoped

for, are, in an extended sense, the creation of the world from
nothing, the destruction of the world by the deluge, the
miraculous conception of Christ, his resurrection from the
dead, his ascension to glory, his mediation at the right hand
of God, his government of the universe, etc., etc., all which
we as firmly believe on the testimony of God's word as if we
had seen them. See Macknight. But this faith has particular
respect to the being, goodness, providence, grace, and mercy
of God, as the subsequent verses sufficiently show.
Hebrews 11:2
For by it the elders obtained a good report—by the elders are

meant ancestors, ancestors, such as the patriarchs and
prophets, several of whom he afterwards particularly names,
and produces some fact from the history of their lives.
31
It is very remarkable that among the whole there is root one

word concerning poor Adam and his wife, though both
Abraham and Sarah are mentioned. There was no good
report concerning them; not a word of their repentance,
faith, or holiness. Alas! Alas! Did ever such bright suns set in
so thick a cloud? Had there been any thing praiseworthy in
their life after their fall, any act of faith by which they could
have been distinguished, it had surely come out here; the
mention of their second son Abel would have suggested it.
But God has covered the whole of their spiritual and eternal
state with a thick and impenetrable veil. Conjectures relative
to their state would be very precarious; little else than hope
can be exercised in their favor: but as to them the promise of
Jesus was given, so we may believe they found redemption in
that blood which was shed from the foundation of the world.
Adam's rebellion against his Maker was too great and too
glaring to permit his name to be ever after mentioned with
honor or respect.
The word εμαρτυρηθησαν, which we translate obtained a

good report, literally signifies, were witnessed of; and thus
leads us naturally to GOD, who by his word, as the
succeeding parts of the chapter show, bore testimony to the
faith and holiness of his servants. The apostle does not
mention one of whom an account is not given in the Old
Testament. This, therefore, is God's witness or testimony
concerning them.
Hebrews 11:3
32
Through faith we understand—By worlds, τους αιωνας, we

are to understand the material fabric of the universe; for
αιων can have no reference here to age or any measurement
of time, for he speaks of the things which are SEEN; not being
made out of the things which do APPEAR; this therefore must
refer to the material creation: and as the word is used in the
plural number, it may comprehend, not only the earth and
visible heavens, but the whole planetary system; the
different worlds which, in our system at least, revolve round
the sun. The apostle states that these things were not made
out of a pre-existent matter; for if they were, that matter,
however extended or modified, must appear in that thing
into which it is compounded and modified, consequently it
could not be said that the things which are seen are not
made of the things that appear; and he shows us also, by
these words, that the present mundane fabric was not
formed or reformed from one anterior, as some suppose.
According to Moses and the apostle, we believe that God
made all things out of nothing. See the note on Genesis 1:1,
etc.
At present we see trees of different kinds are produced from

trees; beasts, birds, and fishes, from others of the same kind;
and man, from man: but we are necessarily led to believe
that there was a first man, who owed not his being to man;
first there were beasts, etc., which did not derive their being
from others of the same kind; and so of all manner of trees,
plants, etc. God, therefore, made all these out of nothing; his
word tells us so, and we credit that word.
33
Hebrews 11:4
By faith Abel offered—a more excellent sacrifice—Πλειονα

θυσιαν· More sacrifice; as if he had said: Abel, by faith, made
more than one offering; and hence it is said, God testified of
his GIFTS, τοις δωροις. The plain state of the case seems to
have been this: Cain and Abel both brought offerings to the
altar of God, probably the altar erected for the family
worship. As Cain was a husbandman, he brought a mincha, or
eucharistic offering, of the fruits of the ground, by which he
acknowledged the being and providence of God. Abel, being
a shepherd or a feeder of cattle, brought, not only the
eucharistic offering, but also of the produce of his flock as a
sin-offering to God, by which he acknowledged his own
sinfulness, God's justice and mercy, as well as his being and
providence. Cain, not at all apprehensive of the demerit of
sin, or God's holiness, contented himself with the mincha, or
thank-offering: this God could not, consistently with his
holiness and justice, receive with complacency; the other, as
referring to him who was the Lamb slain from the foundation
of the world, God could receive, and did particularly testify
his approbation. Though the mincha, or eucharistic offering,
was a very proper offering in its place, yet this was not
received, because there was no sin-offering. The rest of the
history is well known.
Now by this faith, thus exercised, in reference to an

atonement, he, Abel, though dead, yet speaketh; i.e.
preacheth to mankind the necessity of an atonement, and
that God will accept no sacrifice unless connected with this.
34
See this transaction explained at large in my notes on

Genesis 4:3, etc.
Hebrews 11:5
By faith Enoch was translated—It is said, in Genesis 5:24, that

Enoch walked with God, and he was not, for God took him.
Here the apostle explains what God's taking him means, by
saying that he was translated that he should not see death;
from which we learn that he did not die, and that God took
him to a state of blessedness without obliging him to pass
through death. See his history explained at large in the above
place, in Genesis 5:22-24.
Hebrews 11:6
He that cometh to God—The man who professes that it is his

duty to worship God, must, if he act rationally, do it on the
conviction that there is such a Being infinite, eternal,
unoriginated, and self-existent; the cause of all other being;
on whom all being depends; and by whose energy, bounty,
and providence, all other beings exist, live, and are supplied
with the means of continued existence and life. He must
believe, also, that he rewards them that diligently seek him;
that he is not indifferent about his own worship; that he
requires adoration and religious service from men; and that
he blesses, and especially protects and saves, those who in
simplicity and uprightness of heart seek and serve him. This
requires faith, such a faith as is mentioned above; a faith by
which we can please God; and now that we have an
35
abundant revelation, a faith according to that revelation; a

faith in God through Christ the great sin-offering, without
which a man can no more please him, or be accepted of him,
than Cain was. As the knowledge of the being of God is of
infinite importance in religion, I shall introduce at the end of
this chapter a series of propositions, tending to prove the
being of God,
1st, a priori; and
2dly, a posteriori; omitting the proofs that are generally

produced on those points, for which my readers may refer to
works in general circulation on this subject: and
3dly, I shall lay down some phenomena relative to the

heavenly bodies, which it will be difficult to account for
without acknowledging the infinite skill, power, and
continual energy of God.
Hebrews 11:7
By faith Noah—See the whole of this history, Genesis 6:13.
Warned of God—Χρηματισθεις. As we know from the history

in Genesis that God did warn Noah, we see from this the real
import of the verb χρηματιζω, as used in various parts of the
New Testament; it signifies to utter oracles, to give Divine
warning.
Moved with fear—Ευλαβηθεις· influenced by religious fear

or reverence towards God. This is mentioned to show that he
36
acted not from a fear of losing his life, but from the fear of
God; and hence that fear is here properly attributed to faith.
He condemned the world—HE credited God, they did not; he

walked in the way God had commanded, they did not; he
repeatedly admonished them, 1 Peter 3:20, they regarded it
not; this aggravated their crimes while it exalted his faith and
righteousness. "His faith and obedience condemned the
world, i.e. the unbelievers, in the same sense in which every
good man's virtues and exhortations condemn such as will
not attend to and imitate them." Dodd.
Became heir of the righteousness—He became entitled to

that justification which is by faith; and his temporal
deliverance was a pledge of the salvation of his soul.
Hebrews 11:8
Abraham, when he was called—See on Genesis 12:1-4.
Not knowing whither he went—Therefore his obedience was

the fullest proof of his faith in God, and his faith was an
implicit faith; he obeyed, and went out from his own country,
having no prospect of any good or success but what his
implicit faith led him to expect from God, as the rewarder of
them that diligently seek him. In all the preceding cases, and
in all that follow, the apostle keeps this maxim fully in view.
37
Hebrews 11:9
By faith he sojourned in the land of promise—It is

remarkable that Abraham did not acquire any right in
Canaan, except that of a burying place; nor did he build any
house in it; his faith showed him that it was only a type and
pledge of a better country, and he kept that better country
continually in view: he, with Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs
of the same promise, were contented to dwell in tents,
without any fixed habitation.
Hebrews 11:10
For he looked for a city which hath foundations—He knew

that earth could afford no permanent residence for an
immortal mind, and he looked for that heavenly building of
which God is the architect and owner; in a word, he lost sight
of earth, that he might keep heaven in view. And all who are
partakers of his faith possess the same spirit, walk by the
same rule, and mind the same thing.
Whose builder and maker is God—the word τεχνιτης

signifies an architect, one who plans, calculates, and
constructs a building. The word δημιουργος signifies the
governor of a people; one who forms them by institutions
and laws; the framer of a political constitution. God is here
represented the Maker or Father of all the heavenly
inhabitants, and the planner of their citizenship in that
heavenly country. See Macknight.
38
Hebrews 11:11
Through faith also Sara—her history, as far as the event here

is concerned, may be seen Genesis 17:19, and Genesis 21:2.
Sarah at first treated the Divine message with ridicule,
judging it to be absolutely impossible, not knowing then that
it was from God; and this her age and circumstances justified,
for, humanly speaking, such an event was impossible: but,
when she knew that it was God who said this, it does not
appear that she doubted any more, but implicitly believed
that what God had promised he was able to perform.
Hebrews 11:12
Him as good as dead—According to nature, long past the

time of the procreation of children. The birth of Isaac, the
circumstances of the father and mother considered, was
supernatural; and the people who proceeded from this birth
were a supernatural people; and were and are most strikingly
singular through every period of their history to the present
day.
Hebrews 11:13
These all died in faith—That is, Abraham, Sarah, Isaac, and

Jacob, continued to believe, to the end of their lives, that
God would fulfill this promise; but they neither saw the
numerous seed, nor did they get the promised rest in
Canaan.
39
Strangers and pilgrims—Strangers, ξενοι, persons who are

out of their own country, who are in a foreign land: pilgrims,
παρεπιδημοι, sojourners only for a time; not intending to
take up their abode in that place, or to be naturalized in that
country.
How many use these expressions, professing to be strangers

and pilgrims here below and yet the whole of their conduct,
spirit, and attachments, show that they are perfectly at
home! How little consideration and weight are in many of
our professions, whether they relate to earth or heaven!
Hebrews 11:14
Declare plainly that they seek a country—a man's country is

that in which he has constitutional rights and privileges; no
stranger or sojourner has any such rights in the country
where he sojourns. These, by declaring that they felt
themselves strangers and sojourners, professed their faith in
a heavenly country and state, and looked beyond the grave
for a place of happiness. No intelligent Jew could suppose
that Canaan was all the rest, which God had promised to his
people.
Hebrews 11:15
If they had been mindful of that country—They considered

their right to the promises of God as dependent on their
utter renunciation of Chaldea; and it was this that induced
Abraham to cause his steward Eliezer to swear that he would
not carry his son Isaac to Chaldea; see Genesis 24:5-8. There
40
idolatry reigned; and God had called them to be the

patriarchs and progenitors of a people among whom the
knowledge of the true God, and the worship required by him,
should be established and preserved.
Hebrews 11:16
But now they desire a better—They all expected spiritual

blessings, and a heavenly inheritance; they sought God as
their portion, and in such a way and on such principles that
he is not ashamed to be called their God; and he shows his
affection for them by preparing for them a city, to wit,
heaven, as themselves would seek no city on earth; which is
certainly what the apostle has here in view. In addition, from
this it is evident that the patriarchs had a proper notion of
the immortality of the soul, and expected a place of
residence widely different from Canaan. Though to Abraham,
Isaac, and Jacob, the promises were made in which Canaan
was so particularly included, yet God did not give them any
inheritance in that country, no, not so much as to set a foot
on; Acts 7:5. Therefore, if they had not understood the
promises to belong to spiritual things, far from enduring, as
seeing him who is invisible, they must have considered
themselves deceived and mocked. The apostle therefore,
with the highest propriety, attributes their whole conduct
and expectation to faith.
Hebrews 11:17
41
42
Chapter Three
What is the substance of Faith?
“Now faith is assurance of things hoped for, a conviction of

things not seen. 2 For therein the elders had witness borne
to them. 3 By faith we understand that the worlds have been
framed by the word of God, so that what is seen hath not
been made out of things, which appear.
4 By faith Abel offered unto God an excellent sacrifice than

Cain, through which he had witness borne to him that he was
righteous, God bearing witness in respect of his gifts: and
through it, he being dead yet speaketh. 5 By faith Enoch was
translated that he should not see death; and he was not
found, because God translated him: for he hath had witness
borne to him that before his translation he had been well-
pleasing unto God: 6 And without faith it is impossible to be
well-pleasing unto him; for he that cometh to God must
believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that seek
after him. 7 By faith Noah, being warned of God concerning
things not seen yet, moved with godly fear, prepared an ark
to the saving of his house; through which he condemned the
world, and became heir of the righteousness, which is
according to faith. 8 By faith, Abraham, when he was called,
obeyed to go out unto a place, which he was to receive for an
43
inheritance; and he went out, not knowing whither he went.

9 By faith he became a sojourner in the land of promise, as in
a land not his own, dwelling in tents, with Isaac and Jacob,
the heirs with him of the same promise: 10 for he looked for
the city which hath the foundations, whose builder and
maker is God. 11 By faith even Sarah herself received power
to conceive seed when she was past age, since she counted
him faithful who had promised: 12 wherefore also there
sprang of one, and him as good as dead, so many as the stars
of heaven in multitude, and as the sand, which is by the sea-
shore, innumerable. 13 These all died in faith, not having
received the promises, but having seen them and greeted
them from afar, and having confessed that they were
strangers and pilgrims on the earth. 14 For they that say such
things make it manifest that they are seeking after a country
of their own. 15 And if indeed they had been mindful of that
country from which they went out, they would have had
opportunity to return. 16 But now they desire a better
country, that is, a heavenly: wherefore God is not ashamed
of them, to be called their God; for he hath prepared for
them a city. 17 By faith Abraham, being tried, offered up
Isaac: yea, he that had gladly received the promises was
offering up his only begotten son; 18 even he to whom it was
said, In Isaac shall thy seed be called: 19 accounting that God
is able to raise up, even from the dead; from whence he did
also in a figure receive him back. 20 By faith Isaac blessed
Jacob and Esau, even concerning things to come. 21 By faith
Jacob, when he was dying, blessed each of the sons of
Joseph; and worshipped, leaning upon the top of his staff. 22
44
By faith Joseph, when his end was nigh, made mention of the
departure of the children of Israel; and gave commandment
concerning his bones. 23 By faith Moses, when he was born,
was hid three months by his parents, because they saw he
was a goodly child; and they were not afraid of the king's
commandment. 24 By faith Moses, when he was grown up,
refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter; 25
choosing rather to share ill treatment with the people of
God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season; 26
accounting the reproach of Christ greater riches than the
treasures of Egypt: for he looked unto the recompense of
reward. 27 By faith he forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of
the king: for he endured, as seeing him who is invisible. 28 By
faith he kept the passover, and the sprinkling of the blood,
that the destroyer of the firstborn should not touch them. 29
By faith they passed through the Red sea as by dry land:
which the Egyptians assaying to do were swallowed up. 30 By
faith the walls of Jericho fell down, after they had been
compassed about for seven days. 31 By faith Rahab the
harlot perished not with them that were disobedient, having
received the spies with peace.
32 And what shall I more say? for the time will fail me if I tell
of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah; of David and Samuel
and the prophets: 33 who through faith subdued kingdoms,
wrought righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the
mouths of lions, 34 quenched the power of fire, escaped the
edge of the sword, from weakness were made strong, waxed
mighty in war, turned to flight armies of aliens. 35 Women
45
received their dead by a resurrection: and others were

tortured, not accepting their deliverance; that they might
obtain a better resurrection: 36 and others had trial of
mocking and scourging’s, yea, moreover of bonds and
imprisonment: 37 they were stoned, they were sawn
asunder, they were tempted, they were slain with the sword:
they went about in sheepskins, in goatskins; being destitute,
afflicted, ill-treated 38 (of whom the world was not worthy),
wandering in deserts and mountains and caves, and the holes
of the earth. 39 And these all, having had witness borne to
them through their faith, received not the promise, 40 God
having provided some better thing concerning us, that apart
from us they should not be made perfect.
Heb 11:1-40 (ASV)
46
47
Chapter Four
Grace by Faith and not by works!!
Being therefore justified by faith, we have peace with God

through our Lord Jesus Christ; 2 through whom also we have
had our access by faith into this grace wherein we stand; and
we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. 3 And not only so, but
we also rejoice in our tribulations: knowing that tribulation
worketh steadfastness; 4 and steadfastness, approvedness;
and approvedness, hope: 5 and hope putteth not to shame;
because the love of God hath been shed abroad in our hearts
through the Holy Spirit, which was given unto us.
6 For while we were yet weak, in due season Christ died for
the ungodly. 7 For scarcely for a righteous man will one die:
for peradventure for the good man someone would even
dare to die? 8 But God commendeth his own love toward us,
in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. 9 Much
more then, being now justified by his blood, shall we be
saved from the wrath of God through him. 10 For if, while we
were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death
of his Son, much more, being reconciled, shall we be saved
by his life; 11 and not only so, but we also rejoice in God
through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now
received the reconciliation. 12 Therefore, as through one
man sin entered into the world, and death through sin; and
so death passed unto all men, for that all sinned:-- 13 for
48
until the law sin was in the world; but sin is not imputed
when there is no law. 14 Nevertheless deaths reigned from
Adam until Moses, even over them that had not sinned after
the likeness of Adam's transgression, who is a figure of him
that was to come. 15 But not as the trespass, so also is the
gift. For if by the trespass of the one the many died, much
more did the grace of God, and the gift by the grace of the
one man, Jesus Christ, abound unto the many. 16 And not as
through one that sinned, so is the gift: for the judgment
came of one unto condemnation, but the free gift came of
many trespasses unto justification. 17 For if, by the trespass
of the one, death reigned through the one; much more shall
they that receive the abundance of grace and of the gift of
righteousness reign in life through the one, even Jesus Christ.
18 So then as through one trespass the judgment came unto
all men to condemnation; even so through one act of
righteousness the free gift came unto all men to justification
of life. 19 For as through the one man's disobedience the
many were made sinners, even so through the obedience of
the one shall the many be made righteous. 20 And the law
came in besides, that the trespass might abound; but where
sin abounded, grace did abound more exceedingly: 21 that,
as sin reigned in death, even so might grace reign through
righteousness unto eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Romans 5:1-21 (ASV)
49
50
Chapter Five
It is impossible to please God without Faith
For in Jesus Christ—By the dispensation of the Gospel all

legal observances, as essential to salvation, are done away;
and uncircumcision, or the Gentile state, contributes as much
to salvation as circumcision or the Jewish state; they are both
equally ineffectual; and nothing now avails in the sight of
God but that faith δι ᾿ αγαπης ενεργουμενη, which is made
active, or energetic, by love. God acknowledges no faith, as
of the operation of his Spirit, that is not active or obedient;
but the principle of all obedience to God, and beneficence to
man, is love; therefore faith cannot work unless it be
associated with love. Love to God produces obedience to his
will: love to man worketh no ill; but, on the contrary, every
act of kindness. Faith, which does not work by love, is either
circumcision or uncircumcision, or whatever its possessor
may please to call it; it is, however, nothing that will stand
him in stead when God comes to take away his soul. It
availeth nothing. This humble, holy, operative, obedient
LOVE is the grand touchstone of all human creeds and
confessions of faith. Faith without this has neither soul nor
operation; in the language of the Apostle James, it is dead,
and can perform no function of the spiritual life, no more
than a dead man can perform the duties of animal or civil
life.
51
Therefore—because ye have been so indolent, slow of heart,

and have still so many advantages.
Leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ—ceasing to

continue in the state of babes, who must be fed with milk—
with the lowest doctrines of the Gospel, when ye should be
capable of understanding the highest.
Let us go on unto perfection—Let us never rest until we are

adult Christians—until we are saved from all sin, and are
filled with the spirit and power of Christ.
The words τον της αρχης· του Χριστου λογον might be

translated, The discourse of the beginning of Christ, as in the
margin; that is, the account of his incarnation, and the
different types and ceremonies in the law by which his
advent, nature, office, and miracles were pointed out. The
whole law of Moses pointed out Christ, as may be seen at
large in my comment on the Pentateuch; and therefore the
words of the apostle may be understood thus: Leave the law,
and come to the Gospel. Cease from Moses, and come to the
Messiah.
Let us go on unto perfection.—the original is very emphatic:

Επι την τελειοτητα φερωμεθα· let us be carried on to this
perfection. God is ever ready by the power of his Spirit, to
carry us forward to every degree of light, life, and love,
necessary to prepare us for an eternal weight of glory. There
can be little difficulty in attaining the end of our faith, the
salvation of our souls from all sin, if God carry us forward to
52
it; and this he will do if we submit to be saved in his own

way, and on his own terms. Many make a violent outcry
against the doctrine of perfection, i.e. against the heart being
cleansed from all sin in this life, and filled with love to God
and man, because they judge it to be impossible! Is it too
much to say of these that they know neither the Scripture
nor the power of God? Surely, the Scripture promises the
thing; and the power of God can carry us on to the
possession of it.
Laying again the foundation of repentance—The phrase

νεκρα εργα, dead works, occurs but once more in the sacred
writings, and that is in 9:14 of this epistle; and in both places
it seems to signify such works as deserve death—works of
those who were dead in trespasses, and dead in sins; and
dead by sentence of the law, because they had by these
works broken the law. Repentance may be properly called
the foundation of the work of God in the soul of man,
because by it we forsake sin, and turn to God to find mercy.
Faith toward God—Is also a foundation, or fundamental

principle, without which it is impossible to please God, and
without which we cannot be saved. By repentance, we feel
the need of God's mercy, by faith we find that mercy.
However, it is very likely that the apostle refers here to the

Levitical law, which, in its painful observances, and awful
denunciations of Divine wrath against every breach of that
law, was well calculated to produce repentance, and make it
a grievous and bitter thing to sin against God. In addition, as
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to faith in God, that was essentially necessary, in order to see

the end of the commandment; for without faith in him who
was to come, all that repentance was unavailable, and all
ritual observances without profit.
The Schoolmen insist that without faith, it is impossible to

please God, and preachers, like Honorius of Autun, declared
that as a fish cannot live without water, so no one can be
saved without faith.
Yet Thomas Aquinas scarcely gets beyond the definition that

faith is an assent of the intellect, assensus intellectus.
However, love and faith, he says, are so closely conjoined
that love may be called a form of faith; a mode of its
expression, and without love, faith is dead. A sufficient faith
in Christ demands four things, said the Lombard: assent to
his nativity, his death, his resurrection, and his coming again
for judgment. Thomas requires an explicit acceptance of the
doctrine of the Trinity was revealed in the beginning when
God said, "Let us make man in our own Trinity even by the
Old Testament saints, for the image." There can be no belief
in the incarnation without belief in the Trinity. Faith ceases
when the mind disbelieves a single article of the faith. He
who disbelieves a single one of the articles of the Apostles’
Creed has no faith at all. After quoting Rom 4:5, this great
theologian stops with saying that, in justification, an act of
faith is required to the extent that a man believe that God is
the justifier of men through the atonement of Christ.
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The Schoolmen did not understand Paul. The Reformers were

obliged to re-proclaim the doctrine of justifying faith as
taught in the epistles to the Romans and the Galatians. On
the other hand, it is the merit of the Schoolmen that they
emphasize the principle that true faith worketh by love and
that all other faith is vain, inanis. The failure of Protestant
theologians always to set this forth distinctly has exposed the
Protestant doctrine to the charge that faith is sufficient, even
if it be unaccompanied by good works, or works of love
towards God and man.
The fault of the Schoolmen lay chiefly in their unscriptural

and dangerous theory of sacramental grace which led to the
substitution of a series of outward exercises, recommended
by the priest, for simple trust in Christ’s free grace.—
Today many new age doctrines and traditions have court the
word of god for worldly possessions. This dilution of the
teachings of Christian faith have shipped wrecked the beliefs
of many, many believers and has weakened the doctrine of
grace in Jesus alone.
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Chapter Six
The unmerited favor of God? Grace (Charis)!
"Grace" is an English word used in the New Testament to

translate the Greek word, Chairs, which means "favor,"
without recompense or equivalent. If there is any
compensatory act or payment, however slight or inadequate,
it is "no more grace"—Chairs.
When used to denote a certain attitude or act of God toward

man it is therefore of the very essence of the matter that
human merit or deserving is utterly excluded. In grace, God
acts out from Himself, toward those who have deserved, not
His favor, but His wrath. In the structure of the Epistle to the
Romans grace does not enter, could not enter, until a whole
race, without one single exception, stands guilty and
speechless before God.
Condemned by creation, the silent testimony of the universe

(Romans 1:18,20); by wilful ignorance, the loss of a
knowledge of God once universal (Romans 1:21); by
senseless idolatry (Romans 1:22,23); by a manner of life
worse than bestial (Romans 1:24,27); by godless pride and
cruelty (Romans 1:28, 32); by philosophical moralizing’s
which had no fruit in life (Romans 2:1,4); by consciences
which can only "accuse" or seek to "excuse" but never justify
(Romans 2:5,16); and finally by the very law in which those
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who have the law boast (Romans 2:17; 3:20), "every mouth"
is "stopped, and all the world becomes guilty before God."
In an absolute sense, the end of all flesh is come. Everything

has been tried. Innocence, as of two unfallen creatures in an
Eden of beauty; conscience, that is, the knowledge of good
and evil with responsibility to do good and eschew evil;
promises, with the help of God available through prayer; law,
tried on a great scale, and through centuries of forbearance,
supplemented by the mighty ethical ministry of the prophets,
without ever once presenting a human being righteous
before God (Romans 3:19;Galatians 3:10; Hebrews 7:19;
Romans 3:10,18; 8:3,4); this is the Biblical picture. In
addition, it is against this dark background that grace shines
out.
Definition
The New Testament definitions of grace are both inclusive

and exclusive. They tell us what grace is, but they are careful
also to tell us what grace is not. The two great central
definitions follow:
"That in the ages to come He might show the exceeding

riches of His grace in His kindness toward us through Christ
Jesus" (Ephesians 2:7).
This is the inclusive, or affirmative, side; the negative aspect,

what grace is not, follows:
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"For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of

yourselves: it is the gift of God: not of works, lest any man
should boast" (Ephesians 2:8, 9).
The Jew, who is under the law when grace comes, is under its
curse (Galatians 3:10); and the Gentiles are "without Christ,
being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers
from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without
God in the world" (Ephesians 2:12).
In addition, to this race God comes to show "the exceeding

riches of His GRACE in His kindness toward US," "through
CHRIST JESUS."
The other great definition of grace is: "But after that the
kindness and love of God our Saviour toward man
appeared"—the positive aspect; "Not by works of
righteousness which we have done, but according to His
mercy He saved us"—the negative aspect.
Grace, then, characterizes the present age, as law

characterized the age from Sinai to Calvary. "For the law was
given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ." In
addition, this contrast between law as a method and grace as
a method runs through the whole Biblical revelation
concerning grace.
It is not; of course, meant that there was no law before

Moses, any more than that there was no grace and truth
before Jesus Christ. The forbidding to Adam of the fruit of the
tree of the knowledge of good and evil (Genesis 2:17) was
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law, and surely grace was most sweetly manifested in the

seeking, by the Lord God, of His sinning creatures, and in His
clothing them with coats of skins (Genesis 3:21)—a beautiful
type of Christ "made unto us ... righteousness" (1 Corinthians
1:30). Law, in the sense of some revelation of God's will, and
grace, in the sense of some revelation of God's goodness,
have always existed, and to this Scripture abundantly
testifies. But "the law" as an inflexible rule of life was given
by Moses, and, from Sinai to Calvary, dominates,
characterizes, the time; just as grace dominates, or gives its
peculiar character to, the dispensation which begins at
Calvary, and has its predicted termination in the rapture of
the Church.
Law and Grace Diverse
It is, however, of the most vital moment to observe that

Scripture never, in any dispensation, mingles these two
principles. Law always has a place and work distinct and
wholly diverse from that of grace. Law is God prohibiting, and
requiring (Exodus 20:1, 17); grace is God beseeching, and
bestowing (2 Corinthians 5:18, 21). Law is a ministry of
condemnation (Romans 3:19); grace, of forgiveness
(Ephesians 1:7). Law curses (Galatians 3:10); grace redeems
from that curse (Galatians 3:1). Law kills (Romans 7:9, 11);
grace makes alive (John 10:10). Law shuts every mouth
before God; grace opens every mouth to praise Him. Law
puts a great and guilty distance between man and God
(Exodus 20:18, 19); grace makes guilty man nigh to God
(Ephesians 2:13). Law says, "An eye for an eye, and a tooth
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for a tooth" (Exodus 21:24); grace says, "Resist not evil; but
whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him
the other also" (Matthew 5:39). Law says, "Hate thine
enemy;" grace, "Love your enemies, bless them that
despitefully use you." Law says, do and live (Luke 10:26, 28);
grace, believe and live (John 5:24). Law never had a
missionary; grace is to be preached to every creature. Law
utterly condemns the best man (Philippians 3:4,9); grace
freely justifies the worst (Luke 23:24; Romans 5:5; 1 Timothy
1:15; 1 Corinthians 6:9,11). Law is a system of probation;
grace, of favor. Law stones an adulteress (Deuteronomy
22:21); grace says, "Neither do I condemn thee" (John
8:1,11). Under law the sheep dies for the shepherd; under
grace the shepherd dies for the sheep (John 10:11).
The relation to each other of these diverse principles, law

and grace, troubled the apostolic church. The first
controversy concerned the ceremonial law. It was the
contention of the legalists that converts from among the
Gentiles could not be saved unless circumcised "after the
manner of Moses" (Acts 15:1). This demand was enlarged
when the "apostles and elders" had come together at
Jerusalem to settle that controversy (Acts 15:5,6). The
demand then made put in issue not circumcision merely, or
the ceremonial law, but the whole Mosaic system. "That it
was needful to circumcise them, and to command them to
keep the law of Moses" (Acts 15:6).
The decision of the council, as "it seemed good to the Holy

Ghost," negatived both demands, and the new law of love
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was invoked that Gentile converts should abstain from things

especially offensive to Jewish believers (Acts 15:28,29).
But the confusion of these two diverse principles did not end
with the decision of the council. The controversy continued,
and six years later the Holy Spirit, by the Apostle Paul,
launched against the legalistic teachers from Jerusalem the
crushing thunderbolt of the Epistle to the churches in Galatia.
In this great letter every phase of the question of the

respective spheres of law and of grace comes up for
discussion and final, authoritative decision. The Apostle had
called the Galatians into the grace of Christ (Galatians 1:6).
Now grace means unmerited, unrecompensed favor. It is
essential to get this clear. Add never so slight an admixture of
law-works, as circumcision, or law effort, as of obedience to
commandments, and "grace is no more grace" (Romans
11:6). So absolutely is this true, that grace cannot even begin
with us until the law has reduced us to speechless guilt
(Romans 3:19). So long as there is the slightest question of
utter guilt, utter helplessness, there is no place for grace. If I
am not, indeed, quite so good as I ought to be, but yet quite
too good for hell, I am not an object for the grace of God, but
for the illuminating and convicting and deathdealing work of
His law.
The law is "just" (Romans 7:12), and therefore heartily

approves goodness, and unsparingly condemns badness; but,
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save Jesus of Nazareth, the law never saw a man righteous

through obedience. Grace, on the contrary, is not looking for
good men whom it may approve, for it is not grace, but mere
justice, to approve goodness, but it is looking for
condemned, guilty, speechless and helpless men whom it
may save through faith, sanctify and glorify.
Into grace, then, Paul had called the Galatians. What

(Galatians 1:6) was his controversy with them? Just this: they
were "removed" from the grace of Christ into "another
gospel," though he is swift to add, "which is not another"
(Galatians 1:7).
There could not be another "gospel." Change, modify, the

grace of Christ by the smallest degree, and you no longer
have a gospel. A gospel is "glad tidings"; and the law is not
glad tidings. "What things soever the law saith, it saith to
them who are under the law; that every mouth may be
stopped, and all the world become guilty before God"
(Romans 3:19), and surely that is no good news. The law,
then, has but one language; it pronounces "the entire
world"—"good", bad, and "goody-good"—"guilty".
However, you say: What is a simple child of God, who knows

no theology, to do? Just this: to remember that any so-called
gospel which is not pure= unadulterated grace is "another"
gospel. If it proposes, under whatever specious guise, to win
favor of God by works, or goodness, or "character," or
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anything else which man can do, it is spurious. That is the

unfailing test. However, it is more than spurious, it is
accursed—or rather, and the preachers of it are (Galatians
1:8, 9). It is not man who says that, but the Spirit of God who
says it by His apostle. This is unspeakably solemn. Not the
denial of the Gospel even, is so very serious as to pervert the
Gospel. Oh, that God may give His people in this day power
to discriminate, to distinguish things, which differ. Alas, it is
discernment, which seems so painfully wanting.
If a preacher is cultured, gentle, earnest, intellectual, and

broadly tolerant, the sheep of God run after him. He, of
course, speaks beautifully about Christ, and uses the old
words redemption, the cross, even sacrifice and
atonement—but what is his Gospel? That is the crucial
question. Is salvation, perfect, entire, eternal,—justification,
sanctification, glory,—the alone work of Christ, and the gift
of God to faith alone? Alternatively, does he say: (Dr. Abbott)
"Character is salvation," even though he may add that Christ
"helps" to form the character?
The Three Errors
In the Epistle to the Galatians, the Holy Spirit through Paul

meets and answers the three great errors into which in
different degrees, theological systems have fallen.
The course of this demonstration is like the resistless march

of an armed host. Nothing can stand before it. The
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reasonings of ancient and modern legalists are scattered like

the chaff of the summer threshing floor.
We have, most of us, been reared and now live under the
influence of Galatians. Protestant theology, alas, is for the
most part, thoroughly Gelatinized, in that neither law nor
grace are given their distinct and separated places, as in the
counsels of God, but are mingled together in one incoherent
system. The law is no longer, as in the Divine intent, a
ministration of death (2 Corinthians 3:7), of cursing
(Galatians 3:10), of conviction (Romans 3:19), because we are
taught that we must try to keep it, and that by Divine help
we may. Nor, on the other hand, does grace bring us blessed
deliverance from the dominion of sin, for we are kept under
the law as a rule of life despite the plain declaration, "Sin
shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the
law, but under grace" (Romans 6:14).
The First Error
The Spirit first meets the contention that justification is partly

by law works and partly by faith through grace (Galatians 2:5
to 3:24).
The steps are:
1. Even the Jews, who are not like the Gentiles, hopeless,
"and without God in the world" (Ephesians 2:12), but already
in covenant relations with God, even they, "knowing that a
man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith
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of Jesus Christ" (Galatians 2:15, 16), have believed; "for by

the works of the law shall no flesh be justified."
2. The law has executed its sentence upon the believer

(Galatians 2:19); death has freed him. Identified with Christ's
death by faith, he, in the reckoning of God, died with Christ
(Romans 6:3-10; 7:4).
3. But righteousness is by faith, not by law (Galatians 2:21).
4. The Holy Spirit is given to faith, not law-works (Galatians

3:1-9).
5. "As many as are of the works of the law are under the
curse"—and the reason is given: "Cursed is every one that
continueth not in all things which are written in the book of
the law to do them" (Galatians 3:10). The law, then, cannot
"help", but can only do its great and necessary work of
condemnation (Romans 3:19, 20; 2 Corinthians 3:7, 9;
Galatians 3:19; James 2:10).
Elsewhere (Romans 5:1-5) the Spirit, by the same Apostle,

sums up the results of justification by faith with every
semblance of human merit carefully excluded. Grace,
through faith in Jesus Christ, has brought the believer into
peace with God, a standing in grace, and assured hope of
glory. Tribulation can but serve to develop in him new graces.
The very love that saved him through grace now fills his
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heart; the Holy Spirit is given him, and he joys in God. In

addition, all by grace, through faith!
The Second Error
The Spirit next meets and refutes the second great error
concerning the relations of law and grace—the notion that
the believer, though assuredly justified by faith through grace
wholly without law-works, is, after justification, put under
law as a rule of life.
This is the current form of the Galatian error. From Luther

down, Protestantism has consistently held to justification by
faith through grace. Most inconsistently Protestant theology
has held to the second form of Galatians.
An entire section of the Epistle to the Romans, and two

chapters of Galatians are devoted to the refutation of this
error, and to the setting forth of the true rule of the
believer's life. Romans 6, 7, 8, and Galatians 4 and 5, set forth
the new Gospel of the believer's standing in grace.
Romans 6:14 states the new principle: "For sin shall not have
dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under
grace." The Apostle is not here speaking of the justification of
a sinner, but of the deliverance of a saint from the dominion
of indwelling sin. In Galatians, after showing that the law had
been to the Jew like the pedagogue in a Greek or Roman
household, a ruler of children in their nonage (Galatians
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3:23,24) the Apostle says explicitly (ver. 25), "But after that
faith has come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster"
(pedagogue).
No evasion is possible here. The pedagogue is the law (3:24);

faith justifies; but the faith which justifies also ends the rule
of the pedagogue. Modern theology says that after
justification we are under the pedagogue. Here is a clear
issue, an absolute contradiction between the Word of God
and theology. Which do you side with?
Equally futile is the timorous gloss that this completely

profound discussion in Romans and Galatians relates to the
ceremonial law. No Gentile could observe the ceremonial
law. Even the Jews, since the destruction of the temple, A.D.
70, have not found it possible to keep the ceremonial law
except in a few particulars of diet. It is not the ceremonial
law, which says, "Thou shalt not covet" (comp. Romans 7:7-
9).
The believer is separated by death and resurrection from

Mosaism (Romans 6:3-15; 7:1-6; Galatians 4:19-31). The fact
remains immutable that to God he is, as to the law, an
executed criminal. Justice has been completely vindicated,
and it is no longer possible even to bring an accusation
against him (Romans 8:33, 34).
It is not possible to know Gospel liberty, or Gospel holiness,

until this great fundamental truth is clearly, bravely grasped.
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One may be a Christian and a worthy and useful man, and be

still under bondage to the law, but one can never have
deliverance from the dominion of sin, nor know the true
blessedness and rest of the Gospel and remain under the
law. Therefore, once more, note that it is death, which has
broken the connection between the believer and the law.
"The law hath dominion over a man as long as he liveth"
(Romans 7:1). "But now we are delivered from the law, that
being dead wherein we were held" (Romans 7:6). Nothing
can be clearer.
However, I hasten to add that there is a mere carnal and

fleshly way of looking at our deliverance from the law, which
is unscriptural, and I am persuaded, most dishonoring to
God. It consists in rejoicing in a supposed deliverance from
the principle of Divine authority over the life—a deliverance
into mere self-will and lawlessness.
The true ground of rejoicing is quite other than this. The

truth is, a Christian may get on after a sort under law as a
rule of life. Not apprehending that the law is anything more
than an ideal, he feels a kind of pious complacency in
"consenting unto the law that it is good," and more or less
languidly hoping that in the future he may succeed better in
keeping it than in the past. So treated, the law is wholly
robbed of its terror. As a sword carefully fastened in its
scabbard, the law no longer cuts into the conscience. It is
forgotten that the law offers absolutely but two alternatives
exact obedience, always, in all things, or a curse. There is no
third voice. "Cursed is every one that continueth not in all
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things which are written in the book of the law to do them"

(Galatians 3:10; James 2:10). The law has but one voice:
"What things soever the law saith, it saith to them who are
under the law; that every mouth may be stopped and all the
world may become guilty before God" (Romans 3:19). The
law, in other words, never says: "Try to do better next time."
Of this, the antinomian legalist seems entirely unaware.
The True Christian Life
Now we are ready to turn from the negative to the positive

side to the secret of a holy and victorious walk under grace.
We shall find the principle and the power of that walk

defined in Galatians 5:16-24. The principle of the walk is
briefly stated:
"Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfill the lusts of the
flesh" (Galatians 5:16).
The Spirit is shown in Galatians in a threefold way. First, He is

received by the hearing of faith (Galatians 3:2). When the
Galatians believed, they received the Spirit. To what end?
The legalists make little of the Spirit. Though they talk much
of "power" in connection with the Spirit, it is power for
service, which chiefly occupies them. Of His sovereign rights,
of His blessed enabling in the inner life, there is scant
apprehension. However, it is precisely there that the Biblical
emphasis falls. In Romans, for example, the Spirit is not even
mentioned until we have a justified sinner trying to keep the
law, utterly defeated in that attempt by the flesh, the "law in
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his members," and crying out, not for help, but for
deliverance (Romans 7:15-24). Then the Spirit is brought in
with, Oh, what marvelous results! "The law of the Spirit of
life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and
death" (Romans 8:2). Not the Apostle's effort under the law,
nor even the Spirit's help in that effort, but the might of the
indwelling Spirit alone, breaks the power of indwelling sin
(Galatians 5:16-18).
You ask, and necessarily at this point, what is it to walk in the

Spirit? The answer is in Galatians 5:18: "If ye be led of the
Spirit." However, how else may we be led of Him save by
yieldedness to His sway?
There is a wonderful sensitiveness in the blessed Spirit's love.

He will not act in and over our lives by way of almightiness,
forcing us into conformity. That is why "yield" is the great
word of Romans 6, where it is expressly said that we are not
under the law, but under grace.
The results of walking in the Spirit are twofold, negative and

positive. Walking in the Spirit we shall not fulfill the lusts of
the flesh (Galatians 5:16). The "flesh" here is the exact
equivalent of "sin" in Romans 6:14, "Sin shall not have
dominion over you."
In addition, the reason is immediately given (Galatians 5:17).

The Spirit and the flesh are contrary, and the Spirit is greater
and mightier than the flesh. Deliverance comes, not by self-
effort under the law that is Romans 7—but by the
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omnipotent Spirit, who Himself is contrary to the flesh

(Galatians 6:7), and who brings the yielded believer into the
experience of Romans 8.
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Chapter Seven
In the last days there will be Faithless men who

are lovers of themselves!
Finally, brethren—The words το λοιπον do not mean finally,

but, furthermore—to come to a conclusion—what remains is
this—I shall only add—any of these phrases expresses the
sense of the original.
Pray for us—God, in the order of his grace and providence,

has made even the success of his Gospel dependent, in a
certain measure, on the prayers of his followers. Why he
should do so we cannot tell, but that he has done so we
know; and they are not a little criminal who neglect to make
fervent supplications for the prosperity of the cause of God.
May have free course—They were to pray that the doctrine

of the Lord, ὁ λογος του Κυριου, might run, τρεχῃ, an allusion
to the races in the Olympic games: that, as it had already got
into the stadium or race course, and had started fairly, so it
might run on, get to the goal, and be glorified; i.e., gain the
crown, appointed for him that should get first to the end of
the course.
2 Thessalonians 3:2
Unreasonable and wicked men—The word ατοπων, which we

translate unreasonable, signifies rather disorderly,
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unmanageable; persons out of their place—under no

discipline, regardless of law and restraint, and ever acting
agreeably to the disorderly and unreasonable impulse of
their own minds.
For all men have not faith—The word πιστις is without doubt,
to be taken here for fidelity or trustworthiness, and not for
faith; and this is agreeable to the meaning given to it in the
very next verse: But the Lord is faithful, πιστος δε εστιν ὁ
Κυριος.
There are many, even of those who have received a measure

of the Divine light, in whom we cannot confide; they are
irregular, disorderly, and cannot be brought under regular
discipline: to these we cannot trust either ourselves or any
thing that concerns the cause of God. But the Lord is worthy
of your whole confidence; doubt him not; he will establish
you, and keep you from any evil to which you may be
exposed by these or such like persons.
2 Thessalonians 3:3
From evil—Απο του πονηρου may be translated, from the

devil or from the evil one. They had disorderly men, wicked
men, and the evil one or the devil, to contend with; God
alone could support and give them the victory; he had
promised to do it, and he might ever be confided in as being
invariably faithful.
2 Thessalonians 3:4
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And we have confidence—We have no doubt of God's

kindness towards you; he loves you, and will support you:
and we can confide in you, that ye are now acting as we have
desired you, and will continue so to do.
2 Thessalonians 3:5
The Lord direct your hearts into the love of God—The love of
God is the grand motive and principle of obedience; this
must occupy your hearts: the heart is irregular in all its
workings; God alone, by his Spirit, can direct it into his love,
and keep it right; κατευθυναι, give a proper direction to all
its passions, and keep them in order, regularity and purity.
The patience of Christ—Such patience, under all your

sufferings and persecutions, as Christ manifested under his.
He bore meekly the contradiction of sinners against himself;
and when he was reviled, he reviled not again.
2 Thessalonians 3:6
That ye withdraw yourselves—Have no fellowship with those

who will not submit to proper discipline; who do not keep
their place; ατακτως, such as are out of their rank, and act
according to their own wills and caprices; and particularly
such as are idle and busybodies. These he had ordered, 1
Thessalonians 4:11, 12, that they should study to be quiet,
mind their own business, and work with their hands; but it
appears that they had paid no attention to this order, and
now he desires the Church to exclude such from their
communion.
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And not after the tradition—This evidently refers to the

orders contained in the first epistle; and that first epistle was
the tradition which they had received from him. It was,
therefore, no unwritten word, no uncertain saying, handed
about from one to another; but a part of the revelation
which God had given, and which they found in the body of
his epistle. These are the only traditions which the Church of
God is called to regard.
2 Thessalonians 3:7
We behaved not ourselves disorderly—Ουκ ητακτησαμεν·

We did not go out of our rank—we kept our place, and
discharged all its duties.
2 Thessalonians 3:8
Neither did we eat any man's bread for naught—We paid for
what we bought, and worked with our hands that we might
have money to buy what was necessary.
Labour and travail night and day—We were incessantly

employed, either in preaching the Gospel, visiting from house
to house, or working at our calling. As it is very evident that
the Church at Thessalonica was very pious, and most
affectionately attached to the apostle, they must have been
very poor, seeing he was obliged to work hard to gain himself
the necessaries of life. Had they been able to support him he
would not have worked with labor and travail night and day,
that he might not be burdensome to them; and, as we may
presume that they were very poor, he could not have got his
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support among them without adding to their burdens. To this

his generous mind could not submit; it is no wonder,
therefore, that he is so severe against those who would not
labor, but were a burden to the poor followers of God.
2 Thessalonians 3:9
Not because we have not power—We have the power,

εξουσιαν, the right, to be maintained by those in whose
behalf we labor. The laborer is worthy of his hire, is a maxim
universally acknowledged and respected; and they who
preach the Gospel should live by the Gospel: the apostle did
not claim his privilege, but labored for his own support, that
he might be an example to those whom he found otherwise
disposed, and that he might spare the poor. See 1
Corinthians 9:1, etc.
2 Thessalonians 3:10
If any would not work, neither should he eat—This is a just

maxim, and universal nature inculcates it to man. If man will
work, he may eat; if he do not work, he neither can eat, nor
should he eat. The maxim is founded on these words of the
Lord: In the sweat of thy brow thou shall eat bread. Industry
is crowned with God's blessing; idleness is loaded with his
curse. This maxim was a proverb among the Jews. Men who
can work, and will rather support themselves by begging,
should not get one morsel of bread. It is a sin to minister to
necessities that are merely artificial.
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For we hear that there are some—It is very likely that St. Paul
kept up some sort of correspondence with the Thessalonian
Church; for he had heard everything that concerned their
state, and it was from this information that he wrote his
second epistle.
Disorderly—Ατακτως· Out of their rank—not keeping their

own place.
Working not at all—Either lounging at home, or becoming

religious gossips; μηδεν εργαζομενους, doing nothing.
Busybodies—Περιεργαζομενους· Doing everything they

should not do—impertinent meddlers with other people's
business; prying into other people's circumstances and
domestic affairs; magnifying or minifying, mistaking or
underrating, everything; newsmongers and telltales; an
abominable race, the curse of every neighborhood where
they live, and a pest to religious society. There is a fine
paronomasia in the above words, and evidently intended by
the apostle.
With quietness they work—Μετα ἡσυχιας· with silence;

leaving their tale-bearing and officious intermeddling. Less
noise and more work!
That—they work, and eat their own bread—their own bread,

because earned by their own honest industry. What a
degrading thing to live on the bounty or mercy of another,
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while a man is able to acquire his own livelihood! He who can

submit to this has lost the spirit of independence; and has in
him a beggar's heart, and is capable of nothing but base and
beggarly actions. Witness the great mass of the people of
England, who by their dependence on the poor rates are,
from being laborious, independent, and respect able,
become idle, profligate, and knavish; the propagators and
perpetrators of crime; a discredit to the nation, and a curse
to society. The apostle's command is a cure for such; and the
Church of God should discountenance such, and disown
them.
Be not weary in well-doing—While ye stretch out no hand of

relief to the indolent and lazy, do not forget the real poor—
the genuine representatives of an impoverished Christ; and
rather relieve a hundred undeserving objects, than pass by
one who is a real object of charity.
If any man obey not—They had disobeyed his word in the

first epistle, and the Church still continued to bear with
them; now he tells the Church, if they still continue to
disregard what is said to them, and particularly his word by
this second epistle, they are to mark them as being totally
incorrigible, and have no fellowship with them.
Some construe the words δια της επιστολης with τουτον

σημειουσθε· Give me information of that man by a letter—
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let me hear of his continued obstinacy, and send me his

name. This was probably in order to excommunicate him,
and deliver him over to Satan for the destruction of the body,
that the spirit might be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus.
The words of the original will bear either construction, that in
the text, or that given above.
Count him not as an enemy—Consider him still more an

enemy to himself than to you; and admonish him as a
brother, though you have ceased to hold religious
communion with him. His soul is still of infinite value; labor
to get it saved.
The Lord of peace—Jesus Christ, who is called our peace,

Ephesians 2:14; and The Prince of peace, Isaiah 9:6. May he
give you peace, for he is the Fountain and Dispenser of it?
Always—Both in your own consciences, and among

yourselves.
By all means—Παντι τροπῳ· by all means, methods,

occasions, instruments, and occurrences; peace or prosperity
in every form and shape.
Instead of εν παντι τροπῳ, in every way, etc., εν παντι τοπῳ,

in every place, is the reading of A*D*FG, some others; with
the Vulgate and Itala. Chrysostom, Ambrosiaster, Augustine,
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and others, have the same reading: May God grant you
prosperity always, and everywhere.
The Lord is with you all—this is agreeable to the promise of

our Lord: Lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the
world; Matthew 28:20. May the Lord, who has promised to
be always with his true disciples, be with you! Christians are
the temple of God, and the temple of God has the Divine
presence in it. May you ever continue to be his Church that
the Lord God may dwell among you!
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Chapter Eight
The just shall live by faith
“I will stand upon my watch, and set me upon the tower, and
will look forth to see what he will speak with me, and what I
shall answer concerning my complaint. 2 And Jehovah
answered me, and said, Write the vision, and make it plain
upon tablets, that he may run that readeth it. 3 For the vision
are yet for the appointed time, and it hasteth toward the
end, and shall not lie: though it tarry, wait for it; because it
will surely come, it will not delay. 4 Behold, his soul is puffed
up, it is not upright in him; but the righteous shall live by his
faith.
The judgment upon the Chaldean for greed
5 Yea, moreover, wine is treacherous, a haughty man, that

keepeth not at home; who enlarged his desire as Sheol, and
he is as death, and cannot be satisfied, but gathereth unto
him all nations, and heapeth unto him all peoples. 6 Shall not
all these take up a parable against him, and a taunting
proverb against him, and say, Woe to him that increaseth
that which is not his! How long? In addition, that ladeth
himself with pledges! 7 Shall they not rise up suddenly that
shall bite thee, awake that shall vex thee, and thou shalt be
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for booty unto them? 8 Because thou hast plundered many

nations, all the remnant of the peoples shall plunder thee,
because of men's blood, and for the violence done to the
land, to the city and to all that dwell therein. 9 Woe to him
that getteth an evil gain for his house, that he may set his
nest on high, that he may be delivered from the hand of evil!
10 Thou hast devised shame to thy house, by cutting off
many peoples, and hast sinned against thy soul. 11 For the
stone shall cry out of the wall, and the beam out of the
timber shall answer it. 12 Woe to him that buildeth a town
with blood, and established a city by iniquity! 13 Behold is it
not of Jehovah of hosts that the peoples labor for the fire,
and the nations weary themselves for vanity? 14 For the
earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of
Jehovah, as the waters cover the sea
Hab 2:1-14 (ASV)
Finally, my brothers, rejoice in the Lord. To write the same

things to you is no trouble to me and is safe for you.
2 Look out for the dogs, look out for the evildoers, look out
for those who mutilate the flesh. 3 For we are the
circumcision, who worship by the Spirit of God and glory in
Christ Jesus and put no confidence in the flesh— 4 though I
myself have reason for confidence in the flesh also. If anyone
else thinks he has reason for confidence in the flesh, I have
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more: 5 circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of

Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; as to
the law, a Pharisee; 6 as to zeal, a persecutor of the church;
as to righteousness under the law, blameless. 7 But whatever
gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. 8 Indeed, I
count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of
knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the
loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I
may gain Christ 9 and be found in him, not having a
righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that
which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from
God that depends on faith— 10 that I may know him and the
power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings,
becoming like him in his death, 11 that by any means
possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead.
Straining Toward the Goal
12 Not that I have already obtained this or am already

perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ
Jesus has made me his own. 13 Brothers, I do not consider
that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting
what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, 14
I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of
God in Christ Jesus. 15 Let those of us who are mature think
this way, and if in anything you think otherwise, God will
reveal that also to you. 16 Only let us hold true to what we
have attained.
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17 Brothers, join in imitating me, and keep your eyes on

those who walk according to the example you have in us. 18
For many, of whom I have often told you and now tell you
even with tears, walk as enemies of the cross of Christ. 19
Their end is destruction, their god is their belly, and they
glory in their shame, with minds set on earthly things. 20 But
our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior,
the Lord Jesus Christ, 21 who will transform our lowly body
to be like his glorious body, by the power that enables him
even to subject all things to himself.
Phil 3:1-21 (ESV)
15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all

creation. 16 For by him all things were created, in heaven
and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones,
dominions, rulers, or authorities—all things were created
through him and for him. 17 And he is before all things, and
in him, all things hold together. 18 And he is the head of the
body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the
dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. 19 For in
him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, 20 and
through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on
earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross.
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21 And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind,

doing evil deeds, 22 he has now reconciled in his body of
flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless
and above reproach before him, 23 if indeed you continue in
the faith, stable and steadfast, not shifting from the hope of
the gospel that you heard, which has been proclaimed in all
creation under heaven, and of which I, Paul, became a
minister.
Paul’s Ministry to the Church
24 Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my

flesh I am filling up what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions for
the sake of his body, that is, the church, 25 of which I
became a minister according to the stewardship from God
that was given to me for you, to make the word of God fully
known, 26 the mystery hidden for ages and generations but
now revealed to his saints. 27 To them God chose to make
known how great among the Gentiles are the riches of the
glory of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.
28 Him we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching
everyone with all wisdom, that we may present everyone
mature in Christ. 29 For this I toil, struggling with all his
energy that he powerfully works within me.
Col 1:15-29 (ESV)
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As I urged you when I was going to Macedonia, remain at

Ephesus so that you may charge certain persons not to teach
any different doctrine, 4 nor to devote themselves to myths
and endless genealogies, which promote speculations rather
than the stewardship from God that is by faith. 5 The aim of
our charge is love that issues from a pure heart and a good
conscience and a sincere faith. 6 Certain persons, by
swerving from these, have wandered away into vain
discussion, 7 desiring to be teachers of the law, without
understanding either, what they are saying or the things
about which they make confident assertions.
8 Now we know that the law is good, if one uses it lawfully, 9

understanding this, that the law is not laid down for the just
but for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and
sinners, for the unholy and profane, for those who strike
their fathers and mothers, for murderers, 10 the sexually
immoral, men who practice homosexuality, enslavers, liars,
perjurers, and whatever else is contrary to sound doctrine,
11 in accordance with the gospel of the glory of the blessed
God with which I have been entrusted.
Christ Jesus Came to Save Sinners
12 I thank him who has given me strength, Christ Jesus our

Lord, because he judged me faithful, appointing me to his
service, 13 though formerly I was a blasphemer, persecutor,
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and insolent opponent. However, I received mercy because I

had acted ignorantly in unbelief, 14 and the grace of our Lord
overflowed for me with the faith and love that are in Christ
Jesus. 15 The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full
acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save
sinners, of whom I am the foremost. 16 But I received mercy
for this reason, that in me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ
might display his perfect patience as an example to those
who were to believe in him for eternal life. 17 To the King of
ages, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory
forever and ever. Amen.
18 This charge I entrust to you, Timothy, my child, in

accordance with the prophecies previously made about you,
that by them you may wage the good warfare, 19 holding
faith and a good conscience. By rejecting this, some have
made shipwreck of their faith, 20 among whom are
Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom I have handed over to
Satan that they may learn not to blaspheme.
1 Tim 1:3-20 (ESV)
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Chapter Nine
By faith, we are called the Saints of God to

follow holiness
Grace to you—χαρις υμιν; May you be partakers of the

Divine favor, the source whence every blessing is derived.
I think it necessary, once for all, to give the several

acceptations of this word grace, which occur in the sacred
writings.
1. The word χαριν signifies in general favor or benevolence,

but especially that favor which is powerful and active, and
loads its objects with benefits. Luke 1:30: Fear not, Mary,
thou hast found FAVOR, χαριν, with God. Luke 2:40: And the
child grew—and the GRACE of God, χαρις θεου, the favor of
God was upon him. Luke 1:52: And Jesus increased in FAVOR,
χαριτι GRACE, with God and man. Acts 2:47: Having FAVOR,
χαριν, GRACE, with all the people. Acts 4:33: And great
GRACE, χαρις, FAVOR, was upon them all. The apostles were
at that time in universal favor with the multitude. In this
sense, the word occurs in a great variety of places, both in
the Old and New Testaments.
2. Hence it is often used for the blessing, which it dispenses;

for, if God were favourably disposed towards a person, his
beneficent acts, in that person's behalf, will be a necessary
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consequence of such favor. John 1:14: Full of GRACE and

truth; accomplished in all spiritual blessings. John 1:16: And
GRACE upon GRACE: He, who is full of the excellent blessings,
confers them liberally on all believers. Acts 11:23: When he
had seen the GRACE of God, i.e. had the fullest evidence that
they were richly endowed with heavenly gifts. 1 Corinthians
1:4: For the GRACE of God, which is given you—the Divine
blessings conferred upon you. 2 Corinthians 9:8: God is able
to make all GRACE abound toward you; i.e. to enrich you
with every benediction. This is also a very common
acceptation of the word; and in this sense, the word grace or
favor is now generally understood among religious people.
The grace of God meaning with them some Divine or spiritual
blessing communicated.
3. It is sometimes taken for the whole of the Christian

religion, as being the grandest possible display of God's favor
to a lost, ruined world: and in this sense it appears to be
used, John 1:17: For the LAW was given by Moses; but GRACE
and truth came by Jesus Christ: where the term GRACE is
evidently opposed to LAW; the latter meaning the Mosaic,
the other the Christian, dispensation. Acts 13:43: Barnabas
persuaded them to continue in the GRACE of God; i.e. to hold
fast their profession of the religion of Christ. Romans 6:14: Ye
are not under the LAW, but under GRACE—ye are no longer
under obligation to fulfill the Mosaic precepts, but are under
the Christian dispensation. See also Romans 6:15; and see 2
Corinthians 1:12; 6:1; Galatians 1:6; Colossians 1:6; 2 Timothy
2:1, Titus 2:11: The GRACE of God, that bringeth salvation
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unto all men, hath appeared. The Jewish religion was

restricted in its benefits to a few; but the Christian religion
proposes the salvation of all men; and the author of it has
become a sacrifice for the sins of the whole world. Hebrews
12:15: Looking diligently lest any man fall from the GRACE of
God—lest any man apostatize from the Christian religion,
and the blessings of pardon and holiness which he has
received through it. 1 Peter 5:12: This is the true GRACE of
God wherein ye stand—the Christian religion which ye have
received is the genuine religion of God.
4. It signifies all the blessings and benefits which Christ has

purchased, and which he gives to true believers, both in time
and eternity. See Romans 5:15, 17, where the grace of God is
opposed to death; i.e. to all the wretchedness and misery
brought into the world by Adam's transgression. 1
Corinthians 16:23: The GRACE of the Lord Jesus Christ be
with you all—May every blessing purchased by Christ's
passion and death be the portion of you all. Galatians 5:4: Ye
are fallen from GRACE—ye have lost the blessings of the
Gospel by submitting to circumcision.
5. It signifies the apostolic and ministerial office, or the

authority to propagate the Christian religion, and the unction
or influence by which that office is executed; so in the 5th
verse of this chapter, (Romans 1:5) as has been already
noted: By whom we have received GRACE and apostleship,
or, the apostolic office. Romans 13:3: I say, through the
GRACE given unto me; i.e. I command you, by the authority
of my apostolic office, etc. See also Romans 13:6.
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6. It signifies a gift, salary, or money collected for the use of

the poor. 1 Corinthians 16:3: Whomsoever ye shall
approve—them will I send to bring your LIBERALITY, την
χαριν υμων, your GRACE; i.e. the collection made for the
poor saints: see 1 Corinthians 16:1. 2 Corinthians 8:4: Praying
us—that we would receive the GIFT, την χαριν, the GRACE,
the contribution made in the Churches of Macedonia, for the
relief of the poor. In this sense it is used in Ecclus. 17:22: He
will keep the GOOD DEEDS of man, χαριν, the same as
ελεημοσυνη, alms, in the beginning of the verse; and it
signifies a kind or friendly act, in the same author. Ecclus.
29:16: Forget not the FRIENDSHIP, χαριτας, of thy surety.
GRACES or χαρις, was a deity among the ancients; and the
three GRACES, αι τρεις χαριτες, were called Pitho, Aglaia, and
Euphrosyne; πειθω, mild persuasion; αγλαια, dignity;
ευφροσυνη, liberality and joyfulness; and these were always
painted naked, to show that all benefits should be gratuitous,
this being essential to the nature of a gift. See Suidas, in
χαριτας.
7. It sometimes signifies merely thanks or thanksgiving. See

Luke 17:9: Doth he thank, μη χαριν εχει, that servant?
Romans 6:17: But God be THANKED, χαρις οε τω θεω. 1
Corinthians 10:30: For if I by GRACE, χαριτι, THANKSGIVING,
as our margin has it, and properly.
8. It signifies remuneration, wages, or reward Luke 6:32-34:

If ye love them that love you—do good to them which do
good to you—lend to them of whom ye hope to receive,
what THANK have ye? ποια υμιν χαρις εστι; what REWARD
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have ye? This appears, from the parallel place, Matthew

5:46, to be most evidently the meaning: τινα μισθον εχετε;
what REWARD have ye? The word is used in this sense by
several Greek writers.
9. It signifies whatever is the means of procuring the favor or

kindness of another. 1 Peter 2:19, 20: For this is
THANKWORTHY, τουτο γαρ χαρις παρα τῳ Θεῳ, this is the
means of PROCURING FAVOR from God.
10. It signifies joy, pleasure, and gratification, which is the,

meaning of cara, and with which it is often confounded in the
New Testament. Philemon 7: For we have great JOY, χαριν
γαρ εχομεν πολλην. Tobit 7:18: The Lord give thee JOY,
χαριν, for this thy sorrow. In this sense the word is used by
the best Greek writers; and in this sense it appears to be
used, 2 Corinthians 1:15.
11. It signifies the performance of an act, which is pleasing

or grateful to others. Acts 24:27: Felix, willing to show the
Jews a PLEASURE, χαριτας καταθεσθαι, to perform an act,
which he knew, would be highly gratifying to them.
12. It signifies whatever has the power or influence to

procure favor, etc. Suavity, kindness, benevolence, gentle
demeanour. Luke 4:22: All wondered at the GRACIOUS
WORDS, τοις λογοις της χαριτος, the benevolent, kind, and
tender expressions; such as his text, Luke 4:18, would
naturally lead him to speak. He hath anointed me to preach
the Gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the broken-
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hearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, etc. Ephesians

4:29; Colossians 4:6: Let your speech be always with GRACE;
i.e. gracious, kind, benevolent, savouring of the doctrine of
Christ: it is thus used by several Greek writers. See
Schleusner. As the word χαρις GRACE, most frequently
signifies some blessing or benefit calculated to promote
human happiness, it is generally derived from χαρω, I rejoice,
because of the effect produced by the blessing.
And peace—ειρηνη, the same as ‫שלום‬‎‫ ‏‬shalom in Hebrew,

generally signifying all kinds of blessing, but especially
harmony and unity, and the bond of such unity. The most
probable derivation of the word ειρηνη is from ειρω, I bind,
and εν, one—because peace unites and binds those who
were, by discord, before disunited. In the New Testament it
signifies—
1. Peace, public or private, in the general acceptation of the

word, as implying reconciliation and friendship; and to the
etymology of the word the apostle seems to allude in
Ephesians 4:3: Endeavouring to keep the UNITY of the Spirit
in the BOND OF PEACE. Acts 12:20: They of Tyre and Sidon
desired PEACE—they sought reconciliation, with Herod, by
means of Blastus, the king's chamberlain.
2. It signifies regularity, good order. 1 Corinthians 14:33: God

is not the God of confusion, but of PEACE.
3. It signifies the labor or study of preserving peace and

concord; and this is supposed to be its meaning, Matthew
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10:34; Luke 12:51; and Acts 7:26. Romans 14:17: For the
kingdom of God is righteousness and PEACE—the Christian
dispensation admits of no contention, but inculcates peace. 1
Corinthians 7:15: God hath called us to PEACE—to labor to
preserve quietness and concord. Hebrews 12:14: Follow
PEACE—labor to preserve it.
4. It signifies the author or procurer of peace and concord.

Ephesians 2:14: He is our PEACE—the author of concord
betwixt Jews and Gentiles.
5. It signifies the Gospel and its blessings. Ephesians 2:17:

And came and preached PEACE to you which were afar off,
and to them that were nigh.
6. It signifies all kinds of mental and corporeal happiness,

and especially the happiness of Christians. Luke 1:79: To
guide our feet into the way of PEACE—to show us the way to
obtain true happiness. Luke 19:42: The things which belong
unto thy PEACE—that by which thou mightest have been
made truly happy. 1 Thessalonians 5:23: The very God of
PEACE—God, the only source of true felicity. John 16:33:
These things have I spoken unto you, that in me ye might
have PEACE—that ye might have confidence and happiness
in believing on me as your only Savior.
7. It signifies good wishes and affectionate prayers. Matthew

10:13: And if the house be worthy, let your PEACE come
upon it. Our Lord commands his disciples, Matthew 10:12, to
salute the house into which they entered; and this was done
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by saying, Peace be unto this house! that is, Let every

blessing, spiritual and temporal, be the portion of this family!
See Luke 10:6; John 14:27; Acts 15:33: They were let go in
PEACE—they had the most fervent and affectionate prayers
of the Church.
8. It signifies praise. Luke 19:38: PEACE in heaven and glory

in the highest!—May all the heavenly host praise God, and
give him the highest honor!
9. It signifies benignity, benevolence, favor. Romans 5:1:

Being justified by faith, we have PEACE with God—In
consequence of having our sins forgiven, we have a clear
sense of the Divine favor. Philippians 4:7: The PEACE of God
which passeth all understanding—the inexpressible
blessedness of a sense of the Divine favor. See Schleusner's
Lexicon.
From God our Father—The apostle wishes them all the

blessings which can flow from GOD, as the fountain of grace,
producing in them all the happiness which a heart filled with
the peace of God can possess; all of which are to be
communicated to them through the Lord Jesus Christ. See
the note on Acts 28:31.
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Chapter Ten
Effective Faith produces efficient prayers
THE assertion voiced in the title given this chapter is but

another way of declaring that God has of His own motion
placed Himself under the law of prayer, and has obligated
Himself to answer the prayers of men. He has ordained
prayer as a means whereby He will do things through men as
they pray, which He would not otherwise do. Prayer is a
specific divine appointment, an ordinance of heaven,
whereby God purposes to carry out His gracious designs on
earth and to execute and make efficient the plan of salvation.
When we say that prayer puts God to work, it is simply to say

that man has it in his power by prayer to move God to work
in His own way among men, in which way He would not work
if prayer was not made. Thus while prayer moves God to
work, at the same time God puts prayer to work. As God has
ordained prayer, and as prayer has no existence separate
from men, but involves men, then logically prayer is the one
force which puts God to work in earth’s affairs through men
and their prayers.
Let these fundamental truths concerning God and prayer be

kept in mind in all allusions to prayer, and in all our reading
of the incidents of prayer in the Scriptures.
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If prayer puts God to work on earth, then, by the same token,

prayerlessness rules God out of the world’s affairs, and
prevents Him from working. And if prayer moves God to
work in this world’s affairs, then prayerlessness excludes God
from everything concerning men, and leaves man on earth
the mere creature of circumstances, at the mercy of blind
fate or without help of any kind from God. It leaves man in
this world with its tremendous responsibilities and its
difficult problems, and with all of its sorrows, burdens and
afflictions, without any God at all. In reality the denial of
prayer is a denial of God Himself, for God and prayer are so
inseparable that they can never be divorced.
Prayer affects three different spheres of existence—the

divine, the angelic and the human. It puts God to work, it
puts angels to work, and it puts man to work. It lays its hands
upon God, angels and men. What a wonderful reach there is
in prayer! It brings into play the forces of heaven and earth.
God, angels and men are subjects of this wonderful law of
prayer, and all these have to do with the possibilities and the
results of prayer. God has so far placed Himself subject to
prayer that by reason of His own appointment, He is induced
to work among men in a way in which He does not work if
men do not pray. Prayer lays hold upon God and influences
Him to work. This is the meaning of prayer as it concerns
God. This is the doctrine of prayer, or else there is nothing
whatever in prayer.
Prayer puts God to work in all things prayed for. While man
in his weakness and poverty waits, trusts and prays, God
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undertakes the work. “For from old men have not heard, nor
perceived by the ear, neither hath the eye seen a God beside
thee, which worketh for him that waiteth for thee.”
Jesus Christ commits Himself to the force of prayer.

“Whatsoever ye ask in My Name,” He says, “that will I do,
that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If ye shall ask
anything in My Name, I will do it.” And again: “If ye abide in
Me, and My words abide in you, ye shall ask what he will and
it shall be done unto you.”
To no other energy is the promise of God committed as to

that of prayer. Upon no other force are the purposes of God
so dependent as this one of prayer. The Word of God dilates
on the results and necessity of prayer. The work of God stays
or advances as prayer puts forth its strength. Prophets and
apostles have urged the utility, force and necessity of prayer.
“I have set watchmen upon thy walls, O Jerusalem, which
shall never hold their peace day nor night. Ye that make
mention of the Lord, keep not silence, and give him no rest,
till he establish, and till he make Jerusalem a praise in the
earth.”
Prayer, with its antecedents and attendants, is the one and

only condition of the final triumph of the Gospel. It is the one
and only condition which honours the Father and glorifies
the Son. Little and poor praying has weakened Christ’s power
on earth, postponed the glorious results of His reign, and
retired God from His sovereignty.
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Prayer puts God’s work in His hands, and keeps it there. It

looks to Him constantly and depends on Him implicitly to
further His own cause. Prayer is but faith resting in, acting
with, and leaning on and obeying God. This is why God loves
it so well, why He puts all power into its hands, and why He
so highly esteems men of prayer.
Every movement for the advancement of the Gospel must be

created by and inspired by prayer. In all these movements of
God, prayer precedes and attends as an invariable and
necessary condition.
In this relation, God makes prayer identical in force and

power with Himself and says to those on earth who pray:
“You are on the earth to carry on My cause. I am in heaven,
the Lord of all, the Maker of all, the Holy One of all. Now
whatever you need for My cause, ask Me and I will do it.
Shape the future by your prayers, and all that you need for
present supplies, command Me. I made heaven and earth,
and all things in them. Ask largely. Open thy mouth wide, and
I will fill it. It is My work which you are doing. It concerns My
cause. Be prompt and fall in praying. Do not abate your
asking, and I will not wince nor abate in My giving.”
Everywhere in His Word God conditions His actions on

prayer. Everywhere in His Word His actions and attitude are
shaped by prayer. To quote all the Scriptural passages which
prove the immediate, direct and personal relation of prayer
to God, would be to transfer whole pages of the Scripture to
this study. Man has personal relations with God. Prayer is the
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divinely appointed means by which man comes into direct

connection with God. By His own ordinance God holds
Himself bound to hear prayer. God bestows His great good
on His children when they seek it along the avenue of prayer.
When Solomon closed his great prayer which he offered at

the dedication of the Temple, God appeared to him,
approved him, and laid down the universal principles of His
action. In 2 Chron. 7:12-15 we read as follows:
“And the Lord appeared to Solomon by night and said unto

him, I have heard thy prayer, and have chosen this place to
myself, for a house of sacrifice.
“If I shut up heaven that there be no rain, or if I command

the locusts to devour the land, or if I send pestilence among
the people; if my people which are called by my name, shall
humble themselves and pray, and seek my face, and turn
from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven, and
will forgive their sin, and will heal their land. Now my eyes
shall be open, and my ears attentive to the prayer that is
made in this place.”
In His purposes concerning the Jews in the Babylonish

captivity (Jeremiah 29:10-13) God asserts His unfailing
principles:
“For thus saith the Lord, that after seventy years be

accomplished, at Babylon, I will visit you, and perform my
good word toward you, in causing you to return to this place.
For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the
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Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an

expected end. Then shall ye call upon me, and ye shall go and
pray unto me, and I will hearken unto you. And ye shall seek
me and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your
heart.”
In Bible terminology prayer means calling upon God for

things we desire, asking things of God. Thus we read: “Call
upon me and I will answer thee, and will show thee great and
mighty things which thou knowest not” (Jeremiah 33:3). “Call
upon me in the day of trouble, and I will deliver thee” (Psalm
50:15). “Then shalt thou call, and the Lord shall answer; thou
shalt cry, and he shall say, Here I am” (Isaiah 58:9).
Prayer is revealed as a direct application to God for some

temporal or spiritual good. It is an appeal to God to intervene
in life’s affairs for the good of those for whom we pray. God
is recognised as the source and fountain of all good, and
prayer implies that all His good is held in His keeping for
those who call upon Him in truth.
That prayer is an application to God, intercourse with God,

and communion with God, comes out strongly and simply in
the praying of Old Testament saints. Abraham’s intercession
for Sodom is a striking illustration of the nature of prayer,
intercourse with God, and showing the intercessory side of
prayer. The declared purpose of God to destroy Sodom
confronted Abraham, and his soul within him was greatly
moved because of his great interest in that fated city. His
nephew and family resided there. That purpose of God must
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be changed. God’s decree for the destruction of this evil

city’s inhabitants must be revoked.
It was no small undertaking which faced Abraham when he

conceived the idea of beseeching God to spare Sodom.
Abraham sets himself to change God’s purpose and to save
Sodom with the other cities of the plain. It was certainly a
most difficult and delicate work for him to undertake to
throw his influence with God in favour of those doomed
cities so as to save them.
He bases his plea on the simple fact of the number of

righteous men who could be found in Sodom, and appeals to
the infinite rectitude of God not to destroy the righteous
with the wicked. “That be far from thee to slay the righteous
with the wicked. Shall not the Judge of all the earth do
right?” With what deep self-abasement and reverence does
Abraham enter upon his high and divine work! He stood
before God in solemn awe, and meditation, and then drew
near to God and spake. He advanced step by step in faith, in
demand and urgency, and God granted every request which
he made. It has been well said that “Abraham left off asking
before God left off granting.” It seems that Abraham had a
kind of optimistic view of the piety of Sodom. He scarcely
expected when he undertook this matter to have it end in
failure. He was greatly in earnest, and had every
encouragement to press his case. In his final request he
surely thought that with Lot, his wife, his daughters, his sons,
and his sons-in-law, he had his ten righteous persons for
whose sake God would spare the city. But alas! The count
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failed when the final test came. There were not ten righteous
people in that large population.
But this was true. If he did not save Sodom by his

importunate praying, the purposes of God were stayed for a
season, and possibly had not Abraham’s goodness of heart
over-estimated the number of pious people in that devoted
city, God might have saved it had he reduced his figures still
further.
This is a representative case illustrative of Old Testament

praying, and disclosing God’s mode of working through
prayer. It shows further how God is moved to work in answer
to prayer in this world even when it comes to changing His
purposes concerning a sinful community. This praying of
Abraham was no mere performance, no dull, lifeless
ceremony, but an earnest plea, a strong advocacy, to secure
a desired end, to have an influence, one person with another
person.
How full of meaning is this series of remarkable intercessions

made by Abraham! Here we have arguments designed to
convince God, and pleas to persuade God to change His
purpose. We see deep humility, but holy boldness as well,
perseverance, and advances made based on victory in each
petition. Here we have enlarged asking encouraged by
enlarged answers. God stays and answers as long as Abraham
stays and asks. To Abraham God is existent, approachable,
and all powerful, but at the same time He defers to men, acts
favourably on their desires, and grants them favours asked
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for. Not to pray is a denial of God, a denial of His existence, a

denial of His nature, and a denial of His purposes toward
mankind.
God has specifically to do with prayer promises in their

breadth, certainty and limitations. Jesus Christ presses us
into the presence of God with these prayer promises, not
only by the assurance that God will answer, but that no other
being but God can answer. He presses us to God because
only in this way can we move God to take a hand in earth’s
affairs, and induce Him to intervene in our behalf.
“All things whatsoever ye ask in prayer, believing, ye shall

receive,” says Jesus, and this all-comprehensive condition not
only presses us to pray for all things, everything great and
small, but it sets us on and shuts us up to God, for who but
God can cover the illimitable of universal things, and can
assure us certainly of receiving the very thing for which we
may ask in all the Thesaurus of earthly and heavenly good?
It is Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who makes demands on us

to pray, and it is He who puts Himself and all He has so fully
in the answer. He it is who puts Himself at our service and
answers our demands when we pray. And just as He puts
Himself and the Father at our command in prayer, to come
directly into our lives and to work for our good, so also does
He engage to answer the demands of two or more believers
who are agreed as touching any one thing. “If two of you
shall agree on earth as touching anything, that they shall ask,
it shall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven.”
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None but God could put Himself in a covenant so binding as

that, for God only could fulfill such a promise and could reach
to its exacting and all controlling demands. God only can
answer for the promises.
God needs prayer, and man needs prayer, too. It is

indispensable to God’s work in this world, and is essential to
getting God to work in earth’s affairs. So God binds men to
pray by the most solemn obligations. God commands men to
pray, and so not to pray is plain disobedience to an
imperative command of Almighty God. Prayer is such a
condition without which the graces, the salvation and the
good of God are not bestowed on men. Prayer is a high
privilege, a royal prerogative and manifold and eternal are
the losses by failure to exercise it. Prayer is the great,
universal force to advance God’s cause; the reverence which
hallows God’s name; the ability to do God’s will, and the
establishment of God’s kingdom in the hearts of the children
of men. These, and their coincidents and agencies, are
created and affected by prayer.
One of the constitutional enforcements of the Gospel is

prayer. Without prayer, the Gospel can neither be preached
effectively, promulgated faithfully, experienced in the heart,
nor be practiced in the life. And for the very simple reason
that by leaving prayer out of the catalogue of religious duties,
we leave God out, and His work cannot progress without
Him.
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The movements which God purposed under Cyrus, king of

Persia, prophesied about by Isaiah many years before Cyrus
was born, are conditioned on prayer. God declares His
purpose, power, independence and defiance of obstacles in
the way of Him carrying out those purposes. His omnipotent
and absolutely infinite power is set to encourage prayer. He
has been ordering all events, directing all conditions, and
creating all things, that He might answer prayer, and then
turns Himself over to His praying ones to be commanded.
And then all the results and power He holds in His hands will
be bestowed in lavish and unmeasured munificence to carry
out prayers and to make prayer the mightiest energy in the
world.
The passage in Isaiah 46 is too lengthy to be quoted in its

entirety but it is well worth reading. It closes with such strong
words as these, words about prayer, which are the climax of
all which God has been saying concerning His purposes in
connection with Cyrus:
“Thus saith the Lord, the Holy One of Israel, and his Maker:
Ask me of things to come, concerning my sons, and
concerning the work of my hands command ye me. I have
made the earth, and created man upon it; I, even my hands,
have stretched out the heavens, and all their hosts have I
commanded.”
In the conclusion of the history of Job, we see how God

intervenes in behalf of Job and calls upon his friends to
present themselves before Job that he may pray for them.
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“My wrath is kindled against thee and against thy two

friends,” is God’s statement, with the further words added,
“My servant Job shall pray for you, for him will I accept,” a
striking illustration of God intervening to deliver Job’s friends
in answer to Job’s prayer.
We have heretofore spoken of prayer affecting God, angels

and men. Christ wrote nothing while living. Memoranda,
notes, sermon writing, sermon making, were alien to Him.
Autobiography was not to His taste. The Revelation of John
was His last utterance. In that book we have pictured the
great importance, the priceless value, and the high position
which prayer obtains in the movements, history, and
unfolding progress of God’s Church in this world. We have
this picture in Rev. 8:3, disclosing the interest the angels in
heaven have in the prayers of the saints and in accomplishing
the answers to those prayers:
“And another angel came and stood at the altar, having a

golden censer, and there was given unto him much incense,
that he should offer it with the prayers of all saints, upon the
golden altar which was before the throne. And the smoke of
the incense which came with the prayers of the saints,
ascended up before God, out of the angel’s hand. And the
angel took the censer, and filled it with fire of the altar, and
cast it into the earth, and there were voices, and thunderings
and lightnings and an earthquake.”
Translated into the prose of everyday life, these words show

how the capital stock by which heaven carries on the
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business of salvation under Christ, is made up of the prayers

of God’s saints on earth, and discloses how these prayers in
flaming power come back to earth and produce its mighty
commotions, influences and revolutions.
Praying men are essential to Almighty God in all His plans and
purposes. God’s secrets, councils and cause have never been
committed to prayerless men. Neglect of prayer has always
brought loss of faith, loss of love, and loss of prayer. Failure
to pray has been the baneful, inevitable cause of backsliding
and estrangement from God. Prayerless men have stood in
the way of God fulfilling His Word and doing His will on earth.
They tie the divine hands and interfere with God in His
gracious designs. As praying men are a help to God, so
prayerless men are a hindrance to Him.
We press the Scriptural view of the necessity of prayer, even

at the cost of repetition. The subject is too important for
repetition to weaken or tire, too vital to be trite or tame. We
must feel it anew. The fires of prayer have burned low. Ashes
and not flames are on its altars.
No insistence in the Scriptures is more pressing than prayer.

No exhortation is oftener reiterated, none is more hearty,
none is more solemn and stirring, than to pray. No principle
is more strongly and broadly declared than that which urges
us to prayer. There is no duty to which we are more strongly
obliged than the obligation to pray. There is no command
more imperative and insistent than that of praying. Art thou
praying in everything without ceasing, in the closet, hidden
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from the eyes of men, and praying always and everywhere?

That is the personal, pertinent and all-important question for
every soul.
Many instances occur in God’s Word showing that God

intervenes in this world in answer to prayer. Nothing is
clearer when the Bible is consulted than that Almighty God is
brought directly into the things of this world by the praying
of His people. Jonah flees from duty and takes ship for a
distant port. But God follows him, and by a strange
providence this disobedient prophet is cast out of the vessel,
and the God who sent him to Nineveh prepares a fish to
swallow him. In the fish’s belly he cries out to the God
against whom he had sinned, and God intervenes and causes
the fish to vomit Jonah out on dry land. Even the fishes of the
great deep are subject to the law of prayer.
Likewise the birds of the air are brought into subjection to

this same law. Elijah had foretold to Ahab the coming of that
prolonged drouth, and food and even water became scarce.
God sent him to the brook Cherith, and said unto him, “It
shall be that thou shalt drink of the brook, and I have
commanded the ravens to feed thee there. And the ravens
brought bread and flesh in the morning, and bread and flesh
in the evening.” Can any one doubt that this man of God,
who later on shut up and opened the rain clouds by prayer
was not praying about this time, when so much was at stake?
God interposed among the birds of the air this time and
strangely moved them to take care of His servant so that he
would not want food and water.
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David in an evil hour, instead of listening to the advice of

Joab, his prime minister, yielded to the suggestion of Satan,
and counted the people, which displeased God. So God told
him to choose one of three evils as a retribution for his folly
and sin. Pestilence came among the people in violent form,
and David betakes himself to prayer.
“And David said unto God, Is it not I that commanded the

people to be numbered? Even I it is that hath sinned and
done evil indeed. But as for these sheep, what have they
done? Let thy hand, I pray thee, O Lord my God, be on me,
and on my father’s house; but not on thy people, that they
should be plagued” (1 Chron. 21:17).
And though God had been greatly grieved at David for

numbering Israel, yet He could not resist this appeal of a
penitent and prayerful spirit, and God was moved by prayer
to put His hand on the springs of disease and stop the fearful
plague. God was put to work by David’s prayer.
Numbers of other cases could be named. These are

sufficient. God seems to have taken great pains in His divine
revelation to men to show how He interferes in earth’s
affairs in answer to the praying of His saints.
The question might arise just here in some over-critical minds

as to the so-called “laws of nature,” who are not strong
believers in prayer, as if there was a conflict between what
they call the “laws of nature” and the law of prayer. These
people make nature a sort of imaginary god entirely separate
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of Almighty God. What is nature anyway? It is but the

creation of God, the Maker of all things. And what are the
“laws of nature” but the laws of God, through which He
governs the material world. As the law of prayer is also the
law of God, there cannot possibly be any conflict between
the two sets of laws, but all must work in perfect harmony.
Prayer does not violate any natural law. God may set aside
one law for the higher working of another law, and this He
may do when He answers prayer. Or Almighty God may
answer prayer working through the course of natural law.
But whether or not we understand it, God is over and above
all nature, and can and will answer prayer in a wise,
intelligent and just manner, even though man may not
comprehend it. So that in no sense is there any discord or
conflict between God’s several laws when God is induced to
interfere with human affairs in answer to prayer.
In this connection another word might be said. We used the

form of words to which there can be no objection, that
prayer does certain things, but this of course implies not that
prayer as a human means accomplishes anything, but that
prayer only accomplishes things instrumentally. Prayer is the
instrument, God is the efficient and active agent. So that
prayer in itself does not interfere in earth’s affairs, but prayer
in the hands of men moves God to intervene and do things,
which He would not otherwise do if prayer was not used as
the instrument.
It is as we say, “faith hath saved thee,” by which is simply

meant that God through the faith of the sinner saves him,
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faith being only the instrument used by the sinner which

brings salvation to him.
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Chapter eleven
Why saved by Grace?
WHY IS FAITH SELECTED as the channel of salvation? No

doubt this inquiry is often made. “By grace are ye saved
through faith,” is assuredly the doctrine of Holy Scripture,
and the ordinance of God; but why is it so? Why is faith
selected rather than hope, or love, or patience?
It becomes us to be modest in answering such a question, for

God’s ways are not always to be understood; nor are we
allowed presumptuously to question them. Humbly we
would reply that, as far as we can tell, faith has been selected
as the channel of grace, because there is a natural adaptation
in faith to be used as the receiver. Suppose that I am about
to give a poor man an alms: I put it into his hand—why? Well,
it would hardly be fitting to put it into his ear, or to lay it
upon his foot; the hand seems made on purpose to receive.
So, in our mental frame, faith is created on purpose to be a
receiver: it is the hand of the man, and there is a fitness in
receiving grace by its means.
Do let me put this very plainly. Faith which receives Christ is

as simple an act as when your child receives an apple from
you, because you hold it out and promise to give him the
apple if he comes for it. The belief and the receiving relate
only to an apple; but they make up precisely the same act as
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the faith which deals with eternal salvation. What the child’s
hand is to the apple, that your faith is to the perfect salvation
of Christ. The child’s hand does not make the apple, nor
improve the apple, nor deserve the apple; it only takes it; and
faith is chosen by God to be the receiver of salvation,
because it does not pretend to create salvation, nor to help
in it, but it is content humbly to receive it. “Faith is the
tongue that begs pardon, the hand which receives it, and the
eye which sees it; but it is not the price which buys it.” Faith
never makes herself her own plea, she rests all her argument
upon the blood of Christ. She becomes a good servant to
bring the riches of the Lord Jesus to the soul, because she
acknowledges whence she drew them, and owns that grace
alone entrusted her with them.
Faith, again, is doubtless selected because it gives all the

glory to God. It is of faith that it might be by grace, and it is of
grace that there might be no boasting; for God cannot
endure pride. “The proud he knoweth afar off,” and He has
no wish to come nearer to them. He will not give salvation in
a way which will suggest or foster pride. Paul saith, “Not of
works, lest any man should boast.” Now, faith excludes all
boasting. The hand which receives charity does not say, “I am
to be thanked for accepting the gift”; that would be absurd.
When the hand conveys bread to the mouth it does not say
to the body, “Thank me; for I feed you.” It is a very simple
thing that the hand does though a very necessary thing; and
it never arrogates glory to itself for what it does. So God has
selected faith to receive the unspeakable gift of His grace,
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because it cannot take to itself any credit, but must adore

the gracious God who is the giver of all good. Faith sets the
crown upon the right head, and therefore the Lord Jesus was
wont to put the crown upon the head of faith, saying, “Thy
faith hath saved thee; go in peace.”
Next, God selects faith as the channel of salvation because it

is a sure method, linking man with God. When man confides
in God, there is a point of union between them, and that
union guarantees blessing. Faith saves us because it makes us
cling to God, and so brings us into connection with Him. I
have often used the following illustration, but I must repeat
it, because I cannot think of a better. I am told that years ago
a boat was upset above the falls of Niagara, and two men
were being carried down the current, when persons on the
shore managed to float a rope out to them, which rope was
seized by them both. One of them held fast to it and was
safely drawn to the bank; but the other, seeing a great log
come floating by, unwisely let go the rope and clung to the
log, for it was the bigger thing of the two, and apparently
better to cling to. Alas! the log with the man on it went right
over the vast abyss, because there was no union between
the log and the shore. The size of the log was no benefit to
him who grasped it; it needed a connection with the shore to
produce safety. So when a man trusts to his works, or to
sacraments, or to anything of that sort, he will not be saved,
because there is no junction between him and Christ; but
faith, though it may seem to be like a slender cord, is in the
hands of the great God on the shore side; infinite power pulls
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in the connecting line, and thus draws the man from

destruction. Oh the blessedness of faith, because it unites us
to God!
Faith is chosen again, because it touches the springs of

action. Even in common things faith of a certain sort lies at
the root of all. I wonder whether I shall be wrong if I say that
we never do anything except through faith of some sort. If I
walk across my study it is because I believe my legs will carry
me. A man eats because he believes in the necessity of food;
he goes to business because he believes in the value of
money; he accepts a check because he believes that the bank
will honor it. Columbus discovered America because he
believed that there was another continent beyond the ocean;
and the Pilgrim Fathers colonized it because they believed
that God would be with them on those rocky shores. Most
grand deeds have been born of faith; for good or for evil,
faith works wonders by the man in whom it dwells. Faith in
its natural form is an all-prevailing force, which enters into all
manner of human actions. Possibly he who derides faith in
God is the man who in an evil form has the most of faith;
indeed, he usually falls into a credulity which would be
ridiculous, if it were not disgraceful. God gives salvation to
faith, because by creating faith in us He thus touches the real
mainspring of our emotions and actions. He has, so to speak,
taken possession of the battery and now He can send the
sacred current to every part of our nature. When we believe
in Christ, and the heart has come into the possession of God,
then we are saved from sin, and are moved toward
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repentance, holiness, zeal, prayer, consecration, and every

other gracious thing. “What oil is to the wheels, what weights
are to a clock, what wings are to a bird, what sails are to a
ship, that faith is to all holy duties and services.” Have faith,
and all other graces will follow and continue to hold their
course.
Faith, again, has the power of working by love; it influences

the affections toward God, and draws the heart after the
best things. He that believes in God will beyond all question
love God. Faith is an act of the understanding; but it also
proceeds from the heart. “With the heart man believeth unto
righteousness”; and hence God gives salvation to faith
because it resides next door to the affections, and is near
akin to love; and love is the parent and the nurse of every
holy feeling and act. Love to God is obedience, love to God is
holiness. To love God and to love man is to be conformed to
the image of Christ; and this is salvation.
Moreover, faith creates peace and joy; he that hath it rests,

and is tranquil, is glad and joyous, and this is a preparation
for heaven. God gives all heavenly gifts to faith, for this
reason among others, that faith worketh in us the life and
spirit which are to be eternally manifested in the upper and
better world. Faith furnishes us with armor for this life, and
education for the life to come. It enables a man both to live
and to die without fear; it prepares both for action and for
suffering; and hence the Lord selects it as a most convenient
medium for conveying grace to us, and thereby securing us
for glory.
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Certainly faith does for us what nothing else can do; it gives
us joy and peace, and causes us to enter into rest. Why do
men attempt to gain salvation by other means? An old
preacher says, “A silly servant who is bidden to open a door,
sets his shoulder to it and pushes with all his might; but the
door stirs not, and he cannot enter, use what strength he
may. Another comes with a key, and easily unlocks the door,
and enters right readily. Those who would be saved by works
are pushing at heaven’s gate without result; but faith is the
key which opens the gate at once.” Reader, will you not use
that key? The Lord commands you to believe in His dear Son,
therefore you may do so; and doing so you shall live. Is not
this the promise of the gospel, “He that believeth and is
baptized shall be saved”? (Mark 16:16). What can be your
objection to a way of salvation which commends itself to the
mercy and the wisdom of our gracious God?
124
125
Chapter Twelve
How can faith increase!
HOW CAN WE OBTAIN an increase of faith? This is a very

earnest question to many. They say they want to believe, but
cannot. A great deal of nonsense is talked upon this subject.
Let us be strictly practical in our dealing with it. Common
sense is as much needed in religion as anywhere else. “What
am I to do in order to believe?” One who was asked the best
way to do a certain simple act, replied that the best way to
do it was to do it at once. We waste time in discussing
methods when the action is simple. The shortest way to
believe is to believe. If the Holy Spirit has made you candid,
you will believe as soon as truth is set before you. You will
believe it because it is true. The gospel command is clear;
“Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved.” It
is idle to evade this by questions and quibbles. The order is
plain; let it be obeyed.
But still, if you have difficulty, take it before God in prayer.

Tell the great Father exactly what it is that puzzles you, and
beg Him by His Holy Spirit to solve the question. If I cannot
believe a statement in a book, I am glad to inquire of the
author what he means by it; and if he is a true man his
explanation will satisfy me; much more will the divine
explanation of the hard points of Scripture satisfy the heart
of the true seeker. The Lord is willing to make himself known;
126
go to Him and see if it is not so. Repair at once to your closet,

and cry, “O Holy Spirit, lead me into the truth! What I know
not, teach Thou me.”
Furthermore, if faith seems difficult, it is possible that God

the Holy Spirit will enable you to believe if you hear very
frequently and earnestly that which you are commanded to
believe. We believe many things because we have heard
them so often. Do you not find it so in common life, that if
you hear a thing fifty times a day, at last you come to believe
it? Some men have come to believe very unlikely statements
by this process, and therefore I do not wonder that the good
Spirit often blesses the method of often hearing the truth,
and uses it to work faith concerning that which is to be
believed. It is written, “Faith cometh by hearing”; therefore
hear often. If I earnestly and attentively hear the gospel, one
of these days I shall find myself believing that which I hear,
through the blessed operation of the Spirit of God upon my
mind. Only mind you hear the gospel, and do not distract
your mind with either hearing or reading that which is
designed to stagger you.
If that, however, should seem poor advice, I would add next,

consider the testimony of others. The Samaritans believed
because of what the woman told them concerning Jesus.
Many of our beliefs arise out of the testimony of others. I
believe that there is such a country as Japan; I never saw it,
and yet I believe that there is such a place because others
have been there. I believe that I shall die; I have never died,
but a great many have done so whom I once knew, and
127
therefore I have a conviction that I shall die also. The

testimony of many convinces me of that fact. Listen, then, to
those who tell you how they were saved, how they were
pardoned, how they were changed in character. If you will
look into the matter you will find that somebody just like
yourself has been saved. If you have been a thief, you will
find that a thief rejoiced to wash away his sin in the fountain
of Christ’s blood. If unhappily you have been unchaste, you
will find that men and women who have fallen in that way
have been cleansed and changed. If you are in despair, you
have only to get among God’s people, and inquire a little, and
you will discover that some of the saints have been equally in
despair at times and they will be pleased to tell you how the
Lord delivered them. As you listen to one after another of
those who have tried the word of God, and proved it, the
divine Spirit will lead you to believe. Have you not heard of
the African who was told by the missionary that water
sometimes became so hard that a man could walk on it? He
declared that he believed a great many things the missionary
had told him; but he would never believe that. When he
came to England it came to pass that one frosty day he saw
the river frozen, but he would not venture on it. He knew
that it was a deep river, and he felt certain that he would be
drowned if he ventured upon it. He could not be induced to
walk the frozen water till his friend and many others went
upon it; then he was persuaded, and trusted himself where
others had safely ventured. So, while you see others believe
in the Lamb of God, and notice their joy and peace, you will
yourself be gently led to believe. The experience of others is
128
one of God’s ways of helping us to faith. You have either to

believe in Jesus or die; there is no hope for you but in Him.
A better plan is this—note the authority upon which you are

commanded to believe, and this will greatly help you to faith.
The authority is not mine, or you might well reject it. But you
are commanded to believe upon the authority of God
himself. He bids you believe in Jesus Christ, and you must not
refuse to obey your Maker. The foreman of a certain works
had often heard the gospel, but he was troubled with the
fear that he might not come to Christ. His good master one
day sent a card around to the works—“Come to my house
immediately after work.” The foreman appeared at his
master’s door, and the master came out, and said somewhat
roughly, “What do you want, John, troubling me at this time?
Work is done, what right have you here?” “Sir,” said he, “I
had a card from you saying that I was to come after work.”
“Do you mean to say that merely because you had a card
from me you are to come up to my house and call me out
after business hours?” “Well, Sir,” replied the foreman, “I do
not understand you, but it seems to me that, as you sent for
me, I had a right to come.” “Come in, John,” said his master,
“I have another message that I want to read to you,” and he
sat down and read these words: “Come unto me, all ye that
labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” “Do you
think after such a message from Christ that you can be wrong
in coming to him?” The poor man saw it all at once, and
believed in the Lord Jesus unto eternal life, because he
perceived that he had good warrant and authority for
129
believing. So have you, poor soul! You have good authority

for coming to Christ, for the Lord himself bids you trust Him.
If that does not breed faith in you, think over what it is that
you have to believe—that the Lord Jesus Christ suffered in
the place and stead of sinners, and is able to save all who
trust Him. Why, this is the most blessed fact that ever men
were told to believe; the most suitable, the most comforting,
the most divine truth that was ever set before mortal minds.
I advise you to think much upon it, and search out the grace
and love which it contains. Study the four Evangelists, study
Paul’s epistles, and then see if the message is not such a
credible one that you are forced to believe it.
If that does not do, then think upon the person of Jesus
Christ—think of who He is, and what He did, and where He is,
and what He is. How can you doubt Him? It is cruelty to
distrust the ever truthful Jesus. He has done nothing to
deserve distrust; on the contrary, it should be easy to rely
upon Him. Why crucify Him anew by unbelief? Is not this
crowning Him with thorns again, and spitting upon Him
again? What! is He not to be trusted? What worse insult did
the soldiers pour upon Him than this? They made Him a
martyr; but you make Him a liar—this is worse by far. Do not
ask how can I believe? But answer another question—How
can you disbelieve?
If none of these things avail, then there is something wrong

about you altogether, and my last word is, submit yourself to
God! Prejudice or pride is at the bottom of this unbelief. May
130
the Spirit of God take away your enmity and make you yield.
You are a rebel, a proud rebel, and that is why you do not
believe your God. Give up your rebellion; throw down your
weapons; yield at discretion, surrender to your King. I believe
that never did a soul throw up its hands in self-despair, and
cry, “Lord, I yield,” but what faith became easy to it before
long. It is because you still have a quarrel with God, and
resolve to have your own will and your own way, that
therefore you cannot believe. “How can ye believe,” said
Christ, “that have honor one of another?” Proud self creates
unbelief. Submit, O man. Yield to your God, and then shall
you sweetly believe in your Saviour. May the Holy Ghost now
work secretly but effectually with you, and bring you at this
very moment to believe in the Lord Jesus! Amen.
131
132
Chapter Thirteen
Ye must be born again
YE MUST BE BORN AGAIN.” This word of our Lord Jesus has

appeared to flame in the way of many, like the drawn sword
of the cherub at the gate of Paradise. They have despaired,
because this change is beyond their utmost effort. The new
birth is from above, and therefore it is not in the creature’s
power. Now, it is far from my mind to deny, or ever to
conceal, a truth in order to create a false comfort. I freely
admit that the new birth is supernatural, and that it cannot
be wrought by the sinner’s own self. It would be a poor help
to my reader if I were wicked enough to try to cheer him by
persuading him to reject or forget what is unquestionably
true.
But is it not remarkable that the very chapter in which our

Lord makes this sweeping declaration also contains the most
explicit statement as to salvation by faith? Read the third
chapter of John’s Gospel and do not dwell alone upon its
earlier sentences. It is true that the third verse says:
Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto
thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the
kingdom of God.
133
But, then, the fourteenth and fifteenth verses speak:
And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so

must the Son of man be lifted up: that whosoever believeth
in him should not perish, but have eternal life.
The eighteenth verse repeats the same doctrine in the

broadest terms:
He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that

believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not
believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.
It is clear to every reader that these two statements must

agree, since they came from the same lips, and are recorded
on the same inspired page. Why should we make a difficulty
where there can be none? If one statement assures us of the
necessity to salvation of a something, which only God can
give, and if another assures us that the Lord will save us upon
our believing in Jesus, then we may safely conclude that the
Lord will give to those who believe all that is declared to be
necessary to salvation. The Lord does, in fact, produce the
new birth in all who believe in Jesus; and their believing is
the surest evidence that they are born again.
We trust in Jesus for what we cannot do ourselves: if it were

in our own power, what need of looking to Him? It is ours to
believe, it is the Lord’s to create us anew. He will not believe
for us, neither are we to do regenerating work for Him. It is
enough for us to obey the gracious command; it is for the
Lord to work the new birth in us. He who could go so far as to
134
die on the cross for us, can and will give us all things that are
needful for our eternal safety.
“But a saving change of heart is the work of the Holy Spirit.”

This also is most true, and let it be far from us to question it,
or to forget it. But the work of the Holy Spirit is secret and
mysterious, and it can only be perceived by its results. There
are mysteries about our natural birth into which it would be
an unhallowed curiosity to pry: still more is this the case with
the sacred operations of the Spirit of God. “The wind bloweth
where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but
canst not tell whence it cometh, or whither it goeth; so is
every one that is born of the Spirit.” This much, however, we
do know—the mysterious work of the Holy Spirit cannot be a
reason for refusing to believe in Jesus to whom that same
Spirit beareth witness.
If a man were bidden to sow a field, he could not excuse his

neglect by saying that it would be useless to sow unless God
caused the seed to grow. He would not be justified in
neglecting tillage because the secret energy of God alone can
create a harvest. No one is hindered in the ordinary pursuits
of life by the fact that unless the Lord build the house they
labor in vain that build it. It is certain that no man who
believes in Jesus will ever find that the Holy Spirit refuses to
work in him: in fact, his believing is the proof that the Spirit is
already at work in his heart.
135
God works in providence, but men do not therefore sit still.

They could not move without the divine power giving them
life and strength, and yet they proceed upon their way
without question; the power being bestowed from day to day
by Him in whose hand their breath is, and whose are all their
ways. So is it in grace. We repent and believe, though we
could do neither if the Lord did not enable us. We forsake sin
and trust in Jesus, and then we perceive that the Lord has
wrought in us to will and to do of His own good pleasure. It is
idle to pretend that there is any real difficulty in the matter.
Some truths which it is hard to explain in words are simple

enough in actual experience. There is no discrepancy
between the truth that the sinner believes, and that his faith
is wrought in him by the Holy Spirit. Only folly can lead men
to puzzle themselves about plain matters while their souls
are in danger. No man would refuse to enter a lifeboat
because he did not know the specific gravity of bodies;
neither would a starving man decline to eat till he
understood the whole process of mutrition. If you, my
reader, will not believe till you can understand all mysteries,
you will never be saved at all; and if you allow self-invented
difficulties to keep you from accepting pardon through your
Lord and Saviour, you will perish in a condemnation which
will be richly deserved. Do not commit spiritual suicide
through a passion for discussing metaphysical subtleties.
136
137
Chapter Fourteen
God is faithful to his saints!
God is faithful, by whom ye were called unto the fellowship

of his Son Jesus Christ (1 Cor. 1:9).
The apostle does not say, “You are faithful.” Alas! the
faithfulness of man is a very unreliable affair; it is mere
vanity. He does not say, “You have faithful ministers to lead
and guide you, and therefore I trust you will be safe.” Oh, no!
if we are kept by men we shall be but ill kept. He puts it,
“God is faithful.” If we are found faithful, it will be because
God is faithful. On the faithfulness of our covenant God the
whole burden of our salvation must rest. On this glorious
attribute of God the matter hinges. We are variable as the
wind, frail as a spider’s web, weak as water. No dependence
can be placed upon our natural qualities, or our spiritual
attainments; but God abideth faithful. He is faithful in His
love; He knows no variableness, neither shadow of turning.
He is faithful to His purpose; He doth not begin a work and
then leave it undone. He is faithful to His relationships; as a
Father He will not renounce His children, as a friend He will
not deny His people, as a Creator He will not forsake the
work of His own hands. He is faithful to His promises, and will
never allow one of them to fail to a single believer. He is
faithful to His covenant, which He has made with us in Christ
Jesus, and ratified with the blood of His sacrifice. He is
138
faithful to His Son, and will not allow His precious blood to be
spilled in vain. He is faithful to His people to whom He has
promised eternal life, and from whom He will not turn away.
This faithfulness of God is the foundation and cornerstone of

our hope of final perseverance. The saints shall persevere in
holiness, because God perseveres in grace. He perseveres to
bless, and therefore believers persevere in being blessed. He
continues to keep His people, and therefore they continue to
keep His commandments. This is good solid ground to rest
upon, and it is delightfully consistent with the title of this
little book, “all of grace.” Thus it is free favor and infinite
mercy which ring in the dawn of salvation, and the same
sweet bells sound melodiously through the whole day of
grace.
You see that the only reasons for hoping that we shall be
confirmed to the end, and be found blameless at the last, are
found in our God; but in Him these reasons are exceedingly
abundant.
They lie first, in what God has done. He has gone so far in
blessing us that it is not possible for Him to run back. Paul
reminds us that He has “called us into the fellowship of his
Son Jesus Christ.” Has he called us? Then the call cannot be
reversed; for, “the gifts and calling of God are without
repentance.” From the effectual call of His grace the Lord
never turns. “Whom he called them he also justified, and
whom he justified them he also glorified:” this is the
invariable rule of the divine procedure. There is a common
139
call, of which it is said, “Many are called, but few are

chosen,” but this of which we are now thinking is another
kind of call, which betokens special love, and necessitates the
possession of that to which we are called. In such a case it is
with the called one even as with Abraham’s seed, of whom
the Lord said, “I have called thee from the ends of the earth,
and said unto thee, Thou art my servant; I have chosen thee,
and not cast thee away.”
In what the Lord has done, we see strong reasons for our
preservation and future glory, because the Lord has called us
into the fellowship of His Son Jesus Christ. It means into
partnership with Jesus Christ, and I would have you carefully
consider what this means. If you are indeed called by divine
grace, you have come into fellowship with the Lord Jesus
Christ, so as to be joint-owner with Him in all things.
Henceforth you are one with Him in the sight of the Most
High. The Lord Jesus bare your sins in His own body on the
tree, being made a curse for you; and at the same time He
has become your righteousness, so that you are justified in
Him. You are Christ’s and Christ is yours. As Adam stood for
his descendants, so does Jesus stand for all who are in Him.
As husband and wife are one, so is Jesus one with all those
who are united to Him by faith; one by a conjugal union
which can never be broken. More than this, believers are
members of the Body of Christ, and so are one with Him by a
loving, living, lasting union. God has called us into this union,
this fellowship, this partnership, and by this very fact He has
given us the token and pledge of our being confirmed to the
140
end. If we were considered apart from Christ we should be

poor perishable units, soon dissolved and borne away to
destruction; but as one with Jesus we are made partakers of
His nature, and are endowed with His immortal life. Our
destiny is linked with that of our Lord, and until He can be
destroyed it is not possible that we should perish.
Dwell much upon this partnership with the Son of God, unto
which you have been called: for all your hope lies there. You
can never be poor while Jesus is rich, since you are in one
firm with Him. Want can never assail you, since you are joint-
proprietor with Him who is Possessor of Heaven and earth.
You can never fail; for though one of the partners in the firm
is as poor as a church mouse, and in himself an utter
bankrupt, who could not pay even a small amount of his
heavy debts, yet the other partner is inconceivably,
inexhaustibly rich. In such partnership you are raised above
the depression of the times, the changes of the future, and
the shock of the end of all things. The Lord has called you
into the fellowship of His Son Jesus Christ, and by that act
and deed He has put you into the place of infallible
safeguard.
If you are indeed a believer you are one with Jesus, and
therefore you are secure. Do you not see that it must be so?
You must be confirmed to the end until the day of His
appearing, if you have indeed been made one with Jesus by
the irrevocable act of God. Christ and the believing sinner are
in the same boat: unless Jesus sinks, the believer will never
141
drown. Jesus has taken His redeemed into such connection

with himself, that He must first be smitten, overcome, and
dishonored, ere the least of His purchased ones can be
injured. His name is at the head of the firm, and until it can
be dishonored we are secure against all dread of failure.
So, then, with the utmost confidence let us go forward into

the unknown future, linked eternally with Jesus. If the men of
the world should cry, “Who is this that cometh up from the
wilderness, leaning upon her Beloved?” we will joyfully
confess that we do lean on Jesus, and that we mean to lean
on Him more and more. Our faithful God is an everflowing
well of delight, and our fellowship with the Son of God is a
full river of joy. Knowing these glorious things we cannot be
discouraged: nay, rather we cry with the apostle, “Who shall
separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our
Lord?”
142

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Faith: The

Faith? This word or idea of faith is one of the most

people and leading them into a ministry of materialism,

7 For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only there

9 even he whose coming is according to the energy of Satan,

10 and with all deceit of unrighteousness for those who are

11 For this reason God is sending on them an energy of

So that they all should be condemned, who are faithless to

So Stand Fast, Brothers

14 For this he called you through my gospel, so that you might

17 comfort your hearts, and establish you in every good work

Self-analyzes of your faith?

1 Is Jesus your Lord and Savior.

2 Are you a Christian.

3 Are you saved by works or faith in Jesus Christ?

4 What denomination do you follow?

5 What do they teach concerning the grace of God?

6 Do your church teach tithing? Why?

7 Did you believe in the trinity? Why?

8 Do you believe in the rapture? Why?

9 If you believe in the rapture who will be in the rapture?

10 Do you believe your church or denomination is the only

11 Is the church you attend a multi-racial church? If not why?

12 Do you harbor hatred for people different from you?

13 Do you hate the Jewish people?

15 Why saved by grace?

1 The Disciple of Jesus will be rooted as an Oak tree Planted

2 Spiritual Fathers of the Faith

3 What is the substance of Faith?

4 Grace by Faith and not by works!!

5 It is impossible to please God without Faith!

6 The unmerited favor of God? Grace (Charis)!

8 The just shall live by faith

9 By faith we are called the Saints of God to follow holiness

10 Pray in Faith to God

11 Why saved by Grace?

12 How can faith increase?

13 Ye must born again

14 God is faithful to his Saints.

The Disciple of Jesus will be rooted as an Oak

Blessed is the man—This Psalm has no title, and has been

The word ‫אשרי‬‎‫ ‏‬ashrey, which we translate blessed, is

1. God made man for happiness.

2. Every man feels a desire to be happy.

3. All human beings abhor misery.

4. Happiness is the grand object of pursuit among all men.

5. But so perverted is the human heart, that it seeks

6. The true way of obtaining it is here laid down.

That walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly

There are here three characters, each exceeding the other in

1. The UNGODLY, ‫רשעים‬‎‫ ‏‬reshaim from ‫רשע‬‎‫ ‏‬rasha, to be

2. SINNERS, ‫חטאים‬‎‫ ‏‬chattaim, from ‫חטא‬‎‫ ‏‬chata, "to miss the

3. SCORNFUL, ‫לצים‬‎‫ ‏‬letsim, from ‫לצה‬‎‫ ‏‬latsah, "to mock,

The second climax is found in the words,

Which mark three different degrees of evil in the conduct of

1. The ungodly operate—one uninfluenced by God.

2. The sinner—he who adds to ungodliness transgression

3. The scornful—the deist, atheist, etc., who make a mock of