Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1874-10-01


this sort. They refused to believe.
God had fully shown his power and his
goodness in defending and providing
for them, and had given ample proof
Of his purpose to bring them into the
land of their fathers, and make of
them great nation. The giving of
the law; the institution of the service;
the provision Of food; the directing
pillar of cloud by day and fire by
night; the overthrow, now and again.
of the d1sobedient and rebellious; and
a hundred miraculous deliverances aud
blessings, had given them the fullest
assurance of the ability and faithful
ness of God, and had thus shown them
the duty and safety of obedient trust.
But these things so clearly shown, they
vould not accept and treat as true.
Their unbelief was a perverse refusal
of the truth.
The same things may be SAID Of the
treatment of the prophets by the jew
ish people and also of the treatment
of Christ and his Apostles by the same
nation. The credentials which the
prophets and apostles brought (and
much more, Christi, were Of the most
ample and perfect sort. To believing
heart, that is a true heart, one ready
to accept truth and abide by it every
where and always, nothing more could
possibly be needed TO satisfy them of
the truth of the claims of these SER
wants of God. Yet they were perse-
cuted and abused and murdered by
men who acould not beliece Indeed,
the history of unbelief would be his
tory of the world. We find it every
where to-day. Our Law Courts too
clearly reveal it. Not that all are un-
believers who 20 to law. nor that al
are guilty of unbelief who practice in
the Courts, but there are places where
the state of mind we are considering is
sure to appear, if it exist at al, in the
hearts Of the persons concerned Men
have case they are committed on
one side, their preiudices, feelings,
business, array them on one side, and
they want the jury to look at it SO as
to decide in their favor. Ne71 if thoy
are honest in the ideal sense Of that
word, true in the sense of that, they
want the tru Il req 0Ied at all events,
even to their own defeat if need be,
they will not be tempted to any un-
truth. but if they are motif there be
in fact, any want of absolute rightness
in them, they will be tempted to evade,
to prevaricate, to insinuate, to color
their statements whenever the case
seems to demand, and to make appear
as false whatever truth is damaging to
them, while they make appear as truth
whatever things will help them even if
they be false. Now, the fact, ptaent
to every one who has ever obs 9rved, tn It
so much of this very thing transpires
in courts Of law, illustrates the preva-
lence of this state of mind-this nnbe-
hef, which uiU 6eLieUe what it wishes
to, and ront believe what it does not
wish to, whether 1t be true or false.
But it is seen in ordinary debates,
whether scientific, political or religious.
I am not sure that religious contro-
versies do not reveal it even more than
the litigations of the courts. Men be-
come committed to ancient creeds and
formulas of doctrine, and methods of
statement, and in defending them are
utterly perverse; they aolU not see and
believe anything that condems their
philosophy and theology-whence we
have the proverb, " None SO blind as
they that ,7ont see - Now this pro-
verb expresses exactly what We mean
by unJelief This = front see " is the
thing to be condemned. If the apos-
tie had said, in speaking of the failure
of those Hebrews to enter the prom
ised land g They could not enter in be-
cause Of the 0ont see in them" he
would have expressed exactly what he
meant when he did say They could
not enter in because of their mbeIief.'
Most of al, the unbelief of the
world is seen n its rejection Of the
Gospel. TO genuine truth seeker, a
believer, the Gospel is ever what rare
gem is to a diamond hunter. Those
to whom it is not the power and wis
dom of God, those who don't wish 1t
to be, those who don't see it, are such
as wont see it. For if anything can
be proved by ages of experience, and
multitudes Of witness ; by It's internal
nviderces. and IFS external results. 1t /