The Toledo chronicle. [volume] (Toledo, Tama County, Iowa) 1873-1924, 1878-01-03
The Inner witness.

WHEN we hear beautiful song, we
are moved by it. We may know very
little about music. We may not be able
to tell wherein the beauty of that song
consists, or why it moves us. A musi-
clan might tell US that it was full OF
defects, and possessed no artistic excel
lence. We might not be able to an
swer him word; and yet we would
| know it was beautiful song, because
it touched chord in our own souls
which responded to the touch. 1t is not
a thing to be proved or disproved; we
have felt it, and we testify that we do
know.'' We do not need to understand
the rules of music, before we can appre-
ciate song; nor need we be able to
discuss the principles of art before we
can enjoy painting. We feel the har-
mony of the one and the beauty of the
other, because our souls were made to
respond to them.
So our hearts always respond to the
truth. when it touches them. We know
the salvation of Christ, because we have
| felt it. All the saints have known it,
because they have experienced it in
their lives. Under different names,
they have known the same thing.
When they confessed their faith, "
they may have erred in some of the
forms; but when they told what God
had done for them, they all told the
same story. Whenever real Christian
tells what he has felt in his own inner
life, he "speaks that he does know, and
testifies that he has SEEN"
When the gospel has thus taken hold
of a mans profoundest convictions, il
cannot be dislodged by any mere logic.
1t fits so perfectly into its place, that
the spirit will not let it go. A hungry
man will not readily renounce what he
knows has satisfied him, though he can.
not analyze it, nor tell how it nourishes
him. The man who has felt that
aching void the world can never FILL"
will not readily part with what has SC
completely filled that void, and satisfied
his soul. He may not be able to answer
the objections proposed; but he knows
what he has felt. The blind man could
not answer the Pharisees as to who OF
what Jesus was; but he knew one
thing, Whereas / was blind, now
see." So every Christian feels that
there is profounder basis to his
faith than the arguments by which il
is defended There is a sort of inward
recognition of it, as though one saw
: the features of an old friend. As we
know that heat warns us, and air re-
: freshes us, we know the Gospel saves
us. We may warm ourselves by the
! fire, without knowing anything abou,
the law of heat. A man might try tt
J prove to us that fire was needless anG
worthless. but he could not drive us
away from it. to spend the night in tho
cold air. A man may puzzle us with
objections to the Gospel, buff our souls
have ever felt its power, they will new.
er allow argument or objection to dis
) lodge their faith.
There is in every true Christian hear
! this .' witness Of the Spirit" the witness
: of his own spirit to the truth he has
8 felt; the witness of the Divine Spirit
: to his own. The requirement is no
that we must weigh the arguments or
either side, and balance them, before
we can receive the truth; but it j!
simply, taste and see that the Lore
: is good" 1t becomes the assurance O.
, tried reality. A man ceases to weigh
objections, and rests in the security O.
what he has felt. He may know little
/ about logic and the rules of evidence
/ but he knows what has taken place il
his own soul; he knows what has salts
! fed his own wants; he knows what ha!
met the demands of his own nature
Richard Cordley, D. d., in Am. Mes
senger.